I kept the case aside and pondered while looking at the ring. The stats were meant for Elder, but the one who pulled it was Daisy… Not to mention, the two of them don’t even get along.

I gently grabbed Daisy’s small hand and slipped the ring on. Daisy’s bright red hair and the bright red ruby ring matched perfectly.

Seeing this, Elder muttered with an anxious expression, “That’s mine…”

“Master Druid, I don’t need this ring. My combat bonus is three months apart from it. If it were just a one-month difference, maybe I’d consider it, but…”

I guess so. It’d be a waste to use it just for display, right? Even a special-grade accessory is useless if you don’t give it to the right Dryad.

“Elder, look at this. Daisy, who gave you her fruit, also pulled a dedicated accessory for you. Don’t you think you should bow to her? Stop picking on her and calling her a kid, and treat her better.”

I entrusted the ring to Daisy, hoping they’d get closer—or more precisely, to re-establish the relationship between Elder and Daisy. I could have given it myself, but I wanted to make it clear that Daisy was the one who pulled the ring for Elder.

Daisy stared blankly at the ring in her hand. Elder was in a ‘waiting’ state, gazing endlessly at the ring in Daisy’s hand. That’s the look of a dog waiting for a treat.

Suddenly, one corner of Daisy’s mouth curled up.

“Do you want it?”

Daisy grabbed the ring by its band with her thumb and forefinger and dangled it toward Elder. Mesquite suddenly let out a small laugh.

“That look is just… yes. It reminds me of my master, Jae. It looks very much like the expression Jae sometimes shows toward that little Elder. More precisely, it’s the look of Jae holding a diamond and shaking that little Elder, isn’t it?”

This is why they say you can’t even drink cold water carelessly in front of a child. No, that sweet and lovely Daisy…! What did you learn from me…?

Thinking back to the day that terrible thing happened, it seemed like the grade differences among the dryads weren’t unrelated to pride issues. That day, the presence of just one Unique-grade Elder among many dryads completely deflated their spirits. Of course, Mesquite seemed to be an exception beyond recognition.

So now, the Elder, who is a Unique grade that those dryads look up to, is being treated like this by Daisy, the lowest Normal grade here—how crushed must his pride be?

Just as I expected, the Elder’s face was utterly twisted, as if reflecting his crumpled pride. There was strength in his hand clutching the staff too. Oh dear, don’t scrunch up that pretty face like that!

“Elder, it’s a Special grade, Special. Shiny shiny! July battle bonus! What would you do if you fought Daisy here and she didn’t give it to you?”

Daisy looked relaxed even after pulling all of the Elder’s aggro. The kid had the upper hand. Though his birth grade is Normal, his temperament is no less than Special—that’s my child.

Yeah, she seems like she’ll do well wherever she goes without getting intimidated. Unlike her initial, completely shriveled appearance, I’m glad to see her now with her chest puffed out.

The Elder seemed to have finally finished his inner struggle. Suddenly, just as Mesquite had done to me, she knelt on one knee before Daisy. He had bent his pride, blinded by the ring.

At last, their eye levels became similar. The Elder extended one hand towards the child. Then, utilizing his handsome face to a hundred percent, he looked at his cheerfully.

“Give it.”

From the outward appearance, it looked like a proposal. Although the ring’s position was reversed. I was dying from laughter. I clung to Mesquite and laughed like crazy.

Around us, there was murmuring—What’s this? What are they doing? Is it a proposal? Aren’t they fighting? The attention and focus, already heavily drawn by the first-place win, twisted into all sorts of fabrications.

“I take after the Master Druid, so I’ll stop here out of mercy.”

Her haughty face soon broke. Having apparently had her fun watching, Daisy’s face turned back into a bright one.

The Elder eventually put the ruby ring on his middle finger. A faint red aura swirled around the Elder wearing the ring. Oh, special effects.

Now that he’s got the ring, he’ll probably be docile for a few hours, but I could imagine the two of them bickering again soon—being born with a certain nature doesn’t just disappear.

Now that we’ve got all the items we need, let’s go level up! As if adding fuel to my resolve, some old man suddenly appeared and handed over a scroll. The old man’s presence, appearing silently like a ghost, almost made my heart drop.

Mesquite hugged my shoulder with a surprised look.

