Chapter 42

It feels like a slab of steak walking into a hot pan on its own. It’s already medium-rare from the entrance.

Surrounded by the Elder’s protective shield, I carefully entered, avoiding the debris that Mesquite had cleared with his lance.

Despite the difficulty in breathing, a cluster of white light orbited around my face, providing a somewhat comfortable air. Is this photosynthesis…?

Occasionally, the ground would rumble loudly, tightening my heart. Something unimaginably huge must be inside the terrarium.

Honestly, it’s hard to call this place a terrarium anymore… It feels like I’m in a setting from a movie based on a certain game, a place called ‘Silent Hill.’ It also gives off a dungeon vibe…

Every time the ground shakes like an earthquake, debris from the collapsed buildings falls, and ash like smoke from a smoke bomb scatters. Red and yellow embers float around like pollen in the changing seasons.

There’s no mini-map here; how do I find my way? My terrarium artifact is glowing, but it looks too treacherous to head in that direction. Is there any way to turn back?

“I don’t know what you’re thinking… but you’ve already come in. What are you going to do next? I think it’s best not to encounter that terrible fire the druid warned about before he died.”

Of course, I agree with the Elder. It would be nice if there were warning sounds when I get close to danger. Wandering around like this, I might run into that thing. Who called me? Answer me!

“Hmm… I don’t sense anyone. My master, Jay. If it feels dangerous, I’ll leave immediately. I’ll stay here for just a moment, as Jay wishes.”

I rushed in without knowing the exact nature of what called me. Honestly, I want to run out and get away from this terrarium.

It’s too hot here. The discomfort index feels like it’s piercing the sky.

Suddenly, Daisy, who had been showing strange reactions, raised her small hand and pointed somewhere, looking at me.

It was another place where debris had collapsed. A pile of non-burning stones, covered in black ash, revealed reinforcing bars and stood threateningly.

“Druid! There seems to be something there… Well, it’s just my intuition.”

It’s rare for Daisy to voice her opinion. This reminds me of when we first landed in this world, and Daisy guided me around the village like a guide character.

Thinking about that special fateful meeting… Could this be another fateful encounter?

Daisy silently cleared the piled-up debris. She lifted and moved boulders much larger than her body without showing any strain.

Thinking of the small daisy flower growing through concrete, the back of my neck felt a bit chilly. Daisy is strong… very strong…

“What’s inside this pile?”

“I’m not sure. I just felt like I should check this place.”

Daisy couldn’t explain her feeling in detail. The Elder stabilized the debris he had piled up with his staff, looking displeased at Daisy’s actions.

The kid has her own thoughts. Let’s give her a chance.

As the surroundings were cleared and the dust and ash settled, a pile of glass shards with sharp edges became visible. Among the glass shards, a round orb was projecting itself transparently, like camouflage.

A Dryad fruit? Why is it here?

To prevent me from getting cut by the glass, Mesquite picked up the fruit and handed it to me. The fruit emitted warmth, not from the surrounding heat but from itself. A gentle warmth enveloped my hand. It’s alive?

“You’ve managed to escape the jaws of fire. What kind of Dryad fruit is this to have such good luck?”

“It’s Daisy.”

Daisy looked at the fruit I was holding and said with sparkling eyes.

“It’s a Red Daisy fruit!”

Her voice was full of confidence. If it’s a Red Daisy… it’s the fruit of a Dryad of the same species as our Daisy? Daisy is a common species, but how could we find one so easily in the next village?

“You seem to have a talent for sensing the aura of your kin, Daisy. You could be a good queen.”

Mesquite’s praise made Daisy smile brightly.

“It’s amazing. How did this end up here… Hmm, but isn’t it true that this fruit can only be cultivated in the soil of the orchard greenhouse?”

“I think it will be fine.”

The Elder pointed at the debris Daisy had cleared with his staff.

“I thought they looked familiar. These seem to be the remains of a temporary greenhouse. But there are no buildings that look like an orchard around here… It seems the greenhouse was moved separately for some reason, or the orchard was relocated. If we look carefully, we might find a Dryad portal.”

Since we’ve finally found a Dryad fruit, should we try to cultivate it? The Dryad inside this fruit might be the one who called me.

Not far away, we found a Dryad portal where a stone wall had collapsed, and the soil inside had spilled out.

But it didn’t look good. Unlike the greenhouse in the 26th terrarium, the environment here was not cozy, and the soil smelled of smoke and was charred and black.

“This soil won’t even grow weeds.”

The fruit might be contaminated just by placing it here. I kicked the fallen soil with my shoe.

“My master, Jay. This soil is not ordinary. It’s soil from directly below the World Tree, where the World Tree has rooted. Although it looks burned, it hasn’t lost its blessing. It’s up to Jay now.”

