A hazy memory creeps in through the cracks of my dazed mind.
The landscape quickly filled in, like dry mud soaking up water. The once white sight took on texture and volume.
It was the beginning of a strangely vivid dream.
The blazing sun, the dense forest, and the sound of chirping birds mixed with the suffocating humidity. No place on the whole continent shared such a climate.
The Great Forest of the Southern Kingdoms.
A harsh land filled with numerous venomous insects, monsters, and remnants of ancient evil gods. Deep within lurked the ‘vampires’ and the monsters they commanded.
The only inhabitants here were of two kinds.
Those who chose the path of hardship for training and the outcasts of society who lived as refugees. This was the entirety of the Great Forest’s population.
Yet, no matter how difficult a forbidden land may be, there are always safe places to be found.
When individuals belonging to the practitioners form a group, that area can serve as a kind of outpost. The Great Forest was far too perilous for anyone to survive alone.
And someone had to protect the Great Forest.
The monsters inhabiting the Great Forest were all formidable and brutal. If even a fraction of those beasts managed to escape into the vicinity, a catastrophe was inevitable.
Moreover, if the ‘vampire’ said to exist at the heart of the forest ventured out, it would be a disaster.
For hundreds of years, countless attempts had been made to subjugate the ‘vampire.’ Yet, humanity had to choke down the bitter cup of defeat time and again.
They were strong monsters, and also mages.
To contain her required someone even stronger.
That role fell to the ‘great witch,’ known as the national teacher of the Southern Kingdoms.
One of only three masters that existed on the continent, the great witch had protected the Great Forest for hundreds of years. Throughout that long history, she had remained reclusive.
However, a figure like the great witch was like the sun rising at night.
Her very existence attracted countless people.
Some came with puzzles that only the great witch could solve.
Others admired her, requesting even a brief conversation, while a few wished to become her disciples and live in the Great Forest.
The ones who formed the core of the safety zone in the treacherous Great Forest were those last individuals.
The dozens of disciples of the great witch formed a community, learning her teachings while guarding the boundaries of the Great Forest.
The great witch was not one to seek the limelight.
Thus, it was rare for her to recruit disciples. However, once one became a disciple, more than half often returned to the world with outstanding achievements.
To become a disciple of the great witch, one had to first visit her dwelling.
Finding the great witch’s abode located somewhere within the Great Forest was akin to an adventure. In most cases, one either turned back or faced d*ath.
Nevertheless, countless people yearned to become the great witch’s disciple.
Then one day, it was suddenly announced that the great witch was recruiting disciples after many decades.
Hundreds of people risked their lives to arrive in the Great Forest and knelt before the great witch. Yet, only about twenty were selected as disciples from that crowd.
The chosen ones had overcome numerous obstacles and trials to grasp the opportunity of becoming the great witch’s disciple.
Among them, the one chosen as the grand disciple was unexpectedly an ordinary second son of a rural noble family.
A man with black hair and golden eyes.
He was sweating profusely in front of a log. No matter how much he wiped his forehead, it didn’t stop the sweat from flowing.
In his hand was a hand axe. The blade designed to be held in one hand required both hands to grip it, yet still, he struggled to chop a single log.
The man took a deep breath. With a serious expression, he glared at the log once more and then swung the hand axe with all his might.
With a crack, a piece of wood flew off.
In the end, the man couldn’t hold back and exploded in frustration.
“……No, what the hell!”
With a curse, the hand axe clattered to the ground.
His heavy breathing revealed how much he had been holding back. In truth, it was rare for an academy graduate, who was treated well wherever he went, to suffer the humiliation of being unable to chop wood.
However, the man still had excuses.
He soon shouted in exasperation.
“Why the hell are we using the World Tree as firewood?!”
Indeed.
The log he had been struggling to chop was, in fact, a branch of the World Tree. If the elves who had been chased to the north saw this, they might foam at the mouth.
The World Tree, located at the center of the Great Forest, had branches extending everywhere. The place where the great witch’s dwelling stood was one of those branches.
True to its grand name, the World Tree was known for its superb materials.
The leaves of the World Tree possessed powerful healing properties and could be used as rare magical materials depending on how they were processed. The sap and branches were similarly valuable.
Yet, to think that precious branches of the World Tree were being used just for firewood.
It was an outrageous waste, especially when countless orphans were starving to d*ath across the continent.
As the man continued to grumble, an irritated voice suddenly drifted in from beside him.
“Hey, come on… are you the only one suffering?”
The man’s golden eyes flicked over to the source of the rebuke.
There sat a small girl, crouched in front of a stove, desperately trying to fan the fire.
Her impressive hooded hat framed her weary eyes. It was clear she’d been struggling for a long time.
Seeing her bloodshot sapphire eyes, the man clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Do you think just staring at it will make it catch fire? It’s not dry firewood, it’s the World Tree.”
“……I’m already stressed enough, and your little jab is getting on my nerves?!”
Provoked by his remark, the petite girl immediately stood up. She started to growl like a dog puffed up with fur.
