– Who are you?

The crown prince had asked a similar question before. However, this time was different.

– Cale, I cannot see your future. I also cannot see your past, starting from the last two years.

2 years ago. That was when Kim Roksoo had become Cale Henituse again.

– I may not be much, but I have lived a long time. I've lived, died, and reincarnated many times. That gave me the eyes to see a bit of the world.

The World Tree was able to see a bit of the flow of the world. However, there was a time when it could not see any of it. And now, the number of things that the World Tree could see was slowly decreasing.

– A long long time ago.

The World Tree recalled when it had no choice but to create the snowstorm and take over the north. That was the first time it had ever felt fear.

– There were people like you whom I could not see their pasts nor futures. I could only see tiny glimpses of their near future.

Cale focused on the part that there were people like him in the past. 'Did World tree talk about Transmigrator? Or Regressor?'

However, the World Tree quickly dispelled Cale's thoughts. A completely different explanation was given.

– The owners of the ancient powers were just like you. I could not see through them.

'Ancient powers?'

– I couldn't see through the arsonist nor the rock for brains.

'...I feel like I know who it means when it says rock for brains.' Cale recalled the stubborn Super Rock.

He also started to think about the time when there were many people with ancient powers. He was thinking about the stories he heard about the ancient times.

It has been said that the darkness had fallen on the world during the ancient times. Furthermore, it stated that the darkness disappeared and peace was restored. However, nothing mentioned just exactly what the darkness was.

"What is the darkness?"

Raon and the priestess who had been looking at Cale tilted their heads in confusion at Cale's question. However, the World Tree understood what Cale was asking and responded back.

– I can only speak the things that the World allows me to say.

It was saying that it could not answer Cale's question. It then added one more thing.

– I also cannot say anything about things I cannot see. I could not predict the true body of the darkness. However, the me that lived during that time did see the 'darkness'. Unfortunately, that is something I cannot discuss.

Cale started to frown at the twisted answer that did not answer anything at all.

– Did you say they were called 'Arm'? The ones aiming for me?

"That is the case."

– I could not see 'Arm'. The things I can see are dwindling these days.

Cale had a bad feeling at this moment. '...Looks like things will become an even bigger mess.'

It was already a mess, but the upcoming future would be even more of a mess. Cale was disappointed that the World Tree did not know the true identity of Arm. So he couldn't ask about White Star.

– Danger came to find me every time I could not see through the flow of time. It might be that I will be involved in the situation and not just be a bystander.

The World Tree came to a quick conclusion.

– But that is my problem, so let's return to you. Who are you?

It asked one more time. Cale calmly responded back. "Just one of the many average people."

Raon's voice reached Cale's ear at that moment. "Our Human is not average! And he is weak!"

'What is he talking about?' Cale let Raon's comments in through one ear and out the other.

However, he could not ignore the World Tree's comment.

– I plan to throw away three or four branches today.

'Branches? Tree branches?' Cale had thought that the World Tree would care a lot about its body, so the fact that it was saying this gave him an ominous feeling.

Although the tree was smaller than Cale had expected, it was taller than Cale and the branches looked quite thick and strong.

'Why would it throw them away?' Cale opened his mouth to speak.

However, the World Tree started to speak first.

– One.

The World Tree was planning on saying something it did not have permission to say.

During the time when the darkness had descended on the world. Many lifeforms fought against each other at the time and the word, 'peace,' was nonexistent.

The Dark Ages were also called the Warring Ages. It was a time when a person would happily kill someone else for their own benefit.

The World Tree said the first thing.

– The person who is collecting ancient powers has collected a total of three ancient powers.

Cale flinched. 'White Star, is it him? He's already got three? I can't let him have his balance again.'

Cale urgently started to speak. "What else do you know about that per-"

However, he could not finish his sentence.

Boom! Cale heard a loud noise at that moment. The ground also started to shake. Something had fallen.

Cale tried to open his eyes.

