#132
Interlude (4)
Within his quietly immersed heart, he felt the pulse of the world.
Ba-dump, ba-dump—
The warm sunlight shining down, the pleasantly cool breeze, the earth wrapping around him snugly, the plants emitting fresh fragrances, and so on.
He felt a pulse from all things in nature, and it assimilated with him, gradually becoming one.
Whether it was a single flower blooming shyly, the gentle breeze playfully tickling it as it passed, or the river flowing proudly right beside it.
Within me, they were not separate entities.
Oneness of nature and self.
The wind blows. Now, I was the wind.
The branch sways. Now, I was the tree.
The leaf fallen into the river began to flow downstream. Now, I was the river.
I was nature itself—
—I was the world itself.
“Uwoah—? Hissh!”
Harris, who had been enjoying a sound sleep lying in the shade of a tree, shot his upper body upright and sucked in the saliva at the corner of his mouth.
‘Ah... I just lay down to rest for a moment and ended up falling asleep. But what the hell kind of dream was that?’
He tilted his head with a blank expression, feeling a languid weakness throughout his body.
He had been sleeping all along and had occasionally dreamt, but this was the first time he’d had a dream with such a strange feeling.
But it seemed it had not been just a mere nonsensical dream...
《The entity has fulfilled the conditions and is growing. Skill 「Nature Affinity」 evolves into Special Skill 「Nature Assimilation」.》
“Hmm?”
The bewildered Harris blinked his eyes, rooted to the spot.
Of course, he had been training consistently all along, but who would have thought a skill would evolve while he was napping?
The timing was nothing if not ironic.
‘Well, ever since arriving in Drasha, I’ve been constantly under the World Tree’s influence, so it was about time I grew.’
However, this evolution came with a minor side effect.
‘...Ah. I’m annoyed even when I’m doing nothing. I was already lazy, but now I’m even more intensely lazy...!’
His immersion in nature had deepened significantly compared to before, and his lethargy had increased proportionally.
Of course, his affinity and natural power had surged even more than that, but at this level, an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to maintain daily life.
To the extent that, had it been anyone other than Harris, before they even realized they had grown stronger, they would have chosen to nestle into nature’s embrace and become one with it.
‘Would that literally be a natural death? No, that’s not important right now.’
“Nnngh—.”
Harris suppressed his body’s urge to lie sprawled on the ground and become one with the earth right that instant, rising to his feet.
The mental effort consumed in the process had increased slightly, but compared to his other avatars, this was nothing.
Hans, who bore the Heart of the Undead King and the Death of the Abyss.
Heinz II, who had absorbed the blood of vampires from all dimensions.
Heinrich, who maintained a permanent channel to the Chief God.
Harley, who had taken in monster genes and the frenzy of the Abyss.
When considering energy drain alone, the toll these other entities took was far more overwhelming.
It was simply that he had a few more things to watch out for.
‘Let’s see, it seems there’s still plenty of time until assembly. Shall I test what I just gained?’
Harris gauged the time and raised the bow, ‘Themis,’ made from a branch of the World Tree, which he had been holding in his left hand.
This forest was a training ground belonging to Drasha Academy, and since he had been using it until just moments ago, continuing his training posed no issue.
...Of course, he had lain down to rest for a moment and dozed off, but since his skill had grown as a result, it absolutely wasn’t slacking.
He would prove that as a result right then and there!
“Huu—.”
As Harris took a deep breath, a swirling wind gently wrapped around his entire body.
Unlike the storm Harley had forcibly conjured through the 「Heart of the Berserk Dragon」, this wind was a natural phenomenon occurring without a hint of coercion.
Though calling it a natural phenomenon, it was far removed from scientific theory; yet that was the law of this world.
And there existed beings who belonged to that very law, beings who were nature itself.
Crackle! Fwoosh—
Swoosh! Hum—
The spirits displaying their individuality as they manifested in the empty air—they were precisely such beings.
