Chapter 46

All I had to do was hold the phone, connected to the stem like an IV, while everything else was left to the dwarves who tirelessly supplied the diamonds to the branches. Even if the medicine in the IV was good for me, I heard it could be toxic if the rate of the drip wasn’t controlled.

Isn’t that the situation now? My diamond count, which had been decreasing, had suddenly broken through the hundred-thousand mark...

“Hey! Enough already!”

But it seemed the dwarves couldn’t hear my voice. Their faces, as they poured in the diamonds, and their laughter, sounded so blissful.

Unlike my previous pattern of diamond consumption, the faucet had no limit. The dwarves, sensing the opportunity, were pouring in the diamonds without restraint, as if they were settling old scores.

Should I pull out the USB? But what if a big problem arises if I just yank it out? As I held the stem, lost in thought, the withered branch began to show a different appearance.

A new golden branch sprouted from the rotten spot. The tender inner flesh began to fill with a golden outer layer. The symptoms of anemia, which had been troubling me, also began to improve around this time.

The droplets that had fallen started to flow along the grooves on the floor. It was a scene I had seen in the 26th terrarium's orchard greenhouse. The droplets gathered and trickled into the circular grooves, washing away the ash on the floor.

The blue water that had been swirling in the room flowed out from the room with the branch to the other connected rooms.

As my anemia worsened, I suddenly began to feel strength surging through my body. Vitality rose from the deepest part of my chest, and the heat that had been consuming me started to dissipate. The room was filled with a refreshingly invigorating energy, and the artifact on my wrist began to emit a dazzling light in response.

The branch of the World Tree was gradually recovering, just as I had seen in the 26th terrarium's orchard and in my dreams, taking on a sacred appearance.

“Thank you.”

Finally, the branch of the World Tree spoke again. And... I felt something heavy settle inside me.

The artifact began to vibrate so strongly that my arm tingled. Just like in the carriage boss battle with the sapling, a hemispherical light emitted from the artifact began to expand rapidly, filling the room and covering the entire orchard.

The stem connected to the phone detached on its own, even though I hadn’t touched it. In the place where the faucet had been on the screen, a lush bonsai tree with abundant leaves was now displayed.

The number on the pot was 28. When the dwarves urgently turned off the faucet, my diamond count had changed to a number in the millions.

Now I could understand. The branch of the World Tree had been sucking up my diamonds... and it had finally fully recovered.

***

The recovery of the World Tree's branch was something to celebrate, but I had more urgent matters. I rushed out of the orchard to find my dryads.

The events with the World Tree and the continuous surprises had been overwhelming. The threatening fire shield was gone, and a faint, circular membrane was barely visible in the sky of the terrarium, much like looking inside my terrarium artifact.

The area was devastated, with buildings collapsed and the ground bubbling, clearly showing signs of a major battle. And... a massive golden spear had pierced through the segments of the worm-like fire.

The fire, unable to move, was struggling to wriggle, causing the ground to shake continuously. Mesquite, who had caught me as I stumbled, ran with me.

The fire was emitting a tremendous amount of steam from the pierced areas and was gradually shrinking. The spear, which continued to grow from the ground as I ran, turned out to be a branch upon closer inspection.

I had seen this method of attacking before. It was the same technique the Elder used to summon the mother plant's flower branches. So, this was a branch of the World Tree?

The dwarves, having completed their task, should have been quiet until the phone was turned on again, but the commotion didn’t subside. The laughter and the sound of diamonds flowing continued. Normally, they would have complained if the diamonds they took were insufficient.

Feeling something odd, I looked at my phone and was surprised to see that one side of the screen was elegantly decorated with branches that had sprouted from somewhere.

This wasn’t the <Infinite Diamonds> screen I knew. When I swiped to the next screen, a bonsai tree with the number 28 was displayed.

The pot of the bonsai was much wider than the one with the number 26, and a fountain-like sprinkler was in place. The dwarves were happily throwing diamonds into the fountain as if it were a game.

When diamonds were thrown into the fountain, blue water spurted out from the end, watering the tree. My diamond count, which had been stable, was now decreasing again. Steadily.

A few diamonds bounced off the fountain... and when a new golden spear sprouted to pierce the worm fire, it sucked in the dwarves' diamonds like a black hole.

So, that’s it... The source of the World Tree's immense attack power... was here. It had been using my diamonds without my knowledge.

Of course, the fire wasn’t being damaged by the spear. The spear was also burning, but it recovered at an even faster rate.

