Limit Breaking Genius Mage Chapter 444

Episode 444: The Will

The golden anvil is the one who turned the black volcano into a barren land… … Everyone’s attention was focused on Verden’s point.

“Go, Your Majesty?”

“What does that mean?”

All of the party except Alpha expressed their doubts and demanded a detailed explanation.

It's a natural reaction.

In their eyes, the Golden Anvil, Ugumar, would be a poor captive suffering under the clutches of the Soul Tree.

'It's not difficult to make people understand.'

The evidence is overwhelming just from the situation right before your eyes. If you have time, it is not a problem to convince even a child.

No explanation is necessary for the conclusion.

Because, Golden Moru had no intention of hiding his actions from the beginning.

Ugumar said.

“You are right.”

“……!!”

“The black volcano that has changed and the body that is being forced to live. All of this is my own doing. So don’t pity me. Especially not if you are a dwarf.”

He admitted it without a doubt.

There is no longer any reason for Verden to argue about whether or not it is proven.

The shock of Geraldine, Gharun, and Linus was replaced by silence.

[Why?]

Alpha asks the reason.

It's the right flow.

Now that we have the definitive answer from him, it's time to dig deep.

The conversation focused on Verden and Oughmar.

“Although the Soul Tree is a heteromorphic species, it is still just a tree in the end. It needs the right soil to take root in order to be born, and it needs sufficient nutrients to grow. It is naturally vulnerable to heat.”

“…….”

“In that sense, volcanic areas are not suitable for Soul Trees to establish as their home. Let alone the inside of a volcano.”

It is clear that the Soul Tree poses a threat to the world, but that is only when it is close to reaching maturity.

If you haven't grown enough, you're just a Trent with special powers.

In fact, the records of the Soul Tree that was discovered early on and subjugated remain intact in the Adventurer's Guild. This is information I received in the Principality of Liviant.

“If Soul Tree had tried to enter the dwarf fortress, it would have been defeated before it could even get over the wall. Even if it had managed to sneak inside, it would have either dried up from the volcanic heat or been discovered long ago and destroyed by its roots.”

The Soul Tree's ability to absorb life from its surroundings makes it easy to spot, unless it's hidden in a place untouched by humans, like the Demon's Forest.

No matter how you think about it, there is no way that the Soul Tree's magnetic power can do anything to the fortress of a normally operating dwarf clan.

And yet he succeeded.

It is a case of achieving complete growth in an environment that is poor, if not the worst.

How on earth was this possible?

There was only one answer.

“……To bring the Soul Tree into the fortress and grow it, you let its seeds germinate inside your body. You’ve really lost your mind.”

It is the presence of an assistant.

* * *

The tree trunks connected to Ogumar's body appear to be sucking the life out of him, but this is not the case.

The direction is opposite.

If you look closely, you can see that it is not stuck in from the outside, but rather crawling out from the inside.

Because the Soul Tree shares its life force, it would not be strange for Ugumar, who should already be dead, to still be alive after hundreds of years.

A question naturally arises here.

Even though he is on the verge of starvation, why does the Soul Tree not abandon Ugumar but instead continue to provide him with precious nutrients?

'Well, I can't throw it away.'

The first soil where the Soul Tree took root was not the ground, but inside the body of a dwarf.

To put it simply, the life force of the Golden Anvil ended up becoming the foundation and basis of the Soul Tree, and as a result, Ugumar itself became the core of the Soul Tree.

This is the truth.

Ugumar laughed, pulling at his chin.

“You know a lot about the Soul Tree.”

This is Verden's second encounter with the Soul Tree, and his knowledge of it is limited beyond what is known to the Adventurer's Guild.

Yet, the reason we can know so much is because we have grasped the essence of the Soul Tree.

“That’s right. You’re right this time too.”

There is no lie.

Of course, the decisive issue has not been resolved.

“But even if you were successful in planting the Soul Tree inside your body… Even if you were able to limit its size through some means, there would have been a limit to the nutrients you could provide. No matter how much food you could eat with the dwarf’s great digestive power, it would have been impossible for you to grow the Soul Tree to its full potential with just your life force.”

Soul trees require massive amounts of food.

It was the same during the duchy.

The Soul Tree, which had grown in size while hiding in the Demon's Forest, attempted to destroy the city of Lorien in order to reach its perfect form.

The estimated number of victims at the time was in the hundreds of thousands, exceeding ten thousand.

Even if there is a difference in the vitality of humans and dwarves, the Black Volcano Clan alone is not enough.

then.

“What on earth did you offer?”

The air is chilly.

The golden anvil stared at Verden through its eyeless sockets.

“……As you know, the Soul Tree is a heteromorph that grows by absorbing life force. However, that life force is not limited to living things. As the elves of the Great Forest claim.”

