My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness Chapter 132

#132

Interlude (4)

I feel the heartbeat of the world in my quiet, quiet heart.

My heart flutters –

the warm sunlight shining down, the cool wind blowing, the earth embracing us warmly, plants emitting a fresh scent, etc.

Pulsations were felt in all natural objects, and they assimilated with oneself, gradually becoming one.

A single flower blooming shyly, a gentle breeze tickling it playfully, or a river flowing proudly next to it.

Inside me it was not another object.

Everything and everything is one.

The Wind Blows. Now I was the wind.

The tree branches are shaking. Now I was a tree.

The leaves that fell into the river began to flow downward. Now I was the river.

I was Mother Nature herself—.

-I was the world.

“Huh—? Write it!”

Harris, who had been sleeping in the shade of a tree, suddenly raised his upper body and sucked the saliva from the corner of his mouth.

‘Ah… I guess I fell asleep while I was planning on lying down and resting for a while. But what kind of dog dream is this?’

He tilted his head with a grim expression as he felt a drowsy feeling of exhaustion throughout his body.

I’ve been sleeping continuously and dreaming occasionally, but this was the first time I had a dream with such a strange feeling.

But it seemed like it wasn’t just a dog’s dream…

《An entity grows by achieving conditions. The skill “Nature Friendship” evolves into the special skill “Nature Assimilation.”

This was because a system message suddenly appeared before his eyes when he woke up.

“hmm?”

Harris, embarrassed, just blinked on the spot.

Of course, I’ve been training consistently, but I can’t believe my skills evolved while I was taking a nap.

The timing was incredibly coincidental.

‘Well, I’ve been under the influence of the World Tree ever since I came to Drasha, so it’s time for me to grow up.’

However, there were minor side effects to this evolution of skills.

‘…ah. It’s annoying even though I’m not doing anything. It’s already annoying, but it’s getting even more annoying…!’

As immersion in nature became much more intense than before, laziness also increased.

Of course, the affinity and natural power increased beyond that, but this was a level that an ordinary person could not even lead a daily life.

If it had been anyone other than Harris, he would have chosen to become one with nature, even before realizing that he had become stronger.

‘If that happens, is it literally a natural death? No, that’s not important now.’

“Keuhn—.”

Harris stood up, suppressing his body’s desire to lie down on the floor and become one with the earth.

Although the mental power consumed in the process increased slightly, this amount was still nothing compared to other avatars.

Hans, who holds the heart of the immortal king and the death of the abyss.

Heinz II, who sucked the blood of vampires from all dimensions.

Heinrich, who maintains a constant connection with the main god.

Harley embraces the monster’s genes and the madness of the abyss.

Considering the amount consumed, the proportion of these other entities was much more overwhelming.

There were just a few more things to worry about.

‘Let’s see, it looks like we still have quite a bit of time until the meeting time. Shall we take a moment to test what we got this time?’

Harris carefully estimated the time and raised the bow ‘Themis’ made from the branches of the World Tree that he was holding in his left hand.

This forest was a training site included in Drasha Academy that he had been using until a little while ago, so there was no problem in continuing his training.

…Of course, I lay down to rest for a while and fell asleep, but as a result, my skills improved, so I never played around.

We will prove it with results here and now!

“Whoa—.”

As Harris took a deep breath, the wind that blew gently enveloped his whole body.

Unlike the storm that Harley forcibly created through “Heart of the Light Dragon,” this wind was a natural phenomenon that occurred without any compulsion.

Even though it was a natural phenomenon, it was far from scientific theory, but it was the law of this world.

And there were beings who belonged to that law and were nature itself.

Puzzle! Grumble—!

Whiiing! Woooooung—

they were the spirits that appeared in the air, showing off their individual personalities.

Watt, the spirit of lightning, Kali, the spirit of fire, Pascal, the spirit of wind, Decibel, the spirit of sound.

Even though they had only recently signed with him, they were his lovely companions who had grown quickly and had all reached the intermediate level.

‘Then let’s go to maximum power.’

As he increased his strength, natural forces slowly began to gather around Harris.

The spirits that were drawn out through “Spiritual Art” inflated their presence by imbuing his energy, which had been greatly amplified by the “Child of the World Tree.”

Up to this point, it was the same as before, but…

wow…

As his right hand pulled the empty bowstring, the natural forces around him were sucked in and coalesced, forming an arrow.

And unlike before, the process was proceeding very quickly and smoothly.

‘Is it the power to become one with nature… to use the energy around me at will?’

By borrowing the power of “Natural Assimilation,” natural forces began to converge as if there were no limits, but there was no way that the limits could have truly disappeared with just one skill.

“Harry—! “S…?”

At that time, he heard someone calling his name, but since it was a familiar sight, he easily ignored it.

Because I couldn’t afford to be preoccupied with anything else right now.

Collect, combine, and merge into existing arrows.

Repeat that simple process over and over again.

As time passed by and it became difficult to concentrate my energy, I was about to give up.

The soft energy radiating from Themis held in his left hand began to unite Harris and the energy around him.

Even the ‘High Elf’s Bracelet’ on his right wrist shone a soft light and went along with it.

‘…This is enough!’

Arrows of natural power that are denser than first expected.

He added the final process to it.

Squeeze!

The spirit of lightning that dwells in the arrow shaft.

Fiery—

A fire spirit that dwells in the arrowhead.

Whiuuuung—!

And even the wind spirit and sound spirit that surround it all.

“~~♪”

In addition, with Harris’s light humming sound, an arrow was fired with “Fairy Justice”—.

——!

It crossed the air like a beam of light without any noise.

And it only took a split second for it to hit the target, which was well over a kilometer away.

Puhuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh –

The aftermath of the storm that came later messed up the bushes and his hair, but Harris paid no attention to it and just stared at the distant target with sparkling eyes.

‘Is this bigger than I thought? Skills alone wouldn’t have been this good, but item speed is good, right?’

Additionally, if the wind spirit was applied to suppress the flow of air rather than amplifying attack power, it seemed possible to achieve a more stealthy and perfect sniping.

Of course, it is said that hiding the flow of energy is the most important thing in a fight between experts, but it seems that this can be done somehow by using “Natural Assimilation”…

As Harris looks at the magic target in the distance that has completely devastated A car that was being judged on efficiency.

“Harris! What is that just now? “How did you do it?”

A woman’s voice suddenly sounded, awakening his sentiments.

“When did you become this strong again? “For some reason, I thought I was training without sleeping!”

The person whom I had ignored earlier because I was concentrating on controlling my energy was now coming next to me and chatting away.

Harris slowly lowered his bow and turned his head towards the owner of that familiar voice, but he flinched without realizing it.

“But it’s good to work hard, but you have to leave now to avoid being late for the meeting?”

Shapiron Sylvesti, an elf woman with blue hair and blue eyes.

She was looking at him, blinking her round eyes as usual.

But there was something different from usual…

‘No, everything except the face is different from usual, right?’

The unfamiliar appearance of a familiar person.

There was nothing strange about the travel clothes and shoes that looked sturdy and comfortable, the backpack, including the hair tied up tightly for mobility, and the equipment attached to various parts of the body.

So much so that it can be said to be a model example of traveler’s clothing.

But…

“Um, Ms. Shapiron? I heard that the necessary supplies will be prepared by the mission, so all you need to do is bring your personal belongings. “What about that…”

I don’t know where to start.

The outfit had metal padding on the front and back heels of the boots as well as all over the body, making it suitable for use in combat.

There were various items and pockets hanging from the belt that was wrapped around the waist, shoulders, and legs.

Not only that, but looking at the bulges all over her body, it seemed like there were quite a few secret pockets hidden in her clothes.

Aside from the fact that they filled it with stuff, it wasn’t a secret at all.

‘And is that backpack a subspace magic tool? It even seems to have quite a large capacity, but you still have that much luggage when you carry it?’

A backpack large enough to completely cover her slender body showed off its overwhelming presence on her back.

They look fully armed as if they are going on a remote expedition.

Harris glanced at a simple backpack sitting next to him.

Very different from hers, it was a light luggage containing only simple clothes and a few travel items.

“Hehehe, what are you talking about? “It was Harris who said that we should always be thoroughly prepared in case an emergency occurs.”

Shapiron smiled proudly and swiped under his nose.

After we were included in the delegation together, she asked for advice about the Aeon Continent.

In return, he offered the finest tea leaves made from the leaves of the World Tree.

So, I told her this and that, as she was very nervous about going to another continent, but now that I think about it, it seemed like it was a bit too much.

Since I was solving the case from the perspective of a mercenary, I couldn’t help but exaggerate a bit…

“Look at this! “I worked hard to get it, but if I have this, I can survive for a long time even if the ground suddenly collapses and I’m buried underground…”

With a flushed face, she continued to exhale and began boasting about her preparedness.

However, even that excited face could not hide the dark circles under the eyes, and no matter how much you looked at it, it did not look like you had gotten enough sleep.

Like a child who had trouble sleeping the day before a picnic.

“And the things here are emergency food. The preservation period has been greatly increased so that it can last for several years… … Oh, are you worried about the weight? Do not worry! Not only the backpack, but all the equipment has been put under a lightweight spell…”

Harris quietly watched her as she chattered non-stop.

Come to think of it, this was Shapiron’s first time leaving the capital, Drasha.

However, the first expedition was not simply to leave the capital or the Elven Kingdom, but to leave the continent.

‘I guess I expected a lot.’

He looked at her with blank eyes, but she seemed to notice his gaze and stopped talking and smiled.

“Heh, indeed, Harris. Do you recognize me? After all, you can’t underestimate me?”

“…?”

“This outfit was also specially made to order! “Mom… … I requested a rare metal from a dwarf based on the dryad silk I received from my mother…”

Shapiron immediately opened his mouth again with excitement.

Maybe it was because we had become quite close together recently, but she showed a side of her that we had never seen before, when she was just prickly.

“…Oh, how much time is it already? Come here quickly! How long will you be there? “This time we’re traveling with a delegation from another country, so we really shouldn’t be late?”

While she was talking frantically, she was startled when she saw the time and pulled Harris’s arm, urging him to hurry.

And when I saw the simple luggage he was carrying, I tilted my head.

“Isn’t Harris Jim too simple? Even if you’re a veteran… Well, it doesn’t matter because I packed everything for two people just in case! “Uhuhu, if such a situation arises, make sure you rely on me!”

Then, showing a triumphant attitude, he took the lead and started heading towards the meeting place.

“Let’s go. “There’s no need to worry because we can handle any situation!”

In this way, Harris showed confidence and nervousness at the same time, and walked with her excitedly as if they were going on a picnic.

‘Anyway, I will use the temple gate immediately after moving to Lapori’s ‘Forest Path’, so there would be no use in taking care of it like that.’

Even though he was thinking those thoughts in his mind, he didn’t bother to say them out loud.

“Hmm hmm~♪”

Shapiron hums while shaking the backpack on his back.

‘Well, let’s at least make me feel good. That’s the duty of a gentleman and an adult.’

That was right before they left for the Aeon Continent.

And of course.

It did not occur to them to use the items she had prepared until they arrived at the Great Temple of Roselia.