Terrarium Adventure

With his guidance, we headed for the orchard, avoiding the piles of debris on the way. He walked unobstructed, and every fire he encountered was quickly cleared by Daisy, who had grown stronger.

The other Daisy dryad clapped and admired the scene, but I became somewhat curious. There’s something strange about the fire…

We got to the orchard very soon. When we got there, I could see the outline of the huge fire that nestled in the terrarium from a distance.

It was only the shape of it that remained, but it was so huge that the towering buildings around it could not cover it. The occasional flare popping up made it look very intimidating… making the radiant ball of heat look like a small sun. But the appearance of the fire looks like…

Larva…? Muckworm…? No, aphids…? Why is it shaped like that…?

Suddenly, a roar broke out outside the town. In response, the huge fire erected itself. Now that I look at it again… it really looks like a bug. Wait, outside of town? Is it possible that Seedling is already here? 

“Here it is. It has collapsed a lot, but it is the orchard. Yes, it’s definitely the orchard even though all the glass and rebars have broken down. I guess the shape of it is the only thing remaining.”

It’s definitely Seedling. I thought we would meet again. Whether or not Seedling was struggling to enter the terrarium from outside, I went into the orchard with the help of the Daisy dryad.

The inside of the orchard was a mess. It gave a glimpse of the situation at the time of crisis. Compared to the clean interior of the 26th terrarium… this looks like a battlefield. 

Mesquite stood close and guarded me as she was worried that debris might fall down and cause secondary damage. Elder’s shield over my head also became several layers thicker.

There must have been people who got crushed and died. Yes, a weak human like me should definitely be careful. 

“Where is the branch of the World Tree?”

“This way.”

Even though the place was a complete mess, Daisy dryad was able to find his way around the orchard. When we finally arrived, we found the door closed shut by debris. The door frame was crushed as well, and it seemed difficult to open it in a normal way.

Without hesitation, Mesquite threw a lance to break the door and immediately built a sand wall to support the crumbling debris. Cool!

We went into the huge room. It was the same room where I picked fruit. The inside also looked terrible as expected.

“Dang it, all the branches have burned out.”

I had expected it since there was huge damage done by the fire in the orchard already. The branches of the World Tree were charred to the point of crumbling when touched. Oh, it looks like it’s impossible to recover. There seemed to be no hope.

However, there was something that stood out in the dark ashes.

“Look at this. Did the branch of the World Tree originally look like this? It’s burnt, but it looks a little different.”

The only branch I had seen is the one in the 26th terrarium, and the thing in my dream is just a dream, so I can’t consider it as a real experience. But wouldn’t dryads know if something is different? I mean, even I can feel that something here. 

I picked up the stick on the ground and eagerly brushed off the ash from it. Then, a deep, white spot that looks like it was dug was revealed.

When I touched the white spot with the tip of another stick, white powder fell from there. I brushed off the ashes next to it. This time, it revealed sticky and unpleasant white sap.

“Looks weird? Right? It really seems like it has an illness. A very terrible one.”

Mesquite looked very confused. She stared at the place I was pointing at. Elder also had a serious expression. Well, I guess they didn’t know anything after all. 

I sighed and moved around the balls of ash on the ground with my feet. So, it is really ill. It became ill and was burnt to death. What do we do about this terrarium now?

“Can I guide you to the administrator’s room? There may be data on the illness.”

Daisy dryad spoke while I was kicking around the ash out of anger. He said it was nearby, so I readily agreed.

We only had to walk through a collapsed corridor before arriving at our destination. I crossed the wide-open door and entered the administrative officer’s room.

Only a single corner of the wall had a large portrait hanging. Although it was burned in flames, I could see a blonde young woman looking straight ahead. She had fierce and determined eyes.

“She is the administrative officer of the 28th terrarium. Her name was Scarecrow or something like that.”

Nonsense. She’s the old person we met outside the town?

“Was this a long time ago when she was young?”

“No, it’s not very different from the last time I saw her.”

I was so surprised that almost no words came out. The last time I saw her, she looked like she had lived a very long time, had wrinkled rough skin, and straw-like hair. But how…

Life force, yes, life force. She told me that she used the last graft by consuming all her life force. Is it because of that…?

I couldn’t get out of shock until Mesquite took a notebook that had been almost burnt down from the desk and handed it to me. Her sacrifice became clearer with the portrait and my heart ached as a result.

