Game of the World Tree

Carrying the Goddess and Running Away

The murals within the palace seemed to come alive as they began to animate, each painted figures moving with lifelike fluidity, as though the palace itself were awakening to an ancient and powerful presence.

Amongst the painted murals, a hooded entity for which bears a striking resemblance to the statue of the Creator sculpted by Elder Roergue slowly raised his head.

Beneath the hood, two reddish-violet beams of light shot out from his eyes.

As the figure moved about, an oppressive aura tinged in ancient decay and a hint of malevolence descended over the whole palace.

These changes within the murals quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding players:

“Look, aren’t those murals moving?”

“What’s going on?”

“Did we somehow trigger the Boss battle?”

The few players among them who had previously seen the Creator’s statue from Elder Roergue’s abode turned pale.

“Oh no! It’s the God of Creation!”

Yet even before their words could settle, a grand and chilling voice resonated throughout the palace:

“Thieves… must die!”

Whilst these words echoed within the vicinity, numerous ripples spread across the mural’s surface and then a massive, blackened hand, seemingly formed from viscous, tar-like sludge, finally reached out from it.

Just from its appearance alone, it was clearly the hand of the ‘God of Creation.’

This slumbering deity was finally awakening and emerging out from the mural!

Without warning, the massive hand shot toward Chopin and tried to grabbed him at an extremely fast speed.

Seeing this, Chopin’s expression shifted.

It’s too late…

Gritting his teeth, he turned his head and shouted:

“Calabash! Catch this!”

With that, he quickly tossed the Heart of Life over into his teammate.

As the artifact flew through the air, Chopin leaped, positioning himself between the Heart of Life and the oncoming hand.

A mere second later, the Creator finally was able to take a hold of him.

Right away the blackened hand clenched slightly, crushing Chopin’s body with ease.

Even his equipment disintegrated into dust under his grip.

“Chopin!”

The other members of Boxlunch’s team cried out in shock just as Chopin’s avatar had already gone dark upon their party’s interface.

“Dammit! This thing’s attack power is insane!”

The players cursed in frustration.

The hand, having obliterated Chopin, now shifted its attention as it reached for the Heart of Life.

However, Calabash was already ready for it.

Using the spell [Mage’s Hand], he deftly secured the artifact first before the blackned hand could touch it.

At the same time, the other players also unleashed a barrage of ranged attacks as vibrant magical spells and arrows, glowing with various skill effects, streaked through the air, bombarding the massive hand.

Explosions erupted one after another.

Yet their attacks seemed to have barely scratched it at all,merely temporarily slowing the hand’s advance.

Still, it was adequate enough to let Calabash escape its range.

No one cheered, though.

Since by now, everyone had already understood the underlying truth regarding the strength of the other party:

This was far beyond their capabilities and a Boss they couldn’t contend with!

The God of Creation… was clearly no ordinary boss.

But despite the players’ futile assault, their actions appeared to have somehow provoked the owner of the blackened hand.

From the mural came a furious roar:

“Begone!”

The entire palace trembled as the hand swung again, this time forming a massive fist and slamming itself down onto the players within its radius.

The faces of these players quickly contorted in fear, as each of them scrambled about to dodge.

Alas, the hand was faster.

With ease, it shattered the protective magic shield these players had casted onto themselves and smashed them into pulp amidst a chorus of screams.

In that instant, the interior of the palace was awash with a rain of blood.

S-So… strong!

So far, one was able to survive for more than three seconds under the attack of this giant hand.

Realizing this, the remaining players in the vicinity stood in stunned silence.

“Fuck! Isn’t this Boss Battle too buggy!?”

“How the hell are we supposed to fight this thing?!”

“Did the devs somehow forget to balance the parameters of this Boss?!”

Many players cursed in frustration.

The expressions of the remaining members of Boxlunch’s team weren’t faring much better.

But just then, a familiar voice echoed inside their minds:

“The attack power of that thing is equivalent to someone at the peak of Silver-rank. He’s essentially that of a seasoned demigod.” Zero said.

“As it stands, you are no match for him. But fret not; you can still win if you stall for time and protect the Sacred Vessel of the Goddess.”

