A journey of Shadowverse and Honkai Impact 3rd

A concise judgment was handed down. The graceful elven archer was dressed in a leather and silk uniform. She held a long bow, her eyes emerald green, and her shiny white hair was awe-inspiring.

"Excuse me, could you please call a doctor or something? I'm actually here with a wounded person..."

The majestic elven archer felt familiar, but he was no different from a stranger. Sera quickly stood up, pointed at the unconscious pig Andrew, and called for help from the archer.

"So that's it? I understand."

Coming back to his senses from the strange combination of humans, colossi, elves, and pigs, the archer, after listening to the girl's explanation, immediately understood the urgency of the matter. Immediately, her stern voice and instructions were conveyed to the trainee guards who came later.

"Arisa, go find Lina and the others. There are injured people here who need treatment."

Eh? Eh hey hey!

Could it be!

Sera's eyes widened in surprise. Within her sight, she saw an elven archer falling from a tree without having time to brake. Her slightly clumsy movements finally allowed her to land safely, and then she heard another instruction from her master.

"I understand, Rosalia. I'll be right there."

The green eyes were slightly darker in color, and the young trainee guard had long, satiny yellow-brown hair. The light red headband was like a flower embellishing her hair, exuding the youthful vitality unique to an elf girl.

After hearing the command, he turned around and ran without stopping. After a while, the very familiar figure disappeared at the end of the forest. Sera turned his gaze to the archer, swallowed his saliva, and knew the true identity of the archer.

It's Rosaria... or rather, Nexus...

In a flash, Sera, who had an extremely active mind, thought of several possible events. The imagination of something more terrifying than going to jail for causing an accident made her feel a strong sense of crisis, and she wanted to run out of this familiar yet unfamiliar forest immediately.

Wait... Based on the current situation, there shouldn't be any strange things like the Tree of Disaster appearing. This forest...

Sera's sudden bad look caught Rosalia's attention. The heroic archer walked closer to take a closer look, frowned slightly, and leaned over to ask the girl.

"Are you feeling unwell, child?"

"Nothing... just some bad memories..."

Trying to hide her timid heart, Sera's dry answer was obviously not enough to dispel Rosalia's concern, but the sudden change made the mature archer aware of the "injury" on the girl.

The blue eyes that had been full of life just now suddenly trembled, and a wave of pain actually surged over her. The terrible phantom pain made it particularly difficult to perceive the existence of the outside world. Sera, who was unable to adapt for a while, even stopped breathing. Her fallen body did not come into close contact with the ground because of Rosalia's timely protection.

"Oh oh oh!"

The impatient colossus let out a sharp cry, but its urgent call received no response from others, and Rosalia, who used magic to make a preliminary assessment, could not find the specific location of the injury.

The extremely high-quality mana was lying dormant in the girl's body. The not-so-small size of the mana indicated her extremely high talent in magic. Her healthy body did not look like it had been ravaged by disease, but right before his eyes, the girl lost consciousness in an instant.

"Yeah, I was just skeptical at first, but when I actually saw this ceremony, I had to admit the existence of the trial."

The strange elf man who was carried away along the way spoke leisurely, his deep green eyes revealing a strong sense of time. Suddenly, the man who could only shout "Andrew" before was surrounded by ancient wisdom, just like the philosopher in the myth who gave inspiration to the hero.

"Andrew, stop pretending to be asleep. It's time to get up. This foreign guest really needs to be taken seriously."

"Earth of Truth, please be patient. This girl must face the trial ritual alone. All we can do is provide her with a good external environment."

"happy~happy~"

The giant pig that suddenly grew wings hummed a happy sound, calling out to the unconscious girl all the time as if performing a mysterious ritual to dispel suffering, which really hurt Rosalia's ears.

"you are?"

Rosalia asked the elf man with deep eyes, not knowing his identity.

"Let's take the outsider into the tree house first, and we will discuss the matter in detail later, guardian of the forest."

The unquestionable kingly demeanor is combined with the wisdom of a philosopher. Although it is just a smile, it gives people the feeling of facing towering mountains and misty blue clouds.

"I see."

In this way, the unconscious Sera was taken to the destination that had never been reached, "Yktra Hill".

26. The Root of Consciousness

The faint green flames crackled as they burned, easily reminiscent of a bonfire in the dark, with plant remains, animal fats, and even all other combustible materials burning in the flames.

But what it brings is not some precious light. In the depths of the soul, at the root of consciousness, the dark and ghostly fireworks are more like parasites, constantly absorbing nutrients from the host and growing stronger all the time.

"Oh, can't you hold on any longer, little kid?"

His lifeless eyes lit up for a moment because of a cry. Even though the surroundings were endless darkness, Sera could still see the old man's not-so-kind face in her eyes.

