Tree leaves rustled gently in the wind. Crickets hidden within the meadows, chirped continuously like a peanut gallery in a theatre as a couple of birds tweeted furiously at each other. The birds rested on an enormous branch, overlooking the ground below it. The wind gently disturbed the tree they sat in, its creeks from opposing the gusts of air roused a young lad who laid beside it. His brown hair danced with the grass as continuous breezes swept by.

The lad opened his eyes, neither brown, blue, or teal, but a mix of all of the colors. An indecisive iris that decided to have it all. The afternoon light reflected softly on his pupils, waking him from his slumber. The quarreling birds are at it again, reacting to the sudden appearance of a new audience member.

Hehe, look at that. Who knew nature could enact a soap opera? Cain thought as he attempted to sit up.

He examined the birds’ stage, the tree that towered over all, and noticed some red spots at the base. Without his glasses, he can’t tell what they are, so he dismissed them, like a passing fly. He continued to search for the “actors of nature’s play” and noticed the roots in front of him began to grow a little bit; as if they were reaching out to him.

A sudden feeling of drowsiness overcame him as he tried to estimate the height of this enormous tree out of curiosity, which soon turned into laziness. It’s got to be at least 20 meters tall, nah, maybe 30. I don’t know… I’m too tired and I can’t even see the top without tilting my head all the way back.

A fierce wind passed through the branches; the cold air pierced Cain’s skin. The leaves played a lullaby as they shook for a few minutes. Before Cain had time to attempt to warm up, a tsunami of drowsiness overcame him. With no chance to resist, he fainted on the soft bed of grass, blanketed by the shadow of the overbearing tree. A sudden thud, followed by the slow creaking of wood, as if it were trying to come to life, woke up this average college student from his deep hibernation.

Cain tried to open his eyelids tied down by the drowsiness. A few minutes passed until he managed to open them slowly, realizing that he was in the comfort of his small room. He struggled to escape the warmth of his bed, like a turtle stuck on its back. After one last push, he finally escaped the clutches of his memory foam mattress. He sat on the edge of his bed as he recollected that “dream.”

That was way too vivid to be a dream… It even seemed like that tree was intentionally playing music.

A loud grumbling noise echoed throughout his room, bringing him back to the present. I’m too lazy to cook right now, Domino’s sounds nice though.

Cain wandered around his room, looking for his phone. He searched his cabinet littered with shelves of tools, electronics, and textbooks right next to the head of his bed. He drifted over to his dresser, glancing over the top of the boxes stacked there. He turned to his right, staring at his closet and the boxes of snacks and drinks stashed under his shirts.

Cain bent down, prying the shirts back, revealing an almost barren wall littered with small boxes and a half empty twelve pack. Crap, I’m running low on soda and snacks. Guess I’ll need to go shopping soon. As he was thinking about what kinds of soda and snacks he should restock, he remembered that he was just searching for his phone a few minutes ago. He got up and turned towards his desk, glancing over the surface until he spotted it resting next to his laptop.

You’ve got to be kidding me, it was behind me this whole time. He plops down on his office chair then spun to face his desk, with his back towards his dresser. After turning his phone on, the time shone brightly in his eyes. Hehe, reminds me of a Spongebob meme. Wait… it’s already 9pm. Guess I’m nocturnal now… Oh well, time to order some pizzas. After navigating the Domino’s app and ordering two pizzas, Cain logged into his laptop, greeted by his homework that was due last night.

Welp, it’s too late to turn this in now. Might as well check what assignments are due this week while I’m here. Let’s see… Two for Thermodynamics, one for Solid Mechanics, one for Dynamics, one for Math Methods for Engineers, a quiz for Intro to Aerospace Engineering, and a lab summary for Physics. Ugh… How hard is it to have a carefree life? Meh, I’ll just do it tomorrow, procrastination for the win.

Now, how should I pass the time? Guess I’ll check to see if any of the mangas I read have updated yet. He habitually navigated to the folder that contained all of the mangas he was currently reading, located on Google Chrome’s bookmarks bar, and opened all of the websites at once.

