I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 48

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 48

 

About a month had passed since leaving Andril.

 

The humid air that made sweat flow even while sitting still suggested that the distance to the Great Forest wasn’t much left.

 

Traveling with the Elves had a significant impact on our considerably fast movement speed.

 

Just following their unique way of walking made my body feel lighter, and since they took care of miscellaneous tasks like dealing with monsters we encountered, I had energy to spare.

 

During our travels, the Demon Lord’s words had noticeably decreased.

 

The one who used to constantly engage in sarcasm and mockery whenever there was a chance had become so quiet that I would forget he was with me if I didn’t pay attention. Though since he was an unpredictable fellow from the start, it didn’t bother me much.

 

The Elves traveling with us weren’t particularly talkative either. If I combined all the conversations I’d had with the Elves so far, it probably wouldn’t even amount to half of what the Demon Lord used to say.

 

As I glanced to the side while warming myself by the campfire, the Elf who had been gripping his bow and watching the surroundings bowed his head with an emotionless face.

 

It felt more like being escorted than traveling together. The reason for receiving such devoted treatment was probably because of the World Tree Branch absorbed within me.

 

However, I still couldn’t figure out how to handle the World Tree’s power at all. If it weren’t for the Soul Contract, I might have thought the Demon Lord had lied to me.

 

“We’ll arrive at the Great Forest tomorrow.”

 

A female Elf who approached me spoke in a dry voice.

 

A familiar face. It was because she was the Elf who had invaded Master’s Dungeon to search for the World Tree Branch.

 

There seemed to be a separate leader-like figure among the Elves, but most of the communication with me was handled by this Elf named Birutta.

 

“…Already?”

 

Although we had been traveling for quite a long time, the news that we would arrive today was a bit hard to understand.

 

This was none other than the Great Forest.

 

The domain of the Elves, where human footsteps were not permitted, where a jungle of trees over ten meters tall was said to form the horizon.

 

Looking around, I couldn’t see such giant trees. However, Birutta simply nodded without any special explanation and withdrew from her spot.

 

The question was resolved around noon the next day.

 

The moment one of the Elves leading the way placed his hand in the air, space rippled and the jungle revealed itself.

 

“…!”

 

Literally, it was a sight that deserved to be called the Great Forest.

 

The appearance of the Great Forest where the Elves lived was quite different from what I had expected.

 

There was no green and beautiful, fantastical city that seemed like it would appear in fairy tales.

 

Tall trees blocked the sun making it dark as night, and the insects hovering nearby boasted such large sizes that they reminded me of those from the Demon Realm.

 

Moreover, the humid air that made me feel like I was underwater was on a completely different level from the world outside the barrier. Even though I knew it couldn’t be true, I even asked Birutta if the barrier was meant to prevent the internal humidity from escaping rather than blocking external intrusion.

 

“….”

 

Of course, Birutta just stared at me with an expressionless face and then simply turned her head away.

 

Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, I silently looked around.

 

I could feel gazes from various places. Even so, the only Elves visible were the Tree Searchers who had come here with me.

 

-Trees.

‘Trees?’

 

At the Demon Lord’s voice heard after a long time, I narrowed my eyes and looked at the nearby trees.

 

They looked like several old trees tangled together in one place. They were trees of a strange form that would be hard to find elsewhere, and surprisingly, many such trees were growing around this area.

 

‘…!’

 

After struggling to observe the trees for a moment, I soon discovered eyes glinting between the gaps in the trees.

 

It would have been quite eerie if seen at night. Shortly after, booming voices echoed from somewhere.

 

“The Tree Searchers have returned.”

“It’s a human.”

“I sense a familiar… familiar aura.”

“Why did they bring a human?”

 

Birutta spoke from where she stood.

 

“We have found a fragment of the Great Tree.”

 

For a moment, it seemed like the entire Great Forest was vibrating.

 

‘An earthquake? No, this is…’

 

All the plants growing in the Great Forest were shaking. It wasn’t because the ground was vibrating, but because the trembling of the plants was moving the earth itself.

 

“Where is the fragment?”

“Ah, finally.”

“Familiar aura… Great Tree…”

 

It was a sight both wondrous and terrifying at the same time.

 

How powerful must the force they possessed be for this vast land to tremble entirely?

 

“This human carries the great tree within his body.”

“He is a human who commands spirits. Real spirits, not crude replicas.”

“The time has come to fulfill our cherished wish.”

 

* * *

 

Long lifespans and beautiful appearances. Voices like listening to music. Even their fresh scent.

 

Humans who learned of the mysterious beings called elves had wanted to possess them since ancient times.

 

Nobles sought to enslave elves to flaunt their wealth and power, and there were many magical attempts to steal their years.

 

That’s why elves were hostile toward humans.

 

Therefore, I could be certain. Throughout history, humans who received such devoted treatment in the Great Forest, the elves’ domain, could be counted on one hand.

 

At most, it would have been the First Hero and his companions.

 

I picked up a fruit from the basket and put it in my mouth.

 

The smooth surface burst with a pop, and I felt a sweet taste in my mouth. At the same time, a satisfying sense of fullness began to rise.

 

‘Such fullness from just one small berry…’

 

It felt like it could easily replace a full meal.

 

But that made it feel regrettable instead. I wanted to experience again the sweetness I felt when I first put the fruit in my mouth.

 

Do elves replace their meals with just these fruits? I could understand why all the elves I’d seen maintained such slender figures.

