Chapter: 643
Joy, cradled in the Fairy Queen’s arms, plopped down onto the ground, taking a moment to catch her breath.
“Did I use the teleportation magic correctly? Why did I end up on a cloud!?”
If it weren’t for the others, I might’ve been toast! Joy trembled, hugging her arms as memories of the plummeting scenery flashed in her mind.
“Well done for a first-timer, Joy.”
“Was that really good? If I had teleported alone, we’d be having this guy’s funeral today.”
As Lina shot back, Joy hunched her shoulders. But Erginius shook his head with a smile.
“Regardless, the coordinates were spot on. No one was left out. If you achieved this level on your first try, it’s genius, wouldn’t you agree?”
Sauce for Lina, who mentioned she once fell right into the ocean, sneaked a glance at Joy before sighing.
“My bad. I was a bit too sharp-tongued.”
“Huh? No, I was definitely the one at fault.”
Lina awkwardly chuckled at Joy’s apology, while the Fairy Queen gasped in amazement.
“Is Lady Lina usually this composed?”
“She was always composed. It’s just that Lucy’s scent rattled my brain.”
“You could stand next to Young Lady Allen like this, you know.”
“Then I’d miss the insults. I’d rather have Lucy find me revolting.”
With her lips stretched into a pout, Lina suddenly stiffened and swayed her hair back.
“Your Majesty, could you send a message through the fairies?”
“I already have. They’re on their way here.”
No sooner had the Fairy Queen finished speaking than a massive tree appeared before them.
The tree, possessing a personality and moving its roots around, spotted them and quickly vanished.
Moments later, a gentleman wearing a bowler hat emerged from the depths of the forest, bowing his head.
“It is an honor to meet such revered individuals. Encountering those spoken of only in legends is quite…”
The old man tried to salute formally, but Lina cut him off mid-sentence.
“Let’s save those tales for later. We’ve got more pressing matters at hand.”
“…What would that be, Lady Lina?”
“It’s about Lucy. You remember the child who saved you, right?”
“Speak freely. Although quite the rude child, they are still my lifesaver.”
As the old man pondered over the events from the palace and the message left by Lucy, he shook his head.
“I don’t have any leads. To begin with, I’ve no information about their whereabouts, and the other ancient trees have heard nothing either.”
Erginius chimed in at the old man’s reply.
“Can you talk to the other ancient trees?”
“Living for such a long time is remarkable in itself. It brings a certain level of intellect and power. With my authority, it’s definitely possible to converse from a distance.”
“And yet you still have no leads.”
“There’s no one as prominent as that individual. Yet, there’s no information whatsoever. We should assume there’s no link between them and the ancient trees.”
Despite the firm reply, Erginius and the party refused to give up.
They relentlessly probed for clues, but the more they asked, the clearer it became that there was no connection between the ancient trees and Lucy.
“Did that guy pass along faulty information?”
“It was an odd connection. I might’ve misunderstood.”
“Not yet! There’s definitely a meaning behind Lucy mentioning the ancient trees! They wouldn’t engage in pointless actions!”
As the three exchanged their views, Joy suddenly had a thought and looked up.
“The Pope!”
With that huge shout, everyone’s eyes snapped toward her, but Joy ignored their attention and spilled out her thoughts.
“Lucy has two pieces of information to share with us! Her location and the Pope’s purpose! If it’s not about Lucy’s location, it must relate to the Pope’s purpose!”
Erginius blinked in astonishment and slowly turned his head towards the old man.
“Is there an ancient tree that has survived from the Age of Myth to this day?”
Erginius had no expectation for a positive answer.
No matter how long the life of the tree, could anything survive the chaos of centuries?
However, the old man’s answer was far from what he expected and aligned with his hopes.
“Yes. There is.”
The vitality of the tree was much deeper than Erginius had imagined.
*
When I faced off against Lasha after the collapse of the castle, I easily blocked her first attack, but the second one was a different story.
With just one clash, she understood how I deflected her attack and effortlessly broke through my defense thereafter.
Lasha continued to torment me with her relentless strikes.
To face a boss that changes strategies in response to the user’s tactics—what kind of terrible game is this!?
Though I cursed internally multiple times, reality was far scarier and crueler than any creation.
Giving up the game, fleeing, or restarting from scratch—none of it was possible here.
All I could do was adapt and give it my all according to the situation.
If nothing was prepared, there wouldn’t be a next chance.
This time, the opponent lacked murderous intent, so I could hold on, but that wouldn’t be the case next time.
