Chapter 93

Bago stood there, at a loss, and pulled his hood down to cover his face. His small, pale hands, like peeled potatoes, looked incredibly adorable. The dandelion children showed particular interest when they heard that Bago was a healer. Dandelion Naga crawled over to Bago's left side and placed him between them. Then, the two began to urge Bago to use his power. Daisy2, being an attacker, couldn't demonstrate her skills, which made her frustrated.

"Can you use such great power like the King of Dandelions?"

"Show us, show us. I'll just copy what I see."

The two bickered but seemed to work well together. Bago, flustered by the nagging from both sides, turned his head back and forth. His violet eyes behind the glasses under the hood seemed to be silently pleading for help, but he didn't look like he was about to cry, so I left him alone. Bago had no choice but to lift his long staff, his weapon.

I had seen Bago use his healing skills a few times before, when he tried to mimic Elder's power. However, Bago was not a standard healer like Elder, who could cast powerful healing spells, but rather a sub-healer specialized in debuffs. I wished he would realize his unique strengths instead of trying to mimic Elder's healing.

When Bago used his power, a faint purple light and a subtle scent of mountain herbs filled the room. It was a weak but pleasant force. Although it was a modest skill, it was impressive that he could now use it well. I thought I should praise him for his progress and was about to clap when—

"Is that all you can do?"

"We can do better!"

The two lifted their staffs, which looked like magic wands. A stronger light burst from the white, round tips, which resembled dandelion seeds. A damp, grassy smell, like the one that tickles your nose when climbing a mountain, began to overwhelm the scent of mountain herbs.

Soft, downy seeds, like those of a baby bird, fluttered around the room. When one of them touched my skin, it felt cool. However, the healing power of the dandelion children still couldn't compare to Elder's.

It seemed they could spray seeds. If they could apply this skill well, they might be able to use it for reconnaissance like the King of Dandelions.

"We will now be your support."

"Call me Cuseung. You need to teach me a thing or two."

"Right, call me Saba. I can teach you better than this one."

Bago, who was used to being an attacker, awkwardly tried to mimic Elder's healing, which made his skills seem crude. We're in trouble, Bago. If you don't quickly realize your true strength, you'll be looked down upon by these newborn dandelion children. It might already be too late.

I looked at Elder, who had been sitting indifferently and fiddling with the artifact furniture. You're a unique healer, so can't you give some advice? Elder seemed completely uninterested in the situation. Maybe it's for the best; his words might be harmful to the children.

"Since you can handle the seeds, that's great. Did you feel which parts of the room the seeds touched?"

Mesquite tapped the dandelion children's noses and asked. The children stopped chattering, closed their eyes, and thought deeply.

"Still, it's impressive for children. Maybe it's because they were raised by Dandelion himself. Bago, despite the restrictions, has probably been around longer than these children. When I first met them, they were so small, but they seem to learn quickly."

I recalled Dandelion's concern when he sent the children to me, saying that they, being saplings, wouldn't be much help. I thought it would take more time for them to develop skills, but they showed a decent level of ability.

Mesquite, leaving the children to their thoughts, approached me.

"If either of them were alone or if they were far apart, they wouldn't be able to use even half of their current power."

"Really?"

"It's possible because they are together. The two children are in a 'parasitic' state."

"Parasitic?"

I had heard the term before. It was a concept often seen in novels and movies, where the roots of two trees grow intertwined.

"When two or more dryads have a deep connection and high intimacy, they can use the 'parasitic' power to entangle their branches and appear as one tree. This allows them to combine their strengths, compensate for their weaknesses, and become stronger, Jay."

"Is it similar to Forest?"

"Hehe, it's a slightly different concept. Forest involves entrusting souls to a single king tree, making the king stronger and allowing them to be apart. However, parasitic requires all the dryads to be on the field, and they only become stronger while on the field."

Oh, so the more duplicates there are, the more powerful they become? In most card games, duplicate appearances are impossible, but in *Terrarium Adventure*, I can freely summon dryads, so duplicate appearances are possible.

If I summon five dandelion dryads, each would receive a 5x bonus, right?

"Then, would Daisy2 become stronger if both are on the field?"

"Daisy2 has already entrusted her soul, so being on the field together won't help. However, if other Daisy dryads in Jay's artifact join, they might feel more secure. It's because the king is with them."

Daisy2 is used as an evolution material for our Daisy... so I can't use her.

"I need to think more about how to raise the dandelions. Should I focus all the power on one to develop special skills like Dandelion, or should I let both grow equally to become strong together? The concept of parasitic makes it more complicated."

"My master, Jay. Whether to entangle the roots to make a giant forest appear as one tree or to entangle the branches to make a sturdy tree that supports each other is Jay's choice. As long as the dryads become stronger and protect Jay more securely, that's all that matters."

Mesquite smiled down at me. Just having Mesquite alone makes me feel secure... If Mesquite had a duplicate and received the parasitic effect... it would be an unstoppable deck, right? Amazing.

At that moment, the dandelion children finally understood and started making a fuss. "Great. Now, let's train to use it in real combat," Mesquite said as she approached the dandelion children.

"Ah!"

On the way, she suddenly picked up Daisy. Wow, it's been a while since I've seen this. Daisy narrowly stopped by slipping her foot under the bed.

It was surprising that one side of the bed, where Elder was sitting, was lifted. I wasn't sure whether to be amazed by Mesquite's strength or by Daisy's ability to hold the weight of the bed with just one foot.

"What's going on?"

Elder, who was caught off guard, stumbled and clung to the artifact furniture.

"The sapling children are training, so Daisy should try too."

"I will become stronger too!"

Everyone's enthusiasm was good, but I wondered how I would sleep if they kept this up all night. However, when it was time to sleep, they all went into my artifact, citing training as the reason. My terrarium artifact, though small on the outside, was vast inside, and they could even go to the 28th terrarium.

Even Elder suddenly left to install artifact furniture. It was clear that my dryads considered being inside the inn room safer than being outside with me.

When we slept on the street, they took turns keeping watch, but now there was no need. Bago, however, didn't fit in and was lying next to my bed.

Bago seemed to feel a lot of pressure about being a forbidden plant created in the alchemy tower. Elder often spoke without thinking, and the other dryads seemed to treat him normally.

The dandelion children urged Bago to join them, but he clung to my clothes and resisted.

He took the pillow next to me and lay down. I took off his glasses and placed them on the bedside table, then hugged him tightly. This was a rare moment for just the two of us.

"I hope you don't dwell on how you were born. No matter how, you are a precious dryad to me."

Bago didn't say anything. Ah... Is it because our intimacy is still lacking? How can I increase our intimacy? Give me some tips. His head, tucked like a mouse, didn't show any signs of moving.

"Let's think about it this way. The problem is that your mother's information isn't in the World Tree."

I tried to reach out to Bago, who was curled up like a mouse, by fiddling with his hands. Despite his behavior, I found him very warm. It felt like putting my hand under a pillow.

Finally, I managed to grab his round cheeks with both hands. With a gentle pull, his big, clear blue eyes finally met mine. His eyes, reflecting the lamplight, were filled with dark clouds.

"Don't be discouraged. You are a dryad of the great Jay. I can't stand to see my dryad being overshadowed anywhere."

"I'm sorry. I can't do as well as the saplings..."

The high-pitched voice of the child made "sorry" sound like "jeongseong," and I almost laughed but held it back. So cute.