Regardless, the Tree of Meat didn’t seem dangerous. But my head was starting to spin from the influx of information on these weird, fairy-tale trees.
“Well…? What do you think, Master Dragon?” Allo asked timidly.
Well, they didn’t seem dangerous, at least. But honestly, they kind of creeped me out. I’d have preferred not to stick around long.
I knew exactly how I thought about them. But when I looked at Treant, it gazed hopefully back at me, eyes sparkling.
I sighed. ‹They’re kinda weird…but I don’t think they’re dangerous. Since we’re here, let’s take a break.›
‹A wonderful idea, Master! I heartily agree!› Treant exclaimed, flapping its wings in excitement.
I tore off a “fruit” from the Tree of Meat to examine more closely. It felt exactly like a chicken carcass. I brought it to my nose and gave it a sniff; sure enough, it smelled like raw chicken too. Then I opened it up and looked inside, just to be sure. Its bones were still intact, but there was also a hollow cavern where the internal organs had been removed. Looks like chicken meat to me. How much more do I need to second-guess this fake fruit?
‹Master! I have a feeling that fruit would taste better if you cooked it before eating it!› Treant called.
I couldn’t tell if it was being sarcastic or not. ‹Uh…what a coincidence. I was thinking exactly the same thing.›
With a small puff of Scorching Breath, I roasted the not-chicken fruit. Then I tossed the whole thing in my mouth, bones and all.
‹How is it, Master?› Treant asked.
‹Mm…I was a little worried about how it’d taste, but it’s actually delicious. Nice and filling, full of fat, superrich…› Yup. Definitely chicken.
‹Oho! So the fruit’s flesh is thick, juicy, and rich in flavor?!›
‹You’re…not joking, are you…›
Treant tilted its head, confused.
Either way, my taste-test was over. I roughly tore off five pieces of chicken meat (I refused to call it fruit anymore), cooked them through with another puff of Scorching Breath, and tossed one chunk to Allo and Treant, respectively.
‹Whatever it is, it seems safe to me. Dig in.›
With that, Allo, Treant, and I settled down for a meal. I pulled out the salt jar I’d stored in my Dimension while Treant used Aqua Sphere to provide some cool drinking water and Allo made some cups with Clay.
‹Ah…does salt really go well with this fruit?› Treant asked, skeptical. I chose not to answer.
Instead, I turned to Allo. ‹How’s it taste? Good?›
“Yeah! It’s delicious!” Allo answered cheerfully between bites.
‹This…is chicken, isn’t it?› Finally, Treant got the picture. Allo looked at Treant with a wry smile.
Yes, Treant… Both Allo and I knew that from the moment we saw it.
‹I suspected as much from its appearance, but I wasn’t sure…›
Hmm. Really, Treant? You did?
Before I could respond, Treant spoke again. ‹What about those fruits, Master? Are they edible?› It pointed at the Tree of Gold.
‹Mmm…well, they’re pure gold, so probably not.›
‹What? Just pure gold? That is a shame…› All the gold in the world wouldn’t help us right now, so Treant’s reaction was more or less the “right” one, but it still felt like a bizarre conversation.
I plucked an apple from the Tree of Gold and popped it into my mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it with a gulp.
‹Well?›
‹Yup. Just a big hunk of metal. No point in trying to eat it.›
“That’s how you chose to test it out…?” Allo gave another wry smile. “What about that tree? It smells really sweet.” Allo pointed at the second tree, the Tree of Sacred Wine.
‹The fruit that tree produces supposedly rots and gets turned into alcohol. But it’s apparently pretty addictive and partly poisonous, so I wouldn’t recommend trying it.›
“You could probably drink it, Master Dragon. But I doubt we could mess around with it.”
Well…I didn’t think there was any alcohol in the world potent enough to get an Oneiros drunk. If it were that strong, I’d give it to all the monsters here—and the Divine Voice to boot. Anyway, Allo also had Debuff Immunity, so I doubted drinking this wine would have any negative effects on her.
