The Secret of the Divine Tree (3)
Listening to Eunhyeon's words, Oliver couldn't muster a single retort. He bit his lip, racking his brains desperately.
The conclusion reached by him and the school's professors—all gathered together—had been utterly overturned.
It was a verdict born from exceptional magical prowess, theoretical knowledge, and vast experience. Above all, it stemmed from their towering self-esteem.
Their finding: No student had ever committed suicide by jumping from the rooftop at the school. Nothing of the sort had ever happened.
But what of the "illusion" this man Eunhyeon had shown them?
It was an illusion so vividly realistic, as if replaying actual events that had truly unfolded.
And then there was the reaction of the girl's brother—the black mage, Elvin Hersha—who had watched her leap from the rooftop and screamed in agony.
Oliver desperately scrambled for any counterargument to refute Eunhyeon's opinion, which he had dismissed so arrogantly just moments ago.
"Isn't this illusion something you conjured up? Who the hell is going to prove that it depicts a real event? The first illusion matches the black mage's own testimony, sure—but there's no one to verify the girl's suicide jump."
"There is a witness, isn't there? A female student who spotted another leaping from the rooftop in the dead of night and reported it."
"Ha! That's not the point! If someone fell from that height, there'd be a body or some trace on the ground below—yet there's nothing! Not even a whiff of magical residue! That's why the professors and I concluded it: nothing like that ever happened at this school!"
"True, the lack of traces is odd. A truly mysterious phenomenon, wouldn't you say, Principal? How about considering this angle: 'Erin jumped from the rooftop.' But you know full well that doesn't automatically mean 'she smashed into the ground and died.' Which is why you suspected magic was involved, right?"
"…You're right."
Oliver bristled at Eunhyeon's patronizing tone, like he was soothing a child, but he grudgingly conceded the point.
"So why didn't you consider that someone saved her as she fell?"
"Because… if we'd even thought of that, the student named Inis should've spotted whoever rescued her, no?"
"Sure. But it's also possible that she just didn't see the rescuer."
"What are you getting at?"
"That there is someone—or something—who saved Erin after she threw herself off the rooftop."
"Ha! Hilarious. So you think this 'someone' saved the girl and has been hiding her ever since?"
"Doesn't have to be a someone."
"What?"
Eunhyeon turned away from Oliver's wide-eyed stare of disbelief and fixed his gaze on the "Pernias Kingdom's Divine Tree."
The others followed his line of sight to the tree at the garden's center.
Elenoa, catching on to what his gaze implied, voiced the absurd possibility with a puzzled expression.
"The… tree saved her?"
"Exactly."
"Ha! Ridiculous! You can't seriously—"
"As for this tree, the principal here should know it better than anyone."
Oliver had just found a foothold to mock Eunhyeon's outrageous claim with a triumphant smirk—only for his face to harden at the follow-up.
"The secret of 'Pernias Kingdom's Divine Tree,' passed down solely to the royal family and the school's ultimate authority. You're not going to play dumb and claim ignorance, are you?"
"How… how do you know about…?"
"Divine Tree?"
"A secret?"
The Armitas siblings traded glances between Eunhyeon's probing and Oliver's shocked expression, pondering the implications.
A secret handed down only to the royals and the principal—what could it be?
And how did Eunhyeon, a mere commoner outsider to the kingdom, know of it?
"What secret does this tree hold? It's been decades, but I graduated from this school too. I've never heard a whisper of any hidden truth about it. Just childish rumors from naive students—superstitions, nothing more."
Everyone nodded at Riod's words, save for Eunhyeon and Illyana.
Even Elvin, who had entered Aiter thanks to his quasi-noble status via his father Lenion despite his commoner roots, knew of the "Tree of Wishes."
All present—noble scions who had attended and graduated from Aiter, excluding Eunhyeon and Illyana—found it hard to swallow his claims about the Tree of Wishes.
Everyone except the principal, Oliver, who looked utterly tense.
