Chapter 332: Inside the World Tree

The moment Arthur stepped through the enormous opening in the World Tree, he stopped.

He had expected darkness.

Perhaps a hollow interior filled with roots, ancient ruins, and the remnants of whatever power Ronin had used to fuse himself with the Tree. What he had not expected was to find an entire world waiting on the other side.

The ground beneath his feet was formed from enormous golden-brown roots that stretched farther than he could see.

While countless others rose from below like mountains and disappeared into the darkness above.

Rivers of glowing mana flowed between them, their surfaces carrying streams of blue, green, and golden light through enormous valleys.

Massive branches stretched across those valleys like bridges, some wide enough for entire buildings to stand upon, while ancient structures had been built directly into the bark, their towers and walls partially swallowed by the living wood.

Arthur slowly stepped forward, his eyes moving across the impossible landscape.

Luna came to stand beside him and followed his gaze, her expression changing as she took in the enormous world hidden within the Tree. "What are you looking at?"

Arthur’s eyes moved toward the distant rivers, then the ancient structures, and finally the enormous roots stretching toward the ceiling. There was so much to see that he almost didn’t know where to look first.

"Everything."

Luna couldn’t help smiling. "Of course you are."

Behind them, Sun stepped through the entrance and immediately froze. "What the hell is this?"

Mithra followed, and even she remained silent for several seconds as she looked across the vast interior. Athena slowly entered behind them, her eyes moving from the flowing mana to the ancient buildings embedded in the roots.

"This isn’t a hollow trunk," Athena said eventually. "The interior is far too large."

Arthur nodded as he walked toward the edge of the root they were standing on. Beneath them, a river of mana flowed through a deep valley, illuminating plants and trees growing along its banks. "It’s not really an interior anymore. The World Tree has created an environment inside itself."

Athena looked at the river. "Then the Tree isn’t simply storing the energy of the Secret Realm."

"It’s using it," Arthur replied. "The roots are carrying mana through the entire structure, and everything here is growing around that flow."

Mithra glanced toward the forest growing several hundred meters away. "So this entire place is alive?"

Arthur smiled. "Looks like it."

A small rustling sound came from the vegetation below them, and Sun immediately raised Long while the others turned toward the noise. A small Beast slowly emerged from the glowing plants.

It looked almost like a deer, although its body was covered in pale green fur and two tiny branches grew from its head like young antlers.

The Beast stared at them for several seconds before lowering its head and returning to the plants.

Sun slowly lowered Long. "That’s it?"

Arthur chuckled. "What were you expecting?"

"Something that wanted to eat me."

Mithra glanced at him. "Why does everything you encounter have to want to eat you?"

"Because that’s usually how these things work."

Kong, standing beside him, gave a deep approving grunt.

Arthur continued looking around while the others relaxed. The longer he observed the environment, the stranger it became.

There were dozens of small Beasts moving between the roots, some resembling species he had seen outside while others were completely unfamiliar.

Glowing flowers opened whenever mana passed through the ground, vines climbed across ancient buildings, and small flying creatures moved between the branches.

Farther away, something enormous moved through the forest before disappearing behind a massive root.

Arthur’s eyes followed it.

"There’s a lot more life here than I expected."

Athena nodded. "If this environment has existed for thousands of years, it would make sense. The World Tree may have been sustaining these ecosystems the entire time."

Luna looked toward the ancient buildings. "And those?"

Arthur walked toward the nearest structure. Much of it had been swallowed by the bark, with roots growing through windows and across the stone walls, but several carvings remained visible.

Athena joined him and brushed away some of the moss covering the wall.

"This architecture is ancient," she said. "But it isn’t simply attached to the Tree."

Arthur looked closer.

The bark had grown around the stone.

"The Tree grew around it."

Athena’s expression became thoughtful. "Which means they didn’t build these structures after entering the World Tree."

"They lived here," Arthur finished.

The realization settled over the group.

The ancient civilization hadn’t simply used the World Tree as a source of power. They had built a civilization within its ecosystem, allowing the Tree to become part of their lives.

Arthur looked toward the enormous world stretching ahead of them.

"How many people do you think lived here?"

Athena shook her head. "I don’t know. But considering the size of this place, possibly thousands."

Sun stared at the distant structures. "And they’re all gone."

"No," Arthur said quietly.

Everyone looked at him.

Arthur pointed toward the forest.

"Not everything is gone."

Several Beasts were moving through the vegetation.

Small creatures lived beneath the roots, plants continued growing, and mana still flowed through the rivers.

"The civilization disappeared," Arthur continued, "but the world they built didn’t."

Mithra looked toward the distant landscape and nodded slowly. "Then this Tree really is preserving the Secret Realm."

Arthur smiled faintly. "That’s what it looks like."

A sudden tremor interrupted them.

The ground beneath their feet shook, and several birds scattered from the branches above. The mana flowing through the river below surged for several seconds before settling again.

Arthur immediately looked upward.

Another tremor followed.

Then another.

Something was moving through the World Tree.

Athena’s expression hardened. "Ronin."

Arthur nodded.

He could feel it now.

The movement was coming from somewhere above them, traveling deeper into the Tree.

"He’s still climbing."

Roland stepped forward and looked toward the enormous branches leading upward. "Then we shouldn’t waste any more time."

The group began moving.

