Report
A New Divine Beast
While the demon retreated, and the spirit tree collapsed, Iron had a rather strange experience.
Since it was his first time going through something like this, he was overwhelmed and observed the world through this new sensation.
Iron, who had been gazing from the corrupted great forest to the distant former Southern Union area, suddenly felt his consciousness being pulled somewhere.
-Time’s up. Stop fooling around and come back.
The moment the deep voice told him to return, Iron was back in his ‘human body.’
The free sensation he had experienced vanished, and he now felt confined within his human form.
Although his senses had reached the level of a Master, they could not compare to the boundless feeling that was close to nature.
“……”
Iron remained silent, gradually adjusting to his senses.
Although his body was wrecked with severe internal injuries, his external wounds were even worse.
The external injuries, possibly due to the demon's energy, could not be healed even by divine power.
‘This will take time.’
Just as Iron thought that and began inspecting his body, a small bird emitting a blue glow appeared and stared at him intently.
Although it was no bigger than a sparrow, Iron instinctively felt that the power within it was no less than that of the demon.
“Who are you?”
When Iron asked, the blue bird stared at him silently.
After a long moment of silence, the bird clicked its tongue and spoke.
-Tch! To think I have to make a contract with someone like this... How pitiful my fate is.
Iron’s expression twisted at the bird’s words.
It reminded him of the time when the two moons had once mocked him, making his mood turn sour.
But there was something that Iron could understand. The bird’s elevated presence, as perceived through his senses, gave him a glimpse of the level he had once reached.
-Hey.
At the bird’s call, Iron, who had been lost in thought, raised his head and looked at it.
Then the bird, showing an arrogant smile that should have been impossible for a beak to form, spoke again.
-I’ll make a contract with you, but I’ll be taking your divine beast powers until I recover. Deal?
“What?”
The moment Iron asked, a notification window appeared.
- ????? wishes to monopolize your divine beast power as a contract condition until it recovers. Do you accept the contract?
Upon seeing the notification, Iron’s face twisted further.
The other divine beasts seemed displeased as well, but the gap in power between them was too vast for them to protest. They merely stared at Iron.
-Chirp!
Unable to stand it anymore, the small sparrow piped up, but the blue bird smiled smugly once again.
-You don’t have much of a choice. If you want to keep fighting, you’ll need my help, won’t you? How much use do you think that body of yours will be?
Though the sparrow frowned at the blue bird’s words, it couldn’t refute them.
-Hurry up and accept the contract. We don’t have much time.
When the blue bird spoke as though threatening him, Iron scowled and said:
“No. Get lost.”
-What? Do you think I’m happy about this? I’m stuck making a contract with someone barely meeting the minimum requirements. Do you know how much this sucks for me?
“I said no. Who do you think you are to monopolize my divine beast power?”
Iron glared at the blue bird as he spoke.
It was clear that contracting with such a powerful divine beast would benefit him greatly.
But he didn’t want to make a contract that would force his other divine beasts, who had fought alongside him and endured life-threatening battles, to make sacrifices.
-Ha… You really don’t know what’s coming, do you? Something big is about to happen…
“I don’t care what’s coming. I’m not letting you monopolize my divine beast power.”
-This is driving me crazy.
The blue bird scratched its head with its wings as if exasperated.
Looking at it, Iron realized the bird didn’t really want to monopolize his divine beast power either.
“What exactly is about to happen?”
At Iron’s question, the blue bird stopped scratching its head and stared at him quietly.
It looked like it wanted to speak, but something was holding it back.
The sparrow also seemed to know something but avoided Iron’s gaze, chirping nervously.
The other divine beasts were the same.
“Sigh…”
Unable to do anything, Iron let out a deep sigh. Just then, a notification sound echoed in his ears.
[You have made the most significant contribution to ending the first story of the apocalypse. Rewards are being calculated.]
- There are deferred rewards.
- Calculating the most necessary reward at present.
After the notification sound ended, a long pause followed.
The translucent notification window displayed only the words ‘Calculating…’
[The reward has been calculated. Due to your overwhelming contribution, you will receive a fragment of the essence of the ancient World Tree instead of the usual blessings of a divine being.]
[As an additional reward for your outstanding achievements in ending the first story, your natural form and iron body will be upgraded by one level.]
The moment Iron received both his deferred rewards and the rewards for defeating the spirit tree, an overwhelming surge of natural energy began pouring into his body.
- Your natural form has reached its maximum level.
- Iron Body has been upgraded to level 2.
- A fragment of the essence of the ancient World Tree has settled in your body. The effects are unknown.
The natural energy pouring in seemed endless.
Although it felt like too much for him to handle, Iron’s body somehow absorbed it all.
The fragment of the World Tree, lodged near his heart, was absorbing the energy, and his fully developed natural form was assisting it.
Furthermore, his now-upgraded Iron Body made it possible to withstand it.
But as time passed, more and more natural energy poured in, making it harder for him to manage.
At that moment, the blue bird approached Iron.
- I know you’re overwhelmed… but I’ll change the contract terms.
