I Conquered the Tower with the EX-Class Character That I Raised - Chapter 103
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 103
How dare you open those fierce eyes and glare at me?
Of course, I know the Elf Queen inside the Tower and the Elf Queen inside Lost Honor are different entities.
To use an analogy, they’re the same being but Elf Queens from different dimensions.
But since they looked identical, I lost my composure for a moment.
‘That wasn’t very mature of me.’
With some reflection, I sliced the Elf Queen to death several more times as she tried to regenerate into her egg form.
“Y-you brute!!”
Slash—!
This wasn’t venting frustration; it was mental discipline.
“….”
“Has your head cooled off now?”
“How dare you, how dare you desecrate Mother’s body…”
Slash—!
I administered this discipline several more times.
“Elves do not break…!”
“Mm.”
The venom in the Elf Queen’s eyes hadn’t diminished one bit.
‘This brings back old memories.’
The Elf Queen of Lost Honor was like this too, back then.
And beneath that remarkably unbreakable conviction lay absolute faith in what she called ‘Mother’—the World Tree.
The World Tree is a tree possessing infinite vitality.
As the Elf Queen who inherited that vitality most deeply, the concept of ‘death’ was naturally foreign to her.
“I didn’t want to resort to this…”
Even across different dimensions, it’s the same being.
The methods of discipline follow the same pattern.
I withdrew a crimson elixir from my bosom.
And I shook it before the Elf Queen’s eyes, making sure she could see it clearly.
“?”
Curiosity flickered in the queen’s eyes.
Understandably so. A madman who’d been slashing away without hesitation the moment his mouth opened was suddenly waving a potion around—of course she’d be curious.
The moment the queen’s eyes were distracted…
Whoosh—!
I unleashed a sword strike on the World Tree’s branches, slashing deeply beneath the Elf Queen’s feet.
‘This performs quite well.’
In truth, the World Tree’s branches weren’t quite worthy of inheriting the name Moktdan.
There was a significant drawback in terms of sustainable supply potential.
However, the durability from a different dimension felt like a plus point.
And since I’d harvested plenty through this ‘farming’, there’d be no supply issues for a while—another plus.
I’d barely cleared the threshold.
Congratulations! You have become a branch of the World Tree.
You are now Mudan 3.
Before the brief revelation could even settle,
the Elf Queen belatedly sensed my blade strike.
“!”
She jolted upward in alarm upon grasping the situation.
‘Too slow.’
I had already carved away the very ground beneath the Elf Queen’s feet.
The moment the earth beneath her transformed into a cavern, the Elf Queen deployed a levitation spell and soared skyward.
“Hmph.”
And she gazed down at me with that characteristic arrogant smile of hers.
‘She thinks I merely removed her footing, doesn’t she?’
Of course not. It was far more than that.
What I severed was the ‘direct conduit’ that existed between the Elf Queen and the World Tree.
Because the World Tree’s roots were so massive and magnificent, those facing the Elf Queen for the first time assumed that those roots were the passage connecting her to the World Tree.
So after experiencing this resurrection pattern a few times, they inevitably attempt to either separate the World Tree’s roots from the Elf Queen or destroy the roots themselves.
A natural progression, but…
it was wrong.
That was merely bait.
‘True bait is always large, magnificent, and appetizing.’
The real connection is the ‘invisible line’ linking the Yongcheon point at the center of the Elf Queen’s sole to the World Tree.
It is an ability only the Elf Queen possesses, and because one must have this ability to become queen, the elves call it the ‘Royal Road’.
What I cut appeared to be nothing but earth on the surface…
but in reality, it was this Royal Road.
“…?”
The Elf Queen’s eyes widened in confusion immediately after.
“This is your first time, isn’t it.”
The sensation of separation from the World Tree.
A sensation she had never experienced in all her life.
Before I arrived, she had never been separated from the World Tree.
“Now you’ll understand. If you die now, you truly die.”
The conduit through which the World Tree’s vitality once flowed directly had vanished, leaving only a pittance of life force within the queen.
Naturally, it was nowhere near enough to restore a body severed in half.
“Ugh… Damn it!”