After speeding through 219 different websites in a moment, closing the ones that had yet to update, 41 tabs remained open. He read through 10 chapters before glancing at his phone. A notification popped up stating the delivery driver is at the door. Cain rushed out of his room, sliding on the wooden surface that paved the way to the front door, arriving seconds before the doorbell rang. Safe! I should be careful since my housemates are probably sleeping.

After receiving the pizza, he slid to the fridge and tucked one of the boxes inside the almost overflowing shelves. The sound of a door opening and closing startled him, and he rushed back into his room with the remaining box of pizza. Phew that was close. It’s too soon for human contact. I haven’t even had my morn- er, nightly liter of soda yet. Hehe, introvert life, ftw. Cain opened the pizza box and got settled in while he devoured the food. After reading the remaining chapters on the 11 tabs and finishing the pizza, He cleaned up a little bit then unconsciously wandered to his bed.

Oh, I’m in my bed… Mine as well take a nap while I’m here. I wonder if I’ll see that tree again. Eh, it’s not like it’s real or anything. That would be nice though, it seemed like I could have a lot of freedom over there. Reminds me of something I just read, “Those who are truly free are not afraid of being controlled nor are they slaves to their own desires,” or something like that. Life advice from manga, nice. Cain’s thoughts trailed off as the familiar sense of drowsiness washed over him and he eventually lost consciousness.

Crisp sunlight slowly creeped over Cain’s eyes as he began to wake up. Oi, who turned the lights on?!

As his brain cells woke up, slowly churning to life, he noticed the unfamiliar softness of an object beneath his head. It didn’t have the same texture as his pillow and was softer. Cain shifted his head by the millimeter, gauging the properties of this new… pillow. The signals he received as his skin glid across the smooth surface were comforting, until they were interrupted by a sudden rough patch.

Cain reluctantly opened his eyes, deciding enough time had passed for them to adjust to the brightness and it was time to discover this newfound resting place. He saw two beautiful mountain peaks with the sun peeking between the small space between them. Wait… These aren’t mountains. Factor in the sense of this pillow… Pillow? No this is definitely a lap, then that must mean that those are- As Cain realized that he had been laying on the rumored lap pillow, a soft voice broke his thoughts. “Master, are you awake now?”

The sudden voice startled Cain, his muscles flared with his absurd amount of energy and he immediately leapt a little less than a meter forward, the peaks of the mountains brushing his bed head slightly. He searched for the source of the voice, seconds before it spoke again in a playful manner. “Master, that tickled.”

Cain was completely stunned at this unimaginable sight, a sight that he never thought he would be able to see. A beautiful naked lady sat perched on the grass, the same grass that was in his dream. He hastily observed his surroundings and analyzed his instincts, unsure of this unfamiliar yet familiar place and its safety. The corners of his eyes noticed the looming shadow of the giant tree had disappeared.

Impossible… It’s not like it grew legs and walked away right? Wait… As he looked back at the young lady, he stared at her body once more. Not in the way a husband would look at his wife, nor in the way teenage boys would peek at the girl’s changing room. This gaze was akin to a scientist examining his research subject, picking up on every small detail, filled with curiosity. Well, every detail that wasn’t blurred.

Dang it, I don’t have my glasses on. All I can make out is her basic shape and some details. Cain tried to make out the details of this mysterious lady, attempting to determine her purpose, origin, intentions, and existence. He noticed that the rough patches of “skin” were actually small patches of bark. Her forest green hair reached below her waist, piled up behind her.

The lady’s light green eyes stared at Cain, almost as if grassy plains were looking back at him. Her delicate white skin glistened in the sunlight, creating a huge contrast between it and the bark patches. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Cain finally spoke up nervously.

“Why are you naked?” He shifted around uncomfortably, his instincts rampaging due to the sudden deprivation of his small, yet comfortable room. Only his analytical and logical reasoning triumphed above them, ensuring a mostly level-headed mindset.

The unknown lady looked at Cain with curiosity, seemingly trying to gauge something about him. Not too long after Cain spoke, yet not too soon; rather after the perfect amount of time passed, she replied in a monotone voice, “Because I just evolved.”

“So you were that giant tree before?” Cain’s brows furrowed slightly, yet quickly returned to his poker face faster than they furrowed. He used his peripheral vision to glimpse any signs of the tree’s whereabouts or departure, yet not much could be seen in detail without his glasses on.

