8. Realm of the World Tree
It was a gesture of gratitude imbued with Irina’s sincerity.
Of course, her delicate consideration was appreciated, but just having such an attitude was more than enough.
But how should he express this?
Contemplating how to convey his emotions, he eventually decided to use a universal language.
A gesture.
Thumbs up!
He raised his thumb, expressing his joy.
Next to his own statue, he mimicked a pose identical to the statue’s.
It was an expression tinged with a sense of playfulness.
“Aha-ha.”
At that moment, Irina blushed and smiled.
‘Wow….’
For a moment, Han stared at her in a daze.
As she smiled brightly, it seemed as if the room was filled with dazzling light.
She was already beautiful to begin with.
Amidst this, her bright smile filled the room with a radiant light.
Soon, Han couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘I should help her just as much as she follows me.’
***
A frozen wasteland blanketed in falling snow.
Here lies a cold desert where snowflakes relentlessly descend.
Barren and harsh, a world that shows little consideration for mountain life forms.
Monsters lay scattered everywhere, in an environment where any lapse in vigilance could lead to death.
Scarcely anything edible could be found here.
For the past few days, the only edible thing Han had laid eyes on was mushrooms sprouting in the corners of the wasteland.
Naturally, most resources one would typically think of in ordinary circumstances were non-existent.
In Han’s eyes, the fact that Irina had survived alone on this harsh planet thus far was nothing short of remarkable.
In that sense, one could argue that Earth was a blessed planet.
At least humans were so abundant that they could choose their meals.
Even if they complained about high prices, at least they could expect fair compensation for their labor.
On the other hand, Irina’s world was different.
She couldn’t expect any reward for her labor, nor could she hope for compensation for her efforts.
Everything was uncertain.
In this world.
The world Irina inhabited was not like that.
She was unable to expect any reward for her work, nor hope for any compensation for her efforts.
Everything was uncertain.
This world.
The planet Pray was such a harsh world.
“Ucha.”
Nonetheless, even in such a world, Irina moved diligently.
She was stacking mushroom bricks, each the size of a human torso, layer by layer in a corner of the house.
What on earth was she trying to do this time?
With a gaze of observation, Han silently watched her.
Before long, Han understood the reason behind her actions.
“Wait. Is that… a bathtub? A bathtub, really?”
There was almost no doubt.
Although the materials were slightly different, what Irina was currently constructing was indeed a bathtub.
She had even made a drain on one side.
The used water would automatically flow out beyond the mushroom house, gathering like a river.
Truly, her ingenuity and wisdom were astonishing.
Of course, there was no need to worry about water here.
After all, what surrounded them was nothing but snow and ice.
She began to transfer the snow around them into the bathtub.
I watched closely to see what she was up to.
As the heat from the blazing fire melted the snow in the bathtub, it soon began to emit a gentle warmth.
“Ah. It’s starting to get warm.”
As the warmth spread from the bathtub heated by the fire, just as the melting snow began to flow smoothly,
Suddenly, she took off her long, worn coat.
“Eek.”
Han immediately understood the reason upon witnessing such a sight and promptly closed the refrigerator door.
It was a swift reaction.
***
The boundary line of the area touched by the power of the World Tree was often visible even to the naked eye.
The reason was simple.
As the snow melted, and in its place, a lush green grassland grew long enough to touch one’s knees, that point marked precisely where the power extended to.
But it wasn’t just the surface of the earth that the power reached.
Even the surrounding atmosphere was influenced by that power.
The power of the World Tree was not confined solely to the nearby surface of the earth.
Even in this cold polar region, the inside of the area touched by the World Tree maintained a warm temperature, enough for lush green grass to grow.
In fact, within the area touched by the power of the World Tree, Irina was in a state of being without her coat.
She was only wearing light clothing.
Of course, snowflakes continued to fall from the sky.
No matter how mystical the power of the World Tree was, it did not shield against the falling snow from above.
“However, once the snowflakes enter the area touched by the World Tree, they quickly melt due to the warm temperature and disappear as tiny droplets.”
These tiny droplets were so small that they were barely perceptible, almost negligible.
Rather, the slightly damp grassland, where these tiny droplets gently settled, seemed even fresher.
It was as if being inside an invisible greenhouse.
In any case, it was evident that this inner area was a place with a noticeably high temperature.
A very warm and vibrant area touched by the power of the World Tree.
Indeed, the secret of this inner ecosystem was the warmth maintained by the World Tree.
Han gazed at the lush green grassland in the inner area, lost in thought.
