I Knew It Would Turn Out Like This
"I knew it would turn out like this."
There was no way it ended on the second wave. He had taken a third as a given from the start. The trouble was what came after — if it didn't stop at the third…….
The difficulty being a question mark is what's bothering me.
No exact difficulty had ever been set. Put bluntly, even if there were a thousand waves, he wouldn't have had a thing to complain about.
I hope this one's the last.
The more waves there were, the greater the final reward tended to be. A fourth or a fifth he could stomach. Push past that, though, and he couldn't honestly say whether he would still be able to hold the line.
The window appeared before every one of them. It almost felt as if the System were toying with them — and no wonder. Five hundred thousand hours? Five hours already sounded like more than anyone could bear. Since when was five hundred thousand hours a number a person was meant to take seriously?
"This is really the end…."
"How are we supposed to stop this?"
"The human player pulled his weight, but this… there's simply no way……."
The Empire's players sank into despair.
"Ha. Unbelievable…."
Yujun, for his part, felt the absurdity of it more keenly than the despair. Looking only at the situation laid before them, there truly was no answer. Even he could not keep fighting for that long, and he had no idea how strong these beings of darkness would prove to be.
No.
He decided not to believe the thing exactly as it was presented. This was not denial.
Think. Think it through.
There had to be a way through. Burning five hundred thousand hours for nothing didn't sit right with reason. The System always prepared an environment in which a player could grow as far as possible — so why hand down a trial that devoured this much time? Something was off.
It's a test.
A System message was not something to swallow whole.
That was when it happened.
"They're coming!"
"Wait — why are there so many?"
Black shapes were closing in from far across the field. The beings of darkness the System had named, no doubt. Yujun's attention, however, was already somewhere else.
I have to find whatever was controlling the Black Legion.
He had held the first wave, but several things still sat wrong. The monsters that had tried to assassinate the Emperor. The monsters that had brainwashed Conte and the mages. And last of all, the unknown existence commanding every one of them.
"Paranet. I'm leaving this place to you."
"My lord?!"
"Hold them. The moment I call, come straight to me with Space Movement."
"A-as you command!"
Yujun left without a backward glance.
In truth, something had been faintly tickling his senses for a while. It lay a fair distance off, and he hadn't had the attention to spare it — but that was no longer the case. If a place felt suspicious, that was where he needed to start digging. Otherwise he really might end up shut in here for a very long time.
His body shot forward, and the scenery changed with every second. Beings of darkness came into view and spotted him in turn, but he was already past them before they could so much as react.
Much weaker than the hawks, thankfully.
Their strength sat at roughly the same level as the monsters of the first wave. Unlike those monsters, though, the beings of darkness boasted overwhelming numbers. The sun still hung at its zenith, and yet a pitch-black dark seemed to have settled over the grassland.
They'll manage.
If things turned truly dangerous, Manuela would call him through the messenger. Returning then by Paranet's Space Movement would not be too late.
It's coming into focus.
The thread of mana that had brushed his senses was vanishingly fine, but he pinpointed exactly where it spread from.
A tree.
A single tree stood there, its branches bare, not one leaf upon them. Draw closer, and a tremendous volume of dark miasma poured off it.
I've never seen this much dark miasma.
Far too vast a quantity for any ordinary player to hold, and pure enough that the air nearby felt sticky. Yujun knew it the moment he saw the thing. This gloomy tree was the root of everything. The same faint scent that had clung to the hawk captain he'd captured was drifting from the tree as well.
Break this, and it's settled.
The corner of his mouth lifted. He had the answer, and the solution was simpler than he had expected. Without hesitation, he swung his sword at the tree. A heavy crack split the air.
The target cannot be destroyed.
"……."
He was thrown for an instant. Then he laughed.
"Haha. Cute little thing. Throwing a tantrum?"
He realized he hadn't mixed Chaos into the blade. A tree that couldn't even move, and its tier was still too high to cut?
Live at a level this low and the world just loves to humble you.
This time he loaded Chaos into the sword and swung again. Another crack rang out.
The target cannot be destroyed.
His mouth twisted.
"……Ah. I see. Not enough Chaos? I'll fill you the rest of the way. Just wait."
His Chaos was somewhat replenished compared to before. He poured every last drop of what remained into the blade, and — to water down the unease creeping up through him — mixed in mana as well. Then he used a skill on top of it.
Flash Slash (SSS)
It was a skill born when a B-rank slashing technique evolved. As the grade made plain, its power was beyond any comparison with what it had been. Yujun smiled, satisfied, and nodded.
This should do it.