“Yes and no. I am what humans call a ‘Whomping Willow.’” The young lady’s face remained unchanged, her responses came out like a program executing lines of code. Cain observed her every minute movement, every microexpression, trying to solve the confusion within. On the surface, there was a programmed response; yet his gut told him that underneath that facade laid a newborn child, unaware and curious of everything.

Woah, isn’t that from Harry Potter? Don’t these types of trees attack everything in sight? Why am I unharmed? Numerous questions began to flood Cain’s mind. A few minutes passed of Cain thinking over the current situation analyzing what little bits of information he had, trying to grasp where he was, why he was here, how high were his chances of surviving in this unknown place, and many other important questions.

After Cain’s speedy investigation, one thing remained clear: he must first find out who this unknown lady is and why she seemed to be waiting for him, guiding him towards something he was unaware of. “Why do you call me ‘Master’?” Cain asked her this simple question. Simple as it may be, the way this foreign woman answered would determine his next actions for survival.

The mysterious lady looked at Cain, then quickly averted her eyes. Why is she being shy all of sudden… It’s not like she did something bad right? Maybe she’s embarrassed, but she doesn’t seem to think anything is wrong about being naked. Weird… Women are hard to understand. Wait, would she be considered a woman? As Cain started to question her odd behavior, the mysterious lady looked up at him nervously. She hesitated for a little bit then started to explain.

“For my species, we require the mana of living things to grow stronger. I usually draw some mana from passing adventurers as they rest in my shade. Not enough to drain them completely, but about half of their mana is used as ‘rent,’ as Master would say.”

The lady seemed oddly proud while saying this, like a child showing their parents something they’ve created. Before Cain had a chance to question the oddity of her last statement, she continued. “While I was taking Master’s mana, I realized that Master wasn’t recovering any of it, unlike the adventurers beforehand.

“By the time I noticed something was wrong, I had already taken a little more than half of Master’s mana. Mana is considered a lifeline for adventurers, so I would like to protect the Master as payment for the mana Master permanently lost.” As she finished her sentence her voice wavered with a mix of fear, concern, and worry.

Cain slowly rose from his athletic, prone stance he adopted after leaping from the lady’s lap. He tapped his foot some as he thought over what she just said. Woah, a so-called monster that seems to be a pacifist? Wait, if there’s mana then that means there is magic. Assuming this isn’t a dream, what was the dream I had before I got pizza? Why would I have that dream but still be able to order pizza and spend time in my world?

Wait, none of this matters right now. If this isn’t a dream, then that means I have limited mana. Based on the manga I have read up until now, this is definitely not a good thing. In other words, this lady is assuming responsibility by becoming my servant? But just how much did she take? How much do I have left? Also, what did she mean by “as I would say”?

Countless questions swarmed Cain once again until his head started to hurt some, and persisted for a few minutes. Odd… Usually I don’t get headaches at all. Even when I do, I could just cancel them from persisting longer than 10 seconds… Cain’s foot stopped humming across the grass, his sigh warmed the cold air before him. I really can’t catch a break at all lately…

First, I need to see how much mana is left and if there is a way to get it back. Figuring out how magic works in this world will be my lifeline according to her. Next is to question her about that oddity in her statement. Her… Wait, what’s her name?

Cain examined the mysterious woman, she tilted her head to the side and stared back confused. No micro or macro expression that a human would display during confusion appeared on her face except for her tilted head. She’s like a mix between a dog and a child… After a brief staring contest, Cain asked for her name.

She replied in her usual flat tone and blank face, “Adventurers usually call me ‘demon’ or ‘monster.’” Cain scrutinized her body language, yet the only thing that seemed to be hidden was her childlike innocence. He sighed and took a seat across from her, testing the waters yet timing everything so his actions seemed fluid, and not deliberate.

He dared not actively think of such complicated reasonings behind his actions, his instincts switching his manipulative and analytical thoughts related to the woman to his subconscious. Turning it from active to passive. The only thoughts that passed through this filter were those meant to occur in these types of situations.

