Chapter 125: World Tree

"Hehe, everyone treats us very well," Ethan replied.

"I’m going to take a bath," Zharok said.

"Go ahead."

"Yeah, you all look like you just rolled out of a mud pit," the old woman remarked.

She snapped her fingers, a white light flashed over Ethan, Zharok, Pearl, and Walter, and when it vanished, the mud on their bodies had completely disappeared.

"...What powerful magic..."

"I didn’t sense any magical fluctuation at all..." Zharok and Walter grew even more tense.

Seeing their nervousness, Ethan shook his head and said, "You’ve traveled a long way, please, come inside and have a cup of tea."

"Then I’ll impose on you," the old woman said with a smile.

Ethan invited her into the cabin, brewed a pot of tea, and set it before her, she picked up the teacup, took a gentle sip, then reached for one of the cookies Ethan had made and popped it into her mouth.

"The taste is quite good." She smiled.

"By the way, has the Witch not returned yet?"

"Meow, not yet," Pearl answered.

"Hehe, she really is busy." The old woman chuckled.

"If you miss her, I can help you contact her."

"Meow, no need," Pearl declined.

"True, if she weren’t so busy, you wouldn’t be following this human around." She chuckled again.

"But this is fine too, at least you won’t be lonely."

"Are you able to contact Lady Witch?" Ethan asked.

"Of course, she and I have a special method of communication."

Ethan nodded and didn’t press further.

"Alright, let’s get down to business." The old woman set down her teacup.

"Are you ready?"

"Are you referring to the World Tree?" Ethan asked.

"That’s right."

Ethan had guessed that her visit was for this, he took out the World Fragment and the Chaos Fragment shards and placed them on the table.

"You have already gathered all the materials," the old woman noted.

"Then you also know what you’re still missing?"

"I know, dragon’s blood." Ethan paused.

"Did you come this time to give me dragon’s blood?"

"That’s right, furthermore, I promised to do you a favor."

"Thank you," Ethan said.

"Seeing how happy you are living here, I won’t force you to come with me," the old woman said with a smile.

"Hehe, thank you for your kindness." Ethan replied, "But if there’s anything you need my help with, just say the word, I’ll do my absolute best."

"That’s good, I really like the cookies you made, next time I come, remember to make some more."

"No problem." Ethan smiled, he decided he would bake another batch right away.

He handed the Chaos Fragment shards to Pearl. "Synthesize the Heart of Chaos."

"Meow, okay~"

"I’ll go outside and draw some dragon’s blood," the old woman announced.

She walked out to the clearing in front of the cabin, extended her hand, and drew a sharp fingernail across her wrist.

Fresh blood burst out, dyeing the ground red.

"Such powerful magic..."

"If I could just drink one mouthful of dragon’s blood, I probably wouldn’t need to eat mana crystals for a year..." Walter and Zharok stared at the blood on the ground, eyes wide with longing, but they didn’t dare entertain any ideas about it, dragon blood was sacred and inviolable.

Pearl synthesized the Chaos Fragment shards into the Heart of Chaos, a dense, chaotic energy radiated outward.

Zharok’s nose wrinkled. "What an awful smell..."

"I don’t think it’s too bad," Walter remarked.

"What should we do now?"

"Fuse the World Fragment and the Heart of Chaos together," the old woman instructed.

Ethan picked up the World Fragment and the Heart of Chaos and slowly brought them closer together, as if drawn by some unseen force, the two objects pulled toward each other and merged on their own, a flash of light — and in their place sat a single gemstone radiating a brilliant, seven-colored glow.

"Place it on the ground."

Ethan set the gemstone onto the soil tainted with dragon’s blood, it sank slowly into the earth and vanished.

"Is that it?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, that is all." The old woman smiled.

Ethan took out the World Tree seed and planted it exactly where the gemstone had vanished, he patted the soil down gently, the way he always did with his crops, and stepped back.

Nothing happened.

The clearing went quiet, the old woman, Ethan, Zharok, Walter, and Pearl all stood perfectly still, watching the patch of bare earth, nobody spoke, nobody moved.

Rumble...

The earth began to shake.

"What’s going on?" Ethan asked.

The dirt churned, and a tender sprout broke through the soil.

"Oh..."

"Meow, did you use Growth Acceleration?" Pearl asked.

"I didn’t..." Ethan replied.

"It’s growing this fast on its own."

The sprout grew at a visible rate, quickly becoming a small sapling.

Right at that moment, Ethan felt someone tugging on his clothes.

’Who...?’

He turned around, a little girl with green hair stood right behind him.

She was adorable.

Green hair cascaded down like a waterfall, framing clear, transparent green eyes, her skin, as bright and pale as moonlight, carried a faint, peach-like blush, baby fat softened her cheeks, making her look all the more endearing.

She gripped the hem of Ethan’s clothes tightly and tilted her head up to look at him.

’Is this the World Tree?’ Ethan recalled what the elves had told him — the World Tree was no ordinary tree. But he had never expected it to appear in this form.

"Oho... A World Tree nurtured by a human, so it has taken on a human form?" The dragon, who had been so eagerly anticipating this moment, observed the young girl with open curiosity. Its eyes were bright, almost childlike in their wonder — a strange look for a being old enough to remember the previous World Tree.

It took leisurely steps toward her and reached out a hand.

The girl watched the approaching palm without flinching, perhaps she sensed no malice, or perhaps she simply didn’t know what fear was. Either way, she merely looked at the dragon blankly.

"You possess unimaginably immense power," the dragon marveled.

Ethan kept his face neutral, he glanced at Walter, Zharok, and Pearl. All three wore the same baffled expression, heads tilted, clearly sensing nothing out of the ordinary.

The dragon paid no mind to their reactions. It placed its hand on the girl’s head, nodded once in satisfaction, then looked at Ethan.

"How do you plan to handle this World Tree?"

"I don’t have any special plans," Ethan replied.

He looked at the dragon in confusion, nurturing the World Tree had been its wish, so he had assumed it would make some sort of demand.

The dragon smiled and took a step back. "I merely wanted to witness the birth of the World Tree with my own eyes. As for who takes care of it, or who nurtures it, I do not care. Since you have already brought it into this world, you should be responsible for it until it matures." A pause.

"If you find this troublesome, I can take it away."

The girl seemed to understand, her fingers tightened on the hem of Ethan’s clothes, just a fraction, as if resisting something.