Chapter 523
Chapter 523
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 523
Chapter Title: Solidifying the Base (2)
"Hoo."
Harris let out a deep sigh and slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing that came into view was the massive World Tree pressed against his palms.
Its size was so immense that one couldn't even guess its height up close.
The incarnation of a god manifested on the earth, perpetually maintaining a miracle on the scale of an entire continent.
This World Tree was the tribal god of the Outerica elves and...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 'Thank you, customer! You absolutely won't regret that decision.' ...also the generous investor who had cheerfully promised him additional funding.
Harris expressed his gratitude once more, detached his hands, and looked up at the World Tree with renewed wonder.
'Fortunately, the conversation went even better than expected. Probably because our interests aligned perfectly.'
In truth, he'd strung together all sorts of persuasive arguments as if he were a stock expert to convince the other party, but he couldn't credit those glib words for the major effect.
'After all, the other side is a bona fide god.'
Moreover, the exchange had taken place through the High Elf acting as the World Tree's priest on its altar, and it wasn't verbal communication but a direct clash of wills—so there was no room for mere eloquence to intervene.
The World Tree had focused on one thing alone.
Harris was in dire need of great power right now, and it had the capacity to help him.
From a long-term perspective, it was a proposal that offered no downsides for the World Tree either.
After all, the growth of Harris... and the other avatars connected to him was beyond wondrous—it defied description.
'Having lingered on the earth for ages as a direct object of faith must have ensured a steady supply of belief... but in exchange, it likely forfeited considerable authority as the price of its descent.'
This investment was a mutually beneficial deal that could aid even it.
He gained immediate short-term benefits, while the World Tree elevated its stature in the long run—a true symbiotic relationship of mutual prosperity!
The trust built up over time had undoubtedly played a significant role in its decision to invest.
'Well then, time to wrap things up...'
No sooner had the ritual concluded than drowsiness began to wash over him again.
This lethargy was practically the foundation of his being by now, so no amount of elevated realm could overcome it.
Harris shook off the overwhelming sense of unity that threatened to merge him with nature the moment he let his mind slip and turned his head.
Toward the branch of the World Tree bearing its fruit, floating amid swirling winds as if awaiting his touch.
And toward...
"......"
"......"
...the throng of elves densely packed beneath the altar, silently gazing at him with reverent quietude.
"Hm."
It was an unexpected turn, but he could fully understand why things had escalated this far.
Of course such an anomaly couldn't pass quietly.
'Not that there's any need to let it slide quietly.'
Harris calmly grasped the World Tree's branch.
Fwaaah—
In that instant, the fruit at its tip was enveloped in light and swiftly absorbed into his body.
A sight unseen in ordinary enlightenment rituals.
But the changes didn't end there.
The branch in his hand writhed like a serpent, coiling around his arm and ascending.
From his elbow to his shoulder, then his neck...
And up to his head, where his loosely tied blond hair hung down.
Wood creak—
The branch encircling his head in a ring began to transform.
Stems intertwined this way and that, extending upward to gradually take shape.
"Could that be...!"
"Ahh, O World Tree."
"Heavens, a king personally chosen by the World Tree itself!"
Just as they said.
It was taking the form of a crown.
Perhaps because the World Tree had woven it itself.
This crown, made not of metal but living wood, possessed exquisite beauty and elegance, along with an overwhelming dignity that commanded awe merely by looking upon it.
Thud— Thud—
The crowd facing it began kneeling one by one, almost involuntarily.
An instinctive response etched into the very being of the elven race itself—one impossible to resist.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ The entity has met the conditions and grows. Special Skill 「Heir of the World Tree」 evolves to 「Companion of the World Tree」. Harris smirked at the message floating before his eyes.
'Heir to Companion, huh.'
By pedigree, it was a mess like no other, but this proved the World Tree now recognized him as an equal partner.
From a child it unilaterally bestowed favors upon, to a collaborator to advance together henceforth.
'Not bad at all. The crown design's pretty stylish too.'
Though the change occurred atop his head, thanks to 「Observer of the Milky Way」 allowing third-person perception of himself and his surroundings, he grasped the entire process in real time.
The sharply jutting twigs and gracefully intertwined stems exuded an aura impossible for any artificial object.
This must be what they meant by the beauty of nature.
"Huuup— Haa..."
As he drew in a deep breath, something was sucked inside along with it.
Not the familiar natural energy of the forest or phytoncides, but something infinitely abstract, brimming with boundless potential.
'Faith in the World Tree.'
'And for me, faith is practically divinity itself.'
Through this deal, he'd gained the authority to borrow a portion of the faith the World Tree had accumulated.
Surpassing an ordinary priest, he had become its veritable proxy.
'Of course, since the faith's object is the World Tree, not me, the efficiency won't be great.'
That was merely a matter of worming his way into the faith structure between the World Tree and the elves.
Doing so would allow him to draw even more usable faith.
'And the surest way to do that... is to show them with my own eyes, of course.'
And in the most spectacular way possible, etched indelibly into their minds!
He needed to make a definitive declaration to all elves on this occasion.
Of what kind of existence he had become.
As all eyes focused on him, Harris lightly raised one hand.
Then, with a casual snap of his fingers.
Fwaaaah—
A massive wave of natural power swept through in an instant, engulfing everything around.
Not just the altar area where they stood.
