Adyr finally accepted the absurd truth. He could now instill fear—even in lifeless matter. And with that, a thought crept into his mind. If an emotionless rock could tremble under Malice, what would it do to something that could feel?
Of course, he had no way to test that right now. He shelved the experimentation for later and moved on.
He drove the black sword into the ground and left it there. Then he raised his hand, pointing his thumb toward the small pond nestled near the corner of the garden. With a simple mental trigger, he spent 0.1 Energy and activated Echo Screamer’s Sonic Burst skill.
As the soundwave began forming at his fingertip in a subtle vibration, he simultaneously unleashed Malice, fusing its essence into the skill. The wave solidified, taking on a shadowy form as it pulsed with violent potential.
He charged it further with 0.3 Energy, then released it.
A concentrated orb of sonic force shot forward like a bullet, slamming into the pond with a sharp, resonant impact.
Boom.
Water—and even the soil beneath it—erupted violently, spraying out in all directions. The once-calm pond now looked like the aftermath of an explosion.
"Wow," he clearly impressed by the result.
Buffed by 50 [Physique] stat points as an Astra path Spark skill, it already carried significant force, but infused with Malice, its destructive power had nearly doubled.
And it didn’t end there.
What remained of the scattered pond water had pooled into a misshapen crater, and within it, faint tendrils of black energy still drifted—Malice lingering like a curse. Even more unsettling, the water itself was trembling.
"This is bullshit now," Adyr muttered, scratching his chin. He was seeing it with his own eyes, and it still didn’t make any sense.
He then extended his hand, instinctively sensing the dark energy within the tree, the rock, and the water. With a focused thought, he deactivated the skill. The infused Malice dispersed into the air as a swirling black mist and vanished, and all the trembling ceased immediately.
As Adyr practiced this new ability, it felt as though new knowledge was unlocking in his mind. He wasn’t learning something entirely new—more like recalling something long forgotten. Yet deep down, a gnawing feeling persisted, telling him this power’s full extent was still beyond his grasp.
But no matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t quite understand what it truly was.
"Anyway, it’s a huge boost to my current power," Adyr murmured with satisfaction. The ability to double the strength of all his attacks was, by itself, an incredible gain.
With that, he wanted to test the fear effect of Malice further—a dangerous and risky thought crossed his mind.
He paused for a moment, considering carefully, then shrugged it off with, "Fuck it, what’s the worst that can happen?" and sent his energy body in his [Sanctuary].
His energy form hovered silently toward the Mother Tree, resting calmly in the corner of his island.
"Let’s see how far this fear can reach."
Deciding to test the effect on a treasure as ancient as the gods themselves, an effect capable of making even stone and still water tremble with fear, he approached carefully. Unlike before, he wouldn’t attack it outright; this was a priceless treasure, and he wasn’t naive enough to risk it. Instead, he extended his hand, pressed it against the trunk, released the black smoke, and waited for the tree’s reaction. If anything went wrong, he was ready to withdraw it immediately.
After just a few seconds, the tree began to tremble—but there was a difference this time. At least to Adyr, this trembling didn’t carry fear.
At that moment, a system message appeared, confirming his feeling:
[Mother Tree responding to the energy source of Genesis.]
[Mother Tree growing...]
Adyr opened his eyes wide and focused intently on every detail of the change unfolding around him.
As the tree trembled, it began to grow. Its brown trunk darkened to a deeper shade, and its crystalline green leaves thickened and solidified.
Soon, not only the tree but the entire Twilight Land—the twin islands—started to shake.
"It’s not going to collapse, right?" He wondered briefly, but he stayed calm and kept observing.
As the Mother Tree grew, both islands trembled and expanded.
The endless sea of transparent energy surrounding them rippled, creating new land out of nothing and adding it to the twin islands.
Within just a few minutes, as the vibrations slowed, the Mother Tree appeared 50% larger and more solid than before, and the islands themselves had grown by the same 50%.
Previously, each island was large enough to fit two trucks side by side comfortably; now, both islands had expanded to fit three trucks each, matching in size. Roughly estimating, each island’s surface area grew from around 1,000 square meters to approximately 1,500 square meters.
But the surprise didn’t end there, as a new system message appeared in front of him.
[Name] Mother Tree
[Rank] 1
Description:
An ancient seed, as old as the known gods themselves, once rooted at the edge of the void and became a pillar for many races across generations.
Nourished by the pure energy of existence, a special fruit grows daily on its branches. Eating this fruit grants +2 free stat points.
To grow the seed into a tree, it must be buried in soil together with crystals totaling 1000 energy. Afterward, it requires daily fertilization with crystals totaling 20 energy to remain active and bear fruit.
Adyr immediately noticed the differences. The daily free stat point reward had doubled from 1 to 2, and the fertilizer energy crystals required each day had also increased twofold.
"It absorbed the energy in Malice?" Adyr deduced quickly. He placed his hand back on the tree’s trunk and activated the black smoke again, hoping to trigger another growth effect.
This time, however, the tree gave no response.
He wasn’t surprised—perhaps the growth had been a one-time reaction. But he still had another talent to try.
Malice came from a Genesis talent, and he possessed another similar one.
[Sword Art of Existence (Lv1)] (Genesis)
This time, he activated his Presence—not as bloodlust, but with a gentler, more nurturing intent—and focused it on the tree.
An invisible, shapeless energy radiated from his body, enveloping the tree like a caring parent. Soon, the familiar trembling returned.
[Mother Tree responding to the energy source of Genesis.]
[Mother Tree growing...]
"Holy shit. I’m growing." Adyr laughed, genuinely pleased.
The tree’s size continued to grow, its trunk darkening once more and thickening with sturdy ridges, while its crystalline leaves became denser and more solid, shimmering faintly under the light.
As the Mother Tree underwent these changes, Twilight Land began expanding again, just as it had before.
Within minutes, all tremors ceased. Adyr’s energy body ascended into the sky, allowing him to survey his islands from above.
With this second effect, both islands had expanded to roughly 2,000 square meters each. Considering an official soccer field covers about 7,000 square meters, the combined area of the two islands now exceeded half that size.
Satisfied with the transformation and the additional space for his Sparks, he received a system message displaying the Mother Tree’s updated description.