Chapter 74: A Unique Enemy

"What are you doing here without Stelaria?" Nio asks Ryu, who walks in alone. Ryu adjusts her formal attire, since she had been training new church soldiers.

"Stelaria left. She had to go because she received a summons for something important, though I don’t know what it is..." Ryu answers somewhat evasively.

"Okay, I want to know what you know about runes."

"[Elf... this elf smells good.]"

’Can you even smell things?’

"[I can.]"

"Runes? Why do you want to know about runes? They’re inferior to magic, and honestly, you seem to have plenty of magic." Ryu already makes something clear to Nio, which makes Nio let out a slightly disappointed sigh.

"They could still be useful... to help the theocracy."

"..."

"Just speak. What I do with it is none of your concern."

"...Okay, what exactly do you want to know? How to use them? Their origin?"

"Everything." Ryu sits down in a chair near Nio.

"...Runes were created by Spirits and Elves together. It was a work of millennia using a remaining fragment of something that fell from the skies. It possessed a strange energy that wasn’t magic."

"The refinement of that energy generated a core that shattered, but the energy that existed spread across the planet. With that energy, everyone born after it spread could have an affinity to use it."

"Runes serve mainly to elevate capabilities you already have. Runes that can create concrete effects, like attacks similar to magic, are quite rare." She explains with an almost mocking attitude, as if she didn’t want to talk about any of this.

"Spirits?" Nio murmurs while thinking about what the game said about spirits. Spiritual beings aren’t merely fairies or little magical things. In truth, they’re far more "cosmic" than they seem.

Spirits were always connected to the World Tree before it was destroyed. That means spirits were only born before Nio destroyed Yggdrasil. After that, no more spirits were ever born.

’Are you thinking the same thing I am?’ Nio asks Nioh, who remains silent for a few seconds.

’[Yes. Runes seem to come from a remaining piece of Yggdrasil. Considering we came to this world when my universe went extinct, it’s quite likely that when I destroyed Yggdrasil, pieces of it that were still alive fell into this world and are trying to grow a new Yggdrasil. Though that’s just speculation.]’

’In the lore, Nio destroyed Yggdrasil because of Typhon. Typhon was deeply connected to Yggdrasil in various ways, and its destruction could result in Typhon’s death or weakening. Though it failed, since Nio had to take the tree’s place so the universe wouldn’t die...’

"Do Elves and Spirits get along?" There’s no such cliché of elves and spirits getting along. Spirits are some of the most envious, sadistic, destructive, and deadly creatures that existed in the game.

They were born because of Yggdrasil, and their existences represented concepts that protected Yggdrasil. Because of that, they held immense envy toward everything that existed outside Yggdrasil’s control. And instead of trying to claim it for themselves, they chose to destroy everything that wasn’t part of Yggdrasil.

There were even boss battle events against spirits, since players weren’t considered part of Yggdrasil, so they were the number one enemy of any spirit.

Dragons were far below spirits in historical relevance. Spirits were literally the most important race in the game’s lore.

’I don’t understand how elves and spirits could get along.’ Spirits were filthy creatures. Some literally dragged themselves out of "Hell" to keep killing, and that was quite literal.

Since Yggdrasil had the dimension of hell connected to it, they could leave hell even after death. Though if they died a second time, their existences vanished completely. However, they came back stronger, so killing them a second time was far more difficult than killing them the first time.

’That reminds me of her... Blood Sovereign, a World Boss... the Queen of Spirits, who after being killed the first time emerged from hell even stronger...’ Nio never defeated that boss in the game, even with help. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

She was the only world boss that was never defeated. She had almost 100 times the normal HP of any world boss, literally 100 million, and regenerated 2% of her life for every kill she made, meaning 2 million HP.

But she killed even her own summons, and she made many summons, so she was constantly recovering HP in a way that made her immortal. Her event was removed after one month, so she was the first and only boss that never died.

Nio knew the strategy to beat her. It required sustained damage, killing all her summons, and teamwork so no one died. But even knowing that, no one managed it, because a single death made her regenerate too much life and destroyed anyone’s morale, since dealing that much damage without dying took time.

Although her creation in the game was used to explore the game’s lore, it makes Nio wonder how strong she truly was if she existed in this world.

"Of course we get along... more or less... maybe not as much as we’d like, but we have agreements!!" Ryu admits it isn’t as pleasant a relationship as it might seem.

’[They’re being deceived. If what fell into this world were pieces of Yggdrasil, that means spirits were born from it. And if they were born from it, they’d use anyone to try to restore the tree. That means the elves were just foolish labor that helped.]’

’That’s bad...’ Nio bites her lips. The World Tree is also an enemy. It’s more than just "alive," and having it return would be problematic for Nio’s plans.

"Does the core still exist?" Nio asks, thinking about destroying this thing completely.

"No, I don’t think so. It destroyed itself. Only the energy remains."

"...I see."

’[That doesn’t stop Yggdrasil from being born again.]’

’Damn... the lore was fascinating, but I didn’t need these two problems... the Queen of Spirits could appear in this world if Yggdrasil is born again...’ Nio doesn’t even realize she’s thinking like the real Nio, someone who deeply despised Yggdrasil and who used Typhon as an excuse to finally destroy it.

"...How do you use runes?" Nio thinks about not using them. She doesn’t want to have any connection to anything that comes from Yggdrasil.

"If you don’t have affinity, it’s impossible. But there are ways to learn. They depend on someone teaching you, natural talent, or help from spirits who know about them. There are schools for it in the elven kingdom, but the best teachers are the spirits."

’[Obviously.]’

’Obviously.’ The two think exactly the same thing.

’I wonder what you’d think if you knew that ALL spirits that exist go to Hell when they die.’ Nio finds it almost ironic, since it’s something that happens to all of them, and yet here Ryu is saying they’re the best teachers.

"How do we know if someone has affinity for it?"

"Sorry, but I don’t know that. I’m not good at it. Even though I know how to use a few basic ones, magic is better."

’Of course it is.’

’[Of course it is.]’ The two Nios carry the same opinion. Yggdrasil will never replace magic in their eyes.

’If Yggdrasil is in this world, it must be trying to overshadow magic. Since Yggdrasil is impossible to kill by powers that come from it, it must want everyone in this new universe to use its energy so that no one can challenge it.’ Nio speaks to Nioh, who agrees with a dry [Yes].

’That reminds me... some of my servants are spirits... great... another possible traitor, even worse than a traitor who might try to kill me... I should limit what my NPCs learn about runes.’

"That sounds great, Ryu. How about writing it down for me? I want to read carefully how to use runes." Nio says while deciding to leave this to investigate personally later.