Trait, World – Part 2
In many ways, it’s similar to the Golden Apples of Olympus.
No, actually—it’s better than golden apples.
To get one of those, you’d have to go all the way to Olympus.
“Teacher! Here, take this!”
Baek Sorin brought a thermos full of World Tree sap, and a basket packed with World Tree leaves and fruits.
“Thanks. You have so too.”
“I’ll eat only if you do first!”
“I’m going to cook mine. It’ll take a while, so you start without .”
World Tree sap just needs to be mixed with a bit of alcohol.
That alone makes for a fine drink.
With the right process, you can turn it into Nectar—but I don’t need that.
I already have Nectar overflowing in my stash.
Sa with the World Tree fruits. Just turning a few into Ambrosia is plenty.
‘Now, how did I do it again?’
The process wasn’t complicated.
You needed three key sub-ingredients.
Golden wheat, blessed butter, and eggs.
When I asked if we had any just in case, Grizzly Bear rushed off and brought them from his place.
“You cook like a master, right? Let
have a taste too!”
It wasn’t just Grizzly Bear.
Even Skull Serpent, other mutants, and Choi Sunsoo—who’d been quietly busy—ca and squatted down next to .
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a al made by you, Sword Star. Haha!”
“Alright. Not many places you can taste this, after all.”
I dug through my golf bag and pulled out a large mixing bowl.
First, I dumped in a good helping of golden wheat flour.
A white powder tinged with a soft golden sheen.
Then I added plenty of blessed butter and eggs, and finally, gripped the World Tree fruits with both hands.
[Artisan] [Cooking] [Giant’s Strength]
[Earth] [Sacred Knight] [Mana Soul]
The cooking thod was simple.
I crushed the World Tree fruits with force.
Backed by Giant’s Strength, the pulp mashed into a fine powder.
And the juice—dripping down in streams—spread a fragrant aroma that could knock you out from the nose.
“Phewah!”
“That’d taste amazing just eaten raw.”
“Should we try one each?”
“I’m waiting for the one Teacher makes.”
“Sa here!”
I repeated the process several more tis.
Soon, the World Tree juice had filled the mixing bowl to a nice level.
Enough to begin kneading the dough.
Squelch. Squelch.
I pressed and kneaded firmly.
A crown-shaped divine light glowed above my head, and my hands were covered in transparent cubes.
I was kneading the dough using the Earth trait.
As I’d seen with the Heart of Abundance upgrade, the World Tree’s power had great synergy with Earth attributes.
The juice, flour, butter, and eggs began to blend and thicken.
And with that, the scent deepened as well.
“Whoa!”
“Ugh, I can’t take this anymore!”
“I—I’m holding out!”
Grizzly Bear charged toward the World Tree like a tank.
Then stuffed more than ten fruits into his mouth and began chewing.
Mana Core powder?
The World Tree fruit could regenerate even lost senses in an instant.
His eyes, soaked in a storm of flavor, went hazy and loose.
“This is heaven…”
He gonna be alright?
Even without Ambrosia?
Eat that many World Tree fruits and you probably won’t feel hungry for ten days, at least.
Not my problem.
I finished kneading the dough and began shaping it piece by piece.
“Oh!”
“Teacher, are you making cookies?”
“Yep. Cookies.”
“Eh, kind of underwhelming, no?”
“I was expecting sothing super fancy…”
“Just wait a little. It’ll be worth it.”
[Artisan] [Cooking] [Dexterity]
[Supre Fla] [Magic Brain] [Mana Soul]
The combination of Artisan, Cooking, and Dexterity was solid even to my eyes.
From my fingertips erged various shapes—rabbits, tigers, trees, flowers, waves, wind, swords, shields, guns, airplanes, trains, battleships…
And I hadn’t even used any cookie molds.
Kali’s eyes sparkled.
“They’re beautiful!”
“Teacher, where are you going to bake them? You don’t carry an oven around, do you?”
