Chapter 279: Rift of the Spirit Realm
Novel:When the Villains Get Stronger
After waking up in the world of the novel, I ran forward without looking back, focused solely on survival.
For the first time in a long while, I had some room to breathe, and I turned around to take in the changes.
A lot had changed.
As I got entangled with multiple villains, the story shifted, and the core flow twisted.
Before I knew it, I, too, had become an important figure in this world along with my Divine Spirit.
‘Now, the World Tree Alliance has formed, hasn’t it?’
Sitting on the edge of a hut’s roof, I slowly looked around under the massive World Tree.
I saw those who had formed ties with me, whose destinies had changed.
I thought of each of them, one by one.
‘Surprisingly many.’
Starting with Fenry and Dorneth, the core of the Blood Oath, to the witches of Ordor Forest, and even the Hunter forming a bond with me.
With the birth of the World Tree, everyone’s fate began to change rapidly.
Naturally, I was at the center of it all.
‘Is this really the right flow, though?’
Walking a new path not found in the original story, I couldn’t be sure if this road was the correct one.
But the doubt passed quickly. Nodding to myself, I was convinced the path I had forged was right.
I had built a strong nest, so at least I no longer had to worry about being dragged around helplessly and dying.
“But the scale has grown, hasn’t it?”
Now, my death alone wouldn’t be the end.
I had stepped into one of the main regions of the novel, Hell Grime, which was essentially the heart of the plot, making it inevitable to get further entangled with villains.
The faster I consolidated power and expanded my influence, the better I could prepare for shocks and unexpected blows.
“Woof!”
“With the Forest of Ghosts gone, your life’s gotten easier, huh? Are you happy?”
I wasn’t the only one lazing around on the roof—Keros was there too, rubbing his body against the thatch and accepting the meat I threw him.
Since the forest disappeared, for some reason, he had been following me around constantly.
A Watcher was supposed to guard and monitor a target.
Now that the forest was gone, the target had disappeared, and it seemed he had chosen me as his new target. Probably because of Lily’s Divine Spirit record, [Cerberus and the Hunt Are My Friends].
Should I say we’re now bound as a set?
“Good, isn’t it?”
“Kkrang!”
“Argh! You damn mutt…”
Seeing him still obsessed with meat infused with Sacred Power, it didn’t seem too hard to handle him.
As long as I didn’t bother him while he was eating, I should be fine.
The leaves of the World Tree danced gently in the cool breeze.
Basking in the warm sunlight and enjoying the peace lasted only a moment, as by afternoon, the atmosphere around me turned uneasy.
“They’re back again, huh.”
The Black Roses, who had relocated to the World Tree, were moving in one direction.
Their movement signaled the arrival of new visitors.
It was truly fortunate that Fenry Chaser had become the shadow of the World Tree.
In the case of the witches, due to their secluded environment, they were still unskilled at welcoming or accepting others.
Brushing off my rear, I stood on the roof and scanned the mood.
“Quite the crowd came this time.”
A group emerged from the opposite forest.
Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any major problems.
“We want to meet the one whom the Mother has embraced.”
Less than three days after the World Tree Alliance was founded, the event Fenry had predicted occurred.
Elves I had never seen before appeared around the World Tree, and their numbers increased daily.
To elves, the World Tree is perceived as a parent.
So when news of the World Tree spread, they were the first to arrive.
“Mother? I’m not sure about that, but I’m the one in charge here.”
“Uh, well…”
Elves who arrived full of expectations for the World Tree usually reacted the same way.
When they saw Fenry, casually standing with a smoking pipe and one foot cocked, they began to panic.
Her rogue-like appearance contrasted too strongly with the sacred image of the World Tree.
“A-Are you truly the one embraced by the Mother?”
“Ah, so annoying. This is why we need a pretty face like Nella out front.”
As Fenry exhaled smoke into the air and waved her hand, the shadow of the World Tree gently enveloped her.
Seeing this, the elves let out exclamations of awe and nodded.
“Let’s move over there. It’s cramped here.”
“Ah, understood.”
“But you brought some money, right? Like artifacts or crafts from your tribe?”
“Excuse me? What do you mean…?”
“What tribe are you from?”
“T-The Forest of Blue.”
“The Forest of Blue? That’s the penniless tribe that seeks communion with nature.”
“...??”
“Ehay, another dud this time.”
Naturally (?), it felt like a new elf tribe was joining.
However, things never flowed peacefully without issue.
Beeep!
"!?"
A signal sound was caught from deep in the forest.
An emergency signal from the Black Roses.
Responding instantly, I jumped down from the roof and started running. Keros followed with a rapid patter.
Soon, I came upon the new elf tribe.
My expression hardened at the sight before me.
“We’ll need a healer. Keros, go.”
“Woof!”
Keros disappeared to fetch a healer, and I approached the group.
The elves, sitting powerlessly, tensed up when they saw me.
“A-A human?! Halt!”
“Ah…”
I raised both hands to show I meant no harm. Not a single elf looked unharmed.
Large and small wounds.
Fatigued expressions.
They all looked utterly exhausted.
Ggeaaahh!
R-Run!
Screams burst from the forest on the right.
Scanning the surrounding woods, I saw about a dozen humans collapsed, bleeding.
They were all dressed like mercenaries.
They had been taken down by the Black Roses.
Though I could still hear occasional sounds of battle, it seemed the Black Roses would handle it, so I didn’t step in.
With new humans appearing, the elves looked around nervously.
Expressions asking for help.
Just seeing their reactions, I could tell why they had been wary of me.
