10. Tribute
It was impossible to know what she was looking for. Just observing, hoping for an answer.
“Sigh….”
The exploration continued for a long time.
With each breath she exhaled, a white frosty breath escaped her lips.
Feeling the cold in the frosty wind, she wrapped her outerwear tighter around herself, yet she didn’t hunch over.
She gripped the sword in her hand even tighter.
But sometimes, when her breath melted her frozen hand or her cheeks reddened from the cold, the expression of the one watching her also turned bitter.
“…It must be very cold.”
What on earth was she searching for so desperately?
But perhaps that was proof of its importance.
Soon, her efforts were not in vain.
Peeking out slightly above the piled-up white snow, she discovered a faint green leaf.
“Ah! I found it!”
Irina’s eyes widened as she discovered it.
She ran straight to the spot and began to uncover the snow that covered it.
Soon, the shape of what had the green leaves started to reveal itself, and she could make out what it was.
“This is…”
A faint glimmer of admiration shone in Han’s eyes as he watched.
“This, could it be a tree sapling?”
There was no doubt about it.
Although it clearly resembled a tree, it was unusually small, almost like a miniature.
She carefully cradled the frozen tree sapling in her arms.
As if it were something incredibly precious.
“Well, it’s somewhat surprising that what I was looking for turned out to be a tree.”
But at the same time, there was anticipation.
What she had found, Irina could guess what she would do with it.
Now, she had some knowledge through her experiences.
It seemed like Irina was the same.
“hehehehe.”
Despite shivering from the cold, Irina continued to smile.
A clearer smile than usual appeared on her cheeks flushed by the cold.
Perhaps even facing something as ordinary as a natural object brought joy in the process for humans?
Maybe that was the case.
Once, a hunter had read a post on the internet about the lifestyle of elves he had encountered, stating that even when facing a single blade of grass or a tree, they felt immense joy, as if meeting a very close friend.
Of course, as a human, understanding the nature and emotions of the elven race was beyond reach.
But at least, he thought if Irina liked it, that was enough.
Returning to the square, Irina planted the tree sapling.
“Grow well.”
It was a moment when she delicately caressed the frozen sapling’s leaves.
Just like mushrooms had grown instantly before,
the small tree sapling also began to transform in an instant.
Crack!
The growth of the once small sapling began.
The thickness of the sapling trunk, as thin as a finger, began to swell, the branches extended long and slender, and numerous leaves grew like sprouts, radiating a fresh, vibrant light.
Initially only reaching Irina’s knees, the sapling’s height quickly grew, towering over her in no time.
“Wow. Amazing.”
Han exclaimed in awe.
And the identity of the tree that had grown so quickly was none other than,
“That’s an apple tree, isn’t it?”
Indeed.
An apple tree hung with ripe, red apples.
It was the identity of a young seedling.
Irina reached out her delicate hand and plucked a bright red apple hanging on a branch with a crisp sound.
She gazed at it with a smile for a moment, then took a bite of the apple without hesitation.
Crunch!
With a fresh sound, her eyes widened instantly as she chewed on the apple.
“Mmm…!”
A slight gasp, followed by a decent surprise.
She swiftly finished the apple as if hiding her eyes, her face displaying a satisfied expression of joy.
Seeing Irina’s favorite expression, Han couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned.
“That looks really delicious.”
What could the taste of an apple from a completely different world be like?
Above all, the color of the apple seemed so red that it almost resembled a plum, making it a truly tempting fruit.
But still, it was impossible for him to eat it.
After all, that place was a completely different world.
It’s just impossible to wish for something unattainable.
At that moment,
Irina suddenly picked another apple.
A perfectly ripe apple.
A faint smile lingered on her lips as she looked down at it.
“Is she going to eat another one? I’m a bit envious.”
Han muttered to himself as he glanced at the empty space under the refrigerator.
The pitiful sight of his empty fridge was evident.
While her situation was undoubtedly good, he, on the other hand, had nothing to eat.
But Irina’s next actions were different from what he had in mind.
She held the apple in her hand, then ran straight to the mushroom-shaped statue on the high shelf, not to eat it, but to place it in the hands of the statue.
“Oh, God.”
Irina clasped her hands together and offered a prayer of thanks to her deity.
“Thanks to you, I could get such a delicious apple. It’s all thanks to your protection and grace.”
“What’s the big deal.”
Just being thankful in one’s heart is enough.
Han subtly smiled as he watched Irina praying to her deity.
Meanwhile,
Once again, as Irina prayed, a subtle golden light began to envelop her body, and suddenly, a message from the system appeared before Han’s eyes.
