Chapter 26 – Forest of Prostra (２)

Prostra.

He bore the face of a man with thick, coarse features.

With green hair and a green Robe draped over him, he carried an air of mystery.

“Libre, is it?”

Prostra drew near and spoke.

[Yeah. Long time no see.]

“I see. But what’s that state you’re in? How did your soul come to be bound to a human?”

[Things happened. This man is my master. The one who freed me from my seal.]

“Hmm…?”

At that, Prostra’s eyes narrowed.

“Then he’s the one seeking the path?”

[Yeah. That’s right.]

“I see…”

With those words, Prostra raised his hand.

In an instant, the figures gathered around him vanished.

A grinding rumble—then a booming crash!

With another tremor, the forest’s gate swung open.

Literally.

Right in the middle of the dense woods, a path appeared.

“Follow me.”

“……”

Even though it was just a game, the sight was stunning no matter how many times he saw it.

He felt a bit dazed, too.

He had no clue what was actually going on or how things were unfolding.

[It might be a little confusing, but wait. Soon you’ll know everything.]

“Got it.”

Gijun nodded.

[Come, then. My master.]

The two of them moved.

Following Prostra, who strode ahead.

*

Gijun and Libre followed Prostra to the heart of the forest.

All around them, the Pru tribe filled the woods.

The Pru tribe was the name of the race that lived in Prostra’s forest.

They looked like humans on the outside, but it was said they weren’t human.

Their chieftain was Prostra himself.

Anyway, right now Prostra sat on a chair.

A wooden chair.

Behind him stood a tree so immense it seemed to cover the sky.

That tree, it was said, was the source of Prostra’s forest.

[Prostra was born from that very tree.]

Libre chimed in.

[All the Prostras throughout history are born from that tree and die there.]

“……”

Hermaphrodite, huh.

The thought flickered through his mind for a moment, but Gijun quickly brushed it aside.

He felt, somehow, that it was an irreverent thought.

Anyway—

“Human.”

Prostra spoke.

“Yes.”

“There’s no denying that you are one who seeks the path. Not when Libre’s soul is bound to you.”

“That is correct.”

Having said that, Prostra shifted his gaze.

Toward Libre.

“I wish to ask you one thing.”

[Ask anything.]

“Do you truly believe your master is worthy?”

A question of worth.

Of course, Jun still had no idea what this so-called worth even meant.

[Of course he is.]

Libre answered without a moment’s hesitation.

[Perhaps he is even more than I imagined. I guarantee it. You too will soon come to adore my master.]

“What…?”

Prostra’s eyes widened at Libre’s words.

“Is that so? You would never lie, so I find this… intriguing. Very well. Then I, too, shall place my trust in that.”

“…Thank you.”

Trust in what, exactly?

Just as frustration began to creep in—

“We are the folk of the forest. And we are those who have become one with nature.”

Prostra rose to his feet and began to speak.

“Deep within this forest lies the ‘Ancient Heart,’ which we have guarded for ages.”

‘Ancient Heart.’

That must be the ancient relic Libre had spoken of.

He had no idea what it was used for, but the moment he heard it, a powerful premonition struck him.

The thought that this was the very core of the Quest that would begin here.

And moreover—that if he obtained it, Jun’s magic would ascend into an entirely new realm.

Just then, Libre spoke.

[The Ancient Heart is, simply put, a vessel capable of holding nature’s purest Mana.]

“Huh?”

[If my master, you, were to possess the Ancient Heart, you would be able to contain purer Mana, in greater quantities, and at a faster rate.]

“Er…?”

At that, Jun’s eyes went wide.

He had guessed roughly, but perhaps this reward was even greater than he’d imagined.

Jun even checked his current Mana status through his job data.

The quality of his current Mana was already S-Grade—the highest tier.

And his potential was beyond measurable limits.

But if he could now contain purer Mana, in greater amounts, and faster?

He began to feel a surge of excitement.

Already, an immense anticipation for this Quest was blooming within him.

Seeing this, Libre spoke.

[Do you understand now? All of this—bringing you here—was part of a grand and profound purpose!]

Jun smiled silently.

He truly felt like hugging Libre and showering her with kisses.

Libre, with a triumphant expression, turned back to Prostra.

“The Ancient Heart is the source of life held within our mother, the earth. We have an ancient legend: that our race must give it to one worthy of holding our mother’s life, to help illuminate the world. But there is still a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Yes. And now we are threatened. More precisely, the Ancient Tree that holds the Ancient Heart is under threat. To obtain the Ancient Heart, you must first purify the Ancient Tree.”

Ding!

[Class Quest triggered!]

[Ancient Heart]

-Grade: Class

-Assist Prostra in purifying the Ancient Tree

-Rewards: Experience / Rico

-Bonus Reward: Purified Leaf of the Ancient Tree (Legendary)

!Purify the Ancient Tree without being hit

‘Bonus reward?’

A flash lit Gijun’s eyes.

‘Legendary, no less.’

And there it was — that word, Legendary, hanging off the end.

Of course greed kindled inside him.

‘If I get that item, and the Ancient Heart on top of it…’ He swallowed hard.

Gulp.

The sight of it reignited his will. He couldn’t — wouldn’t — let this slip.

He clenched his jaw, resolve hardening.

Of course, the condition wouldn’t be easy.

‘Zero hits, huh…’

But he was confident.

He’d felt it in the last Raid.

