Chapter 10

Feeling the momentum, should I try a few more pulls?

One must know when to go and when to stop, but somehow, now feels like GO! The odds seem strangely good, and regardless of the grade, I can meet more of those handsome, beautiful, and cool dryads if I pull more.

Blinded by desire, I tried to estimate the quantity, but suddenly, my head spun as if I had anemia, and my vision darkened. Mesquite caught me as I staggered.

Being cradled in Mesquite’s arm felt like being in a scene with a hero and a princess, but I couldn’t fully enjoy the moment because my head was spinning.

"You've reached the limit of your soul."

"…What does that mean?"

Mesquite looked worried as he gazed down at me. His amber eyes, like the sun in the desert, darkened.

"Jee, my master is so delicate, even more so than a human child…."

I didn’t like being treated like a child, but it felt good that the cool Mesquite was worried about me. When the elder placed his hand on my forehead, a white light seeped into me.

"My skill is specialized for dryads, but it will affect you, a human, too. Do you feel better?"

"O… as expected, healer."

"The cost is 100 diamonds."

"Are you kidding…."

My master is dying, and you’re worrying about diamonds! I glared at him, and he made a sheepish face, saying it was a joke.

"I explained that druids and dryads are connected by the soul, right? The druid must become a small world tree and share power with them. That power is the power of the soul. Since you, the druid, are still inexperienced, there’s a limit to the number of dryads you can accommodate at once. Moreover, the higher the grade of the dryad, the more soul power they require. If you get more dryads here, your body might not be able to handle it."

"I can’t just…."

I hate random pull games, but what I hate even more is the Japanese card game system, the 'COST system.'

Even if you have many character slots, you have to follow the COST, so if my maximum COST is 30 and the characters’ individual COSTs are 15, 13, and 12, I can only take two, as the total would exceed 30.

Ah, I hate it. I need to fill my terrarium artifact with beautiful and cool dryads. Hey, attendant, is there no way…!

"You can increase your soul power by living with the dryads. The fastest way is to engage in battles. If you want to control many dryads quickly, you should battle with them often."

In other words, you’re telling me to level up. Is this the sorrow of a low-level player…? It’s frustrating. I have so many diamonds, yet I have to stop pulling. I want to use my own money!

Well, I got a Special and a Unique, so it’s fine. Others would be jumping with joy if they got a Rare, so I’m happy. Now that it’s over, I should go meet Daisy.

Feeling better, I declined Mesquite’s support. It was nice, but my heart couldn’t take any more. I even imagined being held in the elder’s handsome arms.

But I stopped because I thought he might say something annoying like, "100 diamonds per second." It wasn’t thrilling at all.

"Ah!"

A sudden idea came to me. I showed them my terrarium artifact.

"I want to see you guys inside it!"

My room! My room! Welcome to my room! When you enter, will you become 2D like in other games?

At my earnest request, Mesquite picked up the lance that had fallen to the ground.

"My master, if Jee wants it, I’ll do it."

Mesquite’s body was instantly enveloped in white light, and he entered the glass dome with a shimmer.

Inside my small glass dome, Mesquite, now much smaller than an ant, was moving around. The inside of the terrarium artifact was more miniaturized than I thought. Would an earthquake happen if I moved?

I moved my hand a little, and Mesquite seemed fine. Good. I was worried that I’d have to keep my arm still to prevent the terrarium artifact from shaking.

The elder, unlike Mesquite, never went in at once. He looked displeased and bent down to look at my terrarium artifact.

"What is this? It’s so barren. There’s nothing in it. You have so many diamonds, why haven’t you put anything in it?"

"Where can I buy things?"

Do you think I didn’t buy anything because I don’t have money? I’ve only had it for less than an hour. If I knew how to decorate it, I would have done so.

"You can buy from the workshop. I don’t like cheap stuff. Get something luxurious and fancy!"

"Can you at least go in nicely? I’m curious to see what happens when a dryad enters."

Of course, I’ll take care of my dryads with the best things. Looking at you now, you might think about it, but for the cool Mesquite, I’ll buy only the most expensive and best things.

"Why do you treat me and Mesquite differently? Treat me nicely too."

"I’ll think about it if your mouth gets prettier."