"This tree is indeed famous among Aiter's students and alumni. It predates even your time here, Captain—centuries of history. So when and how did it earn the name 'Tree of Wishes'?"
"That's…"
No one could provide a proper answer to Eunhyeon's question.
Even back during Riod's school days, over twenty years ago, it had already been called the Tree of Wishes.
Despite its true name, it had long been known more by that moniker than anything else.
No one knew its origins, its growth, or its history.
To them, the Tree of Wishes was just… a tree that stood there.
"This tree's birth marks the founding of Aiter itself."
"What?"
"……?"
Eunhyeon ignored their confused reactions and pressed on.
"It began in ancient times, when endless wars raged between humans and demons. After countless sacrifices, the fighting finally ended, closing the 'Era of the Void' and ushering in human history proper. That was Arkena Continental Year 0."
It was the tale of Earth's civilization's fall and the dawn of the Arkena Continent—a new era for this world.
The group eyed Eunhyeon's sudden history lesson skeptically but listened in silence.
"During the Era of the Void, one key factor in ending the demon wars on humanity's side was the aid of these 'Divine Beasts.'"
"Divine Beasts?"
"Those legendary creatures from fairy tales—beasts said to carry the power of the gods?"
Eunhyeon nodded at Riod's question.
"Yes. Divine Beasts were real. They allied with humans against the void-born demons, helping forge peace. A truly benevolent race. Though they've lost much of their former might and dwindled, remnants survive in a few bloodlines that inherited fragments of their power."
Eunhyeon gazed at the Divine Tree as he continued.
"This Divine Tree's origin stems from one such Divine Beast's resolve, after the wars ended and peace returned. Nations everywhere struggled in the aftermath, focusing on rebuilding. Then, one Divine Beast came to the Pernias Kingdom and met privately with the king."
"My lifespan draws to a close. When I die, bury my body in your kingdom's soil. Build atop it a place where many children can live, where they can smile and thrive in happy days."
The Pernias king honored the Divine Beast's dying wish, burying its remains and erecting a structure over the site. That was the precursor to the Royal Aiter School.
Eunhyeon scanned the group's faces.
"Have none of you ever wondered why nobles outnumber commoners among talented young mages and knights in training?"
"Because we nobles possess superior talent and greater mana reserves than—"
"Wrong."
"Urk…"
Oliver tried to spin excuses to hide the truth, but Eunhyeon shut him down coldly.
"The real reason is the mana seeping from the Divine Beast's buried remains. The Tree of Wishes absorbed that nutrient-rich mana, growing strong. It then refines and disperses it across the school grounds. The pure, high-grade mana permeates the air, seeping into growing students' bodies. It aids in forging sturdy physiques through training and acclimates them to mana manipulation over time, accelerating their growth as mana users."
This was why Pernias nobles grew so overwhelmingly compared to commoners.
Their environment itself was worlds apart.
The royals had known this all along, establishing a "nobles-only school" to reserve this privilege for themselves and noble houses. Admitting wealthy merchants or foreign students was merely selling access to fund operations and the kingdom's coffers.
"Trained in such an extraordinary environment, nobles become 'talented bloodlines,' passing it down through marriages. It's only natural their children eclipse commoners as mana-rich knights and mages, don't you think?"
In other words: You're not special. The tree is.
Talent and bloodlines meant nothing. They'd simply monopolized the Divine Tree's blessings.
That was Eunhyeon's message.
"This is the true nature of the 'Tree of Wishes'—granting the childish pleas of young nobles: 'Make me a great knight!' 'Turn me into a powerful mage!'"
"……."
Oliver ground his teeth at Eunhyeon's mocking grin, his face twisted in fury—but he had no comeback.
If this secret leaked, nobles would face backlash from commoners, plus meddling from foreign powers eyeing the prize.
If this blows up on my watch as principal, my position's gone—and my head with it!
"So, you're saying the 'Tree of Wishes' saved Erin Hersha?"
"Yes. Right before leaping, she made one wish."
"I want to go… somewhere no one bullies me… Please, someone, hide me."
"Ah."
