“Ta-da!”
-ROAR!
Ara, covered in dirt, finally pulled something out.
The already intense aroma grew even stronger.
Its appearance wasn’t like a typical mushroom but resembled a large broccoli.
The size was roughly that of Ara’s two fists combined.
It had a reddish-brown color.
“Let’s check it out.”
Ara ran over and held out the mushroom.
Every time it shook, the aroma spread, causing my mouth to water involuntarily.
‘Ara’s already drooling.’
I wondered if Ara had never tasted this before.
But first, let’s check the information.
[???]
[A mushroom that has absorbed the nutrients of the World Tree.]
[Extremely rare, only found by the monster known as ‘Star Bear.’]
[Upon consumption, it restores a small amount of mana.]
As expected, it was an item.
And it had a mana recovery effect!
This effect is usually only found in potions from high-level dungeons, yet here it was in a mushroom.
Another notable point was that it could only be found by Star Bears.
‘Even with such a strong scent, only Star Bears can find it?’
Of course, you couldn’t tell it was there when it was buried underground, but once you started digging, the smell was overwhelming.
Couldn’t you find it by digging around a bit if you were lucky?
Well, if the system says so, there must be something I don’t know.
“Ara, is this your first time seeing this?”
“Yes! It’s my first time!”
It was surprising that Ara hadn’t discovered it before.
She’s lived here for a long time and even has a big enough appetite to dig into the World Tree’s roots, yet she hadn’t eaten a mushroom parasitizing on the roots?
‘There must be a special mechanism that only allows Star Bears to find it…’
In any case, we found a good ingredient.
Considering its effect, its value was unknown.
“The description says it’s very rare, but how rare is it?”
“Is it rare?”
Ara tilted her head and asked Gomgom.
Gomgom shook his paws side to side and made some sounds.
-ROAR! ROAR!
“Is it common?”
-ROAR!
Ara’s face brightened at Gomgom’s response.
“It’s plentiful!”
“There are many mushrooms?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
Although the item description said it was very rare, it seemed to be a common ingredient for Gomgom.
Well, if only Star Bears can find it, there wouldn’t be any competition, so it would grow abundantly.
Besides, where are we? Right at the World Tree.
Since the World Tree itself is rare, it’s natural that mushrooms feeding on it are rarely seen.
“Huh?”
While holding the mushroom and thinking about this and that, I noticed that fairies had gathered around, watching in groups.
Seeing everyone’s eyes on the mushroom, I asked Frey quietly.
“Frey, is this mushroom new to you too?”
-I’ve seen it before. If you’re lucky, you can find fragments in the traces left by Star Bears.
We consider those fragments a great delicacy.
“Oh? So you do eat something other than honey?”
-It’s so hard to find that we can’t eat it carelessly. Hehe.
Frey laughed awkwardly.
Then the surrounding fairies looked at Frey with disgruntled expressions, hands on their hips.
“What’s up with them?”
-Oh, it’s nothing, my lord.
-୧(๑•̀ᗝ•́)૭!
I couldn’t understand the other fairies’ words, but Ara shouted as if she did.
“Frey has been hoarding it!”
“…Where did you learn to say things like that, Ara?”
Seeing the fairies grumbling, it seemed like Frey was hogging the hard-to-find mushroom fragments.
However, Frey looked aggrieved and said,
-It’s true I collect and hide them, but it’s an unavoidable choice! As the queen, I need to maintain my magic power, and only this World Tree mushroom can do that!
“Oh, it must be related to the mana recovery ability.”
Everything Frey said seemed to be connected to mana.
Anyway, I realized that this mushroom was very important to Frey as well.
“Gomgom, can you find more of these mushrooms?”
Ara translated, and Gomgom clapped his hands and nodded.
-GROAR!
“There are many!”
“Really, there are many?”
Gomgom, eager to prove his words, put his nose back to the ground, sniffing and crawling around.
And soon after, we began digging near the roots of the World Tree from a distance.
This time, Ara just watched without helping, but after about five minutes of struggling, Gomgom finally managed to unearth the mushroom.
-Roar!