The blue bird, seeing Iron struggling amidst the torrent of natural energy, spoke.
“…What?”
In response to Iron’s question, the blue bird pointed to his heart.
-That.
The blue bird pecked at the area near Iron’s heart as it spoke.
-Let’s make the contract using that.
Iron glanced down at his heart.
The fragment of the World Tree, which was drawing in an enormous amount of natural energy, was located there.
Although it was only a small part of the World Tree, it held more natural energy than Iron could handle.
That’s what the blue bird wanted.
At first, Iron thought it was too greedy, but after seeing the bird’s eyes, he reconsidered.
The blue bird was staring intently at the fragment lodged in his heart.
-You can’t handle this with your current strength anyway. Just give it to me.
As the blue bird spoke, more natural energy surged into Iron’s body.
Even with the help of the sparrow and other divine beasts, it was becoming difficult to manage.
To be honest, Iron was tempted.
For a brief moment, he wondered if fully absorbing this fragment of the World Tree might elevate him to a level far beyond that of a Grandmaster.
But he knew that would be overreaching at his current level.
“…Alright.”
The moment Iron agreed, the blue bird nodded.
-I’ll leave you with 10%.
With that, the blue bird lightly pecked at Iron’s heart.
In that instant, a green glowing fragment was drawn out by the small beak.
The blue bird then plucked a tiny portion of it with its wing and placed it back into Iron’s body.
“Urgh!”
Just 10%.
But even that small amount was enough to fill Iron with an overwhelming surge of natural energy.
The reason the blue bird had left him only 10% was that it was the most Iron could handle at his current level.
The blue bird, having taken the fragment of the World Tree from Iron, flew toward the collapsed spirit tree, rather than consuming it as expected.
- My old friend…
The blue bird gazed at the spirit tree, now corrupted and destroyed.
Seeing the remains of its once-great friend being defiled by the corrupted forces was heartbreaking.
However, the system had preserved traces of its friend, and part of it had come to Iron as a reward, albeit a very small portion.
- I hope you can regain your former self someday…
With that, the blue bird brought the glowing fragment into the fallen spirit tree.
In that instant, a radiant light emanated from the corrupted tree, beginning the process of purification.
The blue bird watched the scene for a long time before nodding in satisfaction.
“Urgh…”
The blue bird let out a deep sigh as it watched the human struggle to handle even 10% of the energy.
While the fact that it had to make a contract with such a human made it shake its head, it was also grateful to this human who had provided a foundation for its long-time friend to start anew, no longer being toyed with.
- Get a grip.
“…Is it over?”
- Yes, it’s done. Now, let’s make the contract.
The blue bird tapped Iron’s forehead with its beak.
At that moment, Iron’s eyes widened.
It was the same sensation he had felt when he first contracted with the sparrow.
[You have contracted with Hræsvelgr, the friend of Yggdrasil and god of storms.]
Tl/N: Yggdrasil is the world tree in Norse mythology .
[ Due to its long slumber, Hræsvelgr requires time to recover its strength. It will remain dormant until it regains its power. ]
[ Due to your contract with a divine beast of the highest order, your divine beast power has dramatically increased. ]
[ Your divine beasts will grow beyond their original strength. All divine beasts will remain dormant until their growth is complete.]
[ You have now contracted with all possible divine beasts. You can no longer contract with any more divine beasts. ]
“Hræ… Hræsvelgr…”
As Iron absentmindedly mumbled the name of his newly contracted divine beast, all of his divine beasts shrank and disappeared into the subspace.
With this reward, the divine beasts would not only recover their original strength but also grow stronger.
However, it seemed it wasn’t just the divine beasts who would benefit.
With his contract with the exalted Hræsvelgr, Iron himself felt that he had grown as well.
It was as if a blockage in his path had been cleared, and a distant light was now guiding him forward.
Though the barrier had been broken, it was up to him to walk towards the light on his own.
Thus, Iron knew that continuous effort would be required for him to fully grow.
Understanding this, Iron closed his eyes, preparing to begin training to walk towards that distant light.
[The essence of the ancient World Tree has settled in its remains. A seed of the great tree will form in the Grand Forest.]
[After a long time, a mighty king of nature, like the World Tree that guards the Northern Forest, may be born. Nature wishes to gift you for creating this great miracle.]
[ Instead of a body that has achieved perfect natural form, nature’s blessing will be imprinted on your weapon.]
The moment the notification sounded, natural energy began to pour into Iron’s sword.
The sword, damaged from countless battles, was on the verge of falling apart.
Yet, despite its condition, the sword had fought alongside Iron until the very end. Now, as natural energy surged into it, the sword evolved to another level.
“Are you growing too?”
Iron said, looking at his sword.
As he gazed at his old friend, the Iron Wall, a satisfied smile spread across his face. Iron then closed his eyes, preparing himself to grow as well.
Just as Iron was embracing this time for growth, determined to overcome the upcoming crisis, a great light suddenly swept through the Grand Forest region.
“Com… Commander?”
Iron smiled softly as he saw Karl, the first to run to him.
“It’s been a while.”