Like a rotten apple, his rotten eyes were a red color almost like rust. The wrinkles on his face not only represented the hardships he had experienced, but also recorded the pain of others. His smile was neither refreshing nor kind. If anything, it was a bad smile of pleasure.

"..."

Without saying a word, she tried her best to get rid of the sticky sea of ​​pain. Slowly, the girl who had adapted to the second arrow of pain disappeared, leaving only one last tenacious look for [The Unkillable Disaster Jay Esdia].

——Don’t underestimate people.

"Hahaha, you little kid are really amazing nowadays. However, there are only four arrows left in the trial you've embarked on. Can you really reach the end?"

"It really makes me look forward to it."

…………

Her consciousness was confused but she remained rational. When the extremely resilient girl returned from the situation where she could not control her perception, she heard a strange whirring sound.

To put it bluntly, it felt like someone was dozing off next to me, and talking in their sleep from time to time. If this happened in class, the teacher would definitely give them a smear.

"Hehehe~"

Slowly turning her head, as expected, Sera, whose whole body was aching, saw the elf girl soundly sleeping. Her dazed look was so real that it left a deep impression on everyone.

He is both cute and adorable, but also lazy and has no desire to make progress. Even if he says that he has completed his daily training and it is time to rest, he will still give people a feeling of being unreliable.

Sera withdrew her gaze from the elf girl Arisa and instead carefully observed the surrounding environment.

The rough bark is all green and tender. The relatively spacious space has windows and doors, and is filled with a faint fragrance. The lighting is provided by the chandelier on the dome, which is constantly broadcasting warm light outwards.

I was placed on the bed like a patient, and it looked like I had been lying there for a long time, but I couldn't rule out the possibility that the caregiver dozed off very early.

"Cough cough."

The vibrating vocal cords made an unusual sound. Sera, who took a long time to adjust to her normal ability to move in the new state, coughed a few times and finally confirmed that she could now at least maintain 90% of her previous normal state.

"Hey, wake up."

The powerless hand clenched into a fist, and with the help of gravity, the small fist hit the elf girl's head lightly, causing Arisa, who was dozing with her face on the cabinet, to open her eyes immediately.

There was still confusion in her tender and green eyes, unable to distinguish between reality and dreams. However, when she saw the girl on the bed looking at her intently, the elf girl quickly sat up and introduced herself with a slightly blushing face.

"Ah...you're awake...My name is Arisa, and I'm a trainee forest ranger. Are you still in pain? I can call a doctor for you."

As she spoke, the embarrassment of being caught just now disappeared. Arisa regained her natural demeanor and asked with concern. Her natural appearance was quite friendly.

After all, it is difficult for others to be wary of a girl like Arisa who looks so innocent and naive, thinking, "Is she trying to harm me?"

"No need for a doctor... Oh, my companion, the Mud and Dust Colossus, and the Elf and Andrew who got hit, are they okay?"

To be honest, Sera is already prepared for mandatory compensation and the like.

"Oh, they're fine. They all look very energetic. Even if they were injured, it's just a small matter. You don't have to worry about anything. But..."

Arisa's eyes drifted upwards, as if she was recalling something, and then she spoke excitedly.

"Lord Thrandal has instructed that if you have nothing else to do, you can go to him. He will be waiting for you in Mana Hall."

"Thrandar? Is that the elf man I bumped into? Are you sure you're not looking for compensation from me?"

With her eyes wandering and lacking confidence, Sera's inner feelings of timidity were clearly revealed, but the conscientious Arisa patted her chest and answered directly.

"Don't worry, it's not a claim or anything like that. Lord Thrandal may not be well-known, but he is indeed a member of the forest sages. He might have something good to say."

"Without further delay, I will take you to the Mana Hall!"

They left as soon as they said they would. Arisa's bright eyes came straight at them, and her warm and friendly expression made it hard to refuse. After thinking for a while, Sera agreed.

"Okay, my name is Sera, Arisa."

"Yeah, yeah, Sera, this is your first time in Yggdrasil, right? You can come and play with me when you have time..."

After the creaking wooden door opened, the outside world came into view. Dense green leaves wrapped around the branches between the trees. The sturdy branches seemed to be able to accommodate several people moving forward together, but the lack of any safety measures inevitably frightened Sera.

It's really original...

Looking back at the temporary house, I was shocked to find that it was a wooden house built on a tree. It seemed that there was no safety at all. It was a very bold situation. Even Sera, who was walking on the tree, lost her confidence.

"Hey, Sera, you're walking so slowly."

After walking a few steps, Arisa, who occasionally looked back, discovered that Sera was lagging behind her. The trainee guard immediately made a surprised sound, as if she had seen a fish that couldn't swim, and her tone was extremely surprised.

