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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: selkie
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A little before Raymond appeared.
As soon as she emerged from the deep barrier, Sylvia’s eyes took in the sight of armed mercenaries setting the village ablaze and striking down the elves.
She quickly picked up a bow from a fallen elven patroller in front of her and nocked an arrow.
Her gaze swept across the area, and she soon spotted a mercenary thrusting a spear at one of her kin. She released the arrow.
The projectile cut through the wind and pierced the mercenary’s neck.
Fortunately, the endangered elf survived and began to flee. However, other mercenaries had now noticed Sylvia.
“There’s another one over there!”
“Get her!”
Three mercenaries charged toward her. Fear gripped her heart, and her arms froze, unable to draw the bowstring. While she hesitated, they closed the distance and tore the bow from her hands.
“Kyah!”
A club struck her head, drawing blood. Sylvia screamed and collapsed. The mercenaries’ greedy eyes fixated on the fallen elf.
She was of High Elf descent, more beautiful than other elves.
“Boss, just a little, right…?”
“Yeah, a little should be fine.”
One of them raised a sharp dagger.
“My lady!”
It was Siadin. As he approached, his sword cleaved through the air, and spirits of the wind danced, their blades slicing silently. The mercenaries’ heads rolled lifelessly to the ground.
“My lady! Are you alright?”
Having swiftly dealt with the three, Siadin ran to check Sylvia’s condition. Fortunately, she didn’t appear to have any major injuries.
“The village is in ruins. What was the patrol doing?”
His voice carried restrained yet cold fury. The elven patrollers responsible for defending the village had been utterly defeated.
That should have been his response, yet Siadin couldn’t bring himself to utter the despairing truth.
“We lost.”
She wasn’t a fool.
“Please hide for now. I’ll take care of the surroundings.”
Siadin spoke cautiously. She had the power of the spirits to evade danger, so if he could clear the area, she might be able to escape the village alone.
If even one of High Elf descent survived, their people would not be eradicated entirely, even if the village was destroyed. Siadin was already considering the worst-case scenario.
“Sir Siadin…”
Sylvia bit her lip so hard that it bled. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
He hadn’t said it outright, but asking her to abandon her dying kin and flee? How could she, a proud heir of the High Elves, do such a thing?
Yet the dilemma didn’t last long.
The instinct to survive was stronger. She hid herself in a safe place, guided by the spirits of the wind, a high tree overlooking the entire village.
From there, Sylvia watched the village being ravaged. Instead of cursing her own helplessness, she burned the scene into her memory. Tears streamed down her face, but she did not turn away.
The elves’ screams echoed as if blaming her for hiding. But she couldn’t step forward. She was weak, and above all, the survival of her lineage had to be ensured.
As the screams began to fade—
“That… That’s…?”
A change occurred. The banner of the Fifth Prince was planted. However, Sylvia’s expression remained dark.
This was not the imperial army, just a band of reckless mercenaries. At a time when they were already in the midst of their atrocities, the name of the Philios royal family wouldn’t hold much sway.
And sure enough, while the mercenaries briefly paused at the sight of the banner, they soon raised their weapons at the prince, intending to eliminate him to cover their tracks.
Killing the Fifth Prince would certainly escalate the situation, but mercenaries were simple-minded. They thought slaughtering everyone would solve everything.
“No… No…”
The wind spirits warned her of another presence. Beings far darker and deadlier than the mercenaries.
The Prince’s escorts were skilled, but there were only two of them, while the enemies were numerous.
She thought all was lost.
Then—
Boom!
“Gaaaah!”
“Uaaagh!”
A brilliant radiance burned away the darkness. Sylvia’s eyes widened in shock. That had to be an advanced spell. Even with her limited knowledge of magic, she knew. Had the Fifth Prince been hiding such overwhelming power?
But that was only the beginning. A force emanating from Raymond’s grasp took the shape of a sword. Sylvia recognized it instantly. Though he had skipped the medium of a physical blade, that was undoubtedly a Mana Sword.
“He’s mastered the Mana Sword?”
Swordsmanship and magic could not coexist. The way a Mana Lord wielded their power differed completely between the two disciplines.
Before receiving the blessing, Raymond had only been able to use both because the Soul Sword’s Mana Sword had a fundamentally different structure from ordinary ones.
Even so, it had caused him pain when used alongside magic, and it had been incomplete.
But now, it was different. With the ‘Blessing of Sword and Magic,’ he had become a complete magic swordsman.
It was the final blessing. He was now the only magic swordsman on the continent.
This opportunity was originally meant for the protagonist, Richard, but it had fallen into Raymond’s hands instead.
“Burn everything and retreat!”
A man who seemed to be the leader gave the order. The figures clad in black acted immediately. They poured something over the corpses and burned them to ashes before withdrawing in perfect coordination.
The assassins had completely retreated. The remaining mercenaries were nothing more than weak stragglers. The elven patrol had suffered so heavily not because of the mercenaries, but due to the ambushes from the assassins in the background. With the assassins gone, the furious elves slaughtered the remaining mercenaries.
Sylvia scanned the village before turning her gaze back to Raymond. As the elves cheered in victory over the surviving mercenaries, Raymond stood firm, watching the scene unfold, until he collapsed.
“Ah!”
A gasp escaped her lips. When she came to her senses, she had already leapt down from the tree and was running toward the Fifth Prince. The elves nearby turned to look.
“Sylvia!”
Desia’s urgent voice called out for her.
“I’m here!”
Sylvia shouted. The elves parted to clear a path for her. Borrowing the power of the wind spirits, she rushed to the fallen prince’s side.