“Oh please, Deputy Director Seo. Sword Star will take care of it. A few bursts of Supre Fla and they’ll be done, won’t they?”
“They’ll burn…”
Co on.
If I were gonna burn them, I wouldn’t have equipped Magic Brain.
I’m the sa guy who used Supre Fla like sunlight to bless the World Tree.
Baking a few cookies? Child’s play.
I laid the cookie dough along the exposed roots of the World Tree.
Then released Supre Fla.
Of course, delicately—so they wouldn’t burn.
Actually, it was sothing else entirely.
I was isolating only the fire elent and firing it precisely.
Just as I’d seen the River Goddess do to the World Tree.
‘It works.’
Would’ve been impossible without Magic Brain.
And I never could’ve done it without the experience of raising the World Tree.
A soft golden glow, like a fire lizard, bathed the cookie dough.
Creating an oven-like environnt.
No, better—it was a perfect environnt for aging World Tree ingredients.
The original sweet scent now mixed with a rich, savory aroma that filled not just the nose, but the lungs.
Sniff! Sniff sniff!
“Oh, I sll sothing!”
“You don’t even have a nose.”
“Maybe he sprinkled Mana Core powder!”
They started gathering.
Not just my subordinates—all the mutants from Monster Village were eyeing it hungrily.
Should I make more?
No need.
I placed the Bottomless Pouch next to
and wrapped up the baking.
“Alright! This right here is Ambrosia!”
“Ambrosia!”
“For real? Isn’t that sothing only found in heaven?”
“A world made by a god is heaven. And the World Tree here is a god, so yes, this is heaven.”
“Uh… r-really?”
“If you’ve got Nectar and Ambrosia, that’s heaven, right? Everyone, have a taste—just one each. Any more and I can’t promise there won’t be side effects.”
In normal situations—unless you’re eting a deity-class being like Thor—side effects are inevitable.
In the ga, you could just rewind the in-ga clock or send a character off to rest and forget about it. But in reality, that’s not an option.
I gave a warning and then started stuffing World Tree cookies—Ambrosia—into the Bottomless Pouch.
The duplicated cookies were handed out to everyone present.
And then, silence.
They were completely overwheld—beyond savoring the waves of flavor, beyond riding the chain reaction of pleasure, beyond climbing the peaks of ecstasy—they were just shaking, trembling in blissful surrender.
After taking a bite, Grizzly Bear shouted out.
“I’ve been robbed of half my life! How can sothing be this delicious?! This is way better than shaved ice with mana core powder!”
“Of course. That’s Ambrosia.”
“Can I have just one more?”
“No. It’s dangerous.”
Humans were relatively fine.
Worst-case, they’d just have a mana overload.
But for mutants, it was too risky.
If they got unlucky, they could go berserk and mutate into a monster.
Just like what happened with Skull Serpent before.
“Tch.”
Grizzly Bear pouted.
He was staring daggers at the Bottomless Pouch beside , clearly eyeing the Ambrosia flowing from it.
As a consolation, I handed him a glass of infusion soju mixed with World Tree sap, which Choi Sunsoo had procured.
“Here. Drink this.”
“Ambrosia! I need Ambrosia!”
“If you drink a whole bottle of this and still feel unsatisfied, I’ll give you one.”
“Really? You promise? Sword Star! That’s a promise between us!”
“Deal.”
Grizzly Bear glared at the glass bottle.
A golden liquid sloshing inside.
Just soju infused with World Tree sap.
He brought it to his mouth cautiously.
Took one sip—and imdiately, his eyes began swirling.
“W-what is this?!”
World Tree materials are broken.
Even just throwing them together makes the best liquor and finest cuisine.
Bad cook? Doesn’t matter.
They’re like seasoning a thousand tis stronger than MSG.
Even top-tier gourts would lick the plate clean.
A few months ago, Grizzly Bear didn’t even know what food pleasure was—and now, he was sinking in it.
Gulp gulp gulp!
He downed the bottle in one go.
“Ha b’ther!”
