Yvhanar: The Beginning of Eternal Observation
Yvhanar had just begun his great endeavor—an existence of watching, waiting, and enduring. An existence that would stretch on endlessly, far beyond the limits of time itself.
Immortality didn't just grant eternal life—it brought with it a profound and crushing loneliness.
Now, having become a tree, Yvhanar understood one undeniable truth: he would create a new race of elves.
After all, his origins were human—and humans, no matter how divine or powerful they might become, were social beings at heart. No matter how mighty, no matter how wise, the ache of solitude would always come knocking.
Yvhanar now carried two great purposes.
The first: to observe the vivid, ever-shifting life on the planet of Azeroth—a world that danced constantly between beauty and ruin.
The second: to create a race of elves who would watch over his tree-form. He had relocated to a new continent, far from the ancient lands of Kalimdor. The elementals, who had once been strong protectors, had evolved into fish-like humanoids—and they were no longer powerful enough to guard him.
This was Azeroth, after all—a realm where chaos was constant, where madness and reason were often indistinguishable, and where something—or someone—was always plotting the end of the world.
Yvhanar refused to be like the other world trees of Azeroth—those that willingly sacrificed themselves when the Burning Legion arrived. He would not become a martyr. Not in a world where necromancers and death magic still thrived. Even as a tree, he would not risk it.
But before he could create his elven guardians, he had to achieve one vital transformation:
He had to evolve into a Tree of Life—just like in the Warcraft games.
At first, he tried to communicate with the system but gave up after receiving no response.
Then, as the evolution process began, his mind suddenly flooded with a series of visual data appearing out of nowhere:
> Life Points: 500
Wood: 200
Population: 0/10
Below them floated four icons inside his mind:
1. Train Elf — Requires 60 Life Points and 1 Population Slot.
2. Evolve into Ancient Tree — Requires 32,000 Life Points and 1,800 units of Wood.
3. Stand Up — Allows the Ancient Tree to rise from the ground, move, and fight.
4. Resource Assimilation — This icon blinked urgently, as if demanding to be activated immediately.
Yvhanar stared at the icons in his mind — a spiritual interface perhaps only perceivable by an existence like himself. One thing was clear: the first step toward creating a new civilization had begun.
---
Assimilation and the Secret of Energy
Before the elves could start gathering resources, the system displayed a notification:
> "Resources cannot be collected yet. Please perform the assimilation process first."
Underneath, smaller text appeared:
"Resource collection points detected. Would you like to assimilate them?"
Yvhanar looked at the notification, puzzled.
"Uh—so it really is becoming a Tree of Life, huh? But... why does everything feel a little different from the game version?"
From his observations, many things felt familiar but with details that weren't quite the same.
Gold was now called Life Points, food turned into population, and the once-clear gold mines were replaced by a resource assimilation feature. But beyond all that, what truly
> "Upgrading to Ancient Tree requires 32,000 Life Points and 1,800 Wood!"
"Wait, what?! In the game it only needs 320 gold and 180 wood?! Is this an upgrade or torture?"
Yvhanar sighed inwardly.
"If I can only gather one Life Point a day, how many centuries am I supposed to wait? Don't tell me they expect me to be a real gold miner now..."
Frustrated, he focused on a glowing object that seemed to contain pure energy. In an instant, a description window appeared before him:
> "Life Points can be gained through conversion:
10 units of gold = 1 Life Point
1 unit of energy = 1 Life Point
Conversion rates for energy ore or energy crystals depend on material quality.
Additionally: The Life Tree can absorb a small amount of energy from moonlight or Fel Crystals if available nearby."
Yvhanar exhaled deeply.
"So that's it… energy is more important than I thought. But the problem is, where am I supposed to find energy mines or energy crystals? I don't even have half a gram of gold right now..."
He recalled something. In Warcraft, energy crystals usually come from Arcane Magic—the remnants of ancient spells, ruins of high civilizations, or creations of elf mages like the Sunwell. But here? There was no clue where such things could be found.
