Chapter 568

【DOG LICK HARD, REAP REWARDS 】

—

Vibrant, multicolored orbs hung from the branches of the World Tree, swaying gently in the air.

Each orb was cradled by a slender green stem, its base adorned with leaf-like sepals resembling a calyx, which gave it the appearance of a real fruit of the World Tree.

Gazing at these mysterious orbs, Natsume couldn’t suppress his curiosity.

He performed a [Light Body Technique], leaping down from the red dragon’s back and landing deftly on the massive trunk.

Up close, the details became much clearer.

These were definitely not the same cocoons of light that players or Primordial Elves emerged from after being born as they were far too small.

Each ” fruit” was about the size of a basketball, shimmering under a hazy aura that pulsed faintly with magical energy. A peculiar fragrance wafted from them, and as soon as Natsume inhaled it, his mind felt instantly refreshed.

To his surprise, the mana within his body began circulating more smoothly. Even the sluggishness in his magic circuits which was a common side effect after two hours of morning meditation was instantly alleviated, restoring their usual sensitivity.

“What is this? Just the scent alone helped me regulate my mana flow!”

Natsume’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Elven Kingdom takes pride in its meticulously designed magic system, where each player possesses an intricate network of magic circuits and a personal mana reservoir. Through disciplined daily meditation, players can gradually expand their mana capacity while reinforcing their magical pathways.

However, prolonged meditation caused mana to grow increasingly turbulent within their bodies.

While this turbulence wouldn’t trigger mana backlash or disrupt spellcasting, once it reached a certain threshold, it would suppress the activity of the magic circuits, which could drastically reduced the effectiveness of further meditation.

In other words, when players experienced this sensation, it indicated they had reached their daily meditation limit.

Waiting for the mana to stabilize naturally took a full day, which was why even with meditation techniques, players could only train for a maximum of two hours daily.

But if Natsume wasn’t mistaken, inhaling the scent from these strange orbs might allow them to extend that limit!

“What exactly are these things? They’re practically cheat items for meditation training!”

Although he was already max level, meditation still provided him some benefits. Sure, it might not lead to a qualitative leap in power or a level increase, but it could gradually expand his mana pool, slightly enhance his magic reserves, and improve his resistance to mana backlash.

Instantly, Natsume’s curiosity about these orbs further intensified.

After a moment’s hesitation, he reached out and touched one.

It was warm.

The orb wasn’t intangible as it had a solid presence, yet its texture was unlike anything he’d felt before.

It was as if he were pressing two identical magnetic poles together: a slippery, repelling sensation, though not overwhelmingly strong.

It’s surprisingly pleasant, actually.

Natsume suspected that with a bit more force, he could probably pluck the “orb.” But he refrained from doing so as he still didn’t know what these were, and being reckless might lead to unintended consequences.

After all, he was standing on the crown of the World Tree, and in Elven Kingdom’s lore, the World Tree was the physical manifestation of the Goddess.

Therefore, anything related to the Goddess demanded caution.

She wasn’t just some background character—she was a real, active NPC. Though her appearances had grown rarer as the player base expanded, veteran players knew better than to underestimate her presence.

Deciding to play it safe, Natsume cast [Appraisal].

But as expected, the result was just a string of question marks.

After four years in the game, he knew exactly what that meant: either the target’s level exceeded his own, or it was under the protection of a powerful entity.

And given that this orbs were placed here in the World Tree and that he didn’t sensed any overwhelming power from these orbs, it had to be the latter.

Surely, these orbs… are under the Goddess’s protection!

In an instant, he abandoned any thought of trying to pluck them.

Upon further reflection, he realized that anything growing from the World Tree was likely indestructible and even his strongest fourth-circle spells would probably do nothing.

As for harvesting them?

Impossible.

No one had ever succeeded in plucking even a single leaf from the World Tree. Those who tried had their favorability with the Elven NPCs plummet and in Elven Kingdom, the penalty for lost favorability was brutal, from inflated shop prices to other crippling disadvantages.

Hence, Natsume had no intention of testing those waters.

If these orbs really are some kind of fruit, then they must ripen eventually… unless this is some kind of hidden event I’ve stumbled into?

Muttering to himself, he took note of the location before preparing to leave. These glowing orbs weren’t going anywhere, so Natsume decided he’d check back every few days to observe any changes.

However, while Natsume himself was cautious, his red dragon companion who’s a mischievous dog-like creature at heart had other ideas.

