The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 259

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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 259. Yggdrasil (1)
Yggdrasil.
The primordial tree, the remnant left behind by Genesis.
It was the World Tree that governed the earth among the Three Principles, called the source of all things.
Thus, according to Elven mythology, Yggdrasil was a colossal axis connecting heaven and earth.
An existence that upheld the world and life while governing the principles of all things.
But then.
This sphere held in Broombar’s hand—no larger than my own head.
‘It doesn’t look like Yggdrasil at all.’
For such a magnificent tree, it was far too shabby.
I felt no particular power emanating from it.
Rather, it seemed like an old antique?
Or perhaps a worn decoration?
A fallen fragment? A remnant?
It felt awkward to say such things.
Honestly, it looked like ‘junk.’
I suppressed my disappointment and asked Rielin.
“A seed?”
“It lost its meaning of existence and reverted to seed form.”
Rielin answered thus, gazing at Broombar.
Broombar repeatedly tossed the Yggdrasil seed upward and caught it.
He handled it without hesitation, as if it were a toy ball.
“It was buried deep in the technical department’s storage.”
“…?”
“More precisely, behind the waste classification storage. It was buried under a pile of discarded parts.”
“It was left neglected like that?”
The World Tree, no less?
In a ‘waste’ classification storage at that?
“According to records, the ancestors of the Steelmasters classified it as a hazardous material.”
“A hazardous material?”
“The records stated: ‘Concern of ether structure collapse due to unspecified reactivity. Disposal pending.'”
“…?”
“In simple terms, this seed dissolves all ether mechanisms.”
…It was a miracle they hadn’t disposed of it.
At that level, immediate quarantine and incineration would have been unremarkable.
“It seems they did attempt disposal.”
“….”
“But apparently it didn’t work at all.”
“What do you mean?”
“They tried everything—high-temperature treatment, compression decomposition, and more—but in the process, the surrounding ether equipment broke down one after another.”
“….”
“So they just shoved it into the waste disposal warehouse and forgot about it.”
It was practically a miracle they hadn’t thrown it away entirely.
In any case.
My suspicion had been correct.
As the Dwarves forgot the existence of spirits and their technology advanced, the World Tree lost all meaning to them.
Rielin spoke with an expression of utter disbelief.
“How could they possibly abandon the World Tree in such a place?”
“What’s stopping them?”
“The World Tree is the very foundation that sustains this world! How could they cast aside something so noble in a waste warehouse?!”
Broombar rolled the seed of Yggdrasil in his palm like a ball.
“All this fuss over some shriveled plant matter.”
“What? Shriveled plant matter?!”
“I wonder if it has any taste to it?”
Crunch!
“…It doesn’t even chew.”
“You ignorant little runt!”
The two of them bickered incessantly, unable to hold back.
Looking at them now.
‘They must have fought several times on the way here.’
I simply accepted it as inevitable.
In any case.
Judging by how Broombar treated it, the World Tree’s power didn’t seem particularly impressive.
‘Perhaps myths are merely myths after all.’
Myths are inherently prone to exaggeration.
Truth fades from memory as time passes.
And in the gaps left by that fading truth, embellishments are added arbitrarily—that is what creates a ‘myth’.
‘Hmm.’
I suppressed my disappointment and activated Predator’s Instinct [S].
And there appeared before my eyes the seed’s information.
◆Yggdrasil
: The primordial source of spirits left behind by Sephiroth, the first Elf, for future generations. It harbors the essence of earth and possesses the power to stabilize the principles of nature and life itself.
●[Reality Anchor] : Land blessed by Yggdrasil’s protection gains [immunity] against distortion and collapse from external forces.
●[Life Amplification] : Land blessed by Yggdrasil’s protection experiences [+1,734,500%] amplification in the density of all circulation-type energies, including life force, mana, and natural energy.
●[Wild Maturation] : All life forms (animals, plants, microorganisms, fungi, etc.) blessed by Yggdrasil’s protection experience reduced wild instincts and transform into forms capable of coexisting with sentient beings.
●[Perpetual Engine] : Yggdrasil can sustain itself without receiving energy or energy sources from external sources.
…This was an insane seed.
The word “broken” couldn’t even begin to describe it.
It made sense that the Dwarves couldn’t dispose of it through any means.
