Free Web NovelChapter 20: Sealed
"What do you think I came here for? My order was perfectly clear. Take me to the royal palace by the fastest route possible." Rios looked at Queen Elena coldly as he gave the command. He didn’t really care about the beauty he was carrying on his branches. He knew she would be his sooner or later. What mattered now was completing the first mission, devouring the Tree of Life, gaining the ability to assume a human form, and then learning as much as possible about this world, its history, and the creatures that inhabited it. After that, there would be plenty of time for women and beauties.
"I’m sorry, My Lord. Please forgive my ignorance. We’ll depart at once as you commanded." Queen Elena lowered her head and apologized.
"Mm, it’s fine. You may proceed." Rios nodded and didn’t press the matter any further.
"Move out." Queen Elena gave the order and signaled the councillors to mount their flying beasts.
The guards immediately spread out and dispersed the crowd as quickly as possible, while the nobles mounted various flying beasts. Some were giant eagles and falcons, while others resembled dragonflies with transparent wings.
The birds gradually took to the sky, and behind them a gray cloud formed beneath Rios’s roots, lifted him up, and followed the procession toward the royal palace.
Several minutes later, everyone arrived at the enormous royal palace in the heart of the City of Light. They dismounted from their flying beasts and waited for Rios’s orders.
"Take me to the Tree of Life."
The moment he landed, Rios gave his command in a tone that tolerated no argument.
A trace of hesitation appeared on the Elves’ faces, but in the end Queen Elena was the first to obey.
"This way, My Lord." Queen Elena gestured toward the path leading to the palace’s main garden, where the Tree of Life rested.
A few seconds later, Rios and Queen Elena entered the garden. Only the three third-level Masters followed them: Thandria of the Lightning Elves, Gao of the Wood Elves, and Etham of the Wind Elves.
At the center of the garden stood a small tree about five meters tall that looked remarkably similar to Rios. The only real difference was the color of its branches and leaves. Unlike Rios’s crimson foliage, which radiated despair and finality, the Tree of Life’s leaves were an intensely vibrant green that inspired new beginnings and reassurance to every living thing. And while Rios’s flexible branches were a deep purple reminiscent of corruption, the Tree of Life’s flexible branches were milky white, a symbol of purity.
Even their bark differed slightly. Though nearly the same color, Rios’s bark was darker and carried an air of ancient despair, as if countless ages had passed over it. The Tree of Life’s bark, on the other hand, gleamed with vitality, surrounded by the energy of life and appearing as though it had been tended with the utmost care.
Two Immortal Trees stood there as complete opposites.
One embodied the Abyss and destruction.
The other represented life and prosperity.
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Ding!
[Immortal Tree detected]
Name: Tree of Life
Bloodline: Immortal
Level: Master (2)
Status: Sealed
[The host must devour the Tree of Life to complete the mission and obtain the rewards.]
Points required for devouring: 50 million points
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"What?! Damn it, this is daylight robbery!"
The moment Rios saw the beginning of the system notification, joy immediately filled him. But that joy quickly turned into pure anger as soon as he read the required number of points.
"You bastard, you really never miss a chance to extort me." Rios ground his teeth in frustration. Still, he needed to devour this tree and obtain its abilities more than anything else, so he reluctantly agreed in the end, though he didn’t begin the devouring immediately.
Rios soon calmed himself, trying to get used to the system’s increasingly absurd numbers, then asked about the more important matter.
"System, why is the Tree of Life sealed? And what exactly is this seal?"
[...]
"You bastard! I knew you’d pull this." Rios cursed again, convinced that the system definitely knew the truth.
"Do any of you know why the Tree of Life ended up like this?" When he found no hope of getting an answer from the system, Rios turned to the people most likely to know.
Gao, Thandria, and Etham exchanged puzzled looks, unsure of how to answer. In the end, they all turned toward Queen Elena, who gave a slight nod.
"My Lord, no one truly knows what happened to Her Majesty the Tree of Life. A hundred years ago, when the first Tree of Life died, she left behind a sapling with even greater potential and talent. Within only a few weeks, after being supplied with large quantities of monster cores, the new sapling advanced from the first level to the second and was preparing to break through to the third. But suddenly, a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck the Tree of Life. She has remained in this state ever since. She communicates with no one and shows no reaction, even if harmed. It is as though she has become nothing more than an ordinary tree." Queen Elena knelt and explained everything related to the history of the Tree of Life.
"You say there was another Tree of Life before this one. What was it like, and what level did it reach?" Rios asked curiously.
"My Lord, Her First Majesty looked almost exactly like Her Current Majesty. The only difference was that she was much larger—roughly your current height, My Lord. As for her level, she only ever reached the peak of the third level." Queen Elena continued her explanation, taking great care not to omit even the smallest detail.
"What do you mean the first Tree of Life only managed to reach the peak of the third level? Are you saying that a being like the Tree of Life couldn’t even reach the Wis level?" Rios was startled by this information and felt that something was definitely wrong. A strange sense of foreboding warned him of imminent danger, but the feeling was so faint that he barely noticed it, so he ignored it. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"If by the Wis level, My Lord, you mean the fourth level, then no one in this world has ever reached it!"
