Under the tree of the world was as dark as the night. I don't know if looking up at the sky is too big, but the sun is completely blocked by the lush branches.
With Eliza at the forefront, she stepped forward as she stepped on the pile of leaves. A cold wind blows and Astor trembles.
The constantly falling leaves seemed to reject the intruder. There is a sacred image of the world tree, but this doesn't make a fool of the black world tree.
In the first place, the size of the tree makes it unusual. From a distance, I thought I understood the enormity of the tree, but I can't believe there is such a huge tree in the world that the trunk even looks like a wall.
"Again... it's getting bigger. Until the other day, it wasn't... It's all because of the excess mana material.”
Selen said in a small voice. When I absorbed the Mana Materials and grew this big, does that mean that Anthem will grow this big someday...
Estimated Level 10 Treasure Temple [Source Temple] was occurring as if it were hiding a world tree.
A black pillar grows on a decaying black wall that surrounds the world tree in thin darkness. There were high-level monsters around the high-level treasure hall, but at least nothing moved outside the walls.
I can't really see the details because of the distance, but the sight was uncomfortable. Somewhere in the [lost inn] you can feel the similar air. Perhaps the instinct of being a creature is appealing to the danger of the treasure house.
The members of the Battle-Scarred Star Thunder (Starlight) who had conquered various dungeons looked at the treasure hall with a stiff expression.
"Perhaps, it manifested itself as being integrated with the world tree. This is still the front seat. Through that wall is the 'entrance' to the tree of the world. Maybe that's the main body."
Eliza said it in the same way as usual. Is it because there is no sense of crisis or because I have come to scout many times?
Even though there was no phantom figure, the atmosphere seemed to be dreadful just near the entrance. Moreover, even if a few dozen large phantoms appeared on this vast site, I could still afford to do so.
This time, the only thing that saved me was that I didn't need to conquer it.
Selen, narrowing her eyes and looking at the world tree, said with a slight trembling voice as she regulated her breathing.
"I've been receiving reports... but what power... if I could step inside this wall, it should be enough to dispel the curse"
Do I have to get inside the walls... I might have thrown up if I wasn't comfortable?
There is a part of the wall that is broken down. Probably get in there.
"... the inside of the wall, it's quite wide. Perhaps the walls are ritualistic, not defensive. There are also murals."
”Hmm... I don't think the crap will come out.”
It seems unusual that Lapis and I are in agreement.
And Eliza, looking vaguely at the wall, frowned.
"...... after all, there's no sign of a phantom...... until a few days ago, I was there."
All right, all right. I was wondering what would happen, but at last I got lucky. It doesn't matter if there is no phantom in any vicious treasure hall. "Of course there's no trap ahead of time..."
"Isn't this the best time?" I'm lucky this time..... "
"Yowanningen, don't say anything that incites anxiety!!!
!? I didn't say anything...
Now, let's get back to Zebuldia. Liz and the others were falling, so I had to stay for a long time.
Then Lapis opened his eyes wide as if he had noticed something and looked at Kriss.
"If there was no phantom, I wouldn't have to disperse the guards." Is this what you said was funny? "
"It's unbelievable to predict the number of phantoms in advance... but it's certainly not true that phantoms disappear from treasure halls at this level. Interesting."
What was she talking about? Astor nodded in admiration.
It might have been shocking, but this level of treasure hall is unlikely to reduce phantoms... So this time I'm really lucky. It's really unusual.
”Hmmm... it's interesting... it's certainly interesting, but is this really enough?”
For some reason, Kurus looks at us with his eyes like he sees something suspicious. I don't know what you're listening to, but maybe it's okay?
It is a cash thing and I feel better because the phantom is gone.
Eliza approached the wall and checked inside. She gestured to me for a moment. Originally, we should have split the escort, but if no one was there, we wouldn't have to.
I could have come out with a few bodies, but there's no tension.
"Hmm... you're a confident man. But it certainly makes sense. It will also serve as a reference for enemy forces in the next battle."
"...... yep, that's right."
Motivated, Lapis. I wonder if it's a sense of purpose... I want you to do your best in the fight against the Arks.
Anyway, with the Lapis and the others, I ran up to Eliza and put my hand against the wall and looked inside.
Eliza told me in advance that the inside of the wall was like a ruin.
All the huge rubble and stone pillars rolling in there are black, and when I look at them, my chest is wobbly.
And before the unfamiliar ruins, there was a world tree.
"The [Temple of Genesis] is manifested in a way that integrates into the world tree......"
Selen squeezes her cane and says in a pressing voice.
There was a temple there. An incredibly elaborate temple that sharpens the trunks of a giant world tree.
Sometimes the ground is covered with a carpet of thick leaves, creating an indescribably thin and creepy atmosphere.
I'm sure that the god that will be born into this temple-shaped treasure hall must be nothing.
Let's get this over with.
Eliza suddenly pulled her arm hard as she stepped inside the wall.
…………
Eyes and eyes match. Eliza's face, which was always blurry, was stiff. I don't say anything, but only the silence conveys the atmosphere of being stuck.
What the hell is that?...... Eliza shook her shoulder at me, blinking her eyes.
