Chapter 60

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 60: Entering the World Tree (3)

The Seal of Drakia?

I was startled by something I hadn’t expected to hear.

Should I pretend not to know anything for now?

“Drakia, you say?”

[Don’t worry. In this place, secrets are kept. You’ll understand if you check your status window.]

Oh?

Does it really show up in the status window?

Sure enough, when I checked, both guardian deities were marked as "----."

So, the guardian deities are unable to intervene.

“Hm… How do you know about him?”

[Because I’m in the same position as him.]

“The same position? Then…”

[My name is Elprian, the elf god who was defeated by Olympus and sealed within the World Tree, becoming one with it.]

Defeated by Olympus?

From the underground space, earth began to rise and take shape.

A form started to appear—a body and face, but with all limbs severed.

The face, sculpted from soil, was the epitome of beauty, though the grotesque, jagged stumps where the limbs had been made the sight unsettling.

“That form…”

[It is Zeus’s doing. He severed my limbs and defiled me until I bore his child. And the children born that way… he devoured them. Seventy-seven of them. Those tiny, helpless infants.]

Elprian spoke calmly.

But the story was revolting beyond words.

What kind of god of order does something like that?

[It was a scheme to degrade my divinity. By consuming my divine offspring, he enhanced his power. Zeus… he’s a demon in a god’s guise. After my divinity fell, my name vanished from this world, and the elves’ faith in me was replaced by other gods, like Drakia.]

So, the elves began worshipping other gods for this reason.

Does this mean the gods we worshipped on Earth also lost their divinity in a similar way?

“The dominant gods on Earth weren’t originally from Olympus. How did the Olympians become so strong?”

[I don’t know either. They weren’t originally this powerful, but at some point, they became overwhelmingly strong.]

Zeus is that powerful?

Ugh.

If it weren’t for the whole “turning into an angel” thing, siding with Olympus would actually be the safest bet.

After all, they’re Earth’s gods.

Of course, what Zeus did to Elprian was horrendous, but it’s not like I’m planning to pick a fight with him.

It’s just that angelification is a problem.

[Zeus wants to angelify you? Why? Ah, your soul abilities…]

Even this god can read my mind.

All gods seem to come with mind-reading as a default feature.

[Even with my diminished divinity, I am still a god. Furthermore, this space is one I created. I can guess what Zeus is after. He intends to angelify you and then replicate you to generate SP more efficiently.]

“Replicate me?”

[Yes. The more angels like you with soul-related traits, the more SP he can accumulate. To replicate an angel’s unique traits, he would need to replicate your soul, which would condemn your soul to eternal torment—far worse than what I endured.]

Worse than what she endured as a limbless goddess forced to bear 77 children?

Ugh.

I can’t believe everything this person says, but angelification doesn’t sound like a good idea.

“Isn’t there any way to avoid it? I really don’t want to become an angel.”

[You’re currently at C-rank. Once you ascend, he will likely force the angelification. I will imprint my seal onto your hidden Dragon Heart. Both my seal and Drakia’s seal will help you when the time comes.]

“Won’t the seals be detected? You knew about them, after all.”

[Drakia and I were once rivals competing for Kevrian. That’s why I know about it. Other gods won’t be able to discern it so easily. My seal will also help conceal the Dragon Heart.]

Hmm.

Drakia’s seal is already there… I guess I’ll accept her offer for now.

[The forgotten god, the elf god Elprian, imprints her seal onto your Dragon Heart.]

A message window appeared, but nothing seemed to change, so I asked again.

“Does this seal have any other effects?”

[When you ascend to the next rank, it will manifest as a different power. Time is running short.]

For now, it’s just a seal, huh.

Hearing her say time was running out, I asked about the information I’d seen in the guide.

“Is there a trace of Chronos in the World Tree?”

[Chronos? The Olympian god of time… Chronos?]

Elprian muttered to herself, puzzled.

Huh?

She doesn’t know?

Even though she claimed to be one with the World Tree?

Could it be that the guidebook information was wrong again?