– Do not open your eyes.

The World Tree was telling him not to open his eyes. He also heard the young priestess Adite's voice at that time.

"W-World Tree-nim! My goodness!" Adite called out to the World Tree as if she was screaming.

He heard Raon's voice after that as well.

"What is going on? World Tree, one of your large branches rotted and fell to the ground! Are you hurt, World Tree? Are you not well?"

"Raon-nim, you cannot approach them!" The young priestess prevented Raon from heading toward the World Tree.

She was stomping on the ground while not knowing what to do.

She then weakly responded to Raon, who was looking at her with an expression that seemed to be asking why she was holding him back. "The World Tree-nim, the World Tree-nim told you not to come."

"Is that so? Alright then." Raon did not say anything else before returning to his original spot. However, his eyes were full of concern. His gaze was focused on Cale, who was right next to the fallen branch.

On the other hand, Cale's mind had become even more complicated.

– Second.

The World Tree spoke weakly but urgently.

– Find the remaining traces of the Black Dragon's parents.

'Raon's parents?' Cale had planned on looking into this at some point in the future.

Boom. Another large branch fell down.

"What do I do, what do I do?!" He could hear the extremely concerned Elf's voice.

However, Cale's mind was already complicated by what the World Tree was saying. He continued to focus on the World Tree's words.

– Last thing.

There was still one thing left.

– The judge who ran away to the Eastern continent. Find her.

'...Now what the heck is it talking about?' Cale had a thick frown on his face.

It was at that moment.

Crack. Cale heard something breaking from above his head. His body was pushed away at that moment.

"...Ugh!" A hard and round rock seemed to push his body to the side. At the same time, a small and round front paw supported his back.

Boom!

Cale opened his eyes. He looked toward the spot he had originally been standing at. There was a large branch that had turned black and was leaking a red fluid.

"Human, are you okay?"

Cale looked toward the Black Dragon who had pushed him to the side and then supported him. Raon stuck his head out from behind Cale.

Cale calmly started to speak. "You could have moved me with magic."

Cale would not have felt the impact from Raon's head that was as hard as a rock if he had done that.

Raon's pupils started to shake before they returned to normal and he started to speak. "But you still dodged it!"

"Yes, Yes. Thank you, my great and mighty Raon." Cale casually responded before approaching the World Tree again.

Drip. Drip. The sounds that he had missed because he was focused on the World Tree could now be heard. Three large branches had broken off. There were red fluids that looked like human blood flowing out of them.

'I thought it was normal, but I was wrong.' He had never seen a tree that 'bled' like this. Cale slowly put his hand back on the trunk of the World Tree.

– Huuuuuu.

A weak sigh could be heard.

– It looks like I'll be able to give you the fruit only after the summer is over. This is the limit of what I can tell you.

The World Tree's voice started to get quieter.

– You have the thoughts about getting stronger, right? But it's not from your greed for power.

Right. Cale had plans about getting stronger with everyone who chose to follow him.

The World Tree was able to get enough glimpses of the flow of time to notice that about Cale. It was because the World Tree wish for the same conclusion.

The World Tree did not wish for strength. It did not care for power or fame. It just wanted a peaceful life.

However, it moved when it had a prediction that it would cause it to be difficult to have that peaceful life.

It had covered the North with a snowstorm in the past and this time it had thrown away three of its branches in order to give a couple of pieces of advice for this human that it could not see through.

It had protected the humans it could not see through in the past as well. It believed that it would do the same again.

– ... I must rest now.

Cale could not hear the World Tree's voice anymore. He took his hand off the trunk and looked toward priestess Adite.

The young priestess continued to cry as she started to speak. "The World Tree-nim said that it must sleep for a long time and said that you should chat later along with the fruit."

Fruit. That was the item Cale needed to gain from the World Tree. He still did not know what abilities the World Tree's fruit had. He just assumed that it was something good by the fact that Eruhaben wanted the World Tree to give it to Raon.