The dwarves finished their discussion and began to transport diamonds to the fountain. It was like a bottomless pit, but the real-time loss of thousands of diamonds didn’t affect me much.

Sure, if the World Tree's branch can use the diamonds to block the fire, I welcome it.

Without properly looking ahead, I clung to Mesquite and entered the battlefield where the shield had disappeared. Since the sapling and I weren’t in a party, my dryads were standing on the opposite side due to the danger from Belladonna.

Even in the short time it took to revive the World Tree's branch, they had suffered terribly. Most notably, the Elder, who always stood straight and tireless, was now on one knee. My heart sank.

Daisy looked very exhausted but seemed unharmed. The Elder must have been giving her strength. Without being in a party, they couldn’t receive proper healing, so their condition was even worse...

I swiped through the <Infinite Diamonds> screen, where the dwarves were happily playing, and tried to connect to the sapling's artifact network. Then I rushed to my dryads.

I gave potions to Daisy and the Elder, checking their conditions carefully. They were badly hurt. Seeing my dryads suffer without me made me feel like crying.

As we approached, a sand shield effect enveloped Daisy and the Elder, then disappeared, indicating that our connection had been reestablished.

Their expressions were much more relaxed than before. The Elder, who had been on one knee, stood up.

“Now we might survive.”

The Elder said, opening the potion. Daisy wiped the ash from her forehead and managed a smile. Seeing my worried face, she reassured me, “I’m fine. Just a bit tired! I’m not hurt at all!”

Mesquite blocked the sparks from the writhing worm fire with her shield. Meanwhile, my dryads had fully recovered from the battle fatigue and seemed even more vibrant.

It was strange. Despite the tough battle they had endured without me...

The Elder took a deep breath and planted her staff in the ground, apparently intending to heal the sapling’s party as well. A wide-area healing spell was cast, and a different effect spread around.

Whenever the Elder used her power, a brilliant white light, similar to the color of the mother plant's petals, would emit. But this time, a strikingly clear golden light replaced it.

It was as if the golden light from the spear that had pierced the worm fire had melted into it. It seemed like the golden spear-shaped branch and the Elder’s power were resonating.

The power the Elder emitted was explosive, creating a massive wave around her.

“Wow... Elder, that’s incredible!”

“Where did you go? This feels exactly like the power I used from the World Tree.”

“Now, this place is like the inside of the World Tree. The entire area... feels like being inside Jay’s soul. More precisely, it feels cozy like being inside Jay’s terrarium artifact.”

Mesquite looked at me with a slightly different gaze, one that seemed to contain a bit of reverence. Such a look was so unfamiliar that I felt embarrassed and my face turned red.

“My master, Jay. I think we can now hand over the main role to Daisy. The fire is no longer a significant threat to us. Focus your strength to turn the tide of the battle.”

Mesquite’s evaluation had finally turned positive. I followed her advice and shifted the soul connection to Daisy.

Determined, Daisy connected her two daggers and threw a boomerang after a large spin. The boomerang, making a threatening sound, flew through the air.

Daisy’s attack was different from usual. Instead of the red petals representing her, golden petals followed the boomerang’s trajectory, like a shimmering galaxy in the night sky. The boomerang Daisy threw severed two segments of the worm fire and returned.

Thud!

The fire segment fell with a loud noise and wriggled, becoming another entity. With the Elder’s golden shield protecting me, Mesquite abandoned her defense and rushed toward the fire with Daisy.

As the main body shrank, its thrashing became less intense. The sapling’s party finally regained their strength and began to perform well.

When they cut off what seemed to be the head, the remaining segments formed a new head. They handled the front, and we took the back, steadily reducing the size of the fire.

Just in time, the sapling used Graft, and the sapling fired a massive rifle, finishing the battle. It was a bit frustrating to miss the final blow, but...

Seeing the massive, intimidating fire lose its power due to the World Tree’s blessing, I was once again reminded of the World Tree’s majesty. The village wasn’t just a safe zone for nothing.

The golden spear shattered into fine particles when the fire disappeared. The particles formed a sphere, swirling with the internal currents, and then suddenly spread out in all directions. The wind almost pushed me away, and I clung to the Elder.

The sparkling, star-like power spread throughout the terrarium, flowing through the gaps between the broken buildings, washing away the ash, extinguishing the remaining fires, or pushing them out of the terrarium.

As the fire was pushed out, it gradually shrank and finally disappeared. The scene was so fantastical that I was mesmerized.

A dazzling golden spectacle. The terrarium, which had been darkened by a severe illness, quickly recovered, turning golden, as if it were healing from a terrible disease.