“I, I specialize in the electric element! Stuff like this should obviously be handled by someone who specializes in the fire element!”
“Let’s not make ugly excuses here. So what, are you saying your main weapon is a hand axe?”
In response to the man’s calm retort, the girl trembled with frustration, her head hung low. When she finally lifted her gaze, her eyes were fierce.
With a crackle, energy sparked at her small hand.
“You little punk… Why do you think I’m easy to mess with, huh? Should I roast you from your brain to your peripheral nerves, you little…!”
“It’s a warning from the teacher.”
However, the terrifying threat of the girl was instantly halted by a single word.
The man’s nonchalant voice made her body freeze. Then, with a flustered expression, she started to stammer.
“Y-You! Are you not ashamed to be a man?! T-Tattling on me like that!”
Unlike the embarrassed girl, the man maintained a relaxed demeanor. He let out a sigh, shaking his head.
“Does my pride matter in establishing a hierarchy among disciples? It’s painful, but it’s time you accept it. From now on, you will call me brother and treat me with respect…”
“A-Ahh! I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!”
The girl immediately covered her ears and plopped down on the ground. Her hands alternately pressed her ears, as if she were throwing a tantrum. To an outsider, it might look like a child whining.
The man appeared a bit taken aback, but the girl was desperate.
She quickly got back up, staggered, and poked the man’s side with her elbow.
“By the way, I heard you’re also an academy graduate? Hey, dude, if you were a senior at the academy, you’re always a senior… So why are you trying to match wits with me?!”
“That’s something you should report to the teacher…”
“……Ahhhh! Why is it always teacher, teacher, teacher whenever you say something?!”
The girl’s cry, reaching a peak of annoyance, temporarily silenced the man’s responses.
It was as if she dared him to speak again.
The girl took the opportunity without hesitation.
“Honestly, don’t you get annoyed?! I came here to become a disciple and learn, not to play the maid! All I do is clean, start fires, and prepare meals every day!”
Hurm, the man’s hand rubbed his chin. He seemed to acknowledge there was some merit to her words.
The girl, knowing this all too well, coaxed him in a soft voice.
“You feel the same way, right? What kind of lunatic would insist on using the World Tree as firewood? And using a hand axe, no less! Isn’t this just bullying?”
Even if it was unlikely for someone like the great witch to act that way, the man found himself swayed by her persuasion. It was understandable, given how long he’d been engaged in such futile efforts.
Using the World Tree as firewood, especially with a hand axe instead of a proper sword.
It was difficult to comprehend such orders logically.
As the silence deepened, the girl became even more animated, chattering away.
“I think the old witch has been around so long that maybe she’s lost her mind a bit. Honestly, if you live in a suffocating place like this for hundreds of years…”
“Live long enough…?”
“Of course, that drives you insane, doesn’t it?”
When the girl, who was going to continue, realized that the voice echoing back was that of a woman, she promptly fell silent.
The glaring blue eyes slowly turned to the back.
There, behind her and the man, stood a woman.
A small girl with black hair and light green eyes. She appeared to be in her mid-teens, but her true identity was that of a beast of beasts, having lived for hundreds of years.
One of the only three masters on the continent, everyone revered and feared her, calling her:
The Great Witch of the South.
The girl’s complexion began to pale. Regardless, the great witch only exhaled a puff of smoke from the pipe she held in her mouth.
Finally, the girl managed to force out trembling words.
“M-Master… I-I mean, this is… my brother provoked me!”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Despite the desperate excuse, the great witch merely scoffed, flicking her finger.
At that moment, the air was illuminated blindingly as lightning struck the ground.
The crackling energy bursting into the air hinted at its immense power, overwhelming even high-level mages who could control the electrical element.
A scream escaped the girl’s lips.
“Gyaah, Gyaaaaah!”
After a long while of screaming, she finally collapsed to the ground. A foul odor emanated from her still body.
Yet the great witch’s response remained extremely indifferent.
“… Tch, just being dramatic.”
With that, the great witch turned her light green eyes to the man. Until then, he had been drenched in cold sweat, but simply meeting her gaze made him flinch.
The great witch posed a question.
“Do you think the same way?”
“… What?”
Surprised by her unexpectedly kind demeanor, the man could only respond in confusion.
The great witch seemed displeased by his bewilderment. She slapped her arm with the pipe she held and asked again.
“Do you think what you are doing is useless?”
“T-That’s…”
Unable to lie in front of his teacher, the man hesitated. Understanding his thoughts, the great witch once more scoffed.
With a snap of her finger, the hand axe he had thrown into the ground floated up.
“I’ll show you just once, so pay attention.”
It was then that I began to harbor a sudden question.
Today’s dream was long.
So long that at that moment, my consciousness began to surge, then sink.
Now I am watching this dream from somewhere.
My floating vision began to settle. The narrowing view gradually erased the man from sight. Soon, all that filled my gaze were the great witch and the hand axe floating in the void.
My vision was melding into one.
The man—I was him.
