Game of the World Tree

Berserker’s eyes flashed with utter disappointment and disgust as he spoke, “Chosen one, I thought you were a noble warrior, but never had I expected you to be such a vile despicable person. You sully the title of ‘Protector of the World Tree’ given to you!”

The saintess Alice simply looked at him indifferently, yet her eyes were increasingly growing much colder as if she was looking at a pile of revolting garbage.

【❗ – Your favorability rating with’ Berserker‘ has decreased by 40 points, dropping down to ‘Dislike‘ Impression. 】

【❗ – Your favorability rating with ‘Alice Galewind‘ has decreased by 40 points, retaining ‘Disgust‘ Impression. 】

Demacia looked on with shocked expression at the system prompt that flashed right before his eyes and uttered, “What the? Did the favorability rating decrease because of my proposal?”

The players were also skeptical in regards to Demacia’s suggestion.

“This plan…doesn’t sound good isn’t it?”

“What if something dangerous occurs that we didn’t expect? Although this is merely a game, the demerits would still be unimaginable.”

“Right. This game is not like those typical online games we’ve played before. It’s an almost a realistic VR game…”

“We also cannot go offline during battles. Even if we forcibly quit the game, our avatars will still remain at the battlefield. Who knows, what if something bad happens on our unconscious bodies…”

“In that case, our experience will get really mentally traumatizing once we logged back in.”

“I don’t know about everyone, but I feel very uncomfortable about this whole plan. Those goblins looked very nasty creatures.”

“Well I don’t plan to go anyway if that would be our plan. Screw this whole damn quest if you are willing to risk us like that.”

“I won’t go either.”

“Demacia you horny dog! I bet you’re definitely single since birth, right?”

“You don’t deserve to have any girlfriend in your life, pervert!”

Demacia: “…..”

While everyone was chiding Demacia for his shameless idea, Li Mu remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. His eyes then suddenly brightened and murmured to himself,

“Seduction? It’s actually not a bad idea.”

Some players heard it and were instantly shocked as they looked at him as if he suddenly grew another head.

“What!? Brother Mu, don’t tell me you really think this plan is possible?”

“Bruh, have you gone insane?”

“Bro, are you a lonesome dog in heat as well like this red-haired punk? You know, the stereotypical virgin that wears boxers and big slippers while picking your nose up before buying soy milk and fried breadsticks every morning all by yourself?”

Li Mu: “…..”

He awkwardly cleared his throat and immediately said,

“N-No, no…Although the idea of a honey trap may sound foolish, it’s actually quite ingenious if you tweak it a little bit. What I mean is that, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a female player who takes on such a risky role of bait.”

He then looked at Demacia up and down in a scrutinizing manner, before rubbing his chin and curled up the corners of his lips.

“If I remembered it correctly, someone got a ‘Transfiguration’ skill from their starter draw.”

Demacia shuddered at the implication and suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body as well as a chill running down his back…

The Elfen Forest.

The towering trees that mostly block out the sunlight from reaching onto the ground, as well as the untamed thickets sprawling around everywhere made the already difficult task of traversing across these wild terrain even more complicated.

But for the Oak Guardian, such task is nothing.

Berserker effortlessly moved through the dense forest as if he were strolling through his own backyard, while four elves in linen armor leisurely sat upon his shoulders, and finally, a sweating red-haired player running behind him in desperation.

These five individuals are the special operations team that the players themselves decided on after much deliberation.

In addition to Demacia, the ones sitting upon Berserker’s shoulders are Li Mu, HootyBird, and two other players named Boxlunch and Little Salty Cat.

Amongst these players, Li Mu and Little Salty Cat are spellcasters, whereas Demacia, Boxlunch and HootyBird are melee-type players.

Li Mu had initially intended to form a team consisting of five players who were proficient in stealth.

However, due to the scarcity of players possessing any stealth skills, he had to compromise and create a team composed of players with complementary strengths, both in combat and support instead.

Li Mu has two primary skills: Healing(minor) as well as Entangling Vines. He is good at healing and crowd control, as well as being the team leader.

Little Salty Cat is a petite female player who drew the rare illusion skill—Transfiguration, which can change the appearance of a single target for a certain amount of time, lasting about approximately twenty minutes.

HootyBird, despite being a girl, has actually practiced taekwondo in real life and has strong close-combat ability. In addition, she also has a skill called Sharp Ears, which can hear distant sounds and can be used for reconnaissance.

Finally, Boxlunch is a reclusive male player who doesn’t have any stealth or detection skills, but has a strong reconnaissance abilities, which is why he was able to discover the level nine Forest Python back in the early stages.

As for Demacia, he has the skill called Whirlwind Slash and Indomitable Will. He is a pure tank-build player that can output a lot of damage as well.

Also…after several discussions and so much persuasion, it was eventually decided on that he will also play the crucial role of a honey bait for the goblins.

All these five players have the minimum base level of ten.

After discussing the intricacies of the plan, they finally decided to set off while riding Berserker, but the Oak Guardian vehemently refused to let Demacia climp up his shoulders, so the red-haired punk could only desperately follow behind them.

The rest of the playerbase instead watched their actions through a live stream as they awaits for the teleportation circle to be constructed.

Yes, a live stream.

Although the flow of time between Saigües and Earth are vastly different, the lag does not actually affect the players inside the game who are watching the special operations live-stream via the game’s own system window.

This can also be considered a new playstyle discovered by the players, somewhat similar to the voice chat programs from much earlier years, except that it is the video counterpart of it. Some players have even used this trick for individual reconnaissance while hunting monsters beforehand.

When Evé discovered this exploit, she was amazed by the players’ ingenuity, and she also tuned in the live broadcast within her Celestial Domain as she silently mingled alongside the livestream audience.