Therefore, calling it the ‘World Tree’ was entirely justified.
It had simply been forgotten, so it had not revealed its power.
In other words, it was not that it could not exert its strength.
It had chosen not to exert it.
To avoid hastily exposing its own existence.
Great power does not merely attract desire.
It also draws forth desperate longing.
And whether good or evil, all beings easily lose their sight before such power.
Therefore, the World Tree, Yggdrasil, had concealed itself.
But separate from that.
‘As expected. Mythology was merely mythology after all.’
According to the information I grasped through my Predator’s Instinct [S], Yggdrasil was not a World Tree that had branched off from Genesis, the Tree of Creation.
The Tree of Creation?
No such thing had ever existed.
In that place stood Sephiroth, the first Elf.
And the ‘Source of Spirits’ he had left behind for the Elves of later generations was the World Tree.
The race of Elves first branched off from Cambions.
Cambions—bastards born of Mongma and humans.
When some of these Cambions no longer wished to be bound by greed and desire, a new race was born: the Elves.
The first Cambion to overcome greed and desire was none other than.
Sephiroth.
The first Elf, and the Cambion who had perceived spirits.
Sephiroth granted substance to the spirits.
He then spread this knowledge to other Cambions.
And he hoped this change would not be temporary.
He desired that resonance with spirits would be passed down to the next generation.
Thus, so that Elves would never revert to Cambions, Sephiroth refined his enlightenment.
The Providence of Heaven, Heaven.
The Principle of Earth, Earth.
The Will of Existence, Humanity.
He condensed these three forms of enlightenment into three separate structures.
These were the Three Trees.
But as countless ages passed, truth faded and imagination took its place.
Sephiroth became the Tree of Creation.
The Three Trees became the World Tree.
Later generations of Elves had deified them.
But what was the reality?
Sephiroth, the first Elf.
The legacy he left behind, the crystallization of his enlightenment.
To be precise, the World Tree was the medium connecting Elves and spirits.
Therefore, this ‘life amplification’ function.
The natural energy density amplified by [+1,734,500%]—an absolutely insane effect.
It wasn’t merely a buff; it was Sephiroth’s deliberate arrangement to continuously open the pathways of nature for the Elves.
‘That must be why no monsters ever spawned in Sylvandir Forest.’
It was likely the same reason why Rielin and the Elves’ power had declined so dramatically.
In the end, a mythological tale bearing little resemblance to the truth.
But that’s what myths have always been.
Sixty percent exaggeration.
Thirty percent misunderstanding.
And ten percent embellishment.
That’s how myths are born.
The question is whether that ten percent of embellishment stems from reality or fiction.
Or perhaps it’s rooted entirely in fabrication.
The difference lies only in that.
Either way, it remained a hollow tale.
‘But the performance is absolutely genuine.’
It was worthy of being called the World Tree itself.
That’s why I proceeded with utmost caution.
“Broombar, would it be acceptable to plant this in the Whitewolf Territory?”
The two who had been bickering fell silent.
They seemed to be deliberating for a moment.
Broombar opened his mouth with grave weight.
“This is a legacy left behind by our ancestors.”
Even if it had been gathering dust in a waste storage vault.
To simply hand over such a legacy from our forebears?
It ran counter to Dwarf pride.
I understood that burden well.
That’s why I was cautious.
Broombar said nothing.
He stared at the seed for a long while before—
“But in the end, it’s merely a relic of the past.”
He let out a scoff.
“Spirits? World Trees? Those were necessities in the old days. Now, hammers and ether engines are far more practical.”
Broombar took a stride forward.
He stopped before Rielin.
“Still, it’d be a waste to discard it.”
Broombar casually placed it in her hands.
He handed the Yggdrasil seed to Rielin.
Rielin caught the seed, bewildered.
Broombar grinned and spoke.
“Use it however you see fit. It’s nothing but a useless plant to us Dwarves… but it might be different for you leaf-eared folk.”
Rielin was flustered.
Her expression was one of helplessness, like a child who didn’t know how to react.
After a long moment of silence, a very small voice escaped from Rielin’s lips.
“…Thank you.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“…T-thank you.”
“Do you elves have to beg spirits just to use your voices? Why are you being so—”
“I said thank you!!!”
Rielin burst out shouting and whipped her head around.