‘More human hunters?’
A moment later, the Black Roses emerged, and the elves’ expressions relaxed. Through them, their misunderstanding about me was also resolved.
“Forgive us for our rudeness. We’ve been through a lot…”
“It’s fine. I would’ve done the same.”
If they had been hunted, it was natural for them to be wary of humans. They explained the situation to me.
“About half our tribe was attacked on the way here.”
“Was it slave hunters?”
“...Yes.”
“Where did you come from?”
“T-The north. From the barren snowy fields…”
The north and snowy fields meant a region under heavy influence from Prime Root, a hotbed for slave hunters.
Just days ago, many elves were captured near Demtor, targeted by local sweepers.
‘Wolves everywhere, huh.’
Unlike Tobaron, where protection for other races was solid, other regions were often filled with greed toward non-humans.
The elves, who had been quietly living in hiding from humans, began coming out due to the World Tree—and the hunters smelled money.
‘If the damage increases, this will be a serious issue.’
A new problem created by the World Tree’s emergence.
Realizing this, I brought the elves back to the World Tree.
When Fenry heard the news, her expression turned grim.
“This is serious. It’s already the third time.”
“If word spreads among elves, more humans will come to prey on them. This is bad.”
“Isn’t there a way?”
I shook my head.
“There’s little we can do right now in the Demtor and Prime Root regions. For now, the best we can do is have the Black Roses patrol outside the forest. At the very least, we must make sure approaching Ordor Forest is safe.”
“I’ll issue the orders for now.”
The number of non-humans drawn to the World Tree would only increase.
We’d have to deploy the Black Roses to protect them for now, but this was only a temporary solution. A more definitive approach was needed.
“But the witches are nowhere to be seen.”
To my question, Fenry pointed to the woods encircling the World Tree.
“They’re surveying the area around the World Tree. They said a protective barrier is needed, so it looks like the Ortains are looking for a place to set one up.”
Seeing that Lily hadn’t shown herself in days, she was probably working with the Ortains to help set the barrier.
“Let’s take a walk.”
“What are you brooding over this time?”
“Just follow me. I’m not going to eat you.”
Fenry and I strolled around the World Tree.
At this time of day, she often confided in me about unresolved worries.
Though she had risen in stature after being acknowledged as the World Tree’s shadow, she also bore the responsibility of guarding this place.
A burden too heavy for one person to carry.
What she usually sought from me were insights into external regions.
She knew I had unusually deep knowledge of them.
“We need allies in Hell Grime.”
“What exactly are you referring to?”
“First, information.”
“Information, huh…”
Fenry frowned as she bit down on her pipe. The pressure of this new region seemed heavier than expected.
“I’d love to plant Black Roses in Hell Grime, but as you can see, they’re made up of Dark Elves. Even if Tobaron accepts them, they won’t be able to move freely in Hell Grime. They might even be hunted.”
“We’d have to build it with humans.”
“Exactly. But it’s not easy to find humans skilled in gathering intel and completing missions. Training them would also take time.”
“What about the Ghosts?”
“What can we do with just ten? No matter how skilled they are, there’s a clear limit. We’re short on numbers.”
Since intelligence wasn’t my specialty, it felt like we needed Karl’s advice.
When I said that, Fenry nodded.
Not long after, Karl came to listen to our concerns—and gave an unexpected answer.
“We can use the anti-Kamel alliance.”
“The anti-Kamel alliance?”
“Kamel’s gone from Tobaron now, right? Keeping them here is a waste. Let’s pick out the useful ones and turn them into informants.”
“Would that be okay?”
“Do you know their most important rule? Not getting caught. They might not be great fighters, but when it comes to intel and stealth, they should be better than most.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Fenry nodded at Karl’s suggestion. Disbanding them and building an intelligence network centered on the Ghosts could help plant the World Tree Alliance’s power in Hell Grime.
“But the problem is, the Ghosts’ current strength.”
When Fenry gave Karl a once-over, he flared up.
“What, punk? You seen how strong we are?”
“Hmph, I know you’ve got special abilities, but aside from that, your basic strength is weak. If you run around Hell Grime like that, you’ll die out there.”
“Say that after a fight!”
“You want to fight me?”
“Everyone except you, come at me!”
For someone shouting so boldly, his words sounded rather pitiful.
Fenry might’ve sounded harsh, but she wasn’t wrong.
Karl and Elton were at the tail end of 4-Star rank.
The other Ghosts were just stepping into 4-Star territory.
While their Spectral Form gave them an edge, moving around Hell Grime carried real risks.
‘They’ve got zero experience in the area.’
In a region filled with powerful abilities like magic, ignorance could easily lead to death.
At minimum, Karl and Elton would need to grow stronger to move safely.
‘If only we had time, it wouldn’t be impossible…’
The issue was, time was in short supply.
Looking at the situation, vanishing for months just to train wasn’t a realistic choice.
But it was something that had to be done.
As I pondered this, woof! woof!—Keros’s howl rang out.
I could now tell who was coming just by his bark.
“Arthur!”
“Uagh!”
Someone grabbed me by the neck and shook me roughly.
Pretty heavy for someone so small.
Shaking her head, Lily gently set me down.
She had been scouting around the World Tree with the witches to find a place for the barrier.
I thought she was back because the task was done—but that wasn’t it.
“The Elder’s calling you!”
“Me??”
“They found a mysterious place near the World Tree.”
“Mysterious? Around here?”
“Yep! Natasha found it. A rift. A special rift for spirits!”
It seemed the birth of the World Tree had brought about an unexpected discovery in the area.