Ch-378. **Chapter 378. Heavenly Demon**
—
The **“Seed of Earth”** was the symbol of the Earth Spirit King, Uhm.
Only one who could make Uhm’s seed germinate was qualified to form a contract with Uhm.
Furthermore, depending on how much the germinated seed grew, one could borrow Uhm’s power to that extent.
At the same time, once the seed took root in the earth, it became the medium through which **Uhm** could be summoned to that location. Needless to say, the germination of the seed was critically important.
The problem was that doing so was exceedingly difficult.
* *Uhm’s contract is more demanding than that of any other Spirit King.*
* *First, you must germinate the Seed of Earth. If the tree grown from it is pitiful, it’s worse than not contracting at all.*
* *Above all, trees grown from the Seed of Earth have weak vitality. They wither and die easily. They’re vulnerable to pests and disasters, so the contractor ends up caring for nothing but the tree.*
* *Rather than contracting with Uhm, go farm. It’s better.*
* *Even if it’s possible, avoid contracting with Uhm whenever you can!*
Among spirit tamers, such sayings were common enough to be considered maxims.
That was how troublesome the Seed of Earth was—both germinating it and everything that followed.
Trees grown from the seed were uniformly frail, often withering at the slightest provocation.
The real issue was that when the tree withered, the contractor died as well.
In the end, even after contracting with a Spirit King, the contractor would spend their entire life tending a tree.
Because it created such a massive weakness, contracting with Uhm was not recommended unless one intended to become a tree oneself.
But—
What if those problems didn’t exist?
What if a tree that would never wither sprouted from the seed?
What if the power rooted in the earth was so overwhelming that there was no need to protect it at all?
*Then a contract with Uhm would bring unimaginable benefits.*
Agnis thought so.
Among the Spirit Kings, **Uhm** was the one whose contractors suffered the most.
Trees born from the Seed of Earth drew an enormous amount of power from the land.
But once such a tree fully settled in, the land became incomparably fertile.
Earth spirits would be born endlessly.
And—
That land would never be **“polluted.”**
All Spirit Kings were specialized in dealing with **pollution**.
Agnis burned it away; Uhm used pollution itself as fertilizer for germinated seeds.
The Water Spirit King Iquerel purified it.
The Wind Spirit King Shandi carried it away, thinning its concentration.
If pollution were not dealt with, the entire world would eventually become like the **Abyss**, or countless **things that should not exist in this world** would cross over and plunge everything into chaos.
That was how vital the Spirit Kings were to maintaining the balance of the world.
*This place is overflowing with pollution.*
Therefore, if a seed germinated here, there was no need to worry about soil depletion.
On the contrary, there was an abundance of nourishment—perfect for growth.
The only concern was if a weak tree were to sprout…
Too much nourishment would kill a fragile tree.
However—
The tree that had sprouted from the Seed of Earth now was different.
Not just different—
**completely** different.
* …This isn’t growth. This… surpasses the level of growth.
The seed had germinated.
What no one had ever managed to sprout, **Park Hyun-myung** had made bloom.
Normally, after that, the tree would slowly take root in the earth and grow.
Rooting came first.
But—
* Verdant…?
The seed had become **Verdant**.
Verdant was akin to a relative of the World Tree.
Forests containing Verdant flourished, and the level caps of forest races rose.
Forest-dwelling races naturally gathered around it, nurturing it on their own, to the point that no special care was required.
That, too, had never happened before.
The Seed of Earth transforming into Verdant—
Yet even that turned out to be a misunderstanding.
* N-no. That’s not Verdant…!
Uhm was struck with shock.
The tree that had been mistaken for Verdant continued to grow.
In an instant, it absorbed all the surrounding pollution.
Soon, every trace of pollution on the Mountain of Earth vanished, and the rampaging spirits calmed and stabilized.
The growth speed was beyond imagination.
Rather than growth, it was closer to **evolution**.
But it didn’t end there.
Verdant was said to resemble a World Tree’s kin because—aside from size—their appearances were very similar.
* T-this… this can’t be possible…!
So if something that resembled Verdant continued to grow in size—
…Then what would it become?
* H-how can a “seed” become a World Tree…?
A **World Tree**.
Yet even Uhm had never experienced such a thing.
The Seed of Earth sprouting into a World Tree—
No matter how the Seed of Earth was said to hold the potential to become any tree,
A World Tree was not something that could be *created*.
Even druids could only transport seeds; they could not create a **World Tree’s seed**.
World Tree seeds were born solely from the **First World Tree**.
And yet now—
A World Tree had been created…
《A “Spirit World Tree” has taken root in the “Deep Abyss.”》
《The “Heavenly Pollution” saturating the land has been greatly reduced.》
《The collapsed Spirit Tower has begun to regain its structure.》
《The spirits of “Fire” and “Earth” have regained consciousness.》
Even its name was **Spirit World Tree**.
A name the spirits were bound to revere.
《The “Earth Spirit King Uhm” has been subordinated to the “Spirit World Tree.”》
《Fragments of the “Broken Golden Scale” are being produced in greater quantities.》
《The owner of the “Spirit World Tree” may obtain 1 “Complete Golden Scale” every 1,000 hours.》
‘…I… have been forcibly subordinated to my own seed?’
What in the world was this?
The Seed of Earth was Uhm’s own symbol.
And yet he had been bound by his own symbol—an utterly absurd situation.
Which meant that he had been subordinated to the one who had grown the Spirit World Tree.
Normally, the duty of nurturing and protecting the tree belonged to the contractor.
That was why, if the tree withered or died, the contractor died.
