Hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from where Kai was, ten people sat around a large round table, looking at one another dead in the eyes. Each of them, whether it be a woman or a man, were wearing large robes with distinct colors. On each of their robes was also placed an insignia representing their affiliations.
However, amidst of all those, one single man was topless. He also sat on a throne as if to highlight his superiority over the rest of them. The man gave off a strong and threatening aura as he looked into the eyes of everyone present for a short moment. He had long white hair and bright blue eyes, giving him the look of a refined man.
"I have received a strange report a few days ago about some anomalies in the First Realm," the man said as he looked at one person in particular. "Shing, as the First Realm Representative, do you have anything to say about that?"
Shing simply shrugged, his eyes unmoving as he looked back into the eyes of the white-haired man.
"No, I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. May I ask who reported this to you, Lord Wyatt?"
"You may not. However, my source is without a doubt someone which can be trusted. That's why I have gathered you all here to organize a special team whose sole task will be to find the cause for all of the anomalies within the First Realm."
The calm gaze within Shing's eyes suddenly changed in an instant. He clenched both of his fists as he slammed them against the table in front of him.
"What are you talking about?! No one will—"
The white-haired man simply raised his hand and instantly, Shing was no longer able to move.
"I didn't give you the permission to talk and complain. My orders are absolute, and each of you must respect them. Am I clear?"
Everyone sitting around the table suddenly all looked troubled, or rather scared of the man. However, they did their best to make sure he wouldn't notice it.
That's why they all replied in unison: "Yes, Lord Wyatt!"
Hearing them shout made Lord Wyatt smile from ear to ear.
"Perfect. As you all know, with the current changes happening to our world, everything happening in it is extremely important, and we must make sure everything goes according to plan. Failure is not an option."
A slender woman with long, black hair and extremely generous features suddenly rose her hand, requesting to speak as she looked at Lord Wyatt.
"Yes, Lady Myre. What do you have to say?"
She coughed once and took a deep breath, catching the attention of everyone in the room because of her never-ending beauty.
"If possible, I would like to be the one taking care of the anomalies taking place in the First Realm."
Lord Wyatt frowned as he looked at her, unaffected by her charm.
"Why would a Lord Class Enchantress, and the representative of the Fourth Realm such as yourself, be interested in such a minor realm? Do you know something we ignore?"
Lady Myre kept her calm and didn't let the overwhelming presence of the man affect her. She calmly turned in his direction and smiled brightly.
"No. Actually, I just learned of this situation when you talked about it before us. However, because of the recent actions from our superiors, I want to make sure everything goes according to our plan. That's why I want to be the one taking care of this issue."
Shing, the representative of the First Realm, was still unable to speak. However, with his body language, he was able to let everyone know that he strongly disagreed with the current way this discussion was going. After all, he was the one overseeing everything happening on the first floor. It angered him that the people sitting around this table didn't trust him.
Nevertheless, no one paid him the slightest attention as he was the newest and weakest member of the round table.
Lord Wyatt didn't even glance in his direction as he kept his gaze locked onto Lady Myre, observing her with a lot of attention, making sure he wouldn't miss a crucial detail that could ruin everything. Seconds passed by, and no one said anything simply letting the situation play itself out.
Suddenly, Lord Wyatt flashed a smile.
"Alright. I have decided. Lady Myre will be the one in charge of eliminating or fixing whatever that is currently causing problems in the First Realm."
"Thank you, my Lord. I will make sure not to disappoint you. I will leave right away and prepare an appropriate team to make sure everything goes according to plan."
"Perfect." He snapped his fingers, making it possible for Shing to talk once more. "You should take Shing in your team, he knows that place better than anyone else."
Lady Myre simply nodded as a response.
The meeting continued for a few more moments, but it quickly ended, which meant that it was time for Myre and Shing to get ready to gather a team and explore what was currently happening on the First Realm.
In the meantime, Kai was on the verge of arriving at the Dark Elf Village, and one thing was sure: There was something currently happening within the village. It had been less than a few minutes since they had been in range of actually seeing the village and Kai had seen dozens of dark elves running mindlessly, seemingly freaking out.
'Isla, do you have an idea of what's happening? After all, I came here because you asked me to.'
Isla still hadn't said a word ever since their small disagreement, which was starting to annoy Kai since she was supposed to be the one helping him knowing more things about the world that was surrounding him.
A few seconds passed by, and it was complete silence. It truly seemed like she didn't want to speak whatsoever. However, when Kai thought that he would have to head in completely alone, Isla finally came out of his Monster Core.
'I'll go take a look around, stay here.'
Kai just nodded as he watched the fairy flying away from him into the village. He had to admit that the village was a lot more developed than what he had previously thought. The houses were actually quite well-built and with good materials. It was also fairly big with dozens of houses. The population was certainly over a few thousands.
However, what truly caught his eye was the black tree in the middle of the village. From where he was currently standing, Kai estimated the width of the tree to be at least five meters wide, which was massive. It was also going extremely high up in the sky.
'I wonder what its purpose is…' Kai thought in the back of his mind.
Minutes passed by, and soon enough, Isla had come back. Kai noticed something strange about her, however, he kept it to himself, unsure what it was.
"So, where should I head first?"
Isla didn't answer, she just looked into his eyes.
Kai frowned. "Hello? Is there a prob—"
"You must be wondering why I brought you here, right?"
Kai was surprised to hear her speak on her own. However, he quickly focused onto the conversation once more.
"I have a small idea, but yes, I am wondering. After all, coming over here involved some risks."
"Hm, I'm sure you noticed that tree over there, right?"
"I did. What about it?"
"This is the reason I brought you here."
Kai just frowned, confused as to why a tree would be a good enough reason to come all the way here. It was just extremely confusing for him. There might be something special about that tree, but Kai had difficulty believing that it was worth coming all the way here. Nevertheless, he shut his mouth and simply listened to what Isla had to say.
"That tree is the source of the corruption for this entire village."
Kai's frown accentuated. "But didn't you say that corruption was bad for my Monster Core?"
Isla nodded. "That's true. However, I've been thinking about it, and I forgot that you aren't like us. Your Core is different from the rest of us, it constantly evolves without any problems. So, my theory is that you will be able to absorb the Corrupted Energy from the Corrupted Tree without getting affected by it."
"What does it mean to have a Corrupted Monster Core either way?"
Isla started looking around when she was asked that question. It was as if she was trying to find a way to dodge the question.
"Uh…well, having a Corrupted Monster Core means that your mind and body will also become corrupted as a result. To make it short, you won't be able to stay sane once your core is corrupted. You will start to have a strange obsession over hurting everything around you for your own profit."
"And you want me to absorb a Corrupted Tree because of some theory you thought?! No, no, no, there's no way I'm doing this."
Isla sighed as she flew onto one of Kai's draconic shoulders. "If you don't want to take that risk…well, there's another way. However, I personally think that it's even more dangerous…"