NOVEL NEXT Ch. 11
Ssshhrrkk!
Many must have heard tales of flowers blooming through asphalt.
Even concrete, which human strength could hardly leave a scratch on, was fragile enough for a plant to take root and grow.
The branches of the World Tree spread out layer by layer, driving into the cracks in the ground.
I licked my parched lips.
‘There’s only one chance.’
As I ripped out a bundle of stems, I could sense the World Tree showing signs of fatigue.
I had to end it in one go.
Just as I was finishing my preparations, it noticed me.
“Groooar!”
Its cry was that of a wild beast.
Just hearing it made my legs tremble and my skin sting.
Suppressing the goosebumps racing across my skin, I loosened my stiff arms and legs.
“Come at me.”
Boom! Boom!
The massive hulk, flaunting its monstrous strength, smashed apart walls and obstacles blocking its path.
The shockwaves alone shook buildings, and falling debris grazed my cheek.
Without dodging, I focused on its movements.
Whoosh!
As expected from such bulk, its movements were heavy rather than quick.
I saw it raising both clenched fists in front of me.
‘Blocking that is impossible.’
The sheer difference in power that came from its size.
If I didn’t get crushed into paste, I’d be lucky to just lose the use of both arms.
Dodging was a given.
What mattered was the timing.
If I was late, I’d get injured. If I was early, the trap wouldn’t be effective.
That was why I had prepared insurance beforehand.
Snap!
Like plucking a stringed instrument, I flicked my fingers.
The World Tree’s branches, which had been prying apart the cracks in the ground, stirred once more.
“Groooar!”
It let out a bewildered sound.
Suddenly, the ground beneath one of its feet sank in.
Whoosh!
Losing balance, its fist veered wildly off course.
The wind pressure from the missed blow shoved me back.
But I took no damage at all.
Its attack smashed pointlessly into the ground.
Crrrack!
From the shattered floor, fissures spread outward with me and the monster at their center.
This time, they didn’t stop at a small radius.
The deepening shadows branched out chaotically in every direction.
Boom!
“……!”
Even if it had lost its reason, instinct must have warned it of danger.
Realizing something was wrong, it faltered and tried to retreat.
“Too late.”
With that bulk, ruin came faster than escape.
The pre-loosened cracks couldn’t withstand the massive shock.
Rrrumble!
The ground shattered like glass and collapsed.
Deprived of support, its body hung briefly outside gravity’s grasp.
“Groooar!”
Its limbs flailed helplessly in the air.
It snatched at a pillar in desperation, but that only hastened the collapse.
Snap!
“……!”
Even the rebar it clung to tore loose, and its gigantic body plummeted endlessly toward the depths.
Rrrumble!
A huge cloud of dust shot up from the gaping hole in the floor.
The acrid smell of the powder stung my nose.
It was like a volcano had erupted.
Clinging to a branch that extended far out, I carefully descended only after the turbulence subsided.
“……Turned into a complete mess.”
From the very top to the bottom.
The goblin’s hulking body, after experiencing free fall, was so crushed it was hard to recognize.
Crunch!
A dangling rebar fell and pierced straight into its torso.
Blood poured out in torrents, fitting for its enormous bulk.
The sticky sensation clinging to the soles of my shoes was revolting.
But since it was proof that I had taken it down, it was bearable.
“Persistent bastard.”
I muttered with disgust as I stepped closer.
The mangled muscles buried under rubble twitched intermittently.
Though it looked on the verge of death, it wasn’t dead yet.
To think it was still alive even after its body was wrecked like that.
No matter how berserk it went, could it really still be called human?
Monster was the only word that fit.
Squelch, squelch!
I climbed over its mangled flesh.
The squishy feeling wasn’t like stepping on flesh, but mud.
“How should I finish this thing?”
I frowned as I spoke.
Its flesh, losing all control of contraction and expansion, sagged into a gooey mess.
“I probably need to destroy its heart……”
But I was reluctant to stick my hand into that meat.
‘Who knows what might happen if I touch it.’
Test subjects of dark sorcerers often carried poisons.
And since it wasn’t even certain whether this was caused by the fragments of the Spirit Cocoon, caution was necessary.
Avoiding unknown risks was the wisest course.
“I’d better fetch a weapon.”
Goblin corpses were full of weapons.
If I jammed one in and channeled current through it, there was no way it could endure.
「The World Tree points at itself.」
“……?”
