Chapter 330: Seventy-Ninth Floor, Euros’s Forest (4)

[Spend time in Euros’s Forest. Time remaining: 46 hours 55 minutes.]

A sparring match? Out of nowhere?

Considering that the suggestion had come right in the middle of the welcome festivities, with climbers and tribespeople mingling freely, it felt just a little out of place.

“Right now?”

Aoshi nodded as he succinctly replied, “Yes.”

I stared into his clear and unwavering eyes. Given the circumstances and Aoshi’s nature, there had to be something more behind this request.

As I raised my glass to my lips, my thoughts quietly stirred beneath the surface.

Aoshi hadn’t been the type of person to seek out fights purely for the sake of it. This likely wasn’t some whim, nor a desire to test his strength against mine.

That left one explanation.

He probably wants to talk.

Most likely, this sparring match was just a pretext for a private conversation. My mind moved quickly, connecting threads.

Is this tied to a hidden mission on the seventy-ninth floor?

I couldn’t rule it out. If he was suggesting we step away from the crowd, there had to be a reason.

Is something wrong with the forest?

It had to be something he couldn’t discuss openly. As usual, my thoughts and worries began spiraling, countless theories and possibilities springing out one by one. Steeling myself, I quickly pulled them back into order.

There was no need to overthink. I could simply ask him.

Perhaps I was reading too deeply into it. It could be something minor, like asking me to assess his children’s swordsmanship.

I turned my gaze to Aoshi. With the years that had passed, he, too, had grown considerably stronger.

His body hasn’t aged much, after all.

Sharing a few words and crossing blades didn’t sound like a bad idea. I was always on the lookout for new opponents.

Both Aoshi and I have drunk quite a bit of fruit wine, but...

It didn’t matter. For people like us, such an amount barely registered. We far exceeded the limits of an ordinary mortal.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

I nodded. “Alright, sure.”

“

Haha,

thank you. Shall we go now?”

As I began to rise, Aphershi suddenly stepped forward. “Father, may we watch the match?”

His eyes brimmed with anticipation. Sitting or standing nearby, Aoshi’s other children and my former party members seemed equally intrigued.

However, Aoshi shook his head firmly. “No. This is something between hyung and me.”

“

Ah

, understood.” Aphershi let his disappointment show a little too clearly, prompting a sharp glance from Aoshi. “I’m sorry.”

He and the others quickly averted their eyes.

Aoshi really had developed into the role of a father. I had always known him as gentle and soft, but apparently, he didn’t hesitate to draw a firm line when necessary. It was an unexpected, yet welcome, glimpse into another side of him.

Our party seemed to pick up on the nuance and didn’t pry further.

Ha Hee-Jeong, perhaps following the same train of thought, had lapsed into quiet contemplation.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes. I’ll grab my bow and sword along the way.”

We stood and moved to leave. As we passed through the village, I felt the party’s eyes on us, but no one said a word. The tribespeople and climbers glanced over, curious, but no one dared approach.

After all, it was me and their chief.

Instead of heading to the training grounds near his home, Aoshi picked up his weapons and turned toward the outskirts of the village.

“We’re not sparring here?”

Is there really something wrong in the forest? Is that what he wants to show me?

“You’ve probably already guessed, but I didn’t call you out here for an actual spar.”

“Yeah, I figured. So what’s this about?” I asked in a more serious tone.

Aoshi smiled sheepishly, and the tension in the air quickly melted. “It’s about the spirits.”

“The spirits?”

“Seeing how many have gathered around you, I thought it best to handle it sooner rather than later.”

His vague wording made me raise an eyebrow, and he continued, “The itching has gotten worse, hasn’t it?”

“

Huh?

Yeah.”

He was right on the mark.

I had assumed it was simply a stage of the communion process, and since we had been in the middle of a crowd, I hadn’t said anything.

“How’d you know?”

“I can see spirits, unlike most people. And the reason it’s hitting you harder is because the World Tree is actively trying to draw you in for a communion.”

“You’re serious?”

“Very. At first, I figured you’d commune by evening, but it seems things are progressing faster than expected. You teleported directly into the forest’s center, didn’t you? And ever since arriving in the village, the itching’s gotten worse.”

“Y-yeah, it has.”

The precision of his insight made him feel less like a chieftain and more like a shaman. For a moment, I even wondered if he had picked up Jacob’s knack for foresight.

“The World Tree lost track of you. Now that you’re nearby again after being separated once, it’s clinging to you ever harder.”

“I see...”

It all started to make sense.

I had been summoned to the World Tree not only to receive its seed but for it to grant me a spirit.

“So that’s why we’re heading back to the tree.”

“Exactly.”

“But then why insist the others couldn’t follow?”

“Spirit communion is best done in private, just you and the spirit. They’re quite shy, you know.”

When I considered it from the spirit’s perspective, the reasoning made perfect sense. It would be like having someone watch while baring your inner self.

“And there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“

Oh?

Something serious?”

The question had slipped out before I could stop myself. My nerves were flaring at the thought that there could really be something wrong in Euros’s Forest.

“No, nothing like that.

Haha...

” Aoshi scratched the back of his head and trailed off, not quite ready to share whatever it was.

I was curious but didn’t press. We were both adults now, and Aoshi was eighty-one.

Even among close friends, some things deserved their own time. He would tell me when he was ready.

