Yggdrasil's Fruit
Beep.
Information appeared on his phone.
Grade: Mythic
The fruit of the world tree Yggdrasil, which bestowed prophecies upon the fairies through its precognitive powers.
Effect: Contains the mana of the world tree condensed over 100 years.
Zien stared at the fruit with a cold expression.
It fell short of the original, which held thousands of years of mana, but this was still a fruit nurtured by absorbing mana for a century. An artifact that transcended spirit medicine and touched the realm of myth.
'How much would this be worth in money?'
Mythic-grade artifacts discovered so far numbered less than three digits.
A consumable like this... well, putting a price on it was laughable to begin with. After all, it was a reward from the Rank 6 gate [World Tree Defense].
'...World Tree Defense.'
The Central government agency divided gates by two criteria.
The scale of mana composing the gate, used to assign its rank.
'And the name.'
[Demoniac Demon King's Castle].
[The Serpent That Swallows the World].
Disaster—that was the designation given to Rank 8 gates, which had appeared only twice so far.
Others included [Blood Cult Uprising] in Zone 3, labeled Ominous; [Ghost Mansion] in Zone 1, labeled Spectral; [Dragon's Castle] in Zone 4, labeled Dragon. Dozens of Rank 7 gates were all named in the language of Zone 3.
'And then.'
Very rarely, some Rank 6 gates also bore names.
[World Tree Defense] was one of them. The reason? Its brutally high difficulty. A quest where just 11 Sabers had to defend the fairy forest from invading northern horsemen.
Especially because of the exceptional tactics of their chieftain, 'Band Drogo,' it ranked among the top five hardest gates Zien had cleared in his previous life.
'A reward from a gate like that. Can I handle it now?'
The mana condensed in Yggdrasil's Fruit was that extraordinary.
If Zien succeeded in controlling the fruit's mana, he could fully utilize Magic Arts as well. But the fruit was a poisoned chalice. If he failed to control the mana...
It would rampage out of control. A state known in Zone 3 as qi deviation.
Far more dangerous than residual mana. This wasn't just risking becoming a cripple—it was staking his life.
'Time to choose.'
He couldn't put it off any longer. Absorbing the fruit would take time, and considering the tournament schedule, today was ideal. Having made up his mind, Zien swallowed the fruit.
Gulp.
Smaller than a plum, yet it carried a pressure more terrifying than the fiercest poison.
Sitting in the lotus position, Zien focused on the sensations within his body. No reaction yet, but this was the calm before the storm. Soon, the fruit's shell digested, and the concentrated mana burst forth.
Shwaaaaa—!
The mana began to rage.
His organs twisted, his body torn apart in agony.
Yet Zien strove to condense the mana with a transcendent expression.
'One mistake, and it's over.'
As he accepted the pain and terror head-on, his bodily senses sharpened even further.
The mana surged ever stronger, but Zien held it captive within his body to the limit.
Thus, the promised three hours passed.
Creeeak.
"Haa... is it done?"
Chris, who had been guarding the door, entered the dorm room.
"Eup!"
The mana density in the room was so thick it choked him.
Chris stepped back from the door and asked from a safe distance.
"Hey, Zien, you okay?"
At the question, Zien slowly opened his eyes.
"Yeah."
A changed aura.
No, it wasn't just the aura.
'What the hell is this guy?'
A subtle mana enveloped his body.
Even Chris, unskilled in mana detection, could tell at a glance.
Three hours had passed, but Zien had absorbed a mythic-grade artifact.
"It's over."
A pleasing baritone.
The Zien from three hours ago and the Zien now were like different people.
"Kuoooo!!"
A massive roar shook the cave.
The Rank 4 boss, Rakkuma, was a bear with a body of stone.
Killing Rakkuma would purify the dungeon, but its signature toughness had even active Rank 4 Sabers refusing the mission. A high-difficulty monster.
But.
"Kuoook!"
That was the end of Rakkuma's reign today.
"Party leader, why a guy of all people? He's only ranked 9th overall."
As the blue-short-haired boy moved his gloved hands, soft water droplets enveloped Rakkuma's paw.
The black-haired girl struck the slowed and weakened forepaw with her silver sword.
"I saw that student's exam footage. Exceptional swordsmanship and judgment. Hard to believe he's just a student."
"If our party leader says so... hmm! He must be strong, then."
The boy flashed a bright smile and moved his hands again.
Sploosh—!
A sudden spray of water erupted from the ground, engulfing Rakkuma.
The beast staggered back.
"Kuooh!!"
A menacing roar, but none of the three students flinched.
They maintained formation around their black-haired girl party leader, responding with seasoned precision.
