Suddenly, Morgana stretched out her hand, and a long staff with a crystal orb at its tip appeared. Then she swung her staff and, with her clear blue shimmering mana, cast her magic.
A veil of dazzling light enveloped the two figures at the lake and instantly transformed their surroundings, as if they had been transported to another place.
In the blink of an eye, the scenery had completely changed. It was even day again. Only a few clouds hung in the sky, and towering mountains rose to the heavens on the horizon. Tall grasses, clear lakes, breathtaking scenery, and incredible creatures unknown to the boy filled his view.
Finally, a sight appeared that made the boy's jaw drop.
A majestic, over thirty-meter-long oriental dragon flew above the mountain peaks and dove into the thin sea of clouds, as if it were swimming and relaxing in an ocean.
Even without the dragon's appearance, this place was magical. But now it looked like a fantastical wonderland, full of unimaginable creatures, magical vistas, and treasures — a true heaven on earth.
"Wow~" was the only thing young Cercius could utter at this sight.
He stood there, gazing around in astonishment, taking in the beautiful world before him.
But after only a brief moment, this wondrous scenery vanished again behind a veil of white light, and the two returned to the small lake still lit by fireflies. Or… had they perhaps never left?
"W-what… what was that place?" Cercius asked excitedly, still lost in the fantastic scenery he had been shown.
"Hehe~" the witch chuckled, amused at his childlike behavior. "That was the immortal world, a vast place that exists far above this world. Countless mystical beings live there. It is a world of wonders — of magical scenery and mighty creatures."
"The immortal world," the boy repeated dreamily, as if enchanted by the name of the magical place.
Morgana watched him daydream for a while before putting on a serious expression. "It is also possible for you to reach that place — but only if you grow stronger and undergo the six trials God has created for you."
"Then you will not only reach the immortal world, but you will become an incomparable being. Your name will resound through all worlds, and you will escape this life!"
She paused briefly, then continued: "So, are you willing to become my student and let me guide you through these six trials?"
Cercius stared at her in awe, struggling to process all this information. It was a lot to take in at once. He had lived most of his life as a slave and knew nothing else, but now he was being shown the world — and it was… so beautiful.
"O-okay…!" Cercius finally agreed, hesitantly and a little uncertain.
He simply could not forget that fantastic sight; it still lingered vividly in his mind. He wanted to see it again with his own eyes. All the more did he want to escape his life as a slave, now that a vast world full of freedom had been shown to him.
Morgana gave him a gentle smile, pleased with the boy's decision.
"Very well, then let's begin right away…" She waved her hand and cast a spell.
A white veil once again enveloped the two figures at the lake, but unlike before, this time it truly transported them to another place.
The next moment, they stood in a small village located on a remote island, where a massive apple tree stood at the center. Its branches stretched across almost the entire island.
This place was unlike the immortal world or any mortal world, for when one looked up at the sky, it seemed as though it were a clear lake, with the island and the sea below reflected upon its surface.
Apart from the sky, there was something else: while a small, idyllic village existed on the island, there were no humans. Instead, sweet little fairies fluttered about, laughing, playing, and enjoying themselves, accompanied by magical animals.
"Welcome to Avalon," Morgana revealed the name of the place. "From now on, you will be trained here by me and prepared for the six trials."
Avalon. This magical island was in truth not part of the mortal worlds or the immortal world. It was a small, self-created realm shaped by Morgana, the Witch of Avalon. It was named after Avalon, the place from the legend of King Arthur.
Normally, a being not at least of legendary rank could not create their own independent realm. But Morgana had managed it by using her magic and special spells to form this small, idyllic island.
Creating such a realm, one that would serve as the home and refuge of a supreme being, would not have been easy even for a witch of the transcendent rank.
This feat was only possible for Morgana thanks to Asher's help; without him, she could not have maintained it. Only through his support could she keep this holy place stable, without it ever collapsing as her strength waned.
And all of it was for one purpose — to create a suitable training ground for her hero.
"Avalon, huh?!" Cercius looked around in wonder.
In such a short time, he had seen so many magical sights and fantastical things that he thought he might be dreaming — that everything he saw was just his imagination.
"Exactly. Avalon is a very special place. It is also called the 'Refuge of Heroes.' Only the chosen may enter this place and enjoy its blessings," Morgana explained.
Cercius looked around for a while, taking in the dreamlike scenery.
"Well then, you can simply pick a house and rest… tomorrow we will begin your training."
With that, Morgana dissolved like a mirage and vanished.
That day, after Cercius chose a vacant but well-kept little house near the beach, he quickly fell asleep — more exhausted from the flood of new information and sights than from his hard day of labor.
From the next day onward, a harsh and grueling training began for Cercius under Morgana's instruction and supervision.
At first, the training was simple, focused only on building stamina and muscle.
For an entire month, Cercius did nothing but run around the island's shore every day. After another month, he would run only half the day, while spending the rest until late evening doing squats, push-ups, or pull-ups.
Surprisingly, the boy carried out the entire training without complaint, fulfilling — though barely — every training goal almost perfectly and diligently.
