Human nature is complex. Communication between people is also complex. People are limited by their own perceptions, and for things beyond their understanding, they hold a skeptical attitude.
As a magus, Ophelia was like this.
She did not believe that Li Mo was helping the Scandinavian Lostbelt out of some lofty ideal. But then it occurred to her that if Li Mo said his goal was the legacy of Norse mythology in Scathach-Skadi's possession, then she believed it.
Because magi are greedy.
They are like treasure-hoarding dragons, guarding their own knowledge. Faced with desirable treasure, they will actively seek it out. As for whether the process causes the death of ordinary people, they do not care.
Using "wanting to research the mythological legacy of the Scandinavian Lostbelt" as a reason to see Ophelia off, Li Mo turned his gaze to the door and said, "Aren't you leaving yet? Ophelia's knight."
"Sigurd" materialized. In the presence of an excellent magus, it was natural for traces of a Servant's spiritual form to be detected.
"I very much want to kill you."
"Then please convince Ophelia to come kill me, knight."
"Sigurd" left, the profound hostility palpable to anyone.
Li Mo paid it no mind. He knew that within "Sigurd's" Saint Graph hid the will of Surtr. Perhaps Ophelia thought "Sigurd" bore hostility towards him for her sake.
That was one reason. The deeper reason, of course, was that he was also plucking its wool. Using its power to make the Scandinavian Lostbelt better was, to Surtr, whose purpose was to end the world and destroy everything, intolerable.
Its desire to kill the chief culprit was only natural. And Li Mo also wanted to kill Surtr.
When the workshop was finally empty save for himself, Li Mo's gaze turned cold.
The Scandinavian Lostbelt had changed beyond recognition. Whether the Chaldea party came to this Lostbelt or not was already irrelevant. Even the three Servants summoned from Proper Human History, standing on the opposite side, were irrelevant.
Thinking carefully about sheer combat power, when facing the final giant, Surtr, the allies worth recruiting were basically Scathach-Skadi and Ophelia.
And the latter... was largely because of her Noble Phantasm-class Mystic Eyes, and her connection to Surtr.
Ah, up to this point, it was impossible to determine whose side Ophelia would stand on once the Fantasy Tree was used, wasn't it? Noble Phantasm-class Mystic Eyes, capable of fixing a specific "future" one sees.
To be honest, that was an extremely troublesome ability. It also stirred within Li Mo a hint of greed.
What kind of mystery did it contain?
Li Mo thought for a moment, then walked towards the lower levels of the workshop. The workshop above ground was for researching energy transmission, for the "furnace" research. The underground area was his core research zone.
The leaf of the Fantasy Tree was here.
The Fantasy Tree possessed self-preservation instincts and would defend itself against threats of death. But what Li Mo sought was merely a branch. With the Lostbelt King personally intervening, how could he fail to obtain it?
The mystery contained within Ophelia's Mystic Eyes was quite alluring, but the mystery of the Fantasy Tree was even more so.
For a Lostbelt, it was the World Tree, the pillar of heaven and earth, the thing that stabilized the world.
It was an anchor point.
It was Rhongomyniad, the "Star Anchor" that stabilized the surface of the world.
"The mystery of stabilizing the world line. What a marvelous existence. I truly want to claim the entire tree for myself."
The greed for Ophelia's Mystic Eyes could easily be suppressed. In the distant future, similar things could be found easily. But something like the Fantasy Tree, containing the mystery of maintaining world stability, was intoxicating.
Unlike magi who pursued the "Root," Li Mo never sought such a thing. He did not understand why one would pursue the "Root." Could a person entering the "Root" maintain their individuality?
Li Mo believed they could not.
Like a drop of water merging into the ocean, upon entering, one would become part of it, no longer an independent existence.
Li Mo considered himself very realistic. The reason he worked so hard was due to his uncertainty about the future. Until he deciphered the principle behind his system's traversals, he had to extend his lifespan as much as possible. What if the next world he traveled to was an extremely dangerous one?
Strength had no limit. His advantage lay in having broader knowledge than others.
Gazing at the branch of the Fantasy Tree, Li Mo could feel that within the "Pseudo·Simulated Star Chart·Mystery Foundation," a similar mystery was being born. The Simulated Star Chart he had created generated mystery based on human collective thought. And within this Lostbelt, the lore of Norse mythology circulated.
—That was Li Mo's own doing. The collective thought arising from people's perception of the Norse mythological World Tree gradually solidified into mystery.
In the "Spear of the Chief God" creation plan, there was a key point. That was, during the period between using the Fantasy Tree as material and the completion of the Spear of the Chief God, the Scandinavian Lostbelt would be a tree without roots. It would be in a state where the Fantasy Tree had been felled, and during this time, something to replace the Fantasy Tree needed to be found.
Li Mo was quite self-aware. The "Pseudo·Simulated Star Chart·Mystery Foundation" could not sustain the existence of the Lostbelt. After achieving results in his research on the Fantasy Tree, he marveled at its exquisite nature.
He couldn't help but praise the Alien God for cultivating such an exquisite thing. Only by understanding its exquisiteness did he realize that even if he could replicate its mystery, he could not stabilize it.
He still needed to pay attention to the creation of the "Spear of the Chief God."
The answer, as expected, was still only that one.
Taking his research results, Li Mo withdrew from the workshop and headed towards the ice castle ahead.
Between the workshop and the castle, there was originally no path. But as Li Mo traveled back and forth, a path appeared.
Paths are made by people walking them.
On the way back to the castle, he did not see any sign of Ophelia. He didn't know what she was doing. Perhaps she was communicating with other Crypters? The Scandinavian Lostbelt was just that boring.
From the icy snowfield, he entered the castle. The blue walls also gave a sense of cold.
This castle was not fit for living.
Ordinary people staying here too long would only feel oppressed.
Li Mo, thinking from his own perspective, came to this conclusion. Then, he arrived at his destination.
From the moment he arrived in the Scandinavian Lostbelt, Scathach-Skadi had remained in the palace, almost never leaving. Especially after the Bifrost reappeared, she became even more unable to leave this room.
The palace, as the terminal for energy, had a limited capacity for accumulating energy. It needed to be converted into magical energy through the room's bounded field for her to absorb.
As a goddess, Scathach-Skadi's capacity for magical energy was very high.
In fact, after the concept of the Bifrost emerged, the modifications to the palace were all carried out by Scathach-Skadi herself. She did not understand modern magecraft, but using the primitive Runes, she could achieve similar things.
The King of the Lostbelt saw Li Mo's arrival and revealed a benevolent smile.
She said, "You have come again, Li Mo."