Chapter 93. Think Less, Act Faster
[The Small Tree of the Continent has awakened and is trying to attack you!]
[Tree: How dare you... Who dares awaken my hunger?! Who dares try to steal what belongs to me?! Everything beneath this earth is mine! Insolent creature!]
“Wow... This is seriously troublesome.”
Compared to that ridiculously huge tree, I was basically nothing more than a tiny flea.
Even if I tried to stop its movements with Flow, there was no way I could control that entire massive tree.
Modak was attacking it from a distance, but its sheer size was becoming a problem. Even though Modak had an overwhelming elemental advantage against it, there was still a limit to what he could do.
A tiny cigarette spark could start a forest fire.
But how was I supposed to burn something that kept moving around and constantly healed itself using the huge amount of energy inside it?
Come to think of it, this was the first enemy I had ever fought that possessed actual self-healing abilities.
I had been continuously draining its energy with Flow, but...
What was I supposed to do with all of this energy?
Keeping it inside me was impossible because there was too much.
But if I released it into the ground, that thing would probably just absorb it again.
“Fusion? Is fusion really my only option?!”
It was still highly unstable.
Even during my fight with One-Horn, I could only maintain it for around a minute.
Unless I was facing a truly decisive moment, it would probably be better not to use it.
But...
There was an unbelievable amount of energy available here.
Maybe I could actually make it work.
The reason I couldn't maintain fusion with Modak for long was simply because I wasn't anywhere near Modak's level yet.
So with all this extra energy...
Couldn't I do it?
“Modak!”
“Yeah! I'm ready!”
Once the tree entered combat, its ability to mercilessly absorb all the energy within its territory seemed to weaken.
It was also having trouble locating someone as tiny as me compared to its massive body.
This was the perfect opportunity.
I pulled in as much energy as possible.
Vitality instantly surged throughout my body, and Modak's warm flames wrapped around me.
[Tree: How dare an insect like you!]
“What insect? It's me...!”
[Fusion has failed!]
“...Maybe it was talking about some other guy?”
Modak looked at me.
“I guess life really doesn't go the way you want it to, Dad.”
“Well... That's life, Son.”
It's fine.
I understand!
This is a cliché!
If I just went, Ah, it doesn't work, and gave up here, then that would be the end.
But if I kept searching until I found another solution...
Then I'd win.
That's how these things worked.
My meeting with the Chairman.
The opportunity to advance into a Hero.
My fight against One-Horn.
Maybe I had failed because I was still a little too excited after everything that happened.
The reason fusion had worked before was because, at that moment, my fighting spirit had been burning so intensely that even Modak's scorching flames felt warm to me.
That wasn't exactly like me.
So...
Yeah.
This probably wasn't the right moment.
[Tree: Found you! You disgusting flea! I'll crush you!]
“Why are you talking like you're about to squash a bug with your finger?”
For now, retreat.
Draining all of its energy with Flow would take far too long because there was simply too much of it.
And trying to endure its attacks didn't seem like a great idea either.
It looked way too strong.
Just like usual, I used my chains to move at high speed, intending to quickly escape from the tree's territory.
But for some reason, the tree continued attacking me even after I passed the edge of what I thought was its territory.
Wasn't this a little unfair?
Its body was absurdly huge, yet it could move quickly enough that my high-speed movement could barely keep me ahead of it.
If you're gigantic, shouldn't you at least have the decency to move slowly?
At this rate, I'm going to die immediately.
Wait... If I die, does that mean I fail the test too?
Wow.
That would seriously suck.
Would someone who failed the Hero Promotion Test once get another chance?
And even if there was another chance, how long would I have to wait?
Would a Hero who had already failed the test still receive power equal to the other Heroes?
There were far too many uncertainties.
For now, escaping was definitely the correct choice.
I needed to observe the situation and figure out a way to defeat that thing.
“Oh! Dad! Squeaky's over there!”
I had been running for quite a while with Modak riding on my back when he suddenly shouted.
I looked down.