His tongue tangled as he let out a booming roar.
Choi Sunsoo tilted his head.
“It’s that good? Then I’ll try a glass…”
Infusion soju was common enough to find anywhere.
Choi Sunsoo mixed it himself with sap and took a sip.
“Khuuaaaaagh!”
He scread like a dragon exhaling fla.
“Director? Are you alright?”
Seo Woojin asked, but there was no reply.
Instead, he started chugging from the bottle like a man possessed—like he’d die if he didn’t drink it right now.
Kim Chulkwon gave him a deadpan look.
“You’re overreacting. You’ve had the best wine, brandy, and whiskey. Isn’t this a bit much?”
“You try it! Now!”
“Fine. I’ll take a taste… Huh… Keurgh!?”
Kim Chulkwon reacted exactly the sa.
The mont he had a sip, his eyes rolled back and he started gulping it down.
The others weren’t much different.
Kim Mabeob and Kim Saje were red-faced, swapping drinks back and forth.
Before I knew it, even my disciples had fallen under the spell of World Tree liquor.
Completely forgetting the bliss they’d experienced from Ambrosia.
Not surprising.
World Tree liquor is essentially a degraded version of Nectar.
Nectar evolves both soul and body.
Its downgraded counterpart can’t evolve you, but it does stimulate you.
Everyone drinking it must’ve been feeling their soul and body bloom together.
That’s why they were all going nuts.
‘Didn’t the ga give EXP buffs for this?’
Sure, it’s no Nectar or Ambrosia—it won’t give EXP or break limits.
But the food and drink consud today will definitely beco a foundation for everyone’s growth.
“Wahahaha!”
“Ehehe!”
“Try this too!”
“Flip the pancake!”
“I’m gonna make kimchi stew!”
“You idiot! That’s not kimchi stew, it’s World Tree Leaf stew!”
Humans and mutants alike bustled around, making all sorts of things.
Just for today, even bad cooks were golden-handed chefs.
The more they cooked, the more effort they put in, the stronger the World Tree’s effects beca.
Beneath the sleeping World Tree, the once-persecuted exile village of mutants was—for today—overflowing with joy and celebration.
“The spring’s drying up!”
“Nooo!”
“The leaves are disappearing!”
“The World Tree fruits too!”
Sadly, it was only a midsumr night’s dream.
With the World Tree asleep, the ingredients were quickly withering.
Only the already-made food and drink remained intact.
As people realized this, they began moving faster.
Flipping pans, shaking bottles to mix up more liquor.
Hic!
Grizzly Bear, now bright red, staggered over to .
“Ugh, seriously, I’ve been living life all wrong. If it weren’t for you, Sword Star, I’d never have known sothing this delicious even existed.”
“You’d have found out eventually.”
“Eh, at what point? Our Grandmother—no, our World Tree—she wouldn’t have beco the World Tree in my lifeti.”
Who knows.
In the ga, the World Tree raising content eventually unlocked.
If history followed the sa path, the Wooden Matron of Monster Village would’ve beco the World Tree soday.
But with the butterfly effect I caused in this world, who knows what’s going to happen?
“Kyaa!”
Grizzly Bear emptied the last of the World Tree liquor.
“Anyway, we owe you a huge debt, Sword Star. Did you know? We don’t have to hide anymore.”
“Because the Grandmother beca the World Tree?”
“Yeah. Originally, Grandmother protected us in exchange for our devotion. But now her power has spread across the entire Korean Peninsula. I can already feel it. Even if hunters co after us like in the old days, the World Tree will protect us—whether by casting a shield or blessing us so we end up devouring the hunters instead.”
Grizzly Bear looked back at the World Tree.
A bittersweet emotion soaked his voice.
“And now that she’s ascended to full divinity, she no longer needs our devotion.”
“aning…”
“Yeah. I no longer have a reason to stay here. I’ll still offer my prayers since it’s what I’ve always done, but I don’t need to use my mana or contact the World Tree directly anymore.”
