[302] World Tree

The night passed uneventfully, and by the next morning, August woke up early.

Since he had gone to bed early—around nine o'clock the previous night—he found himself wide awake at the break of dawn.

Back at Kuoh Academy, August was accustomed to working late into the night. Though he had spent more than three hours at the succubus house the day before, he had gone there early and, naturally, left early as well.

With nothing pressing on his schedule, August strolled aimlessly through the town for a while. Growing bored, he eventually decided to head out into the wilderness.

His Observation Haki heightened his senses, and it didn't take long for him to locate a magical beast in a nearby forest—a massive gray bear.

Roar~

The gray bear, seeing an intruder in its territory, let out a thunderous roar.

August looked at the bear with great interest. Unlike the monsters in Orario, these magical beasts radiated strong mana from within their bodies, suggesting they were far from weak.

Boom~

When August made no move to leave, the gray bear launched an attack, its enormous paw swiping down toward him.

August effortlessly leaped out of the way, avoiding the blow.

Swoosh~

In the next moment, the shadow at August's feet turned pitch black, morphing into a shadowy blade that sliced cleanly through the gray bear's neck. Its large head rolled to the ground, blood spraying in all directions.

The Dragon's Shadow, now infused with the power of darkness, seemed unchanged at a glance but had grown significantly more potent.

This ability originated from the Gift he received within Little Garden, specifically the Dragon's Shadow from the System Tree.

In the original stories, this Gift belonged to two powerful figures: Leticia, a knight of the Little Garden, and Azi-Dakaha, the Dragon Lord. One was a pure-blooded vampire, the other a godlike being.

There was no denying the power of this Gift, especially in the hands of the Dragon Lord, where it could be wielded like a massive weapon of destruction.

August inspected the bear's body but found no magic core, which left him slightly disappointed. In most fantasy worlds, magical beasts usually had such cores, after all.

With a swift motion, he cut off the bear's four paws, storing them in his pocket dimension, while the rest of the body was absorbed by the World Tree Seedling within his small world.

The seedling promptly dragged the gray bear's remains underground, devouring its flesh and mana until nothing remained.

Still, this meager offering was hardly enough for the World Tree Seedling, a mere drop in the ocean of what it needed to grow.

[Name: World Tree (Seedling)]

[Owner: August]

[Growth: Budding Stage (0.002%)]

[Innate Abilities: Space, Elemental Control, Devour]

With the growth percentage still only at 0.002%, it seemed like it would take an eternity to even reach one percent, let alone the next stage of development.

However, even this small increase had already brought about a dramatic change in the inner world. Its size had expanded vastly compared to when he first acquired it.

"Daddy~ I want more~"

Just then, a soft and adorable voice echoed from the World Tree Seedling, catching August off guard for a moment.

Sure enough, that 0.001% growth wasn't for nothing. Even when he wasn't in his small world, August could now communicate with the World Tree Seedling.

And now that his precious little companion had spoken, there was no way he could let it down.

August quickly shifted into hunting mode, summoning the Ghost Shadow Legion. One by one, shadowy claws emerged from the darkness, filling the surrounding area with their ominous presence.

"All of you, go hunt magical beasts and bring back the bodies."

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

In the blink of an eye, the shadowy figures sprang into action. Unlike ninja soldiers, the shadow claws were true killing machines. Their razor-sharp claws existed for one purpose—slaughter.

What made them even more terrifying was that they were all connected to the Shadow Realm. Any prey they killed didn't need to be physically returned; they only had to throw the bodies into the shadows, where August could receive them directly.

The only downside was that if the corpses stayed too long in the Shadow Realm, they would eventually be consumed by it.

If not for that, it would have been the perfect storage space.

Without wasting any time, August began sending the majority of the harvested bodies into his small world. As for some special ones, he kept portions of their remains, planning to cook and try them later.

Despite Stunk and Zel's insistence that they tasted terrible, August wasn't one to accept things at face value.

As the hours passed and the sun climbed higher into the sky, August glanced at the time. It was getting late.

He recalled the Ghost Shadow Legion and made his way back to town.

Instead of returning to the inn, August headed straight to the tavern known as the Hostess of Fertility, a place heavily tied to certain key plot points.

"Hey, MeidriMeidri, good morning!"

"It's almost noon. What's so good about it?" Meidri shot back, unimpressed.

"Ah, well, I wasn't really keeping track of time."

"Where did Stunk and Zel take you yesterday?"

"They showed me around the succubus house."

"You perverts, all of you."

With that, Meidri turned on her heel and walked off, the faintest hint of jealousy lingering in the air.

Just as men love to admire beautiful women, women are equally fond of handsome men. In fact, one could argue that women are even more skilled in this area—they simply don't show it as openly, especially in front of men. In private, though, their conversations could leave even the most daring men blushing.

Meidri, of course, was no exception. She was a woman with unsatisfied desires, and August, the handsome stranger who had suddenly entered her life and witnessed her in a vulnerable moment, had left a deep impression on her.

Women are naturally romantic, prone to fantasizing. Though her attitude toward August the previous day had been cold and harsh, deep down, she secretly hoped he would pursue her, leading them to a passionate and scandalous affair.

But while dreams are sweet, reality often proves bitter.

Her first question upon seeing August the next day was to ask where he had spent the night. After all, she knew he didn't have a place to stay.

What began as concern and curiosity quickly turned into irritation when August casually mentioned the succubus house, striking a nerve and creating the awkward situation that followed.

"Hey, Meidri, don't walk away! It was all Stunk's idea! He said he wanted to show me the local culture, and I just went along with it—I didn't know what to expect!"

Without hesitation, August threw Stunk under the bus.

As the saying goes, friends might be willing to sacrifice for each other, but for the sake of a beauty, betrayal comes easy.

Although Meidri didn't stop walking, her mood visibly improved.

"Just went looking for you. The innkeeper said you left early. Didn't expect to find you here."

As if on cue, Stunk appeared at just the wrong moment.

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