 

Leaving this small realization behind, I moved forward, and through the gaps between trees, I could see the endless jungle spread out below.

 

Where I stood now was the tallest tree in the Great Forest. It was a tree so massive it brought to mind the legendary World Tree.

 

It was just a space between cracks that had formed as it grew over long years, but even that was enough for one person to live in. Even considering that the trees I’d seen in the Great Forest were thicker than other trees, this thickness was absurd.

 

-It’s the result of their own research, you could say. Though it’s nowhere near enough, of course.

 

The Demon Lord, who had kept his mouth shut, spoke.

 

“What is?”

-You should have a good guess, shouldn’t you? Think. What is the elves’ cherished wish?

 

There was no way I could know. The elven race itself was like a fantasy species rarely found in human society. But it wasn’t hard to guess.

 

The reason the Tree Searchers left the Great Forest to wander human territories. It was to pursue traces of the World Tree. This tree, which immediately brought the World Tree to mind upon seeing it, must also be part of their efforts to somehow restore the World Tree.

 

Though the Demon Lord said it was nowhere near enough.

 

-The revival of the World Tree and the complete restoration of spirit magic. These are what the elves have longed for ever since the World Tree withered and the mythical age ended. As you’ve seen, both are at a pathetic level.

“….”

 

I wasn’t sure about it being nowhere near enough, but I couldn’t understand the claim that it was pathetic.

 

I remembered the elves’ Tree Giant that didn’t fall behind Master, who had fused with the World Tree branch. This tree, incomparable to any other tree, was also nothing short of wondrous.

 

-Magic is the manifestation of laws. Reproducing phenomena that have already occurred is also one form of magic.

 

In the past, I would have considered the Demon Lord’s words mere empty talk, but thanks to absorbing Master’s soul and experiencing some of his memories, I could recognize it. That short sentence was the very core that penetrated the essence of the discipline called magic.

 

-That’s exactly why the elves’ spirit magic is worthless. Simply having high power doesn’t make excellent magic. Since they couldn’t capture the essence within it, it’s ultimately futile.

 

If it had been simply to create powerful magic, it would have been a successful result, but since it couldn’t reach the goal of reviving the World Tree, it was a failure?

 

“But if spirit magic is a byproduct of research aimed at reviving the World Tree…”

-That’s right. The World Tree was one of the beings that regulated the Middle Realm. A real spirit that actually existed in ancient times.

“…!”

 

A real spirit. I’d heard those words before. The elves had called the Ice Spirit that when they saw it.

 

Then did that mean this small creature beside me was the same kind of being as the ancient transcendents who had regulated the Middle Realm, including the World Tree?

 

I couldn’t simply dismiss it, since these were the words of elves who had studied spirits more deeply than anyone.

 

Now I understood why the elves had shown reactions close to shock when they saw the Ice Spirit.

 

The goal they had researched for thousands of years across generations had been proven to exist in reality, even if in a different form.

 

Perhaps the Ice Spirit played as large a role as the World Tree branch in the elves’ devoted treatment of me.

 

But if the Ice Spirit and World Tree were beings of the same level, then the other materials the Demon Lord had prepared as Holy Sword materials were also…

 

-So what do you plan to do now?

 

I had headed to the royal capital from Balaih Kingdom to meet the subordinate the Demon Lord had arranged, and I had gone to Andril to find treasures scattered throughout.

 

Though I had somehow passed one more trial along the way, that hadn’t been my intention.

 

Originally, I should have departed to find other treasures. Each treasure possessed tremendous power, and trials would come from anywhere.

 

Still, there was one reason I had come to the Great Forest, where there were no treasures.

 

“I’m going to build my strength.”

 

More precisely, I needed time and a place to reflect on the power I possessed.

 

I, who had originally been merely an Apprentice Dark Mage, had suddenly been given much power. Therefore, I needed to understand exactly what kind of power the things I possessed held, and familiarize my body with them.

 

What good was having a capable subordinate like the Ice Spirit? What good was gaining magical knowledge through Master’s memories and absorbing the World Tree branch? If I couldn’t properly handle them, it would all be meaningless.

 

I clearly realized this from the battle with Master.

 

Even though I had become able to use Explosion, which was considered powerful even among intermediate magic, what I actually did was charge in wielding a scythe.

 

I am not a knight. Even if I absorbed the soul of a Holy Knight and can somewhat imitate aura, it’s still the same.

 

-Well, I thought that wasn’t bad either. It was quite an entertaining spectacle.

“….”

 

In that sense, what I chose was the Great Forest.

 

I thought that the Elves, who were more knowledgeable about spirit magic than anyone else, would be sufficient to gain clues on how to properly handle the Ice Spirit. Methods to utilize the World Tree branch that had been absorbed into me would also be absolutely difficult to obtain anywhere other than the Great Forest.

 

If it weren’t for the friendly attitude the Elves had shown me, I wouldn’t have even dared to attempt it, but this was certainly a place where I could grow faster than anywhere else on the continent.

 

“Well then, shall we go out now?”

-Where to?

“Obviously out there….”

 

I had no choice but to stop as I approached the gap that had been open like a window.

 

Rustle.

 

Because the trees moved and blocked the gap.

 

“….”

-Keh, puhup…!

 

The Demon Lord, who finally couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter, spoke.

 

-You thought too lightly of the Elves’ obsession, which has now become madness. You naive fool.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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