Elvin recalled his sister's murmur, moments before despair drove her to jump.
"'Somewhere with no people.' 'Hide me.'"
"Exactly. The tree granted her wish."
"……."
Elvin stared blankly at Eunhyeon as he nodded, while the others eyed him suspiciously, unsure if it was true.
Eunhyeon knew it was hard to believe without seeing it firsthand.
"Looks like some of you still aren't convinced. Fine—I'll fetch the girl myself."
With that, Eunhyeon placed his hand on the Tree of Wishes and channeled mana.
Pzzt!
"Wha…?"
Green sparks erupted from his hand against the trunk.
Illyana scowled, readying a spell, but Eunhyeon raised his other hand to stop her.
Pzzt! Pzzzt!
Sparks intensified, the tree resisting fiercely, but Eunhyeon poured in more mana undeterred.
'She's here to be saved. Drop the barrier already.'
Crack!
A thin, veil-like membrane around the tree began fracturing. The group finally noticed, faces paling in shock.
Even the skeptics shifted to tentative "Could it be?" expressions.
Eunhyeon gripped the cracking veil and tore it apart savagely.
Craaaack!
As the barrier shattered completely, the Tree of Wishes revealed its true form: radiant green light—dense, swirling mana—adorned it just as when Eunhyeon first laid eyes on it.
"Whoa…"
Elenoa gaped at the verdant spectacle she'd never witnessed.
"This is…"
Illyana recognized the concentrated green mana glow but was equally entranced. As a mage, the sight tested her restraint against her thirst for knowledge.
"Analysis later?"
"Ugh…"
Illyana turned away reluctantly at Eunhyeon's whispered persuasion, face full of regret.
"Ah… Aaaahhh!"
While everyone froze in awe, one person let out a scream-like gasp and bolted forward.
"Erin! Erin…!"
Erin Hersha leaned peacefully against the tree, eyes closed—not a trace of mental exhaustion or rooftop fall injuries. Her head unbroken, no wounds anywhere.
She slept in utter tranquility. Elvin embraced her, tears streaming down.
"Really…?"
Oliver stared at the sleeping girl against the tree, questioning if this could truly be real.
Eunhyeon had just proven the Tree of Wishes saved a suicidal Erin.
With the missing girl found like this, no counterarguments remained.
It was undeniable: this one man, Eunhyeon, surpassed him and all of Aiter's magic professors.
The blow to his pride was devastating—but one thought dominated his mind.
"How… how is this possible? She's lying there so comfortably… How has she survived nearly four days without food? And without anyone noticing…?"
"The Tree of Wishes created a barrier to fulfill Erin's wish."
"A barrier?"
"Yes. Her wish was: 'Take me somewhere no bullies can reach.' 'Hide me.' That's the barrier it made—one that conceals her even while she exists plainly."
Oliver recalled how Eunhyeon had shredded it barehanded moments ago.
"But that alone couldn't sustain her life for over three days without sustenance."
"Correct. Hence its second property. The tree waited for someone to save her—but had no idea how long. A day? A week? A month? A year? So it took drastic measures: stopping time inside the barrier around her."
"Stopped time…?"
"Yes. With time halted, her body suspended in stasis, the tree could've held the barrier for years. Until her savior arrived, it hid and protected her from the world."
Recalling his first glimpse of the Tree of Wishes, Eunhyeon realized this brilliant green radiance was its true face, long concealed.
Perhaps when it first revealed itself to him, it was signaling: Save her.
But that, he couldn't know for sure.
"Well, Principal Oliver Baotman?"
"…What."
Oliver spat the reply through gritted teeth, glaring daggers. Losing to this young upstart in magical knowledge was utter humiliation.
Eunhyeon smiled at him.
"Remember what I said earlier?"
"What you said…? Oh…"
"Hand over the black mage, and we'll overlook one of your major blunders."
This was what he'd meant.
Oliver glared murderously, but spotting Illyana behind Eunhyeon—eyes blazing— he flinched and bowed his head.
Only then did he realize: he'd never had a choice to begin with.