Episode 132 Interlude (4)
He felt the heartbeat of the world in his calm, submerged mind.
Thump, thump—
The warm sunlight, the cool breeze, the comforting earth, the plants emitting a fresh scent.
He could feel the pulsation from all natural objects, and it became one with him, gradually becoming a single entity.
A single flower shyly blooming, a gentle breeze playfully tickling it, a river flowing majestically next to it.
They weren't separate entities to him.
The unity of nature and oneself.
The wind blew. He was the wind now.
A branch swayed. He was the tree now.
A leaf that fell into the river started to flow downstream. He was the river now.
He was nature itself—.
-And he was the world.
"Ugh—? Tsk!"
Harris, who had been sleeping soundly under the shade of a tree, abruptly sat up and sucked the drool from his mouth.
'Ah… I just lay down to rest for a moment, and I fell asleep. What kind of crazy dream was that?'
He tilted his head with a dazed expression, feeling a languid weakness throughout his body.
He had been sleeping regularly and even had dreams occasionally, but this was his first time having such a strange dream.
But it seemed like it wasn't just a dream…
《The individual meets the conditions and grows. The skill "Affinity with Nature" evolves into the special skill "Assimilation with Nature".》
Because a system message suddenly appeared before his eyes as he woke up.
"Hmm?"
Harris blinked in a daze.
Of course, he had been training steadily, but to think his skill would evolve while he was taking a nap.
The timing was incredibly coincidental.
'Well, I've been under the World Tree's influence since I came to Drasha, so it was about time for me to grow.'
But there was a minor side effect to his skill evolving like this.
'…Ah. I'm lazy even when I'm not doing anything. I was already lazy, but now I'm even lazier…!'
His immersion in nature had deepened, and his laziness had also increased accordingly.
Of course, his affinity with nature and his natural energy had increased significantly, but it was at a level where an ordinary person wouldn't even be able to function in daily life.
If it hadn't been Harris, they would have chosen to embrace nature and become one with it before even realizing they had become stronger.
'Would that be considered a natural death? No, that's not important right now.'
"Ugh—"
Harris suppressed his body's desire to lie down on the ground and become one with the earth and got up.
The amount of mental power he consumed in the process increased slightly, but it was still nothing compared to the other avatars.
Hans, who possessed the Immortal King's Heart and the death of the abyss.
Heinz the Second, who had sucked the blood of vampires from all sorts of dimensions.
Heinrich, who was constantly maintaining a pathway with the Main God.
Harley, who had accepted the genes of monsters and the madness of the abyss.
The other avatars consumed much more mental power, just in terms of quantity.
He just had to be a little more careful.
'Let's see, I still have some time before the meeting. Should I test out what I just gained?'
Harris subtly gauged the time and raised 'Themis', the bow made from the World Tree's branch, which he was holding in his left hand.
This forest was part of the Drasha Academy's training grounds, and it was the place he had been using until just now, so there was no problem with continuing his training.
…Of course, he had taken a nap and accidentally fallen asleep, but his skill had grown as a result, so he definitely hadn't been slacking off.
He would prove it with results right here!
"Whew—"
A gust of wind, swirling with Harris's deep breath, gently enveloped his entire body.
Unlike the storm that Harley forcibly created with the "Mad Dragon's Heart", this wind was a natural phenomenon that occurred without any force.
Even if it was a natural phenomenon, it was far from scientific theory, but that was the law of this world.
And there were beings who belonged to that law, who were nature itself.
Crackle! Whoosh—!
Whirr! Wooong—
Spirits appeared in the air, each showing off their unique characteristics.
The Lightning Spirit Watt, the Fire Spirit Callie, the Wind Spirit Pascal, and the Sound Spirit Decibel.
They were his lovely companions, who had grown rapidly even though it hadn't been long since he contracted with them, and had finally reached the Intermediate level.
'Then, let's go with maximum output.'
As he raised his power, natural energy started to gather around Harris.
The spirits, drawn out by "Spirit Summoning", absorbed his energy, which was amplified by "Child of the World Tree", and increased their presence.
It was the same as before, but…
Wooong—
As he pulled back the empty bowstring with his right hand, the surrounding natural energy was sucked in and gathered, forming an arrow.
And the process was much faster and smoother than before.
'Becoming one with nature… the power to use the surrounding energy as I please.'
With the help of "Assimilation with Nature", natural energy started to gather endlessly as if there was no limit, but there was no way the limit was truly gone just from one skill.
"Harris—! S…?"
He heard someone calling his name, but he casually ignored it because it was a familiar presence.
He didn't have the time to be distracted right now.
Gather, condense, and combine with the existing arrow.
He repeated that simple process.
After a while, as it became increasingly difficult to gather energy and he was about to give up,
A gentle energy spread from Themis in his left hand and started to harmonize Harris and the surrounding energy.
And the 'High Elf's Bracelet' on his right wrist also emitted a faint light and synchronized with it.
'…This is enough!'
An arrow of natural energy, condensed beyond his initial expectations.
He added the final touch.
Crackle!
The Lightning Spirit dwelled in the shaft.
Whoosh—
The Fire Spirit dwelled in the arrowhead.
Whirrr—!
And the Wind Spirit and the Sound Spirit enveloped it all.
"~~♪"
And with Harris's light humming and "Fairy Archery", the arrow—
———!
