Chương 50: What a Mess

Global System Message World 43, a World Tree, has been born. A growing World Tree blooms in the jungles of Venezuela, in the centre of Drok's territory. Once fully mature, the World Tree will begin the next succession of a future God of the Multiverse. The tree will begin its journey in one year, heralding a new blossoming of mana worldwide. Whoever touches the tree at this time will gain the title Ascended One; this title offers the following benefits: 20% increase to all stats. Class or Beast Body tier upgrade.

Profession or Beast Mind tier upgrade. A Bloodline. The skill Traversal. The countdown begins now. Ding! Class Space Farmer has reached level 32 - stat points distributed; Ding! Class Space Farmer has reached level 41 - stat points distributed. As Joe stepped out of the gate, a flurry of global and system notifications flashed before him. One in particular sent a chill down his spine. He scanned the global message with growing unease; it was old. Likely sent a day or two after they had entered the gate.

Gao, who stood beside him, was in a similar state of shock. Veda leapt onto his shoulder, sensing something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked. Joe opened the message, and with a mental nudge, he projected it out for her to read. Veda remained silent, but he could feel her tension spike. Whatever this was, it wasn't good.

"We must go. Now," Gao said, finding her voice.

"I must return to Kunlun." She pulled out her cloud and prepared to ascend. Joe held up a hand.

"Can we come with you?" he asked, pulling out his flying boat.

"Let's ride together. This is pretty fast." He climbed aboard, and after a pause, Gao nodded and dismissed her cloud, joining him. She pointed the way, and within seconds, they were flying at full speed toward Kunlun. It took them less than two hours to reach the city. Joe's anxiety only grew as they approached, wondering what had happened during their nearly six-month absence. Veda hadn't said a single word the entire trip. As Kunlun appeared on the horizon, Gao raised a hand.

A hole shimmered open in the city's barrier, allowing their vessel through unimpeded. They flew straight in and landed outside a massive building at the city's centre. Their arrival did not go unnoticed. Within moments, at least one hundred armed soldiers surrounded them, but the mood quickly shifted to relief and celebration when they saw Gao.

She offered a brief explanation of Joe's identity, and with that, he was escorted toward the City Pillar room while she departed to catch up on everything that had transpired while they were away. Inside, Joe was greeted by three women, all with the same title, Pillar Secretary. They bowed deeply once he was introduced to them.

"Welcome, Progenitor," Hua said formally, guiding him to a seat near one side of the city pillar.

"We've been instructed to assist you with contacting the other pillars," Hua said. Joe nodded in thanks and asked if the other two Progenitors were contactable and for any updates on recent events. Hua disappeared for a few moments and returned with a missive. She then began to explain what he and Gao had missed during the months since the global message. Joe was relieved to hear that both Hakeem and Kai were safe.

Hakeem was currently in South America, guarding the territory of Drok to prevent others from entering and attempting to claim the World Tree. Kai, meanwhile, remained in Heliopolis, focused on developing the city. He was surprised to learn that Hakeem wasn't alone; he was accompanied by one hundred men and women from New Eden, including the Divine Sword himself. More shocking, however, was the current death toll in South America: nearly five hundred people, all over level fifty, had already died.

"The stream of people entering Venezuela hasn't decreased," Hua explained.

"Every day, more arrive to seek the World Tree. Our last report from two days ago informed us that the situation remains tenuous at best. But there is a temporary halt to incursions into the beast's territory." Joe leaned back in his chair, digesting the report. When Hua finished, he asked if he could speak directly with someone in South America. To his surprise, messages had already been sent to Hakeem and the Divine Sword to inform them of his and Gao's return.

"If you'd like, Chunhua will escort you to a private room. We'll notify you when we have more information," Hua offered. Joe nodded gratefully. Soon after, Chunhua guided him to a quiet room not far from the pillar chamber. A privacy field surrounded the space to ensure no one would disturb him. Joe found out that this was normal practice for most places inside the city, due to everyone's increased natural hearing. Chunhua dismissed herself, promising to return when needed.

