Finding a piece of land was an easy job for Ken, but finding a piece of land to plant the world tree in isn't so easy. He had to take in consideration the place to be conceal and very few people visited, then it must be large enough to allow the world tree to expand, just in case it decided to stop hiding. Otherwise, he could just stuff the world tree on a crevice to hide the world tree.
He deliberated for a moment before asking the world tree of its preference. "What kind of place do you want to be planted in?"
The world tree mused for a bit before saying. "The place should be barren or have very few plant life in it, it also doesn't need to be very far from your house just in case an emergency popped up."
"Doesn't have any plant life and isn't far from my place..." Ken mumbled when an ideal place suddely stuck Ken. He looked at the world tree and asked.
"Why do you want the place to have very few plant life? is there any adverse effect of your precense in the surronding flora and fauna?"
The world tree suddenly gave a derisive laugh. "What adverse effect, I'm afraid it was the opposite of adverse. My presence alone could boost the evolution of flora and fauna! it would be really suspicious when people suddenly discovered a lot of new species of plant in this village."
Realization dawned on ken, he hesitate for a bit but still decided to say his idea anyway. "You said you would help me build my farm?"
"Of course." The world tree readily answered.
"Then it would be good if I plant you in my farm, you said your presence would help boost the flora and fauna in you surrondings, so I thought it might be a good idea."
"Indeed a good idea, but didn't you hear the part of boosting the evolution."
"I did, but if people asked, I could just say that the crops were a product of genetic modification and a trade secret."
"Yes, but you're still not taking the evolution part seriously. If your crops stayed in prolonged time in my presence, then they might evolve into something other than crops."
Ken raised an eyebrow at the world trees statement. "So your presence alone can make the crops turn into something different?"
"Are you stupid? that's why I said evolution. Now do you undestand?"
"I do, but the crops won't stay for long within your presesence, at most a few months, I will harvest them when they are ripe and I doubt that they would evolve that fast." He said with confidence.
The world tree stayed silent for a moment before saying. "I guess you have a point, so where is this farm of yours?"
Ken scratch his head with a red face. "I, I haven't built the farm yet."
The world tree was spechless and flashed its roots at ken.
"Ahh wait! let me explain! ahh stop!"
After a while of trashing, he explained "I've only arrived at the village for a few days and I was gathering materials to build my farm when my truck broke down, afterwards I was attacked by those fairy looking creature then bumped in to you. So it isn't really my fault that I -" he suddenly stopped mid speach.
Seeing Ken stop mid speech, the world tree started raising its root.
"Stop! Stop! I've sense someone entering the boundaries of my territory." He hurriedly explain, afraid of getting trashed again.
The world tree stoped its action and asked. "Is it hostile?"
He looked weirdly at the world tree.
"Why are you staring at me?" the world tree asked with a buffled look.
"How do I identify if someone is hostile just by sensing their precense?" he asked the world tree.
Stunned, the world tree looked at him wordlessly. "Forget it. Who is it?"
"Let's see." Ken activated his ability, Link. And looked at the person who intruded his territory. There, he saw a familar face walking in his direction.
"I know him, he's Albert, my neighbor, he's an old man and the village mechanic but I doubt he's just an ordinary person." He said to the world tree with a serious look on his face.
"Oh, how long have you known him?"
"Not long ago, he helped me when I first arrived on the village and contact the tow truck, but I don't recall telling him where I resided."
"Do you trust him?" the world tree asked seriously.
He hesitated for a bit. "No. But I feel that he doesn't have any malicious intentions."
"Even if you feel that he doesn't have any malicious thoughts, that's still just a feeling. Unless you confirmed that he's someone you can trust, then you should always be cautious to anyone. Now go back to your hut and pretend you were still asleep." The world tree said with an aura of wisdom surrounding it.
"Yes, maybe I can find out why he really came here."
"Then, when he let down his guard, sprung up and disable him, then you can know what really happend." The world tree said with a sinister aura surronding it.
Speechless, he looked at the world tree and asked. "Why are you so violent?"
"I'm not violent, I'm just stating the best way of tackling this situation considering you know nothing of him."
Ken decided to ignore the world tree and headed back to his hut.
After waiting for a few minutes, he heard footstep outside his hut. He activated Link to see what's happening outside. He saw Albert standing outside, staring at his hut with a complex look his face.
He suddenly had a bad feeling upon seeing the complex look on Albert's face. He continue to watch him walking to his hut step by step. Every step Albert took caused his heart to pound. He lost his vision on Albert when he entered his hut, causing him to grow uneasy, he strained his hearing, determined to strike Albert in case he had any intention of harming him.
When the footsteps stopped, he controlled his furiously beating heart, afaid that he would be discovered.
Seconds passed to minutes but there's still no movement from Albert, just when he started thinking he was discovered, he heard a voice saying. "He's still unconcious."
He sighed in relief, knowing that he wasn't dicovered, then he heard something that sent chills down his spine.
"Indeed, it's been a few days since he fell unconsious." A womans voice sounded. The voice was melodious, like music to the ears. But that only made him more frightened, because he clearly remembered that Albert entered alone! no one was with him yet where did this voice come from?
He tried very hard to control himself, afraid that he would give himself away.
"But he looks better now, when you pick him up, he was badly wounded, with chunks of flesh missing, even his jaws were exposed. Looked at him now, his skin was glistening, more fit and it seems he's grown a bit taller?" Albert said.
"Of course he would, I fed him the most precious treasure in my possesion." The melodious voice said with resentment in its voice.
"I'm sorry for making you give up your precious possesion." Albert said apologetically, "but his parents were on good terms with our family, they helped us in settling in the city. So just watching our benifactors son die when we could have helped him is something I would regret for the rest of my life."
Ken suddenly sat up and stared straight at the two.
"What did you just say?"