Invitation
Invitation
Greenhouse Annex.
Druid Department Dormitory.
I opened the door.
Kiiik-
"Oh! Ian's here!"
Thor was already there.
Five sheets of parchment were spread across the table.
Pens were rolling around.
Sera was clutching her head beside them.
"You're finally here."
Sera lifted her head.
"Ian hoobae. We need to work out the festival booth concept together."
'I haven't even stepped inside yet.'
I stood frozen, still holding the door handle.
"Not coming in?"
Thor gestured.
I walked in.
Kiiik-
As I closed the door, the smell of medicinal herbs stung my nose.
Herbs.
Dried grass.
The smell of old paper.
I sat at the table.
Corner seat.
Hana seonbae poured me some tea.
"Drink up. It's going to be a long one today."
"............Long, you say?"
"We can't pin down the booth concept."
Thor pointed at the parchment.
"It's been three hours."
"............."
'Three hours.'
'Just on the booth concept.'
Sera let out a sigh.
"Seonbae keeps only chanting 'peace.'"
"What's wrong with peace!"
"Who's going to come if the theme is peace!"
"If it looks peaceful, they'll come!"
"They won't!"
And they were off again.
Hana seonbae looked at me and whispered quietly.
"They've been like this for three hours straight. Please mediate a little."
"............I don't think someone like me is capable of mediating."
"You're our hoobae. If hoobae says something, they'll listen."
The assistant instructor sipped his tea.
A mouthful.
Hororok.
"Ian student. What do you think?"
"............Me?"
"How about the peace concept?"
'.............'
'It'd be really difficult to attract 5 freshmen with peace.'
"............Honestly, I think it'd be incredibly difficult."
Thor looked at me.
"Why! Even hoobae!"
Sera clapped.
"See, seonbae! Hoobae says so too!"
"Hoobae, be honest."
"............People don't come to a booth to buy peace, you know."
Thor crumbled.
He buried his head in the parchment.
"............Yeah. I guess that's true."
Sera became triumphant.
"That's why I'm telling you we need something provocative!"
Sera spread out her parchment.
[Druid Department Booth — "Magic Beast Extermination Herb" Direct Sale]
[Effects: Goblin Avoidance / Slime Extermination / Nighttime Magic Beast Repellent]
[Price: Starting from 5 silver coins]
'.............'
The assistant instructor stopped drinking his tea.
"............Sera student."
"Yes!"
"Does this really work?"
"It probably does. Since it's a herb."
"It's not about 'probably,' it's about whether it works."
"It probably will. Maybe. If you steep it strong."
Sera slid the parchment behind her back.
Thor lifted his head.
"See, hoobae. If it's provocative, it's a scam."
"............I didn't say to run a scam!"
"But it ends up being a scam, doesn't it?"
"That's because I haven't tested it!"
"We don't have time to test it. The festival's next week."
And they were off again.
'.............'
I drank my tea and looked at the parchments.
Thor's idea — "A Peaceful Nature Experience. A Cup of Tea."
Sera's idea — "Magic Beast Extermination Herb" (suspected scam).
Hana's idea — "Herb Tasting Session" (likely tastes bad).
Assistant instructor's idea — "Experiential Plant Growing" (insufficient time).
They were all lacking.
'.............'
'Shit. This is actually really hard.'
'What is a druid's charm anyway.'
'.............'
'Come to think of it.'
'What people expect from a druid is.'
'Not fighting magic beasts.'
'But the mystery of nature. That sort of thing.'
'But how do you show mystery at a booth.'
'Mana Stone.'
It suddenly popped into my head.
When I opened the back panel of the game console.
5-grade Mana Stone.
Circuit.
The one I burned out twelve times.
'......Wait.'
'If you channel mana into a plant using a 5-grade Mana Stone.'
'Doesn't its growth speed increase?'
'.............'
'No. I don't know.'
'I've never tried it.'
But the game screen flickered in my head for a moment.
The one where you grew a potted plant with a druid character.
It was a mini-game.
Stage 17.
If you pressed the controller key with your finger at a consistent rhythm, the character channeled mana and the potted plant grew.
If the rhythm was too fast, the sprout fell off.
If the rhythm broke, it stopped growing mid-way.
It only grew if it was consistent.
That mini-game I played countless times over 5,000 hours.
