Although it was grandiose to say that it was an ordeal, in fact, the final ordeal that the World Tree fell was not that difficult.
It was because the world tree itself was nothing more than a process of evaluating and examining the person who was being tried, and making a decision for themselves.
Even in the original story, the process of going through this ordeal was very long and there were many annoying incidents, so it was difficult to receive the ordeal, but the ordeal itself was not that difficult.
If it was Lee Ye-eun now, it would have been enough to pass the ordeal.
The problem was me, not her.
In the first place, I never once thought that I could face the trials of the World Tree.
The reason I got the branch of the World Tree was because I got it through some sort of expedient.
There was no way an unqualified person could face the trials of the World Tree.
In fact, as I could see through the notification window several times, the World Tree knew from a long time ago that I was not the one who legitimately inherited its power, and was cursed for having a comradeship when absorbing me from another world in Margo’s dungeon. It was enough to even give a karma value along with it.
It is said that when he defeated Sbangali, he was cursed by the World Tree and forgiven, but receiving forgiveness and receiving trials with approval were two completely different things.
“Huh, this is true.”
When I opened my eyes to the sound in my ear, I saw Sbangali’s face right next to me.
This is what he sees as soon as he opens his eyes. Unknowingly, he frowned, and he murmured as if he was happy with my reaction.
“As you know, I too have accepted the branches of the world tree, haven’t I? So I think I was able to show off like this.”
He said with a particularly loud squeak than usual.
“Because this is in your head, it seems that this is even more possible. It’s because I’m an expert in this kind of thing.”
“What about Minerva?”
“… My maiden is here.”
Procrastinating, she emerged from the shadows, as small as when I was a child when I drank Evangeline’s potion.
“I don’t know what it is. From the moment I entered this space, the power that my original woman could exert was diminished.”
She shook her head as if she did not understand the English language.
“As Svengali said, I don’t know if it’s because of your image, or if it’s because of the world tree… Just by maintaining the reality like this, the power drains away rapidly. It’s the first time I feel like this… .”
“Then don’t overdo it, Minerva. We’re not here to fight, and we’re not in danger.”
“still… .”
After hesitating for a moment, Minerva looked at Svengali and said, as if determined.
“If you do, even if you sacrifice your body, protect him, Svengalli.”
“… Hey, do you know what we’re going to fight for?”
She frowned at Sbengali’s seemingly absurd response.
“So, didn’t you say, ‘If it’s a car’?”
At the end of those words, she looked at me worriedly and left the words, ‘Call your real name whenever you need it.’ and went straight into the shadows.
After I told her not to worry, I was able to take a closer look around.
No, actually, there was nothing to do other than take a look.
Because there was literally nothing around.
“The ordeal of the World Tree.”
Sbangali murmured in a voice of anticipation.
“What the hell is going to happen? Look, Yoo Ji-hyuk, do you know anything else?”
“… Well.”
The last ordeal of the World Tree.
All I know about it is that the World Tree evaluates those who come to be tried and draws its own conclusions.
And while the ordeal continued, Yeeun Lee in the original story was about seeing the past events passing by like a lantern before her eyes.
In it, she recalls the memories she had forgotten about her deceased parents, the promises she made with her precious friends, and the memories of her colleagues and the many enemies she had fought against.
In the meantime, as the head of the clan, she seriously considers the nature and qualifications of a person as a clan of the World Tree, and gets her own answer.
At the end, she wakes up with all the hesitations and doubts that she had been holding back because she had not been able to tell anyone so far, and finds out that she has passed the ordeal… That’s exactly what happened in the original.
If so, am I going to go through something similar to her?
That was the moment I was thinking about it.
“Hey, what the hell are you doing here alone?”
Ahn Do-hoon, who suddenly appeared, looked at me and frowned.
Ahn Do-hoon? suddenly?
I looked up, wondering what the hell was going on, and someone else appeared next to him.
It was Han Soo-young.
She blatantly pushed Ahn Do-hoon and held out her hand to me.
“Everyone else is waiting. let’s hurry.”
“already? So, is there him too, Hyunwoo?”
At Ahn Do-hoon’s question, Han Soo-young looked at him as if he was wary.
“… I don’t know. And why are you suddenly looking for Hyeonu again?”
“Why are you looking for it, huh? Hey, wait. Maybe you’re doing this because of that strange rumor, right now?”
“… I don’t know, how do I know?”
“No, you crazy!”
Han Soo-young and Ahn Do-hoon were having a friendly conversation.
Meanwhile, Ahn Do-hoon was upset, could such rumors be true, and he was angry that he had a girlfriend just a few days ago, and Han Soo-young was just reaching out to me as if he liked it.
… No, she wasn’t Han Soo-young.
To be precise, it was Han Soo-young, but it wasn’t the Han Soo-young I knew.
There were no earrings in her ears.
What the hell is this?
Without realizing it, I muttered to myself.
“… What, is this perhaps one of the trials? fantasy?”
“No, it is not.”
Then a voice came from behind.
It was Yeeun Lee’s voice.
No, it’s similar, but this wasn’t Yeeun Lee’s voice.
“I feel like I’ve already been through enough, so I don’t need to and I don’t want to do it, and above all else, aren’t you my cute children? Why should I give you such consideration that I am going to put you through a trial?”
There stood a woman who looked exactly like Lee Ye-eun but was completely different.
I knew who she was.
Yeah, that girl is definitely… .
“The first shaman of the World Tree… .”
“Well? what. Where have you seen our cute baby girl?”
