As mentioned earlier, we could see the enormous shape of the World Tree even from a distance as we flew into Scandinavia on a plane. Now that we were back on the ground and moving toward it, its massive silhouette was even more visible. Initially, from the skies, it appeared like an ordinary willow tree that was millions of times bigger, its leaves and branches reaching past the heavens. In fact, the canopy was hidden high above the atmosphere, which much of it shrouded by clouds. Each branch was thick enough to house entire cities, and all of them extended from a continent-sized trunk whose bark was wrinkled with age.
It was hard to believe that Yggdrasil only appeared a few centuries ago. Looking at its ancient form, I would have thought it had been growing for millennia, if not millions of years. The leaves were gigantic, each probably the size of a small island. From the plane, I couldn't make out much details, but now when I was drawing closer, I magnified the vision with my enchanted lenses and caught sight of settlements.
The villages nestled into the branches and twigs looked tiny from this distance, but several of them actually gathered to become full-fledged cities, particularly at the bases where the branches joined the trunks. Over the years, a few of these villages had grown alongside the surface of the trunk to link up with each other to form towns, or even cities. Even though I couldn't make out the details from such a long range, from the brown color, I suspected the houses and huts were crafted out of wood.
The roots had curled out, almost resembling gigantic cables of a suspension bridge or rough hills. I had no doubt they sank deeply into the earth, probably reaching for several kilometers downward. It was fortunate that Yggdrasil had chosen a spot far from any human civilization, growing in the middle of a large forest closer to the east. It was amazing to see the tree tower over every mountain and volcano in the background. In fact, it would almost be an insult to call Yggdrasil a mountain, especially since it was an upright continent in its own right.
And this was from several kilometers away.
"Fortunately, we have bus services there," Morten Pedersen explained to us with a smile as he helped us buy tickets and directed us to the correct bus. "There's a direct bus service that takes us all the way to the base of Yggdrasil. There is a mixed town of humans and elves living together at the bottom, though they tend to keep to themselves instead of interacting. It's strictly a trading post, actually. You will see what I mean when we get there."
It wasn't long before the bus reached the roots of Yggdrasil. When we alighted at a station at the mixed town, which was named Midgard for some reason, I understood Morten's explanation. There were rows of shophouses, but they seemed segregated. Almost like the town was split into two neighborhoods, there was one district that was made of brick and concrete houses, identical to the human cities I was used to. Right opposite those normal looking human houses, across a broad road, was a row of wooden houses that appeared more grown than built. They appeared to be embedded from the roots of Yggdrasil itself, but when I drew closer, I saw that they were wooden contusions that were sculpted out of the roots, rather than separate houses.
I suspected that the houses above were probably magically grown protrusions from the branches and trunk, rather than constructed artificially like the human structures.
"Amazing," I breathed. Beside me, Myria nodded as she studied the wooden shophouses.
"I've never seen anything like this before."
"I know, right?" Morten grinned as he led us past the human shophouses and toward the wood. "Wait until you see their residents!"
We hadn't taken more than a few steps across the wide road when the door to one of the shophouses opened. An elf – an actual elf – poked his head out and went rigid when he caught sight of us. He frowned slightly, but didn't say anything, instead continuing about his business.
Even though he was male, he looked like the stereotypical elf. You know, the typical bishounen archetype that Orlando Bloom popularized over twenty years ago. Delicate features, long blond hair that was tied prettily, sharp blue eyes, and long ears that tapered at the tips. Even his clothing was traditional medieval fantasy fare, a cotton tunic with a leather vest and boots, as well as gloves. From his build and gear, he appeared to be a hunter. I could see his bow and quiver slung onto his back.
Not surprising. Elves were either archers or super mages. Or both. I mean, I was an archer type cultivator, so who was to say there weren't hybrid classes? I was reminded of the "warriors" that Pedersen mentioned earlier. They might specialize in close combat, but they probably made use of qi or mana to enhance their physiques through spells or techniques. In Hua Xia, we never differentiated between cultivators and martial artists because it was a given that martial artists used qi and esoteric techniques. Perhaps some cultivators might prefer talismans or other more esoteric techniques, as opposed to those who favored body tempering techniques for maximum physical strength, but…cultivation was still cultivation.
It was probably the same for the elves and mages here in the West.
The elf ignored us as he set up his store. I didn't know why he bothered equipping himself with weapons when he was clearly a storeowner. As if he had read my mind, or probably because he saw my quizzical expression, Morten offered an explanation.
"There have been incidents of spirit beasts descending to this town and attacking the traders here. That's why everyone has their weapon on hand, to defend themselves if necessary."
"Oh. Well, that's why we are here. To fight off the spirit beasts and maybe discover the reason for their increasing incursions. And hopefully to curb them."
Again, I was reminded of my time back in the Huo Yan Valley. There were demonic cultivators manipulating the spirit beasts to attack Huo Yan City back then, while using them as a cover to set up spirit arrays to set off a chain eruption from the volcanoes that would engulf the entire province in molten lava. Given that the mission parameters mentioned rumored sightings of demonic cultivators, I wondered if something similar was happening here.
They wouldn't be called demonic cultivators here, though. Maybe demons?
"Hello, nanoda!" Silvia said in a cute manner as she greeted the elf. He gave her a pointed look that matched his pointy ears and turned away silently. She sulked and came skulking back to us. "How rude!"
"Please don't take it to heart," Morten assured her with a laugh. "The elves are like that to all humans. They are a race that have very high pride, so they rarely deign to talk to us unless absolutely necessary. They don't like us much, and for good reason."
Silvia was a fairy, though. I guess the elf didn't realize that. Not that we cared, and I suspected elves would have behaved the same toward her even if they knew her true species.