Watt, Spirit of Lightning; Kali, Spirit of Fire; Pascal, Spirit of Wind; Decibel, Spirit of Sound.
They were his adorable companions who, despite not having been contracted to him for long, had grown rapidly and finally reached the Intermediate rank.
‘Then, let’s go for maximum output.’
As he drew up his power, natural energy gradually began gathering around Harris.
The spirits drawn out by 「Spirit Arts」 took in his aura, which had been greatly amplified by 「Child of the World Tree」, and began swelling their presence.
Up to here was the same as before, but...
Hummm—
When his right hand pulled back the empty bowstring, the surrounding natural energy was sucked in and coalesced, forging a single arrow.
And that process proceeded incredibly fast and smoothly, unlike before.
‘Becoming one with nature... so this is the power to use surrounding energy at will.’
Borrowing the power of 「Nature Assimilation」, natural energy continued to condense as if without limit, but there was no way a mere single skill could truly erase all boundaries.
“Harri—! S...?”
Around that time, he heard someone calling his name, but since it was a familiar presence, he simply ignored it.
Because he couldn’t afford to let his attention wander right now.
Gather, condense, combine with the existing arrow.
He repeated that simple process continuously.
As a brief moment passed, it grew increasingly difficult to condense the energy, and just as he was about to give up,
A gentle aura spread from Themis in his left hand, beginning to harmonize Harris and the surrounding energy into one.
Adding to that, the ‘Bracelet of the High Elf’ on his right wrist emitted a faint light, resonating in kind.
‘...This is enough!’
An arrow of natural energy denser than he had initially expected.
He added the finishing touches.
Craaackle!
The Spirit of Lightning dwelling in the arrow shaft.
Fwoosh—
The Spirit of Fire dwelling in the arrowhead.
Swoooosh—!
And even the Spirits of Wind and Sound wrapping around all of it.
“~~♪”
On top of that, the arrow fired with Harris’s light humming through 「Fairy Archery」—
——!
Without a sound, it tore through the air like a ray of light.
And it struck the target over a kilometer away in but an instant.
Puhwaak—!
A delayed aftermath swept through, ruffling the bushes and his hair, but Harris paid it no mind, his eyes sparkling as he stared only at the distant target.
‘This is better than I thought? It shouldn’t have been possible to this degree with just the skill. As expected, item buffs are really nice.’
Moreover, if he applied the Spirit of Wind not to amplify attack power but to suppress air currents, even more covert and perfect sniping would likely be possible.
Of course, in a battle between experts, concealing the flow of energy is paramount, but that too might somehow be possible using 「Nature Assimilation」...
Just as Harris was staring at the thoroughly devastated distant magic target, assessing the efficiency of his newfound strength,
“Harris! What was that just now! How did you do that?”
A sudden female voice jolted him from his thoughts.
“When did you get this strong! And here I thought it was strange that you were training instead of sleeping!”
The person he had ignored while concentrating on controlling his energy had approached and was chattering beside him.
Harris lowered his bow and turned toward the owner of that familiar voice, flinching unconsciously.
“But while working hard is fine, shouldn’t we head out soon if we don’t want to be late for assembly?”
The blue-haired, blue-eyed elven woman, Saphiron Silvesti.
She blinked her round eyes as usual, looking at him.
But there was something different from usual...
‘Wait, everything except her face is completely different from usual?’
The unfamiliar appearance of a familiar companion.
Sturdy yet comfortable travel clothes and shoes, hair tightly tied up for mobility, a backpack on her back, and equipment attached all over her body—none of it was strange.
To the point that it could be called the ideal example of a traveler’s outfit.
But...
“Um, Miss Saphiron? I was told the delegation would prepare the necessary supplies, so we only needed to pack personal belongings. What in the world is all that...”
He didn’t know where to even begin pointing things out.
The outfit had metal plates attached all over, not to mention the heels of her boots, to the point where it wouldn’t look out of place as combat gear.
Belts wrapped around her waist, shoulders, legs, and everywhere else were laden with all sorts of items and pouches hanging off them.
