Following the personal shopper’s guidance, I finally entered the commercial district. Climbing the white, glossy stone steps, the tidy interior came into full view.

Display stands were neatly arranged along the pathways, not obstructing people’s passage, showcasing products, and lighting was used lavishly to glitteringly promote the featured items.

The interior seemed designed like a labyrinth, so that even those who wandered in by mistake would end up holding something in their hands when they tried to find their way out.

“Ah, you there, novice druid!”

My face became one of ‘what now again?’ I wondered if having so many events at the entrance would increase fatigue and sap the energy for shopping. I was just barely trying to open my wallet…

“Welcome to the 18th Terrarium Shopping Store! Is this your first time here? At our 18th Terrarium Shopping Store, we have supplies prepared for novice druids about to set out on adventures. If you help me a little, I’ll give you an accessory essential for your dryad!”

The girl who called out to me showed a small black case. Oh… accessories?

“Quality, gems, and accessory types are random! If you’re lucky, you can match a gem to your main dryad, and there’s a low chance of getting top-grade accessories!”

“Oh, awesome!”

“Can you help me?”

It’s a quest! That’s definitely a sub-quest! Of course I’ll take it! And the reward can even be top-grade accessories?

“I’m sorry, but this person doesn’t need a separate shop guide event…”

It seems like this is a quest that triggers when a low-level-looking druid like me first enters the shop area of this terrarium. I stopped my personal shopper from turning it down.

“I’ll help you! What do I need to do?”

The kid trying to give me the quest clamped her mouth shut and started eyeing my personal shopper. Then, as the shopper sighed and nodded, she covered her mouth with her palm—though I could still see her lips moving—and whispered to the shopper, “Can I still go ahead as usual?” I heard it all anyway.

“Um… well… yes! I’m in charge of spinning the signboard for this shopping store! I can’t leave my post because I have an important task.”

For that, I saw you playing around at the snack corner earlier.

“That’s because I need to guard the donation box here. If the donation box fills up, I can send it to the orchard and then spin the signboard, but…”

“How much does it take to fill the donation box?”

“Um…”

It seemed I was the first to ask that. The kid suddenly looked flustered and hesitated. Wasn’t this a quest to fill the donation box?

“Um… about… a thousand diamonds…?”

“Alright. If I fill it, do I get that box?”

“Master Jae, excuse me… but the guide event prepared here is for later content.”

“Ah…”

Oh, I get it now. There is such a quest. It’s the type where the NPC suggests an amount the user can’t pay, goes “Haha! Can’t pay, right? Then there’s another way!” and so on.

The kid glanced at my personal shopper again. “Can I keep going?” She asked bluntly, not even covering her mouth this time.

“Ah… yes! So, until the donation box is full, I can’t move. If you, druid, find the shops listed on this signboard, hand out all the signboards, and come back to me, I’ll give you a beginner druid support item!”

What, it’s just a simple item delivery quest. That’s fine too! The kid handed me five signboards and a dried scroll.

I had seen a scroll like that once before, when I received a quest from the administrative officer at the 26th terrarium. It replaced the quest window. I unfolded the scroll and looked at it.

On it was a list of shops I needed to visit. At the very end, it read, ‘Please help the assistant of the 18th Terrarium Shopping Store of the World Tree.’ A large, shimmering green tree-pattern stamp was also prominently affixed. It had been a while since I’d received a quest.

The first shop on the list was a potion store.

A direct-run store of the Alchemy Tower. The 18th Alchemy Tower of the World Tree guarantees quality.

Ironically, as soon as I stepped out, it was right nearby. Seeing the guide text embossed on a flashy gold-plated sign, I opened the quest parchment again to check.

If the shop at the top of the list is right here… visiting all the way to the end must have been deliberately arranged to make me go through the entire commercial district?

Wow, that administrative officer is really terrifying. Even using quests to make people voluntarily fall into a shopping antlion pit. I should learn from this. Maybe I’ll create quests in my Terrarium to make people wander around every corner?

By placing the first quest completion point closest, it makes the quest seem easier and lets you easily savor a sense of achievement. A truly scary person.

As I entered the potion store to deliver the guide sign, the personal shopper who had been quietly following me explained the store like a museum curator.

