World Tree*3
When I made the “Potion,” that was… well, that was pretty early on. Around the time the people of Panis Village started coming to tend the slime fields.
Uh, you remember, right? Mishisia gave me those medicinal herb seeds. I had the slimes plant them, and before long the herb slimes were bouncing around, working hard.
And the herbs that sprouted out of their heads—Mishisia would pluck those from time to time, boil them together with the water I reconstructed, and they became medicine for the sick children in the village.
Other times, when villagers got small injuries while working the fields, they’d pluck the herbs right off a slime, crush the leaves, and slap them onto the wound. Or Edele would toss them into her soup. They were put to all sorts of uses.
… But, since these herbs were growing out of slimes, they grew ridiculously fast.
So fast that I’d sometimes pick them and break them down to absorb. And that’s when the thought crossed my mind:
“What happens if I reconstruct only the medicinal component?”
So I started analyzing what exactly the “medicinal component” of these herbs was.
The result? I figured out that this stuff was… well, beyond just elements.
To put it bluntly, it was fantasy essence. Not elements, but arrangements of mana. That’s what was inside these herbs. Actually, not just the herbs—everything in this world had it to some extent. And that was what gave rise to all these fantasy effects.
I’ve started to get it now: mana has no mass. No substance. But there are all sorts of different kinds of mana, and depending on how they combine, they form different fantasy essences.
It’s kind of like how elements combine into molecules. Or more like how certain amino acids join in specific sequences to create proteins, and each protein has a distinct effect.
Adrenaline and other hormones are just proteins, right? And they give humans that temporary boost of physical ability. This fantasy essence is kind of like that, except the effect is bigger, stranger, and powered by mana.
The problem is… it doesn’t look like most people in this world understand that.
I see it as: “Mana = element,” “Magic ≈ fantasy essence = mana combined into molecules.” But from what I’ve heard from Mishisia, people here see it as “different effects = different types of mana.” They don’t think in terms of combinations, but of completely separate substances.
Which means, being able to break down, absorb, and reconstruct mana like I can—that’s a massive advantage of the dungeon’s power. I’ve gotta treasure that.
And so, I ended up with a “Potion that’s insanely effective on wounds.”
Truth is, I wanted to make one for illnesses. Since there are sick kids in the village.
But it turned out the mana pattern in the herbs was more geared toward “heals injuries and physical damage.” So, not so effective on sickness.
Still, it could reduce inflammation, speed up the repair of damaged muscles, things like that. So it worked as a treatment, at least.
Thanks to it, the sick kids’ symptoms have eased a little. They say it makes them feel better. But the real, immediate results show best… on external wounds.
――
“Uh, this one… good, still breathing!”
“Alright, alright. First things first… pour it on…”
“After that, better make him drink some too, just in case.”
So Mishisia and I poured potion over the one-armed, one-eyed man’s wounds to treat him. His chest had been slashed, no doubt by those ex-adventurer thugs, blood pouring everywhere. Left alone, he would’ve died. No question.
I didn’t know why, but he’d tried to help me escape. Got himself injured for it. At least I could repay him for that much.
And just like that, the wound on his chest healed cleanly with the potion.
… It’s scary how it just closes right up. I’ve given up trying to understand it—it’s just this fantasy world’s way.
“Alright, now to make him drink some. Mishisia-san, can you lift his head a bit?”
“Leave it to me!”
With her help, we managed to get him to swallow some. Apparently, this potion works both externally and internally. I seriously don’t get it. Fantasy is way too complicated for me! Thank goodness Mishisia’s around as my fantasy advisor.
Anyway.
The one-armed, one-eyed man stabilized. The potion didn’t regrow his lost arm or eye, but at least the bleeding stopped. He wasn’t waking up yet, but at least he wouldn’t die if left alone.
“… Uh, well, just in case, let’s stick him in a cage…”
“Yes, Asuma-sama…”
Right. For safety’s sake, we used the dungeon’s traps to put him in a cage. Partly as a quarantine, too.
――And then.
“… What about the others?”
“… Yeah, what do we do about them.”
Of course, the rest were still around.
The ex-adventurer thugs—some knocked out from the fall, others groaning after being hit by Mishisia’s arrows. They were all there.
“So, do we… finish them off? Or… what’s the right thing to do here?”
“Uh, uh… sorry, Asuma-sama! I don’t really know human laws at all!”
“What did you usually do in situations like this!?”
“Edele-san handled it!”
… Ah, I see. We really don’t know a thing about the laws or customs of this world.
Like… is there even such a thing as arresting someone? Do they have prisons? Or is attempted murder punishable by death? Maybe vigilante justice is totally normal?
Nope, I’ve got no clue! Somebody teach me the justice system of this world!
“Forget it! Let’s ask Edele-san! We’ll decide after hearing her out!”
“Y-yeah! I think that’s best too! We can always kill them later if needed!”
So Mishisia and I patched up the thugs just enough to keep them alive, tied them up tight, knocked them out, stuck them in cages, and then ran off to find Edele for help.
Ahhh, I look so uncool!
――
And so, I reunited with the villagers in the passage leading from the cave’s deepest point. I’m back!
Edele was so moved she hugged Mishisia and me tight, and then I got tossed up in the air by the villagers in celebration. Waaaah-shoi!
… Anyway, after the tossing.
“Let’s see… about the captured adventurers. In that case, let’s hand them over to the nearest town’s guild.”
Edele decided quickly, and that was a relief.
I see. A town guild. That’s how it works.
Mishisia and I both learned something new. Neither of us really understands how humans work in this world, so it’s good Edele’s here.
“And that way, we’ll also receive a bounty…”
“If it makes us money, that’s best!”
“If it makes us money, that’s best!”
Exactly. Better to turn them into money than just kill them. We could use it for Panis Village’s recovery.
So, for now, we locked the thugs up.
Still, keeping them in cages deep inside the dungeon would be inconvenient in the long run. So we decided to move them outside.
I dismantled the wall I’d sealed up earlier and carried the prisoners out that way.
… Oh, right. Yeah. I could dismantle and absorb stuff again.
Not sure why. Earlier, I couldn’t.
I’ll have to test this properly. But, uh… how? I don’t even know where to start.
Anyway, I built a prison outside the cave. Solid, heavy—made from rock and iron. We shoved the captured thugs inside.
“Damn it! Let me go!”
“No way! Sit there and repent!”
Mishisia was furious as she helped the villagers carry them. Can’t blame her.
As for me… I’ve got the body of a scrawny grade schooler. So my role was cheering them on: “Do your best!” Sorry. No way I could carry adults.
And then—
“Lisas, you damn… just a baggage carrier, and you betrayed us!?”
One of the prisoners glared at another as he was being carried.
That first guy was the one who’d held a knife to my throat. And the one being glared at, the “traitor,” was the one-armed, one-eyed man.
“… If selling kids is what it takes to live, then we’re better off dead already. Isn’t that right?”
He gave a tired smile with his one eye, dragging his body with its missing arm, as they led him away.
The missing arm and eye… probably from that recent war. Maybe that’s why they’d turned to banditry in the first place—no work after the fighting.
Left a bitter taste, but… well, the matter was settled.
Instead of dungeon traps, the intruders were repelled by Mishisia’s World Tree and her archery skills. Totally unexpected, but she seemed happy. So, this was for the best.
――Which brings me to the main question.
“So, Mishisia. That thing… the World Tree. What is it, exactly?”
I had to ask about the huge thing that had sprouted deep inside my dungeon.
What do you think about this chapter?