He took a deep breath.

“I have taken not only the dwarves, but also the ‘black volcano itself’ as nutrients for the soul tree.”

The natural life force of the volcanic area was sacrificed. That was the reason why the black volcanic veins were exhausted and transformed into cold land.

Verden looked at the half-broken giant tree.

“So that’s why this soul tree is crimson in color?”

“After slowly absorbing the geothermal heat over a dozen years, it gradually turned red. Eventually, when the vein completely disappeared, an aftershock occurred.”

A massive tectonic shift has occurred.

The sky turned yellow and the black volcanic fortress split apart and fell underground.

The screams of countless dwarves echoed.

This time it's true.

The process by which the black volcano turned into a cursed land naturally occurred to me.

'The Soul Tree's adaptability is beyond my expectations. Who would have thought it could even absorb the heat of lava?'

anyway.

Now that you know the process, here's the intention.

“Why did you do that?”

“I needed some materials.”

ingredient?

“Just as a blacksmith uses his hammer and furnace, the Soul Tree was merely a tool to me. The black volcanic veins it absorbed… the power it absorbed… do you understand what I am saying?”

There is no way I don't know.

Whether you can accept that at face value is a separate issue.

Verden's eyes sank.

“You used the world itself as your subject matter.”

What Ogumar wanted was neither rare metals nor byproducts of life.

It is the volcanic zone that has consumed the power that constitutes the world. As evidence of this, the black volcanic area is unable to recover permanently despite the homeostasis of nature.

This is not an issue that can be ignored.

It may be only a small part of the continent, but the world has changed.

“The purpose is.”

“……That was my mission.”

“Don’t ask again.”

Verden looked straight at the golden anvil.

“Who gave you this mission?”

Ugumar muttered blankly.

“Resistor.”

* * *

“……Resistor?”

It's an unfamiliar name to Verden.

I thought about it carefully, but I still couldn't figure out who it was referring to. There are so many different kinds of beings in the world.

I checked the expressions of Gharun and Geraldine, who lived at almost the same time as the Golden Moru, but… … as expected, they also looked like they had no idea what was going on.

At the very least, there is no doubt that the 'resistance' is a secret figure whose identity is being hidden.

As Verden continued to ask detailed questions, the golden anvil shook its head for the first time.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know. I’ve never even seen what he looks like… I just realized he was a rebel the moment I met him.”

“I don’t understand. So you’re saying you followed the orders of someone you don’t even know?”

“Because that didn’t matter to me.”

A more intense sincerity than before.

Dwarves are very stubborn and self-righteous.

It would have been even worse hundreds of years ago. We can see this by looking at Gharun, who was considered the spiritual leader of the orthodox dwarves.

If that's the case, then what about the golden anvil that has been a legend for 300 years?

'But what about the mission?'

What kind of a substitute resistor is it that the Golden Anvil worships so much?

At that moment, Geraldine's hands shook slightly.

“Wow, Golden Anvil. If you really were the one who made the Black Volcano like this… why did you help us back then?”

The rear search party that Geraldine was a part of was captured by the Soul Tree, but thanks to the help of the Golden Anvil, they were able to escape without being divided.

“That very day. The moment I created something in the facility, my life had to end.”

Ugumar recalled the past.

“But just before that, the Soul Tree, which had been sleeping for most of its life, suddenly started to struggle and fight like crazy. To survive. I thought everything was under control, so I couldn’t have predicted it.”

The power of the Soul Tree, which was absorbing the life force of the world, was something that could not be stopped.

“I, who should have died in the end, was forced to live by becoming one with the Soul Tree. And after taking some time to repair my body, the Soul Tree began to look for food. It ate the corpses and surviving dwarves here and there, and even put bait outside to lure its prey.”

"what……!"

The first and second search parties, organized by the Dwarf Clans, were thrown underground due to an unknown earthquake.

This was the work of the Soul Tree.

The fact was revealed here hundreds of years later.

“That was not my mission, it was never what I wanted. So I adapted as the core of the Soul Tree… and blocked it. I fixed its main body here so that it could not move, and I limited its radius of action and created a safe zone underground. Until today.”

The Golden Anvil became what it is today as a result of forcibly controlling the Soul Tree.

Verden asked.

“So, what did you create? And the result was recovered by the Resister? Leaving you like this?”

“I don’t even know what I made because the material I was working with was something I didn’t know very well. I just followed my instincts and struck the hammer.”

furthermore.

“I have never met a resister since I became like this. Because the creation is not material, so there is no need to take it. It is a ‘concept’ of some kind… It is certainly the greatest creation. I made it.”

There was pride in Ugumar's voice.