He did not doubt for a moment that the tree would be smashed to pieces. The blow landed in a thunderous crash.
The target cannot be destroyed.
Wow.
I'm going to lose my mind.
He had used Chaos and a skill, and the thing was still perfectly intact. That was just cruel. Complaining, however, was not going to produce an answer. Yujun looked the tree over, section by section.
Nothing about it looks special…….
A withered tree that seemed ready to snap if he so much as leaned on it. If it had a distinguishing feature, that was it — that, and the thick dark miasma clinging to it. Neither was any reason to stop an attack as heavy as his. No matter how he looked, he couldn't make sense of it.
He let out a long sigh. He had thought he'd finally found the solution, only for the thing to be absolutely impossible to destroy. Nothing could feel more hollow than that…… and yet it was still too early to give up.
Use an item.
Wasn't this exactly what Doraemon's pocket— no. What an inventory was for? He opened his inventory and drew out a single sheet of parchment he had been keeping tucked carefully away in a corner.
◈ Option: Write a word, and information regarding it will be displayed. If the Storyteller does not know it, the effect will not activate.
It had been a long time since he had taken out the Storyteller's parchment. He had been saving it for a moment when he truly could not see an answer. Better to use it before hoarding turned the thing to waste — and this was hardly an ordinary situation.
He pondered what to write on it.
I need the core of it in a single try.
The Storyteller talked too much, which at least meant he explained things thoroughly. Write the sentence wrong, though, and the parchment would be wasted. He had to decide with care.
Carefully…… carefully.
Yujun scratched a line onto the parchment in a hurry.
What do I do about that tree?
That was the entire message. Not one word more — and he was not exaggerating. Well, a man could only write what he actually knew. Even so, it was enough. Fresh script began to surface across the parchment, which meant the Storyteller knew something about that tree. The Storyteller's parchment was more flexible than it let on. A welcome turn.
Friend. What on earth happened to you? How did you get this strong? I just looked, and it nearly startled me out of my skin.
Huh? Say something. ……Oh, right. One inscription and that's the end of it. Sorry. I think I got too excited. Forgot I wasn't supposed to eavesdrop. I very nearly abused my authority.
Anyway, what was the question again?
Ah, you asked what to do about the tree. You mean the one in front of you, right? Judging by your face, I'd say that's the one.
Don't go poking that thing. It's an insanely dangerous existence. Approach it wrong and you could get yourself killed. Even you.
Ah. Never mind. Your tier's so low you might actually be fine. You're ridiculously strong for such a low level, so I got confused.
"Get to the point. Please."
He did not have time to stand around listening. The Empire would be holding the beings of darkness without him even now. The second wave had already been no easy thing — and they were meant to stop the third on their own? Safe to call that impossible. How long they could last was the only question that mattered, and Yujun did not think it would be long.
At least Manuela, Paranet, and Tapagol are there.
He had ordered Paranet and Tapagol to die in Manuela's place if she looked to be in danger. Unlike her, with only a single life, his summons could revive again and again. It was the rational call.
Unable to hear a word of it, the Storyteller kept writing.
Destroying that thing is difficult. No — as things stand, it's impossible. This isn't a matter of tier. It was designed that way by the System, which is why it cannot be destroyed. So don't waste the effort.
There is one other method, though. Suppress the tree's dark miasma as far as you can.
Plant a World Tree Seed near it.
Of course, if you don't have a World Tree Seed, there is no method at all. You'd have no choice but to give up.
I'll explain on the assumption that you do have one.
Closer is better, but not too close. I'd recommend keeping a reasonable distance when you plant the seed.
The problem is that the difficulty of actually succeeding is absurd.
The thing can't move, but it is a living creature with a mind. Its intelligence is high, and it may try to interfere with whatever you're attempting. That's why it's hard. For a World Tree to fully mature, the environment has to be properly prepared, and it requires a great deal of time.
Truthfully, you should assume even this method has almost no chance. On the other hand, if you have the seed and you keep that tree occupied in the meantime, you can at least hold on to a sliver of hope. And since your tier happens to be low, you won't take the rebound even if you attack it……. Works out nicely.
That's everything I have to pass on. I don't know what kind of situation you're in, but I hope it works out. Good luck, friend.
And with that, the Storyteller's writing came to an end.
"You talk way too damn much."
He was anxious enough already; every scrap of useless padding tacked onto the message had grated on him. Even so, the Storyteller had handed over the meat of it.
So a World Tree will do.
Not just any World Tree, either. He seemed to mean one that had fully grown.
Lucky me.
A faint smile touched Yujun's lips.
I've already done this once, haven't I.