Absolute Dweller-Chapter 247

The World Tree's power began to flow in.

Massive life energy.

The life force pouring from across dimensions filled the surrounding area, making everything abundant.

‘This is on another level.’

The divinities I had absorbed until now were of a different caliber.

The proof of that was the lack of the usual system message that appeared when absorbing a lower divinity, like "You are absorbing a lower-tier divinity."

At the same time, I realized something.

‘This isn't even the entirety of the World Tree’s power.’

The World Tree the avatar had absorbed wasn’t the main body.

It was just another root, like the one growing on Earth.

I had expected this to some degree.

It was easy to guess from my conversation with the White Dragon that the World Tree had its roots spread across multiple dimensions.

You couldn’t expect to be full from the first bite.

‘If I take my time and tackle it slowly, it’ll be fine. Besides, I’ve already gained a lot.’

One root.

The divinity within it was in the best condition of all the divinities I had absorbed.

It surpassed even Orochi, whom I had absorbed in Japan.

If this level of power was contained in just one root, how much power would the actual main body hold?

‘For me, this is actually good. If I just absorb a few more roots of the World Tree in other dimensions...’

At that moment.

Flash―

A massive light engulfed the world.

‘Ah...!’

When I regained my senses, I found myself kneeling before the immense light.

The World Tree’s roots, sprawling through countless dimensions like a spider’s web.

The ridiculously massive scale, as if it were stretching across the entire universe.

It was far too large for a tiny human like me to handle.

Simply facing it, I felt as if my existence as a human would be erased.

Whoosh!

A black energy erupted from my entire body.

The black energy that surrounded me seemed to struggle to protect me from the World Tree’s gaze.

And then,

Whoooosh―

From within the black energy, dazzling multicolored lights began to sprout.

The faint lights wrapped around my body.

"!!!"

I was able to return to reality safely.

"Hoo... ha!"

Finally, I could breathe properly.

‘Insane.’

It had been a split second.

In terms of real time, the moment I faced the World Tree was no more than a few seconds.

But personally, it felt like several hours had passed.

The immense pressure and the dizzying fear, as if my mind would collapse at any moment.

I had been overwhelmed by the World Tree.

‘That was the main body?’

It was the first time I truly felt the scale of the universe.

‘This is impossible.’

The World Tree that grew on Earth.

I had thought that it was at least one of the massive roots of the World Tree.

But that was a misconception.

The World Tree that grew on Earth was nothing more than a newly born small root.

It was hardly even a root.

More like cotton.

The best description for the tip of the World Tree’s root would be a tuft of cotton.

I could be certain now.

‘The World Tree is on a higher level than me.’

A level far above mine.

"...Ha."

A hollow laugh escaped.

The being I had thought was on the same level as me turned out to be an incomprehensibly enormous entity, something I couldn’t even compare to.

From the World Tree’s perspective, I was probably no different from Lilith, the parasite that had once clung to its body.

Not a threat, but an annoying and troublesome parasite.

Even if the avatar burned with vengeance, in the World Tree's eyes, I would be no more than a firefly.

That frustrated me.

At that moment.

[You have absorbed a high-tier divinity.]

[The tier of your House Declaration skill has increased.]

[Conditions have been met.]

["Orchard" has been added to the construction options.]

‘...Orchard?’

The construction effects were similar to those of an outpost or annex.

It creates a space with similar effects to House Declaration.

And one more thing.

‘It generates money every day?’

Of course, the amount of money produced seemed to depend on the construction conditions.

The condition for constructing an "Orchard" was that the World Tree was required.

And not just any World Tree, but the one whose heart I had consumed and made mine.

So, the only place I could build this orchard now was in the dimension where the avatar was.

And the amount of money generated here per day was...

‘384.2 billion?’

Considering how many expenses had been piling up recently, this was like a drought’s rain.

And it seemed like the system was telling me something.

Not to rush.

That I could slowly devour the World Tree’s power.

‘Right.’

Bit by bit, like claiming land.

And then, once I properly devoured the main root of the World Tree, it would be a jackpot.

‘After all, there are parasites in this world that devour their hosts.’

There was no need to hesitate.

‘Build the orchard.’

[This facility requires 300 crystals.]

[Are you sure you want to proceed with construction?]

[Yes / No]

‘...’

I checked the remaining number of crystals.

And then I checked Chae Su-bin’s warehouse.

The 6 crystals she had carefully collected were sparkling.

‘Wow.’

I was relieved.

Originally, I had planned to summon a spirit once I gathered 300 crystals.

If the timing had been just a little off, I wouldn't have had the full 300 crystals.

In that case, I would have had to give up on the World Tree in this dimension.

‘Or I could have left the avatar there until the crystals were gathered.’

The dimension where the avatar was was really a randomly chosen place.

Even if I repeated the same actions in Lilith’s space, there was no guarantee I’d end up in the same dimension.

Moreover, since that place was the dimension where the heart of the World Tree had been consumed, once I left, I would never be able to return.

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‘The timing is perfect.’

I absorbed the crystals in Chae Su-bin’s inventory and proceeded with the construction.

‘Let’s build it.’

Whoosh―

As the orchard construction was initiated, a familiar energy burst forth from the place where the World Tree’s heart had once been.

