Chapter 68

<68. World Tree (2)>

World Tree.

Oliver now understood why Forest didn't answer immediately and why the bookstore owner found it difficult to explain. It was because the World Tree was not something that could be explained in a short time or with just a few words. The World Tree (世界樹) was more vast and ambiguous than anything Oliver had ever seen, and it was a realm of the unknown, still in progress. It had only been about 30 years since a proper related book was published, and research was still ongoing. Honestly, Oliver himself didn't know how to explain it.

Ah, well... At least the bookstore owner's explanation was quite good. The World Tree was described as a vast encyclopedia and the largest tree in the world. Oliver agreed with this entirely. To explain the World Tree, it was indeed the largest tree discovered so far, but it could not be seen with the naked eye. The reason was that the World Tree was not on the surface of the ground but underground, right beneath the ground we step on. The main body of the World Tree was the roots in the ground, and from these roots, countless trees grew like branches all over the world. In other words, the World Tree was not a single giant tree but a cluster of many trees centered around a vast root system. How such a life form came to be is still unknown, but there were two plausible hypotheses. One was that a massive main body (root) in the center of the Earth extended worldwide to obtain sunlight and nutrients, becoming the World Tree. The other was that the roots of many trees intertwined naturally and merged into the World Tree. Both hypotheses were strongly supported in academic circles, and they were fighting over which was correct, so the origin of the World Tree remained inconclusive.

However, this was not a particularly important issue. The truly fascinating part came next. If it were just a collection of trees connected by roots, it would be merely interesting, but the World Tree was more than just interesting. It was miraculous, useful, and extremely powerful. This was because the World Tree contained a vast natural magic power that observed and remembered events around the trees, storing them in the netherworld called the 'Root Net.' By using the Root Net, one could know what was happening on the other side of the world, even across the sea. In other words, the World Tree could be considered the eyes of the world. However, that was not all.

Wizards and druids had also developed techniques to enter the 'Root Net' artificially and manage, store, and retrieve information through magic and rituals. This technique was called 'Root Net Sailing' or simply 'Net Sailing.' With Net Sailing, one could store and manage an infinite amount of information, exceeding tens of millions of volumes, and retrieve it when needed. It was truly remarkable that no paper was needed to store so much information, and it required little effort to find the necessary information. One just needed to enter the Root Net and think of the required information, making it extremely convenient and efficient. Additionally, the World Tree was involved in communication, administrative processing, and more, and in some 'blessed countries,' including this one, there was a growing trend to actively use the World Tree in national administration and politics.

At this point, Oliver also learned about the dangers and drawbacks of the World Tree. Where there is light, there is also shadow. Although the World Tree was convenient, it was still new and had many vulnerabilities and risks. For example, it was vulnerable to infiltration by specialized organizations like Heimdall, as Forest mentioned. Moreover, learning Net Sailing was extremely difficult, which was a serious issue. Not only did it require effort, but it also demanded talent. One needed considerable magical practical skills and a strong mental fortitude to maintain consciousness in the sea of information that was the Root Net. The book warned that if one was not careful, their consciousness could be overwhelmed by the information, causing significant harm. Thus, only a few schools of wizards and druid sects could use it.

To verify the information he read in the book, Oliver went to a place far from his lodging. It was between the U district, the edge of the workers' residential area, and the V district, the start of the slum residential area. After a long search, he found a World Tree in a sparsely populated area at the boundary.

"This is the World Tree...?"

Oliver muttered as he looked at the solitary tree. It appeared to be an ordinary tree, but the iron fence and sign around it indicated that it was one of the World Tree. The sign read:

[World Tree certified by the Magic Tower. Vandalism will result in severe legal penalties. Rand Police Department.]

Oliver looked at the tree again after reading the sign. It still looked like an ordinary tree, one commonly seen on the streets of Rand. Some of these trees had fences, and Oliver couldn't understand why he hadn't recognized the existence of the World Tree sooner. It was probably due to his narrow field of vision, focusing only on things of interest.

"This needs to be fixed."

Oliver recognized his shortcoming and focused his attention. His human vision gradually blurred, and the black magic vision, which could see through emotions, life force, and even magic, activated. Then, he could see the faint magic flowing through the World Tree.

"This is...?"

Oliver tilted his head at the sight before him. With the black magic vision, the World Tree looked more like a pipe, with various colors of magic moving at incredible speeds through the center. Blue, yellow, red, purple, and more. It was very fast and complex, naturally piquing his interest. Oliver touched his face, wondering if he had put on the leather mask he hadn't used yet, just in case. Fortunately, the mask was properly on, so his face wouldn't be exposed.

After confirming his safety, Oliver shifted his gaze downward, toward the roots of the World Tree.

"Hmm..."

Oliver groaned in frustration. He could see below, but it became increasingly blurry, like a puppet show from a hundred steps away. He could sense something happening, but he couldn't see anything, which was frustrating. According to the book, the roots were deep underground, but he was only getting tired and gaining nothing.

"Ha..."