Now that I think about it, the World Tree’s spirit is trying to commune with me?

From what I had heard, most people didn’t need to go all the way to the tree for their pacts. This had to be something unique to me.

Likely, it was due to having received the World Tree’s blessing twice.

A little special treatment isn’t so bad.

As we walked, our conversation drifted to lighter topics, about ordinary things. He shared about how Ferel would toss her leg over him after she fell asleep, or how his children never listened.

After hearing that, I asked him if he still loved them, and he immediately answered, “Of course.”

Later on, when I mentioned how well-behaved they seemed earlier, he scoffed and declared that it was all an act.

Though he had just complained, his feelings of affection hidden behind the words were unmistakable. Within the grumbling, I could feel just how much he cared.

Aoshi was living well, peacefully, and contentedly. The thought warmed me.

Thanks to the flowers and earth gently supporting us, our steps felt almost weightless.

***

[Spend time in Euros’s Forest. Time remaining: 46 hours 36 minutes.]

It took us twenty minutes to reach the World Tree.

To be honest, we could have made it there much faster if we had wanted to. Our pace had only slowed because of the meandering conversation along the way.

As Aoshi had mentioned, the closer we drew to the World Tree, the more vivid the spirits around it became.

Is it because I am on the move?

The itching sensation had already faded. In its place, I felt something soft and warm enveloping me, like an embrace.

“So, what do I do now?”

“Just commune with the spirit in front of the World Tree.”

“And by commune... you mean what, exactly?”

“

Ah.

Just like how you’re sensing it now. Continue to feel. At some point, the change will come.”

Although his answer sounded vague and almost dismissive, I had a feeling it was the most honest I could have received. Therefore, I decided to trust him. If the World Tree’s spirit had called me here, then something was bound to happen.

“Got it.”

“I’ll keep my distance until then.”

“Should I come find you once I’ve finished?”

“No need. I’ll come to you. I’ll be able to sense the spirit’s wave once the bond forms.” With that, Aoshi turned and walked away, disappearing into the depths of the forest.

I also turned, albeit toward the tree, and began walking.

Standing before the World Tree, I focused on the spirit still wrapped around me like a comforting shroud. He had told me to simply feel, so I did. I accepted the sensation, the presence, with calm awareness.

Is it always this fast?

The transformation came almost instantly, without the waiting he had mentioned. The spirit enfolding me released a pulse of energy that surged powerfully, though it wasn’t harmful. To me, it felt warm, almost tender.

Crackle. Snap!

Sparks began to leap from the core of the spirit’s presence, tiny flashes of lightning flickering through the air.

Out of nowhere—

Rumble— Boom!

A bolt of lightning appeared from the clear sky and crashed straight into the spirit’s core.

The world flashed brightly as if illuminated by a strobe light, blinding even me with its intensity.

Strangely, my eyes didn’t burn.

Even as I stared directly ahead, watching the spirit expand between the flashes of light, its presence grew and swelled with power.

This is a spirit?

Technically, yes. However, it was unlike any spirit I had encountered before.

The scene caused a memory to resurface in my mind. During combat training in the thirty-fourth floor’s waiting room, I had summoned the elf Roxanne, who had in turn summoned the Wind Spirit King—this one felt stronger.

Even if the Spirit King I had faced before had been a weakened imitation, this one felt fundamentally different. Whether it was due to being further in the tower or because Euros was a natural World Tree, I couldn’t say.

Regardless, this one’s power is on a whole other level.

As I continued to observe, a notification window appeared before me.

[Lightning Spirit King]

- The supreme entity among all lightning spirits.

- The first Spirit King born from the naturally formed World Tree Euros.

The second line answered the lingering question in my mind.

Now that the spirit had fully manifested, I could see its form. It hadn’t taken on a human form. Instead, it was a chaotic surge of lightning, shifting and wild—yet unmistakably focused on me.

“Hello?” I greeted it, but received no reply.

Ordinary spirits wouldn’t respond, sure, but the Wind Spirit King had spoken to me before.

Could it be that, as the first of its kind, this one hasn’t yet learned to speak?

While I pondered, the Lightning Spirit King began to approach me. Before I could react, it surged forward. In the blink of an eye, it plunged into my chest, absorbed like a spark disappearing into flame.

The sudden action left me dumbfounded. “

Huh?

”

I could feel the lightning coursing through me, vibrant and immense. Even without checking, I could tell that the strength of my lightning had reached an entirely new realm. It was hard to describe, but the way it circulated through me had changed as well.

Sharper. Broader. More efficient.

Though I couldn’t come up with the perfect description for it, simply put, the power of my lightning had advanced to another dimension.

No, wait.

That wasn’t the issue right now. As good as the power boost felt, I had just absorbed the Lightning Spirit King.

Is-is this supposed to happen?

I stood in stunned silence.

Is this how spirit communion normally goes?

It didn’t seem like it. I could still sense other lingering nearby spirits. However, the Lightning Spirit King had vanished completely from my senses.

Nothing is wrong, right?

Something was off. Even though I had absorbed it, I could still feel the presence of lesser spirits nearby.

Did it disperse? Will it reappear if I focus on it again?

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than another shift began.

“

Hmm?

”

It was happening again.

Just like before, another spirit wrapped itself around me, pulsing with power. This one wasn’t as wild, but it still radiated energy.

Within the undulating pulse, I began to hear the faintest sound.