The flash of blue light faded, leaving me in the silence of the First Floor Throne Room. The warmth of Emma's arm, still wrapped tightly around mine, felt like a stark contrast to the formal air of the hall. I glanced at her. She didn't let go, just stared straight ahead as if this were the most natural thing in the world. I sighed inwardly.

We walked together like that, the sound of my steady footsteps echoing against the lighter sound of hers on the marble floor. The silver knight golems stood in motionless rows, their blank stares seemingly oblivious to our slightly… awkward position.

Passing through the magnificent main gate, we stepped out into the outer garden of Felius Castle. The thin, cold Martian air hit us immediately.

And then, we jumped.

I jumped with Emma still clinging to my arm, her movement completely undisturbed. We fell together into the void. The thin Martian wind tugged at the hem of my suit and her white dress. For a moment, we just fell. The vast red world stretched out below us.

I stopped falling, hovering. Descending slowly. Emma landed beside me a moment later, her movement graceful, and only then did she reluctantly release my arm, as if her task of escorting me was finished for now.

Fine red dust immediately clung to my shiny dress shoes. I looked down. My shoes, which were clean just moments ago, were now covered in a thin layer of rust-colored dust. I sighed. Steam wasn't visible here.

The view in front of me was still the same. An endless expanse of red land under a pale orange sky. Silent. Very silent. Only a constant low hum in my ears, the sound of nothingness.

But something was different.

I looked into the distance. The rock cliffs that once stood sturdy like giant teeth now looked tattered. Their peaks were shattered, leaving sharp debris scattered at their base like bones. A new, shallow crater was etched into the Martian surface, as if something massive had struck it from above.

Asuka.

Only one name came to mind.

Then, I heard it. Not with my ears. But more like a vibration in the air. Something moving very fast.

A green shadow flashed in the corner of my eye.

Red dust billowed as she landed in front of me, her movement light as a falling leaf. Asuka. She wore her moss-green druid outfit, the hem slightly dirtied by Martian dust. Her curved wooden staff was gripped in her hand. Her long green hair was tied back, a few strands loose and dancing slowly in the weak gravity.

Her usually pale skin now looked flushed, as if burned by the strange Martian sunlight. Her green eyes looked at me.

"My Lord," her voice sounded, slightly muffled. She approached, her steps leaving no deep imprint on the red soil. "You finally came. I've been waiting. That Shadow Demon said you would only be a little late, but it's been four hours."

Her face was pouting, her lips pursed slightly. She looked like a sulking child. Beautiful.

Before I could say anything, another voice cut through the silence. Cold and sharp.

"Lord Arthur has more important business on Earth, Asuka."

I turned. Emma was already standing beside me. Her black horns curving backward now looked more intimidating. "As a Floor Guardian, you should understand your position better."

She looked at me. "Isn't that right, My Lord?"

I could only nod slowly.

"Uh… yes."

Her gaze made it hard for me to argue.

Asuka narrowed her eyes at Emma.

"I wasn't asking for your opinion, Lizard," she hissed, her tone mocking.

"Just go take care of your pile of papers."

The air around Emma rippled. Heat. A thin, pitch-black aura began to creep out from her body, making the red dust around her feet tremble.

"What did you say, Firewood?"

A softer green aura, smelling like wet grass after rain, began to emanate from Asuka.

"I said, just go take care of your pile of papers!!"

I sighed.

This again.

I didn't even have the energy to be annoyed. Just tired. Kazumi and Kohmi, did they fight like this back then too? I don't remember.

"Enough," I said. My own voice sounded flat.

Their magic auras vanished instantly, like candles blown out by the wind. Both of them immediately knelt on the red ground. Dust clung to Emma's white dress and Asuka's green clothes.

"Forgive our insolence," they said in unison.

I nodded. "Rise."

They stood up.

I looked at Emma. "Before we see the plant, there's something I want to discuss with you."

The playful expression on Asuka's face disappeared. Emma also looked serious.

"Your orders, My Lord?" Emma asked.

