Though it was a close call, I directly confirmed that kid’s potential. Even though it was within its own territory, it managed to corner my dryads—whom I can proudly say are superior to any others—into a tight spot.

As an enemy, it’s the worst possible opponent, but as an ally, there’s no other talent like it. Wasn’t that battle what made me realize there was a gap even in this perfectly balanced combination of defense, attack, and recovery? Ah, but that cowardly personality is a bit concerning.

Mesquite listened to me and stared at me blankly. Muttering to herself, she said, “Right, no one chooses to be born that way.” Her expression shifted. It was her way of letting me do as I wished.

Still, the Elder remained sulky. The recruitment process has been rocky from the start. Did I make the right choice?

“Master Druid! But I’ll get even stronger!”

Accepting someone I fought against as an enemy onto the team seemed to cause a bit of friction with Daisy too. Though I had swept her aside decisively, she must have been cornered badly. That child had an immense drive to become stronger than anyone else, so her pride must have been hurt. On top of that, the other kid was around her age.

“Come on, our Daisy is stronger. Look at her. If you blow, that kid’s going to cry, right?”

The Boggart Dryad started trembling so hard I thought Mesquite might actually blow it down.

“So, what do I do with this unripe fruit?”

“You can finish ripening it, Jae. With the power of the soul. Fill the fruit with Jae’s soul. We all connected our souls with Jae right before blooming from the fruit, right? That process is about imprinting the dryads with their master. Like deeply engraving a soul you meet for the first time.”

Mesquite mimed cupping her hands together. I followed suit, wrapping my hands around the fruit.

“You outfit a wild dryad with a fruit ripened by Jae’s soul to force an imprint.”

As I wondered how to ripen it with the soul, I realized something strange about the fruit. The fruit, which had been ice-cold at first, had warmed up—first I thought it was just my body heat, but now it was as hot as a hand warmer.

A silly thought crossed my mind—I felt like Edison brooding an egg—and I almost laughed. That cheerful idea tapped something deep in my chest. A good energy seeped out from there, very slowly infusing the fruit. The fruit began to ripen, turning a vivid golden hue.

I turned toward the Boggart child so it could see the fruit clearly. What do you think? I’ve decided to take you with me, but how about you?

The Boggart Dryad, as if mesmerized by the dazzling golden fruit, forgot its fear and stared wide-mouthed at it.

The child’s indigo-blue eyes, like a night sea, slowly absorbed the fruit’s golden glow, as if a yellow sun at horizon dawn was spilling into them. That was how utterly captivated its mind was by the fruit I held.

To me, it’s just a warm fruit—does it feel different to the child?

The small body rose and shuffled closer like a marionette dangling from strings. Every time the Boggart moved, the staff piece resembling a white dandelion seed tucked into its hood swayed too. As it reached out longingly for the fruit, I casually pulled it back a bit.

Are you sure it’s your will, not something possessed by the fruit’s essence? You’re acting just like an elder bewitched by a diamond.

“I’ve never felt such a warm sensation since the day I was born…”

It was a voice like Daisy’s, but it sounded even younger. A high, piercing soprano rang in my ears, filled with moisture.

“That’s because it’s the power of a soul that will become a sanctuary for you.”

Mesquite spoke in a voice much different from before. Though not to the same extent as when addressing Daisy, it had become more merciful, and a certain kindness could be felt. As if he had willingly abandoned his hostile feelings for me, handling me like a young sapling dryad.

“Since I was born, I’ve been here. Everything was damp, cold, and dark.”

Once again, a sobbing sound was heard.

“Although it was not a good place to take root, I was so happy to encounter water after a long time that I eagerly drank the water that smelled of decay. In doing so, I ended up putting down roots here. Before coming here, I recall encountering something very hot and being shaken wildly, being moved somewhere. I was looking forward to going to a new land with my siblings born together, but before I knew it, I was the only one left. We all agreed to go together, but there was no one around me.”

As if recalling that day, it looked around, moving its head. Although so many beings are here now, the child seemed to see only the empty surroundings from that day. When it brought up those dark memories, the fruit trembled lightly, as if sympathizing with the sorrow.

This trembling was a small movement that only I, holding the fruit directly, could feel.

“I was crying, so scared, but one day, a warm light just like this light here visited me.”

Wolfsbane said it had grown two legs but didn’t have the courage to leave. It said it didn’t know where to go, and it was scared because a great fire was roaming outside. As time passed, the blessing of the World Tree that had kept it warm faded away, and fear gnawed at that empty space.

Left alone and spending time in the darkness, it must have endured terrible hours with only the echo of its own crying returning to it as company. I could imagine the loneliness and fear the child must have felt, and it stirred pity in my heart.

The fading of the World Tree’s blessing meant that the dryads were nearing death.

