Suddenly, Fiona spoke.
At the same moment, the floor writhed violently, and we were thrown into the air.
"Wh-What?! The ground is shaking like crazy!"
"Wh-What on earth is happening!?"
Grimo and Jiriel panicked. Oh, here we go.
This room was likely the hunting ground. I had felt a strong wavelength of mana the moment we stepped inside.
Whish, whish, whish! Countless vines lunged at me while I was still suspended in midair. However, they all slipped past without touching me.
—Wind System Magic: Breeze Barrier. It was the weakest type of barrier, creating a thin wall of air that served mostly to repel dust and dirt.
Against light attacks, it could parry the impact away like a soap bubble drifting in the wind. If I were to deploy a standard Magic Barrier, the resulting shock from the impact negation might accidentally erase the entire dungeon along with the boss.
"Wait, these attacks aren't 'light' at all! One of those would knock a normal person unconscious!"
"To think you could manage with such a feeble barrier... Hah! Could this be the 'holding back' you mentioned earlier!?"
Exactly. Plus, this barrier was incredibly responsive, making it easy to catch the vines. I manipulated the airflow and snatched one of them out of the air.
"!!"
The vine writhed in an attempt to break free, but I reshaped the barrier, cinching it down along the vine's entire length.
"I see, I see. The vine itself is just a regular tree root. Someone is imbuing it with mana to move it. If I follow the conduits of that mana... there."
Deep beneath the floor, dozens of meters down, I detected a powerful mana reaction. This level of potency—it was undoubtedly the dungeon's nucleus. It had launched a direct attack.
"!!!!"
Realizing I had found it, the nucleus tried to sever the vine—but I wasn't about to let that happen.
Earth System Magic: Adamantine Canopy. I expanded the barrier to coat the vine's surface, transforming it into a single, unbreakable metallic rope.
Alright, capture complete. All that was left was to haul it up. I manipulated the air currents to rotate at high speeds, reeling the line in like a heavy-duty fishing rod.
"Gu... gah... Oooooooooooh!?"
A voice that seemed to echo from the very depths of the earth resounded through the chamber as I vigorously wound up the vine.
"Hmm... it's quite heavy."
The opponent was the nucleus of the massive World Tree dungeon, and its strength was considerable. As I pulled, Grimo and Jiriel jumped in to help.
"We're pulling the main body up! We'll give you a hand!"
"Let's go with everything we've got, Majin! Pull with all your might!"
With their help, the tug-of-war tilted in my favor, and the vine was slowly dragged out.
And then—with a loud pop, something with a green, humanoid shape burst through the floor.
"Ngh... you lot... how dare you...!"
The figure glared at us, his face twisted in a scowl as if he had just swallowed a bitter bug. His appearance was close to an elf's, but a closer look revealed he was hardly human. His hair was made of leaves, and his body, which looked like reshaped timber, was gnarled and knotted in various places.
A Tree-man—that was the most accurate description. He looked like a cross between a human and a tree.
"Geh, the wood is moving and talking. Creepy..."
"How very eerie... I fear he shall haunt my dreams..."
As Grimo and Jiriel recoiled in disgust, the Tree-man let out an indignant roar.
"Calling me eerie is an insult! I am the World Tree, the Great Tree that has existed since the dawn of this world!"
So this guy really was the dungeon's nucleus. It wasn't unusual for a nucleus to take various forms to protect itself, but a human shape was quite rare.
"Hah! Bragging about your age? I've lived for over a thousand years myself. Don't look down on me!"
"Well, I have lived for two thousand years."
The two of them started bickering, but honestly, I didn't care about their ages. As I watched them with a sigh, the World Tree began to laugh with a low, muffled voice.
"...Very well. There were a few miscalculations, but things have mostly gone according to plan. You have worked well—Fiona."
At the World Tree's words, all eyes turned to Fiona.
"Wh-What?! What does that mean?! Explain yourself!"
"Hmph. Fiona is a puppet I created. Lloyd di Saloom, she was sent to lure you—a being with extraordinary mana—to this very spot!"
"So I'm the target?"
"Correct. I am constantly seeking vast amounts of mana. When I discovered you and your exceptional power, I dispatched Fiona."
Hmm, I suppose I have been making quite a ruckus with various opponents lately. I intended to keep a low profile, but maybe I've been standing out a bit too much recently.
"You saw many puppets on your way here, did you not? Those were Fiona's failed predecessors. With my power, creating a person is a simple task."
"To create a person... to dabble in the forbidden! You monster!"
I did my best to ignore Jiriel's outrage.
No, well... sorry. I've done something similar myself. The bright, innocent smile of Ido, the homunculus I created through alchemy, flashed through my mind.
"Say what you will! As long as I obtain your immense mana, everything else is trivial. Now, Fiona, your role is over. Return to my side!"
The World Tree raised both hands as if beckoning her—but Fiona remained hidden behind me.
"What is wrong? What are you doing? Return at once!"
"...I refuse."
"...What?"
As the World Tree's eyes widened in shock, Fiona continued with a quiet, apologetic tone.
"I am sorry. I do not remember you. Since I am currently Master Lloyd's servant, I cannot go to you. I am sorry."
"Wh-What are you saying?! Hey!"
The World Tree was aghast. It seemed Fiona truly had no memory of that tree at all.
"I don't know the details, but it doesn't look like she's lying. So she really is still an amnesiac?"
"Come to think of it, wanting to come here was almost entirely Master Lloyd's idea. Her intervention in the decision was practically zero."
It was likely true that the World Tree had created Fiona and ordered her to bring me here. There were plenty of reasons to believe it, but in the end, Fiona had suffered memory loss and simply forgotten her mission.
"I-Impossible...!"
Grimo and Jiriel didn't miss the chance to mock the stunned World Tree.
"Hehe, serves you right! Too bad for you, wood-man. Things that don't matter don't stay in one's memory!"
"Exactly. And in this world, nothing matters less than the senile babbling of an old man. Give up gracefully!"
"Urgh... I thought she was taking far too long to return, but to think she lost her memories and even switched sides... what a useless puppet!...Fine! Since you have brought that man here, you are already of no use! I shall consume you all together!"
Suddenly, the room writhed violently. A tremor even greater than the previous one shook the chamber. The surrounding roots coiled around the World Tree, and he began to transform into a wooden giant several meters tall.