Re:START/If {Book 1.0}
Chapter 7: Dryad of the Sacred Tree (Part 01)

A few meters in front of Odo, stood the height of a giant tree. The diameter of the tree reaches more than 25 meters, with large branches and branches, as well as giant roots that grow out of the ground. The leaves of the tree are quite thick on the branches, and at the top they widen very dense like a giant natural umbrella. That was the tree where the Great Dryad lived that guarded the nature spirits, the Sacred Tree.

Around the tree there are many shrubs and vines such as Morning Glory, blooming beautifully with a variety of colors. A few meters away from the flower bed, there were also trees with strange hue saturation colors, and some Intermediate-ranked Spirits like horned horses, fire-winged little birds, and some, and various animals with elemental elements that form the basis of their formation.

Odo stepped forward, with a look of admiration He looked around. In his life, the scenery around the Sacred Tree really looked very fantasy more than what he was used to seeing. It felt very mystical, interesting, and beautiful to the boy. The view is more amazing than the Magic Library, Luke Scientia, in his residence.

“What is this place right ..?”

Odo's steps came to a halt when he saw a woman sitting on one of the branches of a giant tree in front of him. The woman's hair was bright green and dull looking, her body small, and her cornea dark green. Its entire body looks like it is overgrown with thin moss, and on its head there is a very dull and shabby conical hat overgrown with thick moss.

Their eyes looked at each other. Looking at those extremely mysterious eyes, Odo momentarily fell silent in a strange feeling. The feet could not step, the mouth was tightly closed, and the eyes were stunned by the beautiful shape of the woman.

As the woman dropped her body from the top of the branch of the Sacred Tree, the roots from below moved swiftly and formed a foothold that lowered her to the ground with great respect and authority. Observing the figure of the long green-haired woman by the waist, Odo was wide-eyed because of it. The woman was not wearing clothes and could be said to be naked for if the thin moss that covered her body did not count as clothes.

“Have you also come to riot in my place, son of man?”

A voice echoed inside the head, but the invisible female who was about the same height as Odo opened her mouth. At first glance Odo immediately knew that what happened was a kind of mind transfer and was an intermediate level psychic magic. However, this immediately made another question in his mind.

“Don't say ..., this one .... Dryad ..?” thought Odo on the basis of what he saw visually.

Basically Dryad is a kind of Spirit creature that lives in an old tree, usually taking the form of a very beautiful woman. Their race consisted of Intermediate Level Spirits to Great Spirits. Dryads are also known as Spirit Enthusiasts because of the beauty and beauty they have. However, compared to its best form, the Dryad is a very dangerous Spirit because they prey on humans and the Demi-human race. The Dryad will spread spores that can stimulate the creatures around the trees that are connected to them, then give them illusionary magic and make their prey dream lustfully. When they dream beautifully, humans who are exposed to the snare of Dyard will be put into the tree trunk where Dryad lives and little by little will become the fertilizer of the tree. Those traits and characteristics were no different even though it was the level of a Great Spirit though.

Realizing the identity of the woman before him, Odo covered his nose with his right hand, and jumped back to keep his distance from her. He increased the magic pressure, then extended his left hand forward.

“Oh wind, I seize power over you and let me control you!”

Odo flicked his left hand to the side. Wuss! The wind blew fiercely and got rid of the odorless and colorless spores scattered around the place. At the time of the strong wind, Odo immediately realized that around his place standing was completely filled with spores that were difficult to catch the eye.

“In truth ..., this place is full of powder ...”

The girl looked at Odo sharply, and showed a flat expression like a corpse. Without making any suspicious movements, Odo increased the magic pressure and supplied the Mana from the magic core to the right hand, then changed its basic properties to lightning.

“Halilintar is a component of the world ..., creeping on the ground and making⸻”

Without letting Odo finish his magic spell, the Dryad extended its right hand forward and directly manipulated the gigantic roots of the Sacred Tree. The moving roots crept out of the ground, then directly attacked Odo. The boy's reflexes reacted quickly, he cancelled the shipment, and immediately rolled to the right over a stretch of grass and flowers.

“Seriously? Don't tell me that this Dryad is really connected to that giant tree?That's right, this ...”

Without allowing Odo to carefully devise a plan, the Sacred Tree Dryad again attacked. He manipulated the giant roots, then used them like whips and spears that moved very quickly.

“Auto Senses!”

The first attack that came next was a streak of roots as thick as eight inches, the roots spread on the ground and attacked Odo directly from the front. Odo easily avoids first, second, and so on. However, when the roots appeared from the ground behind him, Odo was late to react.

“Tch! So cheated!”

Using the Dimensional Cloak as a shield and activating it, the root slingshot from behind entered into the storage dimension. Odo closed the dimensional gate on the robe forcibly and broke the root, The runes on the robe turned dark one. Utilizing the less than two second chance created, He instantly waved the Dimensional Cloak and pressed the Runes on the robe, then took out the previously stored roots. Odo did not limit the momentum as the object exited, and the root shot out from within the other side of the Dimensional Cloak toward the root whips coming from the front.

