Chapter 26

Alessandro's study contained a research book about the demon tree. The book described what the demon tree used as a nutrient source for its growth.

The demon tree does not move around all day; at night, it extends its roots into the ground and absorbs nutrients from the soil. At this time, it also pulls grass and insects growing around it into the ground, secretes its own decomposing enzymes, and converts the grass and insects into absorbable nutrients, which it then absorbs through its roots.

The tree also has leaves, so it probably performs photosynthesis. However, it seems unlikely that photosynthesis alone can provide enough energy for it to move around, so the main nutrient source is likely the decomposed grass and insects.

Incidentally, large demon trees kill and decompose animals and magical beasts at night to use as a nutrient source.

It has been said since ancient times that forests with demon trees become rich. This is because not all the nutrients decomposed by the demon tree are absorbed by its roots; about 20% remain in the soil, becoming nutrients for other plants.

Thinking about the characteristics of the demon tree, it seemed that an agricultural revolution could be triggered, but considerable investment would be needed to determine if it would be profitable.

Alessandro had been thinking about the demon tree for a while.

When he looked at the grafted demon tree, new buds were sprouting from the branches of the Sazami.

"Amazing vitality. In two or three months, fruits might grow."

When he looked around again, he realized that they were approaching the rocky mountain to the northwest of the Second Magic Realm Gate. He had chased the demon tree and inadvertently gone too far into the deeper area.

Putting the branches of Trill into the storage crystal, he was about to return when a shadow fell over his head.

Looking up, he saw a large bird-type magical beast circling in the sky, centered around Ricardo.

"Damn, I'm being targeted."

Letting go of the demon tree, he hurriedly hid behind a large tree.

The bird in the sky began a steep dive towards the large tree. The bird, which had dived close to the large tree where Ricardo was hiding, let out a strange cry.

"Chiririri"

Something flew out of the mouth that let out the cry. An invisible shock wave hit the large tree and shook it. Not only the tree, but the shock wave also hit Ricardo's left shoulder.

Pain shot through his entire body, and he could no longer stand, crouching on the ground.

"Ugh, that thing used magic."

The magic used by magical beasts is called "magic." It is said to be based on a different set of rules from the magic used by humans.

There was a rustling sound as something moved around him. Upon checking, he found that several demon tree Kumoris were fleeing towards the rocky mountain.

Ricardo, feeling that it was dangerous even behind the tree, ran towards the rocky mountain, chasing the demon tree.

The pain had subsided, but his left shoulder felt numb.

He ran hard, but the bird in the sky was still targeting him. The bird began a steep dive.

Just as he was about to give up, he noticed a small cave at the base of the rocky mountain. The demon tree Kumoris had fled into the cave.

Ricardo also rolled into the cave. Just in time, the bird flew past the entrance of the cave.

The cave was about one and a half meters high. Checking the dimly lit interior of the cave, he did not see the demon tree Kumoris that should have fled in first. They might have fled further inside.

Returning to the entrance of the cave and looking up, he saw the bird circling in the sky.

"I have no choice but to wait until it leaves."

Monta was making a fuss in the shoulder bag. Concerned, he looked inside and found that Monta seemed to have been dizzy from being swung around.

"Kyukyukyukyukyukyukyu (That's terrible, Rika)"

"I was chased by a bird."

"Kyukyukyukyukyukyukyu (Get rid of it)"

"I'll do my best."

However, he had no confidence in hitting a flying bird with magic. He expected a counterattack if he missed the first shot, which was a problem.

Ricardo was a bit scared because the magic from the bird was so powerful.

Later, he learned that the bird was a "Wind Cutter Bird," a bird-type magical beast that uses a magic called "Wind Shockwave."

He peeked out of the cave again to check the Wind Cutter Bird in the sky. It was a large bird, black like a crow, flying in the sky.

It would take some time for it to give up.

"Maybe I'll explore the cave to pass the time."

He took out the magic light from the storage crystal. He had brought it because it was risky to leave it in the unoccupied employee dormitory during the day. He had left a sap lamp for Sydney and the others, so they would study by the light of the sap lamp at night.

Now that winter was over and spring had come, the amount of light accumulated by the sap lamp had increased. Although it was less than in summer, it should be sufficient for the time Sydney and the others studied.

The cave was not high enough for an adult to walk without bending over. Moreover, it had a complex structure like a maze. When he went left at the first fork, he came to a place where demon tree Kumoris gathered. In a space about 20 tatami mats in size, numerous pumpkin bonsai were sitting still.

"Wrong way."

He turned back and went right at the fork. He continued exploring, finding several dead ends, and eventually found a path leading diagonally upwards. It was narrower, and Ricardo had to crawl to proceed.