That he, Gijun, had the ability to pull it off.

‘I can practice it again.’

What he’d touched in that last Raid —

A combat style that shattered the mold of an ordinary mage.

And three Fireballs.

This was his chance to wield the staggering weapons he’d been given.

“Are you ready?”

Prostra asked, and

Gijun answered.

“Yes.”

“Good. Follow me.”

Prostra moved again.

*

Soon, Gijun arrived where Prostra led him.

It was deeper into the Forest of Prostra, somewhere further in.

Another tree stood there.

Small, but mystical — radiating a soft blue glow.

[So that’s it…]

Around it, something black caked the bark in thick patches.

Worse, that blackness covered not just the tree — it blanketed the whole area.

“Yes. It began to stir during the time you slept, Libre.”

[I see. So the prophecy is truly coming to pass.]

Libre’s face darkened.

[I entrust this to you, my master. To guide the seeker of the path and illuminate the light — that is my calling.]

Prostra nodded at Libre’s words.

“It probably intends to claim the Ancient Heart first, then the Ancient Armaments one by one. So you must…”

Prostra turned to Gijun.

“You must claim the Heart. We would have destroyed it long ago if we could, but we can’t. The moment we touch it, we vanish on the spot. Our very existence cannot even approach that evil.”

His face twisted as he spoke.

He pressed a hand to his chest.

The mere proximity seemed to cause him pain.

If Prostra felt this badly, the other Proo were surely worse.

“And countless have already died. Many humans and other races couldn’t defeat that thing.”

That was his way of saying it was that hard.

And then —

Sssshhhh!

The black energy that had filled that entire area began to move.

‘······!’

The black energy soon formed a sphere.

A massive sphere.

It rose high, like a sun, and then—

A sharp hiss tore through the air.

“!!!”

In an instant, it split into dozens of tendrils and poured down toward Jun.

[Master!]

“Yeah.”

Jun urgently wrapped Strong Wind around his body as a barrier and dove aside.

BOOM! CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-BOOM!

The spot he’d just been standing in was obliterated by a rain of black tendrils, splitting into a dozen more as they struck.

*

In-game or in reality, a mage never leads the charge.

A mage’s role is to hang at the rear and obliterate the enemy with overwhelming firepower.

But right now, Jun was weaving through an endless barrage of attacks.

‘Good. I can do this.’

He used Strong Wind to deflect incoming strikes while boosting his own speed.

With that, even the sphere’s indiscriminate assault became something he could dodge.

Maybe not yet, but give it time, and his physical stats would surpass even melee-type Superhumans.

He’d become a walking bombardment platform—a mage’s firepower fused with a knight’s body.

‘People actually talk about that.’

If a Superhuman appeared with both a melee fighter’s physique and a mage’s firepower, they could sweep every Monster off the face of the earth.

It’s possible.

Theoretically. Statistically.

People have even tried to cultivate it.

But no one has ever succeeded.

Just being born with a Superhuman talent is hard enough.

Becoming a top-tier Ranker among them? Even harder.

So what are the odds of someone being born with both physical and magical talent?

Ideal, in other words, meant impossible.

But Jun felt it—a real possibility.

If he used the opportunity blooming inside him, he was sure he could reach beyond that limit.

What he had to do was simple.

First, he needed to get his hands on the Ancient Heart.

It was the first step to acquiring even stronger magic.

Sssssssss!

He watched the tendrils rain down toward him again.

He could see them.

And his body moved.

Exactly as he thought.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-BOOM!

He dodged the tendrils.

‘Good.’

Jun thought.

‘I’ve got its pattern down now.’

After the last attack, Jun decided he’d adapted to the sphere’s rhythm well enough.

So now—

‘My turn.’

He knew his turn had come.

‘Let’s go, then.’

Even as he thought it, he was casting.

Three Fireballs materialized in the air.

Rumble!

In an instant, the three Fireballs finished casting.

‘That’s exactly why a mage can’t fight alone even if they’re fast—casting time.’

Lower-circle spells like Fireball were fine, but casting high-Circle magic took time.

Above the 5th Circle, a single spell demands minutes to cast.

At the 6th, the 7th Circle —

And an 8th-Circle spell can take ten full minutes or more, more often than not.

But Gijun was different.

A single Fireball took less than a second to cast.

That meant he could chain-cast while dodging an enemy’s attack, his body in constant motion.

Even two at once.

No—now it was three.

Thanks to the skill he’d earned from an Achievement reward: Duplicate.

And their power was anything but 1st-Circle level.

What’s more, they’d only grow stronger.

Gijun’s Fireballs carried the latent potential to one day rival high-circle magic itself.

He had every qualification to become a mage unlike any the world had ever seen—or would ever see again.

That was an undeniable fact.

Shiiiiiiik!

In an instant, the orb lashed out tendrils to block the incoming Fireballs.

Gijun sidestepped them, once again, with practiced ease.

‘Go.’

The moment he evaded the orb’s attack, Gijun launched his Fireballs.

Three blazing spheres seared across the air in the blink of an eye.

‘That’s it!’

It felt electric.

Every spell, every movement of his body worked in perfect, organic sync—blocking, evading, striking back exactly as he willed it.

It was a textbook battle scene, and simultaneously, an ideal one.

This wasn’t some delusion unique to Gijun.

“Hah!”

[Master, that is magnificent!]

Both Libre and Prostra gasped in awe at Gijun’s nimble movements.