Bruack!!

The roots of the wood collided with each other and destroyed each other. Immediately Odo made a magic circle on the footrest. “Bound!” He darted through the fallen root fault and headed straight towards Dryad standing up.

Of course the Sacred Tree Dryad was aware of Odo's movements which were very clearly captured visually by him. With just a single swing of his right hand forward, the roots of the Sacred Tree shot out from the ground and instantly blocked the pace of Odo.

“Because of you ..”

Odo braked with his right foot touching the surface, then instantly made a thrower magic and jumped into the air. The roots coming out of the ground continued to chase, but Odo returned using thrower magic and continued to dart into the air. While being several dozen meters away from the ground and the roots could not reach that distance, the black-haired boy pressed the rune on the Dimensional Cloak and retrieved the magic dagger he had stolen from the storage tent earlier. The dagger was only about 20 centimeters long, with a handle made of solid black metal and at the bottom end was a round red crystal no larger than an oak ore. Odo wiped the dark blue dagger's eyes and activated the magic weapon.

“The Spirit of Water that dwells on the dagger, lend me your strength and be my weapon! On the blood promised by this land, I borrowed your power!”

The Magic Weapon let out a torrential splash of water from his dagger's eyes. Within seconds, the dagger was covered in high-pressure water and formed a two-meter-long water sword.

“Support Vil-made weapon is in the storage place of it .... With this, I will defeat you ..!”

Odo made a magic circle throw in the air, then immediately shot towards Dryad who was below. When it entered within the reach of the Great Spirit, giant roots immediately attacked simultaneously.

“Free!”

With a single slash of the high-pressure water sword in his hand, almost all of the roots were cut very easily by Odo.

“A!!”

But it wasn't as easy as Odo thought. After several roots were cut off and visibility opened, visible around Dryad came out the spear-shaped roots that grew from within the ground. The root spears that came out from the ground were perfectly shaped like war spears with crescent-shaped spear heads. As the Dryad pointed at Odo with its right hand, the root spear shot out very quickly and went straight towards him.

“Sial! He is also free to cultivate like that!?”

Crakk! Jem!

Odo managed to repel the spear attack with a high-pressure water sword slash. But as his position was being shot down, one of the fragments from the root spear stuck into his left abdomen and made his balance while in the air broken. It rotates and the back actually leads to the Dryad. Blood from the wounds on his stomach splattered onto the trunk of the Sacred Tree and the grass.

“Everything in the sky will return to the ground, but every thing there is an exception. Now give me an exception!”

Using gravity magic. Odo turned his body back quickly, then the fall position again faced towards Dryad. At that moment, He was completely stunned to see what the Great Spirit Waiting for the Sacred Tree was doing. The Dryad did not prepare for the attack to finish Odo, but He stretched out his hands and really intended to catch him who fell.

“Eh ...?”

Odo lowers the magic pressure and removes his fighting intent, but Auto Senses gives a different reaction. That last instinct and defense enhancement magic in a matter of less than a second increased the pressure of his magic forcefully, and instantly slashed at the Dryad's body regardless of Odo's will.

When Odo's consciousness returned, he stood his back to Dryad with the reddened water sword still clasped tightly. The mana in his body dropped drastically, then released the concentration of magic on the dagger and made the water that enveloped the dagger's eyes disappear.

“A-What was ...? Why is he ...? W-Why me ..?”

“Really ..., in any time ..., you are indeed Odo.”

The words that came out of the Dryad made the black-haired child come to a halt. It was not as echoing in the head as before, Dryad said it directly with his mouth.

The Dryad turned around, then looked at Odo sharply. Without being able to say anything, Odo could only tremble at the slash wound that was traversing diagonally from the right shoulder to the Dryad's left waist. There was actually no reason for Odo to feel guilty, but seeing the strange movement at the last second before slashing at him, it made the black-haired boy tremble in fear in ignorance.

“Dryad Sacred Tree!! Is this one of your tactics!? Makes me doubt and ...”

Odo completely lost his fighting intent, He stepped away from Dryad before him until his back touched the large trunk of the Sacred Tree.

“Tactics what do you mean ...? Really .., he's also very cruel to do this to you. Too much, very excessive.”

The Dryad's left foot began to connect directly physically with the roots of the sacred tree, visibly fusing with the roots of the Sacred Tree and from it sending it a supply of life energy, within seconds the wounds on his body were covered though not in full. The gaze of the Great Spirit looked very deep even though his expression felt empty. Odo trembled, ignorance of what had been done was the thing that the black-haired child feared the most.

Regardless of Odo's facial features, the Dryad made a seat by manipulating the roots to form a semi-circle on the ground, then sitting casually on top of it. Within seconds after that, his body underwent a change from a child's body to an adult body. Her chest grew, her buttocks grew, and the beauty of her body matured, the Dryad actually turned into a mature woman with eyes that looked flat.

Odo who saw that could only remain silent without saying anything. The confusion in him continued to make him think hard to the point that his consciousness seemed to fly and looked like daydreaming.

