The Will Of The World Tree

Chapter 15 Progress

In the blink of an eye, dusk had arrived.

Within the Elven Forest, ancient trees of every shape and size towered into the clouds, their interlacing crowns and lush foliage blotting out the sky. The golden light of the setting sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves like shimmering stars, casting a profound and elusive tranquility over the woods.

A rhythmic, cadenced chant rose softly, and several tough vines suddenly burst from the soil. They flew in from all directions, coiling tightly around a straight, ancient tree.

Carl lowered his staff and let out a long sigh of relief, turning to the group behind him.

"It's secured!"

"Entangling Vines is seriously useful!"

"Now we don't have to worry about the tree flattening someone when it falls!"

"Demacia, you're just unlucky. You're always standing in the wrong spot; that's why you're the one getting crushed every time."

Several elves dressed in linen armor bickered as they swarmed forward, using their wooden blades to hack away at the base of the ancient trunk.

"Honestly, this feels so weird... the Goddess is the World Tree, yet our quest is to chop down trees..."

"The Goddess probably isn't in great shape. Look at the World Tree—it's mostly withered."

"Besides, timber is the one thing this forest isn't lacking. I doubt she cares."

"It's just a game, don't take it too seriously."

"To be honest... if you hadn't mentioned it, I'd have almost forgotten this was a game..."

The players chatted while they worked. These were Carl's teammates. After turning in his first quest, Carl had teamed up with several other players to handle the daily tasks more efficiently.

"This one tree should be enough for all of us to turn in, right?" one asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

"More than enough. This tree is massive; I doubt we can even carry it all in one trip," Carl replied as he and the others hoisted the segmented logs onto their shoulders.

This was his sixth quest of the day. Since teaming up, his efficiency had skyrocketed. Without realizing it, Carl had spent an entire day in-game—or more accurately, he had spent a whole day logging.

Glancing at his character card, a smile tugged at his lips. "After I turn this in, I should hit Level 5."

"Holy crap!"

"It's only been one in-game day, which is like three or four hours of Earth time. You're hitting Level 5 already?"

The other players looked over, faces full of admiration. Carl grinned and explained, "Just lucky. After my first quest, I found a Solar Cedar, and Alice gave me 300 EXP right off the bat."

"The golden one by the camp entrance?"

"Man, why is my luck so trash? My first few quests were just cleaning the temple for pittance EXP. Then I finally got a lumber quest, only to get crushed by a falling tree twice and have my EXP wiped," the elf with the ID "Demacia" complained.

"Getting killed by a falling tree... how are you any different from an i***t?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Amidst laughter and cheers, the makeshift logging party carried the timber back to the camp beneath the World Tree.

The campsite had originally been a patch of low shrubs, but the players had cleared a large open space. Dozens of players were working in pairs or trios, using the timber and gathered stones to construct housing. A dozen or so wooden houses were in various stages of completion; though simple, they were starting to take shape. One particularly fast group had already finished a two-story wooden building.

Looking at the decent-looking architecture, Demacia couldn't help but marvel, "They got houses up that fast?"

"Because of skills! Sometimes magic and sword techniques are actually useful for labor. Plus, the higher your level, the more strength you have and the more you can do," someone explained.

"Of course, design is key too." He pointed toward the center of the construction site, where a tall, pink-haired female elf in robes stood. She held blueprints made of an unknown material and was gesturing to other players. Her ID read "Cuckoo Bird."

"See her? Cuckoo Bird is supposedly a structural engineer in real life. She designed most of these houses. I heard she's almost Level 5 just from construction quests."

Carl looked over in surprise, making a mental note of the name "Cuckoo Bird." The other players were in an uproar.

"Heavens! It hasn't even been a day!"

"Yeah, I heard she's planning to design an entire Elven town with a few other players who studied urban planning and landscape design... and she's already gotten permission via an oracle from the Goddess."

"I'm starting to see it now. The real goal of these quests is to make us build the town, isn't it?"

"It really is 'Restoring the Elven Race'! Beta players have to build the starting village ourselves."

"Is the dev team really this lazy?"

"It's called 'immersion'!"

"Actually, I think tree hollows fit Elves better... chopping trees feels a bit 'unnatural'."

"Maybe there's a deeper meaning to it?"

Eve didn't have any "deeper meaning"; she simply wanted to save energy and siphon some life force. Furthermore, she wasn't a deity bound by faith, but an Ancient God who controlled natural forces directly; she didn't need to strictly follow the "rules" of a divine office.

Building the newbie village, huh... Carl thought, pondering the players' discussion. He carried his log to the center of the camp with his teammates.

