Chapter 38

The dryads quickly took the upper hand, leaping onto the rising rocks. What kind of skill is this? Why are rocks suddenly shooting up from the ground like moles? What did you do?

“Mellow!”

The sapling then called out to Blue Mellow. Perhaps because it wasn't an attack-type dryad, the dryad, which had been busy dodging the flames, quickly ran to the sapling.

Sure enough, as it got closer to him, it reached out its hand, and in an instant, green grass began to sprout from the ground. The moment it touched my shoes, it became blurry, suggesting it wasn't real grass.

“What is this? What are you doing? Is this an illusion?”

Taking advantage of the moment when the flames were blocked by the rocks, Elder ran up and asked.

“It's a territory declaration. Using the druid's ability, an artifact is summoned from outside to transform part of the field into an environment suitable for the dryads. In their natural habitat, dryads can exert greater power. To be able to stack two at once... How large is the limit of that druid soul?”

“Wow... That's amazing.”

You really are as impressive as your level suggests. Can I do that when I level up?

It turns out that druids not only serve as small world trees for dryads but can also do things like this. How did you do that just now? Will I naturally learn it someday? It happened too quickly to try and learn it.

“The sapling has changed the field, hurry up!”

“I've been... trying... all along...”

On top of the rocks, Belladonna and Calmia were flying around. Unlike before, they were now using weapons to slash and shoot, causing the flames to burst.

The rocks must be related to their natural habitat. Even amidst the chaos, they shouted at Blue Mellow, as if urging him to do something.

Blue Mellow, protected by the sapling, held the crystal orb high. A blue light, similar to the color of the orb, spread like an aurora, and his purple hair fluttered.

Surprisingly, the benefits of the field also extended to our side, Daisy and Elder. Elder's area healing became even more powerful, and Daisy started to counterattack. The grass on the ground was specialized for the normal field.

“Are we still far?”

“Try to... hold on a bit longer... If you can't even... hold on... what good are you...?”

While the dryads were barking and shouting, Mellow seemed quite calm. Mesquite, who had noticed what they were trying to do, stepped forward.

From a distance, Mesquite began to shoot sand, drawing the flames' attention to himself. The flames that had spread in all directions now converged on Mesquite, and the attack power of the offensive dryads also became concentrated.

“I'm envious of the defensive types... Try to learn from them...”

“You can't even... last a minute... in front of fire! You're just a mouthy one!”

Despite his scowling face, Mellow still managed to speak his mind. Feriwinkle, agitated, lashed out with her whip, causing the flames to tear apart, as if substituting for Mellow.

“I will learn from them!”

In contrast, Cadon shouted with determination. He swung his thorny club at the flames converging on Mesquite and kept an eye on Mesquite.

Ah, I don't like him. Our Mesquite!

“You're an offensive type! Idiot!”

Feriwinkle's whip intentionally grazed Cadon as it tore through the flames.

Suddenly, a fragrant herb scent reached my nose. I saw soot from the flames sticking together in floating droplets, similar to Mellow's crystal orb.

“The ash is floating on the water... The types of leaves... are fortunately ones I know... I have some good news and... some bad news... Which do you want to hear first...?”

“Me! The good news!”

What could possibly get worse in this situation? Let's have some hope.

Lacking the ability to fight alongside the dryads like the sapling, I stuck close to Elder, who seemed the safest.

“The ones that have appeared... are six normals... and three rares... At our current level... we can handle them without much trouble... I don't see any... that can exert special powers... Belladonna, use your incantation.”

Belladonna, who had joined Mesquite, stepped back at his words. Calmia's bullets immediately filled the gap, and it seemed Mesquite could handle the defense without any trouble.

Belladonna headed towards the sapling. She suddenly handed her weapon to the sapling.

The moment the sapling took her weapon, I witnessed another strange phenomenon. Belladonna disappeared, and in her place, dark purple bell-shaped flowers bloomed.

They extended their stems, as if piercing the sapling's heart. Or rather, they seemed to be absorbed by the sapling. Surrounded by the flower stems, he began to look like a large tree.

Recognizing this, my heart raced, and my head felt hot.