“Who are you ..?” asked Odo after thinking very hard.

Dryad was silent for a moment without answering Odo's question. As he got up from the top of the root seat, the green-haired Dryad put on a stiff-looking smile. It did not feel like a mockery, instead it looked like a very reasonable friendly smile.

“What do you think of me? Hem ..., really, really silly, when I already knew myself this Dryad Sacred Tree but instead asked.”

The words did not answer Odo's question. It sounded evasive and felt not wanting to disturb the words that had previously been thrown from his own mouth.

“Do not twist! Si⸻”

“My name ...” The dryad pointed at Odo while giving a sharp look. Odo was immediately on standby because it was the same position when the Dryad launched an attack.

“Reiye Reyah, the Sacred Tree Dryad and guardian and ruler of natural elements in Astral DunIa,” he continued in a sharp tone. Surprisingly, the Dryad did not attack and just stood still.

“That's not what I want to know! Who cares about your name!”

“The cruelty ..., whereas that is the name of this creature that you have slashed ...”

The words made Odo flinch. The black-haired boy stepped forward, then turned his face away with mixed feelings of guilt and anger. When he saw the expression on Odo, the Dryad smiled slightly as he lowered his pointed hand.

“Really, until whenever you are indeed very gentle, too kindhearted ..”

Once again Dryad's words made Odo confused, the way the creature in front of him was heard to have known him very closely. Trying to get rid of the curiosity in the mind, Odo pointed the dagger in his left hand towards the Dryad.

“Who are you!? Why do you know my name!?”

The dryad looked away and looked like it was thinking of an answer. While glancing sharply at Odo, He replied in a flat tone, “Entahlah ..., maybe from the people who came and wanted to seize the Sacred Tree Springs?”

His words felt like intimidation, making Odo tremble and step back. At that moment, the black-haired child realized that the Dryad was not serious when fighting him, the dark green magic pressure that was now bubbling over the Great Spirit's body was proof.

“You ..., did you also attack the people who came to this place?! You attacked my father's soldiers!?” asked Odo with anger starting to rise.

“This is my place, it's natural that I protect what I have. Are you the kind of person who would gladly give your treasure to a thief, son of man?”

“Yang is right! Because of you, Ibun⸻”

Suddenly Odo's vision blurred and his body grew limp in an instant. When the right leg slides forward because it is not strong to support the body that feels increasingly heavy, a strange sensation feels on its shoulders. He saw what was stepped on, under the visible blood spout quite a lot until it pooled. It was still fresh and left Odo confused.

“Da-Blood ...?Is this his blood? But ..., distance ..”

When tracking the source of the blood, it turns out that the blood came from his stomach which was stuck in a previous root fragment. At the tapered root a little larger than the dagger he was holding, his blood flowed through the root and dripped onto the grass.

“Eh ...? Why ...? No, I should have stuck ..., but why the pain ..?”

Odo's body grew limp, to the point that he fell to his knees with both feet touching the grass full of blood that pooled. His body grew stiffer, fingers trembled and his hands began to be unable to lift, his mouth could not make a sound, all senses almost stopped functioning, and only left his sight and hearing slowly weakened.

“Finally fell too .... Truly, are you really the son of man?”

The dryad walked closer, with footsteps that seemed to be silent on the grass. With consciousness still remaining, Odo forced his body to move. But, it was useless, He could not even move a single finger.

“You must be thinking, ‘Why can't my body move?’ or something, right?” the Dryad. He stood before Odo who was kneeling stiffly with his head facing forward.

Spear-shaped roots with pointed ends come out of the ground, then removed the Dryad, then broken ends. From the broken part of the root, dripping liquid that looks like clear yellow liquid sap. Seeing that, Odo immediately understood what made him unable to move. Most likely the sap search has the property of paralyzing or temporarily shutting down the nerves.

“You already understand the cause, ‘kan?” dryad said in a flat tone.

“Quiet only ...” The dyrad re-attached the spear-shaped root to the ground, then the root was swallowed in and again became part of the Sacred Tree. “It is also a kind of high dose anesthesia .... You will not feel pain .... Yes, will not feel sick and fall asleep,” he continued while looking intently at Odo up close.

[Note: Anesthesia; a condition of loss of taste in the body caused by dope, usually done before surgery or surgery]

“What the fuck is this creature!? Does he want to make me his food? That's right, just entered the Astral World ..., ., the time has been this ...”

Slowly Odo closed his eyes, his consciousness definitely disappearing. But just before He really fainted, at a glance He heard the Dryad say, “Really, I have been waiting for a long time ..”

Odo's body collapsed forward and fell into Dryad's embrace. Without letting go of the small body that fell towards him, the Dryad hugged gently and put on a smile that was very rarely seen on him.

“You never change. Although this is only a re.., but you have always attracted me from so many humans who come to this place .... It is time to move back, to get to that point and change it ...”

Under the lush foliage of the Sacred Tree, the Dryad named Reyah hugged Odo while putting on a happy face like it had released a longing.