The Elf caressed the blackened branches with sad eyes as she continued to speak. "It also said that it was disappointed that it could not chat with Raon-nim, but asked to push that until next time as well."

"I am disappointed as well, but that's okay! Hey World Tree, is there something I can help you with?" Raon approached the World Tree with a concerned expression.

The young priestess shook her head. "Recovery is something the World Tree-nim will take care of alone. All we need to do is wait."

Shhhhhhh- Cale listened to the rustling of the leaves and started to think.

'The person who has collected three ancient powers and is looking to gather more.

The traces of Raon's parents.

The judge who ran away to the Eastern continent.'

Cale brushed his face with both of his hands. 'I don't have any clues for any of them.'

**********************************

Cale had spent the past few days thinking about the three things the World Tree told him about.....

Tap. Tap.

....while chilling in the warm Elf Village underneath the frozen lake while eating fresh cherries.

"...This place is kinda good..."

Raon responded to Cale's joking comment. "No! Even if it's good, our house is the better!"

"That is true. Our houses are best." Cale was agreeing with Raon's statement, but still felt that he would miss the fresh cherries when he's gone.

Paseton was watching this with a blank expression on his face. Only Paseton and Raon were by Cale's side right now.

They were currently under a cherry tree with trays of fruits and drinks around them. The cushion that Cale was sitting on seemed very comfortable as well.

Cale was receiving the VIP treatment in the Elf Village.

How was this possible? Paseton was amazed.

However, he soon needed to stand up at Cale's command.

"Gather everybody."

"Yes sir."

Cale watched Paseton leave in order to gather the group as he stood up.

Rosalyn and Raon had finished reinforcing the defensive magic barrier and they were currently testing it with Choi Han today. On and Hong were currently rolling around the snowstorm while having fun with Archie.

"Human, are we leaving now?"

Cale petted Raon's head instead of answering his question.

He had now come to a conclusion to the three problems the World Tree had told him.

Cale could see the priestess Adite running toward him from the distance. The young Elf seemed to be struggling with the loose priestess robe as she ran.

She then started to catch her breath in front of Cale. "Huff, huff, young master Cale-nim!"

"Yes?"

"The World Tree said one thing just now before returning to sleep!"

'It said something else?' Cale urged the priestess to speak, and the priestess clenched her eyes shut before she started to shout.

"Those punks with ancient powers were all lunatics! Do whatever you want!"

The priestess Adite was shaking as she had never heard the World Tree speak so roughly before. She heard Cale's voice at that moment.

"How did it know?"

"Excuse me?"

Adite opened her eyes and looked toward Cale.

Cale was smiling brightly. "Tell it not to worry. I plan to do whatever I want anyway."

He was someone who never planned on doing whatever other people wanted him to do, well, there were exceptions, but that was beside the point.

Raon approached him and asked "Human, is it time to go set things on fire?"

The priestess flinched. Paseton returned with Rosalyn and Choi Han at that moment. They looked toward Cale after hearing Raon's question.

However, Cale was thinking about another existence.

God's Tears.

It was something nobody knew whether it existed or not. It was something nobody had ownership of, something that was an ownerless magnificent water.

It was known to be able to heal any type of illnesses.

That was what he found out after the initial information from Taylor. He was going to check it out anyway, so if it could really heal any type of illnesses, he would give it to Eruhaben to try for the time being. However...

"Cale, do you believe that legend?"

Eruhaben laughed at Cale's statement and said that it was nonsense.

"Human, why are you not responding? Are we going to do something else instead?"

"Yes. We're going to steal some things."

The Elf priestess became nervous after hearing Cale say that he was going to steal something.

Raon started to speak. "Again?"

The Elf priestess winced even more than before.

Cale did not care as he pointed to himself for Raon, who was tilting his head in confusion. "Yes. Didn't I say it already? There is a thief inside me."

Cale just laughed even though everybody else looked shocked.