As Allo and I were laughing and chatting, Treant dropped the chicken meat it was holding with its wings and abruptly stood up.
‹Treant…?›
Treant didn’t respond. Instead, it started staggering over toward the Tree of Sacred Wine.
‹H-hey! Treant?!›
‹Master…! P-please, help me! My…my legs won’t move…›
Allo’s face went pale. I felt the blood drain from mine as well. Treant had totally been poisoned by the wine! Allo immediately leapt to her feet and ran toward Treant to push it to the ground. Treant stretched out its neck, flapping its wings weakly in protest.
“Master Dragon! Do it! Now!”
‹G-got it!› I dug my claws into the ground beneath the Tree of Sacred Wine to uproot it, then unleashed my Scorching Breath at close range. The flames engulfed the Tree of Sacred Wine, burning it to ashes in seconds. I smacked at the flames that spread to my body to extinguish them.
It felt a little wasteful to destroy a Legendary value item, but… No, it would do a hundred times more harm than good if I left it here, so it was probably for the best.
‹You saved me, Master… Thank you…› Treant murmured in relief.
‹Of course. I should’ve burned that thing down the moment I saw it,› I muttered, staring down at the Tree of Sacred Wine’s ashes along the forest floor.
Man…Ngai Forest was a realm of absurdities. There were legendary monsters and items around every corner. It felt kind of like a folder with all the unused data from a game inside it. Between the status screens, monsters, and experience points, this world had always felt like some kind of game to me, but still…
‹Hmm…?› For some reason, the thought tickled my mind for a moment. All the difficulties I’d experienced in this world until now, this strange forest, the existence of the Divine Voice…everything seemed to be connected by a single thread.
‹Master? What’s wrong?› Treant asked, looking up at me.
‹Nah, nothing. Just thinking…› At that moment, the ground shook violently.
‹Allo! Treant! Jump on my back! Something’s coming!› I ordered. Allo and Treant scrambled onto my back at once.
Then, the ground before us broke apart, spraying chunks into the air.
“Boooooooooooooooooogh!”
A terrifying howl echoed through the air, seeming to make the entire world quake in fear. A massive, pitch-black monster emerged from the raised ground. It had multiple heads, each with a different number of eyes.
Zaratan: Rank L (Legendary). A giant turtle with a strange appearance, revered by humans as a guardian deity of the earth. It is not hostile to humans or other creatures, and lives a peaceful, eternal existence. It is said that plants and trees which embody all human wants and desires grow from its back. However, humans dwelling in the land of the Zaratan are believed to lose themselves to corruption and selfishness and wage war with each other, ultimately leading to their downfall.
Whoa…! That’s wild! So those three trees’ weird properties came from this guy?
While it is generally peaceful, it shows no mercy to those who harm the plants on its back. When angered, it fights with overwhelming strength and powerful curse magic to slaughter its opponent.
Oh. Is that why it suddenly showed up?
We were gearing up to fight the Origin Matter—we couldn’t afford to get in a fight with another Legendary rank monster right now. It was time to get out of here.
I decided to take to the sky with Allo and Treant and fly away. Thankfully, this was a turtle monster, and turtle monsters were notoriously slow. According to its description, its stats favored attack and magic. And it seemed pretty solid, judging by its appearance. If the other stats were high, then its agility was likely quite low. I doubted I’d have much trouble outrunning it.
‹Master! That turtle, it’s using Roll to give chase! And it’s gaining on us!›
You gotta be kidding me.
‹I just wanted to take a little break! There are too many OP monsters in this freakin’ forest!› I shouted to the wind.
At that moment, a giant with one eye appeared in the distance. It sported dirt-colored skin and two mouths—one on the top and bottom of its face. Between them, a single large eye stared vacantly at us. Then the giant ran toward us, a broad, empty grin plastered on both its mouths.
‹Ugh! Now Ymir found me too?!›
Once again, I was reminded that there was no room to relax in a place as dangerous as Ymir’s forest.