"Kua, lay down Water Liquid on the floor. Demona, Mega Crush."
"On it."
The boy's gloves spread liquid across the floor. Rakkuma slipped and wobbled, and the white-haired girl with bleached locks smashed down with her 2-meter halberd on its forepaw.
"Kwaaook!"
The rocky forepaw shattered, and Rakkuma writhed in pain.
Flash!
A momentary gleam.
The mana-infused silver sword pierced Rakkuma's heart precisely.
Teamwork of a difficulty unbelievable for students.
"Good work."
Lucia Elquenes, Celia Academy's pride.
Rare black hair proving her heroic bloodline, and a reserved tone of speech.
Her ever-calm demeanor was why she was called empress—no, emperor. Since enrollment, she had always been first, and so had her party. Three members total.
"Hmm~ but still, it was unexpected. I thought you'd pick Croa Academy or Aiter."
The cheerful Kua, and
the stoic Demona.
"Rumor has it he took down a Rank 4 boss solo."
Lucia said as she sheathed her sword.
Unlike her praising words, her expression showed little emotion.
"Eh, that'd be a breeze for you too, right, party leader?"
Kua reverse-summoned his Magic Tool gloves.
Demona nodded quietly in agreement.
"Celia's victory is assured... but what I want is a perfect, overwhelming first place."
Overwhelming first place.
Lucia's goal wasn't victory itself. It was proving her strength to the world and solidifying her successor position perfectly. The Elquenes family had a rule up to now.
Sun and moon.
Men took the official successor role of the Sun, handling external affairs, while women took the Moon, managing internal stability—an unfair rule. But Lucia hated it.
The sun shines on its own, but the moon does not. It merely receives the sun's light and cannot shine by itself.
'I'll become the sun.'
And so Lucia became stronger than anyone.
From a very young age, she never showed weakness. Mature, an early-bloomer. But all she wanted was to choose her own path. To simply shine on her own.
"Just leave it to us. I'll do my best, and so will Demona! Right, Demona?"
Kua grinned brightly as she asked, but Demona turned away with a sour face, pfft.
"See? Demona agrees too."
Kua concluded on her own.
Lucia gazed at the sun outside the cave. Her eyes stung, but she didn't look away. To Lucia, the sun was dazzlingly beautiful.
Guns.
Sabers shunned guns.
Unlike bows and throwing weapons, where mana could be infused directly into arrows by hand, bullets passed through the gun, causing severe mana loss—enough that a Rank 4 could only output Rank 3 power. A fatal flaw for Sabers. But what if the gun itself was a mana-infused Magic Tool?
Bang!
The sniper rifle spat fire.
The mana-charged bullet traced a straight line.
Like a meteor.
Mana trailed behind the bullet's path.
No loss, no resistance—the bullet shot forward at ferocious speed.
"Six kilometers successful... good job. They said it went through."
The woman removing her ear mic said.
She was Timothy, the dueling instructor at Croa Academy.
"Thank you."
The man who fired was Timothy's prized disciple, Ichef.
Shiiik.
Ichef's Stigma glowed, and the sniper rifle vanished.
He was the first Saber whose Magic Tool was a sniper rifle.
"The event's just days away now, huh?"
"Yes."
"Think you can win Battle Survival?"
To anyone who knew her true personality, her gentle tone would send shivers.
Ichef lifted only the corner of his mouth, expressionless.
"Now that I'm participating..."
The hem of his long coat fluttered in the plains wind.
Ichef scoffed, pfft, as if it were ridiculous.
"It's just... a one-sided hunt."
With hands in his pockets, he walked off in the most cool pose imaginable.
Timothy yelled with a shit-eating grimace.
"Argh, who the hell is he imitating?!"
Chicken skin prickled on her arms.
Timothy recalled Ichef from the start of the year with a sad face. The one who followed her like a shadow, ending every sentence with "for real?" in his cute voice...
'Teaching him was so satisfying back then...'
But after binge-watching Zone 1 noir films from who-knows-where, Ichef had been like this ever since. Timothy sighed, missing her cute disciple.
"Sigh. Still, his skills have improved tremendously."
Teams that could check him now were at best Celia or Arcana.
Unlike other academies, Croa had kept their secret weapon Ichef tightly hidden.
'A gun as a Magic Tool? If he plays the terrain right, first place is possible.'
And that meant Arcana could be eliminated.
'Zien. Right?'
Timothy wasn't particularly interested in Arcana as a rival.
That was where Romina, her lifelong rival since school days, taught. And she didn't like Arcana calling itself prestigious.
"Let's see you get wiped out."