"Should I give up and turn back... hmm... I'll go a little further and turn back if it doesn't work out."

After crawling for about five minutes, he saw light ahead. After another five minutes, he came out onto a rock shelf protruding from the rocky mountain.

Ricardo recognized what he had discovered and gasped.

In a depression on the rock shelf, soil had accumulated, and a tree was growing there. It was a small tree, about two meters high, with a trunk as thick as Ricardo's arm. However, the fruits that had fallen under the tree looked like various colored crystals that glittered.

"Is this... the Divine Precious Tree?"

Ricardo ran over and started picking up the fruits of the Divine Precious Tree. The most numerous were the Yellow Precious Tree Fruit Crystals, about 20, followed by the Red Precious Tree Fruit Crystals, about 10, and the Purple Precious Tree Fruit Crystals, four... and one Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal.

While picking up the Blue and Purple Precious Tree Fruit Crystals, the Wind Cutter Bird spotted Ricardo and attacked.

Ricardo ran into the entrance of the cave. He crawled from halfway. He heard the cry of the Wind Cutter Bird from behind.

A shock wave flew into the cave and hit Ricardo's foot, causing intense pain.

"..."

Tears came to his eyes. He moved forward using only his arms and reached a point where he could no longer see the entrance of the cave. He waited for the pain to subside. The cave sloped downwards, so blood rushed to his head. He struggled to change his body's orientation.

He climbed a little and looked from the entrance towards the rock shelf. The Wind Cutter Bird was pecking at the Divine Precious Tree fruits it had left behind.

"Unbelievable... there's a creature that eats these crystal-like fruits."

Now, he could probably take down the Wind Cutter Bird with magic, but he hesitated to use magic because it might also attack the Divine Precious Tree. He couldn't let the Divine Precious Tree, which would bear fruit again next year, wither.

Incidentally, the timing of the Divine Precious Tree bearing fruit is not fixed. It bears fruit when magic power accumulates inside the tree.

Ricardo descended the narrow sloping cave and exited at the base of the rocky mountain. There was no Wind Cutter Bird in the sky.

"Let's go back now."

Ricardo ran towards the Second Magic Realm Gate before the Wind Cutter Bird returned. When he thought he was far enough from the rocky mountain, he stopped and used magic detection to search for the magical beast's magic power.

It seemed he had successfully escaped from the Wind Cutter Bird.

He walked to the Second Magic Realm Gate and exited. The gatekeeper seemed to remember him.

"Hey, you're back safely. Did you get any game?"

"I got what I was looking for, but I was chased by a bird-type magical beast and had to run back."

The gatekeeper frowned.

"Again, that one? Several magical beast hunters have been victims. It's surprising you managed to escape."

Recently, the Wind Cutter Bird had started appearing near the Second Magic Realm Gate. It was unusual because it usually lived deeper in the magic realm.

He returned to Yaro by a shared carriage. When he got off the carriage, it was already dark. He hurried back to the inn and ordered dinner.

The inn's specialty was a wild boar hot pot.

The Japanese wild boar hot pot is miso-flavored, but the inn's dish was a spicy hot pot made with vegetables and wild boar meat, seasoned with something like chili.

It was delicious, but he missed miso.

After finishing his meal and returning to his room, he spread out the fruits of his hunt on the bed.

First, six branches of Trill, then five Yellow Precious Tree Fruit Crystals, three Red Precious Tree Fruit Crystals, four Purple Precious Tree Fruit Crystals, and one Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal.

"If that bird hadn't been there, I could have gotten them all..."

He grumbled as he put the branches of Trill and the fruits of the Divine Precious Tree into the storage crystal, leaving only the Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal.

"Is this the real storage crystal... looking closely, it's smaller than the one Bernaldo had. Oh, there are three anomalous points."

Theoretically, it is possible to create as many subspaces as there are anomalous points, but if the white lines extend and collapse the anomalous points, it fails. The white lines are caused by the influence of leaked magic power on the crystal's internal structure.

Therefore, magic users train to control their magic power to prevent the formation of white lines.

Holding the Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal in front of him, he concentrated his mind.

Inside the crystal, slightly smaller than a walnut, were three anomalous points aligned in the center and on both sides.

He fixed the Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal in front of him with his left hand and controlled the magic power released from his right index finger. He compressed the magic power into a needle-like shape.

He inserted the magic power needle into the center of the Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal. Unlike with the Purple Precious Tree Fruit Crystal, there was no resistance. The magic power needle smoothly entered the crystal and pierced the central anomalous point.

The anomalous point activated and generated a separate space. As he continued to pour magic power, it gradually grew larger.

How much time had passed? Feeling his magic power start to run out, Ricardo performed probe meditation to bring his consciousness closer to the source gate.

