## Chapter 1164 – Confrontation

Such days passed by.

“I’ve finished it!!!”

Risha shouted as she burst out of the basement.

“Oh!!!”

Finally, she had extracted the World Tree’s sap!!

—Flash!

The welcome news made my body shoot up involuntarily.

“You worked hard, Risha!!! Great job!!!”
“Haa… The work is finally done. As expected, it was quite tricky because it contained the power of the World Tree.”
“Was it very difficult?”
“No. It was rather enjoyable.”

Risha said with a face that seemed very happy. She seemed to be in a very good mood right now. Well, it was only natural. Risha was the type to feel a great sense of accomplishment from this kind of thing. She was a natural-born researcher and creator.

“To be able to touch something like that directly… Hehehe! Anyway, now that it’s finished, let’s try using it!”
“Okay!”
“Ah!”

I hugged Risha tightly and showered her cheeks with kisses.

“T, t, that tickles…!”

Risha seemed embarrassed and tried to push me away with her hands, but it was a resistance weaker than a butterfly flapping its wings.

“Heeuuh…!”

As I continued to kiss her neck, collarbone, and shoulders after her cheeks, Risha’s body began to crumble as if she had lost strength in her legs.

Risha immediately clung to me.

Did she already reach her limit?

“No. Risha, does this happen just from kissing?”
“Of course not! It’s just that my body has become like this!”
“Same difference.”
“Ugh…!”

She had become so sensitive that her legs gave way with just a few kisses. Thinking that I had made her like this gave me a different kind of sense of accomplishment.

“Anyway, Risha, is it downstairs?”
“Ah… I’ll bring it up soon.”

Risha nodded, and as she said, Hilde, Ari, and Winia soon came up from the basement together. They were carrying a box.

—I can feel the energy.

It seemed to be inside.

“Kkamdung, call all the sisters. It’s finished.”
“Okay.”

I went to call them right away.

* * *

The sap in the bottle was very clear. It was almost like looking at water. But even just looking at it, it was emitting a strong energy that made me feel something.

“Hmm… This is amazing.”
“I can feel something even just looking at it here… How can there be such energy.”

Karin and Liztina admired with serious faces.

It was just a simple liquid, but it was emitting an energy that could be felt on the skin. Surely, it must contain that much energy.

It was literally the sap of a god.

“Seriously, Risha Unni is something else. How does she do this? I watched from the side, but I still don’t understand.”
“Hehehe, it’s all thanks to the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years.”

Winia had assisted Risha’s research and work from the side, but even so, she said she couldn’t understand. Anyway, I also tried to properly feel the energy of the sap.

As expected.

It was the same energy I felt in the gap back then.

This is the real energy of the World Tree.

“So, this is the divine object bestowed by the elves’ god. Wow, really. Hey, this is what Noona thought after coming to the capital.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m accumulating experience and eating all these crazy things… It’s kind of…”

Karin, who trailed off for a moment.

“I feel like this is what living is all about… Fuck!!! Hurry! Can I eat this right now!!!”

She couldn’t hide her excitement and shouted.

There was already great excitement in her eyes. That was because she had said that she had greatly realized that her mana had increased after drinking the elixir last time.

It was enough to make her eyes roll back.

Even a top-tier warrior like Karin could feel it. People who have tasted this can never quit it. They will go looking for better elixirs.

“Hehehe, calm down. It’s not going anywhere.”
“Kuh…!”

This was almost like an addiction.
You can feel it as soon as you drink it, so it can’t be helped.

“Haa… To be able to increase the amount of mana in my body like this. It’s really like a dream. My power is increasing dramatically.”
“Well, compared to before I came to the capital, my power has increased significantly. If I fought myself back then, I could probably subdue myself in an instant. I’m sure of it.”

Karin continued to praise it highly.

She nodded with a very satisfied face.

“Hehehe, is it that much?”
“Noona is also accumulating proper experience.”

That’s right.

Then shall we begin?

When everyone looked at Risha, Risha cleared her throat for a moment and began to explain.

“During that time, I have been making elixirs using various ingredients. Thanks to that experience, I was able to extract the power very perfectly. I have already confirmed the stability by testing it directly on my body, so please take it with confidence.”
“But the amount? Is this all there is?”

Cloudy expressed doubt.

As she said, the sap crystal was only as big as my forearm. But the amount was small, as if it were contained in a perfume bottle. Was it concentrated?

“There is more. For now, it is necessary to control the amount and eat it slowly, so I have divided it so that each person can drink six bottles. This is only one bottle of each, so do not take it all at once, but take your time to eat it.”
“Ah… I see.”

That would be more stable.

Anyway, Risha’s face as she explained was filled with great confidence.

“Still, it was a very unique energy. I have not seen the World Tree directly, so I cannot say for sure, but it can probably be said that it contains the power of the World Tree completely. A kind of… divine power. Yes. I can say it is divine power.”

Divine power, huh.

“That’s right. It’s the power of the World Tree as it is. It’s the same as what I felt back then.”
“Is that so?”

That’s right.

“Ah, since you mentioned divine power, I’m saying this too. I was okay. Usually, divine power is dangerous to me.”

That’s right.

Usually, divine power is poison to demons.

“Hilde, it’s probably something like that.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“There are several kinds of gods. I saw Verde and Ezath together in the heavens. Perhaps, unlike what we think, the distinction between gods and evil gods is a bit ambiguous.”

There is divine power that works on demons, and there is divine power that doesn’t. But you can’t distinguish between evil gods and just gods with that alone.