Left alone, Joe sat down with Veda curled in his lap. Everything he'd just learned churned through his mind. What a mess.

"We need to talk," Veda said, breaking her silence for the first time since leaving the inheritance gate.

"What's going on?" Joe asked. Veda paused for a minute before continuing.

"Do you know what a World Tree is?"

"Not really. Is it bad?"

"The tree itself isn't bad, but what it signifies is. It is one of the most sought-after treasures in the multiverse. Nothing good can come from its appearance here." Joe audibly gulped. The name World Tree was one he'd heard plenty of times in games and mythology, so what Veda was saying made perfect sense.

"What can we do?" he asked.

"Nothing," Veda replied.

"Just know that whoever claims that tree... It will be the death of them." Her head rested on his leg.

"Ah," Joe muttered. He exhaled softly. Great. About three hours passed before Chunhua returned.

"We have the Divine Sword and Progenitor Hakeem waiting to speak with you," she said. Joe immediately perked up and followed her back to the pillar chamber. He stepped in front of a panel that lit up, and a hologram-like beam activated, projecting the forms of Hakeem and Malcolm.

"Finally, where the hell have you been?" Hakeem said.

"Can you see me?" Joe asked, slightly confused. He hadn't expected full visual contact. Hakeem shook his head.

"You really need to stop living like a bum and visit a city pillar more often. This is old tech, man."

"Shit, sorry. I had no idea," Joe replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He had kind of been living like a hobo for a while now.

"Anyway, glad you're back. We were told you've been updated on things." Hakeem began, but a loud cough from the Divine Sword cut him off.

"Sorry to cut the greetings short," Malcolm said.

"But we could really use your help here to deal with this beast." Joe expected the Divine Sword to be all business, but the urgency in his tone still caught him off guard.

"You want to claim the Tree?" Joe asked.

"We don't have a choice," Malcolm replied, his voice tight.

"The entire world has been turned upside down by its presence. People will keep coming and dying unless we step in." Joe dreaded this. Based on everything he'd been told and his first-hand knowledge of Drok, he wasn't sure they could even manage it yet.

"I'm sorry, but you aren't going to like what I have to say then." He saw both their expressions tense as he continued.

"I'm not coming to Venezuela. Not yet. I'm not ready." Both men just stared at him in silence. Malcolm turned abruptly and walked out of view, leaving only Joe and Hakeem.

"What's up with him?" Joe asked, a little confused.

"Stress," Hakeem replied.

"Don't worry about it." He paused.

"You're really not coming?" Joe shook his head.

"Seriously, man, you should leave. Get the hell away from that place. I barely survived meeting that thing. I can guarantee, no one's claiming that tree with that thing there." His tone was a little sharper than he intended.

"Plus, I don't really appreciate that guy's attitude. How the hell is this our responsibility? As harsh as this may sound. Anyone dumb enough to rush in, well, that's on them."

"Malcolm's just under pressure. He didn't mean anything by that. I don't think anyway." Hakeem rubbed at his face. He looked exhausted.

"A lot of people have died for no reason, and he feels responsible. I'll talk to him."

"Don't worry about it," Joe replied with a wave, pacing in a small circle.

"Is that a… lizard around your shoulders?" Hakeem asked suddenly. Joe missed a step; he'd completely forgotten that this was Hakeem's first time seeing Veda.

"This is Veda. Remember the egg I had?" Joe said. Hakeem's eyes widened…

"Whoa, Hi. Can she talk?" Veda waved her tail politely.

"Not verbally; she talks through some kind of psychic connection," Joe scratched at her chin. Veda purred against him. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Tell your friend I said he's very handsome," Veda said playfully.

"She says hi," Joe said instead. Veda gave him a light slap on the back with her tail.

"Anyway, I need about two months. Then I'll head over."