Now that I thought about it, I had one more hand.
The whip-like stem.
Since it could regenerate, there was no need to worry about harm.
Without waiting for my permission, the World Tree tore into the berserk goblin’s body on its own.
The tip of a branch probed into the flesh, then pulled something out.
「The World Tree retrieves a fragment of the Spirit Cocoon.」
As expected.
A fragment of the Spirit Cocoon was found inside the monster.
‘……?’
But something about it was different.
Unlike the ones I had collected, this one looked as if it had been tampered with by human hands.
On the scaly surface, bizarre circuits were drawn.
From a glass tube that pulsed intermittently, blue light raced along the lines.
The way it brightened and dimmed repeatedly looked almost like a human heart beating.
「The World Tree tears open the wrapping in annoyance.」
Wrapping?
No.
That wasn’t something that should be described with such a harmless word……
Ssshhrrkk!
My train of thought was cut off as the ground trembled beneath me.
Once the fragment was retrieved, the goblin’s body melted away like liquid.
It seemed truly dead now, with no trace of vitality left.
‘So this confirms that the Spirit Cocoon fragments are linked to the goblin’s berserk state?’
But it wasn’t the fragments themselves that caused the transformation.
They only showed signs of influence, while the circuits the World Tree had just destroyed were what pushed it to the extreme.
Droop!
After painstakingly breaking apart and tearing away the complex circuits, the World Tree sagged.
It looked completely drained of strength.
At the same time, the fragments of the Spirit Cocoon it had been storing fused together.
「All fragments of the Spirit Cocoon have been retrieved.」
「The Spirit Cocoon has been completed and now conceives new life.」
「The World Tree’s energy stimulates the Spirit Cocoon.」
「The Spirit Cocoon begins to hatch.」
“……!”
The completed cocoon pulsed, then a huge crack appeared at its center.
Radiant light poured out from within.
Like threads unraveling, halos of light spread, and like paint dispersing in water, brilliant radiance filled the air.
The breeze passing through my body carried warm energy.
A touch that soothed my whole body and released my tension.
From that mysterious sensation, I instinctively realized what the light was.
“……A spirit?”
The cluster of light, once bright like a single bulb, split into small groups.
A faint congregation of light.
It was the sight of small spirits gathered together.
“Ugh.”
I shielded half my face from the sudden sunlight.
Through the window frame, which had only ever cast dark shadows, sunlight now poured in.
The spirits that had been dancing around the World Tree broke into formations and scattered.
They burrowed into the earth, nested in buildings, and dwelled within plants.
Fwaaah!
Following the brilliance that burned away the darkness, vegetation sprouted.
Withered moss and ivy regained green vitality under the sunlight, as though time had been rewound.
Dozens of flower buds broke through the concrete and blossomed wide.
Stems and leaves grew rapidly, as though wound-up clockwork, covering the entire area.
The faint glow emitted by the spirits served as illumination, bathing the land in green.
It was like stepping into untouched mountain wilderness, free from human hands for ages.
The greenery spread beyond the building’s interior, stretching endlessly toward the horizon.
“……”
I couldn’t open my mouth.
My entire body trembled, quivering from emotion and exhilaration.
The refreshing scent of plants, the beauty of flowers, the richness of the soil—all of it overwhelmed my senses.
「The World Tree breathes in peace.」
The sagging World Tree regained its energy.
Joy, relief, welcome, pride……
Countless emotions that the World Tree must have felt flickered across my mind.
And the awe I felt was no different.
Regardless of my own personal tastes.
The scenery unfolding before my eyes was art itself.
“Ah.”
But the miracle did not last long.
As quickly as they had grown, the plants began to wither and sink back deep into the earth.
Even so, I could sense it.
Those plants weren’t shedding their last leaves, but rooting themselves firmly into this land.
「The resurrected spirits return to Mother Nature!」
「The nearby land recovers its vitality!」
「As a druid, you have restored a part of nature!」
「Affinity with nature has increased!」
「The spirits return to the embrace of the World Tree!」
「The World Tree grows!」
「Spirits each hold unique powers within them.」
「Affinity with nature stimulates spirits and promotes awakening.」
“……”
Message after message surfaced endlessly, but they no longer held my attention.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Warm, refreshing air filled my lungs.
The scene from moments ago burned itself into the back of my eyelids, vivid and indelible.
A spectacle of colors layered atop a gray, monotonous canvas.
