Naruto: Our Goal Is To Dig Every Corner of Konoha

"Are you going to take on the Cursed Tree? I'll go with you. After all, if we want to pass through this area, we need to deal with the Cursed Tree. With one more person, your strength will be bolstered, though I doubt you actually need my help!"

The Onion Knight stated that he also needed to visit the City of Sin, but to leave this place and proceed to the next, they would have to confront the Cursed Tree; otherwise, leaving would be impossible.

No one objected to the Onion Knight's words, after all, judging by his personality, he was a reliable companion.

"Uncle, why does your armor look like an onion?"

Tiona asked curiously. The Onion Knight explained, though even Asahi couldn't understand its design. How did it fit into the combat setting? Did it even have any relevance to the structure of this world?

Anyway, Asahi couldn't comprehend some of the designs in this world, like the onion-like armor. The key point, however, was that it provided high defense and was quite heavy, making it a decent armor, though nothing extraordinary.

Soon, the group passed by the location of the birch trees. The giant's arrows missed them but cleared out all the surrounding enemies. After passing through, they quickly arrived at the location of the Cursed Tree.

"The Cursed Tree? That big thing? It's so disgusting, covered in all those pustules!"

Upon seeing the Cursed Tree, the girls grimaced in disgust. After all, the pustules all over the Cursed Tree were indeed a major problem.

In the game, you could only damage it by hitting those pustules, but they were revolting. Sensing someone approaching, the Cursed Tree turned to face the group.

Due to its enormous body and very thin limbs, it couldn't stand up and could only sit on the ground. Its posture, combined with the location of its pustules, left everyone speechless.

"This thing is too disgusting, it makes me want to vomit!"

Bete looked at the tree with a face full of disgust. Its indecent sitting posture was one thing, but the grotesque pustules covering its body were just too much.

"Rivelia, please, do something; we can't handle this!"

Even Finn was reluctant to make a move. He thought he had encountered plenty of formidable and gross monsters in the dungeon, but compared to the Cursed Tree, they were nothing. He had no desire to engage at all.

In this regard, Riveria also rolled her eyes. The Cursed Tree was at Level 6, and she could indeed take it down with a few spells. However, this Level 6 was extremely weak, thanks to its obvious weak spot, those nasty pustules.

So Riveria cast an ice spell, freezing the Cursed Tree in place. Then, Lefiya followed up with a volley of shots from behind her, causing all the pustules on the Cursed Tree to explode. For the next year, no more pustules would appear.

Just like that, the Cursed Tree was defeated. At its top, an ancient smelting furnace dropped. Though old, it was still functional.

"That was some powerful magic, you only need two spells to take down the Cursed Tree. Everyone, I must take my leave now; I have my own matters to attend to!"

The Onion Knight said before departing, leaving Asahi speechless. While others might not recognize him, Asahi knew that this guy would soon be followed by Patches in the Abyss Church.

Patches was a genuine villain who had crossed paths with the protagonist multiple times in the game. Honestly, any sensible person would have immediately killed Patches on sight.

But if they didn't kill this guy, he'd show up to help out later in Lothric Castle. All that could be said was that he was an odd character. However, Asahi had made up his mind: the moment this guy tricked him, he'd finish him off without giving him any chance.

Of course, the matter with the Onion Knight was secondary. The group returned to the Firelink Shrine.

"The items are here. Though they're a bit old, they're still usable. This furnace can be used to forge weapons with certain special souls, like the soul of the Cursed Tree or the Lost Demon's soul you obtained!"

Ludleth explained that this furnace could only smelt special souls, and ordinary souls couldn't power it. Weapons forged from special souls would naturally resemble those used by their former owners but would be completely new versions.

While they could already obtain the enemies' weapons, those were used ones. This didn't bother the group much, but when they learned that this furnace could also smelt magic, Riveria and Lefiya were shocked, as they didn't expect magic could be smelted, too.

They visited a sorcerer, who didn't immediately take on apprentices. Aware that the sorcerer's strength was greater than their own, he was willing to teach them his magic and offered to help decode and teach any magic from spellbooks they brought to him.

Riveria and Lefiya were thrilled, as magic was not something everyone possessed, and the quantity of spells in this world was limited.

Magic in this world was potent and highly controllable. Typically, one could either comprehend magic on their own or learn from a spellbook, which was costly. Spellbooks were priceless treasures that few would willingly sell.

Thus, the opportunity to learn proven magic greatly pleased them. After refining all the useless souls, everyone felt a noticeable boost in their strength.

"Next, I've come up with a plan. I want everyone to give the souls they obtained to Ais. Ais is already at a critical point. However, as you know, before reaching Level 6, it's impossible to hone every attribute to its peak."

"But now, with this opportunity, Ais has reached her critical point. Let's make her our trump card. What do you think?"

Everyone nodded in agreement with Finn's plan. Being from the same Familia, they understood Ais's potential and talent and readily agreed without hesitation.

Once Ais's strength increased, they would be able to acquire more souls in the future. It was just a matter of prioritizing correctly.