"I'm not used to it, sorry."

Just as Sera was considering whether to use the Thread of Domination to assist her movements, Arisa enthusiastically helped her as she was stumbling along. In a short while, they had covered more than twice the distance they had covered before.

The comfortable breeze brushed past her ears, lifting her hair. Arisa started from a slow walk, then a quick walk, and finally a gallop, and began jumping between the tree trunks, holding the petite girl in her arms, a happy smile on her face.

"Sera, you're so light! You need to eat more to grow bigger."

Sera, who grabbed Arisa's arm, didn't say anything. She just withdrew her gaze from the tree with a pale face. According to her own estimation, they were more than hundreds of meters above the ground. She didn't know what kind of debris they would turn into if they fell down. Arisa was running and jumping like this, which was basically testing the edge of death.

However, nothing unexpected happened along the way. Arisa, who suddenly became reliable, successfully stopped on the branch of an ancient tree. The thick tree trunk in front of her was like a broad city wall, and strange words were engraved on the edge of the arched gate, exuding an ancient and mysterious atmosphere within her sight.

"Mana Hall, it seems not much has changed since I remembered it as a child."

Standing in front of a gate that seemed to have existed for eternity, Sera heard Arisa's feigned emotion and felt a pressure from something extraordinary.

Like a star-like torrent of mana, it gathers and spreads around with the breath of the world itself, eventually rising into the sky and seeping into the earth, creating the everlasting Forest of All Things.

"Let's go and see Lord Thrandal."

27. Can a century-long expedition be launched?

The light of new green is exceptionally soft, and the color of new life diffuses outward from the ancient and primitive world. The vast hall is built entirely of building materials that resemble wood and stone, making it hard to believe that it is a natural space within the ancient wood.

Willow-like branches thrive on the wall, and the new leaves form natural spirals with their graceful shapes. As vigorous vitality arises, the transparent crystals also vibrate clearly surrounded by branches and leaves, and the pleasant resonance sound enters the ears with a wonderful rhythm.

Bright white, fresh green, and gold—the forest dwellers use this triad of colors as the cornerstone of nature, depicting their understanding of the world in a vibrant aesthetic.

——Harmonious and peaceful, treating all visitors to the forest equally with a broad mind.

"Lord Thrandal, we are here."

Arisa's voice resounded in the Mana Hall, and the elven sage named Thrandal stood up from the chair surrounded by vines. His soft and beautiful robe seemed to be shining, and the scepter in his hand, although made of wood, was also dazzling, flowing with mana that should not be underestimated.

"Ah, it must be hard to travel such a long distance, you two."

Completely different from Hanhan's calls, the elf man's words at this moment were elegant and gentle, like jade and water. His particularly unfamiliar look made Sera feel as if he had a completely different soul.

"Well, Arisa, are you adapting to the job of trainee guard? If you don't mind, it's okay to rest here for a while."

"Hey, is it really possible?"

"Uh, forget it. If I rest any longer, Rosaria will scold me. Excuse me, Lord Thrandal, I have something else to do now, so I'll leave first."

She showed an expression of excitement, but then she couldn't bear to refuse. After saying that, Arisa immediately left the Mana Hall. It was particularly funny that she was afraid that she couldn't resist the temptation.

"Wow, it looks like the new generation of the forest will allow us to rest well for another hundred years. This is a really good momentum."

Her preference for leisure was naturally revealed. Thrandal tapped the ground with the wooden stick in his hand, and new green seedlings turned into a brand new wooden chair, providing Sera with a comfortable seat.

"Please take a seat, my guest from afar. Would you like some drinks or snacks? I recommend the goblin concoction, the tea known as 'Charbi' in the human kingdom."

"One drink, please, thank you."

As the sage's wooden staff struck again, tea and a wooden table suddenly appeared in the void. For a moment, this small place in the Mana Hall really felt like a living room for receiving guests, and the sage's mystery took root in Sera's heart.

The tea called Sharbi tastes astringent but not bitter. The fragrance of the water seems to cleanse the soul. Somehow it seeps into the body and mind from the tip of the tongue, leaving a tranquil aftertaste.

"It's delicious, Mr. Thrandal."

Sera spoke politely but with a sense of distance. Holding a wooden teacup in her hand, she looked at the elven sage facing her, and many questions arose in her mind. However, she still asked about the result of the traffic accident first.

"Although Arisa told me that there's no big problem, but, that Andrew..."

"It's okay. Andrew can be classified as a mythical beast no matter what. Your condition, on the other hand, is not optimistic at all, little Sera."

The sage's eyes can see through people's hearts. Thrandal, who understood the girl's heart, suddenly became serious and revealed Sera's secret.