The strange, alluring fragrance hadn’t just caught Natsume’s attention and it had also captivated his red dragon, Leylia.

The little beast sniffed the air a few times, drool dripping from its maw, before letting out an excited “RUA!” and, to Natsume’s utter shock, lunged forward ans swallowed one of the orbs whole.

…Swallowed it….whole.

Natsume stood frozen in horror.

The red dragon had devoured the orb, but the stem still clung to the branch. Undeterred, Leylia shook its head vigorously, trying to tear the “fruit” free.

Natsume: “…”

His blood ran cold.

He had just confirmed that these orbs were likely under the Goddess’s protection.

While his red dragon wasn’t particularly strong, if Leylia caused any real damage here, the consequences would be catastrophic.

And I was just about to apply for High Priest at the temple!

If his favor with the Goddess took a hit now, it’d be game over for him.

Without hesitation, Natsume rushed to stop his overgrown “red dog”

“Leylia! Spit that out right now!”

“Rawoo~!”

The dragon shook its head stubbornly.

“If you don’t spit it out, you’ll have no dinner tonight! And that is the Goddess’s property! show some respect!”

At the dual threats of “no dinner” and “Goddess,” Leylia paused. After a brief hesitation, the dragon reluctantly regurgitated the orb, then slunk back to Natsume’s side like a scolded puppy, whining pitifully as it nuzzled his leg.

Natsume sighed, torn between exasperation and amusement.

“Stop sulking. I’ll get you something nice when we get back.”

At that, Leylia perked up instantly.

Meanwhile, Natsume turned his attention to the orb his dragon had just swallowed.

It was a pale blue luminous orb.

True enough, the red dragon’s power proved insufficient to damage these goddess-protected orbs, leaving this one completely intact.

However, after its brief journey through Leylia’s digestive system, the once-pristine blue orb now appeared… considerably less immaculate than before.

Thick strands of drool and gastric fluids dripped from its surface, along with a peculiar odor and a few undigested food particles.

Natsume: “…”

After a moment’s hesitation, he stepped forward, muttering the incantation for the skill [Cleanse].

The World Tree was the Goddess’s physical form.

While no one knew exactly how her favorability system worked, Natsume—drawing from Elven Kingdom’s NPC mechanics—figured leaving the orb in this state would be downright disrespectful.

“Small actions reveal greater truths—never overlook the miniscule details, especially when interacting with the NPCs.”

That was a line from Li Mu’s NPC Favorability Guide.

Even though no one else was around, the World Tree itself was still the Goddess’s physical manifestation, so who knows if she’s watching right at this moment.

But when Natsume channeled his mana to cast [Cleanse] upon the blue orb, surprisingly, the spell didn’t take effect.

“…Huh?”

He blinked in surprise.

In that moment, he realized his mana hadn’t just fizzled out but it actually had been absorbed by the blue orb he was trying to clean.

“It can absorb mana too?”

Natsume watched, fascinated, as the pale blue orb began emitting a soft glow, as if it were actively using the absorbed mana to clean itself.

Moreover, the mana it released felt unmistakably familiar.

It was his mana.

“Interesting…”

Rubbing his chin, Natsume reached out again, this time deliberately feeding the blue orb a steady stream of his own mana to aid in the cleansing process.

But almost immediately, he regretted it.

The orb seemed ravenous for mana.

The moment Natsume started supplying it, the blue orb began devouring his mana with an almost desperate intensity.

And that wasn’t even the worst part. The problem was that the orb’s appetite was far larger than Natsume had anticipated.

It was like a bottomless pit!

He had intended to supply just a small amount of mana, but the blue orb latched onto him like a leech, draining his reserves in a torrential flood. In mere moments, he was completely depleted, collapsing onto the tree trunk, limbs weak and trembling.

“Holy—! What the hell is this thing? It suck my mana way too fast!”

Unable to hold back, Natsume cursed aloud.

When he looked back at the orb, however, he found it had returned to its pristine, luminous state—perhaps even brighter than before.

A gentle breeze rustled through the branches, causing the blue orb to sway softly. For a fleeting moment, Natsume thought he heard something like a faint, bell-like laughter but it vanished as quickly as the wind carried it away, leaving him wondering if he’d imagined it.

Shaking his head, he scanned his surroundings.

Good.

Everything was back to normal, and the mess Leylia had made was now cleaned up.

