A Place to Take Root (3)
I zipped along on my scooter until I finally reached the Driad Botanical Garden.
Just like last time, I parked it haphazardly in the empty lot and headed inside.
"Was the vibe here always like this...?"
I'd been to the Driad Botanical Garden once before, but it felt weird, like this wasn't the same place I'd visited.
The garden itself hadn't changed much.
It was still overflowing with lush green plants, just like before.
But something about it struck me as completely different now.
And soon enough, I figured out why I'd thought that.
It wasn't the garden that had changed—it was me.
The first time, I hadn't sensed any of this strangeness at all.
Back then, I'd just thought, damn, lots of trees. Now I could finally feel the true essence of the Driad Botanical Garden.
It felt cut off from the rest of the world, like its own separate realm.
That must've been because I'd grown stronger, sharpening my ki sense along the way.
Now I could tell just how bizarre this place really was.
All the ki flowed toward one spot, then poured back out from it, over and over.
Normally, ki—or mana—was embedded in everything around us.
If it wasn't there at all, fine, but if even a little existed, it should have that inherent property.
But not here.
It was like a massive heart pulsing, sucking in blood and pumping it out.
I could feel it drawing ki in, then expelling it, repeating the cycle by force.
That unnatural circulation was what made this place feel so alien.
A separate world.
One governed by different laws altogether—or at least, that's how it felt. And it probably wasn't just a feeling.
'Don't go making any casual contracts or promises with Ariadd.'
I remembered Lilith warning me.
'That's her domain. Even offhand words can bind you like a pact.'
Domain.
Ariadd's territory—the domain of the World Tree spirit, a dryad.
"Kinda creeping me out now."
At the center... there was probably that massive tree I'd seen before, Ariadd's true body, the biggest among all the World Trees here.
Anyway, the atmosphere felt off.
Like I'd crawled into the belly of some giant creature. Seeing nothing but trees made the disconnect even worse.
If the energy had felt sinister or evil, I might've bolted. But it wasn't quite that.
It was more like an instinctive dread: don't fight the owner here, no matter what. A gut feeling of certain defeat.
Not that I planned to fight Ariadd anyway.
But separate from that unease, something else was nagging at me.
The alien vibe or disconnect? I could brush that off.
It was just a sensation, not some ominous threat.
If anything, it was fascinating—like, whoa, cool.
But this gaze? That was different.
Last time, I'd just thought there were a ton of trees. Now I knew for sure.
They were all watching me.
Okay, that might sound weird.
Everything around me was trees, after all.
But that's exactly how it felt.
Every damn tree around me was staring.
It gave me chills.
No malice, though—more like they were welcoming me. If anything, that made it more intimidating.
Like strolling through a giant creature's guts while its stomach walls sprout eyes that watch you warmly.
"Human?"
"It's a human."
"Who?"
"A guest?"
"No word about a guest."
"Then?"
"Then who?"
Anyway, I pushed through the trees toward Ariadd, wondering how far I'd gone, when I spotted those green-haired little sprites I'd seen before.
The fairies.
Whatever game they were playing with their pile of dirt, they noticed me and started staring, whispering just like last time.
Seeing them actually put me at ease. Weird, right?
Last time, just spotting those fairies had freaked me out. Now? Relief.
Couldn't be helped.
Feeling eyes from everywhere with no one in sight, then bam—something humanoid stares right at you. Kinda comforting.
"Intruder?"
"An intruder?"
"Intruders are bad."
"Bad?"
"Bad ones get punished."
But their chatter sounded ominous.
"No, I was here before too..."
Before I could finish, whoosh—tree vines shot out. I yelped and leaped back, but fairies were behind me too.
"Human's fast."
"Missed the bind."
"Then?"
"What if we miss the bind?"
"Then thorns."
Green waves rippled around the fairies.
And then.
"No, fuck."
Pssshhh!
Thorns rained down endlessly.
Longer and sharper than chestnut burrs—way too pointy for thorns—flying at me wildly.
No choice.
To get used to spells, I'd been practicing Gangche without Hoah, wrapping my body in it solo. But without my Gift active, I was just a bit tougher and quicker than a normal human.
Even with my current Gangche boosting that twofold, still barely above average.
