After waking up I set on my journey
While walking in the forest, I stole a few glances around me. I didn't see anyone here except for a few animals who looked like they belonged to this forest only. Well, that's to be expected since I was inside the Whispering Grove forest.
"Ah," touching my chin, I couldn't help but wonder if I was in the right place. After shaking my head a couple of times, I concluded that I was standing in front of the wrong tree, so I decided to walk away.
Yes, I did not misspeak. I was looking for a tree, not just any tree, but a huge tree with a face carved in its trunk. Yes, you read that right — a tree with a face. It is said that the human-faced tree can fulfill any desire, yet very few know of its existence. That tree is known as the "Tree of Life," and its location is always changing, meaning it could be in front of you at one moment and halfway around the globe the next.
However, I knew that the faced tree would be in this Whispering Grove forest from now until the second year of the academy. But I was in a forest full of trees! There was no chance in hell I would find my specific tree that easily.
"Huffing and puffing," I trudged my mud-caked boots ahead step by step. The terrain was rougher than I had expected. Jerking my neck from left to right, I inspected all the trees I could without stopping my march.
"How hard can it be to find a tree with a face!" I couldn't help but complain in frustration. My shoes weren't meant for trekking, so my foot was starting to hurt. I looked up and discovered that the sun was also about to set. I only had a few minutes at best before the sun set, and this area is filled with mana beasts.
The novel didn't mention much about the location of the faced tree; I only had a rough idea. I knew how it looked, and I knew it was supposed to be a few minutes' walk away from the entrance. I had to find that tree, and I needed to find it quickly.
"Roar!" shaking me out of my thoughts was a loud roar that I heard coming from deep inside the forest.
"Tsk, I don't have much time. The beasts would come out to the outer region once the sun sets. I didn't have the luxury to stop now." Thinking that, I decided to speed up my search by running.
But before I could take a step, I placed my foot on an uneven spot on the ground and fell on my face. "Slam!" After groaning in pain like a kid, I sat myself up and rubbed my chin that had hit the ground.
"Great, this body is truly pathetic," I uttered before smacking myself on the head. "I can't even walk properly and hope to survive in a dog-eat-dog world!" Using my hand as support, I got myself up from the ground. Standing up, I patted my clothes and was about to start walking again.
But before I could do so, my gaze fell on a tree, and when it did, I couldn't help but widen my eyes. "Yes!" I exclaimed in excitement. "I found it!"
Controlling his excitement, Lucas hid behind some bushes.
While hiding, he peeked at the huge old tree standing north, so far from him, with a serious expression.
In front of that huge tree, Lucas felt like a tiny sprout.
The tree was old and rusty. There wasn't a single leaf on its branches, but among the empty brown branches, a single branch present on the upper right corner was green in color.
Three circular red fruits were hanging vertically on the top of that branch. A huge amount of mana was continuously gushing out from the seemingly old tree trunk, directly entering the red fruits.
While looking at the trees, Lucas frowned because the tree branches were dancing, playing with some pebbles. Also, there was a huge creepy face at the center of the tree trunk.
While reading the novel, Lucas thought it was a simple face, but he didn't expect to see a creepy-looking, alive tree.
Seeing the red fruits hanging on the top of the tree's branch, Lucas was a hundred percent sure that this tree was the one mentioned in the novel.
Lucas looked at the tree once more, and his frown deepened.
"The tree is alive, and seeing its huge appearance, do you think I can defeat it or snatch the fruits from it? No, right? There is no way I can, as I can't fly, and there are too many branches, and they are alive. That's why I can't do anything, especially with this pathetic body."
While Lucas was busy in his own talk, the large tree suddenly spoke in an irritated manner.
When the tree spoke, its two empty eyes curved open like the sky, and the hole present at the center of the tree trunk moved up and down.
"Kid, how long are you going to stare at me?"
Lucas heard the loud, cranky voice and jumped back with fright.
The tree's hollow eyes were directly staring at Lucas.
The tree said with an irritated voice, "Hmm, why are you so pathetically weak? In my whole lifetime, I have not seen a person more pathetic than you."
"Last time, the ones who came were also very weak, but you are special. You are extremely weak, so pathetic," he said with a sigh.
The tree's cranky voice resounded around the whole area. It spoke and threw many questions towards Lucas, who was looking at the tree with shocked and cautious eyes.
Walking up closer to the tree, I started inspecting it with wide-open eyes. After a few seconds of looking at the tree, I was sure. This is it. This was the tree that I was looking for.
"Are you the Tree of Life?"
The tree's interest peaked when he heard Lucas's questions. It had seen a lot of individuals. They all asked different questions. But he knows me, he thought.
"Ho ho ho ho ho ho, it seems you know who I am. Kid, now that you have found me, you can't leave, not until you complete my trial."
The moment the tree spoke about the trial, a transparent, thin shield formed out of thin air.
The shield immediately encircled Lucas.
Seeing the shield, Lucas's heart trembled. He hurriedly racked his mind together, answering all the questions.
Lucas looked at the tree with a playful expression. Just now, if he doesn't answer all its questions, the tree will kill Lucas. But he, with the knowledge of the protagonist, can answer all these questions. Let's see.