Taking a deep breath, Natsume turned toward the center of the World Tree and performed a solemn bow, then traced the symbol of the Scepter over his chest.

“Goddess, I meant no disrespect. I sincerely apologize for Leylia’s reckless behavior. I will strive to complete the High Priest trial with diligence and continue to spread your divine teachings faithfully…”

As a member of Heart of Nature, Natsume fully agree to his guildmaster’s philosophy:

“Simp hard like a licking dog and reap the rewards.”

In Elven Kingdom, this approach never failed when dealing with the Goddess or NPCs.

He had no idea if the Goddess could even hear him, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

One’s attitude matters.

And in Elven Kingdom, NPCs cared deeply about a player’s attitude.

A hundred tasks completed with a smirk wouldn’t earn as much favor as a single task done with genuine respect.

After one final bow toward the World Tree, Natsume mounted his red dragon and departed the canopy.

༺⟐༻

The moment the player along with his red dragon left, a radiant glow coalesced where the boy had stood, materializing into an ethereal, silver-haired figure in a flowing white divine gown.

“How interesting,” Evé murmured, a faint smile curling her lips.

༺⟐༻

By the time Natsume returned to his villa in Grey Haven, two hours had passed.

True to his word, he had treated Leylia to a feast at Northeast Grill before heading back.

As he entered Heart of Nature’s new headquarters, intending to help with some construction tasks, a familiar booming voice caught his attention:

“Boss Li! Boss Li! Did you see the new announcement posted on the forum?! Looks like the devs are adding a mysterious new NPC race, and they can become player companions! The official wording specifically says ‘NPC,’ not ‘monster’!”

A new NPC race?

Natsume paused mid-step, blinking in surprise.

“Yeah, I already saw it. They’re being annoyingly cryptic about it… Elven Kingdom’s marketing team sure loves teasing us. But judging by the silhouette, it’s probably something like fairies or sprites, right?” replied another familiar voice.

Fairies?

Curious, Natsume quickened his pace.

“Boss Li, Demacia, morning! What’s this about?”

The two men—Demacia and Li Mu—turned and greeted him.

“Morning, Natsume!”

Li Mu gestured to his interface. “We’re just discussing the new announcement. Here, take a look.”

He forwarded Natsume the link.

Opening it, Natsume found himself staring at the official game page, dominated by a large, shadowed silhouette.

The figure was slender, unmistakably feminine, with a pair of large, butterfly-like wings.

A bold question mark covered its center, accompanied by the following text:

“A New NPC Race Approaches!”

“Mischievous and charming, playful yet endearing.”

“They can be your greatest allies or your most loyal companions!”

“Who… are they?”

“June 10th. Stay Tuned!”

Natsume: “……”

What kind of old school marketing stint is this?

Still…He studied the shadowed silhouette.

Although the official site only provided an outline, the figure did resemble what Li Mu had described.

A flower fairy, perhaps?

“Must be flower fairies, right? If so, I’m totally getting one! Haha!” Demacia exclaimed eagerly.

“First, work on your NPC favorability. These are NPCs so they’ll care about your reputation,” Li Mu pointed out.

Demacia: “…”

His face instantly fell. With a sigh, he muttered,

“Ugh… I regret everything. I never should’ve touched Alice’s hair that one time…”

“Just her hair?” Natsume smirked.

“Fine, fine! I also shouldn’t have stalked the Saintess, peeked at NPCs bathing or… doing their business, picked locks to steal stuff, or scammed them into pyramid schemes…”

Demacia slumped in defeat.

Natsume: “…”

Li Mu: “…”

Bruh, is there anything you still haven’t done?

“Well, no use crying over it. Just focus on fixing your rep. You’ve been doing better lately. Your personal rating’s up to -50 already. So keep at it, and you’ll climb back up to zero in no time,” Li Mu encouraged.

Demacia: “…”

Natsume: “…”

After teasing Demacia a bit more, Li Mu turned to Natsume.

“Oh, by the way, I already found you a potential NPC assistant. She’s a half-elf who recently ascended from Ouros and plans to settle here in Grey Haven. Her husband is also here, who’s someone you know, actually. If you become High Priest, he’ll be your colleague: Mister Galewind, the one who just purified his bloodline to become a full elf.”

“Oh, him!” Natsume nodded in recognition.

He clasped his hands in gratitude. “Thanks, Boss Li.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re family.” Li Mu waved it off.

