Nurturing the World Tree (Part 2)
Back on Earth, pests were already a nightmare.
No matter how many times you eradicated them, they crawled right back, devastated crops, and looked repulsive to boot. Yet after seeing the screenshots sent to me, I realized that Earth’s pests were downright angelic in comparison.
Gigantic wings attached to an even more bloated, squishy abdomen. If you swatted that thing, it felt like it would burst with a wet, squelching thud.
The moment an elf cautiously crept closer to capture it, the creature sensed them from ten meters away and scurried off, hissing violently as it vanished into the bark.
“Honestly, even Gramoxone wouldn’t be overkill for those abominations.”
Creatures like that had no business existing on this planet. Against a horde of horrors that made standard cockroaches look like cuddly domestic pets, the elves were helpless. They couldn’t catch them, yet leaving them alone meant the World Tree withered away. They were the ultimate parasite. Why on earth were these monstrosities not classified as beasts?
Full-Health Elf clearly doubted it. It was hard to swallow that mundane sprayed water could exterminate magical fairies that defied high sorcery. But my trusty blue-badged Assistant Moderator had already evolved into a stellar subordinate who carried out orders first, questions second.
A single misting, and the screenshot showed the foul critters raining down dead by the dozens.
Pesticide efficiency never disappointed.
The normalization of the World Tree.
A wondrous chemical spray crafted by the Head Moderator that sent parasites trembling in fear and left ancient low-health elves green with envy! Splendid! Marvelous!
“How can mere water achieve such results...?”
Eliana, leading the operation on the ground, stared in utter disbelief. The Head Moderator’s offerings were always enigmatic and produced unforeseen miracles, but this was only the second time her awe crossed over into pure dread. The first time had been shotguns and frag grenades. The second was this mundane bottle of pesticide.
“T-This cannot be.”
“How does it single out and kill only the fairies?”
“Urgh... What have I been spending centuries studying magic for...?”
The elven mages suffered an acute crisis of existential defeat. A spell capable of multiplying its lethality exclusively against a targeted species was the holy grail of every combat sorcerer. If properly mastered, one could unleash apocalyptic magic across an entire battlefield and vaporize only the enemy ranks. Yet the Head Moderator had pulled it off effortlessly, sealing such god-tier selectivity inside ordinary spray bottles.
“Gah... *cough*!”
“Have you awakened?”
“E-Eliana?!”
Just then, Mersen, who had been trussed up and knocked cold in the vines, stirred with a violent twitch.
“You... you used that absurd speech pattern earlier! And how dare you bind me in vines?!” Mersen scrambled backward, voice shrill with indignation. Eliana had committed high treason by threatening an Elder Council member—and the head elder at that. This was an unforgivable felony.
Yet Eliana merely tilted her head with a brazen, innocent expression.
“An absurd speech pattern? Whatever do you mean?”
“Did you not simply indulge in too much Dew and drift off into a drunken stupor, Elder?”
The surrounding elven knights nodded along in solemn agreement, leaving Mersen thoroughly unsettled.
“I-Is that so...?”
“Did you not suffer a brief memory lapse yesterday as well?”
Memory blackouts were a common occurrence among elves. It was no chronic illness, but the natural consequence of downing bottomless jugs of soju until they passed out cold. Confronted with a united front of subordinate elves lying through their teeth without a single ear twitching, Mersen’s certainty crumbled into doubt. And that was when her gaze drifted upward.
“Goddess above... The World Tree...!”
The once-withered, skeletal canopy was bursting with vibrant green life. Mersen stumbled to her feet, her face illuminating with ecstatic zeal.
“A-A festival! We must hold a grand festival at once!”
“Elder Mersen, please compose yourself—”
“Compose myself?! Com-poooose myself?! How could anyone stay calm at a time like this?! The sacred tree is regaining its majesty!” Mersen pranced about, her grin stretching practically to her pointed ears. “We must aid its recovery without delay! Prepare the natural pigments so we may commune our souls with its branches!”
The World Tree was the heart of nature itself. Surely, if they slathered it with painstakingly prepared organic pigments, it would absorb the natural energy far more swiftly and flourish, right?
