Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Chapter 60 Child of the World Tree.
"Phew... I'm completely drained."
The 7th floor trial certainly wasn't that long, but this was the first trial that drained my energy this thoroughly.
Still, I gained a lot from it.
Thanks to the dwarves, I was able to further advance my Blacksmithing realm, learned two new skills, and was even able to learn a new power called Spirit Arts from Iraniel.
'I wonder what kind of effects this will have.'
The mark I was forced to acquire - Friend of the High Elves.
I felt like I could forcibly erase it if I used all the means at my disposal, but just in case, I decided to check the information.
[Friend of the High Elves (B): A trait acquired by those who have gained the favor of High Elves, a superior race of elves who directly serve the World Tree.
① Honorary Elf: Elves recognize you as an honored guest of the elves. It becomes easier to gain elves' favor.
② High Elf's Blessing: It becomes easier to gain spirits' favor. Receives high-level correction to spirit affinity and Spirit Arts.]
'Fine. Iraniel. I'll accept you as my friend.'
The first effect seemed completely useless, but the second effect looked like it would be quite helpful.
Especially since spirit affinity would likely influence the absorption of the World Tree's Fruit, it was an ability that would be immediately helpful.
As they say, strike while the iron is hot - I immediately took out the World Tree's Fruit from my inventory.
[World Tree's Fruit (Legendary)]
It was a spiritual medicine that gave off a subtle golden glow and had an extraordinary feeling even without knowing it was the World Tree's Fruit.
It had an incredibly sweet and fragrant scent I'd never smelled before, and overflowing vitality was contained within.
It was hard to just keep looking at it. I lifted the fruit and took a big bite.
The fruit's flesh crunched as it broke, and at the same time, an indescribable taste flowed through my mouth.
I continued chewing, keeping it all in my mouth before swallowing with a gulp, and the overflowing vitality contained within began to course through my body.
The fruit's energy ran wildly as if it had found a new playground. But I realized I didn't need to control this energy.
I could feel that this energy wasn't acting with bad intentions. Rather, I had an intuition that trying to control it would reduce the scope of change.
The spirit affinity within my body met the World Tree's energy and danced together, joyfully traveling around inside my body.
The energy that had enjoyed itself thoroughly then naturally permeated throughout my entire body as if satisfied, granting me power.
[Strength, Agility, Stamina, Intelligence, and Mental Strength increase by 5.]
All stats except Magic increased evenly, balancing my body.
It felt like the imbalance created when my Magic stat alone rose by 30 points at once thanks to the Black Dragon Heart was somewhat resolved.
'It's a problem that will be solved anyway once the Limit-Breaking stats return.'
What was important was the new power that had settled in my body.
[Trait: Child of the World Tree (S) acquired.]
A new S-rank trait acquired by fully absorbing the World Tree's Fruit. Thinking about the changes that happened to me with the Black Dragon Heart, I couldn't help but have expectations for this one too.
I immediately checked what abilities it possessed.
[Child of the World Tree (S): A trait that can only be obtained by those loved by the World Tree, which is the avatar of the Elf God. Grants overwhelming aptitude for Spirit Arts.
① Great Nature's Mana: Receives the highest level correction to mana recovery speed. Mana density increases by 20%.
② Master of Spirit Arts: Receives the highest level correction to Spirit Arts. All abilities related to Spirit Arts gradually increase over time. Can contract with spirits of all attributes, and the limit on the number of contractable spirits disappears.
③ Plant Manipulation: Can accelerate plant growth or manipulate them freely. The range and power of manipulation are proportional to the Magic stat.]
'Finally, I have abilities that suit me.'
These were abilities with a bright and refreshing feeling, not dark and gloomy like Black Magic or Black Dragon Breath.
First, Great Nature's Mana was like rain in a drought for me, as I increasingly needed to use mana in more places.
I was curious about what it meant for mana density to increase, so I tried using the ability lightly, and the power increased by about 20% even when using the same amount of mana.
I could now produce stronger power with less mana, so my baseline had risen significantly, and it was an ability that would inevitably help even at higher levels.
Master of Spirit Arts simply needed no explanation.
It gave the highest level correction to Spirit Arts, and raised Spirit Arts proficiency automatically just by breathing - wasn't this literally a freebie ability?
Moreover, since even my lifespan restrictions had disappeared, even without training, just by existing, Spirit Arts and Black Magic would reach lofty realms on their own.
I could literally level up just by breathing.
'If only there wasn't the 10-year constraint, it would really be a complete freebie.'
The only flaw was that infinite waiting wasn't possible since the prophecy about the birth of the strongest Demon King among Earthlings was scheduled to occur within the next 10 years.
The third ability, Plant Manipulation, was extremely useful assuming plants existed in the vicinity.
"If I'd known this would happen, I would have stocked up on plants in my inventory too."
Since I could accelerate plant growth, couldn't I carry seeds around and scatter them whenever needed to create various variables?
It would inevitably be of great help to crafting-related abilities, and it seemed like it could be used in large-scale battles to obstruct enemy routes, disrupt vision, and create resting places.
'Especially if they're fantasy plants, they might have special abilities.'
