I asked Father to teach me the destruction beam.
But Father yawned big as if sleepy and lay down.
At times like this, no matter how much I beg, he won’t get up.
I wonder if he would get up if I used Heavenly Thunder Spirit.
“He’s doing a decent job of being a father.”
Pelerian looked at Father lying down with a blank expression.
He seemed to be lost in thought.
Is he thinking about his child?
As far as I know, he didn’t have any children.
‘That’s unexpected.’
“What is?”
I’ve been with Pelerian for quite a while.
I’ve more or less figured out his tendencies.
‘I thought you’d tell me to quickly dispatch Father.’
In the cruel great forest, the weak cannot survive.
Now that Polaris Serpent is in a vulnerable state, kill him to level up and evolve.
I even expected such a suggestion.
“That would be suicide.”
‘I think so too. He probably has extremely high poison resistance.’
“No, I mean if you really killed your father.”
Pelerian murmured quietly.
“The festival is about to begin. Then you won’t be able to leave this area, and the named monsters of those monkeys and bugs will run wild. Even if you evolve once more, it would be difficult to face them.”
Even though I feel like I’ve gotten much stronger, Pelerian spoke with certainty.
“However, your father might be able to stand against them.”
Hmm, maybe so.
I haven’t really grasped how strong my father, the Polaris Serpent, is yet.
In fact, I don’t know how strong the leaders of those monkeys or the bug army are either.
“The problem is…”
‘Problem?’
“Your father doesn’t look very healthy.”
I hadn’t thought about that.
Looking back, Father had his eyes closed.
He does seem to get tired easily.
When I gave him an unripe fruit last time, he seemed to perk up a bit.
I was about to ask Pelerian why he thought that.
Tsss tsss tsss-
Suddenly, all my scales stood on end.
It was the same for Father, who slowly raised his body.
Looking back, all the other monsters that had been resting leisurely were also raising their heads and looking at the sky.
“It’s starting, just as we were talking about it.”
The sky was already tinged with purple.
And from one point in the sky, that color started to deepen.
Like ink spreading, a vivid purple flows down along the sky.
To the ground, in all directions.
「The mana concentration in the air is intensifying.」
“The area is becoming a magic realm.”
Magic realm. It’s a fitting expression.
The gorilla approached me.
“Boss… it’s started…”
This gorilla once acted as an executive among the monkeys.
There were things she knew from hearing.
“The sage told us… The sage lived for a very long time…”
That orangutan had personally experienced several festivals.
It’s quite impressive that he survived even after that.
He must have vivid experiences that aren’t even recorded in Deshnan’s records.
“Back then, only one group survived.”
Being on top of the cliff, we could see the surroundings widely.
Something like a boundary line started to form in the distance.
A dome-like magic realm that you can neither enter nor leave has formed.
「The roots of the World Tree are sprouting in the magic realm.」
Rumble rumble-
And the ground started to shake as if there was an earthquake.
It was at that moment that giant roots began to sprout in the central area of the forest visible in the distance.
The sprouting roots were not just one or two.
Those roots intertwine and tangle with each other, growing like a giant tree.
And there were things moving between those root gaps.
“The guardians, very strong. Shiny fruit, protect”
Is that where the shiny fruit will form?
The forming fruit wasn’t visible.
But I realized that numerous monsters would fight for that fruit.
「There are three groups existing in the magic realm.」
The primates, the insects, and our zoo animals…!
「Three crown fruits are forming.」
And a root sprouted in a place close to the cliff.
Crack!
The speed at which it sprouted exceeded the level of ordinary plants.
The speed at which the fruit formed was the same.
The red fruit has yellowish patterns spreading geometrically.
「You can challenge the leader of the group.」
I’m already the leader of the ‘zoo animals’, aren’t I?
‘Let’s go!’
I quickly climbed onto the gorilla’s shoulder.
Even if it’s not far from the cliff, it would be troublesome if another monster gobbled it up.
Sure enough.
It seems there were monsters who had been waiting for this moment.
“It’s the proboscis monkeys-!”
The gorilla warned.
Monkeys with long faces were running from the forest below.
They moved quite fast, like some special forces.
‘It’s okay, we’re faster.’
But the newly sprouted root was not far away at all.
Moreover, Father also got up and ran with me.
Oh.
Father is faster than me and the gorilla.
Plus, being tall, it will be much easier for him to grab the fruit from the high sprouted root.
Before I even reached the root.
Father plucked the fruit that had sprouted at the very top of the root.
“Oh my!”
‘Could it be… a rebellion?’
Of course, it’s true that the Polaris Serpent is much stronger than me.
And he’s also better looking and very huge.
Also, his fame is so widespread that there’s no monster that doesn’t fear Father.
Even the approaching monkeys flinched and slowed down.
Still…
The zoo animals are the group I created.
I thought I was about to lose the leader position to Father completely.
But that wasn’t the case.
Father held the stem of the fruit in his mouth and lowered his head.
And he dropped the fruit in front of me.
“Saak!”
I let out a cry of joy.
I’m filled with filial piety at the sight of him casually throwing down the fruit like a father bringing home chicken on his way back from work.
It would be unfilial not to eat it.
──────────────
[Crown Root Fruit]
──────────────
What an interesting name.
I gobbled up the fruit with a crunch.
「Using Devouring lv7.」
Oh, Devouring activated automatically.
「You become the ‘leader’ of the group.」
「You have gained the temporary title ‘Leader’.」
… Is that it?
No, it said I gained a temporary title.
I should properly check the effects of the title.
──────────────
[Leader (Temporary)]
Leads a group of monsters.
Shares the mana absorbed by the group until the World Tree’s fruit falls.
──────────────
It seems like a ordinary description at first glance.
But the true value of the last sentence soon became clear.
Whiiiine-
Light gathered around Father’s mouth.
After a beam of light was fired.
The approaching group of proboscis monkeys instantly turned to ashes.
「You are receiving shared mana.」
「You are receiving shared mana.」
「You are receiving shared mana.」
「You are receiving shared mana.」
「You are receiving shared mana.」
「Your level has increased.」
Ah.
Party hunting, proxy hunting, auto hunting.
However you want to express it.
This is definitely a dad bonus.