[Irina’s sincere prayer has reached you.]
[Offerings are being transferred.]
[Please accept her heart.]
…Her prayer reaches me?
Perplexed, Han couldn’t comprehend the sudden message that appeared out of the blue as he gazed in silence.
In an instant, along with a warm golden glow.
An apple landed with a soft thud on Han’s hand.
“Uh, uh….”
Han blinked his eyes without being able to close his open mouth.
What was happening?
It was an apple.
The apple that Irina was holding was placed right in front of him.
“W-what on earth is this?”
The answer to Han’s question came from none other than the system.
[It is possible for the species god to receive offerings from their devotees.]
“This… an offering?”
[Correct.]
“Oh!”
Han’s eyes widened.
To receive a gift in a situation he hadn’t even dared to hope for!
With a crisp sound, he took a big bite of the perfectly ripe red apple.
The sweet fragrance of the apple filled his mouth.
“Wow.”
Unintentionally, he let out a laugh.
“It’s really sweet.”
Delicious. He blinked in a daze for a moment.
He had never tasted such a delicious apple in his entire life.
“If this level is for real, then what I’ve eaten before is on a completely different level, right? Is this really the same apple?”
But there was still one more thing to be surprised about.
The apple imbued with the mana of the World Tree
• Slightly increases the mana of the consumer.
“What, what?”
Externally, it was clearly an ordinary apple.
However, its inner nature was entirely different.
*Cough, cough!*
Startled by that sudden message, he coughed.
From Noble mtl dot com
Mana? It increases one’s mana.
Could it be that such power is contained in this one apple?
Han, who blinked for a moment at the sound.
“Just a moment.”
He murmured softly.
“If my mana has increased… Could it be that I can now raise my magical power?”
He knew how to use mana.
Even if he couldn’t use it, he had memorized it so well that he could recite it flawlessly in his mind.
If this message is true… if it is really so….
It was a sound that momentarily made him feel like a mana user.
“The image existing throughout the body….”
Han closed his eyes and drew up the mana within his body.
Suddenly, he sensed a strange change occurring in his body.
It felt like a current flowing through his inner self, moving like a stream and coursing through his fingertips.
“Oh… Oh my?”
Soon, in his observation,
The mana gathered at Han’s fingertips emitted a faint blue light and scattered light.
Fwish.
Although the blue light disappeared with a sound akin to a gust of wind, it was undeniably real.
“This… is real.”
This was clear.
It truly made him a mana user.
As far as Han knew, no item in the world ever showed such a dramatic response.
If it was an item to increase mana, it might have been a mana potion.
But it wouldn’t bestow upon someone completely devoid of abilities such an ‘extraordinary power’ as now.
He swallowed dryly.
“This is amazing.”
What should he call this?
To exaggerate, he could even turn someone who wasn’t a hunter into a hunter.
Of course, this was purely hypothetical.
Just because one could use mana didn’t mean they could become strong enough to beat a real hunter.
Hunters were beings who had awakened to the talent of using mana themselves.
It didn’t make sense to compare someone who had forcibly awakened abilities with a mere handful of mana in an apple to the level of a real hunter.
In that sense, Han was no different.
He might have stumbled upon mana awakening by chance, but that alone wouldn’t make him comparable to anyone.
But this was different.
This handful of mana accumulated within him.
Permanently.
Crunch!
Han took another bite of the apple.
Then, focusing his mind once again, he was able to draw out the remaining mana from the apple to use it fully.
“Oh. As expected. I can use the remaining mana from the apple until I finish eating it.”
Suddenly, regret crept in.
“Ah, I’ve eaten this precious thing.”
Although the mana had flickered and vanished in an instant.
The feeling of using mana was truly fascinating and eerie. Perhaps it was an experience so unique and extraordinary that it couldn’t be found anywhere else in the world.
Yes. Thinking about it, the birth of this apple fruit was far from ordinary.
In fact, this apple fruit was essentially the essence of a fruit born from the vitality of the World Tree.
“It’s the energy of the World Tree that not only revived a tree frozen to death in the past but also awakened it into a large and healthy form. It’s only natural that a fruit nurtured with such energy wouldn’t be an ordinary one.”
Then, how much would the value of this fruit truly be?
It was a miraculous apple that could turn even the incompetent into someone who could wield mana in an instant.
Its value didn’t seem to be as trivial as a penny or two.
100 million? 10 billion? Perhaps, even more.
Once, he had witnessed the bidding of a precious monster’s core for tens of billions.
Crunch!
He took a final bite of the remaining apple, gulping it down with a satisfying gulp.
By the way, it was really sweet.
To the point where one might question if it was really an apple.