"Okay," Hakeem replied simply, his eyes moving to something unseen.

"You won't go in there, right? That thing is seriously bad news. Don't ever go into its territory," Joe warned. Hakeem took a moment before replying.

"I don't plan to, but if things get crazy, I might have no choice." Joe narrowed his eyes.

"Anything I should know about?" Another pause.

"No, I can handle it. Just come over as fast as you can. I have to go." They exchanged goodbyes, and the hologram faded.

"He's hiding something," Veda said.

"Yes. Yes, he was," Joe replied quietly. Over the next day, Joe, with Veda's help, began formulating a plan. He had three main goals he wanted to achieve before setting foot in Venezuela. The first was to deal with the remaining Boss Beasts. After checking the quest screen, he saw only fifteen were left. He asked Hua if Kunlun had any information on their locations, and, after getting Gao's permission, was given a map showing all fifteen.

Unfortunately, they were scattered across the globe: five in Asia, five in Africa, one in Europe, and the rest split between North and South America. A long journey awaited him. His second goal was to restart and finally complete his mana movement training. He still wanted to emulate Drok's technique of defensively circulating mana over his body. At the same time, an idea came to Joe's mind. One that involved not only using that technique defensively, but also offensively.

His third and final goal was to master his Space Jump skill and, if possible, figure out a way to integrate it into combat. This last goal felt like a stretch, especially with the ticking clock of the integration quest and the looming issue of the World Tree.

"Gao is coming," Veda said, snapping Joe out of his thoughts. He looked up as Gao entered the room, which he and Veda had been using during their stay in Kunlun.

"Joe. Veda," Gao greeted with a nod.

"I just wanted to inform you both that I will be leaving for South America." Joe almost shot up out of his chair in surprise; if not for Veda lounging on his lap, he might have.

"You're not going after Drok, are you?" he asked, concern creeping into his voice. He really hoped she wasn't planning something reckless.

"I'm going to deal with those from Kunlun. It seems my disappearance caused… complications," Gao said. Joe had heard from Hua just how close Kunlun had come to fracturing before their return. Gao hadn't had a moment's rest since arriving back. This was the first time they'd even spoken since getting back a few days ago.

"Do you need our help? I can send Joe with you if you do," Veda offered, volunteering him without hesitation.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I'll handle these upstarts myself," Gao said with a smile. Now Joe felt sorry for whoever was about to face her wrath. She had also received the ten-level boost after they exited the Inheritance Gate, putting her at level 83 and shooting her up to second place on the leaderboard, just behind Hakeem at level 90. He must've gone through hell to level that much over the past six months. He was closing in on one hundred fast. Joe, on the other hand, was filled with regret.

His Space Class was still set at 100% experience when he entered the Gate, meaning all his ten levels went into that Class instead of his Magical Farmer Class. He groaned at all the experience he had missed out on.

"My X, P," he muttered.

"What was that?" Gao asked.

"Nothing important, just the usual." Joe then decided to give Gao a brief rundown of his plans, and she agreed to meet him in South America in two months. Before she left, she handed him a communication cube she had purchased from the pillar shop. Apparently, there were a lot more things available now. The shop was constantly expanding as they levelled up the pillar. Joe thanked her after she showed him how to use it and promised to stay in touch, especially if anything delayed their meeting.

Gao even made him promise not to get too distracted and keep to his goals. Joe stared at her.

"You've been spending too much time with Veda, I think she's rubbing off on you," he commented. Gao pulled out a second communication cube, rolling it over her fingers.

"I was speaking to Esha today, she was the one who suggested… I remind you to stay on task." Joe groaned the loudest groan he could manage. Shit! Just when I made a new friend, she was already corrupted by the devil.

"You stay away from Esha and her influence. In fact, how do you guys even communicate? Can you speak Hindi?" Gao shrugged, not answering his question. With that, she gave Veda a goodbye hug and departed. A speechless and depressed Joe eventually left the city of Kunlun.