The next opponent I had to face would be the Evil God Agra.
He would earnestly try to kill me and erase my voice with his authority.
So I must be able to counter this type of engagement, for the sake of protecting everyone.
My body, soaring into the void with my shield, crashed against the wall.
With a dull thud, I fell to the ground, bracing myself and forcing my body upright with trembling hands.
My vision blurred for a moment, but my body didn’t collapse.
I could still hold on. My mind, which should have been consumed by fear, was surprisingly intact.
Perhaps it was the effect of having the Hero skill.
“Definitely feels good. If I had another year, it might’ve been truly enjoyable.”
Just as I barely managed to steady my position, Lasha casually waved her hand and spoke.
There was no sense of fatigue, agony, or anger on her face; just a mix of intrigue and pity.
In her eyes, I was nothing more than a faint adversary.
“Got any more fight left in you? If you die, it would be inconvenient for me.”
That irritated me.
Before asking Lasha for a duel, Grandpa remarked that I was simply worried about time.
Whether I could endure until the opponent’s sanity completely vanished was the issue.
If I could lure her to fall for the provocation of the Mesugaki Skill, I could toy with her at will, but only if I didn’t get wrecked beforehand.
[How about taking a short break? Even if you recover physically with Divine Magic, your mental fatigue will remain. Soon enough, you will crumble.]
‘Not yet.’
[I've said it before; you don't need to strive for perfect defense. Just endure and minimize damage. That’s enough.]
‘Yeah, I agree with Grandpa. But right now, this isn’t sufficient.’
While it was true that Lasha was one of the strongest beings on the continent, I shouldn’t end up this wrecked.
At the very least, I needed to withstand her attacks until she lost her sanity if I wanted to talk about the future.
[While I understand your impatience, barging in won’t solve anything! You need to find improvements and then test various strategies!]
‘Visibility.’
[Visibility?]
‘The biggest annoyance is visibility.’
From a first-person perspective, the information I could gather was too limited. If the gap between us was severe, this issue would feel amplified.
I knew it was an unavoidable problem for a two-eyed human.
I accepted that this reality was inevitable.
Yet, from the standpoint of being used to a third-person perspective, the shortcomings were glaringly apparent.
[Visibility, huh.]
‘Strength, size, and skill are all things that can’t be resolved immediately.’
However, the visibility issue was different. A switch from first-person to third-person could result in a dramatic shift.
It would take time to adapt, but once I had more information, defeating the opponent would become considerably easier.
[There's a simple solution to that, you know.]
‘Simple…? Really?’
[Just ask the fairies for help.]
The fairies formed a kind of collective centered around the Fairy Queen.
They had no qualms about sharing their vision. It was a given for them.
“…Bugs.”
– Lucy. You good?
– Totally the bad guy!
– If it were in a forest, I would’ve taught them a lesson!
“I’ll give you a chance to help me.”
After hearing Grandpa’s words, I made the request, and they eagerly nodded in response.
It was something an ordinary human couldn’t possibly achieve, but I firmly believed Lucy would make it happen.
– Lucy’s more fairy-like than fairies themselves.
– It’ll be a bit dizzying!
– I passed out at first!
Hearing the worried voices of the fairies, I closed my eyes.
Just then, the fairies placed their hands on my head.
Overwhelmed by pain as if my brain was about to shatter, I bit my lip, causing the fairies to step back in haste.
“Stay still, you bugs! I was just about to feel better, why are you freaking out?”
When I stopped the fairies, their gentle touch returned to my head.
How long passed? The darkness that had engulfed my vision began to reveal new images.
It was the view of others, not mine.
– Are you okay?
– Let me know if it gets too rough.
“I’m glad to experience your disgusting perspective. Not bad at all.”
Objectively speaking, it wasn’t a pleasant sight.
I felt as if I might throw up at any second from the motion sickness.
Yet, I had no intention of giving up this view.
This was precisely the scenery I had longed for.
“Are you done yet? I’ve had enough of this at this point, it’s time for some payback…”
“Were you that eager to be tormented? ♡ Looks like you enjoyed it a lot? ♡”
With a sly smile, I raised my shield, and Lasha’s eyes narrowed.
“Are you going to do it again?”
“Be honest. You want to get hit by my mace, don’t you? ♡”
“Hahaha. If you die, I’m not taking any responsibility.”
“Can’t make heads or tails of what that mutt is saying ~ ♡”
Once again, Lasha charged toward me.
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