We split into two groups, one heading for the dungeon and the other for the Spirit Tree. When we arrived at the Spirit Tree, many Elves had already gathered and were touching the trunk.
「Oh, they have already startedssu.」
「Is that how they offer their magic power?」
「It seems so. Whoa… it is being sucked out of them quite rapidly.」
Just as Shion observed, several Elves had pained expressions as they kept their hands on the tree.
When they reached their limits, they let go and slumped to the ground. Some looked as though they might collapse entirely, so I hurriedly used 「Invisible Jail」 to create supports, barely preventing them from hitting their heads.
「It feels miserable when your MP gets low… You can even faint.」
「Oh? Have you experienced that as well, m’lord?」
「Yeah. Back when I first arrived in this world, I tried to use Decompose on some iron ore. I accidentally applied it to an entire pile at once. I kept losing consciousness and waking up to resume the alchemy over and over.」
That was brutal…
I would wake up only to have my consciousness flicker out again, a cycle that repeated several times.
「To think even milord made mistakes like that…」
「That sounds incredibly dangerous nanodesu.」
「It was an accident. I wasn’t used to alchemy yet back then.」
「That was before you met usssu.」
「Master? It is dangerous to fall and hit your head on the floor, so you must not do that anymore, alright?」
「My MP has increased quite a bit since then, so I doubt something like that would make me faint now, but I will be careful. Well then, shall we get started?」
We approached the Spirit Tree and took up a spot in an open area.
Wendy and Mizera spread out a cloth to secure a space for resting.
We agreed not to overdo it. We would take breaks, eat, and use magic power recovery potions as needed while we offered our magic power.
「Emily, I just need to touch it and knead my magic power, right?」
「Yes. But make sure to convert it into Earth-element magic power, okay?」
「I know.」
Let’s see. First, a trial run… Ohhh… this sensation of being drained is quite fresh.
It feels as if something inside me is being siphoned away.
I know that “something” is MP, but my body seems to sense danger as its own essence is drawn out, giving me a shiver.
The speed of the drain… it is not that fast.
At this rate, letting it absorb my magic power for a few minutes should not be a problem.
However, simply standing here with both hands pressed against the Spirit Tree is quite boring.
「Nfuffuffu.」
「Shion?」
「Ah, m’lord, to think you would pin me against the wall like this…」
「…You are the one who squeezed in from below.」
「That is true, but… this position is actually quite nice. Having no escape while being forced to look only forward, feeling as though m’lord is closing in on me… it is a wonderful sensation!」
Well, technically, it is similar to a “wall-slam” pose.
I did not actually slam anything. She just popped up from underneath me.
…And why is Wendy waiting right beside me?
Mizera is casually lining up too, but there is no such thing as taking turns here, you know?
Renge, focus on offering your magic power.
Do not work so hard to stretch your leg out behind Mizera while keeping your hand on the tree… that is a useless effort.
I managed to kill some time thanks to the four of them, but I am worried about how we looked to those around us. Since I could only look at the Spirit Tree, I have no idea what their gazes were like!
I was trying to be serious… but then again, I am just standing here with my hands on a tree.
「Onii-san, onii-san. Is your MP quite high? You have been doing this for a long time now, nanodesu.」
「Hmm? Ah. My level is low, but perhaps it is because I trained it through alchemy.」
「Master performs alchemy so much that he frequently uses magic power recovery potions, after all.」
Wendy spoke with a slightly scolding tone.
However, perhaps due to that wall-slam incident from earlier, she cannot quite hide the fact that her expression has softened.
「Ah, that is right.」
I might as well take this out too.
Atros-sama told me we could solve this with something we already possess, and I suspect this is likely the most promising candidate.
「Oh, master. Are you going to use that?」
「Yeah. She mentioned Earth-element materials, right? If so, this counts too, doesn’t it?」
What I pulled out was not some secret material… it was a scale from the Earth Dragon, Reagaia.
When it comes to Earth-attribute materials, this is the definitive choice.
Now, what should I do with it?
Should I bury it? Or, if the Spirit Tree can move, will it accept the offering directly?
