Chapter 25

"Master Jay, I realize I didn't explain it well enough. I mentioned that Dia is not a gem, but I didn't explain why. Dia is a substance that contains the sap of the World Tree, which spreads through the air due to the World Tree's growth effect. When this substance meets the soul of a druid, it crystallizes into Dia. Because the power of the World Tree is also spread through the air, the more it evaporates, the worse it is for the World Tree. The growth effect has become abnormally active due to the increase in fire, causing the World Tree to gradually weaken. To prevent this, the orchard is taking Dia and returning its power to the World Tree."

Mesquite told me to take out my wallet. He explained that the wallet is the container that holds Dia, which crystallizes when it meets the soul of a druid.

Of course, this applies to the wallets of other druids. I have a wallet that produces Dia on its own...

Druids with a larger soul capacity can crystallize Dia relatively quickly, but for others, it can take over a month to get one Dia.

Additionally, the growth effect is more active at the farthest branches and leaves of the World Tree, making it harder to obtain Dia the closer you are to the World Tree.

In short, to get more Dia, you need to level up a lot and go to the higher-numbered terrariums. I could roughly guess why Dia is so valuable. Mesquite mentioned there was another way to get Dia, but his face darkened before he could say it, so I stopped him. Is it a bad method?

"Dia is a material that directly contains the power of the World Tree, so it's a very attractive target for fire."

So, it's like a fire starter. If I lose my phone or Dia spills out of my inventory during a battle, I might see the flames of hell...

The fire approached us because it was chasing Dia, and we were discovered. The dryads had no choice but to enter battle mode.

Small fires could be handled by Daisy, but larger fires that had eaten Dia required splitting them.

And I noticed something. After a larger fire was defeated, I felt a subtle difference from before. I couldn't confirm it, but... I gained more experience!

No one should notice my dirty tactics. I don't need to go far.

Instead of moving straight ahead with the dryads, I changed our path to circle around the village. As we moved away from the area we had used, we started to see fires again. Elder tried to stop me as soon as I threw Dia at the fires.

"Let it go. I have a reason."

"If you're going to use it like that, give it to me!"

"You keep giving a lot! This is all for your benefit!"

The larger fires that had eaten Dia seemed to give more experience. My leveling speed, which had slowed down, started to rise again.

I knew it might look crazy to others, but this method was possible because Dia was rotting.

If there was no experience buff, I would create one. I increased the number of Dia I threw based on Daisy's hunting level. Later, I got lazy and used a shortcut: when Daisy split the fire, I threw Dia at each part to make it grow.

Mesquite was surprised that such a method existed, but he said Korean players are all like that.

I have a knack for coming up with brilliant ideas in games.

***

Using Dia felt like pulling fruit. In the later stages, I was throwing 2-3 at a time. If someone who sold land to pull fruit saw this, they would probably faint.

I don't particularly like grinding and find it boring, but sometimes I get carried away.

Why is there a term like 'runner's high' in marathons? The feeling of dying suddenly disappears, and you go crazy... That's exactly how I felt now.

The sky had grown dark, and the beginner hunting ground felt completely cleared. My leveling speed was sharply declining.

Even if I tried to make the fire bigger, it would stop growing at a certain size.

This is the power of the World Tree's blessing, which prevents pay-to-win players from dominating... I wanted to create a boss monster...

As my leveling speed slowed, I felt my body getting more and more tired. I thought it was from the rare movement and drank a fatigue recovery potion. After drinking it, I felt refreshed and could throw Dia with more energy.

But there was a limit, and after drinking it repeatedly, I started to feel nauseous and get a headache. My body was sending red lights, telling me to stop.

Feeling fatigue in a game is a bit much, isn't it?

I thought of games where stamina is necessary for combat, especially those where you need to send hearts or energy to friends...

Even the fatigue recovery potions I secretly consumed were noticed by Mesquite, and the team temporarily stopped hunting.

She blamed herself for not noticing my strange behavior because she was focused on the battle.

I felt like a sinner and pushed the fatigue recovery potions deep into my pocket. I'm sorry. In real life, I used to drink Americanos and stimulants like water...

When Elder saw the dark circles under my eyes, I was worried and checked my appearance on my phone, only to be shocked. I looked like I hadn't slept for days. What happened to me in such a short time?

I'm sorry for being such a bad master. I didn't expect my body to be so weak. It was time for me to step back.

Clearly, there was nothing more to gain here. I sat down on the ground, feeling disappointed. Mesquite put down her shield and lance and sat next to me.

She gently pulled my shoulder so I could lean on her. It felt exciting. It's like leaning against a big tree.

Daisy knelt and massaged my legs, asking if I was very tired. Even though we're not married, it felt like the heart of a grandmother with a granddaughter... It was comforting.

Elder, unable to bear my appearance, covered my eyes with her hand, which was wrapped in white light. I felt a bit better.

The team's combat power had increased enough to push through the next hunting ground, but what should we do? If it's too difficult, we could just avoid battles and walk, right? I was pondering this when...

Ding.

My phone suddenly made a notification sound. I thought the dwarves were using it to intelligently draw my attention.

I wondered if they had set an alarm for Dia usage and nervously moved Elder's hand to check my phone. The screen was filled with a white envelope sealed with green sealing wax.

I thought my phone was infected with a dwarf virus and could only display the <Infinite Dia> screen, but now it had a messaging function? Is it spam?

I had a bad experience with a virus that held my final project hostage after opening a suspicious email, so I just stared at my phone.

But soon, I touched the screen to open the envelope. The embossed pattern on the sealing wax, which looked like a tree, was the same as the seal on the last page of my quest scroll.

To the benefactor of the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree.

Druid Name: Jay

Thank you for eliminating the nuisance.

The 26th Terrarium no longer suffers from drought.

The residents' lives have become much more prosperous.

Achievement Condition: Reduce the number of fire entities around the 26th Terrarium by 85% or more.

★Your name will be called 'familiarly' by the residents of the village.

Your status in the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree: 5th Class Gardener

(You can own a certain share of the 26th Terrarium from 4th Class and above.)

(You will become hostile to the 26th Terrarium and cannot enter from 9th Class and below.)

To commend your contributions, we offer the following benefits:

- 10% discount on purchases in the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree

- Free use of designated inns in the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree

- Priority for the annual free distribution of the World Tree's fruit

- When visiting 20th Terrariums, the 26th Terrarium will guarantee your status.

The 26th Administrative Officer and Orchard of the World Tree certify this document.