Chapter 55: World Tree
Edgar’s tiredness vanished almost instantly.
"The Tower?"
Without another word, he hurried toward the northern side of the Fortress.
By the time Edgar arrived, several objects had already been placed neatly on the ground before the ⟨Tower of Souls⟩.
The black monument stood silently as always, with its crimson runes glowing faintly.
"..."
Edgar’s gaze immediately landed on the unfamiliar object.
It was a seed.
Unlike the previous Soul Seed, this one wasn’t black.
Instead, it looked like a crystal acorn no larger than a thumb, with countless strands of green light flowing beneath its transparent shell.
The moment Edgar picked it up, a system panel appeared before his eyes.
---
⟨Name: World Tree Seed⟩
⟨Grade: Yellow⟩
⟨Description: A special Soul Structure Seed born from refining a large number of plant-type Nightmares.⟩
⟨Can only be planted within Agricultural Land.⟩
⟨Warning: Extremely difficult to nurture.⟩
---
"...."
Edgar stared at the notification for a long time with a peculiar expression.
His heartbeat unconsciously sped up.
’A Soul Structure... Seed for farming?’
He immediately looked toward the Agricultural House he had just completed.
The timing... it made him fall into a dilemma.
Ever since Edgar had arrived in this world, many things that couldn’t be explained had been happening to him.
Some of them might be put down to his luck, but so many things were piling up that it made him defensive.
’Let’s not think about it now.’
Edgar shook aside the weird feelings and asked the old man, "What else?"
Old man Oswald quickly pointed toward the remaining materials. "There are these as well."
Edgar crouched down and looked at the other things that came out of the tower.
There were bundles of strange seeds, several green-colored vines tougher than rope, and dozens of unfamiliar fruits that had been refined from the countless plant-type Nightmares.
One by one, system panels appeared.
---
⟨Nightmare Wheat⟩
⟨Grade: White⟩
⟨Fast-growing grain with high nutritional value.⟩
---
⟨Iron Vine⟩
⟨Grade: Green⟩
⟨Extremely durable climbing plant. Frequently used in defensive structures.⟩
---
⟨Moonfruit Seed⟩
⟨Grade: Green⟩
⟨Produces fruit rich in vitality.⟩
---
Edgar couldn’t help but feel greedy looking at them.
Everything seemed to be linking together.
’It’s as though the system itself was encouraging me to develop agriculture next...’
His gaze landed on the old man.
"Did they come from the refinement of the Rootwalkers?"
The old man nodded vigorously. "Yes!"
’Hm, understandable....’
Andrew looked between the crystal seed and Edgar. "Are they really valuable, young master?"
Edgar slowly nodded. "No."
Andrew blinked. "...Huh?"
Edgar carefully stored the crystal seed inside his leather pouch.
"It’s priceless."
His gaze drifted toward the three-story Agricultural House standing proudly on the southern side of the Fortress.
If he could truly cultivate everything produced by the Tower of Souls...
’I wonder how this will affect the Fortress’ future.’
After taking in a deep breath, Edgar shifted his focus to something peculiar.
’A World Tree Seed, huh..?’
This made him wonder if there were elves in this world or not. After all, a World Tree was usually linked to elves.
’Hm, will they be as beautiful as the ones described in myths?’
The thought slipped into Edgar’s mind before he quickly shook his head. He was really interested in knowing about them.
His gaze then shifted to the warning that was attached to the seed.
Edgar disliked vague descriptions the most. A warning without an explanation was almost useless.
He turned toward Oswald. "Uncle."
"Yes, Young Master?"
"Have you ever heard of a World Tree?"
The old butler frowned. He lowered his head and thought for nearly a minute before finally shaking it.
"I have heard stories about sacred trees, but never a World Tree."
"What about elves?"
Oswald looked genuinely confused. "Elves?"
"Yes."
The old man slowly shook his head again. "I have never heard of such a race."
’So they don’t exist...’
The disappointment on his face was so immense that Oswald thought he had done something terrible.
Edgar didn’t give him the chance to ask more as he began to walk towards the warehouse to store the seeds.
"You still have Materials and Shards to check, young master!" Oswald yelled from behind. "When are you going to check them?"
"Later!" Edgar replied without looking back.
He kept on walking until he reached the warehouse and walked in.
The place was filled with items that they got from the ⟨Tower of Souls⟩ along with the stuff Edgar had collected.
Putting the seeds in a far corner, Edgar began to think about a plan to grow them.
’I can grow the fruits and wheat in the Agricultural House, but the rest can’t be put there.’
The problem with the World Tree was that it was a tree.
No matter how sturdy the structure was, it couldn’t handle the weight of a tree.
On the other hand, the ⟨Iron Vine⟩ was like a defence system, which should be placed around the Fortress Wall.
’I will think of a way to grow the World Tree...’
After putting all the seeds aside, Edgar focused on the problem at hand.
Thinking about problems, his hand instinctively moved towards the orb-like object in his inner pocket.
Edgar took out the green jade and looked at it while a system panel appeared.
---
⟨Nightmare Trance: Order of the Sun⟩
⟨Grade: ?????⟩
⟨Ritual: Submerge yourself in the frozen blood of ten different Nightmares on a full moon while consuming it.⟩
⟨Ability: Information about body reconstruction and the Sun.⟩
---
Edgar slowly turned his head towards the containers that were placed on the side.
A question crept into his mind.
’How do I freeze all the blood that I have?’
There was no fridge in this world, and neither was he an ice lord who could freeze the blood.
’The full moon will be tomorrow night... I don’t have much time.’
Edgar rubbed his furrowed brows, trying to relax them.
He slowly walked around the warehouse, his eyes wandering across every material they had collected.
But there was nothing that could help him with his predicament.
’Maybe the Yamhad Clan has a way to freeze things.’
Edgar placed his hope on them before he walked out of the warehouse.
Suddenly, he paused right at the gate of the warehouse.
With a tired sigh, he walked back in.
’I might as well identify all the Shards and Nightmare Materials...’