volume 3 - Chapter 233 – The City of Trees (1/2)
[A Nest with a portal in it. Looks like it connects to some other dimension. The way how it let us recruit the creatures is probably by summoning and negotiating with them for service.]
Brendel looked at the gleaming portal and threw in two Moon Crystal. As expected, it did not take long for the whirlpool of light to become even more dazzling than before, and a little head peeked out of the portal.
It was a tiny humanoid figure three inches tall. To put it more accurately, that was a proportionately sized miniature young girl with long curly hair, wearing clothes that were as thin as a cicada’s wings. Her body was emitting light and she easily flew in mid-air without wings.
She observed the surroundings with her body still in the whirlpool, then flew before Brendel and the others in an instant, greeting the youth politely:
“Salutations, Milourt.” Her voice was thin and her accent was a little strange. It was as if she was a foreigner speaking the Kirrlutz’s language in a robotic tone.
The girl studied everyone with curious eyes, not showing signs of fear.
“The word Milourt sounds similar to ‘my lord’, but it’s different from the idea of n.o.bility. In the eyes of a magical creature, the person who possesses power is a natural ruler.” Medissa said.
“Hoh,” Romaine uttered a noise, though it was unclear where she understood the difference.
Brendel nodded without skipping a beat, different from the others’ reactions. He was familiar with these magical creatures because of his gaming past.
“Your name, race, and your abilities?”
“My name is Monika,” the girl chirped and introduced herself as she placed a hand over her chest, “we are Light Spirits, and answer to the request of protecting this holy land. We are citizens of the light and our abilities are for nurturing this World Tree Fortress.”
[World Tree Fortress?]
Brendel suddenly felt a sharp pain in his mind and he frowned. For some reason, this term was very familiar to him. He felt like he recognized it from somewhere, but when he searched through his memories carefully, he was unable to tell if it came from the game or he had heard about the lore in this world.
“The World Tree Fortress, or based on Milourt’s own words, calling it Valhalla would be fine. However, Valhalla is the second World Tree Fortress’s name, while is this is the third World Tree Fortress, and also the final one.”
“What do you mean by second and third? What is the exact purpose of this World Tree Fortress?”
“That exact purpose is unknown to us. Milourt, our knowledge is derived from the Legacy of Ether. Our memories are already in place from the time when we are born and I only know this point. Currently, the World Tree is in its initial stage.”
Brendel nodded again. It was typical for knowledge inherited from Legacies to be images and broken words. But his question was merely out of curiosity, and he was more concerned about Valhalla’s potential in the future.
“You say your abilities are used to nurture the tree, how do you do so?”
“The World Tree will grow slowly once it sprouts. Think of us as the gardeners, Milourt.”
“So I can say that you are the workers that this city brought along all by itself?”
Monika nodded: “You can say that as well, but we can build this city according to your designs, Milourt.”
“What exactly can you build?”
“I cannot do it alone, the Light Spirits are not omnipotent! I need more of my clansmen to work with me. If I have one, two, three more Light Spirits, I can help Milourt to build a Tree Nest.”
“What’s a Tree Nest?” Brendel was very familiar with Aouine’s building structures, including n.o.ble’s Barracks and Smithery, including a few high-end ones as well, but he had never heard of a Tree Nest before.
“A Tree Nest nurtures Ancient Plant Whiskers, and these Treants are the most basic defensive framework of the World Tree. Their strength is close to a Gold-ranker, but they are unable to leave beyond the World Tree’s boundary. You can think of them as a defensive worker, or maybe the guards of this city. In addition, these Treants are actually part of the World Tree, so they don’t need a Mana Pool to provide energy. The Tree Nest can be built on the courtyard, or the top of the tree’s crown without being situated close to the Mana Pools.”
“Part of the World Tree?”
Brendel thought it sounded like the Decaying Beasts produced by the Golden Demon Tree. But he was still interested in the creatures that can be produced without using a Mana Pool. They were essentially free Silver-ranked guards: “How many of these Tree Nests can you currently build?”
“The current size of the World Tree allows, one, two, three, four Tree Nests. Each Tree Nest can create, one, two, three…… ten Whiskers, Milourt.” Monika calculated earnestly.
[Forty of them. That’s quite a low number.]
The youth was disappointed. If there were one hundred-odd guards, then he could rest peacefully at night without allocating any defensive resources.