Chapter 256: Chaos upon Chaos (5)

"Vitality?"

The first to react to Wisha's words about vitality absorption was the Tiger Shaman, Gashan.

"So, it's not dangerous then?"

Wisha sighed at his question, frowning.

"That's..."

"I will explain."

The Elven Guardian stepped forward. Meanwhile, Cale's gaze turned towards the direction from which she had come.

On the other side of the deep well emitting endless multicolored light, there was a narrow tunnel. The secret base was an underground tunnel beneath the forest.

Without even being able to establish a proper life base, the underground tunnel for minimal survival was built with a complex structure like an anthill. It couldn't be compared to the Dark Elves' underground city. It was so miserable that it was hard to even call it a base, let alone a city.

'There's no other option. This is the best way to hide from Dragon Ryan and be ready for anything that might happen.'

Cale, remembering the Elven Guardian's words, heard her voice in his ear.

"Originally, while digging a tunnel to infiltrate Ryan's Castle, we discovered a huge sinkhole."

That was this huge well.

"As the well emitted multicolored light, we found it strange and investigated it. We discovered that the light was identical to what the World Tree emitted from time to time."

The World Tree, connected to the world's flow.

"Based on this, we investigated and found that if we enter this well, we can reach the Source of the World."

After that, as expected, there were several attempts to reach the source, and as a result, Wisha and the Elven Guardian were able to reach it.

"Currently, the source has lost much of its power. Consequently, it is finding it difficult to control itself."

At the mention of 'control', Cale's gaze shifted towards the Elven Guardian.

"To summarize, since there is no time to explain the situation in detail, the current source is concentrating all its energy on not losing itself, so it does not have the ability to protect intruders entering its domain."

"However, once you reach the Source of the World and gain it's approval, you will not lose vitality even if you enter this domain afterward."

"However, the first time is difficult."

"You could end up injured like Wisha, or aging like me. Or..."

The Elf pointed to some people behind her. In addition to Wisha and the Guardian, some of those holding important positions in this secret base were present. They were greeting Cale's group, but they were also watching them.

"Or you could suffer different side effects like them."

"Hmm."

Gashan let out a deep sigh. His gaze turned to Cale. The others in the group did too. Tasha, Pendrick, and the others. They looked at Cale with eyes full of concern, but none of them dared to speak easily.

'Will you go?'

They already knew that if they asked him like that, the only response would be 'I will.'

However, what worried them was whether to send him alone or accompany him.

"..."

"..."

There was silence. Neither Cale's group nor the others could speak easily. However, the Dark Elf Tasha looked at Wisha with a slightly hardened expression.

"If that's the case, shouldn't you have told us earlier?"

Then they would have devised some sort of plan.

In response, Healer Pendrick spoke up.

"Wouldn't it be possible to talk to the Source of the World through the Elven Guardian here, instead of Young Master Cale having to go there in person?"

"No. That would be too troublesome."

Pendrick stopped. He looked at the person who had given such a firm response.

"...Young Master."

As expected, Cale intended to enter the well with a face that showed no disturbance.

At that moment,

"Right, that would be troublesome!"

A cheerful voice was heard.

"!"

Gashan's eyes widened, his gaze turning towards Raon.

'Come to think of it-'

Some people should have been the first to stop Cale in this situation. Gashan noticed a strange look in the eyes of Choi Han, On, Hong, and Lock as they watched what was happening.

They had already seen Raon. Despite being the ones who should have been most upset, they were surprisingly calm and waited patiently.

Raon's next words.

"Human, aren't you a balanced being?"

Ah.

At those words, Gashan remembered what he had heard before.

'That interior is a balanced space. An imbalanced being will lose vitality upon entering.'

He thought that all beings, including elves, beast people, and dwarves, would lose vitality upon entering, except for the Source of the World.

However, he first had to understand what he meant by a 'balanced' space.

"What is balance?"

Gashan opened his mouth, and Wisha was about to respond.

But someone else spoke before her.

"The five natural elements are in balance within. When they say an imbalanced being, I think they mean someone who does not possess all those elements."

It was Cale.

Wisha looked at Cale with surprised eyes.

"How...?"

Before she could ask how he knew, Wisha saw the corner of Cale's mouth lift, and she closed her mouth.

And Raon chirped cheerfully.

"Exactly! I knew it as soon as I saw him too! Only a balanced being can enter here! So, our Human is safe!"

"!"

"!"

The eyes of Wisha, the Elven Guardian, and the others widened at those words.

"What does it mean...?"

"Don't tell me that..."

If they took seriously what the young dragon had said, they came to an incredible conclusion.

