Just then, a small commotion broke out outside the room. There was some back-and-forth about who should go in, and then the door opened, and five employees burst in like a flood.

“Is everything comfortable for you?”

“Would you like me to bring you more drinks?”

“It seems you’ve taken a liking to our specialty cookies. I’ll bring you some more.”

“Let me tidy up the area a bit.”

“Is the room temperature to your liking? Shall I ventilate it a bit?”

The polite yet chattering behavior was on par with us dwarves. They cleared the table in perfect unison, refilled the empty cups, rearranged the plates, and kept glancing at me with bright, sparkling eyes. When dwarves chatter like that, it always means they want something. Take more diamonds!”

This request was somewhat the opposite. It seemed the rumor about receiving hefty tips had spread quickly. Very transparent. But I couldn’t help thinking that if I kept handing out tips so freely, eventually all the store’s employees would come in to support me.

At that moment, something neatly tucked under one employee’s arm caught my attention. The employee, sharply noticing my gaze, said, “I thought you might need some reading material, so I prepared this,” and immediately handed it to me. So they had brought it specifically for me to see. It was a newsletter from this terrarium.

The clinic and the dryad training center were attacked, suffering significant damage.”

Visitors and residents are requested to refrain from traveling as much as possible.

– Seeking individuals to assist with restoration. (Technicians only) 00 people

– Seeking individuals to patrol the area for safety. (Druids only) 00 people

– Seeking individuals for special missions. (Druids with identity verification from a terrarium within the 30th range only)

There were many other mission lists, but all were crossed out in red, marked as completed.

Suddenly, I recalled Iris’s words about someone having completed all the requests in this terrarium, leaving no work. I thought I might know who had finished those requests.

It was me. Although it was marked as a special mission, I could vaguely tell it was related to the Cannabis Dryad.

As I flipped through the paper, a section caught my eye.

Do you know about fire hedges?”

Our lumber mill requires seeds of a special tree and requests your help.

Trees that are not easily burned are called fire-resistant trees, and they are often planted near residential areas or major wooden cultural heritage sites to prevent fires from spreading.”

I’ve heard a rumor that there used to be a colony of Viburnum opulus, a type of fire-resistant tree, not far from the 18th terrarium in the past.”

If you discover that place, please let us know, and we will reward you immediately.”

Alternatively, if you are a druid who owns a Viburnum opulus dryad, please visit our lumber mill, and we will also reward you.”

“Viburnum opulus? Where have I heard that before?”

“Ah, you’re looking at that request. We tried to take it on, but everyone said the Viburnum grove is just a legend—no one’s ever found it. Viburnum wood is rare, so if it were near this terrarium, it would’ve been taken long ago, they said. Either it’d all been cut down for fences or dug up by the roots. That’s why if you look at the date the request was posted, you’ll see it’s pretty old, right?”

“Viburnum dryads are rare-grade, so they’re hard to spot…”

The druid party, who had been munching on the desserts refilled by the staff, finally spoke up.

“Oh… a legend… nice. I love this kind of stuff.”

Knowing it was a request no one had completed for so long piqued my interest. Plus, I got to learn about the unique water-warding tree that’s hard to burn. If the wood is rare and the dryads are rare too, then I wanted to claim it for myself.

But didn’t Kalong say it’s dangerous for me to leave this terrarium for a while? Just then, there was a good druid party here.

“Want to search for it? Oh, perfect timing. We’ve got plenty of exploration requests like this on the completion list—let’s see your skills! I’d like to see how other druids handle quests too… I’ll post the request myself, not through the lumber mill here.”

“Huh?”

“Sounds fun. It’s like a treasure hunt, right? I think it’s a good way to get to know each other before joining the guild. This is… well, yeah. Think of it as a guild entry test!”

I was already curious about what Mesquite’s people were like anyway. It seemed like a natural way to set things up.

“I knew there’d be some kind of test…”

How was I supposed to post a request? I’m the administrative officer, so I can do it as I please, right? I don’t have any of those parchment scrolls people usually use to receive quests…

Flipping through the newsletter pages, I spotted a blank sheet on the very last page with nothing written on it. I tore it off, and the personal shopper noticed and quickly handed me a pen.

No time limit, request is to find a viburnum grove, completion condition: perform a series of actions to locate the grove, okay if not found, demonstrate the seasoned experience of a quest specialist—process over results.

It was hard to write it formally like the quests NPCs give, so I just scribbled down whatever came to mind.

“Rewards are important, right? The reward, um… if I’m satisfied with the party play, you can join the 28th Terrarium’s exclusive guild. Guild benefits include all perks of exclusive guilds, plus full activity fee support!”

“Activity fees?”

“Yes! If you’re part of the guild, I’ll support everything you need for quests or battles. Potions, equipment, food—anything you need, all of it!”

“Is the terrarium’s exclusive guild usually that generous…?”

He emptied his pockets, shaking out all his diamonds and spread them out, asking to see some skills. Weren’t you hesitant just buying one potion earlier? I wish you to face this in top condition, with these diamonds as my offering.