“Master Jae, the potions here are directly sourced from the Alchemy Tower’s goods, so their quality is excellent. For druids burdened by potion costs, they’re sold in smaller portions, making them affordable. There are also special potions that work better on certain dryads. Additionally, alchemists not affiliated with the 18th Terrarium’s Alchemy Tower can sell their potions here for a small fee.”

Following her guidance, I turned my head and noticed a separate corner set up in the store. In the 26th Terrarium, people sold their wares on the street like street vendors, but here it seemed consignment sales were the only option.

Various people were each assigned a display stand, smiling kindly. It appeared they were standing next to their own displayed items to solicit customers.

“However, please note that when purchasing external goods, the shopping store’s coupons cannot be accumulated. Also, purchasing external items does not affect the store’s shopping evaluation.”

As I stared at that area for a while, the personal shopper added an explanation. Wow, there are coupons too? What do you get when you collect them all? What’s a shopping evaluation? Is it like giving star ratings?

Besides the consignment display stands, there were many people shopping inside the store. Amid the crowd, I tightly held Daisy and Wolfsbane’s hands, afraid of losing them, and headed toward the counter.

The shopkeeper, who had looked at me warmly, became very disappointed upon seeing that I wasn’t holding any goods. But he quickly changed his expression, just like the administrative officer….

I looked at Daisy and Wolfsbane. The two had insisted on helping me with the quest, taking the mere five guide boards and dividing them into three and two. The boards were as light as pamphlets, hardly a burden, but I gladly handed them over, feeling like I was watching children eager to lend a hand anyway they could.

Now, who is holding the guide board that needs to be delivered to this potion shop? It was in Wolfsbane’s hand.

Hesitantly pulling out one of the two boards and handing it to me, Wolfsbane looked enviously at the remaining three boards Daisy was holding. Catching Wolfsbane’s gaze, Daisy kindly shared one board with him.

Now it’s fair, two boards each. You found the right guide board well—I patted Wolfsbane’s head, and feeling proud of Daisy for knowing how to give in, I looked at her with affection, when the shopkeeper at the counter let out a loud, fake cough.

“Ah, some kid at the entrance said you were busy and asked me to deliver the guide board instead…”

“Oh, you’re a novice druid visiting this shopping store for the first time!”

Without even glancing at the guide board I gave him, the shopkeeper tossed it into a corner of the counter. I could see a pile of identical guide boards stacked there.

Isn’t this quest way too half-hearted? At least pretend to read it… or hide those other identical boards that are just an excuse… Clearly, they’re going to recycle those boards again.

“Welcome to our potion shop! We have many potions perfect for druids just starting their journey. Potions are essential for restoring a dryad’s bark in battles against fire. Dryads whose bark durability has dropped significantly can’t properly engage in fire fights. If the bark burns away completely…”

The shopkeeper used a peculiar tone, like plucking guitar strings. That playful way of ending sentences with a bounce reminded me of how I used to talk on the internet back in elementary school.

His explanations, enthusiastically poured out in a springy, bouncing tone, would have normally been worth listening to for someone like me, who lacks knowledge of this game world. But Mesquite had already explained it all once. Since this was a rare piece of knowledge I already knew, one of my ears just seemed to let the explanations slip right through.

I had already used potions too. Besides, I still had a bunch of potions left over from the prize I got in the 26th Terrarium. Honestly, aside from delivering the guide board, there wasn’t much to see at this potion shop.

I unrolled a piece of parchment and checked the next list. After the potion shop, it’s the equipment shop, right? That one might be worth a visit besides just delivering the guide board. I had already overhauled my equipment once in the 26th Terrarium, but since this one has a lower number, wouldn’t there be something better?

The shopkeeper’s voice grew urgent as he noticed my lack of interest. Then, catching sight of my personal shopper standing behind me, his features scrunched together. By the way, what’s with that ridiculous expression?

“Ah, our guest is looking for something more special!”

“Something special?”

Special something. I kind of like that phrase. As I reacted, the shopkeeper’s face, which had been puckered like a flower bud, burst into full bloom.

“For a beginner druid, there’s a must-have potion!”