Chapter 270: Tears of the divine tree 2

?That single drop, had the effect of tightening an aetherial’s foundation, and clearing all bottlenecks in one’s path of ascension.

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?In short, after taking that single drop, if your potential was to reach the alpha rank, your climb to that rank wouldn’t slow down the closer you get to said rank, unlike before.

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?That single drop was enough to guarantee that as long as you don’t die, you’d eventually achieve your full potential, with much less difficulty and time no less.

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?Now that the human race had won, the human race would be the one to monopolize the sap produced during the last one hundred years.

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?But the wonders of the divine tree didn’t end there. The champion’s prize was another matter entirely. It was quite simple really, the champion gets to be blessed by the divine tree.

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?It was no wonder why the other three races waged war on the demons for the possession of the demon continent, and in extension, the divine tree.

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?While I was lost in thoughts, the demon emperor continued.

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?"The champion will be allowed to enter the very heart of the divine tree, and receive its blessing." Those words finally snapped me free from my thoughts.

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?Judging from the expressions and reactions of the youths, I could tell none of them really knew what that meant. But they most certainly knew about the fruit that had bumped all that had consumed it a rank higher, not to mention, the word ’blessing’.

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?Soon, I began sensing envious gazes from behind me. If I had to guess what was running along in their minds, it would be; He’s going to harvest a lot of those red fruits.

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?"Don’t forget about us, Bro." Dion whispered from behind me. "We’ll hug your thighs to glory, riding on your cocktails."

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?My eye twitched. "Don’t start." I mumbled, my mouth barely moving. If Dion continued, I was not sure if I’d be able to hold my composure.

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?"You all have done your best." The chancellor of the Astral Mystic Institute took the mantle. "Regardless of race, status, and even strength. And what I appreciate even more is seeing splendid youths like yourselves grow into their full potential. So every youth who participated in the convergence will be entitled to a reward.

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?It might be an artifact, a technique, or a weapon. Those that reached the quarter finals however, would all without question, get eithe techniques that would help them overcome certain weaknesses, or an artifact that does the same." The chancellor finished with a benevolent smile.

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?"That’s not... bad." I heard Rose mutter.

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?"Considering the shit they made us go through, it’s quite a compensation, even if we mostly don’t need it." Sia nodded in agreement.

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?"Can you give me yours, if you don’t need it?" Dion was beside Sia the next instant.

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?"Do you want die?" Rose asked dryly.

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?Dion gulped, before darting back to my side. All around us, the youths were also giving their take on the reward. Most wished they would get some very powerful artifact, while the few like myself, and the actual prodigies didn’t really care. What type of artifact was it that we hadn’t seen.

Not to mention, I couldn’t care less, I was getting the best of it.

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?SNAP!

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?The world around us suddenly changed. One moment, it was the apocalyptic landscape of the pocket realm that had saw many battles, and the next, we were under the canopy of the divine tree, extremely close to its trunk at that.

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?Though, it seemed we were far away from the capital city of Valon. This was another side of the trunk it seemed. On its side was a massive groove that was easily the size of a giant’s mouth, glowing with a mystical gold light.

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?The entire floating platform had been transported as well, and almost every youth was quite as surprised as I was if not more.

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?I saw the powerhouses speaking something we couldn’t hear to themselves, before Father, and the Necron emperor pulled away from the rest.

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?"Damon." Father’s cold voice suddenly echoed in my ears no sooner than I suddenly saw myself floating before him.

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?I was caught in a trance for a moment, due to the sudden displacement, but soon composed myself.

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?"After you enter that groove, you will reach the very heart of the divine tree." He said. "Once there, you’ll see a particular large gold leave attached to a mystical gold tree. Inside the gold leaf should be the tree’s sap, and you are to carefully collect that sap into a container."

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?"Whatever you do, do not attempt to consume that sap. Unless, not even your remains will be left to display." The Necron emperor said with what I assumed was distaste. For some reason, it felt like he didn’t like me.

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?’Strange, but we have never met before. Is it perhaps because I defeated his daughter?’ I mused. Might be so, but who cares?

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?Still, "I understand." I nodded.

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?"There is also something else." Father spoke again. "The divine tree has some degree of consciousness, and it’s able to grant a blessing."

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?I couldn’t see my face because trying to see it through the eyes of the two beings before me would probably be the worst idea I had thought of since awakening in Nahaar, but I knew the level of shock I showed on my face deserved an Oscar.

?"Close your mouth, boy. Who do you think your acting is going to fool?" Sevas scoffed.

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?"...ukkh!"

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?I almost choked on air, can you believe that. If he knew my shock was fake then so did Father. I’d never been embarrassed like this in my entire life.

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?"Ahem!" I coughed to clear away the awkwardness.

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?"The divine tree is able to grant a blessing, but it’s limited, so keep that in mind." Father added. "All you have to do is place your hand against the mystical gold tree, and you’ll be granted a blessing.

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?"And if you dare to forget that sap, or I ever see your hands near my daughter again, I’ll skin you alive." Sevas’ eyes glinted with pure malevolence.

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?I gulped. ’What the hell is wrong with this man? It’s like he has some kind of....Ooooh’ My eyes widened in realization.

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?From today, I was never even looking at Sia, ever again. If I ever looked at her the wrong way, her unhinged dad would be busting my ass.

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?"Go on." With Father’s voice, I suddenly found myself deposited to the edge of the groove.

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?I looked at the ancient gourd that had at some time appeared in my hand, the container I was supposed to collect the sap in, I guess.

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?I then looked back at my friends still on the floating platform, gave a small nod, before turning back to the groove.

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?Not going to lie, I was getting goosebumps, even though the mystical gold color of the radiating off the cave was somewhat inviting.

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?’Alright, get yourself, Damon.’ I muttered inwardly as I took a step into the groove.

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?The groove turned out to be a long tunnel, and the mystical golden glow of earlier was due to the fact that the groove was also filled with intertwining branches and leaves of the divine tree. The glow was coming from none other than the leaves.

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?Soon, I felt my body pass through some sort of chasm, like a spatial barrier. It felt like I was in another dimension entirely, and the vision before me suddenly changed.

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?"So, this is the very heart of the divine tree." I murmured, taking in the mystical sight before me.

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?The world stretched before my eyes, bright azure sky, vast greenery that looked straight out of a fairytale, and then there was this small golden tree in the middle, with but a single enclosed leaf.

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?Of course the leaf was especially large for a tree of this size, so it looked somewhat out of place.

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?I contemplated what to do first, should I go for the blessing first, or the sap? In the end, I decided to go for the sap first.

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?I calmly walked towards the enclosed leaf, holding the gourd in my hand a little tighter. Once I reached it, I gently pried the leaf open, and there was a shimmering gold liquid in there.

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?To be honest, seeing it brought back memories, both good and bad, but I soon shook those thoughts away, and opened the gourd.

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?I placed the tip of the leaf inside the gourd, before tilting the leaf. In what felt like seconds, all of the liquid had gone into the gourd.

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?After all was done and dusted, I sealed the gourd, and stored it in my spatial storage.

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?"Now for the blessing." I smiled, closing my eyes and placing my palm on the tree’s trunk.

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?The moment I did that, a current suddenly rushed through my entire being.

"I’ll be damned!"

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