Chapter 27 – Forest of Prostra (３)

And now.

KWAANG! KWAAAAANG!

The three Fireballs slammed into the orb.

But—

‘Huh?’

They vanished.

The moment they touched the creature, the Fireballs simply dissolved into nothing.

‘What the hell?’

Gijun narrowed his eyes.

This was a problem.

‘So just attacking head-on won’t work?’

As expected, this was no ordinary difficulty.

‘I need to find a way—’

Then.

‘Huh?’

Gijun’s eyes went wide.

*

‘Indeed… he is no ordinary man.’

Prostra was impressed.

It was because of the Seeker who had come with Libre.

‘He hasn’t allowed a single hit to land.’

True to the words, Gijun had dodged every attack the orb had thrown, permitting not a single one to connect.

His body was incredibly agile, and his Stamina showed no sign of flagging.

‘Movement uncharacteristic of an ordinary mage.’

The Flame Seeker.

They were known for their overwhelming firepower.

But they were still, fundamentally, mages.

Unlike knights or martial artists born with physical prowess, even training the body could never yield such fluid, nimble motion.

‘But that’s far from its only weapon.’

The Ancient Evil.

The reason it had driven countless souls to their deaths wasn’t merely because of those attacks.

It hid its true body.

No matter how many orbs you struck, you couldn’t land a direct blow.

“If I can’t destroy the thing, all this speed is useless.”

Jun’s eyes darted in an instant.

Prostra let out a low whistle of admiration.

“He’s already figured it out.”

He’d grasped that raw attacks alone wouldn’t fell this ancient evil.

“But knowing it and doing it are two different things.”

He had to find it—

the one way to land a real blow on that bastard.

Even Prostra couldn’t hand him the answer.

This was something he had to discover on his own.

And then—

Boom!

Another Fireball slammed into the sphere.

And—

Crack—

“Huh?”

A fissure spiderwebbed across the sphere’s surface.

“No way.”

The implication was singular.

Jun had already found the method to counter the creature.

“Unbelievable.”

Prostra marveled.

After just one trial and error, he’d cracked the puzzle.

“Indeed…”

His gaze shifted to Libre.

“So this is why Libre acknowledged him.”

He’d wondered how impressive the human could be, seeing Libre so confident—

but this surpassed every expectation.

[As expected of my master!]

It was the first time he’d seen Libre so ecstatic.

*

“Damn, this is one tricky bastard.”

Jun’s mind raced.

That sphere was a nightmare to deal with.

But he’d found it—

the way to strike back.

“Once hit, its true form appears within three seconds.”

That was the key Jun had seized.

After landing one spell, he’d glimpsed the energy around the creature warp for a heartbeat.

A window narrower than a second.

Miss that timing, and attacking the thing was nearly impossible.

“But for me, it’s enough.”

Three Fireballs.

With this arsenal, he could land a solid hit.

“Of course…”

Knowing this didn’t make the fight any easier.

Sssshhh—

The creature kept spitting out countless tendrils even now, pressing the attack.

Bam! Boom, boom!

Tendrils slammed into the ground where Jun had stood, splintering the earth.

Dodge that relentless assault, land a hit on the floating sphere, and strike the ephemeral true form in its single moment of exposure—that was the only way to bring it down.

A foe this brutally demanding.

“Yeah. Figures they’d only cough up the Ancient Heart for this kind of trial.”

Thinking that way, he could almost feel grateful for the difficulty.

Jun loosed another Fireball.

Bang!

A clean hit, of course.

And time slipped by.

One second, two…

Just as two seconds ticked past—

Chiiiit!

The energy field warped, a hairline fracture in reality.

In that instant, the Fireball he’d prepared struck the thing head-on.

And he still had two more left.

Boom! Crash-Boom!

Of course, Gijun landed those remaining Fireballs with perfect timing.

‘Just as I thought.’

Gijun smiled.

The crack in the sphere had widened, deeper than before.

‘Triplecaster, huh.’

Even he had to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

*

Crack—Crackle-Crack!

“There we go.”

[Magnificent. My master.]

Prostra and Libre spoke at the same time.

And true to their words, Gijun had finally shattered the sphere completely.

The sphere, once fissured, crumbled into pieces.

Ching!

The shards of the broken sphere dissolved into the air.

At the same time, the black miasma that had been enveloping the Ancient Tree began to recede.

[This ends here for now, but the resistance will only grow fiercer. The thing hasn’t even taken proper form yet. But once the Fragment of Evil reclaims its shape and fully recovers its power….]

“A grim future unfolds.”

Prostra picked up where Libre left off.

[And so, my master, you must grow quickly.]

“Yeah.”

Honestly, even now, it wasn’t an easy opponent.

And yet it hadn’t even fully awakened.

Meaning the days ahead were filled with fights against foes who wouldn’t go down easy.

‘Well, anyway….’

Gijun decided to savor this victory for now.

[Quest Complete!]

[Level Up!]

[All Stats increased by 3!]

[Bonus objective achieved!]

[Bonus reward acquired!]

[Acquired Leaf of the Ancient Tree.]

The bonus reward was an item called the Purified Leaf of the Ancient Tree.

One drifting leaf of the Ancient Tree fell into Gijun’s hand.

[…!!]

Seeing it, Prostra and Libre’s eyes went wide.

“The, the Ancient Tree… Ha, Hahahaha!”

[Astonishing, truly.]

[Purified Leaf of the Ancient Tree]

-The leaf of the Ancient Tree holds Mana purer than anything else. When consumed, Mana increases by 2 per level-up.