He sighed involuntarily. He had come here out of curiosity from reading the book, but now that he was here, he wanted to confirm as much as possible. Of course, seeing the tree with its flowing magic and learning about the World Tree's functions and status was already a lot, but it still felt insufficient.

To be more honest, Oliver wanted to use the World Tree himself. He wanted to connect to the unknown world of the Root Net, a network of countless nerve roots, and experience what it held.

Of course, this was extremely dangerous and, in some ways, foolish. He could be exposed to unnecessary risks without gaining anything. Still, Oliver wanted to try it because he wanted to.

Before he knew it, Oliver found himself standing right next to the World Tree, having climbed over the fence. He also extracted emotions in a test tube. He wondered why he couldn't enter the Root Net through black magic, even though it was possible through magic and communication with nature. With the intention of experimenting, he extended his hand, filled with emotion, toward the World Tree.

The book didn't mention anything related to this, so it was likely a futile attempt, but he decided to try it anyway.

What, it couldn't possibly work—

"Is it...?"

Oliver was slightly surprised. How to describe it? It was similar to entering the secret space in the sausage factory and Glyp's secret room. When he held the emotion in his hand and touched the tree, it felt like inserting a key into a lock. Of course, it didn't open immediately like with Glyp, as the lock was designed in an unknown shape, but this was no problem for Oliver. After a few attempts using the emotion, he got a rough idea of how to unlock it. The same applied to the World Tree. Although it felt a bit awkward, Oliver ignored the slight resistance and forcefully inserted the emotion into the lock.

Then, a rustling sound echoed in his head, followed by a clicking sound. With it, a strange scene unfolded before him. A dark, empty space with no sky or ground, where the only movement was the colorful magic flying like meteors. Oliver instinctively knew this was the Root Net, another world formed by the nerve roots of the World Tree, a sea of information containing vast knowledge. Strangely, he felt neither panic nor fear, only curiosity and interest. He calmly observed his surroundings, trying to understand this place.

As mentioned earlier, the surroundings were as dark as the night sky. Oliver instinctively looked at his hand, which appeared as a white line, different from his physical form, perhaps due to the virtual nature of the netherworld. The only thing that caught his attention was the noisy voices of information in his ears. They seemed to be pressuring him, not welcoming the intruder, but Oliver ignored them and continued to observe.

Now, what to do? Should he leave? But a problem arose. He had somehow managed to enter, but he didn't know how to leave. The book only contained an overview and information, not instructions on how to use it. There was no information on how to leave, which was an unexpected situation. Would he drift in the sea of information and burn out his brain, as described in the book?

"Well, if that's the case... there's nothing I can do."

Oliver was surprisingly calm. Of course, it would be terrifying if that happened, but since he couldn't do anything about it, he decided to experiment instead of worrying. He wanted to confirm if he could obtain the desired information just by thinking, as the book suggested. What information should he look for?

Demons? Black magic? Beautiful emotions? There were temptations, but since it was his first time, he decided to try something lighter. Something that wouldn't cause problems and would be good for practice.

"Forest."

There was a slight resistance, but soon some of the magic flying like meteors around him flew to Oliver and burst like fireworks. With it, unknown characters appeared in the air, all of which were new to him.

"What is this...? Ah!"

Oliver was surprised. As he continued to look at the unfamiliar characters, he began to understand the content. He could 'feel' the information, and he slowly recognized it, though it was still blurry. Just as he was getting used to it, he felt a strong gaze from somewhere.

"Huh?"

At that moment, Oliver saw an eye made of countless magic.

"Who are you?"

Oliver silently observed the eye. It seemed like someone was there, and the eye asked again.

"Who are you?!"

Just as Oliver was about to answer, his vision suddenly turned dark. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back in reality, and the emotion in his hand had disappeared. It seemed he had been ejected when his emotion ran out.

"Huh..."

His interest in the new discovery was short-lived. Oliver immediately realized he needed to leave, remembering the guardian-like presence he encountered in the Root Net. He didn't want to get involved in any trouble.

Using his life force and emotions, he created a black suit and ran as fast as he could to escape. He had satisfied his curiosity for now and needed to take care of himself. He still had much to learn and lacked the skills.

***

A week passed.

Oliver didn't return to his lodging immediately but stayed near the place where he first connected to the World Tree, observing the area for a week. The reason was the eye he encountered during the connection. Although he didn't know what it was, he sensed that he was being observed, so he stayed to see if anything happened. If he had been noticed by a troublesome entity, he was prepared to abandon his current identity and move elsewhere.

Fortunately, this turned out to be a false alarm. No one, not even an ant, came to the World Tree during the week.

Concluding that it was just a minor incident, Oliver left the area and returned to his lodging. He then visited Forest's restaurant, which he had neglected for a while. It had been almost ten days since his last mission, and he was worried that he might be forgotten.

Cant had mentioned that one of the few advantages of this job was the freedom, but as a new member, Oliver felt a bit self-conscious.

Opening the swinging door, he was greeted by Al, who had a red skin tone.

"Mr. Dave, thank you for coming. Are you here to see the boss?"

"Yes."

"That's great. The boss has been waiting for you. Please follow me, I'll show you the way."