Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Righteous Druid (3)
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“Pant, pant…”
I’d clearly underestimated them.
El and Ayla were growing far faster than I’d anticipated.
Proving their lineage from the Reinhardt family, renowned for their sturdy constitutions across generations, El was eating like crazy, sleeping like crazy, and growing like crazy. The scrawny little girl was gone, replaced by a picture of pure robustness.
Ayla, now fully matured, had also thrown herself into serious training, and her body was expanding at an unbelievable rate. She’d seemed huge before, but now she was unmistakably larger than an average bull—on par with a Maple Bear.
The scary part? They were still growing.
It had been so long since I’d last felt my stamina flagging that I couldn’t even remember when it happened, but training with these two had left me in a ‘fatigued’ state for the first time in ages.
-Thud.
I plopped down under a massive tree to catch my breath, watching the pair still bounding around.
‘Damn, these guys… are they sneaking off to eat stamina-boosting tonics behind my back or something?’
Their endurance was monstrous. I’d been drilling them nearly all day, yet they showed no signs of tiring. It was like looking at two beagles straight out of hell.
“El!”
“Yes, Master!”
El, who’d been leaping over the vine obstacles I’d set up, kicked up a cloud of dust as she skidded to a halt, then pivoted and charged toward me. Ayla, chasing after her, did the same.
“It’s about lunchtime.”
I pulled out the packed lunches I’d stored in my subspace ring and handed one to El, then tossed a hefty calf leg to Ayla.
“Eat up, rest a bit, then back to training.”
“Yes!”
-Woof!
Both responded with gusto.
Instead of grabbing my own lunch, I stood up.
“Master?”
“Same as every day. I’ve got somewhere to be.”
-Whoosh…
With a rush of wind, space rippled, revealing the entrance to my Dimensional Garden.
“I’ll be back by dinner.”
Without hesitation, I stepped into the garden.
* * *
-The same time, in the elven nation of Lüsét-
Elder Blanche of the elves stared across Lake of Life, his face etched with worry.
At the end of his gaze stood the World Tree, slowly losing its luster and withering away.
‘No sign of improvement at all.’
The World Tree.
Even Blanche, an elf who had lived nearly a millennium, couldn’t fathom its origins. It was the primordial force that had sustained this world since ancient times.
Despite the cursed land swallowing half the continent, life had thrived because malevolent forces couldn’t pass through the world’s center, where the World Tree stood.
The world evaded death and ruin,
Life and prosperity overflowed,
All thanks to the World Tree.
Yet now, that very tree was withering.
As if heralding the end of the world.
“There’s nothing we can do right now.”
One of the equally aged elven elders spoke to the troubled Blanche.
The others nodded in agreement.
Even the great elven elders were powerless before the fading World Tree.
Though he hadn’t held out much hope, Blanche let out a deep sigh.
The world wouldn’t end today.
But if the World Tree continued to wither, it surely would.
Blanche and the other elders knew this all too well.
“Envis’s whereabouts remain unknown.”
Envis.
The mighty and beautiful phoenix guardian of the World Tree.
The legend that rainbows appeared whenever Envis took flight was known across the continent.
But for several years now, no rainbows had graced the skies.
Because Envis had vanished.
“We must find it somehow.”
As the World Tree began to wither, Envis had disappeared as well.
This only heightened the elves’ anxiety.
“Find Envis and restore the World Tree.”
“…”
“That’s the only way to save the world.”
Blanche tore his gaze from the fading tree.
“Offer a cart of gold—or anything they desire—to whoever brings back even a single feather of Envis.”
Where on earth could they even find Envis? It was the question on everyone’s mind, but the elven elders nodded silently.
* * *
I strolled through the garden with light steps.
“You’ve all grown nicely.”
Thanks to my occasional tending, the Dimensional Garden now truly felt like a garden.
‘Though, thinking about it, it’s way too big to call it that.’
Gazing at the endless horizon, I couldn’t help but wonder just how vast this space really was.
I’d even tried measuring it once, but after two days of walking, I hadn’t reached the edge and gave up.
‘Eh, big is good, right?’
I inspected the Black Opium fields, still growing strong. With the perfect temperature, humidity, and light levels I’d set, they were thriving. It’d take time for a full harvest, but…
‘If I play my cards right, I could be rolling in money.’