I could already guess what he was going to say next.
Sure enough, Grizzly Bear scratched his head and spoke.
“So, uh… you don’t need a shock trooper? Big body, really strong. Eats a lot, but earns his keep.”
I smiled softly.
Then extended my fist slightly.
“I’d love that. Sa terms apply. Since you’re Level 7, ten bottles of Nectar per month. If you want Ambrosia, I’ll trade one bottle of Nectar for one piece of Ambrosia. For your salary, please negotiate with Director Choi over there. We’ll make sure you’re well compensated.”
“Wahaha! Sounds good! So what do I do? Just bash heads like a shock trooper?”
“You’re a national hero and a Level 7 superhuman. I can’t treat you like a re foot soldier.”
I manipulated the Dragon Monarch’s Crown.
A ntal image of the Sky River’s interior popped into my mind.
I selected the bridge and started shaping it.
At my command, the bridge transford in real ti.
The original captain’s seat expanded several tis and sank slightly, while a new seat was elevated behind it.
A commander’s chair—sothing befitting a leader.
“I’d like you to take command as the captain of my ship.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes. It’s the perfect role for you, Grizzly Bear.”
A Level 7 mutant.
An independence hero and a war hero.
Soone who’d protected Monster Village for decades—he had all the qualities of a true leader.
I had considered appointing one of the fish-people councilors as the ship’s captain, but they couldn’t hold a candle to Grizzly Bear.
Grizzly Bear pounded his chest proudly.
“Alright! You can count on ! No—please let
do it! Commander!”
“Just speak comfortably. And you can keep calling
Sword Star—it’s easier that way.”
“Yes, Sword Star!”
“I said speak comfortably.”
“Hierarchy must be respected! Anyone who talks down to Sword Star will get flattened into a pancake! I, Captain Grizzly Bear, will see to it myself!”
He clenched his massive paw.
Stronger-looking than most war hamrs.
He even glared at Skull Serpent, eyes narrowed like he was daring him to try speaking informally again.
“Che.”
Skull Serpent clicked his tongue.
“Guess the good tis are over.”
“Hey! Mind your manners in front of Commander Sword Star!”
“Alright, alright. I get it. I’ll behave.”
Alongside Grizzly Bear, I recruited a large number of mutants.
Practically the entire Monster Village had been relocated.
Onto my ship. As my people.
Naturally, Choi Sunsoo was the busiest.
He had to negotiate salaries with every single mutant.
“Let’s go.”
Once the festival ended, I loaded everyone onto the Sky River.
The newly enhanced Sky River, infused with the World Tree’s power.
It even had a new feature I hadn’t known about before—
Under the World Tree’s blessing, it could carry living beings even while folded inside my pocket.
“Where are we heading?”
Janet asked on everyone’s behalf.
Before answering, I gently patted my golf bag.
More precisely, the four drops of divine blood inside it.
“To the other side of the Great Rift.”
“An otherworld expedition?”
“That’s right.”
Gaia had given
the blueprint for the Level 8 reconstruction elixir.
Its main ingredients were Giant Beetle Shell, Celestial Falcon, Boilwood, and the Mana Core of the Screaming Foam.
All located in other worlds.
The Insect Hive World, the Constellation of the Dead God, the Tree That Eats the Stars, the Land of Primordia.
In the ga, each of those was just a small field.
But in this world, each one was several tis bigger than Earth.
“That’s going to take a while.”
“That won’t do.”
You think I can leave Earth unattended and let the Old Father’s Cult do whatever it wants?
I’ll take only what I need—extract the mana cores, then get out.
“I’ll finish it within ten days.”
And just as I said—
I did.
No need to go into detail about what happened.
We ambushed and massacred civilizations, burned and shattered them, looted what we needed, and ran.
It was hard.
There were dozens of monts where we nearly died.
But I—and the expedition team I brought—succeeded in our mission.
We secured four Level 8 Mana Cores.
Everything is ready.
Now, it’s ti to transcend.
–TL Notes–
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