"Great, just us again," Veda muttered, already irritated.

"You have to do something about keeping people around. How about we go pick up Esha?" Joe shot her a look of disgust. The thought of travelling with two women who'd take turns bullying him was not even remotely appealing.

"Not in your dreams," he said as he pulled out his boat and set course for the nearest Boss Beast on his map. As he flew, Joe glanced at the one hundred free stat points waiting on his status screen. After some thought, he dropped fifty into Vitality and fifty into Endurance. He figured it was time to build up his defences. His offensive power was already pretty absurd, largely thanks to his sky-high Intellect stat, which amplified his staff strikes due to Mana-Coating.

And he didn't feel like having a purely offensive glass cannon stat spread. He took one last look at his status screen.

Status Name: Joseph Caldwell Age: 28 Race: High Human (Grade E - Rank 0) Alignment: High Human (World 43) Heritage: Path of Light Class: Magical Farmer (Unique) Level 50, Space Farmer (Pseudogod) Level 41 Professions: Nature's Guardian(Legendary) Level 55 Bloodline: Light of the Eternal Spark (Grade E) Titles (70%) World 43 Progenitor; Stats Strength: 674 (200) Agility: 1353 (340) Vitality: 839 (140) Endurance: 839 (60) Wisdom: 1458 (40) Intelligence: 1883 (40) Luck: 170 Hidden Stat: Dao Knowledge - 1098 Free Points: 0 System Credits: 22, 943, 210 Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to use any skills inside the Inheritance Gate, so his profession hadn't gained a single level.

He planned to change that very soon. Ding! Class Space Farmer has reached level 42 - stat points distributed. One day after leaving Kunlun, Joe had already killed the first of the remaining fifteen Beasts on his list. Fourteen to go. He dropped his free points into Vitality and Endurance, then headed out on foot. Ding! Profession Nature's Guardian has reached level 56 - stat points distributed. By day three, Joe had set up a nice secluded clearing and sat down to focus on his mana manipulation training.

"So, what is your idea?" Veda asked. Joe had already explained his Mana-Coating skill to her, so now he was just outlining how he hoped to improve it.

"My goal is to rotate the mana around Jingu Bang without need for too much concentration, like, have it flow automatically during a fight," Joe said.

"And you want to do this in one month?" Veda asked, doubt evident in her tone.

"Yeah, you think I can do it?" he asked, wondering just how hard this would actually be.

"No," Veda replied simply.

"Well, we shall see," he said, brushing off her doubt and pushing any thoughts of failure aside. With that, Joe began his non-stop mana manipulation training. __ Veda lay beside a small fire, watching Joe practice his mana control. Her eyes followed the slowly revolving mana wrapped around his staff. It was surprising how easily he'd gotten it moving. But what truly shocked her was how he did it; he was moving the mana particles individually.

"Why don't you try moving more mana at once?" Veda suggested, the tip of her tail lightly tapping his leg. Joe nodded and returned to his task. After a few minutes, she watched as a larger section of his mana moved in unison. She had expected him to ask more questions, to need guidance… but instead, he simply adapted to her suggestion and did it. She was about to encourage him, give him a little pat on the back, when he stopped to start over, going back to moving each particle individually.

"Why did you go back?" She asked.

"It didn't work the way I wanted," Joe said, still rotating the mana as he spoke.

"Your suggestion was great. But if I move the mana individually, I can achieve more with only slightly more effort." Veda blinked. Only slightly more effort? What he was doing was magnitudes harder. She was momentarily speechless. She knew there was something different about him. Ever since they first met over a year ago, back in the Bloodline Gate. Even back then, she'd sensed his potential. She grimaced inwardly, remembering how she had treated him at the time, what she'd done. How cold she'd been.