A bonfire had been lit in the center of the camp. Several elven players sat around the flames, munching on fruit they had gathered. The Saintess, Alice, stood nearby, busy issuing and settling quests. For convenience, she had tied her long golden hair into a high ponytail. Her expression was focused, her fair face flecked with a few spots of dirt, and sweat glistened on her skin under the firelight.

The group approached her to settle their quest.

"Is the task complete?" She had a strong impression of this elf. Though slender, this Chosen One worked hard and had even found a high-quality Solar Cedar. Plus, he was polite, unlike some of the ruder types.

Carl spoke respectfully, "Miss Alice, we are here to turn in our quest."

Alice looked up, her eyes lighting up when she saw the logs. "High-quality Pine!" She nodded to the group. "Place them in the timber zone. Your task is complete."

As she spoke, a notification system chimed for all of them, prompting a round of cheers. Delighted by the 150 EXP, Carl thanked Alice and led his team away.

The sky had turned completely dark. The pure night sky was incredibly deep, with stars forming a magnificent, mysterious galaxy. The bonfire crackled and popped, its flames dancing. Many players had stopped working and were now gathered around the fire, eating forest fruit and laughing together.

Some players had even started a party around the fire, singing and dancing. Someone had even fashioned a flute-like instrument and was providing musical accompaniment. The entire camp was enveloped in a festive, joyous atmosphere.

Watching this, Carl's gaze blurred slightly. He took a purple-green berry he had picked on the way back and popped it into his mouth. With a light bite, the milky juice burst forth—sweet with a hint of tartness.

The evening forest breeze blew softly, making the bonfire shadows flicker. The sounds of laughter rose and fell, dreamlike... everything felt like a sanctuary far removed from the world. He sat quietly on a stump, staring at the scene.

It was a strange, wonderful feeling, unlike any other VR game. Carl felt as if he wasn't playing a game, but participating in a massive, fascinating outdoor camping trip in real life. A group of strangers, far from the noise and failures of reality, coming together to work and celebrate...

It felt like an unreal dream, yet the dream was so beautifully vivid.

The players' revelry lasted until midnight. Elven bodies still experienced fatigue; for low-level beings, sleep was essential. While players could toggle off the sensation of exhaustion, they couldn't avoid the "Fatigue" debuff. In this state, physical stats would drop, and extreme exhaustion could even lead to death.

Consequently, except for a few hardcore "grinders," most players chose to rest. They planned to log off and return in a few hours once their stamina had recovered. By then, it would be dawn in-game, making it easier to get around. Countless players squeezed into the newly built wooden houses and fell into a deep sleep, their consciousnesses returning to reality.

Carl chose to log off as well. Exiting his immersion pod, he checked the clock and found that only four hours had passed. The long adventure had felt like a marathon, yet in reality, it was just an evening's entertainment.

Taking a deep breath, his heart raced. For the first time, he felt a burning urge to truly commit to a game. After reflecting for a moment, Carl opened his computer, preparing to create a review based on his experience.

As a renowned reviewer, his evaluation of the game was quickly reposted by many. The top comment, with the most likes, was a simple question: When will the open beta begin?

Seeing this, Eve knew one of her objectives had been achieved. But thinking about her consumption since the players' arrival, she sighed helplessly.

"I still underestimated the difficulty of connecting two worlds. In less than a week, I've already consumed about 0.3 Divine Power, while the output from investing in players is far from enough..."

"I wonder when I'll finally start turning a profit..."

Thinking about her current Divine Power—less than 11 points—Eve felt her heart bleeding. "When will I ever save up 100 points?"

As she was sighing, she suddenly heard a faint, ethereal murmur of prayer. Eve identified the source: Basaka, the Oak Guard she had awakened, who possessed the strength of a Mid-Silver rank. At that moment, his emotions seemed tinged with excitement.

Basaka? Did he discover something?

In the past few days, after Basaka had cleared the threats within a ten-kilometer radius, Eve had ordered him to begin exploring the regions beyond. Although Eve had inherited the legacy and some memories of the previous World Tree, those memories were fragmented. Her understanding of the Elven Forest was far from comprehensive.

Furthermore, following a divine war and the passing of a thousand years, the Elven Forest had changed beyond recognition. It required thorough exploration. Restricted by her weakened state, Eve could not personally inspect the surroundings. Therefore, before the human players grew strong enough, the Oak Guard Basaka was the ideal candidate for exploration.

With this in mind, Eve immediately connected to his channel of faith and projected her consciousness...