“What would happen if the realm of the World Tree continues to expand like this?”
Expanding as it is, growing wider and wider.
If that were to happen.
It might mean a return to an environment that was once very suitable for the original inhabitants of this planet.
The birth of the forest doesn’t only have a positive impact on the elves.
Grass grows, trees grow.
That in itself is nothing short of the birth of another life.
Perhaps the original flora and various insects that should have existed in this world might, at some point, start a new cycle of birth from within.
I became curious about what the original inhabitants of this world were like.
“But for now, it’s merely a speculation whether that would be possible.”
At that moment, Irina was honing her archery skills.
Thwack!
An arrow flew sharply through the air, hitting the target on the other side.
She, drawing the bowstring towards that spot, was continuously honing her skills, drawing the bowstring and practicing.
Thwack! Thwack!
Successive arrows flew, hitting the center of the target accurately with a resounding sound.
Truly elven skill.
She was considered a master of archery, and that was a precise expression.
“…But this isn’t enough.”
However, it seemed unsatisfactory to her.
Wiping the sweat dripping down her white jawline with her hand, she intensified her practice.
As if facing an imaginary opponent.
She swiftly aimed at the target from running through the grass field, or jumping high off the wall of a mushroom house to hit it.
“Good aim. Really.”
From a human perspective, the more you look, the more admiration arises, but for Irina, it seemed otherwise.
Could it be that the standard for elven archery is set at a much higher level than that of humans?
“Maybe that’s really the case.”
Why not? People can fall short of entering their desired top universities by just 1 or 2 points, or narrowly miss something by a hair’s breadth.
There was no reason to think that elves were exempt from this.
It’s just that their standard is excessively high compared to humans.
It was a time when Eun, as if spellbound, watched Irina’s practice.
Suddenly, a single thought crossed Eun’s mind.
He narrowed his focus all at once.
And began to look around.
Whooooosh.
A ruin covered with thick, pure white snow.
As he gazed at that place exuding a chilling cold just by looking at it, he soon discovered a distinct ‘footprint’ left from a place quite far from the square where Irina was.
“As expected… it’s there.”
He squinted his eyes.
Footprints on the ice were small and unimpressive.
It seemed like a trace left behind a long time ago, unmistakably belonging to goblins.
However, if one were to see not just one but several imprints.
There was only one conclusion to draw.
“Indeed, somewhere in this city, goblins must have lived.”
In this desolate wasteland where everything was frozen, there was little reason for goblins to appear consecutively in a short period.
It was probably a type of thing that could be easily identified.
Given that not far away, they were building a proper settlement and living there.
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Of course, thanks to Irina’s actions, three of them died.
So, the numbers must have significantly decreased, but something was known.
Han had searched about goblin ecology on the internet.
Information about them was readily available even to the general public.
It was probably because occasionally they were found within the city where Han lived.
“They usually gather in groups ranging from as few as five to as many as twenty or more.”
Goblin lairs.
Though there were differences in the scale of these groups, the responses seen in the information Han searched for were generally similar.
The difference in the number of goblins mainly indicated environmental differences.
The harsher the environment where they couldn’t easily find food, the fewer goblins gathered, while conversely, the more food available, the larger their numbers.
Perhaps, when food was scarce, the mortality rate of newborns increased.
Thinking about it, it was a natural phenomenon.
“Surely, in such a harsh environment where one couldn’t find proper food, large groups wouldn’t gather easily.”
But already, goblins had appeared consecutively.
Certainly, there must be a lair somewhere.
Three of them wouldn’t be all.
In the meantime, the day began to darken.
The sun that had been remembered was soon completely set, and a thin darkness crept over this snow-covered wasteland.
Winter nights were surprisingly a world of pitch-black where nothing could be seen.
The darkness was so chilling that even objects right in front of one couldn’t be properly distinguished.
Even the mushroom house that Han was looking down at was engulfed in serene darkness.
Thud. Thud.
The crackling bonfire was the only thing driving away this suffocating darkness.
Irina, nodding off with her head bobbing, could be seen.
Watching her, Han smiled subtly.
But Han still had things to do.
He didn’t forget his role.
He took his eyes off Irina and began to look around.
When he zoomed out again, everything around him appeared as tiny as ants.
The world completely captured by darkness came into view at a glance.
In the midst of it, a faint light shining uniquely in this wasteland could be seen.
Yes, there were two.
One was Irina’s mushroom house located in the square.
The other one was…
“Surely goblins.”