[If there is a trace of Chronos… I will investigate. For now, I’ll grant you an appropriate blessing so that others won’t question why you were taken.]

[You have received an enhanced blessing from the World Tree.]

[Within the World Tree’s domain, your stats increase by 50%.]

[Your regeneration rate is greatly enhanced within the World Tree’s domain.]

A “moderate” blessing increases stats by 50%?

Gods really don’t hold back.

Even with the domain limitation, this will still be a great help.

[I will call for you again if I learn anything about Chronos. Be especially cautious when you ascend to the next rank…]

She nodded slightly, as if to reassure me.

Then, once again, the roots of the World Tree emerged from the ground and enveloped me.

My body was transported back the way I came.

“He’s back!”

Upon returning to the battlefield, I saw the roots of the World Tree rising everywhere, supporting our troops.

Hmm.

Looks like the World Tree is on our side.

With the blessing, let’s give it our all.

[Pollux finds it peculiar that you received the World Tree’s blessing.]

They dragged me there and gave it to me, though?

Pollux didn’t respond.

Hmm… I wonder why he’s silent.

But this isn’t the time for thinking.

There’s an enemy ahead to fight.

“Summon Flame Chariot.”

Standing atop the chariot, I fired lightning in all directions.

I prioritized taking down the reinforced undead.

Though I couldn’t manage everything alone, the roots of the World Tree helped maintain the battlefield.

“Level up!”

“I’m at C-rank now! I can deal damage to the enemy!”

High-level enemies were falling quickly, and as more of us reached C-rank, the battle seemed to shift in our favor.

By midday, the undead began to slow down, and the reinforced undead were being subdued.

But the awakened ones were starting to tire.

“This is endless…”

“Leveling up is great, but… I’m about to collapse from exhaustion.”

The awakened had never fought an all-day battle before.

At first, they tried to conserve their strength, but after the reinforced undead appeared, they had to go all out, leaving them completely drained.

Meanwhile, the undead, tireless and relentless, kept coming.

Undead truly are the worst.

[Master, when night falls, the undead will become even stronger. If the awakened are already tired, it will be tough.]

“That’s true.”

We need to rotate the awakened for defense.

The reserve forces in the rear should replace the frontlines to give them time to rest.

I steered my carriage toward the command post, where the flag of the United Earth Nations, symbolizing the continents of Earth, fluttered in the wind.

In the command post, officers were itching to join the battle.

“We need to rotate the units. At this rate, they’ll collapse from exhaustion.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Yes, we’ll do that.”

“I’ll signal the reserves to switch with the frontlines.”

“I’ll suppress the enemy a bit in the meantime. Use that time to make the switch.”

“Yes, sir!”

Hmm… Your response is much more spirited than before.

I immediately drove the flame tank into the battlefield.

The ground was filled with undead.

I left the undead at the front line to be handled by Earth’s awakeners and decided to cut off their rear.

“Fire Wall.”

I created a wall of fire to burn all the undead.

“Thunder God.”

I massacred them en masse with lightning.

“Yeoui.”

I extended my sword appropriately and swept away groups of enemies.

Even the reinforced undead couldn’t put up much resistance and were wiped out instantly.

After trying various things, I found the best solution.

Driving the flame tank while sweeping away enemies with the extended Yeoui.

I extended Yeoui toward the undead and sped up the flame tank.

Like erasing chalk scribbles with an eraser, a single swipe cleared the enemies, leaving them burnt to ashes.

[Level up!]

I went back and forth across the battlefield continuously until it was time for the unit to rotate.

Though my arms and shoulders ached from cutting through the enemies, thanks to infinite stamina and the World Tree's blessing enhancing my regeneration, I recovered quickly.

[Level up!]

At this rate, I’ll hit level 100 in no time, huh?

This time, instead of clearing them all at once, I patrolled back and forth, which conserved mana more effectively.

If only these types of enemies keep coming, we could just keep going like this until it’s over.

When the frontline warriors were replaced, I stopped running.

Well, since this is when the enemies are weakest, we might as well focus on leveling up the Earthlings.