There was such a great difference between the death that the dryads of the dandelion colony, including her, accepted under Dandelion’s protection, and the death that the Wolfsbane dryad faced alone, knowing nothing. The dryads who humbly awaited their time, and the dryad who writhed in his final struggle.

After the child settled in the swamp, this place turned into a land of death, and it was said that no life came seeking it.

It was originally a land with its own cycle, where rainwater would occasionally overflow during rains, then dry out due to the interference of fire, dead plants would return to the soil, and sunlight would dispel the aura of death.

The child knew that his power had disrupted the cycle of this place, but unaware that it was wrong, he seemed to have worsened the terrain.

The moth-like clusters of light the child scattered everywhere wrapped dead vines and branches even tighter for their own shelter, while the released poison seeped into the swamp, preventing the ground from absorbing water.

The fire scorched the entrance, making it narrower, and as a result, there was no place for sunlight to reach, so everything deteriorated smoothly.

Seeing the child hang tears in his eyes again, saying he no longer wanted to be alone, a sigh escaped me involuntarily. It was because a sudden thought struck me: could I take responsibility for a child carrying such darkness in his heart?

But the hesitation was brief. Because the child said, “This warm feeling feels like I’ve been reborn.”

He is so fearful that he devastates his surroundings, cries a lot, and unlike Daisy, it seems I’ll have to teach him everything from the ground up, like raising a seedling, but what can I do?

In my vast soul, there is room for that child to take root, and since I found him and the fruit has shown itself, there’s no reason to back down.

I am learning everything step by step from Mesquite and the other dryads, so Wolfsbane can learn along the way too. As for the darkness in his heart, even if I can’t become the sun for him, I can be a candlelight, and if the child chases after that small light on his own, he will eventually encounter a brighter one.

The golden fruit, which had been blazing with light and radiating its presence trying to find its master, ultimately passed to Wolfsbane. The child hurriedly tried to grab the fruit with his small hands, dropping the staff he was holding.

As soon as the fruit touched the child’s hand, it melted away like a sugar cube meeting water and was gently absorbed. Following that, a warm and sweet energy settled into my heart as well.

Startled as if struck by lightning, we looked at each other. Our eyes met deeply. The first connection of souls with a dryad was always unique and unfamiliar.

Wolfsbane glowed in a golden hue like the color of the fruit, and the now non-threatening blue-violet petals scattered like confetti bursting from a balloon. A faint and clear scent of mountain herbs, contrasting with the intense presence, wrapped lightly around us like the morning mist.

When I raised my left hand, filled with the terrarium artifact, Wolfsbane’s small hand reflexively reached out to grasp mine. The artifact vibrated gently, as if welcoming the dryad who would take new root. And unlike the previous bloom, my phone rang in response.

Receiving data transmission from the terrarium artifact

I clicked my tongue at the phone, which showed different uses each day. Even if it’s called a wallet, at this point, how is it any different from a smartphone? It can do everything except what it can’t!

Alpine Monkshood (Close-range)

Title: King of Poison

Flower Meaning: The Wide, Open Night

Habitat: Near Swamp Fields (★★★☆☆)

Field Generation Rate: None

Value: Medicine, Poison, Ornamentation (★★★★★)

Trait: Offensive (Locked) / Supporter, Healer

Confirmed Grade: Unknown (Lacking Information). Estimated to be above Unique. or higher

It is an improved strain of monkshood that is close to the characteristics of Alpine Monkshood.

Has a high probability of receiving a combat bonus in September.

A double-edged sword-like flower that can become poison or medicine depending on its use.

Therefore, its traits cannot coexist in a turn-over form.

It has many alternative names including ‘Wolfsbane’, ‘Wolfsbane’, and ‘Wolfsbane’, and the flower has as many legends as its names.

[There is information that cannot be verified.]

The phone took over the role of the greenhouse’s stone tablet. So if you recruit a wild dryad, you can receive this information without going to the greenhouse.

But, befitting an artificially born flower, different information from previous dryads appeared. That word ‘close-range’ probably means Wolfsbane’s parent plant is close to Alpine Monkshood but not entirely identical, right?

Looking at the descriptions, they seem to list traits that an Alpine Monkshood dryad might have. The field appearance rate being completely non-existent is likely because it’s an artificially born flower.

But isn’t that the same as saying a forest can’t be created…? That’s a bit concerning. I thought the peak of dryad cultivation was becoming the king of a forest. It also says some of the information cannot be verified.

While I was muttering and pondering this, Mesquite gave me a surprisingly clear answer.

“My master, Jae. If there’s a lot of unknown information, why not go to the alchemy tower where that child was born? They’ll have all the information about that sapling child.”

Now that you mention it, you’re right. The places I need to go have increased. You said it was the 16th terrarium’s alchemy tower? I could visit there while I’m going to the 18th to remove the temporary tag…

The 16th is where Siedling is… This is like some kind of twist of fate. Me going there of my own accord.

* Alter ver.