If the God's Tears really were the tears of a 'god', then it would roll over to him on its own. He would personally test if the legend was real or not.

***********************************

Cale and the group returned to the inn they had previously stayed at. He seemed to be out of it as soon as he sat down and leaned back on the chair.

– Human, that was very fun! I really am great and mighty!

On the other hand, the invisible Raon was extremely energetic.

The Killer Whale Archie mumbled to himself in disbelief. "...Those vicious bastards."

The vicious bastards that he was talking about were the Elves of the End Village.

Cale looked up at the ceiling and recalled the sight of the Elves giving them a teary farewell.

"You-you are leaving after staying such a short time? I am very sad."

"It was as if we had seen the beautiful sun underneath this frozen lake for the first time in a long time. I will never forget about our blessed time together for the rest of my life."

The Elves were crying as they said things like that to Raon.

"Do not worry! I will return again with Goldie gramps!"

The Elves had cheered after hearing Raon's excited remark.

Cale was tired after having to wade through the Elves and the Elementals to get out of the Lake of Despair.

Cale then remembered the middle-aged Elf Chief who had continued to caress his hand.

"It isn't like we are strangers."

'How did I end up becoming a collective 'we' with the Elves?' Cale did not know how it had happened, but decided that it wasn't a bad thing and pushed it aside in his mind.

Clack! A wine glass was placed in front of him.

"What is this for?" Cale asked the meaning of this wine glass as he looked toward the owner of the inn.

This was the inn Cale had stayed in before they went into the Lake of Despair.

The old woman looked over Cale's group before mumbling to herself. "...Looks like you returned alive."

Cale had said the following to the old woman who had lost her daughter and son-in-law to the Lake of Despair.

"I will return alive and drink all of your alcohol."

The corners of the woman's eyes were shaking.

Cale jokingly asked. "It's free, right?"

"Bad boy! You look rich!" The old woman smiled before peeking at the side of Cale's head and casually adding on. "...Well, it looks like you are warm and don't need to drink in order to warm up. Just one glass should be enough."

'Warm?' Both Cale and Raon flinched.

– Human! This human grandma is weird!

However, the old woman walked back to the chair by the fireplace before Cale could say anything.

The old woman's grandson, Sully, walked up as Cale continued to watch her. "...Grandmother asked me to give you some snacks as well."

He slowly moved the dishes onto the table. However, his expression seemed to be complicated.

He was very curious about the Lake of Despair and how they had managed to return alive as he had lost his parents to the lake. He was also curious about who they were and was also happy that they had returned alive.

But, most importantly, there was something that kept catching his attention.

"...Excuse me." He could not help but ask.

Unlike Cale, whose hair was brown thanks to magic, this boy actually had brown hair and freckles, making him look innocent.

Sully, who had never left this small village by the Lake of Despair, rubbed his eyes as he started to speak. "Excuse me, guest-nim."

Cale started to feel iffy. The boy was not looking at Cale, but slightly off to the side. If you looked closely, you could tell that he was looking at the empty spot next to Cale's head. It looked empty to Cale's eyes at least.

Sully started to speak. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure if there is something wrong with my eyes. Ah, this is really weird."

He mumbled for a bit before pointing to the spot between Cale and Choi Han's head. "There seems to be a small and round red ball that looks like a ball of red fur? A-Am I hallucinating? Ah, what is wrong with me?"

Sully rubbed his eyes. However, there seemed to be a red furball floating by Cale's side no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes.

Cale started to think at that moment. 'This is driving me nuts.'

'He's an Elementalist?' Cale could not believe it.

Raon started to speak at that moment.

– Human, he seems to be able to see the Elemental!

Cale naturally could not see that red furball by the side of his head. Raon and the others could not see it either.

This was because the Elemental was currently saving its energy because of the cold air. However, they had seen this red furball down underneath the Lake of Despair when the Elf priestess awkwardly smiled and showed it to them.