I was so shocked that I clumsily clacked my teeth together several times.
‘Who are you?’
(Me? I… well… I had memories when I first came to this space, but now I don’t really care anymore.)
‘What do you mean? How long have you been here?’
(Well, I’m not really sure, but it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long.)
‘I see… then I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave.’
(Aaaah!! Where are you going?! Talk to me!)
‘What would I talk about with a memory-less tree?’
At my words, the Small Tree wriggled closer to me, swinging its little branches around as it spoke.
(Hey! I said I couldn’t remember who I was, but I still have some other memories!)
‘Ooh… is that so.’
It felt meaningless to ponder my identity when I forgot who I was, but I decided to chat for now.
‘But, um… you’re not my grandfather, are you?’
(Grandfather? What are you talking about?)
‘Nope.’
(I don’t know about my grandfather, but I have seen a couple of nasty little orbs before.)
‘What…?’
(Someone looked at me and said I was a tree with no use! That little guy is definitely a bad one!)
‘…really? Where can I find that orb?’
Then the tree placed a small branch against its trunk, thought for a bit, and said,
(If you wait a little, you might meet it! It has always come whenever my leaves sprout. Look, I have already grown nine leaves!)
‘Hmm… are you sure?’
(Yes, I am!)
Listening only to the voice, I felt it had a surprisingly cheerful tone like a very young girl, which made me instinctively want to believe her.
Since wandering around aimlessly wouldn’t guarantee finding my grandfather anyway, I decided to wait here for now.
‘By the way, it’s all darkness here—how do you survive? There’s no light or rain.’
In response to my question, the tree stretched its branches sideways and said,
(I live by eating mana! I want to taste the mana seeping out of your body right now, is that okay? Actually, I’m already tasting it!)
‘My body is leaking mana? Hmm… you’re quite a sensitive tree.’
After hearing that, I observed my body and found it was indeed true.
It was a minuscule amount that I couldn’t even perceive, but it was fascinating. This tree was no ordinary tree.
(When you mentioned rain, something popped into my mind. Rain… rain… it feels somewhat nostalgic.)
‘Hmm… could it be related to the memories you’ve lost?’
(Is that so? I feel like I should remember something, but I can’t! Hehe! It’s fine, right!)
Despite living in a place where it couldn’t even remember its identity, the tree was so innocent.
As I chatted with the tree, I waited for my grandfather. The tree was so cheerful and positive that even without discussing anything serious, I felt my heart cleansing.
From our conversation, I found out that this tree had definitely been a person living on Earth.
‘If you lived on an island country and think of a hopping marsupial… it’s Australia, right?’
(Australia?! That’s the name of the place where I lived!)
The tree seemed to gradually recall memories as we talked, but regardless, it seemed to take great joy in simply having someone to converse with.
‘For some reason, I feel like I’m reminded of when I met Tanya…’
The tree’s lively personality was the complete opposite of the taciturn Tanya, and while I was the one listening this time, I felt a strange resemblance.
Suddenly, a message popped up out of nowhere.
– You have formed a bond with a seed containing incredible potential!
– Grow the seed to receive rewards!
‘?!’
I was again shocked by the unexpected message.
An incredible potential seed? From its appearance, it looked small, but it clearly resembled a full tree already, right? Anyway, growing this thing would yield some reward.
The little tree was gazing at me with its tiny mouth wide open.
I could feel the gentle flow of mana entering the tree.
‘Does… eating my mana help you grow?’
(Yes! You’re super tasty! Stay with me!)
It felt a bit peculiar, but my eyes could see the tree was indeed growing.
(Wow! Another leaf has sprouted! This is the first time I’ve grown two in a day!)
While the small tree flapped its leaves and danced joyfully, a new presence appeared within my sensory range.
‘That’s the orb the tree mentioned.’
The orb was flying directly towards us, and its movement looked incredibly leisurely.
‘It moves like a grandfather going out for a stroll in the neighborhood.’
It approached slowly, zigzagging in circles—that was the exact feeling.
(Hehehe~)
[What’s got you feeling so good?]
Now within a hundred meters, the orb called out loudly.
But the tree acted as if it hadn’t heard a thing.
[Are you still sulking?]
(Hmph! Don’t talk to me!)
‘It’s small…’
When I gauged it by sense, it seemed big, but when it actually came close, it was quite embarrassingly small to even call it an orb.
Roughly the size of a candy, it arrived at the tree and, without glancing at me, swung around the tree instead.
[Hmm, you’re actually growing, huh?]
(Ah! Go away!)
