Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Completing the Dimension Tree's Gate
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“I never expected you to have a plan like this.”
“Hohoho. It benefits us both, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed, it does.”
Priscilla, the mistress of the Ice Garden.
She owned a garden the size of a major city all by herself in Croesus.
Yet the reason she could remain a member of Croesus despite wielding such power and influence was that she was the only one involved with the Ice Garden.
The Ice Garden truly belonged to Priscilla alone.
Priscilla tended to her garden single-handedly.
Thus, it didn’t undermine Croesus’s principles of independence and freedom.
The only issue was the sheer size of the garden, but in this world abundant with abandoned lands, it posed no real problem.
In any case, Priscilla, who maintained such a vast garden, was no pushover.
She had placed a solid safeguard on Geon-woo’s plan to receive the method for connecting the dimensional passage in advance.
“I had no idea there was a tree that could connect dimensional passages.”
She hadn’t handed over the method or tool for connecting dimensions directly.
What she gave him was a small twig.
“A tree that extends its roots across multiple dimensions—shall we call it the Dimension Tree? But the one in my garden is still just a young sapling.”
“Won’t cutting a branch from a young sapling cause issues?”
“That’s why we have Henesis’s [Growth].”
“Ah, I see.”
Priscilla provided Geon-woo with a tree that would aid in connecting the dimensional passage, and in return, Geon-woo stationed two ginger jiangshi possessing the [Growth] mind power in the Ice Garden.
Jumper would learn the method of connecting the dimensional passage through the Dimension Tree Geon-woo received, while Priscilla would grow her garden using the jiangshi.
“Soon enough, you’ll be able to connect and maintain dimensional passages without the Dimension Tree.”
Priscilla said.
“And once the Ice Garden surpasses a certain threshold, it will complete its ecosystem cycle without [Growth]’s help.”
Geon-woo added what Priscilla stood to gain.
“At that point, we’ll both have gotten what we wanted, and we won’t need to rely on each other.”
“I’ll have to work twice as hard not to fall behind.”
“But don’t go playing around with the level of [Growth] manifestation.”
“That won’t happen. A person who must uphold their pride even on the brink of death.”
Geon-woo affirmed her warning in a firm tone.
A promise untainted by falsehood.
At the realm where one wielded mind power, even a single word could carry that much will.
“Excellent. Hohoho.”
Thus, Priscilla smiled happily, without a shred of doubt in Geon-woo’s promise.
* * *
= This is getting tense.
Jumper’s workshop had changed dramatically from before.
The biggest change was that the space for the magic circle had expanded tenfold, and at its center stood a silver tree.
Priscilla had originally given them a twig about two handspans long.
But they planted it in the center of Jumper’s magic circle and poured [Growth] mind power into it without restraint, turning it into a full-fledged tree.
As a result, the Dimension Tree sapling now stood ten meters tall at the center of the magic circle, its beautiful form resembling ginkgo leaves.
Baylor’s voice emanated right now from a two-meter-tall obelisk positioned before that very Dimension Tree.
“There won’t be any problems. We’ve run the experiments multiple times.”
Geon-woo calmly reassured Baylor.
“However, if the prepared individuals fall short, they could get crushed midway.”
Still worried, Jumper cautiously pointed out the biggest variable.
= Only those who’ve reached the growth limit permitted by the dimension have prepared. So, no issues.
In response to Jumper’s concern, Baylor immediately revealed his confidence.
He was certain that even if problems arose, they wouldn’t stem from the dimensional travelers waiting in reserve.
“Then it should be fine. But is it really okay? Losing ten of our top forces at once could spell trouble, no?”
Strictly speaking, the people they were bringing over were Earth’s strongest.
Pulling ten such individuals would drastically weaken Earth’s overall strength.
Given Earth’s current situation with increasingly active dimensional exchanges, it could indeed become an issue.
= Onbroad’s got it covered. They’ve built up a decent number of powerhouses there too.
“True enough. That’s a relief, then.”
At Baylor’s words, the worry in Geon-woo’s eyes gave way to relief.
In the meantime, Earth had gained more powerhouses because Geon-woo had passed on higher-dimensional training methods.
What was ordinary training here—and rather basic knowledge at that—held immense value in the lower dimension of Earth.
So, he transmitted training secrets at a level the system wouldn’t interfere with, allowing them to cultivate talent.
In that process, Earth’s leaders had also reached out to Onbroad.
With dimensional exchanges underway, the two dimensions needed mutual support, so they joined hands, and Earth shared the information Geon-woo sent with Onbroad.
= No more delays, then. Let’s start. Things are getting more urgent by the minute.
“Very well. Jumper.”
“Yes! Leader. We’re ready. Director Baylor, please begin.”
= Starting now.
At Jumper’s final confirmation, Baylor’s response came.
And immediately, Jumper’s magic circle began to brim with mana.
Woooooong! Wooooooong!
“Mana charge complete!”
Jumper began briefing the status of the dimensional passage connection.
“Whoa, so that’s how it works? Look, the tree’s glowing!”
At Jumper’s shout, Paeng widened his eyes, scanned the magic circle, and pointed at the silver tree in the center.
Just as Paeng said, as mana charged into the magic circle, the Dimension Tree at the center began performing its role.
“The Dimension Tree is attempting a dimensional connection.”
Jumper’s status report followed accordingly.
