Chapter 392
Chapter 392
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 393
Chapter Title: The Demonic Tree's Blessing
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After returning to the dorm following my meeting with Han Se-yeon, I immediately went looking for Gretel.
“Gretel, take a look at this.”
“Ngah?”
Gretel blinked as she stared at the photo I held out.
It wasn’t exactly identical, but it was a picture of a wooden monster that gave off a similar vibe to Gretel.
I wondered if she might have some special reaction to it, but she just blankly gazed at the photo without showing any response.
“You don’t recognize this photo?”
“Ngah.”
Gretel nodded. It was disappointing, but it seemed she had no idea what the wooden monster in the photo really was.
Still, she seemed intrigued, unable to tear her eyes away from it.
Right then.
A faint light began to emanate from Gretel’s body.
[The latent power of the ‘Immortal Hell Demonic Tree Gretel’ begins to grow.]
[The rank of the unique trait, ‘Rapid Growth (S)’, rises.]
“......Ngah?”
Suddenly, one of Gretel’s skills had grown.
Rapid Growth.
Come to think of it, she had a trait like that. I’d forgotten about it since I hadn’t had a chance to use it.
I immediately checked the trait’s details.
[Rapid Growth (S)][Rank: 2]
Description: The demonic tree uses all its mana to rapidly grow in a short time.
►Sprouting Power
The demonic tree’s body grows for 15 minutes.
Upon completion of growth, all stats triple, and traits are enhanced. After the 15-minute duration ends, it enters sprout state for 3 days.
Cooldown: 30 days
From what I remembered, the original [Rapid Growth] effect was doubling all stats for 10 minutes.
But with the rank increase, it had changed to tripling stats for 15 minutes.
“......Is it connected to the photo somehow?”
The fact that her trait rank rose after seeing the photo was proof of some link to Gretel, no matter how you sliced it.
And for it to be Rapid Growth of all things, it raised the possibility that the monster in the photo was what Gretel looked like after growing.
“......Hmm.”
Thinking of the monster in the photo as a grown Gretel made my head complicated.
I felt anticipation seeing her potential, but more than that, it was because I sensed there might be some past or secret about Gretel that I didn’t know.
Gretel’s hidden secret......
What could it be? I’d always thought Gretel was a bit different from ordinary summons......
But since even Gretel didn’t know, there was no way to find out right now.
I lightly patted the back of Gretel, who was still glued to the photo, and stood up.
I decided to think about Gretel slowly.
But first, there was something more urgent.
I pulled out the processed ‘Mysterious Demonic Tree Fruit’ that Han Se-yeon had given me from my subspatial pocket.
“Finally time to eat it.”
I had higher expectations for this demonic tree fruit than any I’d eaten before.
Because simply consuming it granted an S-rank trait.
What kind of ability would it be?
Since it was an S-rank trait, it surely wouldn’t be ordinary.
I swallowed hard and used the Touch of Great Nature to slowly extract the fruit from the vial.
Then I opened my mouth and chewed it directly.
Crunch.
“Mmm......”
The taste was similar to a peach. A soft, squishy texture and sweetness spreading in my mouth.
And the moment I swallowed, my body reacted strongly.
“Ugh!”
[You have consumed a spiritual medicine.]
[Due to the reactive trait, ‘Drug Sensitivity Explosion’, you acquire additional stats.]
A hot energy began to surge through my body.
The energy filled every corner of my body, swirling around like it was swimming. Then came the excruciating pain, like my body was burning.
“Grrgh......”
As always with potent spiritual medicines, the moment you let your guard down, it could turn from medicine to poison.
If I couldn’t control this explosive energy, my life could be in danger, so I had to focus from now on.
I sat down right there and entered a mana circulation technique.
......How much time passed like that?
I felt the blazing energy melting into my body.
[The mysterious mana contained in the fruit bestows new power upon you.]
[You receive the blessing of your contracted summon, the ‘Immortal Hell Demonic Tree Gretel’.]
[You acquire ‘Demonic Tree’s Blessing (S)’.]
