Terrarium Adventure

I felt like a chunk of steak walking onto a fire plate. From the entrance, it felt as if I was cooked to medium-rare right away.

With Elder’s shield completely wrapped around me, I carefully moved into the fire, avoiding the debris that Mesquite had removed with his lance.

It seemed to be difficult to breathe, but a group of white lights circulated around the face, providing some pleasant air. Was this photosynthesis…?

Occasionally, the ground rumbled loudly and made my heart tighten.

The inside didn’t even look like a terrarium anymore… If I had to describe it, it looked more like the background of a game-based movie ‘Silent Hill.’ It felt like I was in a dungeon as well…

Whenever there was an earthquake, debris from ruined buildings fell like rainwater, and ashes scattered like detonated smoke bombs. Red and yellow ember floated in all directions like pollen during the changing seasons.

How do I find the way there? The mini-map doesn’t show a road. My terrarium artifacts are flashing in that direction, but it looks too tough to breakthrough. Is there a way around or something?

“I don’t know what you’re thinking… but we’re here now. What are you going to do next? I think it would be best not to encounter the terrible fire the druid warned us of before his death.”

I agreed with Elder. I wished there was some kind of warning sound every time we got close to something dangerous. If we continued to linger here like this, we could face something seriously dangerous. What was it that called me here? Answer me!

“Well… I don’t think I can sense anyone’s presence here. My master, Jay, if I think it’s dangerous, we’ll leave right away. Let’s stay just for a while since that was your will.”

I did not know the exact existence of what called me here. I simply came in blindly. Honestly, I also wanted to jump out and get away from this terrarium.

It’s too hot here. I think my discomfort index will penetrate the sky.

However, Daisy, who had a strange reaction since before we came in the fire, suddenly raised her little hand and looked at me, pointing far away.

It was a place where debris had collapsed. A pile of incombustible stones covered in black ashes was piled up dangerously, exposing something like reinforcing iron bars.

“Master druid! There seems to be something over there… It is just my intuition, though.”

Daisy expressed her opinion. It reminded me of the first time I fell into this world. Back then, Daisy had shown me around town like my guide character.

I thought about the special, fateful encounter that day… Doesn’t that mean there was another fateful meeting awaiting?

Daisy cleared the pile of debris silently. She lifted and moved the pile of stones much larger than her body without a hint of difficulty.

I remembered a small grassy daisy growing through the concrete, and the back of my neck became a little cool. Daisy is strong… very strong…

“What do you mean, something is in this pile?”

“I’m not quite sure. I just felt like I had to look here.”

Daisy couldn’t elaborate on her feelings. Elder fastened the debris piled up on one side so that it wouldn’t spill over again and looked at Daisy’s actions with disgust.

She says she feels something. Let’s wait a little bit.

As the surroundings were cleared up and the ashes and dust sank to some extent, I could see a pile of sharp glass fragments. Between the pieces of glass, I saw a round bead projecting its body transparently like a protective color.

Dryad fruit? Why was that here? 

Mesquite picked up the fruit so that I didn’t get hurt by the pieces of glass and handed it to me. The fruit warmed itself, independent of the heat surrounding us. A subtle warmth wrapped around my hands. Are you alive?

“It managed to escape the wrangle of the fire. It’s one lucky dryad fruit.”

“It’s a daisy.”

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

“It’s a red daisy fruit!”

She said with confidence. Red daisy… You mean a dryad fruit that was the same species as our daisy? Daisy was a normal class dryad and a common specie to find, but how did I get so lucky to spot another one right away in the next town?

“It seems like you have a talent at sensing the energy of your kind, Daisy. You would be a great king.”

Daisy smiled brightly at Mesquite’s praise.

“That’s interesting. How did this get here… Hmm, but can we make this bloom without the soil in that orchard greenhouse?”

“You won’t have to worry about that.”

Elder spoke, pointing to the debris that Daisy eagerly cleaned up a while ago.

“I thought they were just familiar sculptures, but it seems that these are the remains of a temporary greenhouse. However, I don’t see any buildings that look like an orchard… For some reason, the greenhouse must have been separated and moved to somewhere else, or the orchard was moved. We will be able to find a dryad port if we look for it.”

I’ve wanted a dryad fruit for a long time. Should I try to make it bloom? Maybe the dryad fruit is what called me here. 

I was able to find a dryad port not far away from where a stone wall was smashed to pieces and dirt inside was flowing down.

The whole area looked bad. It did not have a cozy surrounding environment like the greenhouse I saw in the 26th terrarium, and the soil had a burnt odor rather than an earthy scent.

“I don’t think a single weed will grow in this soil.”

Seems like the dryad fruit will be contaminated if I did something as simple as laying it down here. I thought while kicking the dirt accumulated on my shoes.

“My master, Jay, this soil is not ordinary soil. It is the soil that the World Tree has its roots in, meaning it’s the soil right below the World Tree. Although it may seem like it was burnt, it would not have lost the power of blessing. It is up to Jay to decide.”

