As Deglupta and the Viburnum charged toward the two saws, the attack-type Dryads also stepped forward with their weapons.

This time Iris held her ground. It was because she didn’t have the ability to dodge as quickly as the Dryads. Gazing at Zephyr holding a bow, she regretted not learning ranged attacks herself.

“Master Jae, I’m sorry… It would’ve been better if I weren’t alone and had been two.”

Wolfsbane said gloomily, looking at the Dandelion children holding hands.

“Oh, why are you alone? Look, now you’re not alone, are you?”

I tightly held Wolfsbane’s small hand.

“You know what? There’s a technique that lets dryads and druids use their power together. I’ve used it with Elder, and someday I’ll be able to with you too. It’s called Graft, and it lets you amplify your power by grafting a branch of a dryad’s soul onto your own. So even if I’m not a Wolfsbane dryad like you, I can still be a tree you can entrust your branches to. So, our Wolfsbane, hurry up and grow big and strong!”

I held the child’s hand tighter. The child stared at my hand for a long time.

Around that time, the fire boss was entering its second phase. When ash spewed out like factory chimney smoke, the melee-attacking dryads withdrew according to Iris’s strategy. It was fortunate that Mesquite had held firm for so long.

Like a siege weapon attacking a city gate, the saw of fire struck her shield fiercely. That saw had already shattered several of Deglupta’s shields.

“The power of the Twin Trees is not to be taken lightly. You must think of each other as your own body, like me and this dryad.”

Iris had brought pine dryads from Notos, thinking they might be helpful. They too were blinded by the debuff, so they obediently followed as Iris pulled them by the arm.

“Even when the storm rages, supporting each other is more enduring than being alone. But if one falls, the recoil can easily bring down the other too. So, the Twin Trees must be practiced with a heart of mutual help.”

The senior pine dryads, experienced with Twin Trees, gave good advice to the dandelion children. Unless one of them became the king, the two had to stay together as a necessity.

“With a heart of mutual help…”

Wolfsbane murmured softly, repeating the pine dryad’s words.

“I’ve only ever received help from Master Jae… I’ve never been any help.”

Into the child’s hand, which I had only been clutching tightly, strength began to flow.

“Jae, it would be best for Mesquite to withdraw. The ash on them is slowing their movements bit by bit. Besides blocking the saw, they need to block the bursting flames, but their vision is narrowing, so it looks tough.”

Elder pointed at Mesquite with his staff and spoke.

“She’ll never listen to my opinion. But she’ll listen to you. It’s crucial for this battle that she stays in position and keeps holding out, but leaving her like that could lead to serious injury.”

“Elder brat, I’m not so weak that you need to worry. You’re just anxious because you can’t help me. Don’t pass that anxiety onto my Jae.”

“Tch…”

Seeing Mesquite’s words, Elder gritted his teeth and turned his head. He forced himself not to look at Mesquite, fixing his gaze on Viburnum. As if venting his frustration, a surge of healing poured into Viburnum.

Dealing with the flames from the attacking dryads and Mesquite falling were both a matter of time. Though she clearly trusted Mesquite, the dryads’ attacks grew fiercer, matched by a significant resistance from the fire.

It was also the defensive dryads’ duty to block the torrent of flames from reaching the attacking dryads. Viburnum and Deglupta were also shrouded in ash clouds, just like Mesquite.

Since they couldn’t dodge like the attacking dryads, they faced the windblown ash head-on. Panacea’s effects had worn off, leaving them truly helpless. The ash cloud grew darker by the minute.

The fire’s form was heavily damaged by the dealers’ fierce attacks. With just a little more, holding out a little more, the end seemed in sight. Aware of this, everyone fought even harder. The phrase ‘gritting their teeth and charging in’ fit perfectly.

Bang! A loud noise came from Mesquite’s direction. Sensing Mesquite’s exhaustion, the fire launched a relentless assault targeting her. For the first time, a hint of ease vanished from Mesquite’s expression. The elder, who had ordered me to tell him to retreat, had already been scolded once, and now he could only grit his teeth helplessly, his face desperate.

Should I really tell her to come back, as the elder said?

“No, Jae. Just hold on a little longer. If I retreat, we have to start over from the beginning. Please, don’t tell me to come back. I can handle this much.”

All the dryads, moved by her spirit of sacrifice, fixed their gaze on her.

“Just hold on a bit longer! I’ll finish this quickly!”

Daisy said, regripping her dagger and running around. The other attacking dryads also gritted their teeth and swung their weapons.

They had to finish it before Mesquite fell!

“Stop it… My precious little world tree… Your hands are bleeding. Please, leave it to the dryads.”

The pitiful voice of the beggarticks was heard. She weakly grabbed Zephyr’s arm as he shot his bow, pleading.

