Game of the World Tree

"Ah! Oops ... It's getting late, it's been five hours on Earth! Eh … so, are … you … are you going offline?"

Wind was silent for a while, then nodded.

Salty Little Meow caressed her chin and said:

"If you're going offline, go to the 'morgue' first. When you log out, your body will stay in place where you last were. It is better to find a safe place to go offline."

"Go to… the morgue?"

Wind's expression showed obvious surprise and confusion for the first time.

"Ah…cough cough, it's our nickname for the offline point."

Salty Little Meow laughed a few times and explained:

"It's like this. We have a centralized offline point in the town. Players who don't have a 'home' can log off there. There's a magic circle there that's protected by Alice, so it is safe to go offline there."

"You see ... this game is a full simulation. After going offline, the body does not disappear but you instead lose control over it. It basically turns into a corpse, and it makes for a creepy spectacle when players park their bodies in rows there, so we jokingly started to call it a morgue ..."

Wind was speechless.

"Of course, cough cough… if you don't mind, you can go offline at my house as well. You see … my bed is quite big." Salty Little Meow said.

She had a good impression of this new, quiet player and faintly entertained the idea of befriending her.

Wind, however, did not immediately agree to her proposal.

Instead, she just smiled and shook her head gently.

"It's fine. I have troubled you a lot already today, and I don't want to trouble you even more."

Although it was a polite refusal, her words that felt like a warm spring breeze and her warm smile made it impossible for Salty Little Meow to feel even a hint of discomfort.

"Is that so."

Salty Little Meow pinched the ridges of her clothes with some regret.

Wind took a deep look at her, wearing a faint smile.

"Thank you for accompanying me today. I was very happy.

The berries were delicious and the bonfire party was really fun.

Let's meet again sometime later. I have to go now."

She gave a slight nod to Salty Little Meow, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Ah! I didn't even tell you where the morgue is located!"

Salty Little Meow shouted before hurriedly chasing after her.

However, there was no trace to be found of Wind in the crowd.

"Where'd she go?"

Salty Little Meow, taken aback, looked around for a while.

However, she could not find Wind anywhere.

She tapped her head, somewhat depressed.

"Aah! I've been talking with her for almost a day, but I forgot to add her as friend. I'm so stupid!"

…In the Elven Forest.

A graceful figure was strolling.

It was Wind.

As she walked along, the plants on both sides, seemingly paying homage to a queen, moved aside by themselves and cleared a path for her.

The leaves rustled and the fireflies danced around her, as if greeting a Supreme Being.

With her every step, her body emitted a faint glow that appeared mysteriously holy in the darkness of the night.

Her hair gradually grew longer, and its originally golden colour gradually turned into a magnificent silver.

The height of her figure gradually increased, and she became taller and more elegant.

Her eyes gradually faded from emerald green into a mysterious and noble purple.

Her facial features became refined and even more outstanding.

The original beginner's clothing on her body transformed into a holy dress made out of condensed divine energy.

In an instant, it was as if she had turned from an earthly escaped princess to a heavenly goddess.

No.

She actually was a goddess.

Had any players been here to see her, they would definitely have noticed that she looked exactly like the divine statue enshrined in the Temple of Nature!

The Mother of Nature, the Goddess of Life, the master of the elves - Eve Euktrahill.

Indeed, Wind was an avatar that Eve had made for herself.

The core used for the body was Hela's soul storage orb! Her body's strength gradually increased, and an intimidating power began to spread outward.

Until… It reached a climax.

"Barely gold…?" She observed her strength and sighed.

"The soul storage orb has not been completely repaired. It can only exert this level of power for the time being."

"But still, it's enough to enjoy the freedom I've long lost."

"Nh… I haven't eaten anything in a long time. I didn't expect the food from the Elven Forest to be so delicious."

After saying that, her mind suddenly shifted again.

A breath of death gradually spread across her body.

Her waist-length silver hair was dyed in a darker tint, changing from bright silver to dark silver.

Her pair of eyes changed from purple to scarlet.

Her appearance transformed. It was no longer holy and perfect, but more delicate and pretty.

The pointed elven ears also turned into human ones.

In addition, her originally gorgeous divine dress changed once again to a somewhat austere, black, armoured skirt ... a piece of equipment that Eve had upgraded from the elven equipment that players had given her.

Observing her state, she faintly smiled.

"I can use the divine power of the soul storage orb to power my own avatar, but also appear as an avatar shrouded in the God of Death's breath."

"That's like having two little puppets at the same time! I'm truly a genius!"

She turned her head and looked in the direction of the elven town again.

The lights there could still be faintly observed from where she was standing, and she could still vaguely hear the laughter coming from the players.

A small smile appeared on her face.

"I created this 'game' for my own sake, but even I was a bit affected seeing how happy they were."

"From now on... I should treat them slightly better, mhh…Let's give 50… Nah…500? ... More contribution points for each mission.

Any more than that and it'll lead to points inflation."

But gradually, the smile on her face made way for a sad expresion.

"I wonder if it's the effect from merging with the World Tree… But I have the impression that I can never experience my original state again."

She rubbed her forehead.

She first thought that, after possessing an avatar, she could naturally blend in with the players.

After all, she used to be one of them, a human.

However, it turned out that as a true god, she was unable to retrieve that human feeling again.

Her character and her temperament seemed to have been affected in some way.

Even if she changed into an avatar, she couldn't hide her unique aura... She was becoming less and less human and more and more an unreachable True God.

She sighed and wondered if this was good or bad.

Of course, Eve guessed that this might also be because she hadn't completely mastered the powers of a true god.

In any case, she, who had acquired the inheritance of the World Tree and likewise the enemies of said World Tree, knew that the world of Sagas was not as nice as the players thought it was.

As she summoned increasingly more players and had elves searching for historical artefacts, she also gradually started to realize how different she was... Being a true god, the authority of the World Tree seemed to be even more influential than she had thought.

And the secrets behind the Thousand-year War ran far deeper than she imagined. She still had a long way to go; it would be an arduous road full of hardships and uncertainty, but also one that could lead to infinite possibilities.

It was bound to be a lonely road.

It was also bound to be a road where she would continuously become stronger.

Still, on her way to becoming a supreme divine being, in her heart she hoped that she would be able to retain some of her original humanity.

"In the future ... if I have some free time, I might as well play around like this again ..."

Eve believed that, maybe, having players around would allow her to continue to retain that sliver of humanity on her path towards supreme godhood.

Rather than completely becoming a deity who looked down from high above and who regarded everyone as insignificant ants.

"Well, I've had my day of fun, it's time to go back."

With a soft sigh, divine light blossomed from her body and her body slowly disappeared.