Not only that, but seeing how various parts of her body bulged, it seemed there were quite a few hidden secret pockets in her clothes.
Not to mention that she had stuffed them so full they were hardly secret anymore.
‘Plus, that backpack—is it a subspace magic tool? It seems to have quite a large capacity, yet she still has that much luggage even while wearing it?’
The massive backpack, large enough to completely envelop her slender frame, boasted an overwhelming presence on her back.
She looked fully equipped, as if she were headed for an expedition into uncharted wilderness.
Harris glanced at the meager backpack set beside him.
It was light luggage with nothing but simple clothes and a few travel items—utterly incomparable to hers.
“Huhuhu, what are you saying? You’re the one who said we must always prepare thoroughly for any eventuality, Harris.”
Saphiron smiled proudly, rubbing the underside of her nose.
After they were both included in the delegation, she had once come asking for advice about the Ion Continent.
Offering top-grade tea leaves made from World Tree leaves in exchange.
So he had told her various things because she was extremely nervous about going to another continent, but looking at it now, it seemed to have affected her a bit too strongly.
Since he had been speaking from the perspective of a mercenary who had been through all sorts of situations, some exaggeration had been inevitable...
“Look at this! I went through so much trouble to get it. With this, even if the ground suddenly collapses and I’m buried underground, I’ll be able to endure for a long time...”
She began to boast of her preparedness, exhaling excitedly through her nose.
But even with her excited expression, she couldn’t hide the dark circles under her eyes. No matter how he looked at it, she didn’t look like someone who had gotten enough sleep.
Just like a child too excited to sleep the night before a picnic.
“And these are emergency rations. I’ve extended the shelf life to the extreme so they’ll last for years... Ah, are you worried about the weight? Don’t worry! The backpack and all my equipment have weight-reduction enchantments...”
Harris quietly watched her chatter on without pause.
Come to think of it, this was Saphiron’s first time leaving the capital, Drasha.
Yet her first trip wasn’t simply leaving the capital, nor leaving the Elven Kingdom—it was an expedition to another continent.
‘She must have been really looking forward to this.’
As he looked at her with a blank gaze, she seemed to notice his eyes, paused, and broke into a grin.
“Hmph, as expected of Harris. You can tell, can’t you? I knew you were perceptive.”
“...?”
“This outfit was specially custom-made too! I begged my mo—... my mother for some Dryad silk, then commissioned a dwarf to incorporate some rare metal...”
Saphiron immediately opened her mouth again, as excited as before.
Perhaps because they had grown quite close recently, she was showing a side of herself that hadn’t been visible when she was nothing but prickly.
“...Ah, is it already this late? Come, come, hurry! How long are you going to stay there? Since we’re traveling with delegations from other nations this time, we really can’t afford to be late!”
After rambling on endlessly, she glanced at the time, jumped in surprise, grabbed Harris’s arm, and urged him to hurry.
And seeing the simple travel bag he carried, she tilted her head.
“Harris, isn’t your luggage too simple? No matter how much of a veteran you are... Hmm, well, I’ve packed duplicates of everything just in case, so it should be fine! Uhuhu, if such a situation arises, you can rely on me!”
Then, with a triumphant air, she took the lead and began heading toward the assembly point.
“Now, let’s go. We can handle any situation that arises, so there’s no need to worry!”
And so Harris walked alongside her, who displayed both confidence and nervousness while being as excited as if she were going on a picnic.
‘We’re going to move through Lapoli’s ‘Forest Path’ and then use the temple gate right away anyway, so all that preparation won’t be of any use.’
Though he thought that internally, he didn’t bother to voice it.
“Hmmhmm~♪”
Saphiron humming with the backpack on her back swaying to and fro.
‘Well, I might as well let her enjoy herself. That is the duty of a gentleman and an adult.’
That was what happened just before they departed for the Ion Continent.
And naturally.
Until they arrived at the Roselia Grand Temple, there was never an occasion to use the items she had prepared.