"Earlier… before coming here, I spoke with Belial," I began, my eyes gazing at the desolate Martian horizon. "I gave him permission to use humans as subjects for magic experiments."

Emma nodded, unsurprised. "I have already received the report, My Lord. Is there a problem with that?"

"You know?" I was a little surprised.

"Of course, My Lord. Belial always reports all his interactions with you to me."

"I see." I paused for a moment, choosing my words. "I was thinking… can we still level up in this world?"

I looked at her. "You and I, we are Level 100. In Monia, that was the limit. The ceiling. But here… I don't know."

I could almost see the gears turning inside Emma's head. Her reptilian blue eyes stared blankly for a moment, her focus turning inward. Her flat expression when thinking seriously.

"Have you found a way, My Lord?" she asked.

"I have an idea," I said. "Turning humans into monsters. There are no wild monsters in this world. So, we make our own."

"So… My Lord wishes to use these 'human monsters' as a source of EXP?"

"Correct."

She was silent for a moment. Only the faint sound of the Martian wind could be heard.

"That is an idea worth trying," she said. "However, if you test it yourself, I think the probability of success is low. Your level is too high. As is mine, and all the Floor Guardians."

She looked at me again, her eyes now refocused. "I suggest we let one of the lower-level residents of Avanheim do it. We'll see if the leveling system itself still functions or not. Trying to jump from Level 100 to 101 with monsters as weak as humans… would be very difficult. That is just my hypothesis. What do you think, My Lord?"

I looked at her. "I think so too."

"Alright. In that case, just do it. Who will you choose?"

Emma smiled faintly. A cold smile. "How about Picky?"

I fell silent. "Picky?"

"Correct, My Lord. That arrogant little bear. Who is always blabbering about taking your position."

From her tone, I knew she really hated that little bear. Picky. I remembered. A cleaner NPC in the form of a little bear. Cecelia's creation. An NPC created just for a joke.

"Can he level up? He's just a cleaner."

"Precisely because of that, My Lord," Emma said. "If even he can, then everyone can."

"Alright," I said.

"Do it."

I paused.

"But don't be too hard on him. He is also our family."

Emma bowed her head without answering.

I turned to face Asuka.

"Now," I said, trying to sound lighter.

"Show me the plant you were talking about."

Asuka, who had been silently listening, smiled and nodded. Her face beamed again.

I stopped behind her. I looked around. There was nothing. Just the same expanse of red earth, stretching to the hazy horizon. A few sharp rocks jutted from the ground like bones.

"Where is the plant?" I asked. My own voice sounded strange in this silence.

Asuka turned, glancing at me over her shoulder. A faint smile—a mix of pride and a little mystery—etched on her lips. Her loose green hair swayed slightly, even though there was no wind.

"I haven't 'started' it yet," she said. Her voice sounded soft, almost like a whisper. "I wanted My Lord to see it directly. When everything awakens."

She paused for a moment, her green eyes looking straight into mine.

"Watch closely, My Lord," she continued, her tone now quieter, more intimate. "This… is my masterpiece."

Asuka turned around again, her back now facing me. She stood still for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. I could only see her slender silhouette against the pale orange sky.

Then, she moved.

Her hand gripping the wooden staff rose slowly. Very slowly. The tip of the staff, adorned with a dim green crystal, rose up, past her shoulder, until it pointed straight at the sky.

I felt something change. I couldn't explain it. There was no air here, but I could feel a kind of vibration around me. The finest particles of red dust around Asuka's feet began to swirl, dancing to form tiny, almost invisible spirals.

Then, her feet lifted off the ground. Slowly. Soundlessly. First just her heels, then her whole shoes, until she hovered a few centimeters above the Martian surface. Her moss-green druid robes swayed gently, as if blown by a nonexistent wind.

The crystal at the tip of her staff began to glow. Not a sudden light, but a growing one. Starting from a small point in the center, then spreading out, filling the entire crystal with a deep, vibrant emerald green light. The light reflected a strange glint in my own eyes.