“Then am I okay because the World Tree belongs to an evil god?”
“Well, I can’t say for sure. It’s ambiguous. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Things about gods are very difficult.

It’s a very profound world in the first place, so there’s no need to delve into it deeply.

Then shall we drink it?

I grabbed the bottle.

“I’ll test it first. Well, I’ve received something too. I already have that kind of power. It’s better for me to drink it and let you know.”
“Do that.”
“Kkamdung, tell us if something is wrong after eating it.”

There’s no way something will be wrong.

I immediately opened the lid and felt the power in my body.

I drank the sap.

—Gulp.

The sensation of it passing through my esophagus.

It didn’t have a special taste. If anything, there was a slight astringent and sweet taste mixed in. But the important thing was not the taste, but the energy. That unique energy spread throughout my mouth and went down my esophagus very clearly.

“…”

This is… definitely the energy of the World Tree. It’s completely the same as what I felt when I faced it back then. The energy in the form of liquid is being broken down in an instant and spreading throughout my body as it passes through my esophagus.

I will make this.

I make it with my energy. It wasn’t a particularly strange energy. Like handling mana… I properly store it inside me. To be honest, should I call this mana? It’s a different energy from mana, so the feeling is a bit strange.

Still.

“Ooh… this is.”

It’s a very refreshing feeling. At the same time, I can feel the divine power that was wriggling inside me swelling up. As expected, it was a power that strengthened it. As expected.

I completely absorb it.

This is already easy for me, so it was very easy.

And then.

—Flash.

At the thought that flashed into my mind, I spread out my hand.
I have absorbed a new power, so I have to test it.

In that state, I concentrated the energy of the World Tree that I had just absorbed into my palm.

—Whirr.

A pure white energy from my hand.

It rises as if it were burning.

“T, that’s…!”

They were shocked.

“C, completely different from the energy of mana… similar to that energy of the World Tree…!”
“Kkamdung, that…!”
“Hoo… I didn’t know it could be operated to that extent…”

—Patsut.

I put out the flame as it was.

I said.

“Perfect. You can eat it. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Absorbing the power of the World Tree was instantaneous.
There was nothing wrong with the power.

And I was able to handle it like this.

I need to research this power separately and find ways to utilize it.

“Good!!!”

As soon as my permission was given, Karin opened the lid and drank it first. As Karin started, everyone grabbed the bottles. In that way, they also absorbed all the sap of the World Tree.

* * *

“Hmm… I can’t do it as well as Kkamdung.”

Winia said.

“I can feel a different energy from mana settled inside. I feel much more refreshed. But it’s not working at all. It’s a bit difficult. I can’t do it yet.”
“There’s no need to be impatient, Winia. Anyone can do it.”
“Kkamdung is really annoying.”
“Ah, really. Why again.”
“Just.”

Even though she said that, Winia’s heart rate was a little high. She seemed to be very excited right now.

“Honestly, I’m confident in this kind of thing, but Noona can’t do it well either.”
“I didn’t know Noona couldn’t do it.”
“I don’t have that god’s power, you idiot.”
“Our Noona is making excuses.”
“Want to die?”
“Sorry.”

Anyway, Karin couldn’t do it either.

“But what’s certain is… I feel like the density of mana has increased a little more. No. I’m sure. By absorbing that just now, the mana has become even purer. This is… really amazing.”

Liztina said as if she couldn’t believe it.

—Pakang!

At the same time, she tried to check her skills and power by continuously kicking fiercely into the air, and her face gradually brightened each time those attacks overlapped.

“…Perfect.”

She also looks satisfied.

“I’ve received something really good. Hehe. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”

Cloudy was the same.

“I’ll have to test the power… next time. It feels like my body has changed too rapidly… It’s a completely different feeling from before.”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Anyway.

I grabbed the crystal ball given by the World Tree.
I grabbed it and deployed the power.

—Tsupat.

The crystal ball began to react. A clear green light was emitted, and a strange energy permeated. We were tense for a moment and were on guard.

“…”

Nothing really happened.

“…Katt-nim? What was it?”
“I don’t know, damn it. Why doesn’t this bastard work?”

Could it be that my expectations were wrong?
Do I need something else to activate this?

“Hmm… I thought it would work too. Let’s watch for now. It may work when you get completely used to the new power.”
“Is that so.”
“But Kkamdung, I also felt some kind of energy. Seeing that, maybe the amount you drink is important? There are five bottles left. Drink them all too.”

Is it a matter of quantity after all?

“I will.”

I had them drink all five bottles of sap left in the basement. Of course, I was able to absorb them all without difficulty, and I could feel my power becoming stronger.

And then I grabbed the crystal ball again.

—Patsuchut.

Only a cluster of light was emitted. Nothing more progressed. What should I say… Do I need something more?

It’s not working well.

I can definitely feel the power, and a light that I couldn’t see before is being emitted, but the purpose doesn’t come to mind.

“…”

What the fuck?

What’s wrong with this bastard?

My eyebrows narrowed involuntarily. As I was doing that, Cloudy and Ari came to me and spoke in a tone that seemed to comfort me.

“Katt. It’s the first time you’ve drunk it today. You may not be used to it. Slowly. If you think about it step by step, you’ll be able to do it.”
“Yes. Father. Don’t be too upset.”

Are they comforting me because they thought I was upset?
It’s not bad, though.

“It’s okay. I’m not upset. It’s the first time I’m using it, so it could be like that. Then let’s relax at home today. I need to re-examine the new power.”

Everyone nodded at that.
I need to re-examine the power today.

* * *

And that night.

I met the World Tree in my dream.