"Looks like the only source I can use right now… is moonlight."
He looked up, gazing at the moon hanging silently over this new continent. Its pale silver light flowed gently, almost invisible—but felt warm and pure to his new senses as a tree.
Yvhanar then shifted his focus back to the blinking icon:
> "Resource Assimilation: Gathering point detected."
"By the way… didn't it say there was a gathering point that can be assimilated?"
A small smile formed in Yvhanar's mind.
"Let's try this assimilation feature first… maybe there's a pleasant surprise."
---
Assimilation and Economic Despair
Yvhanar concentrated on the flashing "Resource Assimilation" icon in the system's corner.
"Yes," he said firmly, issuing the mental command.
Instantly, he felt his body—or rather, his roots—pierce the grass beneath, crawling straight down into the earth nearly eighty meters deep. There, the roots coiled tightly around a hard rock layer… then stopped.
A notification appeared, replacing the previous text:
"By the way… didn't it say there was a gathering point that can be assimilated?"
A small smile appeared in Yvhanar's mind.
"Let's try this assimilation feature first… who knows, maybe there's a nice surprise."
---
Assimilation and Economic Despair
Yvhanar focused his attention on the blinking "Resource Assimilation" icon in the corner of the system screen.
"Yes," he said firmly, issuing the mental command.
Moments later, he felt his body—or rather, his roots—pierce through the grass beneath him, crawling straight down nearly eighty meters into the earth. There, the roots coiled tightly around a hard rock layer… then stopped.
A notification appeared, replacing the previous text:
> "Gold mine found. Total amount: 300,000 units of gold. Assimilation time: 30 minutes. Assimilation process in progress…"
"Uh—success?" Yvhanar was momentarily stunned, then smiled with delight.
"So I really can give commands like in the game…"
Though now he was basically a wooden head crowned with leaves, he couldn't hide his satisfaction. Half an hour to assimilate the mine was acceptable. But, according to the old mechanics, just because the mine was under control didn't mean the gold would just appear.
"I still need collector units… Okay, time to train some elves!"
Yvhanar issued the command to train five elves at once. The training icon immediately lit up:
> "Training 5 elves requires: 300 energy, 5 population slots. Requirements met. Training in progress. Training time per unit: 10 minutes."
Ten minutes passed. The first elf appeared.
Yvhanar stepped closer to observe. Its form wasn't much different from the game version: a softly glowing orb of light, with a faint silhouette of a face inside. Elegant, mysterious, and… kind of cute?
As Yvhanar focused on the elf, four icons appeared in his mind: Collect, Upgrade, Blast, and Open Building List.
"Not much different from the game interface," he muttered, opening the building menu.
But when the full building list loaded… he froze.
> "Fake!!!!" Yvhanar shouted—well, that was what he meant.
Ancient War Tree: 1,500 Life Points + 600 Wood
Hunter's Hall: 2,100 Life Points + 1,000 Wood
Ancient Protector: 1,350 Life Points + 800 Wood
Moonwell: 1,800 Life Points + 400 Wood
Elders' Altar: 1,800 Life Points + 500 Wood
"WHAT IS THIS!? Why is everything ten times more expensive than in the game?! Who coded the economy in this world?!"
Yvhanar stared at the sky with a face full of despair.
"I thought 300,000 units of gold—equivalent to 30,000 life points—would be enough for a start... but it barely lasts a breath. Damn it..."
The system was silent. The wind stopped. The leaves around him barely rustled... as if mourning alongside Yvhanar.
He could only accept this bitter reality.
"Just accept your fate… Even in this world, you can't haggle the price…" he muttered quietly, bitter.
Twenty minutes later, the assimilation of the gold mine finally completed. Two more elves had finished training.
Yvhanar spent the rest of his time in silence: talking to himself or just observing the creatures on the planet Azeroth from afar. After all, his elf base was still far from completion.