But his ability to pick up on things was uncanny. He had even learned basic footwork from nothing more than her pulsing rhythm while she was still in her egg. That was the moment she had silently vowed never to leave his side. Not until he grew strong enough to stand alone. To her, he was like a son and younger brother wrapped into one. She smiled softly as she watched him work. She truly adored him, but she would never tell him that. Not yet. She dropped hints, of course, but she wasn't ready to tell him.

First, she needed to temper him. Harden him. Make sure he was ready for the Multiverse. Right now, he is still too soft. Too kind. Too willing to help others. Then her eyes widened again. Along the surface of his staff, mana shimmered, and tiny bursts rippled along it. The beginning signs of something interesting… __ After three more days of mana manipulation, Joe had a solid idea of how he wanted to use it in battle. He'd even reached the point where he could maintain the flow while moving.

Now, he was running south through Malaysia on his way toward Australia. Ding! Profession Nature's Guardian has reached level 57 - stat points distributed. He placed his free points into endurance and moved on.

"What is this Australia like?" Veda asked.

"It's far too hot for my liking," Joe replied.

"I've only been there once, back before the system, when I was young. All I can really remember is it being absurdly hot, and I spent most of the time at the beach."

"What did you do at this beach?" She asked curiously.

"Not much, to be honest. People usually go to the beach to lie around and enjoy the sun, while others like to swim or make sandcastles."

"That sounds exactly like something I'd want to do," Veda replied. Joe chuckled.

"Well, being cold-blooded, you'd want to do anything involving heat."

"I can't help it. Warmth makes me feel good… and sleepy," she said as she curled more tightly against him. Her tail wrapped around his arm. Joe was getting used to her clinging to him like this; he barely noticed it anymore. Sometimes, he even forgot she had a physical body and wasn't just a voice in his head. To his right, a pack of Beasts burst from the trees, charging at him; giraffe-like creatures with scaled hides. Joe sped up the mana swirling along Jingu Bang and lunged forward to meet them. Ding!

Class Space Farmer has reached level 43 - stat points distributed. Without slowing, Joe continued island-hopping from Malaysia to Bali, then Timor, all while practicing his mana control and testing new ways to fight. He gained another level in his profession before finally running out of land and switching to his boat for the final stretch into Australia.

"It's not as hot as I remember," Joe said as he lay Veda down on the warm sand beside him.

"It will do," she replied, resting her head on his lap.

"Your body's changed a lot. Anything pre-system won't be as impressive to you anymore." She was right. Things he once looked at in awe now seemed flimsy, underdeveloped. His eyesight had sharpened so much that he could spot minute cracks in buildings and imperfections in stonework. It made appreciating old sights a little harder.

"Is there a stat that helps improve eyesight?" Joe asked.

"Not a regular stat. Your senses improve as you level and during grade evolution," Veda answered. Joe nodded. That made sense. But another thought struck him.

"What about hidden stats? Is there one that affects senses?"

"Hmmmm, I'm not entirely sure. Hidden stats tend to vary between individuals. However, some general ones influence the senses. For example, Perception is a hidden stat most assassin classes get after evolution, it sharpens vision." Perception. That sounded useful. Still, it didn't feel like the kind of stat he'd want. His sense of his surroundings was already improving with each level, and having a stat purely for vision felt redundant.

Then again, he did have two sight-based skills, Mana Sight and Dao Sight, both of which had significantly enhanced his vision. His awareness had grown alongside those skills. He was even beginning to sense the presence and aura of Beasts and people before they appeared on his mini-map. His Dao sight was especially helpful for gauging a Beast's strength without relying on Identify. Every Beast leaked some amount of aura, and by studying those fluctuations, he was learning to estimate their level.

He was usually off, but only by about five to ten levels now. It was progress. Still, it wasn't enough. Joe wanted more. He wanted to grow faster. To get stronger. He only wished he had more time, but the system seemed to have other plans. He spent just one day in Australia after taking down the Boss Beast. Ding! Class Space Farmer has reached level 44 - stat points distributed. He placed his free points into endurance, then hopped back onto his boat and set course for Africa.