When I opened my eyes, I was on Lydia’s back.
“Waaah.”
“…What’s with you all of a sudden?”
“You may not know, Miss Lydia, but I’ve been through so much. It’s really exhausting.”
“I’m not sure, but you seem like your usual self, Jonah. When do you think you’ll recover?”
“I don’t know until we get back to the surface? Oh, and I think I just gained so Power, so I need to focus for a mont to figure out what it is. Is that okay?”
“Sure. And don’t forget, we need to bring Rosemary up too, right?”
“Yep.”
With that, I buried my head in Lydia’s nape and concentrated for a mont.
My consciousness diving inwards. The surrounding clamor gradually fades, and things I normally didn’t perceive began to be felt.
My heart. More precisely, a seed deeply rooted in sothing even further inside.
The mont I realized this, I instinctively knew that it was once the Seed of the Mountain Range that Asterios had received.
Since Power is imprinted in the soul rather than on the body, its effects and usage can be intuitively understood.
However, the Seed of the Mountain Range was difficult to recognize at a glance. This was because there was too much information surfacing.
It wasn’t as intense as when I got the Avatar of Love, but it felt similar to Basilieus.
Since the Avatar of Love was a 5-star, in gacha terms, Basilieus or the Seed of the Mountain Range would be around 4-star powers.
I began to gather and organize the scattered information that was imprinted ssily. As expected, most of the effects pertained to the body.
First, strength.
While muscle enhancent is basic for physical reinforcent, the problem was the magnitude of the increase. It was truly imnse.
The growth system of the Labyrinth doesn’t enhance all abilities; it raises one’s abilities correspondingly to the achievents accumulated inside.
Thanks to this, one naturally develops their own specialized field… At this point, wouldn’t I have strength comparable to a front-line fighter of the sa level that focused on physical power?
Realizing again how weak I was before, it brings tears to my eyes that even after receiving such power, I still can’t break out of my previous limitations.
Next is stamina.
As long as my feet are on the ground, vitality is automatically replenished, making it hard to tire easily.
The point to note here is that it’s a bit different from regeneration.
Regeneration increases not only stamina recovery but also wound healing speed, whereas vitality feels more focused on stamina recovery.
It does speed up wound healing, but the effect is too minimal.
Unlike regeneration, it does not require any special resources.
Regeneration causes new flesh to grow on the wounded area and helps broken bones to reattach…but it needs energy for this.
Whether you eat a lot to replenish calories or use supernatural powers like divine energy, it all boils down to converting so form of energy into physical restoration. �
Regeneration, after all, refers to the efficiency of this conversion.
In contrast, replenishing vitality through the Seed of the Mountain Range absorbs the energy soaked in the earth and converts it to one’s own.
I don’t know how good the conversion efficiency is, but one thing is for sure: the storage tank is enormous.
The earth is everywhere, and how much power is stored in the vast land?
I’ll need to test it in detail, but for now, I probably won’t have to worry about physical fatigue for a while.
Up to this point, the effects on physical abilities were direct, but the last one is sowhat different in nature.
The reason the God of Earth gave Asterios the Seed of the Mountain Range instead of another Power.
Breaking the Growth Limit.
Whether physically or supernaturally, there is a clear limit for mortals.
Therefore, it is important to gain so form of enlightennt to expand one’s vessel, and the reason the Labyrinth is called an opportunity for growth is also because it gradually forces an increase.
The Seed of the Mountain Range is akin to constantly applying this effect of the Labyrinth.
Although its efficiency is not very good… Even if one does not break through the next floor, even if one does not achieve great feats, even if one does not fully achieve faint enlightennt on their own, it ans that the path forward is always open, even if only through a small hole.
Of course, the process is akin to a path of suffering. But.
Stacking stones, stacking sand, stacking dirt, eventually, the mountain will inevitably rise. The altitude will honestly increase by the amount stacked.
There is the Labyrinth, so is this really that important? To make it easier to understand, let’s give an example…
The reason adventurers are stuck on the 7th floor is because there is a limit to the level and strength they have accumulated while breaking through the Labyrinth so far.
It is extrely difficult for a few who are just a bit stronger to achieve complete victory against the followers of the God of War, who are all superhumans.
So, all that can be done is to wait for the overall level of adventurers to rise, and for more high-ranking adventurers to reach the 7th floor.
