Game of the World Tree
chapter-166

▪️THE SUBJUGATION & ADVANCEMENT OF THE SPIDER QUEEN

Evé floated in mid-air as divine light accompanied her, enveloping her with unparalleled elegance, while further enhancing her noble and enigmatic aura.

At the same time, mystical voices reverberated all throughout the entire canyon, with their melodic chants echoing in a regal and awe-inspiring resonance…

“Wow, so domineering!”

“The goddess is indeed a divine being, she looks so perfect!”

“I really love the incarnation of the goddess! I wonder when could we summon her too?”

The players’ excitement grew as they all witnessed Evé effortlessly subduing the Spider Queen in an instant.

Her indifferent demeanor and the way she disregarded the boss monster as if it were an insignificant existence completely captivated everyone watching the situation.

The game has been operating for quite awhile now, and if there is one NPC within the game with the highest popularity amongst the players, it is undoubtedly the goddess Evé!

With a flawlessly designed character model and special effects that outshone even those of a movie, coupled with the BUFF bonus of her being a faction leader, and a voiceover so perfect it could rival that of a celebrity, it’s no wonder the players were easily transformed into devoted fans of the goddess.

Even when they plan to log into the game, the players wouldn’t typically say to their friends, “I’m going to play Elven Kingdom.” Instead, they would jokingly state, “Bye, I’m off to protect the goddess Evé” or “Farewell, I’m off to protect the World Tree.”

Of course, it was all just humorous banter.

Every player knew that although the goddess Evé was currently not in her best condition, she still symbolized the pinnacle of power within Elven Kingdom!

After all, almost every enemy she had encountered so far had been swiftly killed by her in an instant.

Moreover, whenever the game’s quest became too difficult for the players to handle, the goddess would always make an appearance, serving as a strong support for them.

Hmm… speaking of which, who was really protecting whom in the game still remains uncertain…but who cares?

Regardless, by helping the elves strengthen their faction’s power, one would also be aiding the goddess in reclaiming her own strength. For it was clear that supporting the elves’ growth was intrinsically tied to the protection of the goddess, isn’t it?

Of course, it felt wonderful to be protected by such an incredible deity like the divine elder sister.¹

After all, the goddess was not only beautiful and powerful but could also assign all sorts of quests and even help players defeat enemy bosses. Moreover, as Li Mu the gaming expert had once said, the NPCs in this game had their own independent emotional and memory schematics, so there was no reason for their own faction leader, the goddess Eve herself, not to have one as well.

Evé Yggdrasill… she wasn’t just a mere background character or symbol, nor was she an emotionless tool. No, she was far beyond that. The goddess is a bona fide NPC faction leader, brimming with human-like personality!

Ever since it became known that the Aél could summon the incarnation of the goddess, countless players have secretly approached the young boy, repeatedly inquiring on how they too could become a Favored One² like him.

Unfortunately, the response they receive each time remained the same;

“Only by dedicating yourself completely to the goddess can you become one of her favored one.”

But what does it really mean to dedicate oneself completely to the goddess?

Does simply playing the game suffice, or is there perhaps a hidden ritual one must undertake in order to become one?

The players currently still can’t figure it out.

Some individuals even tried praying to the goddess statue in the temple every day, hoping to unlock hidden events, but alas… their efforts proved to be futile.

In the end, they can only conclude that players probably can’t become a Favored One.

At least… not for now.

After all…

They can’t truly worship the goddess Evé and treat her as an actual real god, right?

In fact, most people in their own nation back in the real world don’t even have a religious belief…

But then again, what does it truly entail to worship someone?

Nonetheless, even though they can’t become a Favored One like Aél, it didn’t stop the players from adoring the goddess.

The goddess rarely takes action.

To witness the grace of the goddess firsthand is a truly rare opportunity!

Every player present widened their eyes, taking screenshots and recording videos, as they eagerly observed every single movement of the goddess.

On the ground, the crypt spiders, ensnared by the divine chains of the goddess, emitted a low roar infused with fear, dread, and even a hint of anger…

They want to resist and escape, yet they find themselves unable to budge even the slightest inch.

The divine chains, endowed with the power to bind even a demigod, proved to be too overwhelming for a mere magical beast that had not yet surpassed the limitations of the mortal rank.

Submission or death!

When Evé asks this question, in actuality, the Spider Queen is left with no other choice.

