"Wisdom Lord~"
Taro rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then raised his head and asked:
"In this state, can you still sense what's happening in Sumeru?"
"Zanmalan… weak, sad~ helpless…"
A pitiful voice rang in Taro's ear:
"Filth, erosion of reason… Zanmalan, frail, powerless.
'Wisdom Lord, great, noble…'"
Summary: it had been corrupted by the Abyss, powerless to do so.
But the Wisdom Lord was different, exalted.
"I see~"
Taro smiled faintly and raised his right hand:
"Leaving aside everything else, just for calling me 'Wisdom Lord,' I won't lower the standard."
This little thing spoke quite nicely.
Soft and sticky-sweet.
Not bad.
Root Dragon King Tribe Passive – Radiance of Verdant Growth, LV.1!
Activate!
A verdant green glow burst out from Taro, enveloping the Zanmalan before him.
That overwhelming surge of life force forcibly scoured away every trace of Abyssal corruption.
The tiny degenerate creature, under this blessing, grew at a ferocious rate.
In mere moments its life-level rapidly approached that of an Archon, then surpassed it.
When the verdant light finally faded,
the Zanmalan's body hadn't grown much larger,
but inside it had undergone a complete transformation.
Most crucially, where once its core glimmer was weak and faint,
now two equal-sized duplicates had manifested,
making three in total.
Even its cap had changed,
from one large and one small umbrella-top to three identical ones.
As Taro watched, multicolored streams of light gathered at its roots,
condensing into… an egg?
Pop~
A bubble-like sound burst.
The rainbow glow scattered,
revealing a creature about the same size as Paimon, roughly one meter tall.
It had silky green hair, long pointed ears, and a small swishing tail.
Most importantly, a pair of delicate, translucent green wings sprouted from its back.
"Well now, an elf, huh…"
Taro raised an eyebrow at the little thing.
"Wisdom Lord~"
The tiny creature spread its wings and immediately fluttered toward Taro.
He reached out and grabbed it without hesitation.
"Uu~"
Its scruff caught, its little body went limp and helpless.
Its watery eyes looked up at Taro pitifully.
"Zanmalan?"
Taro held the small being up with one hand, amused.
Had he accidentally created a species that didn't even exist in Teyvat?
"Uu-uhh Zanmalan. Wisdom Lord, I am Wisdom Lord's dependent."
The 'Zanmalan' nodded rapidly, face glowing with devotion.
Its clover-shaped eyes sparkled.
Listening to it, Taro realized:
This must be the effect of the Root Dragon King Tribe passive—Radiance of Verdant Growth.
If it was his dependent,
Taro willed open his status interface.
Sure enough, a new section appeared:
[Dependent: Zanmalan (?)
Level: LV.95
Race Module: Root Dependent LV.1
Class Module: Verdant Spirit LV.5
Skill Module: Root – Radiance of Verdant Growth
Items: None]
A level 95 dependent.
A magic support and healer hybrid.
And it occupied a special dependent slot,
not even counting toward his summons.
It seemed… another grand avenue for harvesting experience had opened.
"Worth a try~"
Taro rubbed his chin, then released the scruff.
He handed a small staff to the Zanmalan, pointing toward a Hydro Slime that had just emerged from the stream:
"Go on, try hitting a slime."
"Mm-mm~"
The little one beamed, clutching the staff.
It flitted its wings, hovered over the slime, and—
"Hey!"
With a wave of its staff, a green radiance fell.
The Hydro Slime burst apart on the spot.
"Wisdom Lord, Wisdom Lord, I did it!"
Mission complete, the little spirit flew back, eyes glowing, clearly begging for praise.
"Nicely done~" Taro's lips curved.
"This staff is your reward."
"Really?"
Her eyes shone as she hugged the staff tight.
"Thank you, Wisdom Lord, I'll cherish it."
"Staffs are meant to be used."
Taro pinched her chubby cheeks. Smooth, tender. Rather addictive.
"No tool is more important than your safety. To me, you're worth more than any staff."
"Mm-mm~"
She nodded quickly, though who knew how much she understood.
"By the way, can your main body move?"
Taro pointed at her still-transformed original form.
"Main body?"
She tilted her head, then pointed to herself:
"Main body."
Then to the distant form:
"That one… just a shell."
"…Interesting."
A reversal of body and avatar?
"Wisdom Lord," the little one explained softly, "I am the fruit of Wisdom Lord. Zanmalan is seed."
Taro's eyes lit up:
"With enough verdant essence, more 'fruits' can be born?"
"Yes!" she nodded eagerly.
"But I'm not strong enough. To birth one fruit… five hundred years…"
Wait. Something was off.
"Zanmalan is… a race name?"
She nodded.
"Yes, it is a race name."
"I see~"
So that was it!
Zanmalan = Aranara!
It was a racial term, not an individual name.
Taro suddenly understood why it felt strange earlier.
"In that case, little dependent, how about I give you a personal name?"
"Name?"
Her eyes lit up. "Please, grant me a name!"
She was the first fruit.
Wisdom Lord's chosen dependent.
To receive a name directly was the greatest honor.
Taro pondered for a moment.
"I have it. From now on, your name is Beruru—Belldandy, the goddess of life in Norse myth.
Ruler of vitality and nature.
The symbol of overflowing life force.
Perfectly fitting for you, and resonant with the name Zanmalan."
"Beruru… Belldandy!"
Beruru curtseyed with one hand holding the staff, the other lifting her skirt hem.
"I greet Wisdom Lord."
A perfect etiquette bow.
Self-taught?
"Good."
Taro nodded.
"Beruru, beneath the Chasm… are there more of your kind? Other intelligent beasts?"
"No…" Beruru tilted her head.
"Most are mindless aberrations. But long ago, I did shelter one stray beast from Sumeru. Later it went to the deepest depths."
"…"
(End of Chapter)
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