[97] Yggdrasil [1]

"Alright, I'm off."

"Take care and come back safely!"

"I pray that nothing goes wrong."

"Come back safely, nya~!"

I stepped into the warp case, receiving farewells from the three sisters?

As I entered the warp case, the door closed behind me. Armonia, dressed in a captain's uniform, addressed the three people.

"From now on, this area is a restricted zone. Everyone, please leave."

"Understood."

With Viola's cheerful response, the other two also replied and exited the warp room.

Armonia began the briefing in the now quiet warp room.

"This mission's destination is the Cosmic Tree, Yggdrasil. The initial village is called Zephyrum, a town created to help first-time visitors adapt to Yggdrasil."

"...So, it's a tutorial village."

Armonia continued her explanation.

"The Cosmic Tree is divided into upper and lower layers. You will be proceeding to the upper layer, while the Zodiac faction is handling the lower layer."

"It has been about a year since Yggdrasil began its summoning ritual, but the Sanctuary faction has yet to deploy their protagonist. The reason for this is still unknown."

"However, according to Zodiac's intelligence, there are signs that the Sanctuary faction is preparing to deploy their protagonist. The source is unclear, but Zodiac has expressed confidence in its reliability."

"Those who reach the end of the upper and lower layers of Yggdrasil will be granted the right to rule their respective regions for 100 years and have one wish granted."

Listening quietly to the briefing, I couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked.

"Wow! A wish? If they grant any wish, I could get 300 million Enels and be done with it, right?"

"That's not possible."

"Why?"

"The wish is only valid within the planet where the Cosmic Tree is rooted. Yggdrasil is merely a product of Enels sown by the gods. Wishes are only granted within certain limits."

"Tch..."

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

I was hoping to get Enels through the wish and then have a direct encounter with Armonia...

"An important fact is that there is currently a treaty between Zodiac and the Sanctuary faction."

"A treaty?"

"A treaty to not interfere with each other's progress."

The idea was to conquer the upper and lower layers of Yggdrasil separately without direct interference.

There was also a clause to avoid 'direct' interference during the conquest.

The current mission location, Yggdrasil, has less information and higher danger compared to other worlds.

The treaty was established to prevent protagonists, who only have one life, from facing dangerous situations.

Since the upper and lower layers can be ruled separately, it was agreed to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

"But! They didn't directly interfere, but they indirectly requested interference, right?"

"That's correct. The Sanctuary faction, unaware of our existence, accepted the clause, and fortunately, we found a loophole."

"Thinking about it the other way, it seems the Sanctuary faction also planned to interfere indirectly after completing their conquest."

They wouldn't have included such a clause without thinking.

Those who call themselves the gods' representatives aren't that foolish.

They probably planned to quickly conquer the upper layer, rule it, and then indirectly interfere with Zodiac's protagonist to take over the lower layer as well.

But why haven't they deployed their protagonist yet?

The longer they wait, the more they stand to lose.

That part bothered me.

"And before you begin your mission, there's something important I need to tell you."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Unlike previous missions, this one has less information and higher danger. If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, I will activate the warp at my discretion."

Armonia's expressionless words carried weight.

"Even if our identity is at risk of being exposed to the Sanctuary faction, I will warp you out."

"...Alright, do that."

"Thank you for understanding."

Of course, I don't want to die either.

It's better to be exposed and live through hardship than to die without being noticed.

"This time, I'll explain the system that will help you break through the layers: Jobs, Blessings, and Sponsorships."

I roughly understood Jobs, but Blessings and Sponsorships were completely unclear.

Armonia would explain everything anyway.

"Yggdrasil performs the summoning ritual in Zephyrum and summons chosen beings from across the universe to the Zephyrum village coliseum."

"After a basic explanation, the summoned beings will have their personal spaces activated as they leave the coliseum, allowing them to check and modify their basic abilities."

The personal space is invisible to outsiders, she explained.

As soon as you enter your personal space, you start by choosing a job, which is crucial for the game.

"First, according to advice from Zodiac, it's best to choose a job recommended within your personal space."

Not everyone can choose any job.

For example, someone with no magical talent won't even see the Mage job on their list.

After recognizing your talents, jobs suitable for you are listed in recommended order.

"Currently, most survivors around Zodiac's protagonist chose recommended jobs. It seems the advice was given to aid survival."

"...And the fact that they survived means the jobs were highly effective. Okay."

"Second, there's Yggdrasil's Blessing. After choosing a job, you'll receive a piece of paper."

"On that paper, you can write down a unique passive ability you desire."

"Wow, isn't that ridiculously overpowered?"

A passive ability that becomes reality just by writing it down?

No matter how I thought about it, it seemed like an unbalanced element.

-You can't die.- Something as absurd as that is possible, right?

As I struggled to comprehend, Armonia explained Blessings in detail.

"As you said, it's incredibly overpowered, so there are conditions. To register a Blessing, you need points that match its power."

When you first arrive in Zephyrum, everyone receives points.