He approached the source gate to a distance of six steps and converted the force being drawn out into magic power, pouring it into the Pog.

Gradually, the Pog grew larger, reaching the size of a BB pellet, the same as with the Purple Precious Tree Fruit Crystal. At this point, the amount of magic power poured in was more than ten times that of the Purple Precious Tree Fruit Crystal.

It still seemed to be absorbing magic power. Ricardo continued to pour magic power until the Pog reached the size of a marble, when suddenly the magic power went out of control and scattered.

"Ah!"

Surprised, he stopped the magic power, and white lines ran around the Pog, collapsing the adjacent anomalous point.

Ricardo's face turned pale, and his shoulders drooped.

He regained his composure and tested whether the Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal storage crystal was usable. When he poured magic power into it, he felt a response.

He tried storing a pillow... it worked.

"I didn't waste the valuable Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal."

Relieved, he peered inside the Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal.

Later, he found that the capacity of the new Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal storage crystal was about the size of a 10-tatami room. Bernaldo had said that the capacity of the Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal storage crystal he used was equivalent to two Pogs the size of a cart.

The new Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal storage crystal had only one Pog, but its total capacity seemed to be more than twice that of Bernaldo's, so he was satisfied.

To distinguish it, he named the storage crystal made from the Purple Precious Tree Fruit Crystal "Storage Purple Crystal."

The Blue Precious Tree Fruit Crystal storage crystal he made this time was originally called "Storage Blue Crystal," so he named it to match.

He planned to use the pendant-type Storage Purple Crystal for storing valuables and to double the bottom of the catalyst pouch, placing the Storage Purple Crystal at the bottom to create a high-capacity catalyst storage pouch.

Perhaps he was tired from the long magic control. Sleepiness overcame him, and he fell asleep.

The next morning, Ricardo woke up feeling energetic. He asked the innkeeper to lend him the backyard and processed the branches of Trill there. Although he disliked working in the cold outdoors, he had no choice because working in the room would scatter wood chips.

He processed the six branches into rods using the [Magic Lathe]. As he shaved the rotating branches with a chisel, wood chips flew, and the rods gradually took shape.

By the time it was nearly evening, he had completed the six rods.

He returned to his room and stored the processed rods in the Storage Blue Crystal. Then, to warm his cold body, he went to the sauna before having dinner.

That night, he coated two rods with magic power and finished four magic-imbued rods the next day, completing a total of six magic-imbued rods.

He checked the finish. The surface of the magic-imbued rods had turned amber, and beautiful patterns resembling snowflakes were neatly aligned. The patterns were more beautiful and neatly aligned than those of the ones he had made before, resembling the patterns on a cut glass.

The next day, he set out from Yaro by a shared carriage.

He arrived in the capital without any problems. Today, he returned to the Magic Guild without visiting Bernaldo's mansion.

"Hey, it's Ricardo. You're back already?"

Robson spotted Ricardo and called out.

"Ah, I'm back."

The young servants gathered around Ricardo, eager to hear about the Yorgul territory. That night, he told them about the incident where they were attacked by a spotted wild boar and the appearance of the capital city Yaro, spending a lively evening.

The next day, he wrapped two Damiel-made and six Trill-made magic-imbued rods in cloth and headed to Bernaldo's mansion.

He knew Bernaldo would be at the mansion in the morning, so he went there instead of the store.

When he called out at the gate, a servant came out and guided him.

Bernaldo, with his usual thick sideburns, greeted him in his office.

"Thank you for your hard work. Did you meet Matou successfully?"

"Yes, I brought the magic-imbued rods as well."

"That's great. May I see them right away?"

Ricardo took out only the six Trill-made magic-imbued rods from the cloth and lined them up on the table.

Bernaldo checked each one. After the inspection, he smiled in satisfaction.

"Excellent. They seem to be of better quality than the previous ones."

"I'm relieved you like them."

Bernaldo seemed curious about the magic-imbued rods still in the cloth and asked about them.

"By the way, there seem to be some left in the cloth. What are those?"

"These are magic-imbued rods made from the branches of the demon tree Damiel."

Bernaldo, showing interest, breathed heavily and asked to see them.

Since he was using one for himself, he took out the remaining two Damiel-made magic-imbued rods from the cloth and handed them to Bernaldo.

Bernaldo swallowed hard when he saw them.

"These are one rank higher than Unavolta..."

After checking them multiple times, Bernaldo carefully placed them on the table as if handling jewels.

"I have a request. Please sell me these magic-imbued rods as well."

He sold the Trill-made magic-imbued rods for 10 gold coins each and put the two Damiel-made magic-imbued rods on hold, as he was unsure how much the Duke Boniperti would pay for them.