But the two pointed ears visible from behind her head.
They were redder than a deer berry.
Broombar let out a satisfied chuckle.
The sight of the two of them.
I understood it completely.
Why this Quest required both heroes’ favorability to be in the [Friendly] state.
‘Seeing this, it seems like Mungu knows something about it.’
…Anyway.
Mungu was a mechanism I couldn’t understand.
In any case.
Rielin carefully set the seed down on the ground.
It seemed like.
She intended to plant it here in the Whitewolf Territory.
“Wouldn’t it be better to plant it in Whitewolf Territory 2 instead of here?”
Whitewolf Territory 2, where the Elves currently gathered to live.
Planting it there would be better for both Rielin and the Elves.
Above all, what the 【Territory World Tree Mode】 needed was a World Tree.
In other words, it was sufficient as long as it existed within the domain.
There was no need to plant it in the main Whitewolf Territory, the center.
“It doesn’t matter where we plant it.”
“…?”
“Once the World Tree’s roots reach it, we’ll be connected no matter where it is.”
I see.
So it wasn’t for nothing that the 【Territory World Tree Mode】 only needed the World Tree to exist.
As I stepped back, Rielin slowly extended her hand.
An emerald light spread from the tips of her delicate fingers.
It enveloped the seed.
At that moment.
The seed responded.
Crack!
The surface of the withered shell split open.
Screeeeeech!
Emerald light erupted from the fractured crevasse.
And the moment the seed burrowed into the earth—
◆This is absolutely maaaaaaad!!!!
…Mungu’s exuberant outburst shook the heavens and earth.
* * *
Whitewolf Territory Outer Village.
The place that had borne the most direct brunt of the war’s devastation.
Every building had burned to ash.
The walls had crumbled.
The roads were cracked and fractured, and the twisted farmland was, well…
“Nothing but ruins!”
A Dwarf cried out.
At that, the other Dwarves lined up beside him nodded in agreement.
“Just piles and piles of rubble, nothing but rubble!”
“The foundations are completely destroyed. In all my Dwarf life, I’ve never seen structural damage this severe, never!”
The Dwarves drew tools from their waistbands in unison.
“Hey, let’s stop wasting time on talk.”
“Right, let’s get moving!”
“We’ll resume where we left off yesterday.”
“I’ll take the roads! Who wants the eastern wall?”
“I’ll do it!”
“Then I’ll handle the buildings!”
The Dwarves divided their tasks and moved toward the site.
Within the dust-shrouded ruins.
The sound of Dwarf hammers rang out.
Yet the reconstruction work made little progress.
The debris of collapsed buildings lay buried deeper than expected.
Most of the foundation stones were cracked or crumbled, unable to serve their purpose.
“I never thought human magitech weapons could do this much.”
“It’s astounding.”
“You can tell just by looking at Starlight Sister….”
“Magitech is something even we Dwarves cannot afford to underestimate.”
Human magitech.
Dwarf magicraft.
Magitech weaves theory to recreate phenomena.
Magicraft carves metal to recreate phenomena.
Their methods differed, but the destination they sought was the same.
“Hmm.”
“This isn’t just a matter of reconstruction anymore.”
“We’d need to tear up the entire foundation and rebuild from scratch.”
The Dwarves all furrowed their brows in unison.
That was when it happened.
Uuuuuuung.
The ground suddenly began to rumble.
At first, it felt like a simple vibration.
Just a faint tremor passing through.
But gradually, the vibrations grew coarser and heavier.
Kuguguguguguung…!!
The entire earth twisted and shook from deep below.
As if an earthquake had struck, the ground convulsed violently.
“What, what is this!”
“Could it be an earthquake?”
The Dwarves cried out urgently.
The debris trembled.
Piles of buried stone began to crumble and fall.
“Everyone, fall back!!”
The Dwarves instinctively retreated.
In that very moment.
Kuuuuuuuuuung!!
The ground split open, and something surged forth from the fissure.
Something thick, massive, and enormous.
Like a colossal pillar, it was—.
“…a tree trunk?”
In that instant, the surging tree trunk changed direction.
It swept across the collapsed ruins.
As it moved, it began to wrap around the broken debris and stone piles one by one.
Swooooosh.
Kuguguguung…!
Thunk thunk thunk.
…the ruined village was being rebuilt?

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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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