Extending beyond the capital Drasha and over the entire Elven Kingdom—a pulsating surge.
The changes began soon after.
"Huh?!"
"This is...?"
Flowers bloomed everywhere under the heavens.
Each variety blooming at different times under different conditions—yet in this moment, they ignored seasons and habitats alike, unfurling solely to paint the world in beauty.
Even trees and grasses that never flowered did so now.
"Th-there! The World Tree!"
"Ooh...!"
The elves, dazed by the breathtaking miracle, directed their gazes upward.
The World Tree was no exception to the blossoming.
Unlike its usual lush greenery, it was now blanketed in a riot of multicolored, radiant flowers.
Falling petals like the season's first snow dyed the world in a dreamlike haze of hues.
As if blessing.
The birth, in this instant.
Of a new Fairy King.
'Hm, so this is the feeling. If I handle this right...'
Bathed in awestruck gazes from all directions, Harris—who had just wielded the World Tree's power for the first time—tilted his head slightly.
As the saying went, nothing beat practice for mastery.
This was his first time gaining power this way, so he needed to experiment variously to minimize trial and error.
'I could probably appoint High Elves as I wish now.'
Having gone this far, he'd be quite busy from now on.
No more lounging around carefree as before.
To prepare for the future, he needed reliable aides who could handle tasks in his stead.
As he pondered this and glanced around, his eyes caught a familiar shock of blue hair.
A girl who had plopped down from her squat, clutching a snack basket to her chest, staring at him in bewilderment.
From a prestigious family with a High Elf father, intimately familiar with their duties; convinced she'd become one someday, she'd devoted herself to rigorous training and study; knew his personality well, with deep ties making delegation easy.
'...Shall I give it a shot?'
The indolent Fairy King Harris, who had just thrown down his declaration to the world, smiled faintly.
Locking eyes with the blue-haired elf girl, Sharillon Sylvesti, who gazed at him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thud—! Claaang—! Thud!
In a space thick with sweltering heat, the rhythmic clang of metal echoed.
'Just a bit more.'
At the epicenter of the din.
In the middle of the forge workshop, flames blazed in Howard's eyes as he hammered down on a head-sized orb.
The task of fixing Doctor's core in the 「Dragon Lair」 as its nucleus and using its sealed ego as the management personality was nearing completion.
Preliminaries were done; all that remained was transplanting the core into the space...
"Kugh!"
Overwhelmed by persistent repulsion, Howard finally dropped the hammer with a grunt.
Normally, his iron grip bolstered by 「Superhuman Strength」 would hold, but cumulative shock had torn his callused palms, leaving them bloody.
'Even with 「Toughness」, who'd think mere backlash could shred this body.'
Howard sighed as he retrieved the blood-slicked hammer.
Fortunately, 「Super Recovery」 healed the wounds swiftly, posing no hindrance to continuing.
"Heh, well. If meddling with the world's laws costs just these scratches, it's practically a freebie."
He smirked down at the core fixed on the anvil.
In truth, a hammer wasn't strictly necessary for this work.
What remained was merely twisting and tuning the laws of the world.
'But this is what I'm comfortable with.'
Each swing infused the artisan's intent he'd honed over time.
An act refined to the extreme, reaching even the principles constituting world and matter.
His presence in the forge stemmed from the same logic.
The most efficient method was using familiar tools in a familiar place.
"Hoo, shall we continue then?"
Howard drained a bottle of water in one go and gripped the hammer anew.
This novel endeavor granted fresh insights at every turn.
'I've raised avatars to transcendence, even divinity... but challenging this realm via crafting is a first.'
Transcendents twisted principles with their own bodies.
Slicing mountains with a single sword or kneading space with magic—beings beyond conventional 'strength'.
Of course, even among them, hierarchies existed, denying absolute supremacy, but their status as a world's pinnacle was undeniable.
Claaang—! Claaang—! Thud!
Then what of crafting transcendents?
Those who, lacking martial might, refined a single field to its zenith.
They didn't defy laws with their bodies.
They intervened in principles directly via accumulated techniques, revising their foundations and guiding them as desired.
Swords of plain steel cleaving jeweled blades; simple herbal potions rivaling elixirs.
Objects imbued with impossibilities, born of fervent aspiration and ultimate skill.
Kaaang—! Kaaang—!
Yet pushing another's material beyond limits was no easy feat.
As evidenced by how few production transcendents existed compared to combatants.
'Makes sense, really.'
Unlike combatants who tempered embodied mysteries to breach walls, crafters merely shaped them—never becoming them.
In that light, Howard held the optimal conditions as an artisan.
He knew that domain intimately from raising various avatars diversely; influenced by his main body, he could handle divinity to a degree.
Unlike others relying solely on experience and intuition, he solved with foreknowledge—like cheating.
"...It's done."
That was why Howard was confident of success.
Having finished, he gazed at his hands.
No dramatic shifts as with other avatars' transcendences.
His body remained the same; his energy unchanged.
But the principles' flow, now vividly felt at his fingertips, spoke volumes.
Of what he could achieve with these hands henceforth.
-Huh? Wh-where's this? What's going on? From there, things proceeded smoothly.
-Wahaha—! This is fun! So much fun! Thus, Howard finally ascended to transcendence.
And as the management personality of the 「Dragon Lair」, a once-enemy mad genius scientist took the seat.