Then, I heard it. Not with my ears. A word echoed directly inside my head, carried by the Message magic that was still active between us.

"Avalon Le Fay."

Asuka's voice. Calm. Full of power.

The green light on her staff exploded.

Not a loud explosion, but a silent explosion of light. The green beam shot straight up, piercing the pale Martian sky like a pillar of pure energy.

Asuka spread her arms, her staff still hovering between her open palms. Her movements were graceful, like a conductor about to begin a symphony.

And then, the sky above us… tore open.

A massive emerald green magic circle began to etch itself in the sky. Starting from a single point, then spreading out with incredible speed, drawing complex runes that intertwined and spun with a strange, ancient rhythm. The circle was so large, covering our entire view of the sky, changing the orange light of Mars into a soft, soothing green light.

I looked up, my mouth slightly open. I could see every detail of the glowing runes. Some spun to the right, others to the left. Some faded, then glowed brighter again. Everything moved in perfect harmony, like a cosmic clockwork just brought to life.

For a moment, I forgot everything. Forgot about Earth. Forgot about the conquest plan. Forgot who I was.

For the first time since coming to this world, I felt a pure fantasy sensation. A feeling I could only imagine when staring at a monitor screen back then. A feeling like I was truly inside a world of magic.

This is what a miracle felt like.

I could feel it. The energy flowing down from the magic circle. Not like the mana I usually felt. This felt more… alive. Warm. Smelling like wet earth after the first rain of the dry season.

I was still looking up, transfixed by the symphony of green light above. The Martian sky seemed to have been replaced by a living cathedral window.

"Tch. Show-off."

The quiet, sharp click of a tongue pulled me back. I glanced to the side. Emma stood silently, her arms folded in front of her elegant white dress. The fabric of the dress, which should have looked fragile in this harsh Martian environment, was completely untouched by the red dust, as if protected by an invisible force. She didn't look at me. Her reptilian blue eyes were fixed on Asuka, who was still floating, and at the corner of her lips, there was a slight, almost imperceptible sneer.

I smiled a little behind my calm demeanor, then looked back at the sky.

Avalon Le Fay.

The name echoed in my mind, pulling an old memory from a dusty corner of my thoughts. A dark, damp dungeon. The sound of monsters screaming. And Kazumi, standing in the middle of the chaos, raising her staff exactly as Asuka was doing now.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the Tenth-Sequence Magic of the Druid Class, right? One of their Strongest Spells. I remember Kazumi used it once to clear a room full of monsters in an instant.

Up there, the emerald magic circle stopped spinning. For a moment, everything was silent. Then, the center of the circle began to glow with blinding intensity. The light gathered, condensed, then shot down to the ground in the form of a thick pillar of green energy.

There was no sound of an explosion. Only the silent hum of energy as the pillar of light struck the Martian surface.

The ground we stood on trembled. Not the rough shake of an earthquake, but more like a deep, powerful hum, travelling up through the soles of my shoes, into my leg bones, until I felt it in my chest. Particles of red dust around us jumped slightly, dancing on the vibrating ground.

I saw a wave of green energy spread out from the impact point, creeping over the surface of the ground like ripples of water. The ripple passed my feet, passed Emma, but I felt nothing. No gust of wind, no pressure. As if the three of us were inside a calm, invisible bubble, while the world around us was being reshaped.

I looked back at Asuka's back. She was still floating there, her hands outstretched, her posture calm and full of control. She was like the eye of this silent storm.

"Asuka's magic control is incredible," I said softly, more to myself than to Emma.

"Yes, it is, My Lord." Emma's voice sounded beside me, her tone professional, as if her click of the tongue earlier had never happened. "Asuka is one of the few people in Avanheim who can control the range of her magic with such precision."

I glanced at her again. "What about you?"

I saw the corner of her lips lift slightly. A faint smile filled with absolute confidence.

"Me?" She turned to me, her reptilian blue eyes sparkling under the green light from the sky. Her simple white dress made her aura of immense power feel even more contrasting and terrifying.

"Of course I can. This… is a simple matter."