Dodging a barrage right in my face? Impossible. Taking hits? I'd be fucked.
So.
Shwoop!
I flipped on the Cheonho armor Yustitia fixed for me yesterday.
As the blackened armor enveloped me, confidence surged.
Simple reason.
Ting ting ting.
The thorns the fairies unleashed bounced harmlessly off the Cheonho armor.
I just had to shield my eyes—plenty of vision slits. The rest? Armor handled it, not a single thorn piercing.
Beyond that.
Whoosh!
"Ngh."
I grabbed and yanked the vines lunging with the thorns. They tore off easy.
Not that impressive.
The sudden attack and sheer numbers spooked me, but the vines were weak, and the thorn impacts? Weaker than skeleton punches.
Just playing around, huh.
Fairies love pranks, after all...
Though on human scale, it was no joke.
For them, this might be light fun.
"Ah, but..."
Lilith said not to play along with fairy pranks.
I hadn't meant to, but...
And soon I saw why.
The fairies staring at me whispered again.
"Weird."
"Human transformed?"
"Transformed and blocked thorns."
"Not human then?"
"Not human?"
"Non-humans are okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay."
"Then."
"Then."
"Then, harder."
Chanting "harder" like a song, they clasped hands.
Two, three, four—fairies linking up. One lone fairy sadly clapped alone. Kinda cute and dopey.
But what came next? Not cute.
"Ah."
Green lights gathered around them, forming a massive fist.
No, fists. Plural.
Whoosh—vines twisting into huge, heavy masses. Lots of them.
That looks painful.
"No, I'm not an intruder. I was here last time too..."
"Take this too, transforming human!"
They cut me off, giggling wildly. Some even cheered me on, pumped.
"Fucking wanna flick some foreheads."
Goddamn, I wanted to flick them hard.
Hesitated, then clenched my fist.
Not to flick, though.
Shrrk...
Dragon claws formed over it, blackened like the Cheonho armor.
Not planning a real fight, so no Wearhoneybee stinger—just blunt, huge gauntlets.
"Transformed again."
"Fun!"
"Amazing!"
"How amazing? Let's see!"
"See!"
They laughed, waving hands—fists swung at me.
Really wanna flick 'em.
Anyway, as I reared to counter the massive wooden fist...
"Stooop."
A booming voice hummed through, freezing us all—fairies and me.
"No more pranks nowww, okayyy?"
Trees sprouted from my feet.
Shwooom—starting at my legs, wrapping my whole body.
And that tree shifted into a familiar form.
"Long time no seee, Hanjooo?"
Ariadd.
In her World Tree spirit form.
"Ufufu... Didn't expect to see you again so sooon."
It'd been hard bark seconds ago; now soft, squishy Ariadd flesh hugged me tight. Felt weird as hell.
Especially...
"And wowww... You were cute before, but now... so haaandsome, my Hanjooo♡"
Her tits seemed even bigger than last time. Barely covered by leaves before, now fully exposed—huge nipples as big as her boobs. My dick twitched hard.
Anyway, the fairies scattered, hiding behind trees or covering their eyes, behaving. I relaxed my fist and said,
"Long time no see, Ariadd."
The much taller Ariadd smiled down at me, then glanced around.
"Hmm? Weird... No Lilith scent anywhere. You came aloneee?"
"Ah, yeah."
"Oh myyy... Reallyyy...?"
Her eyes sparkled.
"Here all by yourself todayyy, my Hanjooo...♡"
She squish-pressed her massive tits at me—super intimidating—when
Squish.
My face buried in titflesh.
Her sweet scent made my head spin.
"...Hey, Ariadd? Mind backing off a bit?"
"Whaaat? Don't like ittt?"
Not that I hated it.
Face-deep in soft, plump Ariadd boobs? Fucking heaven. Sweet scent too? Perfect.
Too perfect. Problem.
My chastity-ignorant dick was throbbing wildly, poking at her... leaf-free, naked pussy.
She was taller, my dick long—turtlehead perfectly aligned with her slit. Couldn't help it.
Poke, poke. Fully hard under my pants, jabbing her pussy.
I knew it wasn't my will, but face in tits while boned up? Guilt stabbed me.