Then, shifting the topic back to the announcement, he gazed at the shadowed figure and mused,

“Flower fairies… I wonder where they’ll appear. Maybe they’ll descend from the World Tree too?”

Descend from the World Tree?

Natsume froze.

Suddenly, he recalled the multicolored orbs he’d seen earlier…

No way…

“Boss Li, speaking of that… I think might’ve seen something interesting on the World Tree today. You think it could be related to these new NPCs?”

He swallowed hard.

“Hmm?” Li Mu blinked.

“What? What’d you see?” Demacia perked up.

After a moment’s thought, Natsume described the glowing orbs he’d encountered in the canopy.

The two listened intently, their eyes lighting up.

“That… actually sounds plausible!”

Li Mu rubbed his chin. “Let’s go check it out!”

Seeing their excitement, Natsume reluctantly summoned Leylia again, and the trio set off for Chosen City.

However, when they reached the World Tree’s canopy, the countless orbs Natsume had seen earlier were already gone and vanished without a trace.

“Huh? Where are those orbs? They were just here yesterday!”

Natsume stared in disbelief.

“You sure, bro? Maybe you misremembered it?” Demacia raised an eyebrow.

“Absolutely not! One even drained my mana! I just… didn’t take a screenshot. The sight was really something, though.”

Natsume searched the area again but found nothing—not even a lingering trace of that strange fragrance.

In the end, they had no choice but to give up…

“What the hell?” Natsume stood dumbfounded.

“Maybe… you encountered a bug? Or perhaps you really did see something, but the devs temporarily removed it,” Li Mu speculated.

“That must be it… I was actually planning to camp here if they really were the new NPCs, waiting for them to appear…”

Natsume sighed in disappointment.

With their search yielding no results, the three had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

Thus, life returned to normal.

The Shattered Divine Kingdom dungeon grew increasingly lively, with players frequently clashing with adventurers from other factions who had ventured inside.

Moreover, rumors spread of players unearthing fragments of divine artifacts from the ruins, offering them to the Goddess in exchange for massive contribution points.

A few lucky ones even discovered lost spell scrolls among the skeletal remains of epic creatures on the ancient battlefield, learning long forgotten magic…

Yet, Natsume stayed away from it all.

He couldn’t shake the memory of those glowing orbs.

“That wasn’t an illusion or a bug. They must’ve been hidden for some reason!”

The new announcement quickly became a hot topic.

Though only a silhouette had been revealed, the distinctive shape left little doubt.

It had to be flower fairies!

Players, Natsume included, were fascinated by these mythical Western fantasy creatures.

Despite being male, Natsume had always had a soft spot for cute things, with many of his familiars following that aesthetic.

Now, with the impending arrival of this fairy-like race, his curiosity burned like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

And he wasn’t alone as countless players also shared his excitement.

Elven Kingdom’s character designs had never disappointed so far, and the official description of “mischievous and charming, playful yet endearing” only fueled their anticipation.

Speculations ran wild about where the “flower fairies” might appear.

But Natsume remained convinced those glowing orbs he’d seen were the key.

From then on, he visited the World Tree’s canopy daily, searching for those orbs.

Yet, each time, he came up empty-handed.

Until June 10th arrived.

As usual, Natsume made his way to the World Tree’s crown—only to spot two familiar figures already there.

“Boss Li? Demacia? What are you two doing here?”

“Ahem… Your theory was convincing enough. So… I’m here to camp for the new NPCs,” Li Mu admitted with a dry cough.

“Hehe, same here!” Demacia grinned.

Natsume: “…”

His eye twitched as he flipped them off.

Then, out of habit, he settled down to wait.

Time ticked by.

Soon, the scheduled update time arrived.

With Elven Kingdom now implementing seamless updates, no more downtime server maintenance was required.

The moment the clock struck the hour, the trio watched as the World Tree’s canopy erupted in radiant light.

Under Li Mu’s astonished gaze, Demacia’s awestruck stare, and Natsume’s exhilarated eyes—spatial ripples shimmered across the branches, and countless luminous orbs materialized out of thin air.

A chorus of bell-like laughter rang out as the orbs dissolved into streaks of colorful light, detaching from the branches and scattering in all directions…

Natsume froze.

Li Mu slapped his thigh.

“Quit staring guys! Hurry, let’s chase them!”

As for Demacia?

He was already airborne, riding his giant bird mount.

Natsume: “…”

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