I smiled faintly.

The vibration beneath my feet stopped. The pillar of green light in the distance faded, dissolving back into the giant magic circle in the sky. For a moment, everything was silent again. Only a deep hum of energy could still be felt in the air, like the heartbeat of a newborn world.

Then, the ground at the center point where the pillar of light had struck began to tremble again. This time harder.

CRACKKK…

A large fissure formed, spreading out like a giant spiderweb. The ground beneath my feet shook violently, making me lose my balance slightly. Emma even had to stabilize herself with one hand outstretched. Red dust flew into the air, obscuring the view.

From the center of the fissure, something emerged. Not a small sprout. But something thick and massive, dark brown like wet wood. It pushed upward with unimaginable force, shattering rocks and lifting chunks of red earth the size of cars.

It was a root.

One giant root, as thick as the trunk of an old tree, stabbed into the sky before slamming itself back into the ground with a dull rumble. BOOM! The surrounding earth shattered, creating a small crater. Then, other roots began to follow, piercing the Martian surface like giant spears from underground.

The ground I was standing on suddenly cracked. I jumped back just as a large root tore through the earth where I had stood, its sharp tip barely grazing my foot. The vibration was so strong I had to struggle to stay upright.

"My Lord!" Emma shouted, she was already hovering a few centimeters above the ground, her white dress fluttering wildly in the chaos.

The roots spread in all directions, plunging back into the earth, creating a solid network of foundations. Then, from the center of that network, the trunk began to grow.

I could only stare with my mouth slightly open as a giant wooden pillar shot into the sky. The growth was so fast, so brutal. I could hear the sound of wood fibers stretching and compacting. The trunk continued to rise, higher and higher, piercing the thin layer of the Martian atmosphere, its peak seeming to want to reach the stars.

When the trunk reached its peak height—perhaps tens of kilometers—its growth slowed. The magic circle in the sky began to fade, its green particles falling like a slow meteor shower, absorbed into the bark of the giant tree.

And then, the branches began to grow.

From the entire surface of the giant tree trunk, thousands, maybe millions of small reddish-brown branches exploded outward simultaneously. They stretched and branched out, creating an incredibly vast canopy.

And finally, the leaves.

Not green leaves. The leaves that unfurled from every branch were orange-red, exactly like the color of the planet Mars itself. As the light from the remnants of the magic circle shone on them, the entire tree seemed to burn in a soft golden light. It was a sight so magnificent, so surreal. A giant Mars-colored tree growing on Mars.

The vibration stopped. The dust slowly settled. Silence descended again, deeper than before.

Before me now stood a single tree so massive it made me feel like an ant. Its mighty roots had altered the landscape around me, creating small valleys and new hills. Its trunk soared so high I had to tilt my head back completely to see where it ended.

Asuka landed gently on one of the giant, curved roots. She looked exhausted, leaning on her staff for support. But on her face was painted a smile of purest victory.

I walked closer, my legs feeling unsteady on the newly formed ground. I placed my hand on the rough surface of the root. It felt warm, and I could feel a strong vibration of life pulsing beneath it.

I looked at Asuka. "This…" I tried to find the words. "…what kind of tree is this?"

Asuka chuckled, her laugh a little hoarse from fatigue. "This is a wheat tree, My Lord," she replied.

I fell silent. I looked at the giant tree in front of me again, then back at Asuka.

"Wheat?"

"Correct," she said, her eyes sparkling. "Wheat that I have modified to live on this planet. It will only bear fruit once a year."

She paused for a moment, taking a breath.

"But once it bears fruit," she continued, her smile widening, "this tree can produce millions of tons of wheat ready for harvest."

I could only stare at the tree again, this time with a new understanding. A giant, living food factory. An agricultural and magical miracle.

In my mind, another image appeared. Another tree just as magnificent, one I had seen on a monitor screen. A world tree that was the center of a continent, guarded by fairies and elves.

Are you sure this isn't the World Tree Yggdrasil? I thought to myself, my gaze filled with disbelief. Its size… might be equal to the Yggdrasil Tree on the Yutopia Continent.