"What do you mean by good reason?" Sylvie asked curiously. Morten grimaced and scratched his head.
"As embarrassing as it is to admit it, we humans haven't exactly been kind to the environment, you know? And elves are very close to nature. We have damaged the Earth with pollution, countless wars and exploitation of resources. You know the amount of toxic waste we pour into the ocean, for example."
Myria stiffened at that, her hands curling into fists. I placed mine over hers and gave her a reassuring squeeze. If Morten noticed, he kept quiet about it. Instead, he continued.
"It's only natural that the elves view us with disdain. From their perspective, we are nothing more than barbarians, ungratefully destroying the very nature that birthed and fed us. Before the advent of spirit beasts and mana, we were on the path of killing our own world thanks to our greed and entitlement."
None of us refuted that. We watched as a few more elves emerged from their wooden homes to set up store. Surprisingly enough, not all of them carried weapons. I could only guess that it was because they specialized in more arcane spells than physical weapons. They did look a little uniform, though. Not enough for me to label them as clones, but they sported the same delicate features and sharp ears. All of them had blond hair, blue eyes and an ethereal beauty that was quite clearly not human.
Not one of them spared us a single glance.
"That said, they have no choice but to cooperate with us," Morten said with a shrug. "The demons are a greater threat to the world than we humans ever could be. We face a common enemy, and the demons and their acolytes wouldn't hesitate to poison the World Tree and destroy the world. No, perhaps they wish a fate worse than death and destruction. They want to taint and corrupt Yggdrasil, and turn this world into a living hell."
He smiled bitterly. "That's the only reason why the elves deign to work with us."
"They don't seem like they want to cooperate, though." Silvia pouted, glaring at the elves who were blatantly ignoring us. Morten shook his head.
"No, don't worry about them. We're looking for a specific person. One who would guide us up Yggdrasil and show us to the place where the recent attacks have taken place. The elves are currently understaffed, reeling from casualties and losses from the sudden raids, and so they ended up having to outsource protection and security. That's where we human mages come in."
"If they're that desperate, then the situation must be worse than I thought," I remarked.
"You are right." Morten nodded. He didn't stop walking, also ignoring the elves who bustled about as they set up shop. Eventually, he led us to a small outpost nestled high on a single root that was connected to the base of the trunk.
With a leap, he reached the huge wooden platform that had been carved out in front of the humble doors leading to the outpost. As I jumped up after him, offering a hand to help Myria and the others, I noted that the small building resembled a barracks of sort. The elves' counterpart of a small military garrison?
Looked like spirit beasts and demons weren't the only ones they were wary of.
Myria didn't need my help, and she propelled herself gracefully onto the platform. Sylvie and Silvia flew subtly, their invisible wings bearing them aloft, but to make a show of it, Sylvie accepted my hand while her sister excitedly spun about before remembering herself and landing on the wooden floor with a thump.
As Morten strode toward the doors, I suddenly remembered something that he had said.
"You mentioned acolytes?"
"Yeah. Acolytes are the terms we use for those mages who…um, simply put, went over to the dark side and indulge in demonic practices. They wish to ascend to demon hood themselves and practice magic and hone abilities that many would consider…unnatural."
Did he just make a Star Wars reference there? I swear he just did.
"Oh, I see. So it's possible that acolytes might be behind the sudden spike in spirit beast attacks."
"That is entirely possible. It's our job to find out." Morten paused and smiled wryly. "I hope not, but as you already know, the reality never conforms to what we want. But if the acolytes and the demons they worship are truly behind this, then…quite frankly, we're screwed."
"No argument there."
Morten turned back to the doors of the elven outpost and rapped the solid wood. I suspected the elves within already knew we were there because I could sense the presence of spirit arrays – or enchanted wards – set up in the vicinity, responding to our presences, but they seemed really reluctant to meet us.
Eventually, a single elf opened the doors. This time, she was female, her features even more delicate and sharper than the first male elf I saw. Unlike that guy, she was dressed in skimpy robes that emphasized her curvy figure, reminding me of those cliché elfish heroines that I often saw in fantasy or isekai manga. She had no weapons, but she wore leather gloves and boots that didn't mesh well with her scanty white robes.
Myria scowled, while Sylvie and Silvia automatically reached their chests as if to compare their sizes to the newcomer. Yeah, well…elves were stereotypically busty, so I could understand why the fairy sisters suddenly developed an inferiority complex.
"Yes?" The female elf asked almost impatiently, her voice simultaneously arrogant and melodic. I suddenly remembered the Harmonious Flute in my possession, and I could imagine her playing a tune with it. No wonder they said the instrument was made for elves.
"Um, we're here to ask for a guide up Yggdrasil," Morten explained. "We're one of the human parties who have accepted your requests to combat the growing hordes of spirit beasts attacking elven enclaves throughout the World Tree."
"Oh, excellent. You're finally here." The elf shut the door and grabbed a vine. I noticed that there was a curtain of vines dangling next to the garrison, almost resembling ropes. In a single movement, she elegantly climbed up. After a few seconds, she glanced down and glared at us. "What are you waiting for? Follow me."
"Um, okay?" Morten gaped at her. She sighed and shook her head.
"Are you humans thick or what? I'm your guide." She paused and dropped back down to the wooden platform, realizing that she had forgotten her manners. Lowering her head slightly, she then glowered at us. "The name is Eliza Sherwood. I'm a ranger, and I'll be the one guiding you through Yggdrasil."
"Oh, I'm Morten Pedersen, and these are…"
"No, you don't have to introduce yourselves." Eliza waved him away and seized the vine, once more ascending it with flair. She didn't give us a second look. "Maybe if you survive beyond the first day, I might ask for your names, but it's pointless to remember who you are if you're going to get killed almost immediately like most of the others."