NOVPUB
Chapter 230
[Antares, the Monarch of Destruction, nods.]
The World Tree. That was the answer.
There was no telling how Antares knew, but the tree that Jiwoo had clung to so desperately in her dream was none other than the World Tree.
A sudden realization flashed through Suho’s mind. I know how she reawakened. It was just like with Vulcan.
He remembered the legend of Vulcan, the Demon of Greed. It was a tale that had circulated among the demons following Esil.
Demons could be divided into two types: those with intelligence and those without. Intelligent demons didn’t even consider the mindless ones as kin, viewing them more like vermin.
Vulcan had belonged to the latter category. He was at the very bottom of the hierarchy, a lowly scavenger among demons.
“Just a maggot squirming on instinct.”
That had been Vulcan’s original identity.
Yet fate had smiled upon him. Despite being born a nobody, he had survived by hiding in the shadows, doing whatever it took to avoid being devoured by the strong.
By sheer luck, he discovered a fragment of the World Tree. Acting purely on instinct, he snapped a branch from the tree and ate the leaves he found there.
At that moment, everything changed. He evolved into a demon noble.
Suho was certain now. Vulcan—the lowly demon who had transformed into a demon noble after eating the leaves of the World Tree—and Jiwoo of the Blue Dragon Guild—the hunter who had encountered the tree in a dream and reawakened as an S-rank hunter—shared more than a rise to greater power.
The World Tree obviously affected them somehow.
Suho felt as if he’d taken one step closer to uncovering the truth about reawakenings, which were said to occur very rarely across the planet.
***
Some time later, the other S-rank hunters left with Jinho to discuss the closed beta test. Only Suho and Jiwoo remained in the gymnasium to continue their conversation about Eternal Slumber.
Suho, after making sure that nobody else remained nearby, summoned Antares.
“Ragna.”
With a small chirp, the tiny lizard emerged from Suho’s shadow.
“Ragna— I mean, Antares. I have a question for you.”
The lizard froze in place. Its simple, clueless eyes suddenly gleamed with the dignity of a king.
[“Antares” has entered the body of the shaman.]
The King of Dragons smiled arrogantly as if he had been expecting this. “Yes? Go on. You’ve proven yourself worthy, so I’ll permit you to ask me such questions.”
“Worthy... I see,” Suho muttered. He recalled the advice his father’s apparition had given him in Antares’ world.
“Suho, I can tell you the location of the World Tree myself. But getting there will not be easy.”
Antares wasn’t the only one who had roamed the dimensional rifts during the wars. Jinwoo had done the same.
“But at your current level, you will only expose yourself to danger by reaching the World Tree. So for now, focus on growing stronger. The rest will be explained by Antares.”
With that, Jinwoo’s apparition had manipulated the system, creating a job change quest for Suho. Then just as suddenly as he’d appeared, he vanished.
The Trial of the King of Dragons began. After the two-part trial, Suho had gained the title “Qualification of the King of Dragons,” fulfilling the minimum qualification required to ask Antares about the World Tree.
“Where is the World Tree now?”
Suho didn’t care if Jiwoo overheard the question. Even if she did, she likely wouldn’t understand it. On the off chance she did understand, she might even prove useful.
Meanwhile, Jiwoo had her own thoughts. She glanced at Suho, watching him pick up the tiny dragon and hold it closer for conversation.
“How are all his summons so adorab— Ahem.”
Her hand twitched as she barely stopped herself from reaching out to pet the lizard.
Beru and all the other summons that Suho had revealed so far were tiny, cute, and deceptively harmless in appearance. It wasn’t surprising that people had mistaken him for a subpar summoner before his awakening.
But despite their appearance, they have a powerful energy about them... she thought. She wondered if that was also the result of the reawakening.
Suho’s summons, despite their looks, gave off an aura of intense power. In addition, they were not like usual summons. They spoke human language, had independent thought, and were also somewhat intelligent.
Such summons are extremely rare. On a strategic level, they’re incredibly valuable...
While Jiwoo’s thoughts wandered, Suho pressed Antares for answers.
“The World Tree?” the Monarch repeated, his grin widening with mischief. “It is everywhere and nowhere.”
“I’m not looking for riddles,” Suho said.
“I’m not giving you one. This is the truth.”
The smirk on the dragon’s face made Suho pause. “Are you talking about the void? The dimensional rift?”
“Yes. You are quite clever. What do you think connects distant dimensions through these rifts? That is the job of the World Tree.”