'That sensation.'
'Couldn't it be applied to a Mana Stone.'
'.............'
'That's probably too much to ask.'
'My incantation didn't work in Chapter 5.'
'The game and reality are different.'
'But.'
'Even if the incantation didn't work, hand technique is...'
'.............'
I took a sip of tea.
"............Hey."
All three of them turned to look at me simultaneously.
"............."
'The stares are extremely heavy.'
"............How about growing a seed?"
"A seed?"
Thor looked at me.
"I told you experiential plant growing lacks time."
"......No, it's about accelerating it with a Mana Stone."
"............Mana Stone?"
The three of them had blank expressions.
"It's speeding up plant growth by channeling a Mana Stone. 5-grade Mana Stones are a bit tricky to process so they're not usually used. But for single-use output for a booth, it's possible."
"Visitors receive one seed, place their hand on the Mana Stone, and a sprout emerges right there on the spot. In a short amount of time."
"Then it shows the mystery of nature, and it's experiential. If freshmen come and see it, I think they'd be somewhat interested."
I looked around after finishing speaking.
The three of them had frozen stiff.
No expression.
"............No. It won't work, I guess."
"Wait."
It was the assistant instructor.
He put down his tea.
"Ian student."
"............Yes."
"Growing a plant with a Mana Stone. Is that really possible?"
"............In theory, yes."
"Have you done it before?"
"............."
I haven't done it.
To be precise.
But I've done it maybe 5,000 times in the game.
"............I've done something similar."
The assistant instructor's eyes changed.
Thor's eyes changed.
Sera's eyes changed.
Hana's eyes changed.
All of them.
In the same way.
'.............'
'Here we go again.'
The assistant instructor stood up.
"Ian student."
"Yes."
"Can you do it right now?"
"............Right now?"
"Yes. Now."
"I'll bring a Mana Stone!"
Sera stood up.
She ran out.
"Wait, Sera! Do we have a 5-grade Mana Stone?"
Thor followed.
"If you look in the storage, there should be one!"
Hana followed them out.
The assistant instructor looked at me.
He smiled.
"This is exciting."
10 minutes later.
A Mana Stone was placed on the table.
Gray.
Fist-sized.
5-grade.
Sera had an excited expression.
"I brought the one that was rolling around in the corner of the storage!"
Beside it, a flowerpot.
An empty flowerpot.
It only contained soil.
One seed.
The assistant instructor gently buried the seed in the soil.
"Alright, Ian student. Try it."
'Shit. Now that I actually have to do it.'
Three people were watching.
Four, including the assistant instructor.
My heart was pounding.
"............It might not work. Since it's my first time trying it."
"It's fine."
The assistant instructor said.
I placed my hand on the Mana Stone.
I concentrated.
The mana inside my body.
It was faint.
Thin as thread.
Like when I channeled it into the game console.
Carefully.
Thinly.
Mana entered the Mana Stone.
The Mana Stone vibrated minutely.
A faint light.
0.5 seconds.
It went out.
'.............'
I looked at the seed.
The soil was unchanged.
No change.
'.............'
'Ah.'
Sera's expression stiffened.
Thor scratched his head.
Hana lowered her gaze.
"............."
"............."
'As expected.'
'That's my life for you.'
I was about to lift my hand.
But just before lifting it.
'Wait.'
I looked at the Mana Stone again.
The light had gone out, but.
Mana had entered it.
For 0.5 seconds.
But it didn't grow.
'Why didn't it grow.'
'.............'
'Ah.'
The game screen flickered in my head again.
Stage 17.
Druid mini-game.
There were two cases where the sprout wouldn't grow.
One was when the mana was too scarce.
The other was when the flow was broken.
What I just did.
I channeled it thinly, carefully.
And cut it off immediately.
'Ah.'
'You mustn't cut it off.'
'.............'
'One more time?'
'One more time.'
The three of them were watching.
Their expressions had cooled.
Expressions of trying to console someone who had failed.
'Shit.'
'A second failure is even more humiliating.'
"......May I try one more time."
"......Uh. Sure."
Thor nodded.
It was a tone with no expectations.
I concentrated.
This time, differently.
Without cutting it off.
Thinly.
Continuously.
Like when I played the mini-game in the game.
