The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

Katarina opened the window wide and said.

“This world is dying.”

A wind blew in from outside the window. The heat of the unextinguished furnace was mixed in, making it hot and humid. If I went in this direction, would I reach the Land of Similarity? The dry and humid air somehow reminded me of the borderland.

“The extreme environment that has spread in the borderland has cut off the exchange between each city. People don’t know how it’s changing. They don’t even care.”

“Because the defense forces of each city are blocking the threat. Unless you’re an adventurer, a ruin explorer, or an illegal immigrant, you don’t need to know the situation there.”

The war-fighting capabilities of each city were basically geared towards defense, not invasion. It was a special case for Pulsar, which threatened and plundered other cities whenever it felt like it.

The threat of the borderland was something that was generally not felt, although it was taught that it was dangerous. Because what is out of sight is out of mind.

“The environment of the borderland is getting worse and worse. It won’t be long before it becomes a disaster that we can’t handle.”

“Isn’t that an excessive speculation? The military, which manages the borderland, has never said anything about it.”

“There won’t be much difference from day to day. But can you say it will be the same in a few years, or a few decades?”

“……”

I was about to say that it wouldn’t be, but I closed my mouth. A few years, a few decades, a few hundred years. When did the exchange between each city really stop?

The feeling that it had been like this from the beginning and would not change in the future was the impression of a player who had experienced FP as a game. As can be seen from the existence of District 20, which was the center of continental trade, there was clearly a time in the past when the borderland was fine.

“They say that the borderland wasn’t such an extreme environment from the beginning. It got worse and worse and became like this. If you start to postpone the maintenance of your equipment, there will come a time when it’s better to just buy a new one, right? It’s like that. It just broke down uncontrollably.”

“It’s not written in the history books on the market.”

“Of course not. It’s a disgrace that each city has to hide. What’s the benefit of revealing it? The ignorant masses live well enough without knowing. Ah, I’m not saying that’s what I think. I’m just relaying what I’ve heard, so don’t misunderstand me as being arrogant.”

The bloodline of a noble family that inherited the position of lord. A status that made it relatively easy to access the secrets that the city had been hiding. That was why I couldn’t dismiss her every word as a joke.

“I understand that this world is breaking down.”

A world where Mother Nature was declining and plants were withering could not be normal. It was an unexpected content, but it was not surprising.

“But what does that have to do with transcendence?”

On the contrary, the fact that it was connected to the concept of transcendence again was a question for me.

“You must have heard of transcendence.”

“All sorts of things were said. It’s a secret that the city government is hiding. I could see a glimpse of it in the unexplored land at the end of the continent. A superior world, a qualification, a feat not allowed to humans… it was just grasping at clouds.”

Just by looking at the faces that had mentioned the transcendence I knew, I could guess that it was an important concept. But what it really meant was a mystery.

It was a concept that did not exist in the game, and it was difficult for me to grasp its true nature with a combination of fragmented information. As I frowned in frustration, Katarina was impressed.

“Oh, you know in detail? It’s not organized, but you’re close to the core.”

“Does your Greenwood know exactly what transcendence is?”

“If we didn’t know, we wouldn’t have tried to stop it.”

As I listened, Katarina continued in an exaggerated tone, like a storyteller in a marketplace.

“They say there’s a barrier at the end of this continent. A barrier connected to a higher world.”

“A higher world?”

“Yes, a higher dimension? Something like that. From there, they can affect this side, but on the contrary, it’s impossible from this side. To borrow the princess’s expression, the level is higher or something. Just know that it’s something like that.”

A higher dimension, a world of a higher level. I remembered playing FP as a game. I used to enjoy controlling the characters in the game for fun. Perhaps that could also be called a higher dimension.

It was a silly thought, but thanks to it, I could understand what Katarina was saying.

“The leap of existence towards the higher dimension beyond the barrier, that’s transcendence.”

“For those who know that this world is dying, it must be like the only way to salvation.”

“That’s right. To escape from a world that could be destroyed at any moment, and even if not, if you reach a higher dimension, your level of existence will also rise, right? It’s a dream-like story for those who aim for a higher level.”

In a journey that had started to uncover the truth of Greenwood, I had unexpectedly reached the truth of transcendence. I chewed on Katarina’s story.

‘It can’t be a coincidence.’

The druid’s ruin, the spirit beast, the fraudulent wolf, the fruit of the holy spirit that held divinity. In that process, everyone who had mentioned transcendence was related to druids. It was inevitable that I, a druid, would approach the concept of transcendence.

“If it were just that, well, we wouldn’t have to care who was aiming for transcendence and fighting. But the problem is that transcendence brings an end.”

“An end?”

“Destruction. The borderland started to break down right after the barrier opened. The barrier, it’s because the World Tree died.”

Is it the World Tree this time? I remembered the illustration in the history book I had found in the Mage Tower Master’s room and the mural drawn in the druid’s ruin. To think that the picture of the World Tree surrounding the continent like a fence was a literal depiction.

“The World Tree is already a being of legend. If the barrier is completely broken after transcendence, how can we repair it? We can’t. The disaster of the borderland will be reproduced in the city.”

“……”

“In that sense, hatching the spirit’s cocoon is a second-best option and the only solution. They say that the spirits are fundamentally connected to the World Tree. Even if the revival of the World Tree is impossible, we can prevent the situation from getting worse. The challenge to transcendence will also become impossible.”

I opened the system message that did not disappear from the corner of my vision.

「As the last druid, revive Mother Nature!」

The milestone of life that the system had set for me when I had awakened as a druid. So this was what it meant.

