Chapter 117: The World Tree

"Hesel, are you comfortable?" In the great hall, Muria greeted the Silver Moon Elf with a beaming smile as she walked in. This elf, despite having lived for over a hundred years, still resembled a young human girl just beginning to develop, her body barely showing gentle curves, but without much allure.

"Hmph, waste." Her usually elegant silver hair now damp and clumped, resting on her seemingly delicate shoulders, Hesel, scented with a fresh, natural floral aroma of plants, snorted lightly.

"It is a bit extravagant, but not a waste," Muria argued, then added with a teasing smile, "But no matter how extravagant, you enjoyed it too, didn't you?"

"It's not just a bit extravagant, it's extremely so," Hesel replied, her face showing distress. "How much sap from the Tree of Life must have been used for such a large Life Pool?"

"I don't know about that," Muria shook his head. "My Life Pool has always been like this, never running dry."

"You're terrible," Hesel muttered, then remembering something, her gaze hardened as she looked at Muria. "You Titans always exploit..."

"Who exploits you? We always compensate you adequately," Muria retorted with a sideways glance at the elf. "Besides, you bathed in the Life Pool too."

"It was you who asked me to go in," Hesel protested weakly, her cheeks flushing momentarily.

"You..."

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Hesel quickly interrupted as Muria was about to make a mocking retort. "Muria, when do you plan to start learning archery from me?"

"Do you have something urgent?"

"No."

"Neither do I." Muria set aside his book, spreading his hands. "So, we have plenty of time. Learning archery doesn't need to be rushed."

"When exactly do you want to learn?" the elf girl pressed, frowning slightly.

"After you satisfy my curiosity, I can start learning archery from you," Muria said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"What curiosity?"

"I've heard that there is a real World Tree on your elves' Eternal Island. Is that true?"

"Of course." Hesel said proudly, "I grew up on the World Tree."

"Really?" Muria expressed his astonishment. "I've known about the legend of the World Tree from the memories passed down to me since birth, so I'm very curious about it. I'd love to see it for myself. Can you take me there?"

"You want to see the World Tree?" Hesel hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "No problem, I can take you there right now."

"Right now!" Muria exclaimed with delight. He had always wanted to see the legendary World Tree mentioned in the dragon's heritage, and his interest was genuine, although his reasons were not entirely pure.

Things were progressing smoother than he expected, and he was close to achieving his goals with the elves. If he could visit the World Tree, which was at the core of the elven lands, then reaching the lesser core, the Eternal Tree of Life, would likely be no issue either.

"Cassio," Muria called out to his spirit, a figure with an elegant demeanor and a youthful face materialized beside him.

"Give Cassio the coordinates," Muria instructed Hesel, pointing to the spirit. "With the coordinates, Cassio can construct a teleportation circle to that location anytime."

"Only within this world and its sub-dimensions," the spirit Cassio reminded, not omnipotent, and only providing one-way travel.

...

Birdsong filled the air pleasantly as they arrived, with pure white pegasi ambling through flower beds and butterflies dancing overhead, scattering faint sparkles of light.

Beneath Muria's feet, a plump white rabbit glanced up at him and Hesel, its paws clutching a full pinecone before it hopped away briskly.

Seeing such a plump rabbit, Muria unconsciously licked his lips; he hadn't tasted meat in years, sustaining himself on high-purity elemental crystals.

"What do you intend to do with my pet?" Hesel looked at Muria warily, leaning forward to block his view.

"This is your pet?" Muria asked, surprised, then pointed at a deer grazing nearby. "What about that deer? Is it also one of your pets?"

"Yes." Hesel watched Muria closely. "Put away your dangerous thoughts. All these animals are under my care, and you're not allowed to touch them."

"All yours?" Muria laughed lightly, then pointed at the ground. "Is this garden also yours?"

"Of course, this is my home."

"Wow, I didn't realize this vast garden was all yours," Muria remarked, then quickly changed the subject. "Aren't you taking me to see the World Tree? Where is it?"

"We're on it right now."

"This is the World Tree?" Muria looked around. There were no particularly tall trees, just neatly pruned bushes and a dazzling array of flowers.

"We're currently on one of the World Tree's leaves."

Muria was taken aback. A breeze lifted him, and he swiftly flew in one direction. Soon, he saw the boundary of the area. The Titan youth stared at the void before him, realizing, "It's a demi-plane!"

"But..." Muria walked along the edge of the void, circling the garden. "This demi-plane seems rather small."

Indeed, the demi-plane was tiny; Muria hadn't finished speaking before he had circled it completely, estimating it to be no more than a few dozen acres—an embarrassingly small space that was more aptly called a tiny space rather than a demi-plane.

"This is just one leaf of the World Tree," Hesel said, looking slightly offended by Muria's comment. "How big did you expect?"

"Uh..." Muria touched his nose, pondering. The World Tree truly lived up to its name, for if each leaf hosted a mini-demi-plane like this, the total area was indeed impressive.

"Hesel, does every leaf of the World Tree house an elf?"

"Not every leaf," Hesel shook her head. "Only Sun Elves and our Silver Moon Elves are allowed to live on the World Tree. Given the number of high elves, it's impossible to occupy all leaves."