It started from the center of the roots and quickly spread up the trunk, enveloping the entire World Tree.

And then.

Swoosh—

The forest, now filled with the World Tree's life force, was engulfed.

In an instant, my energy spread across the space surrounding the World Tree, spanning dozens of kilometers in radius.

As the protective shield surrounding the vast forest was completed, the House Declaration came to an end.

[Hostile entities to the Absolute of the House Declaration detected.]

[Eliminating...]

The cleanup began.

[You have hunted High Elf (Lv. 50).]

[You have hunted High Elf (Lv. 50).]

[You have hunted Elf Archer (Lv. 42).]

[You have hunted Elf Warrior (Lv. 41).]

[You have hunted Elf (Lv. 22).]

[You have hunted Elf (Lv. 23).]

……

……

The elves residing within the World Tree’s area were the first to be dealt with.

[You have hunted Goblin (Lv. 6).]

[You have hunted Orc (Lv. 19).]

[You have hunted Orc Chieftain (Lv. 27).]

[You have hunted Goblin (Lv. 6).]

[You have hunted Troll (Lv. 31).]

[You have hunted Goblin (Lv. 6).]

……

……

All the various monsters within the area.

Everything my subconscious had designated as an enemy was neatly eliminated within the domain.

And then,

[An entity that meets the conditions for citizenship has been found.]

[Would you like to grant citizenship?]

A familiar system log appeared.

‘I can grant citizenship?’

The current place where the avatar resided wasn’t Earth.

It was a completely different world in another dimension.

And yet, the system was telling me I could grant citizenship?

[The Absolute’s Eye.]

I immediately activated the Absolute’s Eye to examine the situation.

‘...People?’

There were humans.

They wore crude clothes made from animal hides or plant fibers, and a group of about twenty people was gathered.

These people were spread across the entire area, with about a few thousand of them scattered throughout.

‘Grant it.’

In a hurry, I granted them citizenship and examined the situation.

Some of them had been living in stable conditions inside caves before receiving their citizenship, but many had accepted citizenship under more urgent circumstances.

Some were holding sharp rocks, perhaps having gone hunting.

One of the hunters, upon being freed from his tense state, began crying uncontrollably.

He was holding what seemed to be a ten-year-old child in his arms.

Looking at the child’s face, it seemed to be his son.

‘An arrow?’

A familiar arrow had pierced the child’s heart.

Fortunately, the child’s breath hadn’t stopped yet.

Citizenship had been granted normally.

Whoooosh!

Using the World Tree’s life force, I began to heal the wound.

As I healed the wound, I also used telekinesis to pull the arrow out.

But then,

‘What’s going on?’

As soon as the green light appeared, the hunters around them began panicking and causing a commotion.

The child’s father closed his eyes tightly, seemingly bracing himself, and held his child even closer.

‘Why are they like this?’

I first pulled out the arrow and thoroughly healed the wound.

Once the healing was done, the child slowly opened his eyes.

The hunters around them started making a big fuss, as if they had seen a miracle.

After completing the emergency treatment, I thought for a moment.

Why had they panicked when I used the World Tree’s life force?

The reason was easy to guess.

‘Because that power has been used ominously in the past.’

Just by looking at the arrow embedded in the child’s chest, I could easily deduce how they had been treated in the past.

I could also tell how humans were treated in this world.

[What’s happening all of a sudden?]

It was the avatar’s voice.

[What’s going on?]

I opened the portal and called the avatar over.

"Good job."

The avatar returned with a somewhat disgruntled expression.

Then he asked.

"What happened? Why is there a domain here?"

It wasn’t a trick or anything.

He was genuinely curious.

"It’s nothing special."

That meant one thing.

‘This guy doesn’t know everything about this system. Perhaps…’

The source of the power that constituted the system.

For example, the black energy clearly came from my future self.

From what I knew about the avatar’s hidden abilities, it seemed he had some involvement in designing the system.

‘Three possibilities.’

There could be someone else who made the system entirely and he only had partial involvement.

Or perhaps, he had designed the system, but much of his memory or information was lost during the time travel process.

Or, alternatively,

‘The system is evolving on its own.’

As I absorbed new divinities, the system I had designed was evolving and changing in real-time.

From my perspective, this was very positive.

Every time I absorbed a new divinity, it meant more unpredictable variables for him.

I maintained a poker face and said.

"As we expected, the one we just conquered seems to be one of many roots. If you're okay with it, we could move on to the next dimension and continue the conquest."

"Not a bad idea."

"Really? Are you sure it’s fine?"

"What do you mean by 'fine'?"

"You must have felt it too. The immense energy contained in just a root of the World Tree. If you keep transferring divinity to me like this, it’ll start messing up your plan to take my body, right?"

The avatar chuckled.

"As I said earlier, I don’t mind this. I rather like this body. I don’t feel the need to take yours."

"Is that so? Alright, then if you help me conquer the World Tree’s power, I’ll promise to give you the avatar’s body."

"Really?"

"Of course."

He responded with a smile that seemed overly friendly.

"I’ll cooperate enthusiastically."

Looking at that smile, I was certain.

This bastard definitely had some other plans in mind.