“Conjoin the Heart of Life along with the Sacred Vessel of Her Majesty, and the Goddess shall have a chance to perform a divine descent into that demi-realm up to a certain extent.”

Zero stated in a sharp and decisive tone that left no room for argument.

At the same time, all players in the palace’s vicinity suddenly received a new system quest:

【❗ 】

【 You have triggered the quest: The Goddess’s Descent 】

【 Quest Description: The greatest enemy of the demi-realm has awakened and only the Goddess can challenge Him. To achieve the final victory, you must stall for time until the Goddess can perform a Divine Descent! 】

【 Quest Objectives: 1. Protect the Sacred Vessel of the Goddess. 2. Protect the Heart of Life. 3. Stall for time until the Goddess can finally descend.】

【 Quest Rewards: ‘30,000’ experience points. ‘100’ Resurrection Coins. ‘+1’ Favorability with the Goddess Evé.】

【Additional Note: For each point of favorability gained with the Goddess Evé, these bonus effects are applied:

• All shop prices in the exchange store are reduced by 0.5%.

• Contribution points from offerings are increased by 0.5%.

• Personal reputation gains an additional +1 boost.】

The players froze as the quest details popped up in their field of vision.

The Goddess’s Descent?

But when they noticed the final reward, their breaths instantly grew heavier.

“Whoa! You can finally increase our favorability with the Goddess?!”

“Let’s see… discounted prices, better offering rewards, and an increase in our personal reputation? Holy shit, the Goddess’s favorability is so OP!”

“So if we max out her favorability, won’t the Exchange Store basically be giving away everything it’s selling for free?”

One’s personal reputation, once it reaches the maximum level, can already grant discounts, capped at 50%.

Hence, by adding the factor of the Goddess’s favorability being maxed out, that adds another 50%!

Moreover, each point of favorability with the Goddess can also enhance one’s reputation score!

In other words, maxing out the Goddess’s favorability was almost equivalent to maxing out one’s personal reputation as well, and compounding these bonuses together meant the shop prices could drop to a mere 25% of their original cost!

That wasn’t even factoring the increased EXP rate and contribution gains from having a high reputation score.

In an instant, the players’ eyes burned with desire.

Even Li Mu, whose reputation score was already maxed out, couldn’t help but feel tempted.

He glanced at Boxlunch’s team, closest to the shattered crystal coffin, and shouted:

“Quick! Take the Goddess’s Holy Vessel along with the Heart of Life and run!”

Meanwhile, the ‘Creator’ by now had fully emerged himself out from the mural.

His imposing form now loomed above the crystal coffin.

Each member of Boxlunch’s party exchanged silent glances before, finally, their gazes landed upon Optimist, their strongest and most durable tank.

“Optimist, you carry the Goddess! We’ll cover you from behind!”

Boxlunch commanded.

With that, he, Calabash, and IamInvincible charged at the Creator, drawing its attention.

As Calabash dashed forward, he glanced back and jokingly quipped:

“And don’t you dare try to cop a feel, or you’ll have the whole playerbase chasing after you.”

Optimist: “…”

Optimist’s mouth opened and closed but no words came out, whilst his throat now suddenly felt tight and dry.

“M-Me…carry the Goddess?”

His eyes then drifted over to the Goddess lying inside the crystal coffin, looking peaceful and serene, as if merely asleep.

Swallowing hard, Optimist gritted his teeth before discarding his bulky armor, and sprinted toward the coffin.

He bent down carefully, extending his hands toward the sleeping Goddess.

Upon touching it, Optimist immediately realized the Holy Vessel was cold to the touch, yet also felt incredibly soft.

For a moment, Optimist felt his throat tighten even more.

Then after taking a deep breath to steady himself, he inhaled a faint floral scent wafting from her, which only seemed to had made his emotions even more complicated.

At that moment, he became acutely aware of the piercing stares from the other players around him, as if hundreds of eyes were stabbing deep into his back.

Optimist: “…”

He smacked himself lightly on the cheek, shook his head with resolve, then hoisted the Goddess onto his back and bolted without a second thought.

— 450 —

【 CARRYTHE GODDESS AND RUNAWAY 】

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