“Jay… are you okay? You don’t look so well.”

“… I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

I did my best to clear my mind and looked at the notes. It was the journal of the administrative officer. There weren’t many pages that were in good condition, so I turned the pages carefully to prevent them from crumbling.

The World Tree took damage from an unknown pest.

Where did it come from?

The orchard is thoroughly managed.

It cannot be easily accessed from the outside.

There is no information about the pest, anywhere.

Even one of the employees, who was a skilled scholar, was unable to find out the origin of it.

Worms are rapidly eating up the World Tree.

A pest that can overcome the blessings of the World Tree… it’s nonsense.

The worms cannot be eradicated.

They overcome the power of medicine and the power of dryads.

The worms have a strong life force.

They keep coming back to life.

My faithful aide told me that I shouldn’t tell the outside world about this…

He said we can definitely fix it by ourselves.

But how long can we endure?

We cannot grow fruit anymore.

We need help.

We can’t fix this.

People are leaving.

I requested help from the alchemy tower in the 16th terrarium.

They decided to send us a very strong poisonous plant that could kill any kind of life.

The promised day has come, but the plant has not come.

Where is it?

This year, the tree did not bear fruit again.

Diamonds cannot be supplied to the World Tree now.

There is only despair.

The handwriting became messier as if representing the owner’s heart. Despair grew page after page.

Worms… so the cause was a pest. I was able to check the details of Daisy dryad’s story in the journal.

Then, was it the worms that left the white traces on the branches? What about the black ball of ashes I’ve been kicking around with my feet? 

Worms. That weird feeling. The fires I encountered while coming here, and the huge fires I saw from a distance. They were all in the form of worms. The strongest ecosystem here was not a dryad or a druid, but the mysterious pest that threatened the World Tree.

What kind of pest could threaten the world tree? Where did it appear?

“My master, Jay. What does it say there?”

Mesquite asked me as my hands rattled. Can I tell her about the World Tree which she holds on to so firmly in her beliefs? The fact that it was weakened by a pest? I couldn’t speak easily, so I kept touching my lips. What do I do? 

“It says… It says…”

“I’m fine… just tell me.”

I had made the decision to tell her when I heard the song again. This time, it sounded clearer as if expressing that I became closer to it.

“It says it’s fine! Wait. Is that the World Tree? Did the World Tree call me?”

“Help… my hope.”

“The tree can speak? What kind of tree speaks? Ah, well dryads, which are plants, speak as well, so there’s no reason for you to be unable to speak! You could have told me earlier! I thought you were a ghost!”

“Jay?”

I shouted at the room where the branches of the World Tree are supposed to be. But Mesquite looked at me with a confused expression. It seems like Mesquite cannot hear it. 

“Let’s go! The World Tree is okay! It says it’s still alive! We have hope!”

The case about the pest was ignored like this. I’ll tell everyone later. I’ll be sure to tell them later.

The worms that the administrative officer said couldn’t be eradicated by any means… was eventually burned away by fire. It became a very extreme way of eliminating them.

After I learned that the ash balls rolling at my feet are burnt bodies of worms, I worked hard to avoid stepping on it. It’s enough to fill the floor. How much did they breed? 

“Okay! I’m here! What do I do?”

At my cry, the dryads looked at me with a perplexed expression. I had suddenly become a strange person talking to myself.

The World Tree just spoke to me. As I explained, their expression softened a little as if the misunderstanding was resolved.

I touched the charred branches without worrying about my hands getting dirty. Now, tell me how to help you!

“It’s dangerous! The energy of life here has been revealed!”

A sharp sound like a tearing scream was heard. The sound was desperate enough to make my ears deaf, so I quickly raised my hands and covered my ears.

However, it wasn’t a noise coming from outside. It was a sound that fell directly inside of me.

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The urgent voice told me to leave, that it was dangerous here, and to be careful. At the same time, the heat grew stronger.

We are caught… by the huge fire! No. We can’t be caught here!

I hastily ran out with the dryads. Daisy dryad quickly took refuge inside my artifact. Smart choice.

A huge fire was creeping into the orchard. It looked like a giant worm crawling to its food. The heat raged to the point it was hard to bear.

We can’t stand this. We need to turn its attention! We have to protect the orchard!