“......Hoo.”
When I came to, my whole body was drenched in sweat.
As expected of a trait-infused spiritual medicine, it had been far more painful than usual.
I wiped off the sweat and checked the newly acquired trait.
[Demonic Tree’s Blessing (S)]
Category: Trait
Description: The blessing of the Immortal Hell Demonic Tree Gretel. New abilities unlock as the rank grows.
[Passive Effect]
►Nature Communion
All stats increase by 20% in forest terrain.
[Active Effect]
►Demonic Tree’s Sanctuary
—You can use healing magic that recovers various status ailments using nature’s mana.
[Special Effect]
►Demonic Tree’s Blessing
Automatically activates the moment deadly crisis is detected via mana sensing.
—Damage taken is reduced by 90% for 5 minutes.
—You share some abilities with the immortal demonic tree for 5 minutes. (Partially modified to fit the user’s traits.)
*Cooldown: 365 days
“......”
S-rank trait as expected—tons of abilities.
There was a 20% stat boost in specific environments, and healing magic to recover various status ailments.
“The healing magic is pretty nice.”
I’d only learned attack and defense spells needed for combat, so I’d always regretted not being able to use even basic healing magic.
Fortunately, I hadn’t faced any dire situations requiring it so far, but you never knew when a key character might get seriously injured in an accident.
I did have [Thread of Fate] to share life force, but the recipient only got 20% efficiency, which left much to be desired.
“Shall I test it right away?”
Trait abilities are automatically mastered upon acquisition, so no separate practice is needed—you can use them immediately.
First, I used mana to create a small wound on my left arm.
“Mmm......”
A slight pain hit, but it was tolerable for an experiment.
Then I immediately activated [Demonic Tree’s Sanctuary].
[Using active effect ‘Demonic Tree’s Sanctuary’.]
Whoooong!
Nature’s mana gathered in my palm, manifesting as green energy.
It didn’t take a precise form—like a cloud—but I could clearly feel the healing mana within.
“Not bad?”
This level of power wouldn’t lose at all to specialized support wizards, the pro ‘healers’.
I applied the green mana to the wounded left arm.
The green mana seeped into the wound. Soon, a strong vitality surged, and the injury on my arm began to heal gradually.
“Whoa, what is this?”
The healing speed was much faster than I’d expected.
With this healing power, it wouldn’t fall far behind even top A- to S-rank healers.
Right then, a brief dizziness hit my head.
“......Mana consumption is a bit high.”
A natural result given the high recovery amount.
If the mana cost were low too, it’d be SS-rank, not S.
“Good, good.”
Satisfied, I smiled and examined the next ability, named the same as the trait: ‘Demonic Tree’s Blessing’.
“......Now this is really good.”
Damage taken reduced by a whopping 90% for 5 minutes.
The 5-minute duration and 365-day cooldown were a bit regrettable, but the key was that it auto-activated in crises.
If I faced a near-death situation from carelessness in battle, it would trigger automatically, saving my life regardless of my will.
In other words, it was like gaining an extra life.
And below that, another ability.
“Sharing some abilities with the demonic tree......”
I had no clue what abilities those would be.
The ones that came to mind for Gretel were ‘Rapid Growth’, ‘Tree Summon’, ‘Fruit Generation’, ‘Body Transformation’, ‘Immortality’, and so on.
“......Don’t tell me if I use Fruit Generation, fruit grows on my head?”
Imagining that grotesque, bizarre form made me grimace involuntarily.
Same with Body Transformation or Rapid Growth.
The idea of my arm stretching like a rubber human was so absurd it made me laugh.
What would I even use that for?
The only ones I could somewhat picture using were Tree Summon and Immortality......
That’s when a part of the trait description caught my eye.
[Partially modified to fit the user’s traits.]
“Modified to fit the user’s traits, huh.”
I didn’t know the exact form, but it seemed Gretel’s abilities would be adapted for my use.
At least visually, the grotesque aspects might be toned down, which was a relief.
