The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 258
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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 258. The World Tree (2)
The World Tree of the earth, Yggdrasil.
Inferring from Rielin’s account and Mungu’s information.
‘There’s an extremely high probability that Yggdrasil is located in Feractrum, the kingdom of the Dwarves.’
No, it wasn’t merely a high probability.
It was nearly absolute certainty—
“No such power exists in Feractrum.”
Broombar cut off my thoughts with unwavering conviction.
“Feractrum has existed in that location since ancient times until now.”
“…”
“If it were established through the World Tree of the earth as you suggest, some trace of it should have remained somewhere in Feractrum.”
Broombar shook his head and continued.
“But there’s nothing like that in Feractrum. Not a leaf of the World Tree, not its roots, not even remnants.”
It was a reasonable argument.
But I lifted my head and spoke calmly.
“Perhaps it’s because the World Tree’s power isn’t currently functioning in Feractrum.”
I could infer this from two major reasons.
First, the Dwarves had forgotten the existence of spirits and lost the ability to wield the World Tree’s power.
Second, the Dwarves’ advanced technology no longer required the World Tree’s power.
“But the World Tree itself wouldn’t have disappeared.”
This too was nearly absolute certainty.
Because the Emperor.
Before he began actively mobilizing the Death Lord.
Sylvandir Forest and Feractrum.
He destroyed these two regions first.
Sylvandir Forest was obvious.
It was the source of spirits and nature itself.
But Feractrum?
In Rielin’s terms, it was merely land that devastated nature.
Despite being land utterly unrelated to life, the Emperor sought out Feractrum first and destroyed it.
‘In my past life, I thought it was simply part of the slaughter.’
But that wasn’t it.
There was something within Feractrum that obstructed the Death Lord.
The ‘remnants of the World Tree’—something that absolutely had to be removed to spread death across the Continent.
And so, perhaps.
Though it was a deleted causality now.
‘Was that why the Death Lord hadn’t fully awakened last time?’
It might have been because, unlike in my past life, remnants of the World Tree remained in Feractrum.
‘If that’s the case….’
Every puzzle piece fit perfectly into place.
In other words, the remnants of the World Tree in Feractrum had to be considered an established fact.
“Hmm.”
Broombar swallowed hard.
His expression suggested he found merit in my reasoning.
“Even if what you say is true… finding it now won’t be easy.”
Broombar continued, wrinkling the bridge of his nose.
“It’s a legacy of our ancestors, forgotten in the distant past. Finding those remnants now is nearly impossible.”
He was right.
We’d have to trace back all the way to the Dark Elves.
That would be prehistoric times… well, not quite.
‘Perhaps the historical era.’
It would be slightly earlier than that.
Roughly the late Protohistory period?
It was an unfathomably distant age.
It was difficult to expect traces from that time to survive until now.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Even traces buried under tens of thousands of years were acceptable.
Here and now, I had the greatest Spirit Summoner in history, capable of communicating directly with nature itself.
“Isn’t that right, Rielin?”
Because Rielin was with us.
* * *
To confirm the existence of Yggdrasil, Rielin needed to travel directly to Feractrum, the kingdom of the Dwarves.
And for Rielin to enter Feractrum, she needed Broombar’s assistance.
Cooperation between Elves and Dwarves.
Under normal circumstances, it would never happen—
“I never imagined raising their affinity would prove useful in this way.”
Everything proceeded remarkably smoothly.
But as if on cue, a problem arose.
It was Rielin.
Her physical condition was far too poor.
Long-distance travel was practically impossible for her.
“And now raising their affinity proves useful again in this way.”
Broombar solved it without hesitation.
Working day and night, he completed a next-generation ether carriage.
Now we weren’t constrained by established routes.
Rough terrain, steep slopes—
it could traverse various landscapes without issue, moving freely in any direction.
And that wasn’t all.
“I’ve added all sorts of stabilization devices too.”
It was practically a specialized mobile medical bed designed specifically for Rielin.
Though I usually pretended otherwise.
We were two people who worried about and thought of each other.
And so the two of them departed for Feractrum without incident.
“I considered following them.”
But there was far too much work to be done.
Whitewolf Territory was still recovering from the aftermath of war.
With Seraphia and Kai unconscious.
Was I to abandon my post as well?
“Bernard was here, at least….”
But one could never be too careful.
There was no telling what schemes The Empire might devise in my absence.
And with good reason.
“The moment I vanished, The Empire sprang into action.”
They moved as though they had been waiting for precisely this moment.
They even anticipated Leon’s involvement, manipulating mercenaries and foreign forces from the shadows.
“Everything fell within my predictions.”
Thanks to my advance preparations, I was able to contain the situation without catastrophic losses.
But there was one thing.
A variable I had not foreseen.
“I never expected Langritd Magic Tower to take such an active stance.”
Langritd Magic Tower.
The cradle of every mage on The Continent.
It was the greatest nexus of competing interests, with countless kingdoms, alliances, and duchies entangled within its web.
One disciple served as court mage to this kingdom.
Another worked in that alliance’s research institution.
With fingers in so many kingdoms, it had always maintained strict neutrality.
“Yet they moved directly.”
The justification was simple.
-Iliana smuggled soap, a proprietary technique of the Tower, to Whitewolf Territory!
The value that soap possessed.
Iliana, who belonged to no particular faction.
