Ambrose Academy’s Modifier

Ferine told Ari to follow her to the Elven village, but shortly after leaving the river, she asked him to walk ahead of her instead.

An odd and highly suspicious thing to ask.

‘She’s not using me as bait to lure monsters, is she?’

It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, but given Ari’s first impression of Ferine, it didn’t seem likely.

“That doesn’t sound practical, since I don’t know my way through this forest,’ Ari suggested.

Ferine smiled. "Perhaps, but I am curious to see where you will lead us."

Ari couldn't believe what he was hearing.

That's the same thing as inviting someone to your home for the first time and asking them to show you around.

"You're messing with me, right?"

She giggled. "Please lead the way, Ari."

'What does she expect the outcome to be?’

Since this was a rare opportunity to explore the Malen Forest in all it’s glory, he embraced his new role as the leader and chose a random direction to follow.

Now that he was aware of it, Ari basked in the atmosphere of the Malen Forest.

He noticed traces of mana everywhere, from the trees, plants and even the small animals scurrying around.

His mana sense wasn’t advanced enough to detect specific mana signatures yet; however, Ari knew that the mana breathing life into the Malen Forest, came from the same source.

As a certain thought struck, Ari abruptly changed direction, and continue to do so every five minutes.

He glanced at Ferine’s face each time to gauge her reaction, but all she did was smile at him.

‘Tsk, might as well get some information out of her.’

“Ferine, can you tell me about your tribe?”

She nodded. "The Malen Forest is home to my tribe, the Soato. We are the custodians of this land as well as the guardians of the Inner Garden," Ferine said.

‘Guardians...Yeah, that checks out.’

Various anime and manga with Elven forests flashed in his mind. There was one thing in particular they all had in common, more often than not.

Then another trope came to mind, one more mature, involving an all-female Elven village.

When fantasies of being the only man in a village of gorgeous, voluptuous Elves entered his brain, it was difficult to shake.

‘What are the odds?’

‘No! let’s not jinx it.’

To clear his mind of those fantasies, he decided to asked the most important question he had been strategically avoiding up to that point.

“What is so special about the Inner Garden?"

"The Inner Garden is located at the heart of the Malen Forest; it is where The Great Malen-Soato resides."

‘Thought as much, but why didn’t I see anything?’

"You said that I entered the Inner Garden, but I didn’t encounter any tr-thing while walking to the river."

Ferine stared at him for a moment, then shifted her gaze ahead of him.

‘Shit, did I give it away?’

"You did not breach the area where The Great Malen-Soato is located,” she responded. "But don’t worry; you will have the opportunity to witness her majesty soon.”

Ari stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her.

‘No way!’

“I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

Ferine giggled. “Turn around, Ari.”

When Ari turned back around, his vision distorted, and a change occurred in the forest.

A haze he did not notice before lifted

When his vision cleared, he found himself standing at what appeared to be the base of a moss-covered mountain.

An incredible pressure radiated off the structure, making the hair on his arms stand on end.

He craned his neck to the point of nearly stumbling backwards, and he still couldn't see the top of the gargantuan structure.

"Ferine, where exactly are we?"

"The Inner Garden, where you led us.”

"Right... I led us here by walking randomly, or not as randomly as I thought.”

"Then I assume that this mountain of a structure is not a mountain at all?"

"Be honoured, Ari, The Great Malen-Soato has decided to reveal herself to you!"

With a structure that gargantuan, it would be nearly impossible to identify it from the ground, but Ari knew what it was.

‘So this is what you looked like before?’

Ari recalled the protagonist encountering a withered and significantly smaller tree.

‘It’s barely recognisable...’

A wave of melancholy stirred in his heart.

He sighed.

"Is The Great Malen-Soato normally hidden from view? I mean, through an illusion?"

Ferine approached the structure and stood beside Ari. "Correct, she only reveals herself to a chosen few.”

‘It likely didn’t need the illusion back then.’

“Why me though? Even going so far as to guide me without my knowledge.”

Ferine shook her head. “I am not qualified to answer that, only The Great Malen-Soato knows.”

“However, one thing I can say is.... Both The Great Malen-Soato and you, Ari, came from the same place.”