But now, all of those duties and responsibilities had been assigned to **Uhm** himself.
‘If the Spirit World Tree withers… I might be annihilated…’
It was strange.
Nothing about this was normal.
He had contracted with a Spirit King, yet bore no obligations, no responsibilities.
It was a contract that granted him nothing but the ability to wield a Spirit King’s power.
Could this even be called a contract?
Uhm’s gaze drifted to the being standing beside him.
* Welcome, comrade.
Agnis spoke with a smile he had never shown before.
*
*
The **World Tree of Honor**.
And now, the **Spirit World Tree**.
With that, I had become the owner of two World Trees.
In particular, by clearing the *World Tree Dungeon*, the World Tree of Honor granted **2 Complete Golden Scales every 1,000 hours**.
*That means I’ll obtain roughly three Complete Golden Scales every forty days.*
It was insane.
A Complete Golden Scale was something people might obtain *one* of—*if they were lucky*—after accomplishing a mythic feat.
And I could get them just by breathing.
Not one—
**Three.**
“S-s-world trees…?!”
“Wait, then isn’t the ‘World Tree Community’ connected too?”
“…No. The roots haven’t reached the outside yet.”
Those watching were in an uproar.
A World Tree had appeared out of nowhere—of course they would be.
However, the connection to the **World Tree Community** hadn’t been established yet.
Still, there was room for optimism.
“Either way, this means we can obtain fragments of the Golden Scale now!”
“They’ll probably be distributed according to achievements.”
“The pace is faster than expected. At this rate, we’ll subdue the Water and Wind Spirit Kings soon too!”
“But wait—did that man just contract with the Earth Spirit King?”
The cheers and excitement quickly shifted.
All eyes turned to me.
It was a natural question.
After all, the seed had germinated and become a World Tree on *my* turn.
“Who is he, really?”
“Didn’t he come with the Korean dispatch team?”
“Yeah. But he definitely wasn’t on the team roster…”
“Contracting with two Spirit Kings… he must be someone incredible.”
An unprecedented event.
When the Fire Spirit King had been subdued, attention had focused on the blackened Alkar, leaving little room to think.
But now this man had also claimed the Earth Spirit King.
Just who was he?
Who could he be, that he wasn’t even on the dispatch roster?
“His identity is classified.”
Arin put an end to the commotion.
It was something she could never reveal.
Not only because of her promise to Park Tae-woo.
If it were discovered here that he was **Park Hyun-myung**, the entire world would covet him.
His name was already famous as a *Super Rookie*. If word spread that he had contracted with two Spirit Kings—
*…Even imagining it is horrifying.*
Korea lacked the power to protect him.
The Hero Alliance was no different.
Every nation would offer benefits beyond imagination, and Park Hyun-myung would move according to his own interests.
And in doing so, he would naturally drift away from her as well.
“So Korea has been hiding a powerhouse all this time.”
“Korea… it’s deeper than we thought…”
“We’ve misjudged them until now…”
Hearing Arin’s words, people drew their own conclusions.
Arin herself had crushed Dark Star in an instant.
And that man—who had contracted with two Spirit Kings—was also Korean.
Just those two alone eclipsed everything they had believed about Korea’s strength.
“The next destination is the **Mountain of Water**. There, we subdue the Water Spirit King, Iquerel.”
That was when—
Phantom… no, the blackened **Alkar** spoke.
They couldn’t keep standing around talking forever.
And at that moment—
Kwarururung!
The mountain shook.
The entire Deep Abyss trembled violently.
“A-an earthquake?”
“No…!”
“Look over there!”
Everyone’s gaze was drawn to a single point.
The **Mountain of Water**.
But the tremor didn’t last long.
Instead, the Mountain of Water simply—
**vanished**.
Seeing that, Agnis spoke in a trembling voice.
* I-Iquerel… has been annihilated…
…Annihilated?
What did that even mean?
Moments later, Agnis erupted in rage.
Flames surged from his entire body, washing over the mountain.
* Agnis, calm yourself! The earth spirits can’t endure it!
The Earth Spirit King Uhm tried to restrain him, but it was useless.
For the first time in countless eons, Agnis felt **absolute fury**.
And at the same time, he realized who had annihilated Iquerel.
* Hea… ven… ly… De… mon…!!
—
—
The plan had changed.
From the moment humans subdued the Fire Spirit King and formed a contract—
A complete **Chaos Spirit King** could no longer be created.
Thus, the other Abyssal Lords began to move.
The Heavenly Demon was no exception.
“Then I shall become the Chaos King myself.”
He forcibly annihilated the Water Spirit King, Iquerel.
Afterward, the Heavenly Demon devoured the Spirit King’s essence.
*The Celestial Whale… that bitch is sharp.*
Still, he hadn’t achieved everything he wanted.
The Heavenly Demon absorbed all the Evil Gods of the **Heavenly Demon Path**.
With no more walls and no more sky, wasn’t he truly invincible now?
That was why he had intended to devour the **Celestial Whale** along with the Water Spirit King.
The Heavenly Demon—
He had already eliminated two Abyssal Lords present here.
*Wait for me, Sunken Emperor.*
But the one he desired most was undoubtedly the **Sunken Emperor**.
If he could make that power his own, the entire world would kneel.
The Heavenly Demon smiled.
Then tilted his head slightly.
“A World Tree…?”
Out of nowhere, a World Tree had bloomed on the Mountain of Earth.
Come to think of it, the **Blood Moon Priestess**, who had gone out hunting humans, had yet to return.
The Heavenly Demon stroked his chin.
And then he moved.
Toward the **Mountain of Earth**.