As she turned to flee, I severed the mana flow that composed her levitation spell as well.
“Kyah!”
The Elf Queen barely landed on the ground, straining with effort as she desperately attempted to restore the Royal Road.
But alas.
I had not cut it in a way that allowed for such swift recovery.
I brought Mudan 3, wrapped in sword energy, before the Elf Queen’s throat.
“How does it feel to face death?”
“….”
The Elf Queen’s eyes remained calm and composed.
“You must be thinking… that ‘there is a next time prepared.'”
“…Hmph.”
Even if I die right now, I can simply be revived.
It’s obvious that’s exactly what she’s thinking.
Unfortunately for her.
“You’re wrong.”
…An incorrect answer, Elf Queen.
“You die here.”
I uncorked the red elixir I’d been holding all this time.
“…Now I’ll show you why the World Tree is not a god.”
* * *
‘I’ll die right now, but I can be revived! Foolish human.’
The World Tree’s vitality being ‘infinite’ held its literal meaning.
Not ‘abundant.’ ‘Infinite.’
The Royal Road was severed, but… with infinite vitality, complete recovery is merely a matter of time.
The moment Mother recovers, she will resurrect me.
With this unwavering conviction, the Elf Queen felt no fear of immediate death.
Moreover, even now, I could feel Mother’s touch working to restore the severed Royal Road.
That touch drawing steadily closer, albeit slowly!
‘Ah, Mother World Tree…!’
Her heart overflowed with faith in the World Tree.
That moment.
The man muttered something and uncorked the red potion.
Splash.
He poured it onto the ground.
‘…!’
The Elf Queen’s body trembled at the exquisite vitality emanating from it.
Though inferior in grade to Mother’s, the scent of life force was scarcely different!
Had it not been for the blade at her throat, she would have prostrated herself to inhale deeply of its sweetness—so intoxicating and fragrant was it.
“Huh?”
That was when the Elf Queen sensed something amiss.
Mother’s touch, which had been approaching her while restoring the Royal Road…
had vanished.
‘What… what is this?’
The Elf Queen spread the meager life force remaining in her body across the earth, attempting to discern the reason.
‘!’
And the reason became clear almost immediately.
The mother’s hand reaching toward me…
changed direction.
Toward the fragrant liquid that man had scattered.
‘What… Mother?’
Even I, the first offspring and the Elf Queen herself, was being abandoned as she reached toward that liquid.
Like a plant stretching toward water.
As though absorbing nutrients was the greatest task in existence.
“Surprised?”
The man asked casually.
His voice was serene, as though he had known this would happen all along.
That very calmness felt ominously sinister, and the Elf Queen shrieked convulsively.
“Shut your mouth!”
“Don’t you know? Or are you turning a blind eye? You know better than anyone where the World Tree’s ‘Royal Road’ is extending toward.”
The man chuckled.
“The World Tree is no god. Neither is your mother, nor the mother of your kind.”
“This is blasphemy…”
“It’s just a big tree.”
“…You!”
The man stared directly at the Elf Queen with eyes devoid of all emotion.
“Your kind fell into ruin because you revered that oversized tree and turned your eyes away from everything else.”
* * *
There was a reason I taught people in Lost Honor to speak of the World Tree as a ‘big tree’.
It wasn’t because I disliked the World Tree.
Or because I wanted to torment the Elf Queen.
It certainly wasn’t for such abnormal reasons.
Of course, there was the fact that it was ‘entertaining’…
If I ranked my reasons, that would be about third.
The Elf Queen was… if I had to put it in modern terms.
A comedian with excellent reactions.
An EX-rank comedian, at that.
With such talent right in front of me, how could I not take the opportunity to poke fun?
But the true reason lay elsewhere.
That World Tree was a plant lacking the ‘dignity’ worthy of intelligent beings’ faith.
The true gods of Lost Honor each possessed their own clear values.
What is good and what is evil. How to overcome trials, and how one should live.
In that sense, a god should rightfully be a beacon for the intelligent beings of that world.
But what of the World Tree?
It merely emanates mana to create elves and spirits, bestowing nearly infinite vitality.