Then it must be the finest soil among soils. Dang it, it wasn’t something I could just kick around like that! 

“What should I do now, then?”

“The greenhouse was created by imitating the environment around the World Tree. Conveniently, we have a little World Tree, Jay, right here. However, the probability of flowering may be lower than that of an elaborate greenhouse. There is a risk of the fruit being damaged.”

Sigh, the burden is growing. I finally managed to find a dryad fruit of Daisy’s kind who could help break through her limit, but if I do it wrong, I could blow the chance of blooming it. 

However, Mesquite seemed to regard my anxiety as insignificant. In other words, it meant that it would be the dryad that went wrong, not me. I wasn’t sure if I should be taking that as a compliment…

“We have all the symbolic materials for a greenhouse. The burning heat would be better than the cold winter. Also, Daisy’s race has a battle bonus in April, right? Then we have even more advantages to bloom it now. In cold weather, it is difficult to bloom anything except snowfield dryads, since it’s easier for seeds to sprout in the middle of summer than from a frozen ground.”

Elder expanded the range of his shield to the dryad port. The round, translucent shield made it look like a small greenhouse.

“Little Elder is right. It is equipped with warmth, earth, and the spirit of the World Tree. Now we just need water to wake up the sleeping soil and moisturize it.”

“Water? You mean this?”

I took a water bottle out of my pocket and asked, but Mesquite shook his head.

“Originally, you would have to use the dew formed on the leaves of the World Tree… what you have is just something for replacement. Something reasonable in terms of price. On the other hand, there is something that will certainly work. You know what it is, the thing you are abundant of. Of course, it would be very wasteful to use it here…”

There’s only one thing that Elder would be stingy with, causing him to crumple his pretty face like that. I took a few diamonds out of my pocket which quickly made his head turn away.

“I know this is the sap of the World Tree, but how do I use it? It’s solid.”

“You have to break the surrounding membrane and shatter it. If we were in a well-equipped greenhouse, the power of the branches of the World Tree would have done it… This time, Jay will need to put some effort into doing so.”

“You want me to… break the diamonds?”

This is a diamond. Isn’t a diamond strong enough to cut stones? Sure, it wasn’t a real diamond and just had the name of it, but still.  

No matter how strong my grip strength is… Look at this. It doesn’t even become distorted but flashes as if showing it’s sturdy. 

“Jay, take the advantage of the fact that you are a small World Tree. After all, diamonds also came from the World Tree. You even made it rain with Little Elder, right? You can definitely do it.”

Well, it seems like even Mesquite doesn’t know exactly how to bloom it. If he did, he would have told me in more detail. 

Still, they are giving me this advice because I have an unlimited amount of diamonds, right? I have enough to go through some trial and error with this.

For others, using even a single diamond could go to waste, so this kind of advice is probably not something easy to give. 

I tried to step on the diamond to break it, but Mesquite stopped me from doing so. He told me that it needed direct contact with my body since my soul and body themselves are components of a small World Tree. It doesn’t work even if I take off my gloves…

What do I do now? I can’t feel anything even if I hold it tightly and focus. I stared at the blue dodecahedron and took it to my mouth.

This is the only thing left. I bit it with my teeth.

“Agh! Ew!”

As soon as I bit it with my teeth, the hard stone shattered like a sugar cube would. As the pieces on my tongue melted like ice, I could feel an acidic, bitter taste.

I buried the pieces of diamonds I had in my hands to the ground and hurriedly rinsed my mouth with water. The powder that stuck to my hand like honey became absorbed into my skin like lotion, leaving a cold feeling. It felt like I had applied a numbing patch.

Here I am, tasting diamonds… I can’t believe it.

Daisy sparked her eyes as she observed the processes I went through. Do you want to try it too…?

I looked at Mesquite with eyes asking if this was the proper way… He replied saying that he did not know that I would find a way to make this happen. Mesquite, how could you do this to me?

He said that special druids use their body’s special power to melt diamonds and that he never imagined that I would melt it using my teeth… without using any magical power. I became embarrassed as I listened.

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Daisy was very curious, so I gave her a piece while crushing more and burying it in the soil. But as soon as it left my hand, the diamonds disappeared.

It wasn’t absorbed by Daisy, nor was it absorbed by the equipment she was wearing, but suddenly disappeared as if it had sublimated.

In order for the broken diamond to maintain its strength, it must be in contact with my body or in a place with a special power, such as the dirt in a dryad pot. The dream of breaking the diamond and using it as a raw potion left my mind.

I carefully placed the dryad fruit on the soil that gave off a clear light as it absorbed the broken diamonds. This was truly an improvised greenhouse that can do nothing except blooming flowers.

The transparent fruit that touched the soil began to glow in gold. The lid soon opened and a cute golden sprout extended its head.