The reason he kept talking to himself was simple—he was afraid of forgetting who he was.
Self-awareness was a blessing, but also a curse when endless loneliness came. He didn't want to fall into an emptiness that resembled madness… or worse: existential autism.
The water beings—the fish people living nearby—couldn't speak to him. They could only receive vague images Yvhanar sent through dreams.
And even then, it was never enough to replace a real presence.
Sometimes, awareness comes too quickly.
And in a silent world like this, it only hastens the inevitable loneliness.
Back to the main point—creatures in Azeroth were evolving fast. They had no idea that ancient eyes always watched them from the shadows... a giant tree standing on the new continent.
A tree that had fused with the earth and now was part of the planet itself.
Yvhanar had also discovered relics of the gods. Guardians left behind by the Pantheon. Dragon kings of five colors. Ancient Titan facilities scattered across the land.
Yet, he chose not to care. Not to interact. Not to get involved.
"I know the fate of the Titans well," he thought.
"As long as I don't have the power to protect myself, it's better to stay away from those fire moths. They love to bring trouble."
During this time, Yvhanar tried ordering the elves to gather wood.
The results? Just like in the game.
The elves didn't damage the trees while harvesting, but their speed made Yvhanar frown.
Five wood every ten minutes.
Fifteen percent progress in half a day.
Extremely inefficient.
As soon as the gold mine assimilation was complete, Yvhanar pulled two elves off wood-gathering duty and combined them with the newly trained elves. They were all sent to the gold mine.
Twenty minutes later, the last two elves were ready and immediately assigned to mining.
It didn't take long before the mine reached full capacity.
At least mining gold was far more efficient than gathering wood.
That was a small relief… though it couldn't hide the harsh truth that the economy of this world was brutally unforgiving.
One elf could gather a hundred units of gold in ten minutes.
What annoyed him, however, was that those hundred gold units only equated to ten usable resource points for the system.
With cold, efficient calculation, Yvhanar only spent twenty units from the remaining two hundred resource points. The result: three new elves were trained and sent straight to gather wood.
Then… tragically, there was nothing more Yvhanar could do.
And just like that, night fell.
The Azeroth sky displayed a strange sight: two bright moons hanging side by side, casting a silver light over the land.
"Uh… two moons?" Yvhanar looked up lazily.
"…Okay, no pressure. No problem. Time keeps moving here. Just like on Earth."
Then, without warning, the Assimilate Resources icon started blinking in his mind.
The system showed a new activity: moonlight energy was being absorbed automatically, and—surprise—thirty units of energy were gathered every ten minutes!
This rate was equivalent to three elves working day and night. And the best part?
No mines. No special facilities.
As long as the moons were in the sky, energy would keep flowing.
With a wry smile, Yvhanar immediately pulled one elf from gold mining and reassigned it to the wood-gathering team. Maximum efficiency achieved.
After confirming everything was stable, Yvhanar looked up at the sky again.
Two moons hung quietly, bathing the world in strange, unfamiliar light… reminding him of home.
Has my mother found out I'm gone? Maybe she knows… She must be sad.
But I don't know… if I can ever go back.
Yvhanar let out a bitter laugh in his mind.
He hadn't even gotten the chance to experience the bitter taste of proposing to someone before getting laid off. Last year, he hadn't proposed to anyone at all. But now, he'd crossed worlds.
Well… at least I don't have to stress about job hunting anymore…
Suddenly, his thoughts drifted to his three younger siblings.
Are they doing okay? Is my inheritance insurance enough for them? I hope so…
There was one more thing troubling him.
Can you believe it… I'm still a virgin?
And now… I've turned into a tree.
Yvhanar took a long breath—as long as a being rooted in soil and branches could.
Is there any way I can become human again? Or am I doomed to be like this forever…?
Those wild, silly thoughts kept spinning in his mind.
Until finally, in the silence wrapped in moonlight, Yvhanar slowly fell asleep.