Another ten minutes or so passed, and the giant tree rose much higher, revealing more of its true form. The underside of its canopy was flat, and many slender vines hung from its branches-slender compared to the tree as a whole. Its trunk was now visible, mottled green with patches of dark brown.
A closer look revealed that the green came from moss and ferns. An olive-shaped white object hung from each of the dangling vines, perhaps a hundred thousand of them in all. The tree had mostly revealed its shape, but its trunk had yet to rise completely above the water, and where it took root remained unseen.
The giant beasts by the lake grew excited at the sight of the tree, each throwing its head back and howling as though saying, "Don't fight me for it, or you'll be damn sorry when you're dead."
Vic smiled as he watched. It was quite a spectacle, but he still didn't understand what they were waiting for. A tree? Did it have some special use? He decided to keep watching.
Looking at the trunk, which was nearly three hundred meters in diameter, Vic let his imagination wander. What could a tree that big be used for? He could carve dozens of villas straight out of it, hollow out a whole ship...
He didn't have to wait long. When the moon reached its zenith, the entire tree emerged from the water, along with a piece of land. Grass covered in droplets of water grew across it, a lush green expanse that was pleasing to the eye. The land curved like the surface of a sphere, with the tree rooted at its apex, and the curve stretched down into the lake.
That seemed to be the end of the commotion. Nothing else changed, but the giant beasts below still didn't move; they only grew more restless. Vic was puzzled. They couldn't even enter the water, yet they were so eager to wait. He was genuinely curious now.
Another hour passed, and Vic was growing bored with the wait. He yawned and looked down again.
"Still nothing's changed. How long are we going to have to wait? This is really boring. You could at least fight each other down there so I'd have something entertaining to watch!" Vic yawned.
Vic looked over at the tree again. Nothing had changed. After watching for a while, he turned his gaze away, but in the last glance before he did, he spotted something different.
He quickly looked back. The difference lay in the hanging objects: one of them was giving off a faint glow. He kept watching and confirmed that his eyes hadn't deceived him. The light slowly grew brighter, and some of the other objects began to glow as well, looking like hanging light bulbs.
Vic guessed that the objects were the tree's fruit and that the giant beasts below were waiting for them to ripen. But he couldn't guess what benefits the fruit might bring them, drawing so many powerful animals to compete for it. Even Sea Kings had come ashore. This fruit was far from ordinary.
Time passed slowly, and the light from some of the fruit grew brighter and brighter. A large portion showed no reaction at all, while the others glowed at varying levels of brightness. Two shone more intensely than the rest, and every giant beast had its eyes fixed on them. Vic reckoned that the fruit didn't ripen all at once, and only those two would ripen this time. There were too few; it would be hard for him to find a chance to snatch one.
Vic didn't know when the fruit would ripen or whether picking it beforehand might cause some unforeseen change. He could use Geppo to pick it early, but there was too much he didn't understand, and he didn't want to act rashly.
Just then, as if to answer his question, a somewhat smaller vicious beast, one of the second-tier contenders, grew impatient. It probably knew that even if the fruit ripened, it would have a hard time getting any, but it had an advantage if it went now: it had a pair of wings. It looked rather like a pterosaur, only larger. While the Sea King in front wasn't paying attention, it leaped over the creature and took flight, heading straight for the tree. When the Sea King noticed, it flew into a rage and let out an earth-shaking roar.
But it didn't give chase. It stayed where it was and continued to wait.
The pterosaur beast flapped its great fleshy wings and flew swiftly toward the center of the lake. But the farther it flew, the slower it became, and the lower it sank. In the end, it fell into the lake before it even reached the canopy. It too melted to death, letting out a shriek of unwillingness before it died.
Vic's pupils contracted at the sight, and cold sweat broke out on his back. The thought that he had nearly rushed out himself filled him with lingering fear. The lake was far too bizarre. Did places like this exist in this world? The facts were before him. The rules governing many places in this world lay beyond human understanding. What existed had its reasons; one day, he would understand the secrets behind it. When his strength reached that level, the secrets would naturally reveal their true nature. He couldn't see through them now simply because he wasn't strong enough.
For now, all he knew was that the lake existed to protect the tree at its center-or, more precisely, the unripe fruit on the tree.
Apart from that foolish dragon, no other giant beast rushed in. They all waited patiently. Just two pieces of fruit had stirred up the animals across the entire island, and even the Sea Kings in the sea had come to join the commotion. Vic felt certain that the fruit on the tree was extraordinary, but he wasn't strong enough yet, and there was no need to take the risk. There was still plenty of fruit on the tree.
Putting together what I've seen today, I can work a few things out. The giant tree rises out of the lake on the night of a full moon. Whether that happens once a year or every month is still uncertain; I'll know when the next full moon comes. The tree rises to receive the light of the full moon, which can speed up the fruit's ripening. And to stop the unripe fruit from being eaten early-or because some being doesn't want the fruit eaten-something was dispersed or set up in the lake to keep people and animals away. There's probably a deadly poison in the lake, and the closer it is to the center, the stronger it gets. The pterosaur beast couldn't withstand the poisonous mist rising from the lake and fell into the water.
There could also be more than one measure in place. There's something highly corrosive in the lake water, and the gravity across the whole lake is stronger than this planet's gravity. The closer to the center, the stronger it gets. The pterosaur beast fell because it couldn't resist the increasing gravity. That's all possible. As for the truth, I can only study it over time. Vic had a few guesses, but until a secret was revealed, one could never imagine the answer.
At last, the two fruits shone like balls of light, and their shapes could no longer be seen clearly. Just then, with a soft pop, both fruits came free of their vines and fell onto the grass below. They didn't stop there, but rolled down the curved grass until they reached the lake. Floating on the surface, they rolled toward the outer edge of the lake.
The moment the fruits came free, the vines hanging from the tree drew back into the canopy with the other fruit, hiding it from sight.
Meanwhile, the instant the fruits hit the water, all the giant beasts on the shore charged into the lake toward its center. They surged forward, jostling and shoving in a great commotion. Some of the more ill-tempered beasts attacked others of their kind beside them. At that moment, the corrosive effect of the lake water vanished, and all the animals were unharmed. Vic was left rather baffled.
What the hell kind of reaction mechanism is that? The fruit falls into the water and it's like a seal has been lifted. Does it have to be this fantastical, huh? Vic roared inwardly.