Because as long as a true god wishes for it, they can forcefully imprint their mark upon anyone’s soul and make any lesser beings their personal servant.

However, if the crypt spiders resist to the death during this entire imprinting process, even if the mark is forcibly imprinted, such drastic actions will still inflict heavy damage upon the soul of the Spider Queen and will likely hinder any further advancement in the Spider Queen’s rank in the future.

And that’s not what Evé wanted to see.

Even though she is the goddess of life and has the ability to use her divine power to mend the subjugated soul after forcibly enslaving her opponents, why would she choose to expend extra divine energy if she can effortlessly bring them under her control without using force instead?

If the matter can be settled through communication, she is willing, if necessary, to resort to a little bit of intimidation in order to conserve a handful of divine power!

After all, every divine power of hers is precious, and the few she could conserve would be sufficient enough to revive players numerous times at their current level.

That is why Evé refrained from forcibly imprinting her mark upon the soul of the Black Dragon when she first encountered him and only took such action after Meryer finally chose to willingly served her.

Much like the Black Dragon, Evé is not only interested in the Spider Queen’s current power but also by her subsequent potential.

Having already reach the peak of Golden-Rank, any further progress would propel the Spider Queen into the realm of legendary-rank creatures!

The might of a legendary-rank being is undeniably unparalleled within the mortal realm, surpassed only by demigods and true gods.

Evé currently lacks such powerful individuals within her faction.

Although the players can be regarded as a Fourth Crisis³, overall they are still far too weak against beings on the upper high ranks.

Of course, there is another reason.

Evé wants to have the Spider Queen willingly become her follower.

Being a creature that operates as a hivemind, the Spider Queen surely must possess quite an formidable soul to exert control over such an immense population.

If she can secure this Golden-Rank creature as her follower, the power of faith it would bestow upon her is likely on par with that of an adult dragon, if not even greater!

Taking everything into consideration, Evé still hopes that the Spider Queen will surrender willingly and open her soul to receive her divine mark without much resistance.

However… it seemed that she had underestimated the Spider Queen’s determination.

Even after hearing Eve’s threats and being aware of her power, the Spider Queen still refused to surrender.

By placing her palm upon the opponent’s head, Evé could perceive certain emotions within the Spider Queen’s heart…

There was fear, terror, humiliation, anger, and… a strong sense of unwillingness!

Unwillingness?

Evé was slightly taken aback.

She carefully examined the condition of the Spider Queen and immediately noticed something wrong.

This Spider Queen…had some injuries!

However, those were not external injuries caused by outside forces, but rather internal damage to the entire magical circuit deep within her body.

In the world of Saigües, every creature capable of using magic possesses a magical circuit that circulates mana within their bodies.

It’s somewhat similar to the meridians of cultivators in the eastern xanxia⁴ novels back on earth.

And through her investigation, Evé discovered that the magical circuit within this Spider Queen was in a state of disorder.

Not only that, but through further observation, she also noticed slight damage to the opponent’s soul…

After she scanned the Queen’s entire body, Eve finally understood what was happening!

This Peak Golden-Rank Spider Queen was in a critical moment of her rank advancement!

While hiding underground within her lair, this boss monster was not doing anything else but rather advancing her rank to become a legendary creature.

Advancing to reach the legendary-rank requires consuming vast amounts of resources, and Rivendell, with its bountiful mineral deposits, became an irresistible place for advancement for this Spider Queen.

However…she has already failed now.

And Evé knew the reason for such failure.

It was probably because of those explosive packs detonated by Boxlunch’s team…

Although the power of the explosions was at most only that of a third or fourth-circle explosive spell, it was still difficult to withstand them during this critical moment of her advancement towards becoming a legendary being. The Spider Queen at that time couldn’t move, let alone endure such significant disruptions!

No wonder she became so furious and relentlessly hunted down the players afterwards…

Advancement for magical beast is already a difficult endeavor, and the injuries the Spider Queen sustained are enough to completely cut off her path to further progress her rank!

Knowing all this, Evé couldn’t help but inwardly sigh bitterly.

She silently lit a candle within her heart for this poor Spider Queen…

This…is truly pitiful.

Evé could imagine how unwilling she must have felt.

After all… advancing to become a legendary-rank will open up a whole new world for the Spider Queen.

“It seems like it would really cost me some divine powers, but perhaps this outcome is even better.”

With this thought in mind, Evé suddenly had an idea.

