The Will Of The World Tree

Chapter 10 Arriving

Time flies.

Deep within the Elven Forest of ancient Segas, nearly a month has passed, and the World Tree has undergone further changes. While the vast majority of its branches remain withered, a faint, shimmering green has begun to bud at the base and the very crown.

This was not Eve's doing; rather, it was the natural instinct of the World Tree beginning to repair itself upon her awakening. Though the process was slow, and the tree remained in a near-death state, given enough time—even if she did nothing—it would eventually recover. However, without external help, that recovery could take thousands of years.

Eve, of course, had no intention of waiting. Who knew when a powerful enemy might come knocking?

Over the past few weeks, she had commanded Basaka, the Oak Guardian, to sweep away all threats within a ten-kilometer radius to prepare for the "Closed Beta." In the future, this would be the heart of the Elven civilization. She also expended 3 points of Divine Power to manifest a concealment barrier covering her ten-kilometer domain, hiding the World Tree's transformation from the outside world.

This was Eve's most vulnerable period. She had to ensure she remained undisturbed until her Divine Power reached 100 points, at which point she would officially exit her "near-death" status, allowing her to manifest an avatar and exercise her abilities with far greater ease.

Checking her status, Eve let out a mental sigh.

Divine Power: 11 points... I hope 'Elven Kingdom' doesn't let me down.

It was only because Basaka had recently wiped out another half-orc hunting party that her power remained above 10. The persistent presence of half-orcs, however, served as a grim warning. Eve had confirmed there was a half-orc tribe nearby; while not the strongest, their proximity was a constant threat—especially since they were backed by Uller, the God of Winter and Hunting, one of the World Tree's ancient rivals.

"Perhaps, once the first batch of players arrives and levels up, I can leave the problem to them..."

"Level 1 is too low. I can help them break through the Apprentice stage and reach Level 11 (Iron-tier) via quests."

While Eve could technically grant them Level 11 strength instantly, it would drain too much power. Moreover, to prevent players from recklessly throwing their lives away, she decided to fix the starting and respawn level at 1.

"That way, those guys might value their lives a bit more, and it’ll make things easier for me."

According to her tests, the players' activity range was much larger than her direct influence. The link between her and the elven bodies could extend up to a hundred kilometers. Beyond that, the connection would be severed.

Of course, true followers could maintain a connection much further away via a faith channel, but Eve didn't expect her fellow Earthlings to provide actual faith—to them, this was just a game. A hundred-kilometer radius was the planned starting zone; to prevent players from getting lost, she set an invisible boundary they could not cross. As her strength grew, this boundary would expand until they could roam the entire plane.

Eve cast her consciousness back into the Divine Core. After verifying the system was running smoothly, she focused on the center of her canopy. There, 300 shimmering, egg-shaped orbs pulsed with life. These were the first batch of bodies.

The vessels were mature. The respawn mechanics were set. All that remained was to select the players and welcome their arrival.

June 1st, 12:00 PM Sharp.

Having finished an early lunch, Carl climbed into his immersion pod and toggled the livestream function. Kingdom of Elven has already been downloaded. He hit the start button.

The game loaded smoothly, opening first to the character creation screen. The only available race was Elf, but the customization options were extensive.

The livestream chat began to scroll rapidly:

"Look at those character models!"

"Is that really a stock face preset?"

"So handsome!"

"Well, they are elves after all!"

"I'm 'Demacia', add me! Carry me through the levels later!"

"Why not pick a female character? Who wants to stare at a guy's backside all game?"

Carl glanced at the chat and explained, "I can't. This game binds gender to your real-world identity."

He set his hair and eye color to black, chose a long hairstyle, and tweaked the body to be slightly slender and the features somewhat androgynous.

"Are you cosplaying Kiriko?"

Ignoring the teasing, he hit "Enter Game."

His consciousness lurched. An indescribable sensation of weightlessness washed over him, and for a split second, his mind went blank. It felt as though he were traveling through infinite space-time, crossing the very foundations of eternity.

When Carl opened his eyes again, he found himself in a vast, magnificent world. Accompanied by melodic, classical music, a series of epic scenes unfolded before him. The towering World Tree, the sprawling elven cities, the brilliant Silver Civilization, and the grand, tragic war...

Carl watched it all as a detached observer from a cinematic perspective.

"Cutscene! It's a cutscene!" "These effects are too real!" "The BGM is beautiful... I feel like I'm actually getting emotional."

The viewers were awestruck. This was the opening cinematic Eve had crafted from the World Tree's memories to explain the history of the Elves and instill the "Main Quest" into the players: Assist the Great Ancient Goddess, Eve Iggdrasil, in restoring civilization!

The quality was so high that Carl didn't even think about skipping. Two minutes later, the cinematic ended.

Accompanied by holy chanting, the world shifted again. He found himself in a pure white space, having regained control of his body. He held up his hands. They were no longer the greasy hands he was used to, but slender, fair, and imbued with an inexplicable sense of strength.

He touched his own skin. The tactile sensation was so real it felt as if he had actually been transported to another world. All his prior doubts evaporated, replaced by the thrill of discovering a hidden masterpiece.

"This is definitely a high-budget title! The character models are incredibly lifelike, and the sensory feedback is perfect! The gravity feels exactly like reality!"

He pinched his cheek hard. It stung.

"The pain feedback is realistic! If I didn't know better, I'd think I'd been reincarnated! It looks like I can adjust this, though; I can turn it down to 0% pain."

He pulled up his character card:

Name: Carl

Race: Elf

Class: None

Level: 1 (Apprentice)

EXP: 0/100

HP: 50/50

MP: 50/50

Stats: Constitution (5), Strength (5), Agility (5), Magic (5)

As Carl was curiously poking around his stats, an ethereal, drifting voice caught his attention.

"Welcome, Chosen One from another world."

The voice was beautiful, airy, and warm, yet it carried an indescribable divinity that made one feel an instinctive urge to bow. Hearing it, Carl felt as though his very soul had been washed clean, leaving him in a state of absolute peace.

He looked up reflexively, and his jaw dropped in shock.