“My master, Jae. Now that I think about it, my explanation was insufficient. I said DIA is not a gem, but I didn’t explain why. DIA is a substance that carries the sap of the World Tree, spread into the air through its transpiration. It crystallizes when it meets a druid’s soul. Since the World Tree’s power is also carried and spread through the air when it disperses, the more it evaporates, the worse it is for the World Tree. Due to the increase in fire, the transpiration has become abnormally active, and the World Tree is gradually weakening. To prevent this, we are collecting DIA from the orchard and returning its power.”

Mesquite told me to take out my wallet. She explained that the wallet is a vessel that holds DIA crystallized from meeting a druid’s soul.

Of course, that probably applies to the wallets of ordinary druids. I happen to have a wallet that produces DIA on its own…

She said that druids with a large soul capacity can crystallize DIA relatively quickly, but otherwise, it can take over a month to get a single DIA.

Also, transpiration is most active on the farthest branches and leaves of the World Tree, so the closer you are to the World Tree, the harder it is to obtain DIA.

In short, if you want to get a lot of DIA, you need to level up a lot and go to a higher-numbered terrarium. I could vaguely understand why DIA is so valuable. Mesquite said there was another way to get DIA, but before she could even speak, her face suddenly darkened, so I stopped her. Is it a bad method?

“DIA is a substance that directly contains the World Tree’s power, so it’s a very eagerly welcomed prey for fire.”

So it’s a substance on the level of charcoal. If I drop my phone during battle or spill DIA from my inventory, am I going to see hellfire…

The fire came chasing the DIA, and because of that wind, we, who were nearby, were also discovered. Unable to help it, the dryads entered battle mode.

Daisy could take care of the small fire in one go, but the fire that had grown larger by consuming DIA had to be split again.

And then I discovered it. That subtle difference I felt after the larger fire was dealt with. I can’t be sure since it’s just a feeling, but… I’m getting more experience points!

No one should notice my dirty eyes. There’s no need to go far.

Instead of moving straight ahead, I changed course to a path circling around the village, dragging the dryads along with me. As soon as we strayed a bit from the area we had swept, fire started appearing again. As soon as I spotted it, I tried to throw DIA first, but Elder desperately stopped me.

“Let go. I have a plan for this.”

“If you’re going to waste it like that, give it to me!”

“You’re already giving plenty! I’m doing all this for your own good!”

The fire that grew vigorously on diamonds clearly gave more experience than smaller flames. The leveling speed, which had slowed down, began to rise again.

I thought anyone watching would call me crazy, but this method was only possible because I had diamonds to waste.

If there’s no experience buff, I can just create one. I kept increasing the number of diamonds I threw based on Daisy’s hunting pace. Eventually, I got too lazy to move positions, so I also used a trick where, whenever Daisy split the fire, I’d throw diamonds into each piece to make them grow.

Mesquite was baffled, asking if there was such a method, but that’s just how Korean users usually are.

I’m confident that when it comes to games, my head works brilliantly.

***

I felt like I used at least as many diamonds as for fruit gacha. In the later stages, I was throwing about two to three at a time. If someone who had sold their land to buy paid gacha had seen this, they would have grabbed me by the scruff and knocked me out.

I don’t really like grinding for hunting; it’s so boring it feels like dying, but sometimes when I get into the zone, I zone out and just keep going.

Why else do marathons have the term ‘runner’s high’? The feeling of wanting to die fades away and suddenly you’re going crazy… That was exactly the moment.

Before I knew it, the day was getting a bit dark, and the beginner hunting ground felt completely cleared, while the leveling speed was sharply declining.

I tried to make the fire bigger, but once it reached a certain size, it would suddenly shrink as if blocked by something.

This is the majesty of the World Tree’s blessing, preventing a whale’s rampage… I wanted to create a boss monster once…

As the leveling speed slowed down, my body felt increasingly sluggish. I thought it was just fatigue from moving after a long time, so I opened and chugged a fatigue recovery potion. Right after drinking it, my body felt refreshed, and I could muster the strength to throw more diamonds.

But that had its limits. After drinking it repeatedly, I felt nauseous and got a headache, so I stopped. My stamina was flashing red lights, telling me to stop.

Feeling fatigue in a game, isn’t that a bit too much…?