Even if I arrive, it won’t be easy to deal with the stagnation of the 7th floor, but if one has this effect of breaking through growth limits, then the story changes.
Even if it takes so ti, wouldn’t it be better to keep building up strength on the 7th floor? Eventually, I might reach a level where I can change the battlefield alone.
…Honestly, if I could pull a few more 5-star Skills or Powers, I think I could manage sohow, but that’s easier said than done.
Anyway, even if not now, it is a Power that will shine more as ti goes on… The problem is that in the process of breaking through the growth limit, the body size keeps increasing as well.
Actually, it’s hard to call this a side effect because a large body itself can be a source of strength.
That’s why the now-extinct Giants were once feared.
Well, although the fact that it forces you to grow bigger even if you don’t want to can be defined as a side effect.
Perhaps the God of Earth deliberately implanted this Power into Asterios for this reason. The problem is that it’s a really useless side effect for .
If it made soone who was already robust even more so, that would be one thing, but for soone like , it’s likely to beco rather subtle.
However, an unexpected clash occurred here.
The appearance-fixing effect of the Avatar of Love and the limit-breaking effect of the Seed of the Mountain Range collided with each other.
The two powers wrestled for a while, but the one with the greater force and rank, the Avatar of Love, gained the upper hand.
In other words, my appearance remains fixed, while I can fully enjoy the limit-breaking effect.
“Jackpot.”
“You’re awake?”
When I opened my eyes, I was already in a Safe Zone, and a small monunt leading to the surface was right in front of .
Lydia, carrying on her back and holding Minotauros’s head on one side, had Rosemary tucked under her other arm.
Because Lydia was shorter than Rosemary, Rosemary’s legs were dragging along the ground.
Her limp, resigned posture evoked a peculiar sense of sadism.
A well-bred lady…dead eyes…a limp body without resistance…
Perhaps in this gender-reversed world, I’m not the only one who knows of this fetish?
I loosened one of the legs wrapped around Lydia’s waist and lightly tapped Rosemary’s buttocks.
“Why are you so down? Did sothing bad happen?”
“Yes. I might have dood my kin because I ssed with the wrong person, and the guilt is overwhelming.”
“Oh dear. Rosemary really has no eye for people.”
“That’s right. All of this stemd from my foolishness. So, could you just please end your anger with ?”
It seems she was demoralized after seeing defeat Minotauros earlier.
Well, she thought I was just a rattlesnake bluffing with a woman, but then I defeated the Floor Guardian alone.
I wondered if Lydia was simply infatuated with , but looking closely, she followed without a word like a knight (though this is a kind of role-play).
Above all, she confidently told the elder elves she would defeat the Floor Guardian, only for her thunder to get stolen by .
Failing everything she had planned and on the verge of being outmaneuvered, it’s impossible for her to stay sane.
However, this is truly a misunderstanding. I have no particular grudge against the entire elf race.
In the first place, isn’t Eve the one who must lead the species? How could I possibly hate her?
With that thought, I smiled brightly and continued speaking.
“Don’t worry. After seeing Miss Eve’s face, I won’t do anything too harsh.”
“What on earth are you planning to do to her… Ah, World Tree, please watch over us….”
She prayed briefly in a lancholic voice. I know well that among elves, the World Tree still serves as a kind of symbol, and phrases involving the World Tree function like idioms.
However, Rosemary’s lant felt sowhat different.
Is it because I possess the Power of the World Tree? Or is it because I harbor a divine power so pure that even an inquisitor would be astonished?
From Rosemary a mont ago, I sensed a faint but unwavering faith.
“Rosemary, do you still believe in the World Tree?”
“Of course. There isn’t an elf who doesn’t revere the World Tree.”
“But there are hardly any who genuinely devote their faith. Especially among the elves of today.”
“…You’re right. I know I’m quite peculiar in that regard. But just because it has entered eternal slumber, its greatness doesn’t fade. It’s not about expecting a reward. It’s simply about showing respect in the way I can.”
“Oh.”
No wonder you’ve been sanctifying Eve. It turns out that you’re one of the last true believers in the World Tree.
I patted Rosemary’s back with my foot and said,
“Then you can look forward to it. I’ll show you sothing nice at the banquet. I’m sure you’ll like it, Rosemary.”
“Kuk…!”
Rosemary gritted her teeth as if she had been subjected to an imnse insult. She looked as if she had lost her country.
…Was it because of the shoe print on her back?
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