The shortage of Black Opium hadn’t eased up. Once harvested, I could sell these to mages for a fortune. Of course, I’d need to take precautions to avoid suspicion…
‘Worst case, I could offload them to that lunatic Khalid.’
I didn’t want to tangle with the guy who’d nearly killed me again, but…
It was reassuring to have a buyer if money got tight.
After sprinkling some sweet morning dew on the Black Opium, I moved on.
Scattered throughout the garden were moonflowers—essential for [Moon Light]—along with various plants and wild herbs I’d collected from across the continent, each blooming in their own beauty: crimson-eyed flowers, gray hookweed, Dwarf Dandelions, Giant Kudzu Vines, and more.
“Oh, this one’s grown a lot too.”
I snapped off a branch from the silver tree emitting a faint glow. The light extended to the twigs, so a bit more growth and I’d have unlimited arrow material.
Other crops like red wheat and Wind Ferns for food, and ice moss, were flourishing too.
‘It’s practically self-sustaining now.’
I plucked and ate a Royju fruit, which tasted like bananas, while taking in the garden’s scenery.
I could plant more trees over there, start proper farming here, and…
-Peep…
“Hm?”
In this place filled only with the whisper of wind through leaves, an impossible chirp echoed.
‘A bird?’
The [Dimensional Garden] was just that—a dimensional garden. Nothing should exist here except what I cultivated…
-Peep…
But there it was.
“…”
The sound came from the garden’s center—the spot where something had already been growing when I first opened it. I’d left it alone, and what started as a frail sprout had become a proper tree.
-Peep…
Perched on its now-lush branches was a sparrow-like little bird.
A sparrow?
No, too plump for one.
Could it even fly like that?
‘Still…’
Outside, maybe, but a bird living here?
Impossible. The Dimensional Garden was a space permitted only to me.
I reached out for a closer look. That’s when it happened.
-Plop.
The little bird dropped limply to the ground. Too weak to even flap, it trembled on the dirt.
-Peep…
Its chirps grew fainter, its warmth fading. Without hesitation, I gathered mana at my fingertips. A [Nature’s Healing] should do the trick.
But something unexpected happened.
“Huh?”
Just casting the basic, lowest-tier skill [Nature’s Healing] was draining an enormous amount of mana.
More precisely, my mana was being completely ‘devoured’ by this tiny bird smaller than my palm. Startled, I tried to pull my hand back, but my fingers wouldn’t budge.
“What the hell…”
I could only watch the unbelievable scene.
The unfamiliar bird gaping its beak like a chick devouring food from its mother, slurping up my mana greedily.
-Peep…!
It was desperate. One wing looked broken, legs kicking wildly in a fight for life.
A strange feeling washed over me.
Maybe because it reminded me of myself—waking in this world, doing anything to survive.
“…”
I didn’t shake it off. Instead, I let it be, cradling it in my palm until it recovered.
-Peep!
How much time passed?
As a slight dizziness set in, the bird finally seemed satisfied, flapping its wings and chirping at me.
“…Satisfied now?”
I could faintly sense my mana within it. Whatever the mechanism, it had consumed my mana to sustain its life.
Mana recovered anyway, so no big loss.
-Peep! Chirp!
It flapped eagerly, wanting to fly, but its tiny wings only made it bounce around like a ball—grounded.
“Ha, jeez…”
Should I just leave it?
Then a story from my Korean childhood flashed through my mind—[Heungbu Nol], the tale everyone grew up with.
Nurse an injured bird, get rewarded? Couldn’t pass that up.
‘Might even be a hidden pet.’
Its unique appearance suggested an unreleased pet glitched into existence.
‘No harm in keeping it.’
I tucked the still-fluttering, chirping bird into my bosom and stood.
-Whoosh…
At the same time, the nameless tree—now quite lush—swayed in the wind.
Or rather…
-Whoosh…
It felt like wind was emanating from the tree itself.
‘…Nah, imagination.’
Anyway, the breeze was fresh, brimming with vitality.
-Peep!
The bird in my arms chirped happily, sensing it too.
Leaning against the tree, I quietly surveyed my life-filled Dimensional Garden.
-Whoosh…
The wind blew again.
As if the nameless tree were whispering that everything would work out.