”Ku...... my legs want to escape”
”Huh?...... you can't just run away, can you?”
I don't know what it is, but if I can escape now, I will point to the nail.
When Eliza grabbed my arm, a strong wind blew in her hand.
"Huh!?"
For a moment, my breath became stuffy. It was a mysterious and unfamiliar sight.
A swirling wind blew in from nowhere, winding up all the leaves of the surrounding trees.
It was like attack magic. I quickly sent my gaze to my friends, but they were stunned to see the sight.
The leaves that soared in front of the confused us became particles of light.
Eliza grabs my arm and pulls it back. At that moment, I remembered the treasure hall that appeared in front of me as a result of the crustal fluctuation that happened.
The particles of light gathered and glowed strong for a moment. The space that was supposed to be empty, the force that was supposed to be weightless, took shape, gained gravity, and shook the earth.
"!? I... I... I... ha?"
”I see... here we are”
A new world tree leaf falls from the sky.
Sure enough, it's unnatural that even though the leaves are falling at such a momentum, the ground won't be buried for a long time.
It seems that the scene that is happening in front of this eye is the reason.
In general, phantoms are not manifested in front of the eyes. When there are creatures, the Mana Materials are absorbed by you.
But there are exceptions to things.
To think soberly, the leaves are falling as a result of the world tree's inability to process the Mana Material. That leaf must have been like a chunk of Mana Material.
And now I've got enough in front of me to be a phantom. At the worst possible time.
"That's... impossible. It's a phantom!?" There's more than just spirits here - there's humans!? Plus, level 8 hunters! "
Astor whispered and looked at me. I'm sorry, I can barely absorb the Mana Materials... but I don't think it would have helped if it hadn't been for me.
A phantom appeared in a space that had been empty before. A phantom in a golden mask.
That's...... not exactly the case.
"...... The phantom that appears in this treasure hall is unified by wearing a mask"
Eliza adds a supplement. The ruins that were previously uninhabited are now overflowing with a wide variety of phantoms.
A lizard in a mask and a dog in a mask. A snake in a mask and a knight in a mask. That number is no longer countless.
The design of the mask covering each face was different in detail, but the rough parts were unified.
I don't have the skills to accurately measure the unity of power, but I can see that this situation is not very good from the fact that Eliza's expression is always blurry.
Fortunately, the phantoms haven't noticed us yet, but it's only a matter of time before they do.
"I'll wear a mask too, so could you join me..."
As if trying to burn the sight into his brain, Selen checked his eyes wide open to the limit.
"Um...... can you undo the curse?"
"You can't do it alone, can you?! That's not gonna happen with that number, man! It's not a level to come out with a few bodies, that's all! Yowanningen underestimates me, I am!!"
Instead of Selen, Kriss secretly shouted for dexterity.
Right. If I had come a few dozen minutes earlier, I might have been able to dispel the curse before the phantom appeared...
"I see...... this is interesting. Hmm... it's certainly the first time I've seen this--"
Lapis admires this, but his legs are already a few steps back. Apparently, everyone agrees.
And I want you to stop saying things like I created this situation. I won't say anything right now because it's not the point.
"... [Holy Thunder of the Stars] isn't it possible... the opponent doesn't seem to have noticed yet, but can't?"
"...... I don't have any barbaric magic to wipe out that many phantoms." I'll give it to you this time. "
Lapis shrugged his shoulders at the question he had asked with all his hopes. I'm going to give it to you this time...... What am I, just a flashy man with a storm? What can I do?
He sighed deeply and gave a half-hearted smile, hard to say...
"I can't help it..."
"... wait, Yowanningen, what are you going to do?!"
Kurus speaks up as if he was being played. You are the one who overestimated me. [M]
What are you gonna do? Of course you are. You have to go home. The opponent hasn't noticed us yet, so now's our chance.
Hurry up and come back when there are fewer phantoms.
Think about it and turn around. And in the sight of it, I lost my words.
The Lapis, Selenium, and even Eliza were completely frozen.
― ― There was a huge crack in the air that was supposed to be nothing before.
I knew the magic that Lucia used, but I had never seen the magic that made a rift in space.
In the first place, I've heard that the magic that acts in space-time is a super-high difficulty magic that exceeds gravity magic, and only a few people can use it with modern mages (magi).
A giant head crawled out of the rift in front of me in a daze.
A giant centipede with a red crustacean, no less than a phantom - followed by a human voice.
"I mean, I didn't think the source of the power was the end."
"That's why I told you to go back, that space is a little out of line with the real world!" What would have happened without my Ripper? "
The girl who jumped from the rift was the one who came to me for guidance. [M]
I am not wearing a hood now, but I can tell by my voice. On his head is a doll with a giant hammer.
Next, a brunette young man with a sword around his waist folded, and finally, a brunette woman carrying a large spear appeared.
Sunburned skin has sharp eyes. She looked as strong as Liz.
When the woman looked at me, she opened her eyes wide for a moment and immediately nodded and laughed as if she had gone.
"Looks like... you've kept me waiting, [Chigenma]"
Um... who is it?
A giant centipede roared in response to the woman's words.