Sensing the dimensional rift formed by the mana charged in the magic circle, the Dimension Tree prepared to extend its roots.
The Dimension Tree was innately endowed with the instinct to create roots connecting dimensions.
Absorbing energies from various dimensions to grow into a colossal tree—that was the Dimension Tree’s very reason for existence.
Even though the one at the magic circle’s center was just a severed part of the main body, its fundamental nature remained unchanged.
Thus, the moment the magic circle created the dimensional rift, it immediately extended roots toward a new dimension.
That manifested now above the magic circle in the form of a gate.
“How’s it looking, Jumper?”
Geon-woo asked about the unfolding situation.
Jumper could grasp space and dimensions better than Geon-woo.
So, only Jumper could tell if the Dimension Tree was properly extending its roots—or in other words, if the gate was opening correctly.
“The rift has opened properly, and the Dimension Tree is penetrating it well.”
“The connection? Is it linking to Earth?”
That was the crucial part.
When a rift opened before the Dimension Tree, it would thrust its roots in without question.
Then it sought other dimensions beyond the rift.
Of course, the odds of success were exceedingly slim.
It required the strength to squeeze through the dimensional rift and extend roots to another dimension, and most Dimension Trees lacked such power.
Naturally, the sapling at the center of Jumper’s magic circle wasn’t the main body, so its root strength was feeble.
At best, it would extend roots toward the rift only to wither from lack of power.
“We’ve already established communication with Earth, so the Dimension Tree’s roots are extending firmly in that direction.”
Still, the rift had opened, and the Dimension Tree had instinctively extended its roots.
What mattered here was the existence of a gap in the dimensional rift for the roots to penetrate.
Though merely a communication link to Earth, in the oppressive pressure of the otherwise impenetrable rift, it served as a lighthouse beacon guiding the way.
However, as mentioned earlier, the problem was that the Dimension Tree here wasn’t in perfect condition.
“My lord. The Dimension Tree’s light is weakening.”
At that moment, Ilryeong, whose body was made of proliferating metal, urgently shouted and pointed at the Dimension Tree.
“Don’t worry. There’s no way the Dimension Tree will run out of power.”
But Geon-woo remained utterly calm, unworried, and events soon backed his confidence.
Among the elite jiangshi, Sulryeong, Gwonryeong, and Dokryeong appeared beside the Dimension Tree and began unleashing [Growth] mind power.
The supreme mind power for nurturing the living: [Growth].
That power poured into the Dimension Tree through the three ginger jiangshi.
“Whoa! It’s like hyper regeneration? Feels like rewinding a dying tree video.”
As [Growth] mind power flooded the Dimension Tree, its condition improved dramatically.
Wilted branches regained vigor, and yellowed, dried leaves brimmed with silvery vitality.
Moreover, the vitality emanating from the entire tree spread even beyond the massive magic circle.
“The Dimension Tree’s roots are advancing toward Earth!”
Jumper shouted once more.
Geon-woo examined the gate created by the Dimension Tree and felt a far stronger energy than before.
Right now, Jumper had his hand on the gate, straining to comprehend it.
This was the path to completing dimensional connections without relying on the Ice Garden.
Until the Ice Garden could self-sustain without [Growth], Jumper needed to develop the ability to connect to Earth via gate on his own.
That was the task assigned to him.
Fasssssh!
“Whoa! The Dimension Tree is surging forward. It must have found the dimensional passage on Earth’s side.”
Suddenly, the Dimension Tree’s energy consumption spiked dramatically.
It poured all its energy into the gate as if squeezing out everything it had.
But.
“It’s fine. It can hold.”
Geon-woo propelled himself with mana propulsion technique, landing beside Sulryeong.
He immediately began unleashing [Growth] mind power on the Dimension Tree.
“Leader!”
Startled by Geon-woo’s intervention, Jumper turned to him.
“You can do without me, but since it’s the first time, this is just in case. Focus on your job, Jumper!”
“Y-Yes, Leader.”
Rebuked by Geon-woo, Jumper promptly placed his hand back on the gate the Dimension Tree had formed and closed his eyes.
It appeared as a gate visually, but in truth, it was the Dimension Tree’s roots extending to another dimension.
Jumper was observing that growth to gain knowledge of dimensional passages.
He couldn’t copy it exactly for his own use, but it would serve as a framework for when he created passages later.
“Ah, the dimensional rift opened by the Prophet’s Obelisk isn’t far. The Dimension Tree’s roots are almost... there. They’ve reached it. The root tip has touched the dimensional rift opened on Earth.”
At some point, Jumper raised his voice, unable to contain his excitement.
Sssssh, Puss sshhh!
Immediately after, the Dimension Tree shoved several times more energy into the gate all at once.
In that instant, Sulryeong, Dokryeong, Gwonryeong—and even Geon-woo—tensed and ramped up their [Growth] mind power.
‘This is something that shouldn’t succeed under normal circumstances. Can we even supply the Dimension Tree with this much energy?’
Geon-woo shook his head at the Dimension Tree’s suddenly skyrocketing energy drain.
“Ah, it’s complete! It’s done. We’ve finally created the Dimension Tree’s gate on Earth.”
Fortunately, the intense energy surge didn’t last long.
As Jumper shouted the completion, people began leaping out from the finished gate before the Dimension Tree.
They were the ten talents who had been waiting on Earth for the gate to open.