‘That’s absolutely broken.’

The Leaf of the Ancient Tree.

Consuming it meant gaining a whopping 2 Mana every time he leveled up.

The current Mana gain per level was just 1.

This meant he could grow at double the rate.

‘No joke.’

He’d expected something, but this was beyond expectations.

At higher levels, even a single Stat point made a difference you couldn’t ignore.

How much did people spend just to raise one Stat point?

Gijun had essentially gotten his hands on a weapon in a league of its own.

“The Ancient Tree has chosen you, it seems.”

Prostra spoke then.

“No one can touch the Ancient Tree’s leaves. Not even I.”

“…Is that really true?”

“Yes. Only those acknowledged by the Ancient Tree may touch its Leaf.”

This was yet another astonishing revelation.

Come to think of it,

If this object were truly so extraordinary, it would have been strange if its leaves hadn’t already been stripped bare long ago.

In any case, that only confirmed just how remarkable it was.

“Now go on—chew it and swallow.”

“Understood.”

As instructed, Gijun placed the Leaf of the Ancient Tree into his mouth and bit down.

His eyes went wide.

It tasted incredible.

A subtle blend of sweetness and tartness swirled across his tongue.

And the moment he fully swallowed the Leaf of the Ancient Tree,

[The Ancient Tree’s power imbues your body.]

[Mana increases by 2 per Level-up.]

A message bloomed before his eyes.

‘Nice.’

Gijun breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he read the notification.

‘And that’s not even the whole story.’

He knew.

This quest was merely a stepping stone—an intermediate stage on the path to obtaining the Ancient Heart.

“Ah… Finally!”

At that moment, Prostra let out a cry of wonder.

Both Libre and Gijun turned their gaze.

Toward the Ancient Tree.

The Ancient Tree, which had been stained black, had now completely shed that dark taint.

It radiated a brilliant light, unlike anything before.

And with that, the malevolent energy that had filled the entire area vanished without a trace.

“F-Finally!”

“The Ancient Tree has begun to shine!”

Shouts from the Proo tribe echoed from far away.

They had already gathered in force around the Ancient Tree, crying out.

“Thank you! O Seeker!”

“The Pathfinder has restored the Ancient Tree’s light!”

“Hurrah! Hurrah!”

They cheered, sang, and danced.

Gijun found himself feeling strangely proud.

“I am grateful. Now then, it is truly time to implant the Ancient Heart within you.”

Now the real part began.

It was time to achieve the purpose that had brought him to the Forest of Prostra.

“The Ancient Heart lies buried deep within the roots of yonder Ancient Tree. Yet there is no need to dig it up. If you are worthy to harbor the Ancient Heart, it shall seek you out of its own accord.”

Prostra turned his gaze back toward the Ancient Tree.

“Go there and lay your hand upon the Ancient Tree. If the Ancient Heart recognizes you as its master, the ritual will begin.”

“…Understood.”

Gijun walked slowly toward the Ancient Tree.

And just as Prostra had instructed, he placed his hand upon it.

At that moment,

A deep, rumbling tremor shook the ground.

The Ancient Tree began to quake,

And a chime rang out.

[Quest initiated!]

[The Ancient Heart!]

-Grade: Class

-Pass the Trial of the Ancient Heart!

-Reward: Ancient Heart

The quest message triggered.

The instant the quest message appeared,

A blinding light surged forth.

“…Huh?”

An intense radiance enveloped Gijun.

*

Gijun found himself in an unfamiliar space.

Just moments ago, he had been standing in the heart of the forest, before the Ancient Tree.

Now everything was white.

Before him stood a massive crystalline structure.

Far larger than Gijun himself.

It was white, and looked impossibly dense.

That must be the Ancient Heart.

The moment he saw it, Gijun knew. This crystal was the Ancient Heart.

Because he could feel the colossal surge of Mana writhing inside it.

Then—

[Are you the one who seeks the path?]

A voice spoke.

He flinched.

He hadn’t expected the Heart itself to talk back to him.

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

Caught off guard, Gijun stammered.

[I see. Then coming here means you’ve purified the Ancient Tree where I lay buried, yes?]

“That’s right.”

[Good. You’ve done well. Had I fallen into their hands, things would have become quite troublesome. I am only a fragment of the gods, but at the same time, I am also the origin.]

He didn’t understand the full picture, but he knew it was important.

It made sense, when he thought about it.

Without a heart, no other organ in the body can move.

Wasn’t it the heart that pumped blood through the whole body?

[But doing a good deed doesn’t mean you get to possess me.]

“I figured.”

Gijun nodded at the Heart’s follow-up.

After all, this Quest had been about passing a qualification test from the start.

There was no reason to be flustered.

The question was what that test actually was.

[You’re wondering what the test is, aren’t you?]

“Uh, yeah.”

He was startled again.

For a second, he wondered if it was reading his mind.

[It’s nothing difficult. I’m not going to make you fight a monster that suddenly appears, nor send you on some fetch quest.]

That put him at ease.

At least he wouldn’t have to deal with another hassle.

[It’s literally just a test of worthiness. To see if you are fit to house me. Come closer.]

Gijun took a step forward.

[Place your hand upon me. Then everything will proceed as fate intends…]

Gijun laid his hand on the Heart.

And in that instant—

Thump!

“Ah—!”

The world felt like it was rocking.

His entire body resonated with the Heart’s pulse.

Then—

Whoosh!

A torrent of immense energy flooded out from within, crashing into him.

It surged through his hand, poured into his body, and began to channel back into the Heart.

“…!!”