She tilted her head and looked at me.
Then, Sbangali slowly took a step back and whispered, hiding behind me.
“… I’m crazy. world tree. To say he possesses such a power doesn’t mean that he is connected to countless worlds for nothing.”
“Hey, am I asking? Because where the hell did you meet our cute baby girl?”
Her question, which contained a subtle sense of pressure, seemed to loosen up the strength in her legs without realizing it.
This kind of heavy armor was something I had only felt when I first met Minerva.
‘Is it possible that the power of the World Tree is equal to that of Minerva?’ And as I was sweating in a cold sweat without realizing it, Sbangali whispered again.
“… To put it bluntly, aren’t you a member of the World Tree that has the branches of the World Tree? The World Tree is a race that must obey unconditionally to the higher World Tree. So the pressure is strong.”
He slowly nodded and opened his mouth when he said that he was on the same level as Minerva, and if there were more monsters like that, the world would have survived.
“Do you know the seven evil bells with numerous names?”
“Moktyrunsha? Are you talking about him?”
Moktyrunsha?
As I was confused by the first name I heard, Sbangali gave me another shout out.
“That’s the name Milited once used. The Milited you know is correct.”
“… Yes, that’s right.”
“Why that seven evil bell?”
“The Seven Evil Bells had the power to summon the clones of the beings they had sucked their blood from. Among the clones he summoned while fighting him… I got to know her face because of the first shaman of the World Tree.”
I thought she would be angry or outraged after hearing the answer, but unexpectedly, she just nodded.
“Right.”
“… Well, can I ask you a question now?”
She looked at me once and nodded.
“I don’t allow it.”
“Why the hell are you giving me trials too?”
Having said that, I looked around.
There were people I knew standing around.
Some of them were people I didn’t know, and there were a lot of people who wondered why I wasn’t here.
At that question, the World Tree stared at me.
After a while, she opened her mouth.
“… Oh, that’s right. It wasn’t you.”
“Yes?”
“No, I’m sorry. i was mistaken Umm, I shouldn’t have done this already… .”
The World Tree tilted his head as if in trouble.
“But again, strangely enough, you met almost all of the qualifications. There… So can I learn without being mistaken?”
“I’m sorry, but what are you talking about now?”
“A story you don’t need to know.”
After a while, she drew a firm line and tilted her head again and said to me.
“But it does matter. Um, come to think of it, there was no such promise in the first place… .”
She was muttering to herself, but she squirmed and jumped from the spot and came straight to me.
He reflexively tried to step back, but at some point he could not do so because of the branch of the World Tree that broke through the ground and held onto his ankle.
It wasn’t enough to tighten my ankles, it started pulling my body into the ground little by little.
“Don’t fight back for nothing. Then you might get sick.”
she said with a dry expression.
I hurriedly looked around, but there was no one there.
“Even if I don’t resist, it will hurt.”
“… Hyuk! Jihyuk-ah!”
I opened my eyes with a sharp, sharp hand stroking my cheek.
In front of me, Yeeun Lee was looking down at me with worried eyes.
“Wake up! No matter how many times I called him, he didn’t wake up, so I was worried.”
“… How long have we been doing this?”
“I checked and it’s been less than five minutes since we got here.”
Ye-eun Lee said so and exhaled a little.
I could feel the pure energy in her to the extent that I could feel it even in the midst of chaos.
“Did you see old memories?”
She was startled by the question and then nodded.
“Maybe, the first shaman of the World Tree that you saw back then?”
“uh… yes.”
She nodded once more.
“To be honest, I was a little surprised that you were so kind and so nice.”
“… okay?”
It didn’t work for me at all.
He grabbed her hair and looked at her.
“So, how are you?”
Yeeun Lee stretched out her hand without saying a word.
Soon, a branch of the world tree grew in her hand, and energy that she had never expected before began to gather in an instant.
It was a success.
She successfully passed the ordeal and was recognized for her qualifications.
After that, notification windows that seemed to prove her success appeared one after another.
[Lee Ye-eun’s awakening condition has been achieved!]
[Awakening Conditions ― Allow Lee Ye-eun to pass through the last ordeal of the World Tree.]
[You have satisfied the awakening conditions for a total of 4 people.]
[As a reward, the special skill ‘Guardian of the World Tree’ is created!]
[Passed the last ordeal of the World Tree!]
[The branch of the World Tree finally realizes the hidden power!]
[The branch of the World Tree has acquired the fourth ability ‘Source’.]
As a source, what kind of ability is it?
It was time to look at the status window to check the new abilities.
[More than half of the playable characters have satisfied the awakening conditions.]
“… what?”
[The hidden quest starts forcibly because the condition is met.]
[I wish you good luck.]
Another notification popped up.
* * *
“… this.”
A man quietly raised his head on the ground of the frozen land where a fierce blizzard was raging.
There was nothing in the place where his face should have been.
He immediately borrowed the figure and voice of the closest being, and the man who saw it opened his mouth quietly.
“Why?”
“… No, nothing.”
Ahriman looked at the high spirit of fire who had lent him his appearance and voice, the one called the Blacksmith of Yado by most people.
“Hurry up a little bit more.”
“You don’t have to.”
Yado’s blacksmith said so and exhaled quietly.
“There is no need to rush anywhere, since the seal has been put in place to collapse in no time.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a terrible roar ripped through the blizzard.
Ariman quietly turned his head to the place where the sound had come from, and the blacksmith of Yado only smiled and spewed out flames.
Yuno’s seal began to collapse.