“What?” Taken aback, Suho blinked.
Antares’ voice was thick with meaning as he continued, “The World Tree’s roots lie in the Sea of the Afterlife, its branches extending across the universe. The fruits from those branches give birth to the heavenly soldiers led by the Rulers.”
Suho mulled this over.
Roots in the Sea of the Afterlife. Branches all over the universe. Soldiers of the Rulers from the fruit... If soldiers can be born from the fruit, that would easily explain what happened to Vulcan and Jiwoo after coming across the tree.
He nodded thoughtfully. “And? I want more details. I’m not here for the tree’s purpose. I want to know how to get there.”
“The dimensional rift is unstable. Even if you find a branch’s location once, you would need incredible luck to see it again.”
“I see. If it were that simple, demons like Vulcan would be everywhere by now. So there is only one way to go and find it, then.”
Having figured it out, Suho looked directly at Antares and stated, “I have to find the roots, not the branches.”
“Correct. Unlike the branches, which reach through the dimensional rift, the roots are always anchored in the Sea of the Afterlife. It’s the most certain and stable path.” Antares nodded in satisfaction.
Suho’s gaze shifted to Jiwoo. “And don’t tell me that being affected by Eternal Slumber...”
“Indeed,” Antares continued. “Those afflicted by Eternal Slumber remain physically alive, while their souls are doomed to wander the Sea of the Afterlife forever. Just like us.”
His expression grew slightly bitter. By “us,” he was referring to the deceased Monarchs, forever wandering the Sea of the Afterlife after death.
“The Sea of the Afterlife is an abyss where souls from all over the universe end up after they are reduced to nothing. It’s darker and deeper than the world ruled by the Monarch of Shadows,” he said. “The Monarch of Shadows can pull souls back from that sea and turn them into his soldiers, but there are certain beings he cannot retrieve.”
“You mean souls with tainted mana or the souls of the Monarchs.”
“Yes.”
Suho’s mind flashed to the world of the dead Monarchs, a place he had sometimes visited using the skill simply called “Unknown.” It was a void of pure white emptiness. The Monarchs had always been seated there, waiting for him.
That world, however, had only been temporary. Every time Suho left, the whiteness was slowly colored by a deep darkness from far beyond. In hindsight, he realized those Monarch souls were only awakened briefly before being pulled back into the Sea of the Afterlife.
“Without bodies to return to, we sink once more into the Sea of the Afterlife. But like her, if a body remains intact, one might be lucky enough to return alive,” Antares said.
“Young Monarch. The Life-Giving Elixir can awaken victims of Eternal Slumber!” Beru cried.
Suho realized this was why the elixir’s recipe required something from the World Tree. If he could create it, he could cure the rising numbers of patients stricken by Eternal Slumber.
But what is the conclusion here?
“Okay. I get that I need to go to the Sea of the Afterlife to find the World Tree. But how can I get there?”
“How? Simple. You go there when you die. You’re the son of the Monarch of Shadows, and you can’t even manage that?” Antares asked, snickering.
With an indifferent look, Suho nodded. Then he reached out and yanked on the lizard’s head with a firm grip.
“You useless evil spirit,” he muttered coldly. “Return the body to poor Ragna and go back to the Sea of the Afterlife where you belong.”
“W-wait!” Antares squawked, his snide confidence vanishing in an instant.
Beru stepped forward, his face filled with an almost saintly glow. He made a sign of the cross with an expression as solemn as a priest.
“I shall help, Young Monarch. The recent movies I have seen have taught me several exorcism techniques.”
“S-stop! I was kidding! I was about to tell you!” Antares shouted.
“Still, I pity Ragna,” Suho said.
“I agree, Young Monarch. Let us gather the soldiers and hold a vote on whether Ragna should have his freedom back.”
“Listen! I know why! Eternal Slumber. I know why she was afflicted by it!” Antares shouted. He jabbed a clawed finger in Jiwoo’s direction, his face wild with desperation.
“Wh-what?” Jiwoo, who had been quietly listening to Suho’s conversation from the sidelines, interjected in shock. “Do you mean that? You know why I— I mean, we, were affected by Eternal Slumber?”
“Yes! I know for certain!”
“You have three seconds.”
At Suho’s cold remark, Antares became utterly desperate and shouted at the top of his lungs, “The nightmare bulbs! A weed that grows in the Sea of the Afterlife caused it!”
“Nightmare bulbs?” Suho repeated.