That was when.

“What a fucking dwarf.”

Kwaaaaang!

Gharun, who had been listening silently, hit the floor hard with his Marcuabro.

“You protected the dwarves who were trapped underground, and you say you saved your conscience just because you suffered a little? Not only did you destroy the Black Volcano, you also drove many of your own kind to their deaths……!”

“I have no intention of ever considering myself as having paid the price.”

Ogumar asserted.

“Call me a traitor all you want. Express your anger however you want. I will gladly accept revenge or torture. But… I had to do it.”

He turned his head to Gharun.

“I was originally a dwarf who was destined to die young from an incurable disease, but was saved by the Resisters. I made a promise at that time. With the Resisters helping me create, I would take up the mission to create anything… and in that way, I achieved countless feats, and became the Clan Leader of the Black Volcano, known as the Golden Anvil.”

“…….”

“And about 300 years ago, I ended my promise to the resistance. With a mission and a cause as my foundation, I borrowed my people and their land to create ‘an unprecedented creation.’”

Gharun clenched his fist.

“What you wanted was the Black Volcano’s ridge. Then why didn’t you evacuate the clan members?”

“The fortress had to be active in order to utilize the veins. I had no choice.”

“You’re so confident, considering you had no choice.”

“How can I regret having achieved the ultimate as a dwarf? You must know this too. If you are a dwarf who holds creation in your hands.”

Ugumaru did not bend.

“I am a dwarf, now and then.”

He maintained his shabby attitude, saying that he would have made the same choice over and over again.

“Golden Moru……!!!”

Geraldine was furious, but couldn't bring himself to move.

It is said that he killed many dwarves… … But even so, he could not immediately decide what to do with the man who had saved him and had become the turning point for the village.

The decision was made by someone else.

“You’re a dwarf?”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Gharun walked roughly.

“No, Ogumar. You are not a dwarf. A true dwarf is not controlled by anyone, nor does he take up his own cause! And for a dwarf, creation and his kind are not separate things.”

“I chose this mission simply for the sake of my existence. Otherwise, I would have died of illness without accomplishing anything. And… isn’t endless selfishness for creation the essence of a dwarf?”

“Shut up and tell me your will.”

Ugumar said.

“I’m scared…….”

Kwajijijik!

The giant hammer, Markuav, blew up the golden anvil. Verden did not stop him.

* * *

Soul Tree's death was confirmed when Ugumar's body was shattered.

Aaaa …

A sobbing scream brushes my ears.

The traces of the giant tree that had filled all directions were turned to dust and disappeared, and eventually even the trunk was shattered into pieces and collapsed miserably.

The fallen debris scattered like dust, having lost even the remaining vitality.

Soon, a swarm of white things poured out, passed by Verden, and disappeared beyond the dark ceiling.

'I think it was said that the soul of life that the Soul Tree used as nutrients… … .'

This is what I heard from Leila, but I don't know if it's true.

Because Verden has never seen a soul.

It is not known where those so-called free spirits are truly headed.

The darkness that had briefly been revealed was once again covered in shadows.

Kuung.

Gharun lifted Markuab and placed the weight on one shoulder.

Ogumar's body was not found.

Only the golden anvil and golden hammer of the Black Volcano Clan Leader, imbued with the power of the Soul Tree, still remain, their luster intact.

Gharun spat, nervously blowing away Ugumar's legacy.

“What is a golden scepter, and what is a clan leader?”

Gharun is a dwarf.

He is a dwarf who lives for the sake of creation, and who caused an accident in the Red Volcano Clan by advocating orthodoxy… … .

Not only were no dwarves injured in the process, but they also carried out bartering properly rather than just stealing and running away.

Because I kept the line like this, I didn't feel any selfish guilt.

On the other hand, Ugumar─── created the black volcano in this state by following the mission given to him by an unheard of being called the Resister.

Many dwarves died.

The most prosperous dwarven clan fell overnight. If you add in the dwarves who didn't become part of the soul tree, there would easily be more than ten thousand.

In addition, the first and second search parties, which were comprised of elites… … even brave and excellent dwarves lost their lives in vain.

They were Geraldine's comrades, neighbors, and members of the small clan that made up the village.

Even though there have been big and small fights up until now, that fact remains unchanged.

“…….”

Geraldine stared darkly at what the golden anvil had left behind.

It was confusing.

He was a dwarf, as he said, but he was not a dwarf, as Gharun said.

At that moment, Linus pointed to one side.

“……Everyone, look over there.”

Thud, thud.

As the Soul Tree was destroyed, the collapsed wall that had been hidden by its roots and trunk was revealed.

Beyond that was the facility of the Black Volcano.

Verden has arrived at his destination.