World Tree, Yggdrasil's summit.
Moonlit Forest.
The Tree of Life, grown at its center, lost its vibrant leaves when its host, Nature's Guardian, exhausted his power and fell into slumber.
And then.
Srulk—
The final leaf at the tip of a branch drifted down.
Just as all things return to the earth when their lifespan ends, according to nature's law.
Having fulfilled its duty, the guardian and the single tree he planted were now due for deep slumber.
[...]
The Tree of Life gazed silently down at Nature's Guardian, Unggulatuseu, collapsed upon the cold earth.
Watching over its master's final moments.
That was all the Tree of Life could do.
He had planted the seed with his rough hands.
Diligently watered it.
Sometimes kept it company.
Unggulatuseu, who had grumbled like a sulky son now and then.
Had burned his own soul to protect the World Tree from the fire giant.
It was a backstory of Silmaria that would never make it into official history.
[Nature... will remember him.]
Whooooom!
As the Tree of Life murmured.
The entire Moonlit Forest trembled.
Purple flashes and blue rays crisscrossed from all directions, as if vowing to forever remember his end.
But just before entering eternal rest alongside its master.
[...!]
A colossal being appeared in Midgard, one that would carry on the tale of the tree and the guardian.
He seemed like he could embrace all of Silmaria's lifeforms with a warm heart.
From a very distant past.
It was an aura remarkably similar to that of the ancient guardian who had left Unggulatuseu in Silmaria and departed.
One who named and adopted a mere rabbit.
Who didn't hesitate to steal a comrade's weapon for gain.
Even his comical failures in trying to command animals.
Not just the aura, but the actions mirrored the ancient guardian perfectly.
[Great Guardian. It seems I grew for this very moment.]
The Tree of Life mustered all its strength.
Betting every ounce of its life force on that slim 1% chance.
[For you... I will gladly become the fertilizer.]
Crack— Craaaack—
The Tree of Life split open.
Thousands of branches rotted and crumbled, falling in heaps.
To repay the care it had received.
To express gratitude for the love it had been given.
The tree consumed all its nutrients to summon one being into the Moonlit Forest.
Pzzt! Craaaack—
Sparks flew as the massive Tree of Life tore into dozens of fragments.
Whoooosh—
A cold wind blew.
Purple flashes and green lights churned violently.
The entire Moonlit Forest mourned the Tree of Life's end alongside it.
[Farewell...]
Fwaaaah—!
A sphere of light sprouted in midair.
Its radiance was so intense that the Moonlit Forest was bathed in brilliance for a moment.
As the sphere's glow faded, a human figure emerged from within.
Whooooom!
The Moonlit Forest revered and worshipped the transcendent being's arrival.
For from him emanated the scent of the ancient guardian who had once roamed the nine worlds alone, long ago.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Moonlit Forest]
"...What?"
This is the Moonlit Forest, apparently.
A brilliant flash, I closed my eyes and opened them to find myself in some mystical woods.
"Kkwi?"
Kkwi-kku, mid-butt-wiggle dance, froze at the sudden change in scenery.
[📜 NEW QUEST 📜]
[Class Change Quest]
▷ Rank: Mythic
▷ Description: Restore Nature's Guardian Unggulatuseu
▷ Reward: Class change to Druid
"Out of nowhere?"
Do class change quests always trigger this dramatically?
According to info posts, normal class changes start when an NPC with quest authority recognizes that a user's algorithm meets the conditions.
...But I suddenly warped to unfamiliar terrain, and no NPCs in sight.
Confusing.
Plus, a Mythic-rank class change quest?
Never heard of such a grade.
Quests are usually graded Common, Epic, Saga.
"Still so much unknown, huh."
Anyway, 'Mythic' sounds amazing.
Probably tough difficulty, but it's just a class change quest.
The supercomputer must have deemed me worthy of it, so it triggered.
Good things are good, I decided.
Whooooom!
Before I could even look around, vibrations hit, purple and blue lights crisscrossing everywhere.
"Wha-what! What's going on?!"
Splat!
I thought it might be a massive mana explosion or trap trigger, so I dove flat, plugged my ears, and opened my mouth.
I vaguely recalled hearing that in a nuke blast's radius, this position might let you survive.
"Kkwi-uu, kkwi-uuu?"
Interpretation: Seems like it's welcoming its master?
"...Oh? Really? Haha."
I laughed awkwardly in embarrassment.
Scaring people with such a flashy welcome.
"Ahem."
Sheepish, I stood and rechecked the class change quest.
"Restore Unggulatuseu... Success means class change to Druid?!"
The key word was 'Druid'.
The supercomputer judged my algorithm optimal for Druid.
I quickly searched community for Druid—info was scarce compared to other classes.
This meant I'd snagged a chance at one of the world's rarest hidden classes.
Rarer than solid userbases like Tamer, Summoner, or Spirit Mage.
"Heh heh heh, nailed it!"
Realizing the sudden teleport was a life-reversing opportunity, I whooped a beat late.
Whooooom!