That’s a pouting face. A face that would make someone look childish and immature, but on the beautiful elder, it just looked cute. His face was perfect. The elder has a face and a mouth given by God.

I took out some diamonds from my phone and gently coaxed him, and he soon relaxed and entered the glass dome. I wonder why he’s so obsessed with diamonds.

I touched the terrarium artifact. Focusing my mind, the enlarged image of the inside of the glass dome appeared in my head.

Mesquite and the elder were looking around the barren landscape. Then, as if they had made a decision, they walked in opposite directions.

When they reached a certain point, Mesquite tapped the ground with the tip of his lance, and the elder did the same with the tip of his staff. I wondered what they were doing when Mesquite suddenly looked at me.

"My master, Jee. We’re decorating our nests. Mesquite and the elder brat have opposite natural habitats, so we have to stay far apart."

"Stop calling me a brat. Is being old something to be proud of?"

"Thinking of you as a sapling makes me nostalgic. Back then, I diligently carried water for you. I even chose the soil for you."

It felt like Mesquite was saying, "When you were a baby, I changed your diapers and fed you milk." The thought of Mesquite feeding a baby elder with a bottle made me want to laugh.

"Stop imagining weird things! Dryads grow differently from humans!"

How did you know what I was imagining?

"My master, Jee, your thoughts while looking into this terrarium flow directly to us. Your imagination is really cute. Of course, I did raise the elder, carrying him around."

"I don’t remember that!"

"That was when you, elder brat, were still a bud, a fresh, green sprout."

Mesquite smiled. Even from a distance, we could hear each other’s voices.

They continued their work. Light from the tips of the lance and staff seeped into the ground they stood on.

At the spot where Mesquite stood, sparkling sand grains began to rise.

The endless sand spread until it reached a certain point and stopped expanding. It looked like a small desert.

I remember Mesquite’s natural habitat was a desert field. From the ground where Mesquite’s lance touched, a small sprout emerged.

It grew rapidly, becoming a large and thick plant, about four times Mesquite’s height. Pointed, thin leaves grew, and long flower stems with small yellow flowers appeared.

I knew what it was. It was the 'Velvet Mesquite Tree,' Mesquite’s mother plant.

Could it be that collecting dryads in the terrarium artifact allows you to decorate it with their mother plants?

"My master, Jee. Yes, my tree is very beautiful and strong. I can root up to 9 meters underground. In the desert, where I am, there’s groundwater. That’s why I became the guardian of the desert."

It’s really cool. The mother plant of the Mesquite dryad, which looks straight and strong, was also very impressive.

"Look here! My flowers are so beautiful!"

In the place where the elder stood, a beautiful tree, like a snow-covered branch, stood tall in the meadow.

That must be the elder’s mother plant, the 'Elder Flower.' It was a tree that matched the elder’s face. It was really beautiful and lovely. It even seemed to give off a good scent.

Praising it as I felt, the elder’s face became smug. He opened his ears, wanting more, so I continued to praise him. He’s easy to handle.

They both seemed busy decorating their nests.

I wanted to show off my beautiful and cool dryads to everyone, but they were both so much taller than me that it would be difficult to walk through crowded market streets.

The elder’s clothes would trail behind him, and Mesquite’s lance might be a deadly weapon just by holding it.

I decided to let them stay in the terrarium artifact for a while and go find Daisy.

When I came out, the number of people had clearly decreased.

I must have spent quite some time in the greenhouse.

There were other greenhouses, and many people were already carrying bloomed dryads.

The other dryads were also quite impressive in appearance, but mine were cooler. I felt that if the elder showed his face, he could overshadow all the dryads here.

When I came out of the greenhouse, a few people looked at me. They must have been curious about the dryads I pulled.

But when they saw no one beside me, they started whispering, misinterpreting the situation. Of course, I did pull four blanks, but the ones after that were Special and Unique! No matter what others say, I’m content. Our dryads are busy decorating their nests, so be considerate.

The attendant who followed me out escorted me to the exit. Having spent a lot of diamonds, I felt like a VVIP customer at a department store.

Before parting, he thanked me profusely, saying that thanks to me, his performance was ten times better than others. He kept bowing.

In the real world, I’m just a VIP at a load shop, but here, I felt like a celebrity swiping a black card.

It’s exhilarating!