Chapter 363 The Special Branch

A room filled with countless different artifacts, finally packed boxes filled with artifact weapons, shelves filled with shiny golden and silver things, drawers filled with rare and important herbs and gems, as well as a big table in the center that was practically dressed up with countless high-grade artifacts and important stuff.

"Mom, oh great mother..."

I couldn't help my deep sigh at this warehouse-like room that was actually too big to be on the first floor of my house and on the end of the wing, no less.

This was practically amazing and just the fact that this place was filled with great artifacts, countless weapons, important magic devices, and special resources was... unbelievable.

This was amazing and the gift that I was looking for was as easy to spot as a black cat in a pack of white sheep in this room.

In the middle of the room, on the middle part of the table, there was an altar, and a golden grail was placed in the middle of that thing.

The grail looked holy and there was a glowing blue liquid glittering in it.

If one looked closely, there was a small tree branch in this holy grail. A pure white tree branch with small crystal gem-like green leaves on one side of this branch.

That branch... that was my birthday gift from my great-mom.

And I didn't need my eyes to identify this thing that I had seen in countless books and had dreamed of seeing at least once in my life.

'Technically, I want to see the actual tree that branch belongs to but, well, few in the whole world have ever been fortunate enough to find it and get back to the human world to tell the tale.'

This special-looking tree branch that, in the end, was just a tree branch, was something genuinely unfathomable...

"What the hell is that...?"

'I knew it. Well, it was natural her eyes wouldn't even activate.'

This was a tree branch, and it was one of a kind tree branch.

There was only one tree that this branch can be obtained from, and the tree was something that no one could reach, even though even children knew of its existence.

A tree that every adventurer dream of seeing at least once in their life and something that almost every fantasy story mentions.

BEst

Yes... this was that very branch from that super famous tree...

"A branch... from the world tree."

Of course, it was a fallen branch from that grand tree.

And compared to the enormous world tree talked to be as big as the whole world, this tree branch was just a toothpick.

This was maybe even less than a toothpick, but this branch was definitely far smaller than the original tree.

It did not mean this branch was something else... well, that was impossible.

Master had taught me what the world tree is and all the most important things about it herself.

And because of that substantial amount of information and knowing some truths about the world tree itself, I should even be able to see the branch with my eyes...

'Three eyes.'

[[ *Master... one of the conditions for the recorded messages just met after I failed to block the mental attack from that branch.

I know about the world tree and about one of its greatest powers granted to it directly by mother nature but, even I didn't know its fallen branch can have some of its power still left in it.* ]

'It's because of that leave. This one is a special branch.

I know even mom wouldn't have known this.'

World tree doesn't shade the branch with leaves on their own.

If thought carefully, this branch has a leaf, which means it isn't actually shed by the world tree willingly.

'I don't know much but I think it's because of that leave that the branch is still connected to the world tree to a certain extent and can use some of its powers.

But it actually isn't part of it anymore, so we can't do anything with it.'

[[ *yes... I was short-sighted.* ]]

I could feel her sadness even though she was a skill...

'Well, don't worry much and we will play the video after a while. For now, I know the branch already knows all the things about us...'

[[ You... ]]

[[ Hmm? What was that, master? ]]

A weird old voice entered my mind and spoke just like Celes does. But it wasn't Celes herself and it surprised Celes, who was already astonished by all the things in this room.

Celes loved different special lights and there were many glowing things, so she was excited as soon as we entered this place, but the weird voice we heard was surprising for her.

Well, it would naturally be surprising. In fact, this was less than what I was prepared for.

'This is just a detached branch of the great world tree, so the power the world tree can exert through it is naturally too limited.

Well... it's better for me. I didn't want to hear a <True voice> just yet.'

The world tree.

In this world and nature, this was a special tree that represented the 'world' or technically a 'dimension'.

A part of the world tree existed in every dimension and was protected by several guardians, and only a few could practically see the true 'tree' and be 'alive' after that.

The guardians of the world tree were mostly aggressive beings. And they were mostly as strong as high divine creatures, so they were special in themselves.

The strongest existence that maintained <voice of the world> on each planet, a being that can't be compared to anything 'normal'. A tree, a living organism, a mythical creature, and something that was far above the mere gods on its own.

In a way, it was an [Offsprings] of nature, just like the origins and origin beasts, but their standing was very high among them.

It was even higher than the top divine beasts, the reason the strongest existences guarded it against the evil of each world.

All demons, the ones on the earth and the ones in hell loathed the world tree and considered it an enemy on par with the high divine beasts.

The demons... well, that was a heavy topic.

The fallen branches of the world tree were also something fatal to them, and they did their best to destroy anything related to the world tree.

That's why possessing one was a dangerous thing in itself.

'Well, it wasn't like I could use the branch itself, and finding someone that can do something with it was something that I wasn't going to do anytime soon. '

So, for now, I just had to store it away in my very special white storage crack.

Not even demon kings should know of it after that, right?

[[ You... are special. ]]

[[ "I definitely am, I think? Not everyone is as unluckily blessed as me." ]]

[[ A reincarnation, survivor, successor of a special child, a stigma holder, and one of 'them'.

It must be fate that this special branch reached you... ]]

[[ "Well, I don't know what 'them' is, but yes, the other titles definitely belong to me.

Thanks for the praise~." ]]

[[ Very well. Take care of the branch until fate leads you to someone who can create something that even I can't foresee.

Your fate is weird, unpredictable, and constantly changing. Maybe it will lead you to me someday, too.

I await that time... ]]

The voice slowly vanished after that, and the subtle light in the crystal leaf vanished.

[[ *The special presence is gone. Now, there's only the power of the branch left in it.* ]]

'Hmm... well, it is understandable. It's a special branch as well as something that was spatially still connected with its source.

It would have been dangerous if I carried it around in that active state, anyway.'

It was good that the branch was now fully disconnected from the world tree.

[[ *It's fascinating that you are so calm and normal even after all these things...* ]]

'What can I do, Lucy? After living with a divine beast that even the world tree called a 'special child', seeing her true form and seeing the birth of a new divine beast, it isn't surprising that I just talked with the great world tree anymore.'

[[ *Right. Master is amazing~.* ]]

I shook my head and looked at the still confused Rein and shook my head with a smile.

She had a confused, cute, and unbelieving expression. I knew it was just that absurd, anyway.

There were only three branches of the world tree known to have been in possession of someone throughout the three continents.

And all three of them were the royal families or the strongest rulers of that continent.

And now... something like that was before us. In our house, in a special room of my mom, and just before our eyes.

Her eyes couldn't actually 'see' the details of this tree branch, so it was even more believable, but still, this... was absurd.

Well, my eyes finished processing the information about the world tree's special branch after it had become fully disconnected and the information window, the short version of the course, appeared before my eyes.