‘What?’

Ari’s eyes widened. “The Upper Garden?”

Ferine nodded. “At some point in the distant past, The Great Malen-Soato appeared in this forest to settle roots. None in the Soato tribe knows the reason.”

‘It can’t be another Modifier right? I mean, who the hell would choose to become a tree?’

‘Ferine mentioned “she”... Did she want to have a go at being like Mother Nature or something? If not, then what was her purpose in settling here? No, the bigger question is, how did she allow the forest to be destroyed in the future?’

A sudden and inexplicable desire surfaced, compelling Ari’s legs to move.

His hand reached out before he even realised.

‘Why the hell is my body moving on its own?’

‘This is her doing... But why?’

Ari recalled the scene of the protagonist and The Great Malen-Soato’s first encounter. He casually touched the tree, which subsequently led to their interaction.

‘So touching it is a prerequisite.’

Ari picked up the pace.

As he placed his palm near the moss, he felt a strange energy around it.

The energy felt warm and inviting. He felt a sense of calm, like nothing bad would happen if he were to touch it.

Ari decided to embrace the feeling and placed his hand on the moss.

Within a few seconds, an intense vibration pulsed in his chest, drowning out all the surrounding sound.

‘What is this?’

Suddenly, Ari's body temperature spiked as a surge of energy swept through his entire body.

When he looked at his hand, it began changing, turning into wood.

‘What the hell?’

Unexpected events occurred from the moment he set foot in the Malen Forest, his current situation being the most concerning.

As the transformation reached his forearm, he tried removing his hand; however, that only made it spread faster up his arm, shoulder and neck.

He attempted to ask Ferine what was happening to him; however, no sound left his mouth.

‘No way! Am I going to turn into a fucking tree?’

He was paralysed, and at the mercy of The Great Malen-Soato.

Two minutes after placing his hand on the gargantuan tree, Ari completely merged with it.

He could no longer perceive Ferine, nor the Malen Forest. It felt as though he entered a void, surrounded by nothing except for darkness and silence.

All sense of panic and fear was stripped away; however, Ari did not feel at peace.

‘Am I inside The Great Malen-Soato? She’s not digesting me, is she?’

The possibility wasn’t zero, after all, he had no knowledge of this version of The Great Malen-Soato.

‘But, why did this happen now? Was she too weak to absorb Zane back then? Or is it related to my status as a Modifier?’

Ari wracked his brain trying to figure out The Great Malen-Soato’s intentions.

But more importantly, now that he discovered that The Great Malen-Soato was a being from the Upper Garden, Ari wondered whether his initial plan was still viable.

“You say the most interesting things,” an inexplicably enchanting voice said.

‘That voice...’

The darkness cleared immediately, replaced by a magical sunlit garden filled with purple and pink flowers in full bloom.

A tall woman appeared a few meters ahead, her back turned to him.

Her cascading silver hair fluttered in the warm breeze, revealing her voluptuous figure.

Ari gasped, causing the woman to turn her head to the side.

‘It can’t be.’

“Are you?”

"Ari! Ari!" Ferine shook him wildly.

Seeing the concern in her eyes, Ari came to his senses.

“Ferine?”

"What were you doing? I kept calling your name, but you froze like a statue and did not respond," Ferine exclaimed.

“I did?”

He checked his hands then the rest of his body, relieved to find everything back to normal.

"You saw that, right?"

"Of course I did! You just stood there with your eyes closed, ignoring me," she replied with an adorable pout.

'So, she didn't see me get absorbed by the tree. Wait! That woman-’

Suddenly, a sharp, stabbing pain pierced his brain.

Ari fell to his knees.

"Ari! What’s wrong?"

Countless images flashed in his mind, accompanied by an immense will and emotion.

Those images had one purpose, one desire that needed to be fulfilled.

The message was clear.

Eliminate the Orcs encroaching on the Malen Forest, destroy their settlements, and leave no trace of their existence.

‘Orcs?’

Before Ari could process anything, strength left his body and he collapsed.

"Ari!"

Ferine's panicked voice faded into the background as he lost consciousness.