「The World Tree tilts its stem, wondering why its name is being mentioned.」

…As for the World Tree itself, it seemed that it didn’t understand what was going on at all. It didn’t matter. The story was long, but the point was simple.

‘The things I’ve done so far were not wrong.’

The repetition of finding and hatching spirit cocoons and growing the World Tree. It was just that the point of having to head to the end of the continent at the end was added.

‘Of course, there’s not enough evidence to be sure of Katarina’s words.’

But for now, it was probably the information closest to the secret of this world.

“This is roughly the end of the explanation of our organization. Phew, I talked so much that my mouth is dry.”

“Good, then it’s time to pay the price for hearing the story.”

“The price? What price?”

Katarina, who had been fanning herself with her hand, her tongue sticking out without any shame, looked at me with wide eyes. It was a very foolish expression. Then, as if she had realized something, she smiled and said.

“Contractors have that kind of thing, right? They try not to owe any debts as much as possible. Because you have to give and take cleanly for the aftertaste to be clean. I know that feeling well.”

In terms of a contractor’s career, she was my senior. It seemed that she had seen right through my mind.

“But it’s okay. We’re the same Greenwood people now anyway…”

“Why am I a person of Greenwood?”

“……Huh?”

The reaction of a person whose common sense had been denied, as if they had heard that the sun rises in the west, would be just like this.

“I wanted to solve the mystery of Greenwood, I didn’t come to become a member of the organization.”

I knew the will of Greenwood. Although the goal was a little different, it was safe to say that the process to achieve it was almost the same. But that and this were separate matters.

‘The current Greenwood is not a very attractive group for me to join.’

They certainly knew more than me. Their leader was an elf royal, their members included the daughter of a prestigious family that had been the lord of Brahms for generations, and they even had a big shot in the contractor industry as a close collaborator.

And yet, there was a creaking that could not be hidden. To be frank, if Greenwood had been a normal organization, I wouldn’t have had to come this far.

‘The elf princess has disappeared at some point. The organization’s manpower is also lacking, to the point of putting out a contract request for the recovery of the spirit’s cocoon.’

Even Katarina in front of me was caught up in the affairs of her own family. If I had fallen into this world for the first time, joining Greenwood would have been a great benefit. Now that I had achieved a lot as a contractor, it was not.

“Uh, really? Then that’s not good.”

Katarina scanned me up and down and then stealthily took out the hammer she had stored in the leather pouch at her waist.

“Threaten, no, if that doesn’t work, lock him up and just extract the druid’s ability…”

“Calm down.”

Her impression was gentle, but she had no hesitation in choosing a radical means. That’s why she had also worked as a contractor. I put a brake on Katarina’s mind, which was about to go to the extreme.

“I won’t become a member of Greenwood, but I want to have a cooperative relationship. As you said, I am a druid. The purpose of recovering and hatching the spirit’s cocoon is the same.”

If I could get the help of Greenwood in the future, that was enough. They wanted my ability, and I wanted their information, so it was a deal that could satisfy both of us.

“So tell me.”

It had only been three months since the dispute between the families had broken out. She had arrived in Brahms before that. In terms of time, it meant that her mission as a Greenwood member came first, and being swept up in the affairs of her family came later.

“Where are the other pieces of this cocoon?”

And Greenwood had moved to recover the spirit’s cocoon. The coordinates of the cocoon that I had confirmed from the disk I had received from Elliot also included Brahms.

Katarina had been nervous at first, mistaking me for someone sent by the elf princess. It was probably because her mission had been sluggish due to the unfortunate accident that had happened to her family.

So if I took over her mission…

“It was stolen.”

“……By whom?”

“Who do you think?”

Katarina let out a deep sigh.

“The Frederic family.”

***

When Katarina had taken the airship from Gellerg City to Brahms, her identity was that of the daughter of the Morheim family. But it was not to regain her status as the daughter of a prestigious family after a long wandering.

It was just that her destination was Brahms, and it was a judgment that using her noble status would be efficient for the recovery of the cocoon. The prediction was correct, and she had succeeded in recovering the cocoon without much trouble.

Although it had taken a long time, it was a job worth doing, as she had recovered it safely and without any trouble. Now, all that was left was to book an airship and return to Gellerg City with the recovered cocoon.

An incident occurred. The head of the family died, and Frederic declared war and took away the territory. Her explanation was that in that urgent series of processes, she had only been able to take a part of the spirit’s cocoon.

“Is this all of them?”

A conference room located deep in the inner castle. People were sitting around a table. There were many empty seats at the table. Katarina was at the head of the table, Darian and Willum were in the middle, and five unfamiliar faces were sitting near the door.

“The enemy. To think that this is all of the clan with the Morheim surname.”

Darian spoke with a choked voice.

“It’s not all of them. Just as I was active in the public district, they’re just scattered in various places…”

“Just as you were attacked by the Frederic knight order, it’s a position where you could die at any moment. They’re probably not important enough to discuss the future of the family. And at most, would they even fill half of this table?”

“That’s right.”

“……”

As Katarina coolly affirmed, Darian closed his mouth with a pout. A company or a noble society, it was all the same. The position spoke of the high and low of a person.

Katarina was above Darian and Willum. Since Darian and Willum were said to be from a collateral branch, Katarina was from the direct line.

“Currently, I am the highest in the family. They died at the meeting following the head of the family, they died resisting, and some surrendered, saying they wanted to live, so it became like this.”

The internal situation was much more fragile than it appeared on the outside. It meant that the highest person in the family had been working as a blacksmith. …So things had also become simpler.

“Since everyone is gathered, let’s decide here.”

Since there were not many sailors, the ship would not go to the mountain.

“The future of your Morheim family.”

(End of Chapter)