The Tree

"That is a degenerated world tree," said Aura. "A world tree is a legendary tree that is said to be able to grow infinitely, even reaching the size of a world. The one before us is basically a sapling, unable to grow because this tiny spacial realm can't provide it with the mana and nutrients it needs. It has been forced to degenerate into a lesser type of tree to survive."

"There should be a lot of treasures in the tree, right?" asked Lydian.

"Yes, but we have to find a way past all the monsters around it." Aura and the rest carefully observed the many wild monsters surrounding the tree, but there were too many. Fighting them head on would be suicide, and sneaking past them would be almost impossible. There didn't seem to be any option considering they only had two monsters that were not that much more powerful. Aura could see more than one level 10 monster in the massive group.

"Aren't monsters attracted to spirit jade and similar dense mana sources? We could have a Puppet Sprout carry that water element spirit stone and start dragging it away, luring out the wild monsters so we can get to the tree," suggested Lydian.

Aura considered this option. "It has a good chance of working. We should try it."

The three took out the box containing the spirit stone and placed it on the ground near the Puppet Sprout, and Puppet had it carry the container closer to the tree. The monster trainers then backed off and hid themselves.

After they were hidden, the Puppet Sprout opened up the container and started to drag the spirit stone away. The nearby monsters sensed an attractive mana source nearby and started looking around for it. Upon seeing a small, weak green figure stealing away the water spirit stone, the wild monsters became enraged and charged at it, trying to obtain the stone for themselves.

"Run at the opening it created!" The monster trainers sprinted at the massive tree. Now that they had achieved their goal of luring away the monsters, Aura used a soul technique, boosting Puppet's Puppet Sprout skill and increasing the sprout's stats. Seeing the thief speeding up and vanishing in the distance, the chasing monsters roared unwilling and gave up.

The three reached the base of the tree while the monsters were occupied and marveled at the size that looked even more impressive up close.

"Lyn, use Shatter!" After the repeated use of the skill, they eventually breached the tough exterior of the tree and entered it.

Inside the tree was a massive hollow, resembling a cathedral. Roots and vines entwined with each other and decorated the walls, climbing upward until they reached a height no longer visible. At the center of the tree was a small green crystal, about the size of a golf ball. It was suspended in the air, radiating a warm green light, filling the chamber and making everyone in its glow feel refreshed. Around the crystal, there were plants wildly growing, trying to absorb as much of the nourishing aura as possible.

"The heart of the world tree. It's all that remains of the tree's glorious past, the last bit of its essence that had crystallized before it degenerated." This was the reason Aura had chosen this spacial realm to explore. He remembered that in the past, a high profile member of the Dragon Empire's government had explored this spacial realm and found the tree. Obtaining the heart of the world tree had led to his explosive increase in strength. Now, the opportunity that had one been that man's was in Aura's hands.

"Brother, what is its use?" asked Lydian.

"If a monster has this absorbed in its body, it will gain 50 percent more experience."

Lydian and Ariel both gasped. They knew the importance of experience to contracted monsters. The amount needed to level up would only increase exponentially.

"I plan on using this on Puppet," said Aura. Neither of the two girls objected. They knew that they only had the opportunity to enter this spacial realm thanks to Aura.

Aura gingerly picked up the green crystal and placed it in a specialized, tightly sealed container. The bright aura that had flooded the inside of the tree disappeared and was replaced with a gloomy feeling.

"These few saplings are quite valuable as well. While magewood trees are not that uncommon, those that are this high quality are hard to find." They carefully dug out the saplings covered in bark shining with intricate patterns, wrapped up the roots, and packed them up as well. These saplings would be useful for Puppet's evolution.

Having finished looting the hollow inside the former world tree, Aura had the Puppet Sprout outside release the spirit stone again, and they snuck out of the tree.