A large portal appeared in a grassy area with a single tree nearby.
Kai and Rose were thrown out of the portal and landed on the grass. Kai was still tightly hugging his sister, and they rolled on the ground together.
He looked at her, who was clinging to him with her eyes tightly shut.
"Huhh, we're safe," he thought to himself.
He loosened his grip and lay flat on the ground while she was still on top of him.
"You can open your eyes now, Rose."
She opened her eyes and looked around at the surroundings—nothing but grass and a single tree.
"Where are we, Kai?" she asked him.
"I don't know either. I hope it's not heaven—I'm still not married yet."
Rose then got up from her brother's body and walked toward the tree. It was enormous, with thick, lush leaves.
"Kai, don't you think our story might have a bad ending? This tree scene looks just like the ones in AOT and DarlingintheFranxx."
"Shitt, why did you have to remind me of those stories? It's hard for me to move on from them." He looked at the tree and raised his middle finger.
Suddenly, one of the tree branches began to move and extended toward them, showing its own wooden middle finger.
"Kai, it can move! And errrr... why is it being so annoying to us?" She ran back to Kai.
Kai, seeing the tree's behavior of flipping him back, was getting pretty annoyed.
"Let me see if we can deal with this tree. I just feel like making it die right now, this bullshit tree."
He walked around the tree, looking for a way to cut it down, but there was nothing he could use. However, on the ground, he found a long and thick piece of wood.
"Ahhh, this one will do."
He picked up the wood, slung it over his shoulder, and walked back to the base of the tree. He swung the wood at the tree trunk with all his might.
"Take that, stupid tree!"
But the tree didn't react at all. Rose, curious, touched the tree and started walking around it. Suddenly, near the base of the tree, close to the ground, she noticed a large hole.
"Kai, there's a hole here! It's pretty big. What do you think this hole is for?"
Kai, who had been hitting the tree multiple times, heard Rose and walked over to the hole.
They both crouched down to inspect the hole.
Kai tried inserting the large piece of wood into the hole to see how deep it could go.
But suddenly, the tree began to shake violently, and leaves started falling due to the tremors.
Rose grew worried. "Why is the tree shaking? Is something happening? Pull the wood out, or we might be in trouble!"
"Kai, pull the wood out!" she urged.
But Kai, determined as ever, replied, "As a man, we need to try something unexpected. Let me check something first."
He pushed the wood back into the hole, and the tree shook again. He pulled it out and inserted it once more, and the same thing happened. This time, he did it very quickly, causing the tree to shake even more violently, and its roots began to loosen from the ground.
Rose grabbed her brother's hand.
"Brotherrrrrr..." she said, giving him a sideways glare . "I know what you're thinking,"
Suddenly, her hand landed on Kai's cheek with a slap, sending him tumbling to the ground.
"What a pervert brother I have..." she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
For the thanks of stopping her brother, the branches of the tree began to write words on its own trunk:
"Thank you, my dear heroes. Sorry for troubling you two by summoning you to this world. I am the World Tree of this realm. This world is called Serewd, and we are in trouble as humankind here is on the brink of extinction. They can't survive in this harsh world.
And I, too, will disappear from this world if humans perish. So, please help me. As a starter pack, I will give you the power of growth speed over plants and animals, and to your brother... growth energy and speed for his body. May you succeed."
The words glowed faintly before fading away, leaving Rose and Kai staring at each other in awe.
Rose looked at her hands, feeling a strange warmth coursing through her. "Did I just get powers over plants and animals?"
Kai flexed his arms, feeling a surge of energy. "And I feel... stronger? Faster? What is this?"
The tree rustled gently, as if nodding in approval.
The light began to fade, and the giant tree returned to its normal state, leaving behind two apples.
Kai got up and sat on the grass after tumbling earlier. He looked around at the grassy landscape and touched the soil.
"This soil isn't too wet, just nicely moist, and with the temperature around 20°C, it's perfect for trees to grow," he observed.
Rose, hearing her brother's explanation, asked, "Are you trying to plant these apples? How do you know all this?"
"You should check the Hall of Glory at the school frame. I was number one before I went missing," he said, trying to sound overproud of himself.
Rose felt like her brother was lying. Why would someone so smart drop out just to take care of his sister? She grew curious.
"Cehhh, you're so full of yourself. But apples usually take 2-4 years to bear fruit, right? How are we supposed to maintain them to stay healthy?" she asked.
"We don't need to worry about that. Around 5 kilometers from here, the soil is like a gift—it naturally provides nutrients to plants. With your growth power, we can speed up the process and make the fruit grow faster," he explained further.
"I think your power doubles the growth speed. So, you can use it twice—first on the tree and then on the apples. That way, we can skip about 2 years of waiting. With the good soil and air here, the tree will grow perfectly, and we can repeat the process," he added confidently.
Rose nodded, still a bit skeptical but willing to trust her brother. "Alright, let's give it a try. But if this doesn't work, you're carrying all the apples yourself."
"Deal. Now, let's get to work."
Kai used one hand to take the apple seeds while giving the fruit itself to Rose to eat.
She took it and ate it slowly, watching her brother work on the project.
He dug into the soil using his hands, his enhanced strength and speed making it easy to create a hole measuring 50cm x 50cm. He made sure to leave enough space in the soil, about 3-4 meters deep, for the apple tree to grow. He planted the seed in the center and covered it back up.
"Okay, now you can use your power, Rose. Try it on the soil," he instructed.
Rose pointed her hand toward the soil, waiting excitedly for something magical to happen, but nothing did.
Kai shook his head. "This isn't some magical power, Rose. You need to touch the soil and think about growth. Why do I have such a clueless little sister?"
Rose, still confused, touched the soil, and a brief light flashed before disappearing. A few seconds later, the tree began to grow rapidly, but the fruit remained small.
Kai explained again, "Now do it one more time."
She did as he said, and this time, the apples grew beautifully. Rose jumped with joy.
"Brother, this is cheating! Now we've got food!"
"It's still early, kid. This is just the first step. With only this limited power, it's hard to build a place for humans to live. But for now, let's just be happy," Kai replied, smiling at her excitement.
Kai then invited his sister to take a walk, with the intention of finding a water source. If the tree could still thrive, the water must not be far from here.
Rose, excited to explore their new world, walked around, taking in the beauty of the fresh, cool, and peaceful surroundings.
She walked ahead, munching on an apple, when suddenly she heard the sound of flowing water. Not far from where they were, there was a stream filled with rocks—it was fresh mountain water.
She ran to the water and quickly drank from it.
"Haaaa, I feel so refreshed!"
Kai just watched her, but he seemed deep in thought, as if he was pondering something.