“No! We must dedicate even greater devotion!”
There was no time to listen to the futile protests of the knights. Before anyone could catch her drooping robes, Mersen surged forward, long black hair trailing behind her like a silk banner.
Smack!
“Eeek?!”
A blunt blow cracked squarely across Mersen’s cheek. She tumbled backward onto the grass, eyes widening like a startled hare as she clutched her stinging face.
“W-Who dared strike my countenance?!”
Her ocean-blue eyes flashed with fury as she whipped her head around—only to freeze. A thick bough had descended from above. It was a branch of the World Tree itself that had just backhanded her across the cheek.
“H-Huh...?”
Before the dumbfounded elder, the colossal tree seemed to emanate a silent, exasperated decree: Know when to quit.
The World Tree had reclaimed its vitality.
“Did we pull it off?”
I figured that was the end of the elf crisis. Then a new trending post popped up on the board.
[GIF: World Tree wildly thrashing branches against any elf that draws near]
[GIF: World Tree using pesticide residue on its bark to bludgeon lingering pests to death]
Hieek, stop! We were wrong!
HIEEEEK!!!
The World Tree had gone full dark side. Was it holding a grudge from nearly dying? The moment its strength returned, the very first thing it chose to do was mercilessly discipline the elves.
The real issue was that the tree outright refused to yield its fruit—the staple food of the elves. Right on cue, an urgent direct transmission arrived from Full-Health Elf.
Right then, in the background of her live feed, a leafy branch slid into view behind Full-Health Elf. It paused, then gently bobbed up and down—almost as if it recognized me watching through the screen.
“What?”
I supposed it truly was a sacred entity. Even if it hadn't registered an account, it clearly perceived the Gallery system and sensed whatever lay on the other side. Before I could process my surprise, a system trade request popped up on my terminal.
Full-Health Elf proposes a trade: 'Golden Apple'!
In the attached preview image, the branches swayed cheerfully back and forth. When the delivery manifested in my bunker, the apple gleamed with a brilliant, polished sheen as though it were forged from solid gold.
Free food was free food. Holding it, I could immediately tell it was in a completely different tier from standard World Tree produce. But that gift aside, the crisis on the surface was far from settled.
Whenever an elf approached to pluck a fruit, the World Tree yanked its branches high into the sky. If they gritted their teeth and attempted to climb the trunk, it shook them loose or caused the fruit to instantly wither away. Driven to their wits' end, the elves had no choice but to flood the boards begging me for salvation.
The elves’ primary mana wellspring flowed directly from the World Tree. Having an entire race collapse from magical starvation would be a headache for me too.
Of course, I didn’t expect it to cave easily. If I had been lying in an intensive care bed and someone came dancing around my IV lines, pouring craft paint on my face, and releasing clouds of mosquitoes into my room, I would have wanted to murder them too.
Immediately after, an elf posted an emotional update to the forum.
Judddak, is he a god?!
The tree outright ignored the high caretakers, so how did Judddak get it to listen?!
“All I did was exterminate the pests, though.”
I hadn't done anything grand—just applied basic common sense. I stopped idiots from painting the trunk and wiped out the blood-sucking parasites. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a divine tree would hold such deep, unwavering favoritism over something so mundane.
“I mean, is it really that hard to just not act like an elf?”
Unfortunately, the elves had zero concept of modern agricultural chemicals and were preparing to chow down without a second thought.
Why is the peel so smooth and slick?
It feels kind of sticky too...
And there aren't any bug bites on it at all!
Either way, it looks delicious, so looking good!!
Thank you for the meal, Judddak!
“Oh crap, no!”
In the rush of things, I had completely forgotten to brief them on pesticide safety protocols. Fingers flying across the keyboard, I hammered out an urgent warning in the comment section.
“Aigoo.”
My warning came too late. Photos followed of elves clutching their guts, foaming slightly at the mouth and writhing across the forest floor. But wait... the World Tree had watched the bugs drop dead within seconds; it had to know exactly what was lingering on its bark, didn't it?
Right then, two brand-new comments materialized at the bottom of the thread.
From an unfamiliar IP address, a faintly familiar scent of cedar seemed to drift through the screen.