Crossed the air like a beam of light, without a sound.
And it hit the target, which was over a kilometer away, in an instant.
Whoosh—!
The aftereffects, which followed belatedly, ruffled the bushes and his hair, but Harris didn't care and just stared at the distant target with sparkling eyes.
'This is more than I expected. It wouldn't have been this powerful with just skills, as expected, item buffs are the best.'
And if he used the Wind Spirit to suppress the air currents instead of amplifying the attack power, it seemed like he could even perform a more stealthy and perfect snipe.
Of course, concealing the flow of energy was the most important thing in a battle between masters, but he thought he could somehow manage it with "Assimilation with Nature"…
As Harris was looking at the magic target in the distance, which was completely destroyed, and assessing the efficiency of his new power,
"Harris! What was that just now! How did you do it?"
A woman's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"When did you become this strong! I thought you were always sleeping, but to think you were training!"
The one he had ignored while focusing on controlling his energy had approached him at some point and was chattering.
Harris, who subtly lowered his bow, turned his head towards the owner of the familiar voice and unconsciously flinched.
"It's good to work hard, but we need to leave soon to avoid being late for the meeting."
Shapiron Silvesty, an Elf woman with blue hair and blue eyes.
She was looking at him, blinking her round eyes as usual.
But there was something different…
'No, everything is different except for her face.'
The familiar opponent's unfamiliar appearance.
Sturdy and comfortable-looking travel clothes and shoes, her hair tied up tightly for mobility, a backpack on her back, and various equipment attached to her body, all normal.
It was a textbook example of traveler attire.
But…
"Hmm, Shapiron? I heard they're preparing the necessary supplies at the envoy level, so we just need to pack personal belongings. What is all that…?"
He didn't know where to even begin.
Her outfit, reinforced with metal on the heels and toes of her boots and in various places, was sturdy enough to be used for combat.
And all sorts of items and pouches were hanging from the belts wrapped around her waist, shoulders, and legs.
And judging by the bulges here and there, it seemed like she had a lot of secret pockets hidden in her clothes.
Even if we ignored the fact that they were filled with items, making it not a secret at all.
'And that backpack, is that a subspace magic tool? It even seems quite large, and she still has that much luggage?'
A large backpack, big enough to completely cover her slender physique, was showing off its overwhelming presence on her back.
She was fully armed, as if she was going on an expedition to an uncharted territory.
Harris subtly glanced at his simple backpack.
It was a light bag, containing only simple clothes and a few travel items, a stark contrast to hers.
"Hehehe, what are you talking about? You're the one who said we should always be thoroughly prepared for any contingency, Harris."
Shapiron smiled proudly and subtly wiped her nose.
She had asked him for advice about the Ion Continent after being included in the envoy.
Offering him the highest quality tea leaves made from the World Tree's leaves as a reward.
So he had told her various things because she was tense about going to another continent, but it seemed like it had worked a bit too well.
He couldn't help but exaggerate a bit because he was explaining things from a mercenary's perspective…
"Look at this! I worked hard to get this, with this, even if the ground suddenly collapses and we're buried underground, we can endure for a long time…"
She started to boast about her preparedness, her face flushed with excitement.
But she couldn't hide the dark circles under her eyes, even with her excited expression. She definitely hadn't gotten enough sleep.
Like a child who couldn't sleep the night before a field trip.
"And these are emergency rations. They're made to last for years with extremely extended shelf life… …Ah, are you worried about the weight? Don't worry! Not only the backpack, but all the equipment has a weight reduction spell…"
Harris just stared at her as she chattered nonstop.
Come to think of it, this was Shapiron's first time leaving Drasha, the capital.
And her first trip outside wasn't just leaving the capital or the Elven Kingdom, but an expedition to another continent.
'She must be very excited.'
As he was looking at her with a dazed expression, she noticed his gaze and grinned.
"Heh, as expected of Harris. You recognize it, don't you? I can't underestimate you after all."
"…?"
"I even had this outfit specially made! I pestered my mom… I mean, my mother, and got her to give me some Dryad Silk, and then I had a Dwarf…"
Shapiron started talking excitedly again.
Perhaps because they had become closer lately, she was showing a side of her that he hadn't seen before when she was just being prickly.
"…Ah, look at the time! Come on, hurry up! How long are you going to stand there? We're moving with other envoys this time, so we really can't be late!"
She hurriedly urged Harris, pulling his arm after checking the time and being startled.
And she tilted her head, looking at the simple luggage bag he was carrying.
"Harris, isn't your luggage too light? Even though you're a veteran… Well, it doesn't matter because I packed everything in duplicate just in case! Uhuhu, rely on me if that happens!"
And then she started to head towards the meeting place with a proud attitude.
"Come on, let's go. We can handle any situation, so there's no need to worry!"
And so, Harris started walking with her, who was showing both confidence and nervousness, as if she was going on a picnic.
'She packed all that for nothing, since we're going to travel through Rapori's 'Forest Path' and then immediately use the temple's gate.'
But he didn't say it out loud.
"Hmm, hmm~♪"
Shapiron hummed, swinging the backpack on her back.
'Well, let's at least let her feel good. That's what a gentleman and an adult should do.'
That was right before they left for the Ion Continent.
And as expected,
Nothing happened that required her to use the items she had prepared until they arrived at the Roselia Cathedral.