The Book Eating Magician Chapter 254:
Chapter 254 – Baekun Mountains (3)
The previous battle atmosphere went away as the two spirits grasped Theodore’s hands simultaneously . They each weighed was over 100 kilograms, so the strength of their grips wasn’t to be trifled with . It wasn’t at a level that could be endured .
Rather than flinching back, Theodore alternated looking back and forth between the two spirits . Then he demanded an explanation, “Explain what happened . I can’t answer your request for help if I don’t know what it is about . ”
Based on the way the mountain spirits were looking at Mitra, it seemed to be something related to an earth spirit, but it was too complicated to guess .
Why were the two boss spirits of the Baekun Mountains bowing their heads without hesitation? Maybe they were mistaken, or perhaps Mitra really did have a clue to resolve this incident .
The half human, half bear blinked and let go of Theodore’s left hand . It seemed that White Bear acted rudely because he wasn’t aware of the courtesies of the human world . “Hmm, sorry . My mind is rushing ahead because I am in a hurry . I haven’t even introduced myself yet . Please be lenient with me . I am White Bear, the head of the white forest . ”
“I am Theodore Miller, who came at the request of Seol . If the pronunciation is difficult, you may call me Tae-oh . ”
As the two of them were exchanging greetings, the Tiger King kept holding onto Theodore’s right hand and interrupted, “Tae-oh (Laziness)? It might mean something different, but that name isn’t quite right for you . I like Tao-oh (Greatest Crow) . ” (TL: Same Korean spelling but different method of spelling with the Chinese characters)
“Well, I don’t hate crows . ” Theodore nodded with a smile .
The inhabitants of the East often treated crows as a bad omen . However, in the West, especially for magicians, crows were the synonym of a wise bird . One ancient **** was said to have two crows that sat on his shoulders and looked around at the world, while Theodore had also contracted with a crow called Hugin .
Four people—two people and two beasts, to be exact—started to move inside the canyon . It was to see one of the two sacred trees, the one that belonged to the Tiger King .
“Male—no, Tae-oh . You formed a contract with the mountain deity?”
“Earth deity, Tiger King . ”
“Shut up, Bear . Anyway, is that right?”
Theodore ignored the two fighting spirits and stroked Mitra who was on his shoulder . Then he asked both sprits, “Right, why do you think she is an earth deity and not a mountain deity?”
“I met one in the past . It is slightly different, but I will never forget that strange presence,” the Tiger King answered casually and looked at him . She was taller than Theodore, so her eyes naturally looked down at him . Maybe she was looking at the top of Mitra’s head?
However, she didn’t dare stretch out her hand and spoke with a little bit of awe, “It has already been more than 500 years, but he was the one who brought the sacred trees to the Baekun Mountains . He was the one who made me a cunning spirit when I was just a beast . ”
“It is the same with this body,” White Bear added .
Rare human feelings of nostalgia emerged in the expressions of the two spirits .
The Tiger King and the White Bear hadn’t been spirits from the beginning . They were beasts who had been born as animals and had succeeded in becoming spirits after accumulating a lot of karma .
The odds of that happening was one in a thousand—no, maybe one in a million .
The Baekun Mountains was a special area, but this couldn’t drastically affect the animals in the area . It was because that there was another reason besides the energy of the Baekun Mountains .
“There are two sacred trees left now, so they are indispensable to our lives,” White Bear said in a quiet voice as he took one step forward . “The dragon vein is concentrated near the sacred trees, maximizing our vitality . Rare plants grow like weeds, and the children who consume it every day will become spirits within a decade . But now the sacred tree is worsening . The children who have yet to grow into spirits will return to being beasts . ”
“Isn’t it enough with just one tree?”
“It isn’t enough . ”
Indeed, Theodore was convinced by the explanation . Why had the Tiger King and White Bear confronted each other over a sacred tree? It was to do their best for the spirits they led . Despite the arguing, the relationship between them wasn’t bad . The balance was maintained because the free-spirited Tiger King and mature White Bear were total opposites .
Shortly after that, they arrived in front of the sacred tree .
“Ohh…” Despite Lee Seol having seen it a few times in the past, she couldn’t help letting out a sound of admiration along with Theodore . It was because the top couldn’t be seen . The tree was approximately a little over 100 meters tall . It couldn’t be compared to the world tree of Elvenheim, but this tree was grown just from a dragon vein . The sacred tree had a great size, and it was beautiful .
‘But there is definitely something going on . The edges of the leaves are faded . Despite the dense mana… the movements are surprisingly inactive . ’ Theodore diagnosed the condition with one glance and was troubled . How could he improve this with Mitra’s power?
It was something Theodore never attempted before . An animal could be healed . He could cut off the sick stem of a plant . However, it wasn’t known if he could revitalize a tree like this . However, the gazes of the two spirits pierced Theodore’s conscience .
“How is it? Can you do it?”
“Tell me to do anything . I will follow your words . ”
Theodore sighed and took a small step forward . “Is it okay if I touch the sacred tree for a moment? This is the first time I’ve encountered a situation like this . ”
The Tiger King and White Bear nodded easily . The sacred tree would die if they left it alone anyway . They could certainly tolerate someone touching it for a moment . There was a deep sense of confidence from the two spirits toward Mitra .