“We’re here.”

Suddenly, the colossal Oak Guardian stopped at a particular spot. He then partially knelt down and placed the people riding him down on the ground, before saying,

“We’re less than a kilometer away from Florence. To prevent my identity from being discovered by the goblins, I won’t proceed much further. Instead, it’s now your turn to upheld upon your required tasks and act on your own discretion.”

After speaking, he simply turned around without saying another word and disappeared deep into the forest.

Demacia, who had finally caught up to the group, gasped for breath as he leaned against a tree. He then rubbed his sore knees and looked at the retreating cold back of the Oak Guardian after exhaling a rueful breath.

“Man, why is Uncle B so bothered… It’s merely a suggestion you know…sheesh, I lost so much favorability in an instant, and I wasn’t even allowed to ride upon his back.”

HootyBird merely him a cold glance.

“You don’t even realize it yourself how outrageous idea you came up with.”

Meanwhile, the stream’s chatroom was also filled with players’ teasing the red-haired punk.

“Don’t worry, running can exercise the body and also gain one or two points of experience, so it’s actually quite beneficial.”

“Haha, Demacia, did Berserker’s favorability rating of you plummeted down into the negatives?”

“Lmao…I remember he was boasting about reaching a friendly impression with Uncle B before, but then he still managed messed it all up.”

“Hahaha! I just realize that NPCs consider the goblins to be the most lowest sentient beings. Only that brain dead idiot could come up with a honey trap plan and the girls should lure the mobs. Demacia, you deserve the dislike of all the females as well as the NPCs. Hahaha!”

“Lmfao, and in the end, the role of ‘bait’ eventually landed upon himself.”

“Lol, that’s karma for you.”

“I’m looking forward to watching him lure some mobs while wearing some fancy dress!”

“Me too xD”

“Me to as well xDD”

Watching the barrage of comments flash by within the livestream, Demacia’s face turned green as he resisted the urge to counter flame the people mocking him.

HootyBird did not continue to ridicule him and instead resumed her reconnaissance duties as she tilted her ear and listened quietly for any noises within the vicinity…

Skill—Sharp Ear.

“No other creatures nearby.” She reported a moment later.

Boxlunch also shook his head after scanning the surrounding areas.

The rest of the team breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Li Mu then looked around a couple more times before taking out a set of materials for constructing magical formation that Alice had personally entrusted him.

“I think the terrain here isn’t bad. Let’s clean up the area and finally set up the magical array. A distance of one kilometer is adequate enough, and getting closer more than this will simply increase the risk of exposing ourselves.”

After speaking, he then looked specifically at Demacia with a slightly amused expression and said,

“You should also prepare. We’ll go straight into kiting goblins to test their strength after we set up the magical array.”

As soon as Li Mu spoke, Demacia suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon, as he moved to the side with fear and trepidation etched upon his face, while nervously laughing a couple of times.

“B-Brother Mu… um…are we really going to do it?”

“Isn’t this method proposed by you, Demacia?” Little Salty Cat jokingly said, before taking out a light green dress from behind her and sporting a mischievous smile.

“Put this on quickly, this is a gift from Miss Alice.”

Demacia’s face instantly turned pale after seeing the little fancy dress,

“Damn it! A-Are you guys really serious!? You want me to crossdress and act as a bait? I said honey trap, not handsome trap! I am a man, you know!”

“There would be no problem, since my transfiguration skill is specifically prepared for this task. I guarantee that you will become an absolutely gorgeous bait with my magic.” Said Little Salty Cat with a mischievous smile.

Demacia: “……..”

“I remember your house isn’t built yet right?” The town’s construction captain, HootyBird casually asked with a hint of threatening undertone within her voice.

Demacia: “……”

“Do you really want a female player to take on such risk?” Boxlunch frowned.

Demacia: “….”

Even the audience at the livestream goaded the red-haired punk.

“Hahaha! Be brave Demacia, just put on the damn women’s clothing already and transform into a muscular girl!”

“Quickly put the dress on idiot, you will definitely be popular!”

“After all, this is your own damn idea, hahaha!”

“Lol put it on already, or else your house will never be completed, hahaha…”

Demacia: “..”

Li Mu cleared his throat and patted Demacia on the shoulder, “Demacia, just do it. You have a lot of lives, eight in total, including the lives you got for triggering the main quest. Besides, aren’t you a man not afraid of death nor being caught by those goblins, so you being the bait is less risky than having any of the girls take on such role. Cough cough, if you get caught and are about to be uhh…you know, just commit suicide.”

Demacia: “.”

Does he have to risk his manlihood too!?

Nonetheless, Demacia saw everyone’s expression getting more and more annoyed the longer he put off wearing the damn dress, thus he finally relented and grabbed the dress with a reluctant look.

“Fine…I’ll go, I’ll go, okay?” He said as tears stream down his checks while taking off his clothes.

“Don’t undress here idiot, we don’t want to see such an obscene scene close hand!”

Demacia: “…”

“Lmfao!”

“Hahahaha…”

The comments from the live stream rapidly cascaded down without any signs of stopping…

Even Evé, who was also watching the live stream, chuckled a little bit. However as she watched the lively scenery as well as the light humored banter within the comments section, she gradually felt a tinge of sadness within her heart.

“That’s so nice…”

“I also want to have a body that can move freely…”

Sometimes, it is only after someone have finally lost something of value that they will realize its true importance.

Unfortunately, without enough divine power at her disposal, Evé could not create an avatar strong enough that could accommodate a divine soul like hers.

At this moment, Evé suddenly felt that the joy and lively commotion within the livestream were so far away from her…

So far away…

Just like two different worlds.

“Someday…for sure.”

She murmured deep within her heart.

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