The answer to that could be heard from Dandelion.

After completing the quest she had given, I returned to the center of the colony. When I handed over the two diamonds, which were practically the remains of young dandelion dryads, her expression turned sorrowful.

“Unfortunately… they were children born on the border of the colony. It was too late by the time I noticed and tried to rescue them.”

The other dandelion children, caught up in her sadness, also wore gloomy expressions.

“The souls of the children who burned can neither return nor find their way to the World Tree’s embrace. Still, thank you for avenging them, even in this way. I will bury their souls in my heart and carry them with me when I return to the World Tree in the future.”

Dandelion tried to return the diamonds to me.

“I have no use for these items. The sap of the World Tree, refined and hardened like this, is unusable to us. However, you, Druid, will find it useful. I know that druids use these to gain material things in human society. And through that circuitous path, it will one day reach the World Tree.”

Even if I ended up with those diamonds, I had no way to use them. In the end, after my strong insistence, the two diamonds were wrapped in Dandelion’s handkerchief and disappeared.

“You asked about Daisy Dryad, didn’t you?”

I asked if Daisy, unlike the other two dryads, had no restricted skills. After handing over the diamonds, I wanted to lighten the heavy atmosphere that was hard to bear.

“There’s no skill restricted due to root limitations—at least not for the Daisy species as I know it.”

Daisy looked sullen at those words. That can’t be! Was this where the difference in rank showed?

“But you can gain new ones, just like I did.”

Dandelion’s fingertips gently touched Daisy’s forehead, at the same spot where Dandelion’s corolla was located.

“If you become the King of the Forest, you can. When the roots are small, they intertwine and tangle together to appear as one root.”

At those words, Daisy regained her smile.

Dandelion pulled out a blunt-shaped, bluish-tinted crystal bottle from under a rock and handed it to me. Inside the palm-sized bottle, which looked just like a brand perfume bottle, was filled with a hazy pearl-colored liquid.

The liquid sparkled like a gem, catching the light leaking into the center of the colony. Could that be the quest reward?

“This is Panacea, containing the power of us dandelion dryads. Since our mother entity is used as a medicinal herb to treat many diseases, dryads born from its power also inherit the trait of recovery. This is the culmination of my power, created over a very long time by infusing my healing energy into a special disease. It should be able to cure most known illnesses, as well as some diseases caused by the unique powers of dryads.”

Oh… From the sound of it, I’ve obtained a remarkable item, like a panacea! I received it respectfully with both hands.

Oh my, what is all this…? So if you get sick, just one bottle of this and you’re good as new, right? What’s this nonsense about all hospitals closing their doors…? Are the diseases caused by dryads just debuffs?

As I received the Panacea bottle and stared at it in wonder, the dryads also watched with curious eyes.

Among them, the Elder reacted particularly strangely. He sparkled his beautiful emerald eyes brightly, eagerly expressing his desire to have it.

I’m not giving it to you. Do you want everything that sparkles? Huh? You’re not a crow.

“You’re a restoration type too, Elder. Can you make something like this?”

“…Even if that dryad and I are both restoration types, our traits are a bit different. Of course, I can also unleash similar power. But I can’t concentrate that power and put it into a diamond bottle like this.”

“What! This is a bottle made of diamond?”

Surely she doesn’t habitually call everything that sparkles blue “diamond,” does she? She means it’s a bottle made of real diamond, right? No, can you even make a bottle like this out of diamond?

“You’ve recognized it. That’s right. I received that diamond bottle from an alchemist who visited the colony a very long time ago.”

“For the dryad’s power not to leak out and to stay concentrated in one place, there’s nothing quite like the sap of the World Tree, which provides the same environment as the power’s source. And this medicine isn’t as easy to make as you think. It takes a dryad like the one there, living for a long time and continuously pouring in power, to create even one bottle of this much.”

“Oh….”

Fortunately, the hospitals will stay open! Listening to the Elder, I suddenly grew curious. Just how old is Dandelion? To have created this Panacea, which requires an investment of many years. Indeed, I feel I can sense life experience in everything about Dandelion.

“But is it really okay to give me something this precious?”

“You’ve given me help worthy of it, so it’s no problem. Thank you for protecting the colony’s safety. I can make Panacea again. And my sincerity doesn’t end with just this.”

Gasp, she’s giving even more? Isn’t this Panacea already an incredible reward? I did struggle a bit with the fire that swallowed the dryads, but after that, it went smoothly, so the perceived difficulty felt low….

Dandelion grabbed the top of her long staff. Then she tore off a part of the staff without hesitation. It was me who was surprised by that act of damaging the weapon. Wait, can you handle it like that?

The part she tore off had white fuzz and green stems, making it look, at a glance, like a large dandelion seed head.

“I’ll give you this.”

“What do you mean by breaking your weapon…? Isn’t this incredibly precious too?”

