Chapter 561: Let The Testing Commence

(MC POV)

So... I've waited for a few minutes and...

The wolf monster became mountain sized... The tree grew even bigger than said mountain sized wolf... The lake is now glowing really brightly like that lake of Divine Water underneath our house... And the bird seems to be on fire right now...

Also, the fire bird and the wolf seemed to be very attached to me for some reason. At least that's what I think they were with them standing over me while chanting "Origin, Origin, Origin" continuously.

Or maybe they're just hungry.

"I err... Think this is too much..." I muttered.

Shiori tilted her head, "I think it is as expected of Divine One though."

Akari also agreed, "Such a thing is easy for Master!"

No, no, this has nothing to do with me right? It's all this stupid Origin thingy's fault. Absolutely nothing to do with me at all.

At least Xun Guan understands my pain seeing how she's massaging my shoulders to comfort me.

"Well, what should we do with these two?" I asked, pointing at the giant wolf and fire bird.

Shiori tilted her head at them, "If Divine One wishes to keep them... We made another enclave in a cave east of here."

"Enclave?"

Akari's eyes brightened up, "Uh-huh, uh-huh! It's not as big as Sanctuary but we made it really nice and cozy! Master might like it there!"

Ah, I guess they must have made some kind of base when they were still separated from my disciples.

"But... Can the wolf even fit? And what about the tree and pond?"

Shiori looked up at the giant wolf, "I'm sure if Divine One told it to, it can just shrink down to its previous size. The same goes for the tree as well, but I'm not sure what Divine One wants to do with the pond?."

Huh? How does that even work? No way things can be that easy right?

Then again, seeing how I got my hands on this Origin Water in the first place... I'm just going to shut up now.

I looked up at the wolf, "Er... Don't suppose you can shrink yourself down a bit?"

The wolf looked at me with an eye as though asking if I was seriously asking it that question..

I knew it was impossible. There's no way something so convenient could be so--

...

The wolf just shrank itself to its original size... No it's even smaller now, it became the size of a wolf cub and started yipping at me.

Ok, I won't even comment on it.

I looked at the tree, "Don't suppose... You can shrink too?"

The tree seemed to wiggle for a little while before it shranked down instantaneously to the size of a house plant, as though its previous form had been nothing but an illusion.

What's more, it even planted itself in a pot to allow itself to be carried.

I am both impressed and creeped out at the same time.

Finally, I turned to the small pond, "I err... Don't suppose you can change back to normal?"

The surface of the pond rippled before the glow dimmed slowly until completely disappearing, the pond changing back to normal water.

I even tried to taste the water and yep, it's normal water now.

"As expected of Master!" Akari cheered enthusiastically, her tails wrapping around my body.

Shiori was nodding beside her sister as well, "Unnn, it is as I thought, such a thing is simple for Divine One."

I sucked in a deep breath and sighed, bending down to pick up the pot that contained the tree, "Let's just go. Where is it?"

Akari pointed in a direction with her tail.

The fire bird perched itself on top of Akari while I scooped up the wolf with my free hand, leaping up into the air with everyone clinging on me.

I shot through the air towards the indicated direction, the forest below me a blur as Akari guided me to where their base was.

"Right there! Just beside that twisting tree!"

I slowed down until I spotted the tree in question, realising there was a small clearing beside it.

Naturally, I landed in the clearing and several monsters immediately came out of hiding to surround me.

I thought they would start attacking me for intruding but all of them had gotten down to a knee to greet me.

"Welcome, Divine One!" All of them shouted out together.

I turned to look at the two foxes on my shoulder who were beaming at me with pride.

"We gathered the monsters in this area and indoctrinated them, Master! What do you think?" Akari gestured to the gathered monsters proudly, giving me a 'praise me' look.

"I'd like to ask what you did to bring them under your control so easily but I guess it's through a show of force, isn't it?"

Shiori showed her canines, "Naturally. It's the only language that monsters like them can easily understand after all."

Oh well, as long as this doesn't cause any problems, I won't try to dictate what they should do with the monsters around here. They're basically none of my business after all.

Kneeling down on a knee, I let the wolf and the fire bird go free before proceeding to dig a hole in the ground, just large enough for me to plant the mini tree.

I thought it might instantly grow big again but it seemed to have chosen to remain in its smaller form, not that I'm complaining of course.

The wolf and fire bird quickly went around to mingle with the other monsters, the rest welcoming them warmly.

Seeing the effects so far, I can only assume that the Origin liquid caused them to evolve or to metamorphosize into something else, at least that was what I could tell from their physical appearance.

It also seemed to make them smarter since before this, neither the wolf nor the bird could speak the human tongue and yet they suddenly could after being exposed to the liquid.

I can't say much about the impact on their psyche, but the most obvious thing seems to be that they became obedient to me. Whether it's because I was the one to feed it to them or because of me specifically, I could not tell.

I suppose the next logical step is to test the liquid on myself? No, maybe I can get some volunteers from the monsters or something?

It's still better to be safe here just in case the results of drinking it might vary.

One other issue present about this is that the note specifically said I should not be the one to gather these materials so this vial of Origin water isn't usable for the potion. The unfortunate fact is that I don't know anyone else who could do what I did either.

Hmm... Maybe Brendan can do it? If I could find a way for him to distill it from one form to another, it might still count as him getting the ingredient and not me right?

Oh well, that's a problem for another day. Now can I get a volunteer here please?