There is no teaching, no philosophy in that process. There is no ‘intellect’ to teach in the first place.
As a result, what became of the elf race?
Despite possessing millennia of lifespans and overwhelming power, they had neither advanced their civilization nor pioneered unknown territories.
They had merely huddled beneath this colossal tree, devoting their entire lives to serving as its ‘watchdogs’.
I found that prospect deeply distasteful.
Profoundly so.
Humans, by contrast, are fragile creatures.
Their lifespans are brief, and they succumb easily to illness and death.
Yet it is precisely because of this weakness that they struggle.
They bleed, they fail, they relentlessly remake themselves, and still they press forward, one agonizing step at a time.
Standing upon the earth with their own two feet, carving their own destiny.
That is the true greatness of an intelligent being.
But the elves, despite possessing infinite potential, remain trapped within the World Tree’s vast cradle, awaiting only a sweet oblivion.
For them to escape this beautiful and terrible stagnation and stand upon their own two feet.
They had to witness the truth: that the god they worshipped was merely a colossal plant enslaved by its own instincts.
And so I employed the cruelest and most certain method.
I gave the World Tree a choice.
On one side: the life of the Elf Queen, its firstborn child and extension of itself, hanging by a thread.
On the other: overwhelming ‘nourishment’ to stimulate its mindless hunger.
When presented with such circumstances, the World Tree would choose the same way every single time.
It chose the latter.
Crack! Splinter!
Thick roots of the World Tree erupted through the earth toward where the elixir had been scattered, writhing madly as they converged upon it.
Not a single drop of the precious liquid, not even a handful of soil, would escape—it lapped and clawed at the ground with ravenous desperation.
Not a sublime deity, nor a benevolent mother.
Merely the grotesque instinct of a massive ‘plant’ starved for nourishment.
And beside me.
Not far away…
The Elf Queen bore witness to it all.
“Mother…?”
Even as I lay dying, the Elf Queen froze as she beheld her mother’s true face—ignoring her child’s peril, greedily absorbing the scattered nourishment from the ground.
I flung the remaining elixir away from the Elf Queen, scattering it in a wide arc.
Boom! Crash! Rumble!
The World Tree’s massive roots lunged forward without so much as a glance at the queen, pursuing only the crimson trail I had scattered, like a beast on the hunt.
“You saw it now. That is the true nature of the god you devoted your entire life to.”
“….”
“The World Tree is no god. It is merely an enormous tree that consumes and grows according to its base instincts.”
The Elf Queen hung her head.
Her weakened neck bent limp, and the hollow despair of one whose faith had crumbled weighed upon her entire being.
I leaned close to the Elf Queen’s ear and whispered softly.
“There is no need for sorrow. Rather, you should rejoice.”
“….”
“How much longer will you remain a parasite, licking at tree roots? Stop being a pitiful child coddled by the World Tree’s protection. Become a true ‘Queen’ who leads your own people with your own strength.”
The Elf Queen’s shoulders trembled violently.
Watching the faint ripples of emotion stir in her unfocused eyes, I continued.
“If you’ve resolved to stand on your own two feet, then that is no longer the sacred mother who gave birth to you. Isn’t that right?”
“….”
The Elf Queen stared blankly between my words and the World Tree devouring the earth.
‘Well, I didn’t expect her to accept it all at once.’
I hadn’t anticipated she’d come to her senses in a single blow.
“Then you understand that these branches are no longer your mother’s sacred body, but merely the husk of a plant, yes?”
“…What?”
“After all, with life force overflowing like that, it won’t die from losing a few branches. So I can just pluck some leaves, twigs, and the World Tree’s dew and take them with me, right?”
I drove the wedge deeper into the Elf Queen, who stood frozen in bewilderment.
“Since it’s just a tree byproduct and not your mother, there’s no problem with me taking some, is there? Answer me.”
The Elf Queen’s lips trembled as she struggled to follow the thread of my logic.
Something felt wrong, yet she couldn’t find words to refute me—bound by the very reasoning she’d just conceded.
In the end, she murmured helplessly, as though surrendering to everything.
“…Do as you wish.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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