Desia, who had been checking Raymond’s condition, let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Sylvia’s face.
“His Mana Road is in bad shape.”
“T-Then…”
“There’s an herb we need. Can you get it?”
At Desia’s question, Sylvia’s expression hardened, but she nodded firmly.
“He is the savior of our people. Every elf of the Platinum Grass Tribe will give their all to find it.”
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He felt a brilliant light and opened his eyes, finding himself standing in a vast grassland.
The last thing he remembered was witnessing the High Assassins retreat and the elves achieving victory against the mercenary corps.
Since his memory after that was unclear, he must have lost consciousness.
It was only natural. He had recklessly unleashed the secret techniques of a magic swordsman without fully adjusting to his reconstructed body.
“Is this a dream?”
The thought escaped his lips before he could stop himself. But if this was a dream, everything felt far too vivid.
Still, since he couldn’t control mana, it seemed that his body had not been summoned, only his consciousness.
“What the hell is going on…”
Raymond frowned and muttered to himself. If this wasn’t a dream, then someone must have summoned him. That was an unsettling thought.
“If you called me, show yourself!”
His cold voice echoed. Yet the summoner did not reveal themselves. Instead, the gentle flow of mana that filled the space began to shift.
It was as if it was guiding him somewhere.
‘You want me to come to you?’
He didn’t like it, but he had no choice. He had no idea how to leave this space. Besides, by now, his curiosity about the entity that had brought him here was growing.
‘Let’s go.’
Without hesitation, Raymond followed the flow of mana. He wasn’t afraid. If they meant him harm, they wouldn’t have gone through such a troublesome method.
How long had he been walking? It didn’t seem like much time had passed. After all, this place was a world of thought, created by summoning consciousness. According to the setting guide, time did not flow here. Raymond decided not to be impatient.
He continued his slow steps. Soon, the scenery began to change. The endless grassland gave way to a forest. Even after entering the woods, the mana continued to guide him.
‘Have I arrived?’
After walking for some time, the guiding mana weakened. In its place, another presence made itself known. It felt as though it was beckoning him to look.
Following that whispering sensation, he turned his head.
There stood a massive tree.
‘It wasn’t here a moment ago…’
He hadn’t sensed its presence at all. But that didn’t matter.
“Were you the one who called me?”
Raymond asked in a calm voice. He had an idea of what stood before him.
There was only one being at this time that possessed the magic to summon only consciousness into a world of thought. Only one that could take the form of a tree.
“The World Tree.”
He murmured the name softly but clearly. As if responding to his whisper, the mana within the World Tree rippled lightly.
—How did you know?
The voice carried curiosity rather than wariness. It was unmistakably a woman’s voice. Raymond smirked and nodded.
So, the setting guide had been correct.
“The situation made it obvious.”
Raymond’s response was matter-of-fact. Everything lined up too perfectly. And more than anything, anyone would think of the World Tree when seeing such an enormous tree.
“So, what does the ‘true’ World Tree want from me?”
—You know a great deal.
“Anyone who looks into it even a little would learn as much. It’s nothing special.”
He spoke casually, but knowledge of the true World Tree was not widely known. This only deepened the World Tree’s curiosity about Raymond.
—I’ve become interested in you.
The World Tree was direct. She expressed her emotions honestly.
“I’d prefer if you got to the point.”
Even if time didn’t flow in this space, being abruptly summoned while resting wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Sensing the sharpness in his voice, the World Tree realized her mistake.
—I apologize for calling you so suddenly. But I wished to repay my benefactor, and in my eagerness, I summoned you.
“Is that so?”
—Yes. After the Great War, my connection with my fragments has weakened considerably. But it has not been completely severed.
Raymond nodded calmly. He had read about this in the setting guide.
—Losing my fragments inevitably weakens me.
A fragment’s destruction meant the World Tree’s power diminished.
—I have lost many fragments recently. I have grown weaker because of it.
“Was it an organized attack?”
—I do not know yet. Though I am connected to each tribe’s World Tree, the link is far weaker than in ancient times. At best, I can only confirm whether they are alive.
Unlike the Eastern Continent, where the Allied Races had won the Great War, the Western Continent had been cut off even further. Now, the bond between the main body and its fragments barely functioned to verify survival and provide minimal nourishment.
—That is why I am grateful to you.
“How do you know I was the one who saved it? You said the connection was practically severed.”
It was a sharp observation. Raymond’s gaze narrowed slightly.
—I sensed the aura of a magic swordsman. The connection may be weak, but a presence as powerful as yours was unmistakable. How could I not recognize it when my fragment was involved?
“Did others notice it too?”
—My fragment was there, so I could sense it faintly. But you need not worry about other ‘beings’ noticing.
The World Tree’s voice carried strong certainty.
“So, what do you want?”
He had gone off track for a moment.
—You are impatient. Very well, I will get to the point.
Raymond nodded at the World Tree’s words.
—I wish to grant you a blessing as thanks for protecting my fragment.
Raymond recalled what he had read in the setting guide. If the World Tree bestowed a blessing personally, there was only one possibility.
‘The Blessing of the Eternal Forest.’
To those who receive this blessing, the forest shall be at their back until the end of their days.
As he recalled this passage, he felt the presence of the World Tree’s mana. The ‘Blessing of the Eternal Forest’ was being bestowed upon him.
—It is done. From now on, all elves of both the Western and Eastern Continents will recognize you as a benefactor.
The World Tree declared in a calm voice.
Raymond still found it hard to believe.
‘Even the protagonist couldn’t obtain the Blessing of the Eternal Forest… and yet, I have.’
This was completely unexpected.
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