Interlude (4)
In the calm, quiet mind, I feel the beat of the world.
throb—
The warm sunlight beating down on you, the cool breeze blowing, the earth that warmly embraces you, and the plants exuding a fresh scent.
The pulsation was felt in all natural objects, and it assimilated with itself and gradually became one.
A single flower blooming shyly, the calm wind passing by playfully tickling it, and the river flowing proudly beside it.
In me it was no other object.
One body (thing and self).
The Wind Blows. Now I was the wind.
Tree branches sway. Now I am a tree.
The leaves that fell into the river began to float down. now i was a river
I was Mother Nature itself—.
– I was the world soon.
“Uh huh—? Write!”
Harris, who had been sleeping in the shade of a tree, stood upright and sucked saliva from his mouth.
‘Ah… lying down for a while to rest means I fell asleep during that time. But what kind of crazy dream is this?’
He tilted his head with a fierce face at the drowsy exhaustion felt throughout his body.
In the meantime, I have been sleeping continuously and I have dreamed occasionally, but it was the first time I had such a strange dream.
However, it seemed that it wasn’t just a dog dream…
《The object grows by fulfilling the condition. The skill 「Naturalization」 evolves into the special skill 「Assimilate Nature」》
It was because a system message popped up in front of his eyes when he woke up.
“Well?”
Embarrassed, Harris blinked his eyes on the spot.
Of course, he said he had been training steadily, but he couldn’t believe his skills evolved while taking a nap.
The timing was inconsistent.
‘Well, right after I came to Drasha, I’ve been under the influence of the world tree ever since, so it’s time for me to grow up.’
However, even with this skill evolution, there were minor side effects.
‘···ah. It bothers me even when I’m not doing anything. It’s annoying, but it’s even more annoying…!’
The immersion in nature was much greater than before, and the indolence increased accordingly.
Of course, affinity and natural power surged beyond that, but at this level, ordinary people could not even continue their daily lives.
If it were someone other than Harris, he would have chosen to be embraced by nature and become one before he even realized that he had become stronger.
‘If that happens, is it literally a natural death? No, that’s not important right now.’
“Keep-.”
Harris rose from his seat, suppressing his body’s desire to lie down on the floor and become one with the earth.
Although the mental power consumed in the process increased slightly, this amount was still nothing compared to other avatars.
Hans, who has the heart of the Immortal King and the death of the abyss.
Heinz II, who sucked the blood of vampires of all dimensions.
Heinrich is always maintaining a passage with the main god.
Harley accepted the monster’s genes and the madness of the abyss.
In terms of consumption, the proportion of these other objects was far more overwhelming.
There were just a few more things to pay attention to.
‘Let’s see, it looks like we still have quite a bit of time until the assembly time. Should I try what I got this time?’
Harris secretly measured the time and raised the bow made from the branches of the world tree, ‘Themis’, in his left hand.
This forest is a training ground included in Drasha Academy, and he had been using it until a while ago, so there was no problem in continuing his training.
Of course, I lay down to rest for a while and fell asleep, but as a result, my skills improved, so it wasn’t like I was fooling around.
I will prove it with my achievements right here and now!
“Whoa—.”
Harris took a deep breath and the gust of wind gently embraced his whole body.
Unlike the storm Harley forcibly caused through Heart of the Light Dragon, this wind was a natural phenomenon that occurred without any force.
Even if it was a natural phenomenon, it was far removed from scientific theory, but it was the law of this world.
And there were beings who belonged to the law and were nature itself.
Paperweight! Roar-!
wheein! uhhh—
They were the spirits who showed off their individuality and appeared in the air.
Watt, the lightning spirit, Kali, the fire spirit, Pascal, the wind spirit, and Decibel, the sound spirit.
Even though it wasn’t long after signing a contract with him, they grew up quickly, and all of them were his lovable companions who reached the intermediate level.
‘Then, let’s go with maximum output.’
As he raised his power, the forces of nature gradually began to gather around Harris.
The spirits who were led out by [spirit art] expanded their presence with his amplified energy as the ‘child of the world tree’.
Up until this point, it was the same as before…
uhhh—
As his right hand pulled the empty bowstring, the surrounding natural forces were sucked in and united into an arrow.
And the process was proceeding very quickly and smoothly unlike before.
‘Become one with nature… Is it the power to use the surrounding energy at will?’
Borrowing the power of [Assimilation of Nature], the natural forces continued to converge as if there were no limits, but there was no way that the limit was truly gone with just one skill.
“Harry—! S…?”
Around that time, he heard someone calling his name, but as it was a familiar sign, he lightly ignored it.
Because I couldn’t afford to be distracted right now.
Gather, coalesce, merge with existing arrows.
Repeat that simple process over and over again.
A short amount of time passed, and condensing energy became a bit too much for me, so I was about to give up.
The gentle energy that spread from Themis in her left hand began to harmonize Harris and the surrounding energy.
On top of that, even the ‘High Elf Bracelet’ on her right wrist radiated a soft light and synchronized with it.
‘… that’s enough!’
Arrows of natural force more concentrated than initially expected.
He added a final touch to it.
Jigsaw Jigsaw!
A lightning spirit dwelling in the shaft.
roar-
A fire spirit dwelling in the arrowhead.
Whoops-!
And even the wind spirits and sound spirits that surround it all.
“~~♪”
In addition to that, along with the light hum of Harris, the arrow fired with [Fairy Law] was—.
——!
Without any noise, it crossed the air like a beam of light.
And it was only for a split second that it hit the target well over a kilometer.