"Savior, do you possess the five elements in your body?"

Cale, who had averted his gaze to her at the Elven Guardian's question, paused.

'Is it too much?'

The elf was looking at him with eyes that shone too brightly.

So, he couldn't answer for a moment.

"Correct! Our Human possesses even more elements than that!"

Raon answered for Cale.

"Oh my."

And Wisha was shocked.

A little too much, even.

'Hmm.'

Suddenly, a thought passed through Cale's mind.

'...Is there an Ancient Power in this world?'

Wasn't it supposed to not exist?

Then, is there a possibility that humans possess multiple elements?

'Ah. Hmm.'

At the moment an inexplicable sense of unease washed over Cale's neck.

"A human like the Source of the World. It is a being that can truly exist."

That was Wisha.

"...Savior, that title was not a falsehood."

That was the dwarf from the other side.

"Oh my! Is it like another source?"

That exclamation came from another elf.

And finally, the Elven Guardian...

Plop!

Took Cale's two hands and with fiery eyes desperately pleaded.

"Please, save this world!"

Uh, hmm.

Without hesitation, Cale freed himself from the hands holding him.

And he said directly.

"Saving the world is not my job."

He drew a firm line.

"I will only take care of the Hunters of the Purple Blood Family and then leave."

He showed a very firm attitude.

"The rest is up to you. Saving Aipotu is something that the people who live there must do. It's not something that someone like me, who isn't from Aipotu, should do."

Ah.

Wisha and the Elven Guardian exclaimed.

And Choi Han also sighed.

'Hmm?'

Yes, Choi Han didn't exclaim, but he sighed. Cale turned his head slightly and looked at Choi Han. Their eyes met.

Nod.

Choi Han nodded with a serious face. Faced with the renewed determination, Cale felt an inexplicable unease, but an even more unsettling sound reached his ears.

"Indeed, you are the savior."

The Elven Guardian's gaze grew even more fiery. Cale couldn't understand the reason, but at least he had made it clear what he had to do, so he wouldn't cross that line.

- Cale, no matter how you look at it, your vitality will not drain.

As he listened to the Super Rock's words, which had been saying it was safe from the start, Cale ignored the inhabitants of Aipotu, including the Elves.

And he walked briskly towards the multicolored well.

"You all stay here."

"Understood!"

Raon waved his front paws. Seeing his cheerful farewell attitude like an average Ten-year-old child, Cale felt relieved and took a step into the well.

At that moment, Wisha said.

"Oh, you'll fall straight down, so don't be surprised."

But it was already too late.

"!"

The moment Cale took a step, his body began to fall rapidly downwards.

'Gulp!'

Too shocked to speak, Cale was sucked into the well and plummeted downward.

"Actually, his vitality doesn't seem to be drained."

Wisha murmured as she watched Cale's figure sink into the multicolored light and disappear. The Elven Guardian continued.

"...And he maintains an indifferent expression to the end. Could it be that he's accustomed to this?"

However, there was no response from Cale's group. They could only watch the well where Cale was no longer visible and wait for his return.

And Cale opened his mouth in the multicolored light.

"What is this?"

His body continued to descend endlessly. No, it was being absorbed. He looked downward. The bottom wasn't visible. It truly seemed like he was going to descend to the very bottom of the earth.

- Cale.

At that moment, a familiar voice he hadn't heard in a long time echoed in his ears.

- I'm hungry.

The Unbreakable Shield, the Glutton Priestess, spoke.

"Eh?"

Hungry?

Why all of a sudden?

- That looks delicious.

Eh?

- Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing saliva was heard. Without realizing it, Cale felt invaded by a cold sensation and looked around.

The multicolored light, upon closer inspection, was composed of small particles containing different colors.

Somehow, it resembled bubbles rising when stirring the bottom of the sea.

Gulp.

"Hmm?"

Cale unconsciously swallowed saliva.

'Did I just swallow saliva?'

I'm not hungry.

And what am I seeing that's making me swallow saliva?

The bright light particles came back into Cale's field of vision.

Gulp.

- Gulp.

Glutton Priestess and Cale swallowed saliva simultaneously.

'Wow!'

At the moment Cale was surprised, he suddenly heard a weak voice from below.

- Ah, no, no, no, no... -!

It was the voice of a girl who seemed to be about 3 years old.

A voice full of sobs was heard.

- Please, please, don't take it away from me...

She was crying.

'Hmm.'

This must undoubtedly be the voice of the Source of the World.

- Sniff, sniff!

The sound of someone sniffing loudly was heard.

- Please, help me, please...!

