Chapter 6 Old Onyx
…
Another day passed and Han Jin stayed inside the cage-like root of the strange tree. He has his senses up and is wary of anything.
He has already fallen asleep and woken up and still, nothing had happened. He now almost believes what the instructors were saying in the military school.
"This strange tree is truly something…" he thought.
But what bothers him is the information he is getting from his mind.
'Material: Onyx Tree… Type: Wood… Class: C… Report: A tree that exudes a strange aura that interferes with the senses. A good material for crafting…'
The thing that's bothering him is the notion that this tree would actually interfere with the senses. And that notion is making him feel a bit perplexed.
He did not know if what he is seeing right now is the reality of things or not. But so far, he could tell that he is not dreaming or anything.
Suddenly, his stomach began to rumble, so he carefully takes out a lump of smoked snake meat. He looks at the smoked meat and could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva in expectation.
After unwrapping the meat… he could now smell the deliciousness of the smoky aroma in the air.
When he was about to take a bite, he noticed a crackling sound from outside. To his horror, he saw the dense roots suddenly closing themselves tightly.
The light coming from outside could not seep inside the small crevice anymore, and this made Han Jin turn's face turn pale. He did not know what would happen next, so his heart began to panic as he quickly grabs a long snake-tooth knife and readied himself for anything.
Then suddenly, he noticed some rustling sound, and the whole dark small area slowly illuminated. He noticed that the trunk of the tree seem to be emitting some light.
He did not lower his guard and observes his surrounding with rapt attention.
"What is happening here?" he thought as panic and curiosity enveloped his heart.
Suddenly from the corner of his eyes, he noticed a small root slowly creeping towards the fallen snake meat.
He did not do anything and just watched it with a curious gaze while holding his knife close to him.
As the root touches the snake meat, it peels a small portion of it and then, like two tiny fingers pinch it and slowly delivers that small portion towards the glowing part of the tree trunk submerged underground.
To his horror, Han Jin saw a face that looks like that of an old man slowly appearing. Then a delighted expression appears on the face of that tree.
"Ahh… It has been too long… the smell of cooked meat… is really… amazing…" the old man's face on the tree trunk commented as he carefully opens his mouth and began chewing on the meat.
A delighted expression appears on his face as he relishes the experience.
Then he slowly opens his eyes and then looks at Han Jin.
"Thank you… I never thought that I would see someone able to cook this good in this forest…" the old man said.
"I am… Ohh… I forgot my name… It's been hundreds of years since I got it… Hehe…" the old man said while chuckling to himself.
"Anyway… I am an Onyx Tree… The guardian of this part of the forest… Hehe… I call myself the guardian but I'm more of an overseer or something… It's been more than 20 years since I saw another human… The last one is a chatterbox. I think he is a big shot now. But the last time he visited me was 20 years ago… I wonder what happened to that guy…" the Onyx Tree began saying.
"Anyway… What is your name, young one?"
Han Jin just gaped while looking at the tree. He did not know how to answer the question for a minute there and was just stunned looking at the old man.
"Hello!" the old man felt weird at the young man who is just looking at him like a fool.
"Oh, don't worry, I don't bite… Well… That depends… Hohoho…" the Onyx Tree chuckled.
"Would you mind me eating the rest of that meat?" he asked.
Han Jin looks at the smoke of snake meat and subconsciously nodded his head.
It is better that the tree eats that thing than him… was on his mind.
"Why thank you…" the Onyx Tree then began to gobble the snake meat with a delighted expression on his face each time he takes a bite.
"What is your name by the way?" the tree asked.
"I'm… I'm Han Jin…" he subconsciously replied.
"Oh, very good… name. You are the second human that I've shown my face so face… So you are lucky. Hehe… So what does a weak normal human like you doing in this dangerous forest?"
"I… I was lost. We… We were ambushed…" Han Jin explained.
"Hehe… Ambushed by what? The beasts or Demon beasts? Hahaha… This is more of a ploy by someone. Those things are not local in this part of the forest… They are bread elsewhere."
When Han Jin heard this, his expression darkened. He did not know what this means, but if this is targeted at their group, then maybe it is from the enemy.
"You worry too much lad… Stay with me for a bit, I will help you out of this forest… But I have a condition…" the Onyx Tree showed a crafty smile.
"Condition?"
"Yes… Just bring me good food… any good food that you make each month. Promise me this and I will give you any information that you desired…"
"Information?"
"Haha… You might see me as someone who is not moving around… But… My connection to every tree and flower in this land is vast…" the Onyx Tree grinned.
Han Jin blinks his eyes and thought for a while then nodded his head.
"How… How can I…"
"Haha… Just touch any big tree planted to the ground… and say your name. I will know that you want to see me…"
That day, Han Jin befriended an unusual creature who by accident has chosen him because of its desire to eat tasty food.
The two chatted for a while as Han Jin shared with the Onyx Tree about his life. Then the Onyx Tree shared with him about what is happening to his mother.
Suddenly, the expression of the old man turned serious.
"Hmm… I think… I think that someone deliberately trapped you. A guy named… Sergeant Mido. The reason for this is because he is jealous of you…" the old man suddenly said.
Han Jin was stumped. He did not know anyone named Sergeant Mido or something. How could such a person do something like that just because of his jealousy?
"So, the reason why I was assigned to such a dangerous delivery task is because of his jealousy towards me?"
"Uhuh… A girl named Sergeant Crow…" the old man replied with a scrunched brow.
"Crow? Beatrice? He is jealous because of Beatrice. She has been my friend since I enter the academy… We are just friends... This… this guy is insane…"
"Hehe… You have no idea how insane men could get for the woman they love… My previous friend also lost the woman he loves. I told him at that time about the infidelity of that woman, but he did not believe me… I guess the reason why he did not visit me again is because of that… I did not even receive any information about him after all this time…"
The Onyx Tree began thinking as if reminiscing on something.
"Maybe he went to a faraway place outside of my domain… Sigh…"
Seeing the old man feeling sad, Han Jin could not help but show a faint smile and then takes out another pack of smoked meat from his bag.
"Let's leave those sad things behind and start anew…" he said while he unpacked the leaf.
The Onyx Tree showed a delighted expression as the two ate their meal.
After eating and talking Han Jin decided to ask if he could get a small part of the Onyx Tree.
The old man showed a smile on his face as the sound of loud cracking suddenly disturbed the silent forest.
Then a loud bang could be heard from outside.
The slight quaking of the ground almost made Han Jin jump in fear.
"Hehe… You've given me a gift… then this is my gift as a sign of our friendship."
Han Jin saw the roots slowly opening and outside, he could see a large branch of the Onyx Tree on the ground with some dirt still kicking up in the air.
"This… This is too much…" he muttered.
"Haha… I am a huge tree… Neither beast nor man can cut me… Only if I wished it to… Hehe…" the old man proudly said.
Han Jin carefully crawl out of the hole and checked the large branch. It was as if another small tree has just fallen to the ground.
He activates his Nim's Eye and saw the information in his mind.
'Material: Onyx Tree Branch… Type: Divine Wood… Class: B… Report: A part of a divine tree that exudes a strange aura that interferes with the senses. One of the best materials for crafting…'
The change in information made Han Jin feel a bit elated. He did not expect to experience such a windfall at this point in time.
He turns around and looks at the face of the old man which now appears on the tree truck outside.
"Thank you very much…" he said while bowing.
The attitude of the young man before him pleases the old man who showed an amicable smile on his face.
"Truly a peculiar mortal…" the Onyx Tree commented while looking at Han Jin.