Buff Muscle Dryads
The land where the World Tree had taken root, Eldrassil. On the outskirts of that city, in the elves' forest. A place where footsteps had all but ceased since the elves entered their hibernation. A location that would normally be filled only with silence was today bustling with commotion.
"Why did the Gallery have to go down right now of all times?!"
"The timing is just awful. I wanted to let everyone know..."
Elves stomping their feet in frustration and elves furrowing their brows while voicing their complaints. They were pouring out their grievances at the sight before their eyes.
"What the hell is that water, anyway? How did you all change like this in just a week?!"
What they were looking at were the trees on the outskirts of the forest, which had withered alongside the weakening power of the World Tree. And the tree spirits, the dryads, who lived in those trees.
Before the experiment began, they had surely been nothing but scrawny anchovies. Yet in just a week, their appearances had drastically transformed.
"Could you quiet down a bit...? We saved spirits that were on the verge of death, and now they've turned into muscle pigs..."
They were no longer scrawny anchovies but muscle-obsessed gym freaks.
An incomprehensible outcome. The elves seriously reviewed the experiment process, even suspecting if their sense of time had gone awry.
"Phew... Tiael? It's been less than a week, right? I haven't lost my memory or anything?"
It surely hadn't even been a week yet. Laerin, desperately hoping her memory was intact, asked her fellow elf.
"You think so too? I was worrying if I'd gotten early-onset dementia."
Tiael let out a hollow laugh and decided to accept the scene before her eyes. It wasn't as if four hundred elves had all come down with dementia at once.
"...Maybe I should quit botany? Feels like I don't have the talent."
Laerin's words sounded like resignation. Tiael looked at her in surprise.
Laerin was a genius elf who had devoted her life to plant research. Through her abilities, she had worked tirelessly to save the World Tree. For her, who had always been praised as a genius, this incident seemed like a massive shock.
Tiael wanted to comfort her friend, but as a botanist herself, she was equally stunned. Unable to find words of consolation, she turned her gaze back to the scene before them.
"...""
The muscle-packed spirits showing off their physiques. It was good news. The trees had become healthy, so if they gave that water to the World Tree, it could recover its health. It was undoubtedly something to be thrilled about.
But the two elves couldn't purely rejoice.
Seeing that annoying display, their initial joy evaporated somewhere.
"...You contacted the Captain, right?"
"Yeah. She'll be here soon."
In the end, the two elves stopped thinking and decided to wait for their superior. Time passed in a mix of resignation and irritation.
How much time had gone by? They sensed Taelia Isilva's mana drawing steadily closer. Tiael and Laerin stood up from where they had slumped down.
Since they could sense the mana, she would appear before them in an instant.
"I heard and came running. Getting healthy is good, so what exactly is the problem..."
Taelia, the guardian captain who had rushed over mid-bite of her tteokbokki after an ambiguous report. Appearing with red sauce smeared all over her mouth, she was left speechless by the sight.
"..."
Taelia glared at the spirits with a deeply furrowed brow. She pondered whether to vent her frustration from having her meal interrupted on these beings before her.
The annoying tree spirits who had relentlessly teased the young Taelia in her childhood. Those same annoying tree spirits had evolved into an even more irritating form.
Dryads whose joy in life was teasing innocent elves. They had teased the young Taelia mercilessly.
"You lot, quiet down. If you make a racket, I'll rip your hair out."
The Taelia who had been relentlessly teased as a child had made them pay the appropriate price. That established hierarchy, unchanging for life.
Taelia reaffirmed the hierarchy between herself and them, then turned her gaze to the two elves. She saw her subordinates wearing expressions of resignation. Guessing why, she decided to lighten their moods first.
"Phew... I get what the problem is. You've worked hard, so go over there and rest while eating this."
With those words, she handed over some soupy tteokbokki. It wasn't sold in shops, but thanks to Taelia, all elves shared in this happiness. Seeing their new favorite food, the two elves' faces bloomed with smiles.
But their reactions differed slightly.
"Thanks, Captain! I'll enjoy it!"
Tiael happily accepted it, while
"Um... Captain? Is it okay to hand out stuff not sold in the shop like this...?"
Laerin hesitated, worried. She loved eating it, but feared it might cause trouble for Taelia.
Cute subordinates showing their respective reactions. Looking at her peers in age, Taelia replied as if to say not to worry.
"It's fine! The Moderator said it's my right, so do as I please!"
The rights the Moderator had mentioned during the shameless impudence incident. Taelia was using those rights more fully than anyone.
"Jeez, Laerin, you worry too much. Come on! If the Captain uses mana, we won't get to eat this!"
"O-Okay! Okay, so don't pull... Thanks, Captain! I'll savor it!"
The two elves retreated with their tteokbokki. Taelia watched them go with a smile, then turned to the tree spirits.
Her face instantly turned expressionless.
Instilled fear. The tree spirits stood at attention, awaiting Taelia's words.
"You lot, answer questions directly. If you pull any nonsense again, you're on your own."
Like fresh recruits straight out of basic. Taelia nodded in satisfaction and continued her questions.
"Pre-nutrient physical state, mid-process, current physical state, overall evaluation of the nutrient. You're all too noisy and annoying, so you do it alone."
Pointing at one for being noisy. At the tip of her finger was, of all things, the female dryad who had tormented the young Taelia the most.
The leg-showcasing tree spirit realized this was an unavoidable trial. Hoping her answer would please Taelia, she did her utmost.
{We had no energy left, barely maintaining our existence! After the nutrient, vitality surged through our bodies, and our physical limits for absorbing mana sharply increased! Currently, no further drastic changes, but our bodily limits are gradually expanding! The nutrient is an incredible item! If given to the World Tree, it will surely recover very quickly!}
Trembling all over yet delivering her answer without stumbling. The surrounding tree spirits reddened at the sight.
Was Taelia satisfied? She nodded and issued the next order.
"Got it. Good work. From now on, when those kids come asking questions, answer sincerely like this. If you fool around like today and make them mope... be prepared."
Taking care of her subordinates while setting them up for smooth future missions—the mark of an excellent superior. Seeing how splendidly the bratty elf they used to tease had grown, the tree spirits felt the passage of time.
A bittersweet, hard-to-describe emotion. They inwardly prayed fervently for Taelia to treat them a bit kinder.
Elves and dryads lived in symbiosis under the World Tree, after all.
Did their plea not reach her? Taelia turned and left coldly.
The tree spirits gave bitter smiles at her departing figure. If they'd known she'd hold a grudge this long, they would've teased her less.
It was the moment they reconfirmed their irreparable relationship with Taelia.
Confirming she was far enough away, they quietly began conversing.
No remorse whatsoever—just mischievous natures suppressed by fear. The dryads' conversation, instincts restrained by a single elf. They gazed vacantly at the terror that would last another six hundred years.