“I have to help too! I’ve been practicing with my bow, it’s going well! Iris is in danger up close, so shouldn’t I, this body, at least shoot arrows from afar? Aren’t I cool? My dryad can heal me later.”

He, who was always scolded by Iris, looked cool for the first time. I wish I could help with the attack too, like him. The shopkeeper’s words came to mind, saying that the gun I barely managed to get was for emergency escape and wasn’t very powerful.

Ugh, but I have to do something anyway! I pulled out my gun and fired desperately at the saw of fire aimed at Mesquite. The bullets popped and let out steam, but it didn’t seem to help much. My shooting skills weren’t good enough to hit the flying flames.

Everyone focused on a single goal and worked hard. We had to put out the fire on time, no matter what!

It was in that critical, desperate moment. The pungent, nose-twitching scent of herbal mountain plants spread out sharply. Violet petals fluttered like flapping butterflies, filling the entire field of vision.

At the same time, the damp smell of resin blended with the herbal scent, and Mesquite was seen enveloped in a deep green light. An illusion appeared around her of two branched pine giants blooming with vibrant life.

“Oh my! The ash dust from the Dryads is gone!”

The ash cloud that had been swirling around their faces and bothering the Dryads had vanished.

“That’s the power of the Notos Pines. Using the meaning of their flower language, ‘longevity,’ they can transfer their life force to other Dryads. If the pines can use their power…”

A skill to inflate Mesquite’s health pool? A support-type pine Dryad used an ability? No way?

I turned around at Iris’s words. There stood Wolfsbane, who had grown tall enough to block the sunlight.

His chubby, baby-like cheeks had slimmed down, revealing a slender boy’s face. His limbs had lengthened, and his once teary eyes had turned calm. The baggy clothes, with sleeves so long they dragged on the floor and covered his hands, had shrunk to fit his body perfectly, showing his pale hands.

“Jae, I’ll be of help.”

Wolfsbane, meeting my eyes, smiled gently. His once high-pitched, thin, and frail voice had become a powerful one, grounded with a deep bass tone.

As soon as the debuff was lifted, while the druids fumbled to grasp the situation, the Dryads moved in perfect unison as if they had agreed upon it. Various floral scents blended seamlessly from all directions, controlling the fire boss’s movements and empowering the defensive Dryads.

The prediction that if we had a proper debuff removal ability, we could handle the fire without trouble turned out to be correct. With the support Dryads joining in and Mesquite becoming more solid, the fire was suppressed at a very fast pace.

And so, the fire that had tormented everyone, forcing them to retry many times, was unilaterally beaten until it finally disappeared. The fireball circling Mesquite vanished, and as she lightly dusted off her shield, the other Dryads collectively relaxed, their stances collapsing.

“You’ve grown so much I hardly recognize you! I’m so proud of you!”

Unlike before, when I always had to bend down, the eye level had risen significantly. As I grabbed the hand of Wolfsbane, who now hardly looked like a child, I felt a slightly cool temperature. His shoulders, which used to always be hunched, were now straightened.

His blue-violet hair, curling in gentle waves down to his chin, gave Wolfsbane the impression of a frail scholar. Looking at his well-defined features, which had grown quite a bit, it seemed he would become a fairly handsome young man if he grew more, even if not as much as Elder.

“Sorry for growing late.”

“No, you grew right on time! It was perfect timing!”

“It was really good timing. Goodness, how could I have known that dryad, which looked like a mere sapling, would suddenly grow?”

Iris chimed in with a surprised voice.

“By the way, we realized we shouldn’t just rely on the dryads’ resistance; we need dryads like your Wolfsbane who use special powers. It wasn’t a battle requiring much force, but we struggled too much.”

Ah, that was really a piece of cake, Iris said, smacking her lips.

“I think it’s fortunate that I came to find the colony with you all. I learned a lot about teamwork, didn’t I?”

“No, we’re the ones who think it’s fortunate. All the useful dryads were yours, Jae. If Mesquite hadn’t held out for so long, or if Wolfsbane hadn’t used his power in time, we would have been trapped here forever.”

She said that and rubbed her chin.

“Ah, I should have shown a good performance for the guild entrance test, but I only ended up receiving help…”

“No! You passed! Why are you talking like that when you did well? Wolfsbane’s growth and the pines were a big help, and everyone else showed amazing skills too!”

I was about to step in to scout them myself, but I couldn’t afford to worry about passing or failing. I learned that having reliable people like Iris’s party on my side is much better than doing things alone.

Moreover, they seemed diligent and loyal, so they were trustworthy. Mesquite gave me a small smile without saying much about my decision.

I decided to wrap up the guild business as soon as we returned.