Chapter 109: The Center of the World and the Protagonist (1)
In an instant, the scene before my eyes changed rapidly, flipping and shifting.
After drifting in darkness for what felt like an eternity, I landed in a familiar place.
A mansion, still under heavy construction.
As soon as we fell through the massive shadow passage in the sky, the eyes of the dwarves naturally turned toward us.
One of them immediately bolted off somewhere. Probably to call Miss Rubia.
Sure enough, I could hear the sound of heavy breathing from a distance.
But…
None of that registered to me right now.
And how could it be anything else? It was the first time I had ever seen her cry since we met.
I couldn’t possibly pretend I didn’t know—that my last words to her were a lie.
So then, what should I do?
The answer was obvious.
I had sworn I wouldn’t lose anything again.
I had to find her.
No matter what it took, I had to hunt those bastards down and bring Siel back.
“But how…?”
Even if I mobilized every resource I had and used every trick in the book, there was no guarantee I’d win.
And I couldn’t even think of a surefire way to succeed.
The situation felt utterly hopeless.
I thought for a long while… and finally realized.
This wasn’t a matter of how.
I couldn’t let her go. I couldn’t let it end like this. So no matter what, I had to save her.
“I-Ian? What’s going on all of a sudden…?”
Miss Rubia approached me.
She had said that with more people to help divide the work, she’d finally get some rest. And yet, she still looked exhausted.
But…
“We don’t have time, Miss Rubia. I don’t care what method you use—gather every single elixir you can find.”
I didn’t have the luxury to answer her properly. But upon hearing my voice, she seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation. With a serious expression, she nodded and left.
Next, I called for Rob.
I handed him the holy sword and the artifacts we had obtained.
“Can you fix it within a day?”
Rob’s face instantly twisted in panic at my words.
It made sense. Even with the artifacts, completing that kind of work in a single day was practically impossible.
“Th-that kind of task, even at top speed, would take at least three months…”
Just as expected.
Rob replied with a troubled voice.
Even so, I said it again.
“So, what—you’re saying it can’t be done?”
This wasn’t a request. It was an order. And if it couldn’t be done, then I’d make it happen one way or another. That was the determination in my voice.
Sharp as ever, Rob didn’t need more convincing. He simply nodded.
And immediately began rallying the dwarves. Probably hundreds of master craftsmen would be working on this now.
I didn’t know how it would turn out.
But I had no time to worry about that.
I headed straight to the temporary army of the Black Fangs.
To the storage room where I had gathered supplies for them.
A space lined with all kinds of equipment and weapons.
And naturally, it held elixirs as well.
Of course, their quality left much to be desired.
They were difficult to absorb, and taking too many could cause side effects.
Even after I came into money, I didn’t put those elixirs into my mouth for no reason.
Things that were easy to obtain with money had poor efficiency.
Even with my resilient physical constitution, if I consumed them recklessly, my body would eventually fall apart.
But—
I shoved them into my mouth anyway.
I could feel my heart pounding wildly. My head became hazy. But I didn’t care.
If I died, then so be it.
Better to die than to abandon someone.
I had already sworn that oath upon the holy sword a long time ago.
Besides, my body had long since left the realm of the normal. I had always been hesitant to test it…
But I had one idea—a way to use this body to cancel out the penalties of the elixirs.
I stabbed the sword directly into my own heart.
There was no pain—so there was no reason to hesitate.
I tore through my stubbornly durable body, digging out the heart.
It was fine even if it broke. A new one would regenerate anyway.
And the more I repeated that process—over and over—the more my mana grew.
Of course…
If I couldn’t absorb it properly, then no matter how many times I did this, it wouldn’t mean a thing.
But that didn’t matter either.
I already knew the mana cultivation techniques. The secret arts of noble bloodlines, guarded more fiercely than life itself.
All I had to do was pick one.
Of course, things don’t work out perfectly on the first try. At first, my mana surged out of control, and I ended up coughing up blood in wave after wave.
But after ten tries or so, I got used to it.
I quickly found the method that suited me best and made the energy completely mine.
“…W-What in the world…?”
At some point, Miss Rubia had returned and was staring at me, horror written all over her face. Not that I could blame her.
I was probably drenched in blood right now.
It would’ve been weirder if she wasn’t shocked.
But there was no need to dwell on that.
“Siel has been kidnapped. I have to go save her. Right now.”
She might always come across as a little clumsy, but when it really counts, she steps up.
The moment she heard my words, she understood everything I had done and quietly handed me the elixirs she’d brought.
All of them were top-tier.
No side effects whatsoever.
No need to repeat that grotesque process from earlier.
“…Is she really someone worth going that far for?”
Miss Rubia asked with a serious expression.
I said nothing and simply nodded.
The vast divine power and physical strength I’d already possessed—
Now combined with the mana I had just forcefully accumulated.
I picked up a cheap sword lying around in the warehouse and channeled mana into it.
With a sharp cracking sound, the sword fractured as if it were about to explode. Just how many levels had I skipped in mere moments? I couldn’t even guess.
But even so—
It still wasn’t enough.
So I pulled out the final piece to complete my plan.
The scroll I had taken from the castle back then.
…Strangely, I felt no nervousness now.
What surged within me was certainty.
It wasn’t the earring’s power.
It was just my intuition.
That same intuition that almost always let me down.
Without a shred of hesitation, I tore it open. At that moment, an eerie, foreign spell engraved itself onto my body.
Predator Buff.
A one-time skill that allows you to absorb the traits of defeated enemies.
The odds of success were less than one percent.
But as if it were fate, I hit exactly what I was aiming for.
…With that, everything was ready.
I stood up.
I was prepared to use whatever underhanded methods were necessary.
But I didn’t feel the slightest guilt.
They crossed the line first.
They were the ones who touched what should never be touched. So I would not hold back my conscience either.
I’d use anything—my knowledge of the original story, even every cheat-like trick I had—to take back what I lost.
I would make them understand what it means…
…to make an enemy of the protagonist—the very center of this world.
“W-Wait! At least tell me where you’re going!”
Miss Rubia called out after me.
I gave her my answer.
“The Great Forest.”
“The Great Forest? Why are you going there all of a sudden…?”
Miss Rubia spoke with a bewildered expression. But really, it wasn’t hard to figure out if she just thought about it a little.
“They only had one way to pinpoint our location.”
There’s no way Miss Rubia would’ve leaked information. The fake Balza hadn’t been exposed either. That left only one possibility: the elves.
Those bastards could sense the energy of their own kind. Searᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
“Prince One must have secured the cooperation of the elves.”
“W-Wait, then you’re just walking straight into enemy territory!”
Miss Rubia exclaimed, her face turning even more alarmed. Sure, she wasn’t wrong.
But—
“I don’t care. I plan to subdue them all and turn them into slaves.”
I said it calmly, without a hint of hesitation.
The elves were undeniably powerful. If not for the restriction that kept them bound to the World Tree, they probably would’ve been the ones sitting atop the food chain instead of humans.
But this wasn’t some empty boast.
With the Predator Buff I gained earlier, it was entirely possible. Not only could I seize control over every elf’s life and death—
I could force them into the battlefield to help me reclaim Siel.
Of course, I’m not particularly fond of dragging others into a war without their consent. But at this point, what choice do I have?
They were the ones who touched what was mine first.
“W-What the hell are you even talking about…?”
Even after all that, Miss Rubia looked more confused than ever, as if completely unable to keep up with the situation.
But honestly, it didn’t really matter.
What I was about to do now… was as simple as it gets.
“First, I’m going to set fire to the World Tree.”
The target I had chosen to absorb… was none other than the World Tree itself.
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