V3: Chapter 50: Deceptive Fruits
This tree was exceptionally tall, its trunk so thick it required several people to encircle it. Its surface was covered with a thick layer of moss and vines, the mottled marks of time. Even the towering trees described in ancient texts couldn't compare.
Its bark was an unnatural dark brown, riddled with twisted cracks. In the moonlight, these cracks seemed to shimmer with an eerie green light, like the eyes of a demon, peering into everything around it. Just looking at it evoked an uncontrollable, uncomfortable physiological reaction.
Branches twisted and extended from the trunk, each with a different shape; some were pale and lifeless like withered bones, others coiled and twisted like venomous snakes. The leaves were sparse and broad, a deep, almost blackish green, swaying gently in the night breeze, making a rustling sound—a low, muffled sound, like the whispering of ancient incantations.
What's most eerie is that the tree's top isn't bare like other trees, with only a few slender branches reaching for the night sky. Instead, it's covered in dense foliage, with several branches also extending upwards.
At the ends of these branches hang several strangely shaped fruits, emitting a faint glow that stands out conspicuously in the darkness. The fruits' surfaces are covered in uneven textures, their colors vibrant yet unsettling, imbued with some indescribable power.
It seems to possess a kind of magic; despite its appearance, it irresistibly draws you in, compelling you to reach out and touch it.
No one knows what it tastes like, yet it seems to be constantly sending signals to those around it—"Come, pluck me, take a bite! Just one bite! You will experience a taste you've never tasted before, exceptionally delicious, exceptionally sweet, exceptionally intoxicating. It will be ecstasy!"
Moonlight filtered through the sparse foliage, casting dappled shadows and imbuing the surrounding air with a mysterious aura.
A breeze rustled the leaves and fruit, creating strange sounds that seemed to whisper ancient and terrifying tales.
Indeed, perhaps it was true; countless people and events had occurred within this eerie forest.
The nocturnal creatures that roamed the woods seemed to keep their distance from this tree, never daring to approach easily.
This alone was enough to demonstrate the tree's danger. In a dangerous forest, the tree's strangeness was even more pronounced.
But—
"Hmm, this tree is indeed quite eerie."
Octaville stroked her chin and approached the tree.
Gladys's recently relaxed mood immediately turned heavy again. She followed Octaville, slowly walking forward.
Octaville reached out, wanting to touch the bark.
“Wait!”
Gladys grabbed Octaville's outstretched wrist.
“Lord Tower Master! What are you trying to do!”
Gladys was utterly incredulous.
What was the Tower Master trying to do?
If she wasn't mistaken, she seemed to be about to touch this strange… tree?
Let's just assume it's a tree for now. But it was definitely not an ordinary plant.
What if it's poisonous? What if it sprays poisonous gas? What if it moves the moment you touch it? What if those sharp branches pierce you? What if those snake-like branches writhe and coil around you?
Oh my god…
Gladys grew increasingly frightened.
Octaville wasn't annoyed by Gladys's sensitivity.
“Of course, I'm just touching it.”
Octaville answered verbally, but obediently lowered her hand.
Gladys withdrew her hand and sighed heavily.
“I know! I see! But Tower Master! We don’t even know what it is yet, touching it like this is a bit too... I mean, too unsafe!”
Gladys recalled the disgusting liquid that had splattered onto her neck and clothes, and felt another wave of nausea. It seemed like the sticky texture still lingered on her neck and clothes. The nauseating smell seemed to still be in her nostrils.
“Hmm, now that you mention it, it is true.”
Octaville thought for a moment and nodded.
Gladys’s tense body relaxed slightly, but then tensed up again—
“If we don’t touch it, we won’t know what it is, right? Besides, it looks so strange, which means there must be something wrong with it. Whether it’s good or bad, we’ll find out by trying. When something happens, we have to solve it.”
Octaville said, extending her hand again.
“But—”
Gladys reached out her hand, wanting to say something more, but Octaville interrupted her abruptly.
“No problem, trust me.”
Octaville said, her hand directly touching the tree trunk.
Seeing this, Gladys had no choice but to slowly lower her hand.
Actually, the tree felt no different from ordinary tree bark, but upon closer inspection, one could feel a strange, sticky texture. It seemed to be some kind of viscous liquid clinging to her. On the surface of the tree's bark.
"Huh, what is this?"
Seeing Octaville touch the plant before her, none of the "what ifs" she had imagined materialized. Gladys touched it too, but when she pulled it away, she found a layer of pale green slime clinging to her hand in the moonlight.
"Huh!? What is this!?"
It's disgusting.
Gladys said it was disgusting, but she still leaned closer and smelled it.
It had a fishy, foul smell, similar to the slime on the tentacles.
Octaville watched Gladys's actions and slightly twitched her lips.
"Huh?!!"
Gladys exclaimed again, taking two steps back and looking up at the tree before her.
"Lord Tower Master, do these tentacles have the ability to transform? For example, for example, they could turn into this tree before us."
Octaville rolled her eyes at her.
Octaville was momentarily speechless, but she quickly organized her thoughts.
"How could that be? What's going on in your little head? I've never seen tentacles that can turn into trees. You're overthinking things."
"Okay, okay..."
Gladys lowered her head, muttering, "Just mentioning it... Look, these trees are covered in slime, and it smells the same as tentacles. Of course I have reason to suspect it..."
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