Points are a universal currency within Yggdrasil, used to enhance abilities or buy items.

The important thing is that even if you write down a desired Blessing, you can't register it if you don't have the required points.

For example, if you write, 'Anyone who makes eye contact with me becomes my servant,' Yggdrasil will demand an astronomical number of points for it.

This raises a question.

What if you don't write a Blessing and just hoard points? Couldn't you then register an overpowered Blessing?

But there's a safeguard against that.

The deadline to write a Blessing is before breaking through the third layer.

If you don't write a Blessing by the time you pass the third layer?

Then you'll have to conquer Yggdrasil without a Blessing, putting you at a disadvantage.

"What about the initial points given?"

"1000 points. But that can vary."

"Huh? Isn't everyone starting on the same footing?"

"To explain that, I need to tell you about Sponsorships first."

Third, Sponsorships.

"The place you're going to is where the war of the gods took place."

It wasn't the 'true' gods that Armonia and I knew.

It referred to beings as powerful as gods who once lived in that world.

They fought constantly, and the result was a twilight war where all the gods killed each other.

Eventually, all the gods died, and their souls were enshrined within Yggdrasil.

...That was the gist of the basic story.

And the gods, who lived a boring life within Yggdrasil, asked Yggdrasil to summon beings from across the universe to watch and enjoy their minimal amusement.

"And if they like what they see in your daily life, they will sponsor you with points."

"Some gods sponsor beings simply because they like their first impression."

"Those who receive initial sponsorships can write better Blessings than others."

"So, you're saying... if you're handsome or pretty, you get more points?"

"...According to Zodiac's explanation... that's correct."

Dirty looks-based favoritism...

"But even they don't sponsor massive amounts of points initially. It's far from enough to get an overpowered Blessing from the start."

"Well, there are plenty of handsome and pretty people out there. It's probably just a slight advantage."

"But you're different."

"Huh? Why?"

"You can convert Enels into points, allowing you to write a Blessing far beyond what others can achieve."

"Enels are the best..."

The true divine currency, Enels.

There's nothing Enels can't do.

They're incomparable to mere points.

"What's the exchange rate?"

"1:10. 1 Enel can be exchanged for 10 points."

While others start with a thousand points, I could start with tens of thousands.

Which means...

"Wow... I'm really worried about how much I'll crush those Sanctuary bastards."

The Sanctuary faction, with their massive Enel reserves...

How much Enel will they use for their Blessings?

"That's my biggest concern as well."

"That's the summary of the information we've received so far. I'll explain the rest as we proceed."

"Okay! Got it."

"Then, good luck."

With Armonia's final words, the warp activated.

***

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw many people around me, and the sound of chaos filled the air.

People who had been suddenly summoned were shouting, asking where they were.

I thought it would be suspicious to look too calm, so I pretended to panic.

'Wow, they're all humans? No other races?'

[Considering it's their first summoning, it seems each race is summoned to different locations.]

'Well...'

That made sense.

If orcs or goblins were summoned together, it would be impossible to start.

It would be a real coliseum match from the beginning.

While everyone was shouting, a being appeared in the center of the coliseum with a pillar of light...

"Hello, everyone! Welcome to Yggdrasil!"

It was a fairy.

'Wait, what the fuck!'

[...? What's wrong, Guardian?]

'A fairy, damn it, a fairy!!!!!!'

[???]

Armonia didn't understand my words at all.

A storm began to rage in my previously calm heart.

When you think of fairies, the first thing that comes to mind...

'Damn it, those bastards start by blowing people's heads off to establish dominance!!'

[That won't happen.]

'Huh?'

[According to Zodiac's explanation, that never happened.]

The fairies that appeared were there to help those who had suddenly arrived in this world, acting as GMs.

'That much is the same...'

Fortunately, Zodiac's information didn't mention fairies blowing people's heads off.

Thinking about it, if such crucial information existed, they would have told me beforehand...

'Sigh...'

[It's common sense that suddenly blowing someone's head off doesn't make sense.]

Well, common sense-wise, that's true...

I awkwardly scratched my head and said.

'That's a common trope in web games...'

[This isn't a game. No matter how similar it is, this place is different from a game...]

Armonia was trying to make me realize that this wasn't a game, treating me like a game addict.

At that moment, a large man with a bright smile approached the fairy and shouted angrily.

"Hey, what the hell are you! Send me back to my original world!!!"

"Hahaha. Now, now! Calm down and listen to me..."

The fairy calmly smiled, trying to soothe the man.

But the man wouldn't listen.

"Shut up and send me back to my original worl..."

"Ugh... you're annoying..."

The fairy frowned and raised a finger towards the man.

Bang!

And his head exploded.

"Kyaaaah!"

"Shit, shit!! His head exploded!"

The coliseum turned into chaos.

[....]

'....'

Armonia was silent for a while, then cautiously continued.

[It seems... not so different after all. Please handle this carefully. Trust the games you've played so far.]

"...Damn it."

And so, I arrived in what seemed to be the most dangerous world I've ever seen.

***

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