At first, the path was surprisingly easy. They followed a massive branch that extended across one of the interior valleys, passing beneath enormous roots and through patches of glowing vegetation. Ancient stone bridges connected some of the larger branches, while ruined buildings appeared every few hundred meters.

But the further they went, the more difficult the environment became.

One enormous root had grown directly across the branch, forcing them to climb over it. Beyond that, another root had split the path into two narrow passages, and both appeared to lead in different directions.

Arthur chose the left path.

They had only traveled another hundred meters before finding a river of mana cutting across their route.

Sun stared at it. "Was that there before?"

Arthur looked back.

The path they had just traveled was already changing. A thick root was slowly rising from the ground, blocking the way they had come from.

"The Tree is growing," Arthur said.

Mithra looked at the moving root. "That could become a problem."

They searched for another route and eventually found a smaller branch crossing the river, but the path beyond it became even more complicated. Roots twisted together into enormous walls, branches rose toward different sections of the Tree, and several routes disappeared into dark tunnels.

Arthur stopped walking.

Roland noticed immediately. "What is it?"

Arthur looked toward the paths ahead.

"We’re going too slowly."

Sun frowned. "We’ve barely been inside."

"Exactly."

Arthur pointed upward. "Ronin has been moving this entire time. We don’t know how far ahead he is, and every obstacle slows all of us down."

Roland’s expression became serious.

Arthur continued, "If we stay together, we’ll have to stop whenever one person encounters an obstacle. But if we split up, we can take several routes at once and cover more ground."

Mithra looked around at the maze of branches. "You’re suggesting we divide into groups."

"Four groups," Athena said, looking toward four enormous branches rising through different sections of the Tree. "There are four major routes leading upward."

Leon walked toward one of them and studied the branch. "They all seem to be carrying mana toward the upper levels."

Athena nodded. "Then they’re probably connected to the deeper parts of the Tree."

Cassian looked at Roland. "If our objective is to reach Ronin as quickly as possible, staying together may actually be more dangerous."

Roland frowned. "Splitting up inside an unknown environment filled with unknown Beasts is not exactly safe."

"No," Arthur agreed. "It isn’t."

Sun looked at him. "You say that way too casually."

Arthur laughed. "I’m not saying it’s safe. I’m saying it’s faster."

Mithra looked toward the four routes before turning back to the group. "If we encounter something too dangerous, we can retreat. The important thing is that we don’t all get stuck at the same obstacle."

Athena nodded. "And we can keep the same objective. Reach Ronin, gather information, and avoid interfering with the World Tree itself unless necessary."

Roland remained silent for several seconds before finally sighing.

"Fine."

He looked at the four routes and began assigning the groups.

"Arthur, Athena, Mithra, Luna, and Sun, you’ll take the eastern route. Athena knows the ancient structures better than anyone here, and Arthur..." He paused. "You have a habit of finding things nobody else notices."

Arthur smiled. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn’t."

Mithra laughed quietly.

Roland then looked toward Leon. "Leon, take four professors and follow the northern route. Keep moving upward and avoid unnecessary fights."

Leon nodded. "Understood."

"Cassian, you take four more professors west. If you find anything related to the ancient civilization, record it before moving on."

Cassian nodded. "Got it."

Finally, Roland looked toward the last route. "I’ll take the remaining four professors south."

Sun looked around. "So that’s it? We just split up?"

"For now," Roland said. "The World Tree is too large for us to search efficiently as one group."

Luna tightened her grip on her weapon. "What happens if one group finds Ronin first?"

Arthur looked toward the upper branches. "Then they don’t fight him alone. They send a signal."

Roland nodded. "Exactly. Nobody engages Ronin without support unless there’s no alternative."

Arthur smiled slightly.

Roland noticed and immediately narrowed his eyes. "That includes you."

Arthur’s smile became more innocent. "Of course."

"I don’t believe you."

Sun laughed. "Nobody does."

The groups began preparing to leave, but before they separated, Athena pointed toward the massive branches above them.

"One more thing."

Everyone looked at her.

"The environment is changing constantly. If we travel too far apart, we may not be able to return to this exact location."

Roland nodded. "Then we leave markers."

Mithra drew her blade and cut a small golden mark into the bark beside the path. "We’ll use the same symbol."

Leon and Cassian followed, leaving identical marks on their respective routes.

Arthur looked at the symbol before glancing toward the eastern branch.

"So we’ll know where to regroup."

"If there’s somewhere to regroup," Sun muttered.

Arthur looked at him. "You’re unusually pessimistic today."

"I’ve been inside a giant tree for ten minutes and already watched the road grow shut behind us. I’m allowed."

Kong grunted in agreement.

Arthur laughed as he stepped onto the eastern branch.

Mithra followed, then Athena and Luna, while Sun reluctantly brought up the rear. Before leaving, Arthur looked back at Roland and the other groups.

"Be careful."

Roland nodded. "You too."

The four groups separated.

Leon and his professors disappeared along the northern route, while Cassian’s group took the western branch. Roland and the remaining professors headed south, their figures gradually disappearing behind the enormous roots.

Arthur turned forward again.

The branch beneath him stretched into the distance, surrounded by glowing plants, ancient structures, and countless paths leading deeper into the World Tree.

Somewhere above them, Ronin was climbing toward the heart.

Arthur tightened his grip on Dusk and smiled.

"Let’s see what’s waiting for us."

The five of them continued upward, disappearing into the living world hidden inside the World Tree.