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Late Afternoon - Late Fall : The Tree of Prayer

*creaaakk* The rope continued to creak as we descended. -Even after all that strengthening magic, is it really still at its limit...-

Looking up the rope, I saw countless frayed strands sticking out. -The gears that bring us down probably aren't good for the rope either...-

"Are you really worried about the rope enough to let it ruin the view?" Amara, who was leaning over the edge of the bucket next to me, glanced at me with a playful look.

"Well, I mean, do you want to fall a kilometer to the ground?" I wanted to laugh but held it back.

"Pfft, fall to the ground? If it was going to snap, it already would have!

" Her smile turned childish as she moved towards the center of the bucket.

"These ropes are specially made to withstand several thousand tons and are strong enough that they couldn't be cut by most weapons!

" She sounded like she was trying to show off, but that was when she raised her hand just above where the gears were.

-What? What is she...- My thoughts came to a screeching halt as I looked up to see her about to flick the rope. "DON'T-"

Before I could even move my aura over to stop her, her finger slammed into the rope and sent an almost unnoticeable shockwave through it. *thud*

She pulled her hand away immediately and shook it in the air.

"Ow!" Her finger was already red. "Just what the hell is that thing made of?

!" Finally looking up from her hand, she noticed that instead of looking at her, I was looking straight up.

"Huh? What are you looking a-" *thwang* The bucket abruptly dropped a few centimeters as a metal cable-like noise ripped through the air.

Bjorn, Amara, and Yolanda's expressions all turned nervous as they looked at the rope in the middle of the bucket.

But that wasn't where the problem was. "F*ck..." I let out a curse as I watched the wooden hut above us start to splinter. -To think the wood is what gave out first...-

Finally noticing that the bucket was slowly sagging, Bjorn and Yolanda's faces started to pale.

"Amara, grab onto Bjorn and Yolanda!"

"What do you mea-" *crackle* Before she could finish, the rope suddenly went slack, and everyone felt their stomachs try to escape through their mouths.

"Huh? Ah.. AHHH!!" Bjorn let out a scream of horror as the bucket lost support and rotated, throwing him out of it in the process.

-Sh*t, Amara is too far from him...- Seeing Amara successfully grab hold of Yolanda, I looked at Ilios.

"Ilios, bring Bjorn to the ground safely.

" Looking under us, I saw that the stone platform meant to anchor our rope was surrounded by several people.

"Tch..." -Of course, things wouldn't be simple. .. Why would they?!-

*Bang-Fwooosh* Tapping my thrusters for an instant, I launched myself toward the ground to land before the bucket.

"OI, HEADS UP!" I tried to yell out to the people near the platform, but by the time they could react to it, I hit the ground.

*CRUNCH* The platform practically exploded when I landed, sending chunks of stone flying in all directions before I caught them with my aura. -Alright.. who do I need to catch?!-

As I looked up at everything falling toward me, I saw Amara bracing herself to land and Ilios carefully holding onto Bjorn. -Alright, all that's left is the debris...-

Not wanting to have any bystanders get hurt or killed by the falling debris, I readied a large amount of hydrogen in my palm and raised it in the air. -Just a bit more...-

A few seconds later, when Amara and Ilios finally landed on either side of me, the bucket was a couple meters away from my hand. -Close enough...- *BANG*

With a loud bang and a bright flash of light, the bucket was simply replaced by a white cloud made of freshly formed water. -Now for the building!-

Turning my attention to the falling hut, still half a kilometer in the air, I made sure nothing important was directly behind it and pointed my palm at it. -Let's give Ilios's magic a try, shall we?-

*flash-brRRMM* Although it only lasted half a second, a beam of light, only a few meters in diameter, lit up the surrounding forest as if a massive LED was turned on.

*tssssss* The air, still humid from the hydrogen thruster, sizzled as I looked up to make sure there wasn't a single piece of debris left.

-Damn.. what vicious magic...- But after taking a second to make sure nothing was left, I finally lowered my gaze to see every single living being in sight of me, humanoid or not, staring at me in complete silence.

