Chapter 178: Fragment of Rune
It’s already been one week... I still can’t believe that fifteen-year-old brat learns things this quickly...
Ash always removed his mask whenever he entered the World Tree’s core, so she had gotten used to seeing his face. And it was not hard to know his real age when he was in her domain.
That alone showed that Ash had decided to place at least a certain level of trust in her, something not easy for someone like him.
She had been teaching him continuously—filling his mind with theories related to the soul, the methods of extracting memories, and especially, the complex workings of the human brain.
She even went so far as to explain the entire structure of a human body, from the intricate network of veins and meridians to the positioning of acupoints, the alignment of muscles, the density of bones, and the way internal energy flowed through each part.
At some point, Ash began to feel like he was sitting through an advanced biology lesson rather than preparing to rip cursed memories from his soul. Even though he did not fully understand how this would help with memory extraction, he still listened to every word carefully and memorized everything without complaint.
One topic, however, made him pause and shift his focus. It was about the natural limit of the brain. The World Tree had clearly said that it didn’t matter if someone was a Transcendent, a God, or even a Demi-God. The brain still had a ceiling. A point of saturation where it could no longer hold information, no matter how powerful or evolved the being might be.
She explained that the brain, by design, tends to forget most of what it sees or hears over time. Even with monstrous mental strength, a day would come—whether after a thousand years or millions—when the mind would collapse under the weight of its own knowledge, and the same immortality that once seemed like a gift would start to feel like a curse.
The World Tree mentioned that she stored most of her information inside her core, and it was one of the reasons her form continued expanding.
She hadn’t reached her limit yet, and even she didn’t know what would happen when she did.
In Ash’s case, the situation was slightly different. His conscious mind was still relatively untouched, almost like a blank slate. Most of the overwhelming memories he had were stored within his soul.
But what made things more complicated was the strange state of his subconscious, which was nearly as active as his waking mind.
If his soul had already evolved to a higher level, there wouldn’t have been any problem. But strengthening the soul wasn’t possible at the moment. Which meant, the only viable path left was to remove those foreign memories.
Though Ash wasn’t planning to stop there. He had other ideas too—one of which involved creating a skill of his own.
Still... Where is that brat now? He’s never late. Every single day until now, he’s been right on time...
Just as the World Tree thought that, a faint shimmer rippled through the air. From the green portal that she always opened at this hour near Serena, a familiar figure stepped out.
But the moment Ash entered the core, her calm expression shifted. Her gaze sharpened, and her ancient instincts stirred.
Wait... Is that what I think it is...?
***
As soon as Ash stepped through the portal, he was met with Serena’s dumbfounded expression.
Of course, it was actually the World Tree in Serena’s form, but seeing that face frozen in such disbelief made him chuckle quietly to himself.
"You brat, looks like you’re getting real comfortable around here, huh? Laughing right in front of me now?" she said, narrowing her eyes with playful irritation.
Ash simply shook his head, brushing off the comment with a faint smile as he asked casually, "What is it this time?"
Her gaze sharpened as she pointed at him. "What’s that?"
Ash blinked. "What’s what?"
"In your pocket," she clarified, her voice a little sharper this time.
At the moment, Ash was wearing his Phantom Veil outfit, which he now used almost daily. Although it was considered an armor set, it looked more like a support-type garment.
Before coming to the World Tree’s core today, he had made a brief trip back to the hidden cave where he had stored several important items.
He retrieved the Cursed Eye, the Unknown Fragment, and most importantly, the Rune of Time, which was still sealed within the hourglass artifact.
He figured it was safer to carry them around rather than leave them behind. His clothing had large interior pockets, so storing the items wasn’t an issue at all.
Did she sense the Rune of Time...?
He hadn’t expected that. The rune was still in a sealed state, so he believed it would be impossible to detect. Clearly, he had underestimated what an ancient being who had spent ages studying runes could do.
"It’s just a few things. Anyway, what are we learning today?" Ash said with a straight face, trying to change the subject.
The World Tree, however, wasn’t that easy to fool.
"Come now, boy. Just let me see it. I’m not going to snatch anything away from you. I only want to take a look," she said with an expression that was more curious than commanding.
Ash sighed and gave in, slowly pulling out the hourglass containing the sealed Rune of Time. He handed it over, but she barely gave it a glance before shaking her head in disappointment.
"Not this one."
So she wasn’t sensing this... was it the eye?
He reached in again and brought out the golden-black orb, the Cursed God’s eye, still radiating that eerie, dormant power. But once again, she dismissed it with a soft shake of her head.
"Not this either."
Ash finally pulled out the last item. It was the strange fragment he had obtained from the trial, still labeled as ??? by the system. Its appearance hadn’t changed, yet the moment he took it out, the World Tree’s eyes lit up.
Her expression changed completely as she stepped forward, gently taking the fragment from his hand and inspecting it closely.
Her tone rose, now full of excitement that she didn’t even bother to hide. "Where did you find this? Do you have any idea what you were carrying around all this time?"
Ash raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in tone. "I got it from a trial. It was the reward there. And just so you know, I had to risk my life for it."
He dragged the last part a bit, just to emphasize it. From the way she was reacting, it was clear that this fragment was something truly valuable.
"You’ve been walking around with something like this without even knowing what it was," she muttered, half amused and half exasperated. "Even with a rune inside you, you didn’t sense its presence?"
She looked at him again, her eyes serious now as she held the fragment up.
"This is a Rune’s Fragment."
"WHAT??"
****
"Does that even make sense?" Ash asked, still unable to believe what he was hearing. The idea that he had been unknowingly carrying a Rune fragment with him all this time was almost too absurd to accept.
"I’m surprised as well," the World Tree replied, her gaze still fixed on the fragment in her hands. "At first, it was just a hunch, but the moment I looked at it closely, I was certain. That presence, no matter how faint, was unmistakably the essence of a Rune."
A fragment of a Rune... but only half the runes exist on this planet. I still don’t know where the remaining 10 are...and there are 4 hidden ones too
Even so...
Could this be one of the hidden Runes? One of those not listed or recorded? But even that doesn’t explain everything clearly...
Ash frowned, his mind swirling with questions. "But I still don’t understand. Why is it in a fragmented form? Aren’t Runes meant to be complete? They’re ever-changing symbols, right? Can they really be broken down like that?"
The World Tree nodded slowly and answered, "It is possible, but only if you shift your perspective. Think of a Rune not as a single unbreakable object, but as a collection of meanings, a complete concept formed from several fundamental truths. If that larger concept is divided, the Rune itself can be split."
She paused for a moment, then added, "For example, if a Rune contains ten meanings within it, and it is broken into two fragments, each of those fragments may carry five of those meanings. It does not destroy the Rune, but the full picture becomes incomplete."
Ash took a deep breath as he absorbed her explanation. "That actually does make sense... but which Rune is it?"
"That," she said with a faint sigh, "is something I cannot answer. If the Rune had been whole and unbroken, I likely would not have sensed anything from it at all. The only reason I could feel its presence was because it was damaged and incomplete."
Silence settled in the space between them.
I always knew a day would come when even I would be unable to identify a Rune’s true name... but I didn’t expect that day to come so soon...
Ash lowered his gaze slightly, deep in thought.
Maybe.....if I use the Rune of Knowledge and create a skill that allows me to see the true nature of all things, including their status windows...maybe I can learn the true name of the Rune...
I’ll try it. If that doesn’t work... then I’ll have to go after ’that’ Rune hidden in the Neutral Continent. But that will take time. I have no intention of going there just yet...
***