She pondered for a moment and used her divine power to initiate a telepathic conversation with the Spider Queen.

‘If you pledge your allegiance to me, I promise to heal your wounds and help you advance into the legendary-rank!’

Eve’s majestic voice reverberated deep within the Spider Queen’s mind, causing the arachnid’s body to tremble ever so slightly.

In an instant, Evé sensed emotions of “surprise” and “doubt” emanating from the palm of her hand.

Quite vigilant, indeed.

Eve smiled inwardly and continued the telepathic conversation.

‘I am Evé Yggdrasill, the ancient deity who governs the divinity of nature, life, and spirits, as the World Tree.’

‘If you become my loyal servant, I shall bestow upon you a tremendous opportunity,’

This time, the Spider Queen’s body no longer struggled.

Evé then felt a sense of calmness and a gradual disappearance of anger within the Spider Queen’s emotions.

At the same time, all the surrounding crypt spiders suddenly prostrated themselves towards the direction of Eve as thousands upon thousands of crypt Spiders all simultaneously bowed down together, creating a scene that was truly awe-inspiring.

“Goddamn! The spiders are all kneeling!”

“Did they all surrendered to the goddess?”

“That’s so cool! With just a few words from the goddess, she has tamed all these feisty spiders…”

The players exclaimed in astonishment.

Since Evé and the Spider Queen’s conversation took place through telepathic communication, the players were left unaware of Eve’s promise.

Sensing the Spider Queen’s submission, Evé just subtly smiled and naturally left her divine mark upon the Queen’s soul.

“Very well, since you have chosen to submit, I will grant you the power you deserve…”

This time, Evé spoke out loud.

After she finished speaking, Evé then released the divine chains and drew out 05 DP, converting them into life energy that ordinary creatures could absorb, before injecting it directly into the Spider Queen’s body!

With the infusion of life energy, a sudden burst of green radiance emanated from the Spider Queen’s body!

The energy of life quickly repaired the injuries upon the Spider Queen’s body as it nourished her wounded soul before converging towards the magical crystal at the center of her body!

This magical crystal is the core of a magical beast, which is also the source of their power.

The advancement of a magical beast primarily revolves around the refinement of their magical crystal, leading to the evolution of their body and soul.

As the energy of life flowed into the Spider Queen’s magical circuits and converged into her crystal core, the free-flowing energy acted as the final push of a door, causing the Queen’s aura to skyrocket!

All players in the area could feel a terrifying power surging within the Spider Queen’s body…

“W-What’s happening?”

“It seems like the goddess infused something into its body…”

Amidst the astonishment of everyone, the Spider Queen’s massive body rapidly shrank, reducing from dozens of meters to just a few meters in a matter of seconds…

However, the Spider Queen’s aura became even more terrifying than before and her sinister exoskeleton now bore intricate golden patterns, lending a touch of regal nobility to her appearance.

In an instant, every players within the vicinity realized.

This Spider Queen… has ascended!

“Wow…the goddess just touched it, and this huge ass spider immediately advanced?”

“Oh my, I wish the goddess would touch me too!”

“Wait… what’s the rank that comes after Peak Golden-rank again?”

While the players chattered excitedly, they were once again astonished as they witnessed the Spider Queen’s body shrinking even further and undergoing another transformation…

Finally, the once gargantuan boss spider took on a humanoid form.

It seemed that every legendary magical beast possesses the ability to transform into a humanoid form!

¹(女神姐姐) – Exact word is goddess elder sister.

² (神眷者) – Exact meaning in chinese is (God’s Blessed One) there really isn’t an english equivalent to it or at least I couldn’t think of one so I just opted for the one mtl gave me, which is ‘Favored One’ If you can think of something better then by all means, comment it.

³ (第四天灾) – the term Fouth Crisis originated from a game called Stellaris wherein during the later stages of the game, a galaxy-wide crisis event occurs, known as Crisis. Recently Chinese authors use this term to refer to summoned players. The players summoned in this manner usually believe they are just playing a game so they tend to go overboard with their actions, thus being called a ‘crisis/catastrophe.’

⁴ (仙俠) – Xianxia literally means “immortal heroes” it is a genre of Chinese fantasy heavily inspired by Chinese mythology and influenced by philosophies of Taoism, Chan Buddhism, Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese folk religion, Chinese alchemy, other traditional elements of Chinese culture and the wuxia genre.