Extra: Friends of the Forest

Hotes was born in the far north of Freljord. He was tall, dark-skinned, and covered in thick body hair. His face was scarred by a sharp weapon, giving him a menacing appearance.

However, contrary to his rugged physique, he had a gentle and almost cowardly personality, and was always the one who got beaten up in fights since he was a child.

After they came of age, a group of wanderers came to Hotes's tribe. They traveled around, claiming to be messengers of the gods, and recruited believers in various places.

Hotes' father made arrangements with the group and let them take Hotes away, believing that this would allow his son to grow up and become a real man.

Standing over two meters tall and weighing over three hundred pounds, coupled with his beast-like appearance, Hotes completely escaped his fate of being bullied, and pedestrians he encountered on the street would give way to him from afar.

Unfortunately, Hotes and his party encountered a rare blizzard while crossing a plain, and he became separated from the others.

Fortunately, he was rescued by a local man Das.

Das was a small man whose experience was very similar to Hotes's; he was also frequently bullied.

However, Das is not cowardly; on the contrary, he is quite fierce, but he is too small to beat others.

Their encounter saved each other; Das became the brain, and Hotes became the torso, and from then on, no one dared to bully them anymore.

Das became unbridled in the tribe, while Hotes didn't have to do anything but stand in front of people as Das instructed.

This tribe lives very close to the coast, and its people make a living by fishing at sea. Suddenly, a legend about a treasure became popular.

Countless gold, inexhaustible weapons, beautiful girls...

Das had always wanted to go to sea with the fleet to search for treasure, but people looked down on him and never allowed him to join the treasure hunt.

Now that Hotes is here, things are different; the two of them can even gather young people to form their own teams.

After more than two months of careful preparation, a group of young people with dreams set off, full of confidence, especially Das, who had no doubt that he could find the treasure, even though no one had ever succeeded before.

At first, the sea was very calm, and they sailed a long way out.

About a month later, ice floes began to appear on the sea, and the crisis was averted under the command of a retired captain.

After another month of sailing, they finally discovered an island they had never heard of before!

These young people had already lost their fighting spirit and only managed to keep from causing trouble thanks to Hotes's intimidation. Now, they've discovered that everyone on the island has become incredibly excited.

After landing, they did not rush to search, but instead set up camp to prepare for long-term operations.

A few days later, they officially set off, each one clad in animal armor and wielding a sharp axe.

However, after more than ten days of searching, they found neither gold nor sharp weapons, nor beautiful girls, but only a group of local natives.

At first, the islanders warmly welcomed the crew, and Das did not act rudely. However, when he discovered that there were not many islanders, he harbored evil intentions.

On a peaceful afternoon, Das and his men sharpened their battle axes and launched a fierce attack on the locals.

These islanders were vastly inferior to the Freljord Great Han in both weaponry and physique, and most importantly, they were completely unprepared.

They had no idea why these warmly received guests would suddenly turn on them.

Das also lost his leadership in this battle, as everyone saw Hotes trembling during the fight.

It turns out he wasn't a powerful warrior at all; he just intimidated people with his appearance.

Unable to bear the humiliation, Das finally left with Hotes, convinced that people wouldn't find the treasure without him!

The original two people eventually became two again, but they didn't give up their treasure hunt and continued to explore the island.

Later, the two discovered that this was not an isolated island, but a peninsula connected to the mainland, where in the far east lay a fertile First Lands.

However, leaving the crowd also meant increased danger. They were always careful and were often chased by wild animals.

Having grown accustomed to being bossy, Das no longer respected Hotes as before, and would often resort to beatings and verbal abuse.

Hotes gradually grew to dislike Das, realizing that his sincerity towards him had been misplaced, as Dass had only been using him.

And so, the brain and body separated, and no one knows what happened to Das afterward.

In short, Hotes regretted breaking up with him because she knew nothing and was extremely timid, and her future only looked like a dead end.

The story of a group of young people searching for treasure ends here, but Hotes' story is just beginning.

He wandered aimlessly, grabbing whatever food he could find to eat when he was hungry. Several times he was nearly poisoned, but he survived thanks to his strong body.

One good thing for him was that he didn't encounter any humans during his wanderings; he only encountered docile animals, although some of them were quite large.

Perhaps only Hotes would find them docile, while the locals call them Magic Beast.

For example, the Lizard Elder, the Ancient Golem, the Crimson Beakbird, the Shadow Wolf, the Swamp Frog, and so on...

Countless years have passed, Hotes still wanders here, his leather armor covered in moss, his axe long gone.

Because he had always been a vegetarian, his once robust body became skin and bones, and from a distance he looked like a tree.

In his later years, when Hotes could no longer walk, he leaned against a willow tree and chatted with the animals that gathered around him.

The Swamp Frog often came to visit him, occasionally bringing gifts: a small white flower, a pretty pebble, or some dead insects...

The hawk-billed bird often came to him to relieve his boredom. It had several brothers, initially four, then six, but only Hotes could distinguish them.

The Shadow Wolf would occasionally entrust their cubs to Hotes's care, and the young wolves adored this large, plant-like figure.

The Ancient Golem didn't like to talk. When it came to see Hotes, it basically just sat next to him in the sun and would sit there all day.

Before arriving, the Lizard Elder will look around. If the Ancient Golem is there, it will leave; if not, it will speak ill of it to Hotes.

Finally, peaceful days took Hotes' life; he closed his eyes just as everyone was gone.

An ancient being called the Soul of Ionia quietly entered Hotes' consciousness and then infused it with gentle Wood Power.

Hotes awoke to find his body transformed into a tree trunk, and all the fur on his body turned into branches and leaves.

He carefully recalled what the Soul of Ionia had told him:

Ivern, God of Wood, Guardian, Ionia.