Under the excuse of needing time to prepare for the druid party and that I still had errands to run, we agreed to meet again the next day.

I set it for the next day because I needed time to properly study and prepare for the guild design. Also, the quest to deliver the shopping store signboards was still unfinished.

The meeting place was in front of the VIP inn provided by the 18th Terrarium administrative officer. While I was at it, I arranged their accommodation at the same inn. I got mine for free, but I had to pay for all of theirs.

Iris was especially burdened by this, so I made a strong case, saying I was buying their time and they should accept it as a benefit for prospective guild members. Please think of it as receiving interview expense support.

After finishing all the payments at the dessert shop, I told them to take their time and left first. I had no other business there besides talking with the druid party.

I unfolded the quest scroll. The next item on the list after the equipment shop was the weapon shop. Finally, I’d get to wield something! During the battle with the fire elemental, I was deeply envious of Siedling swinging his sword around effortlessly.

Even though my dryads were strong, I thought I should take this opportunity to develop other skills useful in combat, instead of just throwing diamonds.

I arrived at the weapon shop and delivered the signboard. Daisy’s hands were now empty. When asked what weapon I was looking for, I thought of a sword like Siedling’s. The shop owner guided me to a display case where short daggers and large, broadswords were gathered together. And then I hit a wall.

“Wow… this is insanely heavy…”

With not a single muscle and never having exercised diligently in my life, there was no way I could suddenly swing a weapon like some fantasy hero.

Even the small dagger Daisy carried, which seemed light, could break my wrist if swung improperly… And since it’s a weapon specialized for close combat, they said I’d have trouble even getting near the fire if I’m not agile…

This wasn’t a world like a real game where you just equip something and use it automatically. Since I fell into this game with my own physical stats and body intact, I was by no means cut out to be a hero.

They said a training ground for novice druids operates here in Terrarium, but I’d need at least a month of consistent training to build basic stamina. Me, who never even signed up for a gym membership like everyone else after the college entrance exam…?

“…Isn’t there anything else…? What’s that? It looks like a gun.”

Whether swords, spears, or the lance guns that looked like what Mesquite used, there was no weapon here I could use. Then I spotted the emergency escape special corner.

“These are weapons convenient for escaping crisis situations. This is a special rescue signal bullet. When you shoot it up, it can inform other druids of your location.”

“They all look like guns—is this one also a gun?”

“This is a gun equipped with a throwable fire extinguisher. It can shoot farther and more powerfully than just throwing it. Only druids can use it, and it uses special bullets made by combining the power of the Awae Tree Dryad with alchemy. It condenses the power to spew foam in battles against fire. However, since it’s not power used directly by a dryad, its force is weak, and it can only be used for escaping crisis situations. If you possess an Awae Tree Dryad, its power would improve, but…”

“Oh… can I try it?”

“As I said, the bullets are specially crafted through alchemy… You can test it if you pay for the bullets.”

The shop owner hesitated, then glanced at the personal shopper standing behind me and handed me the gun. It looked exactly like a water gun. Despite its heavy appearance, when I held it with both hands, it felt quite light.

Instead of loading a magazine like in games, I could take out bullets the size of batteries from a box and push them into the gun’s muzzle to use.

When I went out the back door of the shop, there was something like a scarecrow set up. It was covered in signs of damage all over, suggesting that once you buy a weapon, you can test it here.

I’ve never held a gun except when playing shooting games at the arcade or having water gun fights—am I holding it right?

Standing at a distance from the scarecrow and getting into position, the shop owner wrapped scrap paper around the scarecrow and lit it with a match. Oh… that looks convincing?

When I pulled the trigger, it made a sound like air escaping—poosh—and the bullet fired. Then it hit the scarecrow with a dull thud, like a lump of mud. For a gun, it was quite lacking in style. A white foam bubbled up from where the bullet struck, and in an instant, the fire went out.

“With ordinary fire, it puts it out like this, but outside fires just slow down a bit. It’s a specially made gun to allow you to escape during that moment.”

“Oh… I’ll take this! I’ll buy the bullets too!”

Even if the power is weak, it’s the only weapon I can use, right? Even if the shooting accuracy is poor, the bullets are big, so just focusing on hitting seems useful.

The bullets required the hassle of special crafting, and even without inserting them into the gun, they could be used as throwable fire extinguishers on their own, so the price was quite high.

In other words, every time I fired, diamonds were being consumed.

The shop owner repeatedly asked, even while selling the gun, whether I really intended to use it in combat, looking incredulous. Looks like I’m really shooting diamonds now. Bang bang.

“What do I do when I use up all these bullets?”

“I need to commission an alchemist. There happens to be an alchemist who possesses an Awanai Dryad at the alchemy tower of the 18th Terrarium, so you can request a custom order from them. Or, if you let me know in advance, I’ll prepare the stock.”

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. If I could turn the Dryad’s power into bullets, could I do the same with other Dryads’ powers…?