"Join you...?"

The tree looked at me with a confused expression. Blinking its red eyes, it stared intently at me.

Under such gaze, I felt my chest tighten.

It was a bit of a gamble on my end, but it was something that I was willing to risk my life for. To be able to align myself with a being this powerful... It would certainly make my life a lot easier in the future.

There were also Delilah and Atlas, who I could consider allies and were powerful.

'Another twisted relationship...'

.....Every second that I spent with them was a second where I had to be extra careful with my words and actions.

One slip-up and I was done for.

It was for that reason that I couldn't necessarily consider them true allies.

But it wasn't like I minded this twisted relantionship. So long as it benefitted me, who was I to care? The same was true for the tree.

One slip-up and I was done. And yet, I couldn't help myself.

'Whatever it takes, I need to do it.'

"....."

I briefly glanced at the page on the table.

I swallowed my saliva as I did so.

Despite the page being so close, it felt so far. I didn't feel any confidence in getting it for myself and looking at it.

Rather, it felt more like a trap.

A tempting trap that the tree had left just for me to take.

"Yes, join me."

Thus,

Staring at 'Karl', I elaborated.

"You wish to learn about emotions, is that correct?"

".....Correct."

The tree replied, its scraping voice echoing quietly across the room.

I nodded and continued.

"You haven't had much success despite observing so many humans. Why do you think that is?"

With his brows furrowing slightly in thought, 'Karl' tilted his head. Eventually, his gaze settled on me, and he shook his head.

".....I do not know."

"I figured."

I took a step forward and drew nearer to him.

He didn't move and kept his gaze firmly on me. In fact, he didn't seem at all wary of the fact that I was drawing nearer to him.

But it made sense considering my strength.

Tak

I stopped just a few meters away from him.

Then, extending my finger, I pressed it against his chest.

Yet again, he didn't react.

He just stared at me.

"....."

"....."

I stared back at him as I took a silent breath.

'I hope this works.'

The silence carried on for a few seconds before I silently murmured in my mind.

'Fear'

All of a sudden, his pupils dilated and his body started to shake. It wasn't overly dramatic, and it passed as quickly as it came, but it was unmistakable.

"That..."

'Karl' looked at me with widened eyes.

He didn't seem to have understood what had happened. It took several seconds for him to come back to it.

Then, lowering his eyes, he stared at his trembling hands.

"What a peculiar sensation. My heart keeps pounding for a strange reason, and I can't stop this weird shaking that is taking over my hand. But that isn't the most peculiar part... Hmmm."

He frowned.

"....It is weird. I feel a strange discomfort I can't explain."

He looked back at me.

"Why is that? What could it be?"

"That's fear."

"Fear...?"

"Yes."

I went on to explain.

"What you've experienced was fear. The pounding of your heart, and shaking of your arms is an after-effect of your body experiencing fear. I'm sure you're already aware of how someone under fear reacts...."

This, I didn't doubt.

Especially since the tree thrived on the fear of those on whom it cast its illusion.

"Yes, I am aware."

The tree answered with a frown.

"...But this sensation. I didn't think it would feel like this. I've tried many times to mimic exactly what I've observed, yet I always failed to comprehend. Now, I understand better... much better."

I felt the corner of my lips curl slightly.

"To understand emotions, you need to experience them."

This was something that became more and more apparent to me the more I stayed in this world and learned about emotions.

"There's a huge difference between copying, and knowing. You will never be able to understand the emotions if you just copy those who experience them. You need to experience them yourself in order to learn them. Which is why..."

Once more, I extended my hand.

"I can help you."

I stared straight into those piercing red eyes.

They stared back at me with a certain intensity that made it seem as though they wanted to swallow me whole.

For a moment, I thought they were.

But just before it could happen, he looked away.

That's when I pushed.

".....No, I am the only person that can help you."

This was false.

There were many other people that could help it.

But it didn't matter. I needed to make it think that I was indispensable for its growth.

Only that way would it join me.

"If you join me, I'll make sure that you get what you want. That, I can promise. Of course..."

I pulled my hand back.

".....That will only depend on your desire to become stronger. Do you want to remain stuck with your current strenght, or do you want to truly become stronger and reach the next rank?"

I tried to tug at the tree's desire, highlighting it several times while also making it seem like I was a fundamental piece integral to its growth.

"You need me."

I emphasized while bringing my face closer to look into its blood-red eyes. This time, I didn't feel any fear staring into those eyes.

Rather, I felt uncertainty within them.

The tree.

.....It was faltering.

I didn't push any further.

Rather, I took a step back.

"How about this."

Instead, I started to negotiate with it.

"Follow me for a little while."

I was done instilling my importance to it.