“I didn’t expect you to be that startled. I let him be since he didn’t seem like he’d harm anyone.”

“Druid, are you ready to embark on a journey? Please help me. I am the administrative manager of the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree.”

That felt like a quest. A beginner quest. A main quest. A tutorial! And he even looks exactly like those first-quest-giving NPCs!

With a fluttering heart, I smiled to emphasize that I was a very kind person. With a face that clearly said I’d do a great job on the quest.

Are you looking for someone to take on a quest? You’ve come to the right place!

Now, even though I’ve already pulled characters, spun random boxes, and geared up before even starting the tutorial, don’t Korean users have that rebellious habit of not doing what they’re told?

Sometimes you’ve got to knock on blocked maps you’re told not to enter, kill some NPCs with binary damage, and get warned by angry GMs for doing exactly what you’re not supposed to do—only then can you say you’ve truly savored every bit of the game.

And since I’ve got more money than a heavy spender, I’ve poked it into every place I could spend it. This is private education. Private education in gaming!

Before even accepting the beginner quest, skipping monsters with non-beginner specs—a high-end diamond spoon looking down from the top!

But now that I’m in the game world, I should follow the standard path and accept quests too, right? Games are made of a good mix of grinding and quests! Finally, a quest for me!

I wish this place had an achievement system too.

“What should I do?”

“Looking at you… your soul hasn’t grown much yet.”

Whoa, does this mean there’s a minimum level to start the quest? Is the system designed so you have to follow the controls from the start to earn bits of experience, then reach the quest start level with that XP? But I’m pretty much a bug player who threw the standard route to the dogs.

When the old man tried to snatch back the scroll he had given me, I dodged it fervently. Miss! Miss!

“No! Look closely! I may run, but how excellent are my dryads!”

These guys aren’t a beginner deck! Though I’m a low level, I’ve built up enough specs to cover for it! I pushed Mesquite to the front as much as possible to show off. Look closely. I’ve even got a special grade!

Mesquite played along with my cue. Smiling, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled out his shield to strike a pose. How… cool…!

“This is a rather dangerous request…”

High difficulty means good rewards!

“You’ve come to the right person! It’s me! You might deny it with your head, but your heart already knows I’m the talent! Let’s get to the point, shall we?”

The old man said with a reluctant expression, “Then take a look at the scroll.” This scroll corresponds to the quest window. The scroll was quite long, so Mesquite helped hold the top part, allowing me to view its contents at a proper eye level.

At the center was drawn a massive tree, and below it was a diagram resembling an anthill.

Is the massive tree the World Tree? The old man pointed to a part of the anthill-like structure, saying it was the 26th terrarium of the World Tree, which was our village.

It was a world map. Next, he pointed to a spot marked with X’s drawn in ink. The number 28 was written there.

“This is the 28th terrarium of the World Tree, which was recently burned down by a fire attack. It’s strange. Terrariums protected by the World Tree’s branches aren’t places fire can easily reach. Especially those in the 20s, which are terrariums very close to the World Tree. The protective power of the World Tree’s branches is also strong there.”

Come to think of it, Daisy had mentioned that before.

I listened carefully to the old man’s words while scrolling down. Indeed, even beyond number 50, the images were intact. From the 60s onward, the X marks increased noticeably, and after the 100s, it was complete annihilation.

“Even if the fire is growing stronger, it shouldn’t be enough to take down the 28th terrarium. Surely, it was stationed with druids and dryads, though not as many as here. If it were truly in danger, neighboring terrariums would have provided assistance.”

Mesquite agreed with the old man. She said that even though fire is the only threat to the World Tree, its power remains intact for now. Her expression was filled with pride and faith in the World Tree, insisting it could never happen.

“That’s why all the terrariums in the 20s, including ours, the 26th, are now on high alert. Because we may not be safe either.”

“So you want to know the cause?”

“Exactly. If we can find out the exact cause and ideally find a clue to resolve it, it would be good to handle it. Actually, besides you, I’ve dispatched many druids to investigate. But so far, none have returned.”

The end of the scroll read: ‘For the safety of the World Tree’s 26th terrarium, we request that you investigate the truth of the 28th terrarium.’ It was sealed with a large stamp bearing a green-glowing tree emblem.