It reminded me of games that require stamina for combat progress. Especially those certain platform games where friends need to send each other hearts or energy…

Mesquite caught me sneaking the fatigue recovery potions, and the team temporarily stopped hunting.

Mesquite blamed herself, saying she never thought I’d go this far and use such methods, and that while she felt something was off, she was too focused on the battle to notice.

Feeling like a criminal, I shoved the fatigue recovery potion deep into my pocket. Sorry, but in real life, I’m the kind of person who drinks Americano or stimulants like water…

Since I was worried about the dark circles under my eyes, I checked my reflection on my phone and was startled. My face looked like I had stayed up for several nights straight. What’s with this horrible appearance all of a sudden…?

I’m sorry for having such a pathetic owner. I didn’t expect to match a body with stamina as bad as trash. It was time for me to step back.

It really seemed like there was nothing more to gain here. Regretfully licking my lips, I plopped down on the roadside. Mesquite also set down her shield and lance and sat beside me.

She subtly pulled my shoulder so I could lean against her body. My heart fluttered. It felt like leaning my back against a massive tree.

Daisy knelt down and gently massaged my legs, asking if I had been very tired. Even though I’m not married yet, is this how a grandmother feels when she has a granddaughter? It was heartwarming.

Unable to bear my appearance, Elder covered both my eyes with hands wrapped in white light. It seemed to help a bit.

The team’s combat power seemed to have increased enough, thanks to my diamond trick, to push through the next hunting ground. What should I do? If it’s too hard, couldn’t we just avoid combat as much as possible and only walk? I was pondering the schedule.

Ding.

Suddenly, a notification sound came from my phone. I thought the dwarves were now using their heads to intelligently grab my attention.

I flinched, wondering if I had set a diamond usage alarm clock, quickly brushed aside Elder’s hand, and looked at my phone, only to see a white envelope with a strange green wax seal filling the screen.

I thought my phone was infected with a dwarf virus and could only display the <Infinite Diamond> screen, but suddenly a messenger function? Isn’t this spam?

Having once opened a suspicious email and caught a vicious virus that held my final project hostage, I just stared blankly at the phone.

But soon, I touched it and opened the envelope. The embossed pattern on the wax seal—a tree design that looked like the World Tree—was the same as the stamp on the very end of my quest scroll.

To the Benefactor of the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree.

Druid Name: Jae

Thank you for taking care of the troublesome issue.

Now the 26th Terrarium no longer has to suffer from drought.

The lives of the residents have become much more prosperous.

Achievement Condition: Reduced the number of fire entities around the 26th Terrarium by 85% or more.

★Your name will be referred to ‘familiarly’ among the village residents.

Your Status in the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree: Level 5 Gardener

(From Level 4 and above, you will be able to own a certain share of the respective terrarium.)

(From below level 9, you become hostile with this terrarium, making entry impossible.)

To commend your contributions, we provide the following benefits.

– 10% discount on purchases at the 26th World Tree Terrarium store

– Free use of designated inns within the 26th World Tree Terrarium

– Priority for free World Tree fruit distribution once a year

– When visiting 20th-tier terrariums, the 26th terrarium guarantees your identity.

The 26th Administrative Manager and Orchard of the World Tree certify this document.

The pop-up window that popped out of the envelope was astonishing.

Was I this surprised when I barely passed the certification exam? Although I caught fire indiscriminately for my level, I didn’t expect such minor perks to follow.

Discounts or free usage weren’t much of a concern. I scrolled down repeatedly and read the fresh and interesting items again.

What’s this rank like an official written here, and what’s this identity guarantee? A gamer’s heart races. It’s good, right? Is it like a reward from a hidden quest? Or a rise in in-game status?

Touching the pop-up window labeled certificate again, it folded away neatly into an envelope. Then it shrank, and the game screen of <Infinite Diamond> returned to its place.

The only difference was a letter icon floating in the top-left corner. The dwarves showed interest in the sudden icon, pointing at the top with their pickaxes.

[Master! Something strange appeared!]

[Master! That’s not diamond! It’s completely useless!]

[Master! Look at this! Something weird has been delivered!]

From the dwarves’ perspective, each was saying something, but with so many, it was overwhelming. Leaving their chatter behind, I wanted to see the certificate again and touched it, but several were grunting as they pushed something over.

What the dwarves pushed was something like a bonsai pot. The pot had the number 26 written on it, and with leaves just sprouting, the bare branches looked sparse.