"Ah..." -I got a bit carried away.. didn't I...-

As if to confirm my suspicions, Ilios let out a happy bark and trotted up to me with a wagging tail. "Woof!"

"Haah..." My face fell into my palm as I let out a deep breath. -I can't tell if he's poking fun at me or if he's just excited that I used his magic...- Hurriedly trying to think of what to do, I eventually just gave up and turned to Amara and the gang.

But they, just like everyone else, were staring at me in silence.

-Maybe it'll be better if I just...- *vwoom* Using light magic, I simply made myself disappear, but Ilios quickly followed suit.

At first, I didn't think much of it, but him following my lead only made the situation more complicated.

"Huh? Where did they.. go?" An older man standing not far away was the first to break from the trance.

"That boy and his Fenrir.. they were just there, right?"

"Yeah, I saw them too."

"That boy used some magic I've never even heard of.. just who was that?"

"Could it be a priest I just don't know of?"

"No way, I don't think the apostles could do what he did that casually..."

While the people nearby started to crowd around us and gossip, I walked over to Amara and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Let's get out of here before things escalate further.

.." Looking over towards the treant we just came off of, I could see someone wearing a religious robe leaping over the crowds and coming toward us.

-It'll be troublesome if we get caught.. .-

But thankfully, Amara was quick to follow along, hastily informing Bjorn and Yolanda before dispersing and disappearing into the crowd. -Why do they look like they have experience with that?-

*sckshhh* The rubble from the stone landing area crunched under the priest's feet as he landed.

"My name is Priest Agnar! Please, someone, come forward to explain what happened!

" His face showed a mix of irritation and fear, but as fun as it would have been to play with him, I just followed after Amara.

I stayed cloaked for several minutes after that, only deciding to get rid of the magic when we started approaching the couple dozen-meter-tall wall that encompassed the field around the Tree of Prayer.

-Hm.. what is this wall for?- As I dissipated the light magic, I noticed the gate in the wall had several hunters in heavy armor standing by it checking IDs. "Can only certain people get inside?"

"AH!" Yolanda let out a startled yell when I spoke up next to her. "Are you a ghost or something?! Where's your aura?!"

"Haha, sorry!" I let out a chuckle thinking she was joking, before quickly turning to Amara. "So, like I was saying, what's this wall for and why are there people checking IDs at the gate?"

"Haha, the wall and gate help regulate who can and can't go inside.

" Amara moved over to Yolanda's side before rubbing her head.

"It's basically just a way to let nobles and people of influence in more distant cities have a chance of getting a spot next to the tree without having to leave their position weeks in advance.

It's only blocked off like this around the pilgrimage though. "

-Not a bad system...- "But.. 'trusted individuals'? Will I be able to get in?"

Amara looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself. "Of course! You have that insignia plus a top-rank medallion from Morva Asari. Either one of those alone is enough to get in here."

-So dragons, the wealthy, and the influential get in, but not regular citizens...- Although it sounded a bit extreme, I couldn't say it was that unreasonable. -It would probably cause some political issues if the nobles had to stand in the back during every pilgrimage too.-

Continuing to follow Amara up to the gate, we each, one by one, showed our IDs to the guards before being let in.

Bjorn did get stopped for a moment, but once we told the guards he was with us, they complied almost immediately. -Respectful, but laid back. I like those guys...-

Finally walking through the gate, I came out the other side and into the field around the Tree of Prayer.

"Woah..." I had my breath taken away immediately.

Although I saw the trunk when we descended, being out from under the treants limbs let me see the top of the Tree of Prayer and its colossal, widely-spanning canopy that comfortably covered the entire 40-kilometer wide field.

-No wonder it's associated with the gods...- The canopy was shrouded in a fog, colored thanks to the dense ambient mana.

It gave the tree an especially surreal atmosphere, but oddly enough, there was only a single, simple thought that resonated through my mind. -You know.. it really does look like it'd be a good place to nap...-