“I don’t know exactly what it is, but I’m satisfied anyway.”
I couldn’t tell without trying the ability share with Gretel, but the other abilities fit me perfectly, so I was quite pleased.
Smiling, I flopped down on the sofa.
Somewhere in the outer seas of Incheon, hidden on a small uninhabited island.
Amid the dense forest stood a massive villa, one of the many secret bases hidden worldwide by Jaun.
“Baek Eun-seong, did you guard the base well while we were working?”
At Ska’s teasing words, Baek Eun-seong smirked.
“Guard? I just slept and played around. Did you find the fourth journal clue?”
Ska chuckled softly at Baek Eun-seong’s question.
“No clue. How are we supposed to find it in the virtual world with just this hint?”
“......Tch. Well, today’s the day we can talk to Him, right? Asking directly will solve everything.”
“Yeah. I’m looking forward to it.”
The Jaun members gathered in the villa passed the time sharing stories of what they’d been up to.
Right then, the villa door opened, and Jin and Bert entered.
All eyes turned to them at once.
“You’re here. Is the necromancy prep done?”
Bert nodded at Natasa’s question.
“It’s done. Materials are all ready—we can start anytime.”
Everyone’s eyes widened at his words.
“......So we’re finally meeting Him properly?”
“My heart feels like it’ll burst just imagining it.”
Even in that short time, the thought of conversing with their god filled them with deep awe.
Bert, who’d been filling in as temporary leader in the god’s absence, showed the same reaction.
She smiled with eyes full of anticipation she rarely displayed.
“But how’d you think of using necromancy? It wasn’t in the original plan.”
At Lee Cheong’s question, Bert turned to her.
“Because of Kim Sun-woo. He proved it’s possible to summon Him with necromancy.”
They’d heard in Aporia that Kim Sun-woo had used necromancy against Him.
They’d thought it impossible due to the soul being sealed, but Kim Sun-woo revealed otherwise.
They’d confirmed the method via one of His other journals.
“Anyway, let’s start.”
At Bert’s signal, Jin immediately laid out the necromancy materials on the floor.
Then he placed down the sword ‘Hokcheon’ that He’d used in life, and the box sealing His soul.
After that, he scattered soul powder.
A mysterious energy began to creep out.
At the same time, the surrounding space turned pitch black in an instant, and the world changed.
“......Where’s this?”
“A mysterious realm?”
“Whoa, it’s amazing. Seems like a space created by necromancy’s mystery.”
“But what do we do next?”
At Jin’s question, Bert replied.
“A mystery that calls forth the soul will appear before us.”
With those words, a goat-faced human appeared before them.
[Long time since I had visitors.]
The mystery’s brief words. At the sight, terror shrouded the Jaun members’ faces.
An indescribable pressure. And nausea.
Like an instinctive fear from the presence of something vastly superior.
“......Urk!”
Even Ska couldn’t endure, dropping to one knee in agony.
The others followed, slowly collapsing like him.
At the same time, a single question arose in their minds.
Just facing it gave this much pressure—how did Kim Sun-woo endure?
Bert barely withstood the pressure on her and spoke.
“......Are you the mystery that calls souls?”
[Yeah. By the way, hearing polite speech after so long feels weird. That insolent punk trying to befriend me was the odd one—this is the normal reaction.]
As the goat chuckled and muttered something incomprehensible, Bert eyed it questioningly.
[It’s nothing. Don’t mind.]
Bert felt an inexplicable unease but said.
“We want to speak with the soul in this box.”
The goat replied.
[Sorry, no can do.]
“......Pardon?”
At Bert’s question, the goat answered.
[You’re fated not to meet him. Go back now~]
Whoooong!
A strong light burst out, returning them to the original world. The oppressive energy vanished.
The Jaun members blinked dazedly and said.
“......What the hell?”
“We went through all that trouble for necromancy, and that’s it?”
Before they could dwell on the questions, the goat’s words echoed in their minds.
—You’re fated not to meet him.
Fated not to meet?
Then why was Kim Sun-woo okay?