“…Then I am starting . ” Theodore stretched out both hands without hesitation and touched the rough surface of the wood . This was reasonable behavior, but it had no meaning so far .
‘Mitra . ’
[Yes! I will do as you ask!]
Simultaneously, a green light emitted from Mitra’s bud . After ingesting the seed of the world tree, she had manifested the ability to form a consensus with plants .
Theodore had been using it as a type of clairvoyance, but as Mitra grew, he realized that he had been mistaken . Clairvoyance only borrowed the vision of the distant vegetation . However, she could now exert her true power .
Shortly after that, Theodore’s conscious was pulled somewhere else .
* * *
“Heok!” How much time had passed by? Theodore suddenly stepped back and opened his eyes .
This caused Lee Seol to call out with surprise, “Theo! What is going on?”
“…Seol . ” Theodore repeatedly took in deep breaths and recalled what he had seen .
Was it because the structures of humans and plants differed greatly?
It had only been a few seconds of contact, but Theodore hadn’t been able to keep up with the enormous amount of information and his consciousness had cut off . His brain might’ve been fried if Mitra hadn’t acted as the bridge between them . He reflected on it and neatly arranged the information he had received from the world tree .
‘A huge whirlpool… and the branch that stretches from the center of probably the flow of the Baekun Mountain’s dragon vein . ’
The images, which were engraved in his mind, were vivid . It was as if the base power, the source of the mana here, was swirling all over the Baekun Mountains . Among them, the largest flow was divided into two stems .
One stem flowed to the west forest where White Bear stayed, while the other one flowed to this sacred tree . There were traces of other branches apart from these two, but it was so long ago that the power must’ve been exhausted or dried up .
However, that wasn’t the only thing the sacred tree wanted to share . Theodore contemplated the cause of the problem that had flowed into him . If he didn’t have good intelligence, Theodore’s brain would be overheated . After all, the mentality of a plant was really different from a human’s .
“I would like to say something first,” Theodore barely calmed his confusion and spoke to the two spirits . Then he disclosed shocking news, “The sacred tree’s life isn’t over yet . ”
“…What?”
“What?!”
Tiger King’s eyes widened, while White Bear cried out loudly . Oddly enough, these reactions were the opposite of their usual behavior . This showed he had attracted the attention of the two spirits .
Theodore looked at Mitra clinging to his neck like a cicada, then he took a deep breath and explained, “The sacred tree isn’t a tree that could originally grow to this size . Like you said, it grew due to the strength of the dragon vein . Then what will happen if the supply of power from the dragon vein decreases?”
“…It will gradually weaken . ”
“That’s right . That is the primary problem . ”
The flow from the dragon vein had decreased, weakening the sacred tree . If this were the end of it, Theodore wouldn’t be so serious . As time went by, the dragon vein would lose some power, but it was still at a level which the Baekun Mountains could bear . The Baekun Mountains could still flourish for the next few centuries .
However, something was hindering that flow . The White Bear’s branch of the flow wasn’t affected, but the flow going toward Tiger King’s sacred tree had been cut off somewhere . To summarize it briefly…
“If we can restore that broken area of the dragon vein, the sacred tree will revive soon?”
“Yes, that’s correct . ”
It seemed like a simple solution, but they realized that wasn’t the case when looking at Theodore .
A branch of the dragon vein wouldn’t be cut off if it got struck by lightning, so this disruption couldn’t be due to natural causes . At a minimum, a massive earthquake or volcano eruption was required for it to be disrupted by nature . If there had been such a natural phenomenon, both the Tiger King and the White Bear might’ve guessed the cause of the problem .
In other words, that wasn’t the case .
“…It means that someone has broken this branch of the dragon vein,” White Bear murmured .
Theodore nodded . “Just before, I approached the dragon vein through the connection with the sacred tree . I thought I could find out when the flow was broken . ”
“Did you see it?”
“Is it bad? Your consciousness was cut off like someone interrupted it . So, I’m surprised . ”
Sometimes, a mental impact could be greater than physical damage . Theodore had already trained his mind to the extreme, whereas most people would’ve fainted from this . He was lucky to be left with no physical after-effects .
A person who could interfere with a master… It meant the enemy must be at a master level . Theodore guessed the opponent’s ability with that one contact and was immediately convinced .
‘When converting to the ranking of magicians, the opponent is at least a 7th circle shaman . ’
The magic he had learned from Seimei was definitely magic involving feng shui . This meant the opponent had to be a great shaman who could control the rise and fall of mana, and even affect the flow of the dragon vein . A shaman who could do such things certainly wouldn’t be an easy opponent .
Aside from Seimei, whom Theodore had met with Gluttony’s power, Theodore had never encountered a great shaman! Yet, he now had to be fully prepared to deal with a strong one .
“Seol . ”
“Ah, yes! Theo!”
Having a non-combatant with him was a fatal weakness . Lee Seol was outstanding, but she was still young and hadn’t reached the level of a master . It would take decades for her to participate in a master level fight .
Therefore, Theodore calmly decided what to do with her .
“Go back now . It is likely that something will occur that you can’t intervene in . ”
It came earlier than he had thought it would be, but it was now time to say goodbye to Lee Seol .