Chapter One Hundred Nineteen: The Beginning

Johnny departed, leaving this place in Lando’s care.

Lando was still somewhat indignant. The next time he saw Odo, he decided he would protest. The trouble in the Crystal World had clearly been caused by his own mentor’s poisonous tongue—what did it have to do with him?

Staring at the rift before him, Lando recalled Johnny’s words and muttered to himself, “The World Heart is shattered, and the boundaries between worlds are completely broken. Tsk, tsk. This apocalyptic world really has it rough. Even after being reduced to this state, it still has to be used as an experimental site.”

A strange thought suddenly crossed Lando’s mind. Since the boundaries between worlds had been completely destroyed, where exactly did this rift lead? To the World Heart? If he followed the rift all the way and found the shattered World Heart, then wouldn’t that mean…

Just as Lando’s eyes began to shine, the words “World Destroyer” drifted through his mind, abruptly freezing his excitement.

“Ah! It is public property belonging to the Silver Tower, after all. Taking every last scrap would be a bit too much. Well, let’s see if I can at least shear a little wool from the sheep!”

Over the following days, Lando began arranging the environment around the point where the power of the world was leaking out, while cautiously entering the rift to explore.

Perhaps because Fresen Flowers had once been cultivated here, an ordinary specimen would have required almost no modification before it could be used. But what he had in his hands was a Core Flower, so a few adjustments were necessary.

Lando had considered planting the Core Flower deeper inside, but there was no trace of any previous alterations there. Planting it in that location would require extensive changes, making the outer area a far better choice. The environment there had already been modified; only minor adjustments were needed.

Several days later, Lando compared the various environmental parameters calculated by Little Gray with the data he had recorded at the Tree-Sea Elven Sanctuary and the information given to him by the High Priest. Only after confirming that everything had reached the results he wanted did he finally nod in satisfaction.

Even if the planting failed, Lando had prepared two backup plans.

The first was that he had already recorded the properties of the Emerald Crystal in his Mindscape Space. Moreover, during his time in the Riverfredrickson World, he had obtained an exceptional soul possessing [Nature’s Heart (Blue)], [Listening to All Things (Blue)], and [Plant Manipulation (Blue)]. It had already been equipped and was ready to intervene at any moment.

The second was that, even if the methods above failed, the Core Flower still had several days before it withered. Reaching the High Priest and asking for help would not take long.

Lando took out the Emerald Crystal sealing the Core Flower. A wisp of breeze struck it, instantly disrupting the crystal’s balance. The entire crystal shattered, releasing a rich surge of natural and wood-elemental power. For a time, even the surrounding power of the world was concealed beneath it.

Once the Core Flower emerged from the Emerald Crystal, it began stretching out its petals and leaves like a living creature. Lando could clearly sense the surrounding power of the world being slowly absorbed into it. The colors on the Core Flower began to flow gradually.

Unlike the conspicuous, brilliant hues of an ordinary Fresen Flower, the colors moving across the Core Flower contained a subdued radiance, making it seem somewhat unremarkable by comparison.

After burying it at the location he had carefully calculated beforehand, Lando used the power of his Mindscape Space to observe its roots burrowing into the earth. Through the system’s perception, he could even sense something deeper and more profound spreading through those roots into the depths of the world.

…

Far away, in the central region of the Arcane Empire, there was a world filled with gigantic beasts. Countless monsters possessing unusual bloodlines roamed across the land, among them no small number of legendary creatures. Naturally, every one of those legendary beasts had been tamed by arcanists. This was a resource world belonging to the Ancient Cursecraft School.

Stran sat in a small pavilion atop a mountain peak, propping up his chin with one hand and looking rather bored as he chatted idly with his friend.

Sitting opposite him was his companion, Claire Alt, a friend from the Ancient Necromancy School. He was a handsome young man with delicate features, dressed in the refined attire of an ancient nobleman. Every detail of his appearance was immaculate. A ring adorned each finger of his right hand, while his left hand held a gray-covered spellbook. A gentle smile always rested on his face, making everyone who saw him feel as though they were basking in a spring breeze.

“It seems someone took advantage of you in the Crystal World, turning all your hard work into a gift for themselves. It was that young man from the New School, Lando, wasn’t it? Heh-heh, I hear he gained unimaginable benefits that time!” Claire teased his friend.

“If you have nothing pleasant to say, then say less. Otherwise, one day someone might sneak up behind you and club you over the head!” Stran’s expression darkened as he replied irritably. Then his tone shifted. “Still, that Lando is rather interesting.”

“Heh-heh!”

Clink!

The sound of a cup falling came from the table before them. A gray bone dragon no larger than a palm had been chasing and tussling with two floating spheres of light, one black and one white, each possessing a mouth and eyes. In the confusion, it accidentally knocked the cup from the table.

The gray bone dragon wore an aloof expression, seemingly unwilling to pay any attention to the two spheres of light. The white sphere looked drowsy, as though it might fall asleep at any moment, yet under the black sphere’s relentless tugging, it had no choice but to launch attacks against the bone dragon, occasionally letting out a little “nom.”

The black sphere was the most energetic of the three.

Stran reached out and began fiddling with the black and white spheres. The white one allowed its master to roll it this way and that, eventually lying flat on the tabletop. The black sphere, meanwhile, seemed offended that its master not only refused to help, but was actively getting in its way. It bared its little teeth and waved its limbs in an exaggerated display of fury.

After laughing, Claire said to Stran, “In two or three months, I’m going to explore the Black Region. My mentor has received word of a world that may have once been the headquarters of a necromantic cult. There could be quite a few useful treasures there. Would you like to come with me?”

“The headquarters of a necromantic cult?” Stran exclaimed in pleasant surprise. But then he seemed to remember something, and his excitement immediately withered. “You go ahead. I can’t get away. The little ancestor in my family has dragged me into a research project, and no one knows how long it will last!”

As he spoke, he shook the companion crystal on the back of his hand. It was now entirely different from the one he had possessed when he first left the Crystal World, suffused with a hazy radiance.

“Then you really are… lucky!” Claire said with an odd laugh.

Stran: (•́へ•́╬)!

“All right. Since you can’t leave, I’ll just have to keep all the benefits for myself. Just make sure I don’t leave you too far behind!” Claire said with a smile.

He walked to the edge of the mountain peak and lightly leapt off.

The gray bone dragon on the table suddenly spread its wings and revealed its true form, catching him in midair. Its terrifying body stretched over a hundred meters long, radiating an overwhelming gray brilliance. Its eyes did not shine with the familiar green light of ordinary undead creatures, but instead gleamed with a gray-black hue.

Under the influence of the gray bone dragon, the black and white spheres of light suddenly swelled as well, revealing savage forms and unleashing a fearsome aura.

Every giant beast in the surrounding region below the legendary level sensed the three presences and collapsed to the ground, trembling. Even the legendary beasts stared toward the mountaintop with solemn expressions.

For a time, the scene seemed frozen: one young man departed with a smile upon his face, riding atop a colossal dragon, while another sat with his chin propped in one hand, his face clouded with worry as fierce souls swirled around him.