「Hello, hello, Master-sama and everyone! Your magic power offerings are a great help! But please, try not to push yourselves until you collapse. Our people keep crying out that the Spirit Tree is in a crisis and overexerting themselves. I have had to set up an emergency first-aid station in a hurry.」
「Oh, you came at the right time, Ielo-san. How should I handle the materials?」
「Materials? Ah, if you leave them near the Spirit Tree, they will be absorbed… Eh? Is that by any chance an Earth Dragon scale?」
「I happened to have some with me, so I thought it might be useful.」
「So you ‘happen’ to carry Earth Dragon scales around… As expected of Master-sama. To say it is useful is an understatement. It is practically the perfect solution! An Earth Dragon is a mass of earth attribute, so it is the best possible offering! But are you sure? This is a material for alchemy, and it must be incredibly rare.」
「Atros-sama told me to do something about this. I am going to use whatever I have available.」
「Hahahaha! Atros is actually useful once in a while, then! In that case, I shall gratefully accept your offer!」
You really should not speak of a Goddess in such a manner, even if it is only occasionally….
I am fairly certain Atros-sama is known as a God of War.
I would imagine adventurers and knights revere her quite deeply….
For now, I shall lean the Earth Dragon scale against the Spirit Tree as instructed.
「…My apologies. To think you would offer something so precious.」
「No, no. It is not as if it is particularly rare for me.」
「…You truly are beyond all common sense. If the world’s alchemists or blacksmiths heard that, they would weep tears of blood.」
Even if she says that, I suspect Reagaia would give me more if I just offered a magic power ball in exchange.
Dragons are supposed to be terrifying and dangerous, but nowadays, I can only see him as a gluttonous, metabolic dragon….
Perhaps it is just that Reagaia is special among Earth Dragons, though.
「Master. You should take a break soonssu.」
「Right. Wait, Renge, are you going to use that?」
「Since master even brought out an Earth Dragon scale, I figured this would be more efficientssu.」
When I looked at Renge, the crimson patterns I had seen in Roukaku were surfacing on her skin, making her look quite impressive.
The effect allows her to knead dense magic power. It certainly seems like the efficiency would be much higher that way.
「Re-Re-Re-Renge-san!?」
「Hmm? What is it, Shion?」
「What do you mean ‘what is it’! That is the Crimson Magic Crest, a ritual forbidden across the continent!」
「Ah, so this is called the Crimson Magic Crestssu.」
Come to think of it, I do not believe I ever heard the official name, but Crimson Magic Crest sounds about right.
A crest of crimson magic power. It is quite literal.
「You did not know!?」
「I had no ideassu. I simply underwent the ritual as a Shrine Maiden Princess of Roukaku. Ah, that was before it was forbidden, of course.」
「Ha! Come to think of it, Renge-san, you are the older sister of Koren-sama, the Queen of Roukaku, are you not!? Which means Renge-san is a Shrine Maiden Princess! And when one speaks of a Shrine Maiden Princess, it relates to the Earth Dragon… Ha! It connects! It connects to m’lord’s relationship with the Earth Dragon as well!」
Shion’s head snapped back and forth between Renge and me, her face pale with shock.
She should have known that Renge and Koren were sisters, but perhaps we had not discussed the details of Renge’s powers yet.
Yes. Well, that is how it is.
「Uu… I have to revise my Renge-san capture file… I had secretly been devising tactics to aim for a coup, but this is just cheating…」
「Just so you know, Sorte and Aina have trump cards of their own toossu.」
「No way!?」
Sorte’s wolf transformation and Aina’s awakening of her Flamekin powers, I assume?
They likely would not use those in a mock battle, but they certainly qualify as trump cards.
…It seems Shion’s path to a coup is still a long way off.
Well, after drinking ten magic power recovery potions, we decided to call it a day… but somehow, I feel as though it is still not enough.
Even with such a large number of people offering a massive amount of magic power today, I got the impression while being drained that we had not even reached ten percent.
It felt as though we were trying to fill a dam using a household faucet and a garden hose.
It was only a sensation, and I suppose the dam will eventually fill if a large enough group continues the effort, but it is going to be backbreaking work.
The Spirit Tree also absorbed several Earth Dragon scales, but regarding the vitality, Ielo-san says it is still insufficient.
Furthermore, it seems the efficiency drops if we only offer the same materials.
To use Shiro’s analogy, I suppose it grows tired of eating the same meal over and over.
Because of that, I offered other dragon materials besides the scales… but it is still not enough.
Saving a Spirit Tree of this magnitude from such a crisis is clearly not something that can be achieved overnight.
For now, once I return, I shall make more magic power recovery potions with Mizera.
We will undoubtedly run out, and if we end up needing more Earth Dragon materials, those potions will be essential for gaining his cooperation…
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