They at least need to reach Grade C to be useful.

Seriously.

[Hoho. How many blessings do you even have?]

A frivolous voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield.

The undead froze in place like robots running out of battery.

This voice...

[Pleased to meet you. I am the Supreme Commander.]

A large holographic image of the Supreme Commander’s face appeared in the dark clouds above the undead.

With a monocle and infuriatingly good looks, the Supreme Commander raised a wine glass in his left hand and turned to me.

[I’ve never seen you before, but you’re quite impressive. An awakener monopolizing the love of the gods… I suppose I should eliminate you in advance.]

The Supreme Commander spoke as if we had never met.

If not for Aurelia, I wouldn’t have remembered him either.

Is he playing dumb on purpose?

[Even if you die, you’ll crawl back out to Earth, won’t you? Let’s put an end to that.]

With that, the Supreme Commander threw the wine glass.

Although it was thrown from the holographic screen, I had a bad feeling.

I immediately led the Flame Chariot to retreat toward the unit.

The liquid from the wine glass spilled out of the screen, splashing across the battlefield.

It spread across the sky and then fell directly onto the ground where I had been standing with a loud thud.

Hissss.

The moment it touched the ground, the skeletons and zombies standing blankly were instantly dissolved.

Whoa.

Was he really planning to catch me with that?

If I’d been hit, it would’ve been game over.

The jelly-like liquid began to gather and form a shape.

Ugh, what now?

Can’t I just have an easy first day?

“Thunder God!”

I shot lightning from a distance.

Though a faint wisp of smoke rose as it hit, the liquid kept consolidating.

And then, from the direction the lightning had struck, the crimson liquid surged toward me.

My arm burned fiercely, and my danger sense flared.

It was about to grab me, and I couldn’t stop it.

I leaped off the tank to the side, dodging the attack.

Behind me, a scream echoed.

“A… a person was just melted away!”

When I looked back, the area where people had been stationed was completely devoid of any trace of them.

What the… it’s insanely strong!

The liquid kept flying at me like bullets.

Thanks to my danger sense, I dodged nimbly while trying to hit it with lightning, but it was completely ineffective.

Should I use concentrated enhancement?

At that moment, a voice echoed from the sky.

[He is in danger.]

[We will handle this.]

[Protect him.]

Light descended from the heavens, and four angels appeared.

They flew toward the massive, slime-like crimson liquid, wielding swords of light.

The crimson liquid extended in all directions to subdue the angels, but none of its attacks landed.

With every flash of light, the angels teleported, slashing with their swords, and with another flash, they dodged.

As the four angels slashed with their swords of light, the crimson liquid began to burn and disintegrate.

[We will always protect you.]

[Fight freely without worry.]

[We look forward to your joining us.]

After leaving their blessings, the angels vanished in a flash of light.

A level-up message appeared.

Two levels at once.

All I did was fire some lightning and dodge a few attacks.

I feel like I gained levels for free… but hey, it’s still a win.

The angels really took care of things.

But… joining them?

What does that even mean?

Just thinking about it gave me the chills.

[To be protected by angels. How extraordinary. Don’t you think? While they ignore others even when many die, they seem quite fond of you. Hahaha…]

The Supreme Commander on the screen chuckled.

[I’ll have to prepare properly for next time. See you again, awakener.]

With that, the Supreme Commander disappeared, and the undead army resumed their advance.

The battle continued for three days and nights.

The enemies came in similar numbers each time.

As the awakeners leveled up and Grade C fighters began appearing, our forces grew stronger, while the undead remained unchanged.

By the second day, the situation rarely became dangerous even without my intervention.

After three days and nights, reinforcements of 20,000 arrived from Earth, and morale reached its peak.

The only blemish was that those who had been killed by the crimson liquid were traumatized and couldn’t return to the battlefield.

At dawn, as I swept through the remaining enemies for the unit rotation and returned, roots suddenly emerged from the ground.

The roots gently wrapped around my feet, and a voice resonated.

[Awakener Kim Jiho. The traces of Chronos have been discovered.]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]