Now she was crying out loud.

Cale reached out his hand. A place full of a bright aura. Cale's body was no longer descending.

Instead, his gaze was fixed on the center of the bright aura.

There was a giant sphere there.

It was about the size of a normal house.

Cale's hand touched the sphere.

Knock, knock.

Upon touching the glass-like surface, the person inside the sphere looked at Cale.

- Sniff, sniff.

The girl kept sniffling and wiping her runny nose, but her face was already covered in snot.

She seemed to be about 4 years old. Her long, curly hair waved inside the sphere like seaweed. Her face, barely able to contain the tears, peeked out from within her hair.

"Are you the Source of the World? Aipotu?"

In response to Cale's question, the girl nodded and sniffled again, her nose running slightly.

- I'm hungry. If I ate this, I might even beat the Gods I saw earlier. Gulp.

The voice of the Glutton Priestess was heard.

- Eh! You, you just, just...! You swallowed saliva, didn't you!

The Source of the World, the girl who seemed to be 4 years old, started crying out loud.

'Oh no.'

Cale wiped his mouth unconsciously.

Unknowingly, he had licked his lips. Suddenly, he felt very hungry.

Should I have brought an apple pie?

Seriously considering it, Cale said sincerely.

"I have no intention of taking away your power."

At that moment, the Source of the World stopped and looked at Cale while wiping the tears from her eyes.

- ...Really?

"Yes, really."

Wouldn't this world collapse if I took it away?

Why do such a thing?

Cale nodded to reassure the gaze looking at him.

In response, the corners of the girl's mouth moved.

Then, her mouth opened.

- You're an angel! You're kinder than a god! Sniff--!

She was crying out loud again.

- Sniff, angel Cale Henituse! Sniff, silver shield angel Cale Henituse! Sniff!

Cale's expression instantly became tense.

- This girl is also strange.

Super Rock's voice was heard.

And Cale now knew how to handle these worlds.

Knock, knock.

Cale touched the surface of the sphere again and a smile formed on his lips.

And he said softly.

"Hey. If you keep crying, I'm leaving."

- !

The girl's pupils shook. Then, she forcefully held back her tears. Cale thought she was pretending like Central Plains, but she was actually trying hard to hold back the tears.

Seeing this, Cale spoke to her in a softer tone.

"You, do you know how to restore this world's energy?"

Straight to the point.

Nodding.

- Ah, I know! Sniff.

Sniffling, but still responded confidently.

"Do you want me to help you with that?"

- Uh, yes! That's it!

Clasping her two fists tightly, she nodded vigorously at Cale's words. Her long hair waved inside the sphere with the force of her nods.

"What's the method?"

- Well, to explain it properly, it will take some time.

"Ah, I see. Right."

There was something Cale had to tell the Source of the World before that.

He took out the statue of Central Plains from his chest. It was an object he had prepared before coming here. It was a little cracked, but it still contained the seed.

"This is a statue containing the power of Aipotu's World Tree. They said it could become a seed of the World Tree..."

Cale stopped talking.

Bam!

The Source of the World hit her forehead against the surface of the sphere. It seemed like a strong blow, but the girl didn't mind. Her chubby cheeks pressed against the surface of the sphere, and the girl shouted.

- !...Wh-where did you get it from?

Her voice trembled.

And then.

- Sniff, you're truly a silver angel! Sniff!

Crying again.

- W-with that, it'll be much easier! Right now, my power is leaking through the World Tree, sniff, but if we can just block that, I can work with you to restore the world's energy. Sniff.

Even though she was crying, she spoke clearly. Her pronunciation was very good.

- If you become my representative and absorb the world's energy once, it'll work! Sniff.

Eh?

"Wait a moment-"

- You've achieved balance, so it'll be easy! You just need to restructure this world once! Sniff!

What?

Is she asking me to become the representative of the Source of the World and restructure the world?

And she says it's easy?

- Sniff. A seed! You truly are the angel Cale Henituse!

Sniff.

Cale silently observed the Source of the World sobbing. His mind was in a state of confusion at that moment.

"What do you want me to... do? Restructure the world?"

- Sniff. Yes! That's it!

Cale inadvertently let it slip out.

How can I...?

"I am a human. How can an ordinary human like me do something like that?"

Sniff.

The Source of the World stopped crying. And then she looked at Cale in disbelief.

- Eh?

"Eh?"

- You, you can do it.

"I can do it?"

- Yes, if you're with me, you can do it too!

The Source of the World looked at Cale with shining eyes.

"Sigh~"

Cale was dumbfounded.

* * *

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]