If we’re being picky, this is the best soil. It shouldn’t be treated like this.

“Then what should we do now?”

“The greenhouse is designed to mimic the environment of the World Tree. We have a small World Tree here, right? But the success rate might be lower than a carefully cultivated greenhouse. The fruit might even spoil.”

Oh, the pressure is mounting. We’ve found a Dryad fruit that could help Daisy break her limits, but if we’re not careful, we might lose it.

However, Mesquite seemed to regard my anxiety as insignificant. In other words, if something goes wrong, it’s the Dryad, not me, so it doesn’t matter. Should I take this positively…?

“The greenhouse has all the symbolic elements. The intense heat is better than the extreme cold. The Daisy species has a combat bonus in April, right? So, it’s even better. In cold weather, only the Snow Field Dryads can bloom. Just like how seeds sprout in midsummer but not in frozen ground.”

The Elder expanded the protective shield to cover the Dryad portal. The semi-transparent shield formed a small, round space, making it look like a miniature greenhouse.

“The Elder’s right. We have warmth, soil, and the soul of the World Tree. Now we need water to wake up the dormant soil and moisten it.”

“Water? This?”

I showed the water bottle in my pocket, but Mesquite shook his head.

“Originally, we would use dew collected from the leaves of the World Tree, which carries the aura of the World Tree. But this is a substitute. It’s a more cost-effective choice. There’s a more effective option. You know it well, and you have a lot of it. It’s a bit wasteful, but….”

The Elder made a face as if he was about to scold me for wasting something precious. When I took a few diamonds from my pocket, he turned his head away.

“I know this is the sap of the World Tree, but how do I use it? It’s a solid, not water.”

“You need to break the membrane surrounding it. In a well-equipped greenhouse, the power of the World Tree’s branches would do it automatically, but now it’s up to Jay.”

“Break the diamonds… with my hands?”

These are diamonds. They can cut through rock. Of course, they’re not real gemstones but solidified as diamonds.

No matter how strong my grip is, I can’t… Look, even when I apply force with my hand, it just glitters, showing no sign of breaking.

“Use the small World Tree actively, Jay. After all, diamonds also come from the World Tree. You and the Elder have already rained down. You can definitely do it.”

Hmm, it seems Mesquite doesn’t know the exact method either. If he did, he would have given more precise instructions.

Still, he can give me this advice because I have an abundance of diamonds and can use them freely. I can afford to make mistakes.

For others, a single diamond is precious, so they wouldn’t give such advice easily.

If my grip doesn’t work, I’ll try stomping on it… but I was stopped. They said direct contact with my body is necessary. Since I am the small World Tree, I need to use my body and soul. Even without gloves, it didn’t work…

What should I do? Even when I hold it tightly and concentrate, I don’t feel anything. I brought the blue dodecahedron to my mouth, thinking hard.

This is all I have left. Let’s see what happens. I bit it with my teeth.

“Ew, spit! Spit!”

The rock-hard diamond shattered like sugar glass as soon as I bit it. It was a stark contrast to how it remained intact when I tried to crush it with my hands. The pieces on my tongue melted like ice, leaving a bitter grassy taste.

I buried the diamond pieces in the soil and quickly rinsed my mouth with water. The sticky powder on my hands, like honey, absorbed into my skin like a toner, leaving a refreshing feeling. It was a strange sensation, like applying putty.

Tasting a diamond… I really did something unusual…

Daisy watched the entire process with wide, curious eyes. Do you want to try biting one…?

I looked at Mesquite with a questioning gaze, wondering if this was the right way. He admitted that he didn’t really know if it would work. Mesquite, how could you suggest this to me?

Special Dryads can melt diamonds using a special power of their body, but he never imagined I would crush and melt them with my teeth… without any magical power, just by biting. It’s a bit embarrassing to hear it repeatedly.

Since Daisy was so curious, I crushed a few more and buried them in the soil, giving her a piece. But as soon as the diamond left my hand, it disappeared before reaching Daisy’s hand.

It wasn’t absorbed by Daisy or used to restore her equipment like a potion. It seemed to have sublimated and vanished.

The shattered diamond needs to maintain its power by touching my body or being in the special soil of the Dryad portal. Even for a Dryad, it seems to be necessary. My dream of using the diamond like a potion was shattered.

As I carefully placed the Dryad fruit in the soil, which was emitting a clear light, there was no information tablet, and this was a makeshift greenhouse where nothing could be done except for cultivation.

The transparent fruit began to fill with a golden color as soon as it touched the soil. Soon, the lid popped open, and a cute golden sprout poked its head out.