‘Its voice is different…’
The tone was definitely the same as that I heard earlier, but it had changed.
[Aah, you’ve come.]
To the orb that finally acknowledged me, I immediately asked.
‘Are you the grandfather we talked about before?’
[That’s correct, so sit down.]
‘Hmm…’
I sat down as ordered, and the orb whirled around me while muttering, “Ohh,” “Hmmm,” “That’s right.”
– The forgotten ancient swordsmanship has been activated.
‘Oh?’
Along with the activation of the trait, the orb’s voice shifted back to that of the old man I’d first heard.
Hovering around my body for some time, the orb finally settled into a space before me and spoke gravely.
[Come visit here every three days. I will instruct you in my swordsmanship.]
‘?!’
My first impression was to question whether this orb could really teach me.
First of all, could a sphere the size of an orb actually teach me, and I wanted to know why they wanted to do that. Is it because we’re connected by a trait?
My curiosity peaked, and I asked, receiving an answer that left me dumbfounded.
[Because I once held a hundred lives. I wasn’t reborn as a being like you.]
‘?! How did you know I have that ability?’
I exclaimed in shock, and the grandfather answered nonchalantly.
[The ability you possess connected with me and provided various pieces of information. That’s how I found out. You, too, possess abilities like mine.]
‘Is that so…?’
[In fact, I had been watching you before we connected through traits. Of course, I could only see you when you entered this space.]
‘Huh… but why didn’t you speak to me back then?’
[Well, I had my reasons. Anyway, I’ve picked up a thing or two from watching you for almost two months.]
‘What is it?’
[Your swordsmanship skills are truly pathetic.]
‘…That’s a bit harsh on the first meeting.’
[It’s the truth.]
The factual bombardment left me momentarily speechless, but I didn’t feel particularly offended. Since when was I a knight, anyway?
More than that, I was dying of curiosity, so I immediately asked.
‘What level of strength did you originally have? And why are you here like this?’
[That is…]
There were many things I wanted to know.
The grandfather didn’t answer every question, but he did respond sincerely to those I needed to know.
First, he introduced himself as a master of swordsmanship who lived in another dimension that no longer exists.
He had also possessed a hundred lives like me but, unlike me, he was reborn by recovering his original body.
‘Indeed… isn’t that the right way? Being reborn as a monster and starting from the bottom seems somehow incorrect.’
While I pondered this, I listened attentively.
[In my last years, I gained the ability ‘100’, but by then, my body was already on a steep decline. I don’t know why such a capability was given to a living corpse like me, but I still made good use of it.]
‘I see…’
[In your world, are you the only one with a hundred lives?]
‘I’m not sure. It wouldn’t be surprising if there were others, considering there are even people who live seven lives.’
[Seven lives… so you speak of the incarnation of the Seven-headed Dragon.]
‘?! You know about the Seven-headed Dragon?’
The grandfather sat quietly on the ground and then continued speaking.
[I’m aware of a little about the Seven-headed Dragon. It’s an evil god like ‘Blue-eyed,’ one you wouldn’t mind tearing apart. I know they’re always fighting to devour each other’s world. I’ve lived through the ruin of my world due to their games, but it seems the Seven-headed Dragon didn’t show up until late and missed out on the fun.]
‘What?!’
You mean to say that even holding a hundred lives couldn’t prevent the ruin of the world?
[You’re probably thinking something. Upon reconsideration, if I had gained that ability in my prime, perhaps the outcome would have been different. But that’s a meaningless story now.]
The grandfather began to rise from the ground, creating a wistful atmosphere.
[Let me tell you an interesting fact that might raise your awareness. Those who gain the ability of a hundred lives never managed to save the world they belonged to.]
‘No way?! How do you know such a thing?!’
This grandfather had a knack for casually sharing shocking statements.
And how did he even know such facts? We couldn’t have had a gathering of those with [100] abilities, could we?
[What is ‘100’? It’s an ability granted to maintain balance, a sign of the world about to collapse, I think.]
‘Balance…’
[It’s a power bestowed by an existence beyond our comprehension to restore balance. But with just one being having the ability of a hundred lives, it’s futile to fix a world that has already tipped.]
‘Whew… then does that mean our world will also perish?’
[That possibility is high, but it’s uncertain. But we can’t just stand still, can we? Who knows? If you—the one reborn from human to Skeleton Soldier—the King of the Undead—might create a different result.]
So, he knew I was on the path to becoming the King of the Undead. Just how far does the information about me go?
And why was this heavy burden entrusted to me? I genuinely had no clue.
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