The cunning Council of Elders saw their chance and pounced.
“But the speed of their action was suspicious.”
Langritd Magic Tower was a nexus of competing interests.
Which meant, how should I put it.
They were rigid, even suffocating.
Any single decision took a minimum of several months.
In excess, years of political maneuvering would unfold.
And so time dragged on and on.
They would procrastinate endlessly-.
“The Emperor destroyed them.”
But this time?
It hadn’t even taken days.
“Why?”
Simply because of soap?
I could understand that much.
But it didn’t quite add up as a decisive justification.
“There seems to be something else going on.”
I really needed to beat some answers out of—.
No, I needed to investigate.
“It was good that I bought the Council of Elders in advance.”
I could immediately squeeze the Council members I’d purchased—.
No, they’d spill everything if I pressed them.
But there was a problem.
“The ones who bought the Council of Elders was the Raven Dung Merchant Company.”
The company master was Kim Fujiwara Bloodhound.
Of course, that was me.
But I couldn’t reveal my identity.
“The Raven Dung Merchant Company is creating a connection point with The Empire.”
If things go wrong, I’ll expose it eventually.
But not now.
If I expose it now?
The losses would far outweigh any gains.
“For now, I should just conduct an investigation.”
Still, I needed to squeeze them once—.
No, I definitely needed to investigate.
“I need to move quickly before those two arrive.”
I got to work immediately.
* * *
After squeezing the Council of Elders of Langritd Magic Tower through the Raven Dung Merchant Company, I received the following answer.
-That is… it was an order that came directly from above, so there was nothing we could do about it.
In short, passing the buck.
Honestly, I’d never seen such cunning weasels in my life.
I wanted to blow the whole thing up right then and there… but I held back.
But there was one thing.
Something strange.
“Does Langritd Magic Tower have a higher authority than the Council of Elders?”
Not that I was aware of.
The Council of Elders was the supreme decision-making body of Langritd Magic Tower.
The Langritd Magic Tower’s Council of Elders was its de facto highest decision-making body.
As for the notion that there exists yet another ‘superior’ above that… I’m not so sure.
“I haven’t heard of it.”
Of course, I didn’t know much about Langritd Magic Tower in detail.
I had only experienced one Magic Tower.
The Mage Corps of the Allied Forces.
In my past life, it was the only one.
“Iliana would know.”
She probably would.
Iliana was an official mage of Langritd Magic Tower, after all.
But that wasn’t all.
There was more I needed to ask Iliana about.
The ※Error※ skill I obtained from 【Infinite Journey】.
It was literally an ※Error※ skill.
Neither its description nor its effects.
Nothing about it could be deciphered.
But after clearing that Hidden Quest with a 0% success rate.
It became deciphered.
◆You have acquired the Concept Skill, Probability [M]!
◆Probability [M]
: Under certain conditions, the degree of possibility that a certain event or phenomenon will occur. The player can attempt to integrate Probability with specific concepts based on their understanding of it.
Based on my experience so far, I would surely be able to obtain an absurdly broken fusion skill.
But unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to integrate it with anything.
Because as a Concept Skill, it required ‘understanding’.
Therefore, I needed to receive instruction from Iliana.
“But she shows no signs of regaining consciousness.”
It wasn’t just Iliana.
Kai and Seraphia.
Both of them remained unconscious.
Their lives were not in danger.
But only their lives were safe.
They seemed to have suffered considerable shock from this battle and showed no signs of waking.
Which made it all the more.
Knock, knock.
-Adrian, Broombar and Rielin have returned, it is said.
…This was precisely when I needed the power of the World Tree.
* * *
A single carriage entered the Count’s Castle.
But something seemed odd for a carriage.
For one, there were no horses pulling it.
The wheels were also quite peculiar.
It was constructed with a sturdy iron frame rather than wood, and the meticulously assembled chassis resembled a mechanical device rather than a carriage.
Most notably, there was a power core embedded in the center of the chassis.
From that very spot, a soft blue light was seeping out.
‘This seems better than the Ether Carriage I used in my past life?’
Of course, if I examined each detail individually, that wouldn’t necessarily be the case.
But this is only the second generation.
If it undergoes just a few more refinements?
Surpassing the standards of my previous life was merely a matter of time.
‘Or perhaps Broombar crafted this specifically for Rielin, which could explain it.’
As such thoughts crossed my mind, at that very moment.
The Ether Carriage came to a complete halt.
Shortly after.
The door opened, and Broombar and Rielin descended.
I immediately approached them and asked.
“What have you found?”
Broombar carefully retrieved something from his possession.
A spherical object of some kind.
Its size was comparable to my head.
The surface resembled a shell?
It had that sort of texture.
It bore a brownish hue, and I couldn’t quite place what it was.
‘A seed?’
Its appearance was reminiscent of a plant seed.
I regarded Rielin with a questioning gaze.
But then.
‘Her complexion has improved?’
Rather than being drained from the long journey, she was brimming with vitality.
Her previously pallid face now bore a rosy flush.
Her eyes were also clear and bright.
As if her connection to the spirits had been restored, her irises had regained their lost emerald brilliance.
From Rielin’s appearance, I could form a conjecture bordering on certainty.
This sphere was something related to the World Tree.
In other words.
“It’s a seed of Yggdrasil.”
My suspicion had been correct—Feractrum indeed possessed the World Tree, Yggdrasil.
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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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