Fuhuaaak—!
A belated aftermath blew through the bushes and his hair, but Harris didn’t care, only staring at the target in the distance with sparkling eyes.
‘Is this more than you think? It wouldn’t have been this level with only skills, but it’s good to have good items after all?’
In addition, it seemed that a more stealthy and perfect sniping would be possible if the wind spirit was applied to suppress the flow of air instead of using it to amplify attack power.
Of course, in a battle between masters, concealing the flow of energy is the most important thing, but it seems that it can be managed somehow by using [Natural Assimilation]…
Just like that, Harris was judging the effectiveness of his new powers while looking at a magical target in the distance that was completely devastated.
“Harris! What is that just now! How did you do it?”
The sudden sound of a woman’s voice awakened his feelings.
“When did you become so strong again! I thought I was training without sleeping for some reason!”
The person I had ignored earlier because I was focusing on controlling my energy was suddenly approaching and chattering.
Harris slightly lowered his bow, turned his head to the owner of the familiar voice, and flinched involuntarily.
“By the way, it’s good to work hard, but in order not to be late for the set, you have to start soon?”
Shapiron Silvesty, an elf woman with blue hair and blue eyes.
She was looking at him, her usual round eyes blinking.
However, there was something different from usual…
‘No, isn’t everything different from usual except for the face?’
The unfamiliar look of a familiar opponent.
There was nothing strange about the sturdy and comfortable-looking travel clothes and shoes, the hair tied up tightly for activity, the backpack on the back and equipment hanging all over the body.
To the extent that it can be said to be the best example of traveler’s attire.
But···.
“Um, Miss Shapiron? Necessary supplies will be prepared at the delegation level, so I heard that you only need to bring your personal belongings. What the heck…”
I don’t know where else to start pointing this out.
The front and back heels of the boots, as well as the metal padding all over the body, were enough to be used for combat.
Various items and pockets were dangling from the belt that was entwined around the waist, shoulders, and legs.
Not only that, but judging from the bulges all over her body, it seemed that there were quite a few secret pockets hidden in her clothes.
Not to mention stuffing it full so it wasn’t a secret at all.
‘Is that backpack, a subspace magic tool? It even seems to have a fairly large capacity, but even with it on, you still have that much luggage?’
A backpack that was large enough to completely cover her slender frame showed off an overwhelming presence on her back.
Fully armed, as if going on a remote expedition.
Harris glanced at a simple rucksack lying next to him.
It was a light luggage that was so different from hers that it contained simple clothes and a few travel items.
“Whoa, what are you talking about? It was Harris who said that you should always be thoroughly prepared in case something happens.”
Shapiron smiled proudly and swiped under his nose.
After being included in the delegation together, she once asked for advice about the Ion continent.
In exchange, he offered the finest tea leaves made from the leaves of the World Tree.
So I told her this and that, who was very nervous about going to another continent, but looking at it now, it seemed a little overdone.
Since I was solving the case from the standpoint of being a mercenary, there was no choice but to exaggerate a little…
“Look at this! It was hard work, but with this, you can survive for a long time even if the ground suddenly collapses and you are buried underground…”
She began to brag about her readiness, exhaling a breath of air with a flushed face.
However, even with that excited face, the dark circles under the eyes could not be hidden.
Like a child who couldn’t even fall asleep the day before a picnic.
“And these are emergency food. It was made to last for several years by raising the preservation period to the extreme… ···Ah, are you worried about the weight? Do not worry! Not only backpacks, but all equipment has been ordered to be lightweight…”
Harris stared at her nonstop chatter.
Come to think of it, this was Shapiron’s first time leaving the capital, Drasha.
However, the first outing was not simply leaving the capital or the Elven Kingdom, but an expedition to get out of the continent.
‘Looks like you expected a lot.’
He looked at her with such blank eyes, but as if she noticed his gaze, she stopped talking and smiled.
“Huh, indeed, Harris. Do you know? After all, you can’t belittle it?”
“…?”
“Even this outfit was specially made to order! Mom…,…a rare metal requested from the dwarves based on the dryad silk I got from begging my mother…”
Shapiron immediately opened his mouth excitedly again.
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Maybe it’s because we’ve been together recently and we’ve gotten quite close to her, but she’s a tough girl who shows us a side of us that we couldn’t see before.
“…Ah, is it already time like this? Come on, come quickly! How long will you be there? Since you are traveling with a delegation from another country this time, you really shouldn’t be late?”
She was startled at the time and hurriedly tugged at Harris’s arm.
And when he saw the simple luggage bag he had packed, he tilted his head.
“Harris, isn’t your luggage too simple? No matter how veteran you are… Well, well, it doesn’t matter since I packed everything for two just in case! Whoa, when that situation comes, make sure to rely on me!”
Then, showing a triumphant attitude, he led the way to the meeting place.
“Come on, let’s go. No need to worry, we can deal with any situation!”
So Harris moved along with her, showing confidence and tension at the same time, but excited as if they were going on a picnic.
‘Anyway, after moving to the ‘Forest Road’ in Lafori, I’ll use the temple gate right away, so it wouldn’t be any use if I took care of it like that.’
Even though he thought about it, he didn’t bother to say it out of his mouth.
“Hmmm~♪”
Shapiron hums while waving the rucksack on his back.
‘Well, just give me a feeling. That’s the duty of a gentleman and an adult.’
That was right before they left for the Ion continent.
And of course.
Until they arrived at the Great Temple of Roselia, it did not happen to use the items she had prepared.