The leaves of the tree form that had been superimposed on the sapling turned black. When the sapling swung Belladonna's weapon, black beads appeared from all directions and flew towards the flames converging on Mesquite.

The beads burst before they even touched, spewing black liquid, and the flames that were hit stopped moving, their burning intensity weakening.

Daisy finally got her first kill. At the same time, all the flames that had been halted by Calmia's storm of bullets went out like candles on a cake.

“What is this?”

High-level druids can use the power of dryads too. How vast is the power of druids? This makes the gap between me, a low-level player, and them seem enormous.

It's like you're saying, "You can't do this, can you?"

The flames that had soared high suddenly subsided, and the carriage reappeared. The carriage began to tremble again. Is it moving to the next phase? Mesquite returned to my side to prepare for the next phase.

“My master, Jay. That's a Graft. It's a technique to amplify power by grafting the soul of a dryad onto the soul of a druid. Jay, you will definitely be able to use this power someday.”

Mesquite's gentle voice sounded like he was trying to comfort me in case I felt discouraged.

I did feel a bit inferior, but since I can use this power someday, it's okay! I'll grow quickly and try swinging Mesquite's lance!

The carriage opened its doors again, and the flames that burst out were even more intense than before. Hmm... The situation doesn't look good. Wait. I heard the good news. Could the bad news be...?

Mellow, who had received my gaze, pointed to the last remaining blue droplet and said,

“There seems to be... a unique level among those that haven't appeared yet... Depending on the situation... we might have to run... If we can break through the shield...”

“We won't run. If we can't stop it here, the damage will be greater.”

Sapling said, handing his weapon to Belladonna, who had appeared. Yes, you're right. Where can we go? We've come this far, and I have to see the boss die! After all this effort, the reward will be enormous!

“Seeing the one that appears now... might change my mind...”

Mellow muttered gloomily. At the same time, bullets like Calmia's began to rain from the carriage. But on closer inspection, they weren't bullets. Seeds?

“Don't let them touch you!”

Unlike our situation with shields, the other side, lacking defensive types, was in chaos, and Elder's area healing couldn't immediately stabilize the situation.

Everyone's bodies were charred, and the ground was no exception. Small red circles appeared around where the seeds fell, and soon burst into flames with a pop.

While the ground could be avoided by moving away from the circles, the seeds that directly hit the body couldn't be avoided from bursting.

Despite the artifact field summoned by the sapling, the surroundings were like a minefield. The shield became narrower, reducing our movement range and increasing the damage.

“In such a narrow space, we can't avoid such area attacks!”

Feriwinkle was using her whip to knock away the incoming seeds, but it seemed insufficient. The damage to her whip was visible even from a distance.

Elder's area healing couldn't repair the damage to the equipment. Even if it restored health, the equipment would start breaking at this rate, making the long-term battle increasingly disadvantageous for us.

Thanks to Mesquite's defense, we suffered less direct damage, but if the useful offensive dryads on the other side retired, the future would be bleak even if we survived.

We were too busy defending to even attempt an attack.

To make matters worse, the carriage began to spew lava forward again. We had to avoid both the area attack of the unique level and the carriage's attack.

The situation quickly reversed. If the unique level is that strong... The flames that swallowed Mesquite would be a disaster, as the sapling's words now hit home.

“Elder! Do you have any hidden skills? Any skills you've been saving? You're an amazing dryad! You're the last hope as the only healer!”

What have you druids been doing, not even securing a recovery type? Can't you see our child putting in a wide area healing with a dying face?

In fact, I know that Elder is doing his best, even when everyone else is struggling to avoid attacks. He has maintained the same momentum from start to finish.

The light from his staff didn't fade, and the petals that bloomed were as fresh as if they had just fallen from the branches.

The fact that we haven't been wiped out in such a terrifying attack is largely due to Elder's efforts.

He raises the dryads that are about to fall. The healer, who supports the team, always does his job silently from the back.

In this bleak situation, Elder's presence itself is a stroke of luck and a ray of hope.

Suddenly, the same churning sensation from deep within my chest rose again. My heart raced as if I had just sprinted.

When did Elder's staff start sparkling like that? The surroundings seemed to