Pushing further was only going to backfire.

"Observe me while you're with me. In the meantime, I'll help you achieve your goals. If you feel like you aren't learning anything, you can just leave. I won't stop you. I can't stop you."

As if I could stop it.

".....You can even kill me if you want. You won't really have m"

"Stop."

Suddenly, I felt my mouth shut.

Squelch. Squelch.

A familiar sound reached my ears, a low, sinister rustling. Looking around, I felt my heart drop. Emerging from beneath the ground were the familiar roots, writhing like serpents.

They clamped around my ankles, tightening with an unnatural strength, rendering me immobile.

".."

The tree loomed before me, its figure slowly changing, turning from 'Karl', to its true form. A black tree, its dark bark twisted and gnarled with a single large red pupil in the middle that stared unblinkingly at me.

The overwhelming sense of helplessness I had felt before surged back, paralyzing me.

I tried to speak, to scream, but no words came out.

I was trapped.

"Hmm!"

The roots...

They had clamped my mouth, stopping me from saying a single thing.

"I may not feel emotions, but I am not stupid."

The tree began to speak, its voice scraping eerily at my ears.

"I have seen and observed countless humans in my life. I have learned all your tricks. I know what you're trying to do."

"."

"Hmm!"

My guts twisted while the world around me started to grow faint.

I was paralyzed.

Frozen on the spot.

"You say that I need you, and you're not wrong, but that doesn't mean that I have to join you. Just as I have done with this body, I can do with yours. Once I take over your mind, I can do what you did to me and I can experience those emotions."

Ba Thump! Ba Thump!

I felt my heart pound off my chest, I could hardly breathe, and the darkness in my vision became more and more apparent.

My chest tingled, and so did my toes.

At this very moment, I felt like I was losing sight of myself.

'No, no, no!'

I wanted to scream.

Shout.

But my efforts were futile. I couldn't do a thing. The only thing I could do was stare at that piercing blood-red eye that continued to stare at me.

"....."

That was the last sight I saw before my consciousness slipped away.

From that moment, I couldn't hear or see a thing.

Nor could I feel my body.

It was just me, and my thoughts.

A dreadful silence enveloped the space.

It felt stifling.

Almost suffocating.

To the point where I felt myself going mad.

No, I was going mad.

I wanted it to stop.

I couldn't stand this,

I couldn't...

"Huaaaap!"

My eyes flared open and light entered my sight.

"Haaa haaa haa"

My chest heaved up and down as I struggled to catch my breath. Sweat dripped from every corner of my body, soaking my clothes. As I reached to grab my shirt, I stopped.

"....."

My thoughts froze as I slowly raised my head.

"....!"

Looking around, I felt my entire body seize up as my mind went blank. I couldn't comprehend what had happened.

'Why...'

"Why am I here...?"

I was lying in the middle of a familiar cobblestone street. All around me, dozens of people lay with their eyes closed.

The world wasn't red, and there was no tree in sight.

It was as if everything had been a dream.

A terrible dream.

But how could it be...?

"Could this be another illusio"

"This is the real world."

A voice cut me off.

Feeling something against my shoulder, I nearly shivered on the spot. Turning my head, I was met by two blood-red eyes, and I felt my blood freeze.

But it was only momentary as I suddenly found myself blinking.

That was because,

"Are you surprised by my form?"

Resting on my shoulder was an owl.

With black feathers and blood-red eyes, it was a strange owl, but an owl nonetheless.

How...? When...?

I was about to speak when it turned its head to stare into the distance.

"They're coming."

"Coming...? Who?!"

The owl didn't answer.

Flapping its wings, it lifted off my shoulder.

Tracing its path, my eyes widened as it dove right into my chest, disappearing within.

"Umpf!"

I groaned as it happened, the impact feeling like I had been hit by a car.

Before I could figure out what was going on, something flashed before my eyes.

"Ah..."

And yet again, I froze.

[Julien D. Evenus]

Level : 28 [Tier 2 Magician]

Exp : [0%[19%]100%]

Profession : Magician

Type : Elemental [Curse]

Type : Mind [Emotive]

Spells :

Beginner type spell [Emotive] : Anger

Intermediate type spell [Emotive] : Sadness

Intermediate type spell [Emotive] : Fear

Beginner type spell [Emotive] : Happiness

Beginner type spell [Emotive] : Disgust

Beginner type spell [Emotive] : Surprise

Beginner type spell [Curse] : Chains of Alakantria

Intermediate type spell [Curse] : Grip of Pestilence

Skills :

[Innate] - Foresight

[Innate] - Etherweave

[Innate] - Veil of Deception

[Julien D. Evenus]

"It... looks like, something unexpected occurred."