What if my performance drops? Aren’t you giving me too much? I’m a very greedy person, so first of all, thank you! If I’d known this would happen, I would have cleaned around the colony and picked up some trash. Of course, it was a clean field with no trash.

“Of course, it must be precious. Because it’s no longer possible to create such items again.”

No, then just keep it. Keep it. How am I supposed to know what this is and just grab it? If it’s a high-end item that inevitably comes with wasting my diamonds, I’d understand, but if it’s something you’re giving me at your own expense, it feels like a burden!

“This isn’t just a simple gesture. I’m giving it because I feel I should. I hope you’ll accept it.”

This time, even trying to dissuade him like when I refused the diamond didn’t work. I received a staff fragment from Dandelion, its white fluff gently swaying.

“Another forgotten flower language of my parent body is ‘divine revelation.’ It is said that a very long time ago, the first parent dandelion survived a great flood where everything on earth was about to sink and disappear, all thanks to receiving a divine revelation. According to legend, by divine arrangement, it preserved its seeds and reached a safe place not submerged by water, where it could sprout. We dandelions are its descendants. Current young seedling dryads wouldn’t know this story, but I, as the king, have inherited that myth along with another flower language and power.”

The myth Dandelion spoke of was something I had encountered before. Back then, I was full of interest in myths and legends, so I devoured everything about flowers, fairies, and gods. Hearing it from a living, moving dandelion felt different. Doesn’t it sound like it really happened?

“What I delivered to you through that fragment is the power of my revelation. The fragment itself is an object imbued with revelation. It can awaken another power through its special force.”

Since it’s a gift from Dandelion, the king of the Dandelion Forest, it must be something impressive… but honestly, I have no idea what it’s used for.

Since the word ‘god’ is in it, isn’t it sure to be something utterly magnificent? And it says it can awaken another power.

I waved my hand and called over Daisy, who was already surrounded by dandelion children. Then I touched Dandelion’s staff fragment to her.

Well… contrary to my expectations, nothing happened. It doesn’t work. I thought Daisy’s other power would awaken. Is this not it?

I looked at Dandelion with a dumbfounded expression.

This isn’t working. How do you use this thing? It’s not level-locked, is it? That would be kind of sad.

Dandelion smiled as he watched me tap the staff fragment against various parts of Daisy.

“Unfortunately, the information inherited by me… is all I’ve just told you. Perhaps because this is the first time I’ve properly used the power of revelation, I only felt that I needed to deliver these two items to the Druid. So I don’t know much about the meaning of awakening another power either.”

If this were a game, wouldn’t there be [???] floating on this item’s info? I’m already sick of question marks… This is totally a chicken rib. It seems like a great item, but I have no idea where to use it.

Still, since Dandelion really wanted to give me this item, I guess I’ll have a use for it someday. I put it safely in my pocket. Honestly, I felt satisfied with the quest reward just from Panacea, whose use is clear.

Dandelion raised her staff high and retrieved part of the mist. It was because we had taken care of all the fires around the colony, allowing her to conserve more of her strength.

I had completed the quest and finished exploring the colony, so I was about to set off for the 28th Terrarium… but a huge obstacle stood in my way.

“You didn’t say there was a mountain?”

“How is this a mountain? It’s barely higher than flat ground, isn’t it?”

Me and Elder spread out the map we bought at the general store and checked the route ahead. But looking closely, I could see contour lines that I vaguely remembered from high school.

Wait, isn’t this the thing that checks terrain elevation? Even me, who scored bottom of the class in geography, knows what this is. You said you remembered the whole map after one look, so why didn’t you tell me there was a mountain on the way?

“To me, anything 10 meters higher than flat ground is a mountain!”

“That makes no sense.”

Elder looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. Do you have any idea how much I hate stairs and hiking! In high school, I deliberately applied to places on flat ground instead of nearby ones!

In college, I had no choice but to go where my scores matched, so I trudged up and down feeling like I was dying. When I really couldn’t be bothered, I took a taxi to cross buildings for class. People give up money for physical comfort.

“Is there a cable car?”

Looking at Elder, his expression said, “What nonsense are you talking?” None. There’s none.

Just looking at the map already tires me out. With my lack of exercise, poor stamina, and laziness about excessive movement—except when I’m running late—I couldn’t help but sigh. And on top of being freshly roasted by the fire, my whole body felt sticky with sweat, and I couldn’t even take a refreshing shower.

I hadn’t said it out loud, but when I showed my resistance with my whole body, Mesquite gently stepped in as a mediator.

He suggested we spend a day resting at the Dandelion colony, since it would soon get dark. Yeah! Who knows how I’ll feel by tomorrow!

Who knows, maybe if I heal with these dandelion flowers here today, I’ll surge with energy and be able to climb the mountain with gusto.