I could make various uses by applying specific plants appropriately to situations.
It was truly an ability with infinite applications, but it was disappointing that I couldn't try it right now since I hadn't stocked up on any plants.
"Wait, but wouldn't this work?"
Come to think of it, the waiting room wasn't completely devoid of plants either. There were food ingredients in the refrigerator.
I summoned soil with magic and planted bean sprouts from the refrigerator on top of it.
When I activated Plant Manipulation, the bean sprouts grew like crazy, growing almost like vines.
They moved exactly as I thought, and I could even make them harder by imbuing them with mana to use like whips.
When I had them grab my ankle, I could feel considerable restraining force even on myself, so it seemed like I could properly massacre ordinary people with just bean sprouts.
Any expert below the pinnacle level would have to fight desperately to overcome the bean sprouts I controlled.
'If bean sprouts alone can do this much, I really need to get proper plants quickly.'
With ordinary bean sprouts and low proficiency showing this much performance, if I used better plants and became skilled at Plant Manipulation itself, couldn't I even beat pinnacle experts?
Since the power would increase as my Magic stat rose, it seemed like I could deal meaningful damage even to Harmony level experts later.
Having finished checking my abilities, I now called out Eve, who had been diligently training while I was progressing through the 6th and 7th floor trials.
"Eve. Come out."
A subspace opened before my eyes and Eve slowly walked out from inside. Her energy was certainly more stable and solid than when I last saw her.
It seemed to be thanks to the immovable heart that had settled within her as she learned Shaolin martial arts.
I could feel some of the sensation I had received from Shaolin's Hye-un during the 5th floor trial in her as well.
"I definitely thought I'd gotten a lot stronger too, but Yeong-min has gotten even stronger... Did you secretly eat something good?"
'This is why sharp kids are...'
To think she'd notice that I ate a Legendary-grade spiritual medicine by myself.
She was sharper than I thought. I felt a pang of guilt.
"...As if that would happen? Let's just eat."
"Your reaction is somehow strange..."
There was a slight incident, but her suspicion quickly dissolved when I grilled her a steak.
"I didn't know meat could be this delicious!"
"Right. Eat a lot."
Meat also tastes completely different depending on what kind of meat it is and who grilled it, and the beef provided in the waiting room was of very high quality, and my skills as a cook were also not ordinary.
Considering the correction I received for cooking from Superior All-Mastery, I could practically be considered Earth's best chef.
When I even made her spaghetti on top of that, she completely erased her suspicions about me and was instead sending me looks of admiration.
"I want to try making something this delicious too."
"Really? Should I teach you a bit?"
It seemed she now wanted to try making it herself, beyond just eating deliciously. It was truly a commendable attitude.
"Yes. I want to learn! I want to eat delicious things even when I'm alone."
It seemed she had even thought that if she knew how to cook when alone in subspace, she could eat delicious things.
'The kid seems to be getting smarter and smarter.'
At this rate, she might become smarter than me later. If that happened, the terrible hybrid of a human master using a monster retainer as an advisor would be born.
I should study harder in the future to prevent that from happening.
"Alright. I'll teach you."
Perhaps because she was good at anything physical, Eve learned cooking quickly too, and soon became able to make all the foods that could be made at a self-sufficient living level.
I decided to teach her more next time, and next was checking her martial arts. I needed to know what level she had reached to decide her next path.
"That's enough for cooking... How about we spar after a long time? You probably want to try using what you've trained."
And there was no better method than sparring for checking martial arts. It was also possible to adapt the martial arts proficiency gained through training to the body through sparring, so it was killing two birds with one stone.
"Good!"
She immediately took her stance. The basic stance of Great Strength Vajra Hand, Shaolin's superior martial art. It seemed she had already naturally adapted to it through training.
'I guess she did nothing but train except for meal times.'
I actually felt even more solidity and composure than when I saw Hye-un, who was a Shaolin disciple.
She seemed to have grasped what immovable heart was, and I couldn't see any openings.
When I wiggled my finger as if yielding the first move, she changed her stance right there and shot out a fist force.
THUD!
The intense energy extending from her fist instantly reached my arm that had raised its guard.
It was likewise Hundred-Step Divine Fist, Shaolin's superior martial art.
With physical abilities and mana quantity far exceeding humans combined with Shaolin martial arts where physical strength was everything, it produced power that even I couldn't ignore.
'Even if she had gone to the Dragon Phoenix Assemble instead of me, she would have gotten runner-up.'
I wasn't sure about the Black Lotus Alliance Leader, but it seemed like the rest could be handled at Eve's level. At least Cheong Heo, whom I first met, would have his arm bones broken the moment he took this hit.
To check close combat as well, I somehow broke through the continuously flying Hundred-Step Divine Fists and approached closely, and this time her Great Strength Vajra Hand extended toward my entire body.
Each strike was extremely heavy, and the essence of Shaolin martial arts was contained within them.
The will of Shaolin had been passed down to a monster born in the Tower, not in the martial world.
'What would the Shaolin people think if they saw her?'
Still, they were people who followed Buddha's will, so wouldn't they be happy that at least one more person had inherited Shaolin's will?
Or not.