There really was a mouse sitting miserably on the ground, squeaking helplessly.
...
Should I save it?
If the point was to show heroic qualities, then saving it was obviously the right answer.
But...
This was an ugly-looking mouse that lived inside a forest where sentient trees existed.
Could I really guarantee that saving this creature would somehow benefit me?
No.
I couldn't.
No matter how many hundreds of times I thought about it, giving free kindness to an unknown creature I couldn't even communicate with was dangerous.
Maybe things would be different if I knew it had high intelligence and friendly intentions.
But could I really expect that from a wild animal?
There were certainly examples in reality of animals repaying people who saved them.
But there were just as many animals that became terrified and ran away.
Some even attacked the person who had saved them.
...If this happens to be one of the parents Asset mentioned, then helping it here could be useful.
But there's no guarantee.
And why would a parent with a newborn child follow prey it doesn't even intend to eat?
Its behavior makes no sense.
Leaving it behind is definitely the more profitable choice...
At that exact moment...
The Chairman's words from the restaurant flashed through my mind.
[What I wanted was a monster of a human being who lacked emotion and could look at the world more coldly than anyone else.]
Seriously.
Could the timing have been any more perfect?
“Ha... Seriously.”
Clatter!
I fired a chain toward the mouse, wrapped it around its body, and pulled hard.
The mouse flew toward me.
I grabbed it by the back of its neck and immediately continued running.
Whoosh!
And because I'd wasted time saving the mouse, one of the tree's branches slammed into my back.
Thankfully, only the very tip grazed me, so the damage wasn't serious.
Still...
I'd already suffered a disadvantage because I chose to save it.
See? I really shouldn't have...
No.
Forget it.
I didn't think my way of thinking was wrong.
What was wrong with judging situations based on what benefited me?
Nothing.
But if I always behaved that way...
I would forever remain inside the Chairman's palm.
What an ironic situation.
“Haa... This is troublesome...”
“Tch! If I were just a little bigger, I'd burn that whole thing down!”
“Yeah, seriously. Let's get stronger together, okay?”
“Of course!”
Only after we escaped the giant pit did the branches finally stop chasing us.
The tree was still violently thrashing its branches around as if its anger hadn't faded.
So the entire pit had been its territory.
What a ridiculously huge house.
“...If it's that angry, won't it stay on guard for a while?”
Modak looked back toward the forest.
“Dad... What if we just burn the entire forest down?”
I stared at him.
“Ohhh, Son. What a fascinating idea. You almost sound like someone with prior experience.”
Then I smiled.
“But this is a Hero Promotion Test, so let's try something a little more peaceful this time.”
“...Okaaay.”
Modak stuck his lips out in dissatisfaction.
I gently patted his head.
Looking at him like this...
I really couldn't tell anymore.
Was this appearance created by perfectly copying an actual person?
Or was Modak simply an extremely advanced AI?
I had wondered from the beginning how an AI could feel this realistic.
But strangely enough...
The more I learned, the more questions I had.
Technology that far surpassed anything currently available...
True overtechnology.
Was something like that really possible?
“...”
Modak tilted his head.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
“No. It's just... I suddenly thought of something.”
...
Pie encountered the Remnants of the World and obtained the body of Lucy Lowell.
She had become an entirely new existence before appearing in front of me.
Then what about Modak and Whitey?
Modak was my summoned creature.
Whitey was something similar to an NPC who existed within the game's system.
So...
What would happen if either of them touched the Remnants of the World?
And conveniently enough...
Inside my pocket was something called a Fragment of the World.
It sounded similar to the Remnants of the World.
Maybe I can experiment with it.
The problem was...
I only had one Fragment.
And there was only one Modak.
Even Pie, who now existed in reality, didn't seem to know exactly what process had transformed her into her current state.
Technically, both Modak and Whitey belong to me...
So should I use the Fragment on myself?
Should I stab it into my chest like they did in manga?
There was only one Fragment...
But my life inside the game was technically infinite.
Trying it once didn't sound that bad.
Should I?
