I got to level two of Lesser Archdemon.
I only gained about 5 magic from killing a single normal person. Even if a soldier was worth 10, I still didn’t kill all that many people this time around. About 3000 of my magic gain was coming from out of nowhere.
“…was it you?” I spoke to the reborn Sapling. I thought I felt a faint wisp of mana reaching me, as though a response.
The souls of the 99 secret alpha testers, those who had died from the corporation’s betrayal, were resting in the World Tree. They would then be granted new lives as the reborn Saplings.
Who this Sapling used to be, I didn’t know. All the same, they had turned a fragment of their newly-gained lifeforce into a white magic stone to give to me.
Thanks. I’ll protect you, I swear it.
I and Blobsy continued building the small mulch hill.
*boing*
We finished our work. Blobsy jiggled on my shoulder, as though proud of a job well done.
I should confirm the location, at least. I climbed on top of a nearby mountain. There, I saw the town, so far away it shrank to the size of a button. I’d already known a new Sapling couldn’t be too far away from the old one, but this was probably 200 kilometers at least.
There was even a deep gorge in between. I was quite sure the new Sapling could grow to maturity without being discovered.
…I wondered how that country was doing. Well, the place was sure to be crowding with watcher drones anyway, and it wasn’t like I had all that much time to waste.
“Alright. Come on Blobsy, let’s go back.”
*boing*
As things were, it’d be risky to continue with the Southern Continent. We returned to the reborn Sapling and rode on the network, going back to the World Tree.