This isn’t going to work, how innocent can she be? Does she not understand the meaning of those words? Choosing a name isn’t a simple matter either. I suck at coming up with names too. Let’s see… she was a giant tree before, so this should work. After a short inner debate of the name, Cain hesitantly stated “I’ll call you Yggdrasil, Dresil for short.”

Upon receiving her new name, Dresil’s eyes lit up as if she were just giving a gallon of ice cream.

Dang she’s too cute. She looks around 20 or so too. Well, I guess a human’s sense of age doesn’t apply to monsters. At least she liked it, I wonder what would have happened if she didn’t. Flashes of him dangling from a branch in the air or being swung around violently like a kid zooming on a merry-go-round appeared in his mind. On second thought… let’s not do that.

The bark patches slowly spread over Dresil’s legs, the constant yet unfamiliar movement snapped Cain out of his train of thoughts. He looked at her concerned and gestured to a patch of growing bark. “What’s happening?”

Dresil looks away embarrassed. “I… I stopped taking Master’s mana before I finished evolving so Master wouldn’t lose too much.” She stuttered while avoiding eye contact, showing true emotion for the first time throughout their encounter.

Cain observed the budding emotions that surfaced on her face. Incomplete, yet present. Forcing what rigidity laid before its emergence away, but ultimately caught in a standstill. “What happens if you don’t finish evolving?” Cain asked after observing the conflicting personalities within Dresil.

She avoided Cain’s gaze as he moved his head around to peek into her eyes. “If I don’t absorb mana within a day, I’ll slowly start to become a tree over the next few years. Once I become a tree, I’ll lose all consciousness and wither.” Dresil stated, a slight trembling in her voice laid bare a sign of trauma, and the will to go against the program.

Cain stared at the grass, his logical persona mimicking the signs of feeling guilt and his instincts suppressing the traces of the falsity; a perfect mimic. She doesn’t seem to have lied at all since the start, nor does she have any malice. I just thought she was forcing herself to become my servant, but it looks like it was out of concern for me not being able to use mana for long, despite limiting her lifespan. She probably thinks she’s the reason why I can’t recover mana.

Based on what Dresil said about the adventurers who came here to rest, that doesn’t seem to be the case. There’s also the slim chance she was forced to do all of this… Let’s shelf that for now; more importantly, I still need to ask her about my mana. Man… I need to fix this dumb short-term memory.

Cain crawled closer to her, closing the distance from the meter it was before to half a meter. Dresil became anxious with each increasing second. To her knowledge, if something similar were to happen to other adventurers, they would beat the person responsible and make them compensate with everything they had. Losing the ability to use mana is worse than not having food after all. Compared to those circumstances, being a servant for a few years is nothing.

The two’s heads danced around each other; Cain tried to get Dresil to look at him, yet she avoided his gaze every time. “How much mana do I have left, how much did I start with, and how much do you need to finish evolving? In numbers if possible.” He finally asked after a few minutes of fruitless effort.

Dresil quivered in fear, expecting to be hit as he spoke. A few seconds passed by before she slowly looked up at Cain. He stared back in silence, expecting an answer. Relieved that he doesn’t seem to blame her for his situation, she responded immediately.

“I took about 17 million from you. From what I could sense in the Master's body, there were about 30 million floating inside. There were no magic circles surrounding the Master's heart. I need about 10 million more to finish evolving.”

After some mental math, Cain calculates he will have about 3 million mana left after treating her, and 13 million right now. Wait, I don’t even know how much this is. It’s like having 20 kilograms of steak but not knowing how many kilos a person usually eats in a day. Time to find out everything I can about this world. Kinda wish I had a lamp… Oooh this twig should do. Cain picked up a small twig that laid buried in the grass and hovered it in between their heads. With the ends pointing towards Dresil, he began a barrage of questions using the countless fantasy knowledge built up from reading manhwas, manhuas, and mangas.

“Explain the current system of ranking for mana, what a magic circle is, and what you meant earlier by ‘as I would say’. Are there any elemental properties to mana? What are the different types of elements? What elements can I use? How much does this world depend on mana? How are spells cast?

“Can mana be used to create objects? According to your knowledge, what are the levels or ranks of the strongest people on this continent? Where did you get this knowledge from? Why can I understand the language you're speaking, are you speaking English?”