Even so, he often collapsed nearly unconscious and had to force himself many times to rise again when he fell, drained of strength.
After a year of muscle-building, conditioning, and endurance training, the now fifteen-year-old Cercius had reached a height of 1.78 meters and looked rather muscular for his age.
Then, one day — a year after the start of his hero training.
"Shall we begin today's training?" the boy wondered.
By now, Cercius had grown used to the training and even found it somewhat enjoyable. It was no longer as exhausting as it had been at the start — a clear sign of progress.
Morgana, who had just been leafing through a book, as she usually did while Cercius trained, closed it and looked at the boy with an unusually serious expression.
"No. You have developed faster and better than expected. You are ready to face the first trial."
At her words, Cercius was bewildered and immediately retorted: "What? But I haven't even awakened yet — how could I possibly undergo a trial of God like this?"
"No, don't worry. The first trial is meant to bring about your awakening," Morgana explained briefly, without further elaboration. "But that isn't important now. We don't have much time, so I'll explain the trial to you quickly."
She seemed rather hurried, though Cercius didn't understand why. He didn't interrupt, listening quietly as she explained.
The explanation was not hard to understand and did not take long. That was fortunate, for barely a minute after she finished, a portal suddenly appeared behind Cercius.
"What?"
Cercius turned in surprise at the sudden appearance of the portal. But at once, a strong force seized him, dragging his body inside without giving him any chance to resist.
Morgana only watched calmly, doing nothing, as though she had expected this. She quickly pulled out a bow and a quiver full of arrows and tossed them into the portal just as it was closing — after the boy had been drawn in and vanished.
"Good luck," she murmured softly to herself.
Mortal World, D1.
Of all the mortal worlds that existed within the World Tree, this one was unique. It was a massive continent with no seas, covered entirely by trees and forests. There were no mountains, plains, or empty spaces — everywhere was green, filled with trees and plants.
This world was very different from the others, showcasing the World Tree's wonder in creating such a jungle-like realm.
World D1 was also largely inhabited by intelligent monster races. Among them were goblins, lizardmen, orcs, and ogres. But, as the name "intelligent monster races" suggested, they differed from ordinary monsters or magical beasts.
These intelligent monster races possessed a certain degree of intelligence and potential for development. They were not mindless or self-unaware like true magical beasts, which only wandered, slaughtered, and fed on corpses.
Although they had some intelligence, they were inferior in intellect and self-awareness compared to races like humans, elves, or dwarves.
This was especially evident in the fact that, even after several thousand years on D1, almost no civilization had developed among them.
The monster races lived scattered across the vast forests in small tribes, constantly quarreling over hunting grounds, prey, or sometimes simply out of whim.
Though they possessed some intelligence, it was very difficult for these monster races to advance without external aid.
Another difference was that, unlike magical beasts, they were born with little to no mana, while every magical beast — depending on its rank — had at least some mana.
But there was yet another factor that distinguished these races from magical beasts, something that made them unique even among all other races — their potential for evolution.
This potential allowed them to develop into higher races, higher forms of life.
An example would be the lizardmen. Under certain circumstances, they could evolve into draconians — a stronger, more intelligent race with even the faint potential to one day become true dragons.
The process of evolution, however, was mysterious and almost impossible to force.
So far, on D1, no goblin, lizardman, orc, or ogre had ever succeeded in evolving — unsurprising, given the mediocre mortal energies of that world.
Somewhere in the depths of the forests, a portal suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Moments later, a young man was flung out of it, followed by a bow and a quiver full of arrows.
"Woah!"
Cercius was practically thrown from the portal, rolling a few meters along the ground before stopping.
He stood up in surprise, gazing around in astonishment at his new surroundings.
"Wait, where am I? Has the trial already begun?"
His head swarmed with questions, and he nearly panicked — until he remembered his master's words. She had told him beforehand that he would be sent to another world to undergo the trial.
"Wow~ Am I really… in another world?"
Cercius's curiosity got the better of him as he quickly looked around for anything interesting, studying his surroundings carefully.
But his excitement soon faded when he realized something, and his enthusiasm waned sharply. There's… nothing special here. Just trees and plants everywhere!
Naturally, he felt disappointed. He had been prepared to explore an entirely new, extraordinary world and see wondrous things. He recalled the enchanting scene Morgana had shown him a year ago. Compared to that, this was underwhelming. But then again, this was only a mediocre mortal world — hardly something that could rival the brilliance of the immortal world.
Still, his disappointment reminded Cercius of the task he had been given.
"Oh man, I almost forgot I have something important to do!"
He looked around for a moment, as if thinking and replaying his master's words in his mind. Alright, what was it Morgana said again… ah, yes! I'm supposed to catch some kind of special boar…
As he glanced around, his eyes quickly fell on the bow and the quiver full of arrows, and he smiled warmly.
Perfect! Master even thought of this. Without a bow, I would've been completely helpless — the hunt would've been really difficult. So… He picked up the bow and slung the quiver over his back.
"Now… where's the best place to start searching?"