Chapter 16 — Spirit Tree*
The tiger had disappeared.
Arin remained where he was for several seconds, blood dripping from his wounds. He didn't chase it. Something had frightened that beast. And whatever could frighten a creature like that was something Arin had no intention of approaching while half-dead.
He slowly lowered his blood sword. His body finally reminded him just how badly he had been injured. His shoulder was torn open. Several ribs felt cracked. His breathing was rough. Even his legs trembled slightly from exhaustion.
Arin looked around. The Spirit Tree stood quietly behind him. Its green leaves swayed gently in the breeze, completely unaffected by the battle that had just taken place.
Arin stared at it. After everything that had happened, the tree was probably the safest place he had. For now.
He walked toward it. Every step sent pain through his body. But the strange Vitality Qi filling Paradise continued flowing into him. His wounds weren't healing instantly. Instead, his body was slowly recovering. His breathing became steadier. The exhaustion weighing down his muscles gradually faded.
Arin reached the tree and leaned against its trunk. He closed his eyes for a moment.
As Arin sat beneath the strange tree, another fragment of history surfaced in his mind.
The history books continued from the moment the ancient drum began to sound. Badum.
The sound came from the Central Continent. On the highest balcony of the tallest building stood Maslow Griffin, the man humanity would later remember as the Calamity. The strongest of the blessed sons and daughters of god.
He was already more than a hundred years old. Bald. A long white beard hanging from his chin. Yet his eyes remained sharp as he stared into the darkening sky.
Badum. The world trembled. Then— Badum.
The fabric of the world tore apart. A gigantic rift appeared in the sky. And through that impossible tear... Something looked down.
A gigantic Eyeball. Again. Its size was beyond human understanding. Its presence alone caused countless people to lose themselves in fear.
For a moment, humanity could do nothing but stare. The Eyeball did not immediately attack. It simply looked across the world. As if searching. As if looking for something.
Then— A golden light appeared above the world. The light became brighter. Brighter. Until a pillar of golden radiance descended from the heavens and struck the enormous Eyeball.
The shock awakened those who had fallen into a stupor. Humans who had been frozen in terror suddenly regained their senses. And they fought. The battle against the Aberrations resumed.
But the nightmare had only begun. Another golden pillar descended. This time, the Eyeball reacted. Its enormous surface began to decay. Boils appeared across its flesh. Dark, foul blood spilled from its body.
Pieces of rotten flesh fell from the sky. Some were as large as cars. Others were even larger. Where that corrupted flesh landed, destruction followed. Humans died. Beasts mutated. And some who came into contact with that terrible substance changed into creatures far more terrifying than ordinary Aberrations.
The history books described that day as another turning point in humanity's struggle for survival.
Then the Eyeball began to withdraw. But before the world could understand what had happened— Another golden light gathered above the world.
This time, it was different. The golden radiance spread across the sky. Then it descended upon humanity like rain. Golden rain.
Wherever it fell, something changed. Human bodies grew stronger. Injuries began to heal. Those who had possessed traits found their powers greatly enhanced. And even people who had never awakened a trait before began receiving strange powers.
The blessing spread across the surviving population. Humanity grew stronger. Much stronger.
The golden rain continued until the remnants of the Eyeball were finally sealed. Its corrupted aura. Its blood. Its flesh. Even the mutation that had spread across the world. Everything was suppressed beneath the golden radiance.
The blackened blood hardened into rugged black stone, strange golden glyphs appearing across its surface. The remaining flesh dried into enormous husks, golden markings covering them as well. The glyphs weakened the lingering aura and bloodthirst that had contaminated the surrounding world.
Humanity had survived another disaster. But the history books made one thing clear. The Eyeball's appearance was not the end of the calamity. It was only another beginning.
Arin's brows tightened. The historical fragment faded. His gaze returned to the Spirit Tree.
He opened his eyes. The historical fragment faded. His gaze returned to the Spirit Tree. He looked at the strange fruit hanging above him. Then at the peaceful Paradise Realm surrounding him.
For a moment, the ancient drum seemed almost real. Badum. Arin shook the thought away. He had more immediate problems.
Then opened them again. "That tiger..." His expression became thoughtful. It had been intelligent. Far more intelligent than the beasts outside Paradise. It had calculated his movements. It had used its lightning trait intelligently. And when Arin injured it— It had fled.
Not because it had lost. Because something else had scared it.
Arin looked deeper into Paradise. He couldn't see anything unusual. Only trees. Grass. Mountains. And the strange peaceful light covering the land. "Whatever is deeper in there..." He shook his head. "Not yet."
First, he needed to recover. His gaze moved upward. The fruit.
Arin swallowed. He had seen the fruit before entering the fight. Now that he had nearly died, he was even more interested in it.
He climbed the tree carefully. His injured body protested with every movement, but he endured the pain until he reached one of the thicker branches. He picked a fruit.
It was pinkish and elongated, almost like a strange mixture between a strawberry and a carrot. Arin examined it. Nothing about it looked dangerous. Still, after three weeks in this realm, he had learned not to trust appearances.
He activated his Blood Qi Sense. Nothing. No nearby beast. No threatening presence. Arin finally took a bite.
His face immediately twisted. "...Disgusting." The taste was strange. Not rotten. Not poisonous. Just unpleasant.
But something else happened. A warm energy spread through his body. Arin froze. He could feel it. Spiritual Qi. And something else. A faint trace of the same gentle energy that had been filling Paradise.
Vitality Qi. The energy flowed through his body, gradually nourishing him.
Arin's eyes widened. "So that's what you contain." He looked at the remaining fruit. Then at the countless other trees scattered throughout Paradise.
For the first time since entering the realm, Arin felt that he might have found something genuinely useful.
He quickly checked his status.
*Rank:* Awakened
*Strength:* 36
*Vitality:* 40
*Agility:* 35
*Spirit:* 25
*Spiritual Trait:* Unique — Sanguine Emperor
*Soul Trait:* Null
*Skill:* Beast Spirit — Low Level
*Artifact:* Damaged
*Artifact Repair Rate:* 0.056%
Arin stared at the numbers. His Spirit stat had always been his weakest major stat. And now... He could feel something changing.
The Spiritual Qi from the fruit wasn't disappearing. It was gathering.
He ate another fruit. The strange energy entered his body once again. Then— A familiar cold voice sounded inside his mind.
_Spirit stat +1._
Arin's eyes widened. His Spirit increased. He immediately checked his status.
*Spirit:* 27
"Two points?" He stared at the fruit. His expression slowly changed. This wasn't ordinary food.
Arin picked another. He ate it. Then another. The warm energy continued entering his body. His Spirit gradually increased.
27. 28. 29.
Finally— 30.
Arin stopped. He could feel the difference. His mind felt clearer. His perception sharper. The Spiritual Qi inside his body had become noticeably denser.
Then the cold voice sounded again. _Get ready to ascend to the next rank._
Arin froze. "...Ascend?" His heartbeat quickened. He immediately sat down beneath the tree. He closed his eyes.
He could feel the Spiritual Qi inside his body. It was no longer scattered. It had accumulated to the point where his spiritual core seemed almost completely filled.
Something was happening. A pressure. A bottleneck. A feeling that he was standing before another door.
Arin slowly clenched his fists. "Is this the next rank?" He didn't know how to break through. He had never cultivated before. Everything he knew about cultivation came from the memories and knowledge he had inherited from this world.
But now— The Spiritual Qi inside his body began to stir.