Purple and blue lights crossed again, illuminating everything like fireworks around me.
"But what did I even do?"
Didn't hunt the rabbit, captured it alive.
Then made Kkwi-kku a pet.
After, combo'd with Kkwi-kku to take down goblins and hobgoblins.
Finally, gathered rabbits for a charm emission session.
Listing it out, nothing special.
"Hmm... Doesn't seem like any standout achievements..."
Without info, it looked ordinary—not the rare hidden class ticket I hoped.
Class change conditions weren't harsh, so Druid users would multiply fast.
"Hunting with Kkwi-kku must've been key."
Core was capturing the rabbit alive and combo play with Kkwi-kku.
Loving nature, harmonizing with animals in battle—true Druid material.
"Nature's Guardian Unggulatuseu? Where's this guy?"
I scanned wide-eyed.
Galaxy overhead, forest glowing soft purple and blue—visibility good.
Straight ahead, an enormous ancient tree, cracked and withered—ugly sight.
"Where the heck?"
No sign of Unggulatuseu anywhere.
Maybe 'Unggulatuseu' metaphorically meant the whole Moonlit Forest?
"Kkwi-uu?"
Interpretation: Isn't that it?
Then Kkwi-kku chimed in.
"Where?"
"Kkwi."
Interpretation: That.
Kkwi-kku scampered back, pawing a rocky mound.
"...Hold on? Whoa!"
Now I saw—the 'rock' skin was animal hide, not stone.
Too massive to conceive as one creature, and dim light hid the hide's hue.
"So that's... its back?"
Thought it was a huge canyon in the forest, but just Nature's Guardian lying there, insanely massive.
I rushed over, pressed ear to what seemed the back.
"Yup, that's it."
Fingertips confirmed: definitely hide.
Even soft.
Backside, so no heartbeat.
"But it doesn't look like it's breathing at all."
[Quest clear: restore Unggulatuseu.]
I'm no god—no way to revive the dead.
"No inhale or exhale."
The massive form's back hadn't budged since.
Breathing would show diaphragm movement.
'Bad feeling.'
Mythic rank, and this seemed impossible to clear.
Even rankers couldn't; maybe Holy Empire's Saintess, top NPC, could rouse this behemoth.
Whoooong!
Purple flashes and blue lights fireworks'd again.
[...You can do it...!]
[Protect... us!]
This time, whispers in my ear.
Each light an intelligent lifeform, apparently.
'Let's try!'
With cheers like that.
No giving up a hidden class shot, even if hellish difficulty.
Plus, no clue how to exit this forest.
No time limit, but failing means trapped forever, maybe.
First, circle to check Unggulatuseu's face.
After a long trek, the true face revealed.
"...Whoa."
Snout like a gentle slope, brutal teeth hurt just looking.
"A bear?!"
Unggulatuseu: gigantic bear, millions of tons easy.
Fearsome size to topple kingdoms solo.
How to restore that? Vision darkened.
"First... reason logically."
Before restoring Unggulatuseu.
Figure why it collapsed.
No doctor prescribes without diagnosis.
"What could down a top predator...?"
One: hunger.
Two: age.
Three: battle exhaustion vs equal predator.
Four: mating urge, no partner, despair.
Jotted in notepad as ideas came.
"Plausible?"
Listing narrowed it.
No wounds, so not three. Four... tragic if true.
Saw circling: male.
And that size meant... no female bear could handle mating, probably.
"Narrowed down."
Four was half-joke; odds favor one or two.
Age death? Can't fix that.
Tiny me massaging won't extend life.
No fetching millennium ginseng either. If I did, I'd eat it myself.
"So, only try one."
Unfriendly quest, no hints—but solid conclusion under assumption no impossible quests spawn.
"Alright. Let's feed it."
Adult male daily calories: 2,500.
Uggulatuseu's daily needs?
Measure size first.
"Eyeball it."
My 100m sprint was 15s real life.
In-game, strength/agility: assume 12s.
Full sprint head to tailback, time it—rough length.
Circumference guess.
Volume from height/circ, subtract 2/3 non-cylinder... divide by my volume for portion size.
But intake scales surface area, not volume...
"...Ugh, forget it!"
Math headache mid-calc.
STEM grad, but no tools—no precision.
Just chuck every food I can gather down its throat.
Issue: sourcing food.
Surveyed Moonlit Forest terrain afar.
Dreamy vibe, purple-blue harmony.
'Feels like giant phantasmagoria could pop out...'
Not bold enough to explore unknown solo. Home to colossal like Unggulatuseu—others likely huge too.
"..."
Gazed at Kkwi-kku.
"...Kkwi?"
Interpretation: ...Again?
Kkwi-kku found 5m pit in Beast Forest. Great detection, fast—perfect scout.
Tiny size: ant to mega-monsters, low aggro risk?
"Scout once, Kkwi-kku."
"...Kkwi?"
"Bring lots back. Yeah?"
"...Kkwi."
Kkwi-kku nodded reluctantly.
Continue reading up to 80+ chapter on NovelsHub.org