Arifureta: From Whelp to Dragonlord

Part 10: The Great Tree & Brook Town

Deep inside the fog, Hajime and his party advanced toward the Great Tree. They left the fighting to Kam, while the other Haulia members scattered into their surroundings, looking for enemies as part of their training. Because the fact that unpreparedness is one's greatest foe already is carved into their flesh, all members wore serious expressions. Most of all, the blue bruises on their bodies made it so it couldn't be helped...

"Uu~, it's still tingling~"

Shia was whining while rubbing her butt. Since before, she looked at Hajime with resentful eyes.

"Stop looking at me like that, it's annoying."

"To say that it's annoying was too much. It's not common sense to shoot at a girl's butt. Moreover, using that useless high skill-"

"That can also be said of you. You seriously thought to hit my head and use another person as a shield to run away... ... that was not something a normal person would do." 

Near them, a man from the Haulia tribe nodded his head.

"Uu, it was the result of education by Yue-san..."

"... ... I was the one that raised Shia."

"... ... I can't comment on that."

While boasting that, Yue looked at Hajime as if saying "Praise me." Hajime was averting his gaze making good use of "Let it through skill".

After they advanced for 15 minutes while chatting harmoniously, their party finally arrived at the Great Tree.

Hajime's first opinion, when he looked at the Great Tree, was,

"... ... the heck this is"

, while half-surprised and half-doubting. Yue also wore the slight expression of someone who had her expectations crumbling. The two of them were imagining it using the scale and a larger version of the trees in Faea Belgaen.

However, the real Great Tree was... ... splendidly withered.

Its size was not that far off from their imagination. Its diameter alone could be estimated at around 50 meters. There is also a bizarre difference from the surrounding trees. While the surrounding trees had ever-expanding green leaves, only the Great Tree was withered.

"The Great Tree was already withered even before the founding of Faea Belgaen. However, it didn't rot. Ever the never changing withered tree. With the surrounding fog's nature and the forever-withered-without-rotting Great Tree, this place became a sacred place. Well, even with that said, although it could be called a tourist spot..."

Kam explained to Hajime, Keiji, and Yue making inquiring faces. While hearing the explanation, Hajime looked around the Great Tree's roots. Just as Alfrerick had said, there was a lithograph built. 

"This is... ... just like Orcus' door's..."

"... ... Nn, the same crest."

'I wonder if his Labyrinth is like 

On the lithograph, there were seven system-like squares with seven crests engraved on top of it. It was completely the same as the one on Orcus' room's door. To prove it, Hajime took out Orcus' ring. The pattern on the ring was completely the same as one of the patterns on the Lithograph after all.

"It was the entrance to the Great Dungeon after all... but... ... what should we do about this?"

Hajime approached the Great Tree and started to 'thud thud' hit it and of course, there was no change, when he tried to ask Kam and the others if they know something about this tree, they only had No as an answer. Although he already heard all of the traditions from Alfrerick, there wasn't any concerning the entrance. There was a possibility that he hid it so Hajime started to think, "Should I collect the debt?",