The embrace of nature, felt with all five senses.
Together with the World Tree, I quietly reminisced about that beautiful scenery for a while.
Nature could not be restored in a short span of time.
As always, reviving a rotting river or purifying polluted land took many years to return to its original state.
Even now, after releasing the spirits back into nature, it was the same.
In District 7, which I explored over time, no dramatic change was visible.
But even if faint, change was undeniably underway.
Rustle!
The ivy brushing my clothes didn’t crumble but bounced back with resilience.
Moss growing atop damp stones sprouted lushly, forming a small patch of green.
‘Even the smell of the air has changed.’
The stench of brine and rot that once numbed my nose was now faint.
Even the feel of soil beneath my feet was no longer brittle, but soft.
District 7’s environment was shifting from the very basics.
‘Now it’s just people who need to change.’
That was something beyond my power.
Perhaps, once plants sprouted fully across this land, people might change as well.
After all, vegetation alone could heal the illnesses of the heart.
“……Mister?”
It was as I wandered aimlessly.
A thin, now-familiar voice called out from somewhere.
“Here, over here.”
Even without searching, the child was already waving me over.
I stopped wandering and headed in that direction.
Creeeak!
It was a shabby one-room place, hardly different from a barn.
The un-oiled hinges groaned like they were dying.
The words that slipped from my mouth were not pleasant.
“You live in a cramped place like this?”
“What about it?”
“It’s smaller than the building I stayed in for a bit.”
“It’s small for you, mister. For me, it’s just right.”
The child carefully locked the door and climbed onto the bed.
What was small for me fit the child perfectly.
“……I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, why are you here?”
“It’s not like this neighborhood’s forbidden.”
“That’s not it. I told you to stay home for a while, didn’t I? Did you forget?”
Though usually expressionless, almost detached from the world, the child now looked unusually sulky.
“You know the goblins are rampaging. Can’t you see there’s no one outside? You should hide too. Might as well stay here for a few days with me.”
It seemed the child was worried about me again.
‘Truly, this one has a kind heart.’
Unusual generosity for a child of the slums.
To such a child, I gave a great gift.
“Don’t worry. There won’t be any more goblin rampages.”
“……?”
“If you don’t believe me, check their hideout. I’ve dealt with them all.”
The child’s eyes widened.
I grinned and stood.
“So the goblins stayed quiet until now because of you, mister……?”
“That’s why I came. They weren’t ordinary ones, so it was tough.”
But the harvest was just as great.
Unread system messages still flickered at the corner of my vision.
“They probably had hidden stashes. Go loot them first. It won’t be much, but it’s something.”
There were no entertainment districts here to waste money in.
Before leaving, I had already taken everything in plain sight, but there had to be hidden funds.
Telling the child first was a small favor I could give.
“Think of it as payback for the breakfast you gave me. Take it all. Then head for the central districts with that money.”
“……The central districts?”
“If District 3 is too hard, District 5 works. Anywhere’s better than living here.”
Too bright a child to rot in the slums.
This land, filled only with powerless people, was not the right place for the child to grow.
Even if life was rough at first, the central districts would be better.
The resourcefulness this child had shown in surviving the slums would be enough to get by there.
“Before long, another goblin pack will take over. If you stay here, only you’ll suffer.”
Vermin always crawled back, no matter how many times they were killed.
And goblins held that very place in the slums.
The residents of the slums could only enjoy brief moments free of their cruelty.
“Don’t forget what I said. Got it?”
The child looked bewildered.
I patted the child’s head, then turned away.
“I’m going.”
That was enough.
It wasn’t my place to take responsibility—the choice was the child’s to make.
‘No need to worry. The child will do as I said.’
A clever one.
Surely understood that I was right.
Shaking off the last of my attachments, I left District 7.
“Mister…… really defeated the goblins?”
Inside the room, after Allen had left.
The child mulled over the words he had left behind.
“Then that wondrous sight earlier was……?”
Even though it had passed in the blink of an eye, the memory still lingered.
The idyllic scenery of fresh greenery sprouting and sunlight pouring down.
It felt like a blissful dream.
At first, the child thought it might have been a hallucination from fear of the goblins, but now it seemed different.
“……He told me to go to the central districts.”
The child blinked slowly.
“If I go there…… will I be able to see him again?”
Pupils shimmered blue like twinkling stars.
In their depths, faint traces of Allen stretched out beyond the door.
(End of Chapter)