I looked at Asuka, then at Emma, and back at the giant tree now towering above us, a living monument to the power of magic in the midst of a dead world.

Back in the game, I never knew Druid magic could create a tree this big. I had never even seen Kazumi use Avalon Le Fay with results like this. At most, the spell only annihilated everything in a wide area, leaving total destruction. I knew this spell had two phases: destruction, then creation. New life would emerge from the ashes of that destruction.

But never to this extent. Never creating a tree that seemed to hold up the sky.

I glanced at Asuka and Emma. They were talking. Asuka sat on one of the giant roots, laughing while leaning on her staff. Emma stood beside her. I didn't hear their conversation. I just watched the scene. My two strongest subordinates, who were usually always at odds, were now sharing a moment of admiration.

My thoughts returned to the magic itself.

Is the effect of magic changing into the real world this great?

If Tenth-Sequence magic alone was capable of altering a planet's landscape like this, what about Eleven-Sequence magic or Ultimate Magic? Which was said to be the pinnacle of the Avalon magic system. Special magic possessed only by Players who had reached Level 100. Something that not even NPCs or World Bosses possessed.

Something I possessed.

A temptation arose in my mind. A burning curiosity. What if I used it now? Just once. To see the effect.

I shook my head slowly, banishing the thought. No. That is one of my trump cards. A final insurance. If one day the Floor Guardians rebelled, if their loyalty wavered, at least I still had something to fight back with, to escape safely.

And not only that. I remembered the divine-tier items stored in the Treasury. Heirlooms from my friends. Those who had managed to say goodbye before retiring, handing over their legacy to me. I also still had twenty regular World Class Items, and three special ones.

Oh, right. My mind jolted. I almost forgot. The Scythe of Destruction.

I walked over to Emma. The sound of my footsteps on the new ground made them both turn.

"Emma," I said, "The World Class Item you gave Natasha. Has it been returned to the Treasury?"

Emma nodded, her expression returning to professional. "Yes, My Lord. After completing her reconnaissance mission, Natasha immediately returned the Scythe of Destruction to me. I have already handed it over to Aries."

Aries. The NPC guardian of the Treasury. I nodded in understanding.

I turned to Asuka. She was still sitting on the tree root, looking at me. Her slightly tired face was now filled with an expectant expression, like a child waiting for praise after showing a drawing.

I smiled.

I extended my hand, opening my invisible inventory. A gold ring with the signature Avanheim sun emblem appeared in my palm, glittering under the strange Martian light.

"I give this to you, Asuka."

I walked closer. Emma already had one. "You have solved Avanheim's food problem for hundreds of years to come. I give you this gift. This ring… once belonged to my friend, Kazumi Fuchi. As her 'child,' I think she would agree with my action."

I held out my hand. The ring seemed to shine brighter.

Asuka looked at the ring in my hand, then at me, then back at the ring. Her hand raised slowly, trembling. She didn't take it.

"My Lord… is this… really for me?" her voice whispered, full of disbelief.

I nodded. "Yes. Use it well."

Only then did she take it, holding it with both hands as if it were the most precious thing in the universe. She clenched the ring tightly to her chest. Her face flushed with joy, her eyes tearing up.

I felt a cold stare from the side. I glanced slightly. Emma stood silently, her expression flat, but I could clearly see the displeasure in her eyes when I gave the ring to Asuka.

I pretended not to see it.

I focused my gaze upward, around the giant tree. My eyes, now accustomed to seeing the flow of mana, caught it. A massive, almost invisible illusion dome, enveloping the entire body of the giant Wheat tree, even to its soaring peak. The dome rippled like heat haze, refracting light in a strange way, making everything inside it look like a stretch of ordinary red land when viewed from the outside.

I see. I glanced at Emma again.

She really is a genius. She had anticipated this. Even before Asuka started her spell, she must have prepared this large-scale illusion magic to cover everything.

I could still see a small, complex gray magic circle spinning slowly above the back of Emma's hand.

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