Chapter 19

Kase carefully put the case aside and gazed at the ring, deep in thought. The performance is for Elder, but the Dryad who drew it is Daisy... Their relationship isn't exactly good to begin with.

He casually took Daisy's small hand and tried on the ring. The bright red hair and the bright red ruby ring suited her very well.

Elder, seeing this, muttered, "That's mine..." with a worried expression.

"Druid, I don't need this ring. It doesn't give me any significant combat bonus. It's a three-month difference. If it were a month, maybe..."

Well, it would be a waste to use it just for show, right? No matter how special the accessory is, it's useless if it doesn't go to the right Dryad.

"Elder, look at this. Daisy, who was chosen to bear your fruit, has also drawn a special accessory for you. Don't you think you should show some respect? Stop picking on her and treat her better."

I gave the ring to Daisy to encourage a better relationship between them, specifically to redefine their relationship. I could have given it to her myself, but I wanted to make it clear that Daisy was the one who drew the ring.

Daisy held the ring and stared at it blankly. Elder, in a "wait!" state, stared at the ring in Daisy's hand, like a dog waiting for a treat.

Suddenly, one corner of Daisy's mouth curled up.

"Do you want it?"

Daisy held the ring between her thumb and forefinger and waved it at Elder. Mesquite suddenly burst into a small laugh.

"That look... It's just like... My master, Jay. Jay often looks like that when he's teasing Elder. Specifically, when he holds a diamond and waves it in front of Elder."

That's why you can't drink cold water in front of a child. How could such a kind and lovely Daisy...! What did she learn from me...?

Thinking back to the day when something terrible happened, it seems that the difference in ranks among Dryads isn't just about pride. The other Dryads were completely demoralized by the presence of a Unique-grade Elder. Of course, Mesquite seemed to be in a different category.

So now, Elder, a Unique-grade Dryad whom others look up to, is being treated this way by Daisy, the lowest Normal-grade Dryad. How must his pride be suffering?

Sure enough, Elder's expression was a clear reflection of his wounded pride, his face twisted, and his grip on his staff tightened. Oh, don't make that face!

"Elder, it's a Special-grade ring, Special. Shiny! July combat bonus! What are you going to do if you fight with Daisy and she doesn't give it to you?"

Daisy, despite drawing all of Elder's attention, remained calm. She had the upper hand. Though her innate rank is Normal, her spirit is as strong as a Special-grade Dryad.

Yes, she'll do well wherever she goes. It's good to see her standing tall now, unlike her initially timid self.

Elder seemed to have finished his inner struggle. Suddenly, like Mesquite did to me, he knelt on one knee in front of Daisy. His pride had been blinded by the ring.

Their eye levels finally matched. Elder extended one hand to Daisy and looked at her with his handsome face, giving her a charming smile.

"Give it to me."

It looked like a proposal. Though the positions of the ring were reversed. I was laughing so hard I thought I would die. I clung to Mesquite, laughing uncontrollably.

The crowd murmured, "What's going on? Is he proposing? Is he asking for something?"

The attention and focus that had been on the first prize winner were now distorted by all sorts of rumors.

"I'm merciful like the Druid, so I'll stop here."

Her haughty expression quickly broke. Having had her fun, Daisy's face turned bright and cheerful again.

Elder finally put the ruby ring on his middle finger. A faint red aura surrounded him. Oh, special effects.

He'll probably be well-behaved for a few hours now that he has the ring, but as the saying goes, "You can't change a leopard's spots." I can already imagine them bickering again soon.

Now that we've gotten all the items we need, let's go level up! Just as I was about to make this decision, an old man appeared and handed me a scroll. His silent appearance made my heart skip a beat.

Mesquite, startled, hugged my shoulder.

"I didn't expect you to be so surprised. I left him alone because he didn't seem harmful."

"Druid, are you ready to embark on a journey? Please help me. I am the administrative manager of the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree."

It felt like a quest. A beginner quest. A main quest. A tutorial! He even looked like an NPC who gives the first quest!

With a fluttering heart, I smiled, trying to convey that I was very friendly. My face clearly said, "I'll do a great job with this quest."

Looking for someone to take the quest? You've come to the right place!

I had just drawn characters, rolled random boxes, and equipped items, but Korean players are often like frogs who don't follow instructions, right?

Sometimes they deviate from the path, try to break through blocked maps, kill NPCs with binary damage, and do all the things they're told not to, often receiving warning messages from angry GMs. Only then can they say they've fully experienced the game.

I even have more money than heavy spenders, so I've tried everything I can spend money on. This is private tutoring in the gaming world!

Before taking the beginner quest, I had already skipped monsters with non-beginner stats and looked at very high places, a born-into-wealth player!

But since I'm in the game world, I should follow the rules and take quests! A game is a balance of grinding and quests, right? Finally, a quest for me!

I wish there was an achievement system here too.

"What do I need to do?"

"Looking at you... Your soul hasn't grown much yet."

Wow, is there a required level to start the quest? Could this game be a system where you need to follow the controls to gain small amounts of experience, and use that experience to reach the quest start level? But I'm a bug player who doesn't follow the standard route.

When the old man tried to take back the scroll, I dodged it. Miss! Miss!

"No! Look! I may run, but my Dryads are excellent!"

These aren't beginner Dryads! Though I'm a low-level player, I've built up enough stats to cover that! I tried to appeal by putting Mesquite in the front. Look at her. I have a Special-grade Dryad!

Mesquite played along. She smiled, hugged my shoulder, and took a defensive stance with her shield. How... cool...

"This is a bit of a dangerous request..."

Higher difficulty means better rewards!

"You've come to the right person! It's me! Even if you say no with your head, your heart already knows I'm the right person! Let's get to the point, shall we?"

The old man, with a dubious expression, said, "Then let's open the scroll." This scroll must correspond to the quest window. Mesquite helped by holding the top part, allowing me to read the content at the right eye level.

A giant tree was drawn in the center, with a diagram below that looked like an ant colony.

Is the giant tree the World Tree? The old man pointed to a part of the ant-like diagram, explaining that it was the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree, the village we were in.

It was a world map. He then pointed to a place marked with Xs. The number 28 was written there.

"This is the 28th Terrarium of the World Tree, which was recently destroyed by a fire. It's strange. The Terrariums protected by the branches of the World Tree are not easily affected by fire. Especially the 20s, which are very close to the World Tree, are strongly protected."

Daisy had mentioned this before.

I listened carefully to the old man and looked down. Indeed, even past number 50, the map was intact. The Xs became more frequent from the 60s and were completely destroyed from the 100s.

"Even if the fire is getting stronger, the 28th Terrarium shouldn't have been destroyed. There must have been Druids and Dryads stationed there, even if not as many as here. If it was really dangerous, the neighboring Terrariums would have helped."

Mesquite agreed with the old man. Though fire is the only threat to the World Tree, the World Tree's power is still strong. Her face was full of pride and belief in the World Tree. Absolutely not, she said.

"That's why the 20s, including the 26th Terrarium, are on high alert. We might not be safe either."

"You want to know the cause."

"Yes. If we can find the exact cause and a way to solve it, that would be even better. In fact, I've sent many Druids to investigate. But none have returned yet."

At the end of the scroll, it read, "For the safety of the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree, we request that you investigate the truth of the 28th Terrarium." A large, green, glowing tree seal was stamped at the end.