Like pressing the controller key at a consistent rhythm.
The sensation in my fingertips.
That rhythm ingrained over 5,000 hours.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
That sound I heard from the game screen.
Continuous.
Constant.
Mana flowed.
Without breaking.
The Mana Stone shone.
This time it didn't go out.
'.............'
'Uh.'
'.............'
'Is this uh..?'
The Mana Stone kept shining.
Bluely.
Softly.
The soil shifted.
Sera stopped breathing.
"............."
The soil split.
Green.
A small sprout.
Fingernail-sized.
Seureureuk.
It began to grow.
1cm.
2cm.
Thor's mouth fell open.
"............."
"............."
3cm.
Sera covered her mouth with her hand.
"......Oh."
"......!"
4cm.
"......Oh!!"
5cm.
The Mana Stone's light began to weaken.
The mana was running out.
My hand trembled.
I wanted to go to the very end.
Without cutting it off.
But it was my limit.
The Mana Stone's light flickered.
Once.
Twice.
It went out.
The sprout swayed above the flowerpot.
Without any wind.
6cm.
"............"
'.............'
'.............'
'It worked.'
'How did this happen.'
My hand was trembling.
Minutely.
It felt like all my mana had been drained.
'.............'
'Shit. It's exactly the same as in the game.'
'I never thought the thing I did for 5,000 hours.'
'Would be used in a place like this.'
5 seconds.
"Insane."
Thor's voice.
"Insane!!"
Sera shouted.
"It worked!! It really worked!!"
Hana clapped.
"It really worked, hoobae!!"
The assistant instructor stared blankly at the sprout.
The flowerpot.
Me.
Then the flowerpot again.
"............."
"Did that really just work?"
The assistant instructor's voice.
It was a mutter.
"It works."
Sera touched the sprout.
Carefully.
"It's really alive!"
"Of course it's alive! We just made a living thing!"
Thor was overjoyed as if it was his own achievement.
'It worked.'
It was quiet.
Except for my hand trembling.
'.............'
'Camilla said she didn't need it.'
'Yet here, they're clapping for me.'
'I brought the same thing.'
'The temperature is so different.'
The assistant instructor took out the parchment.
"Let's decide on the booth concept."
Thor nodded.
"Instant Plant Growth Experience."
Sera nodded.
"Visitors place a seed themselves, put their hand on the Mana Stone, and watch it grow."
Hana nodded.
"It's mysterious. Experiential. Immediate. It gives the feeling that nature is alive."
The assistant instructor wrote it down.
[Druid Department Booth — "1-Minute Nature" Experience]
[Instant Plant Growth Experience. Utilizing Mana Stone.]
[Direct Visitor Participation Type.]
Thor looked at the parchment.
"This seems like it'll actually be really successful?"
"It will be."
"It seems like we could get 5 freshmen?"
"Wouldn't it be possible?"
Thor looked at me.
"Is hoobae a genius?"
"............No."
"You're definitely a genius. Honestly."
Sera interjected.
"But if he's a genius, why is his mana 63?"
Thor looked at Sera.
"Hey. Do you absolutely have to bring that up right now?"
"Because I'm curious!"
"Let's read the room a bit, Sera!"
"........."
'.............'
'Sera seonbae's direct way of speaking is oddly comforting sometimes.'
'At least it means she's not talking behind my back.'
The assistant instructor poured me more tea.
"Ian student. Have another cup."
I took it.
Hororok.
It was warm.
But my hand was still trembling.
'.............'
'Those 5,000 hours.'
'Weren't in vain.'
'The time I spent doing nothing but gaming my whole life.'
'Shines somewhere after all.'
'.............'
'Shit. You really never know about life.'
Thor and Sera were working out the booth details.
"How many Mana Stones do we need?"
"Two or three should do. We'll let two people experience it at the same time."
"Price? Should we make it free?"
"We have to make it free for lots of people to come!"
"But there's the cost of recharging the Mana Stones."
"We can use the student council booth support fund."
"Oh right."
The assistant instructor was writing on the parchment.
[Booth Name: 1-Minute Nature]
[Experience Method: Seed + Mana Stone]
[Price: Free (Using Student Council Support Fund)]
[Operating Personnel: 4 people + Ian]
Hana looked from the side.
"I'll draw up a booth diagram."