Proudly holding up the mushroom, Gomgom then took a big bite.
The way it chewed was cute.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t tasted it yet.”
Although eating raw mushrooms seemed a bit unappealing, the aroma was irresistible.
I cut the mushroom I first received in half and shared it with Ara.
-Neeeigh.
Frey let out a wistful sound.
Unable to resist those eyes, I ended up cutting my portion of the mushroom in half again and gave it to Frey.
“Let’s all share. There’s enough, right?”
-In gratitude for the great lord’s benevolence, I, Frey, swear my loyalty with all my heart!
I smiled softly at Frey’s cute behavior.
Now it was time to actually taste the mushroom.
“Mmm! Mmmm!”
“I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
Ara, who had eaten the mushroom first, mumbled with her cheeks full.
The mushroom was quite large, so unlike Ara, I took a bite like Gomgom did.
Splat-!
“Huh?”
The moment I bit into it, juice burst from the mushroom.
As I chewed again, thinking it was more moist than expected, the already strong aroma of the mushroom enveloped my whole body.
‘A complex aroma.’
A refreshing mint-like scent greeted me first.
Then, a subtle cheesy aroma spread, followed by the scent of wet wood, the smell of melting chocolate, and the aroma of roasted chestnuts.
To be honest, it was a flavor experience unlike any I had ever had before.
“It’s delicious.”
But the important thing was ultimately the taste.
This mushroom had a taste I had never experienced before, but it was delicious.
I resisted the urge to grill it right away and carefully saved the remaining mushroom.
“Gomgom, let’s dig more!”
-Roar!
Ara, not satisfied with just half a mushroom, shouted at Gomgom with fiery eyes.
Gomgom, happy to be of help, cheerfully went back to digging.
“They say praise makes even a whale dance…”
Well, Gomgom once went looking for mushrooms while we were away and ended up getting stuck on the stairs, so it was understandable.
While Ara and Gomgom were busy searching for more mushrooms, I headed toward the World Tree.
Frey escorted me, chattering away.
-I will scout the ground for the next visit! Once we collect the seeds from the Meluca flowers this time…!
Suddenly, Frey let out a sly laugh.
-Hehe. Covering the whole world with Meluca flowers…!
I chuckled at Frey’s overly ambitious plan.
“Sure, sure. But don’t get ahead of yourself; we don’t even know if the Meluca we’re growing now will bloom.”
-I believe in you, great lord! And I trust the apostles you have bestowed upon us!
“Alright. I’ll do my best. But can I ask you something?”
-Yes! Please, go ahead.
“You have wings, right? Can’t you fly?”
-Oh…
At my question, Frey suddenly faltered.
It seemed I had touched on a sensitive topic.
“Oh, was that a sensitive question? Sorry, you don’t have to answer.”
-No, it’s just… hmm.
Frey awkwardly touched her wings and gave a strained smile.
-Actually, the queen of Alfheim undergoes two moltings.
“Moltings?”
-Yes. The first molting occurs right after birth. The second molting can be done once the qualifications are met.
“That’s interesting. So, you can only use your wings after the second molting?”
-That’s right. When the molting happens, an additional pair of wings appears, and I can finally fly. But I can’t molt because I’m not qualified.
Frey murmured with a bitter expression.
What could those qualifications be?
“What are the qualifications needed for the second molting?”
-That is…
Frey hesitated for a moment, with a curious look on her face, as if wondering if I could solve the problem.
“If it’s something I can help with, I’ll, no, my team and I will help.”
-As expected of the great lord! I am overwhelmed by your boundless grace!
“So, what are the conditions?”
-First, we need a tribute for the World Tree.
“A tribute?”
By this time, we had arrived at the entrance to the inside of the World Tree. I looked up.
The World Tree was so tall that it seemed endless, more like a canyon or cliff than a tree.
-Yes, actually, the tribute has already been prepared.
“Oh, then what’s missing?”
-We need the Tears of the World Tree.
“What are the Tears of the World Tree?”
Is it some kind of item?
The name alone sounded extraordinary.
-In winter, the World Tree sheds all its leaves. Just before this, a special dew forms on a very unique leaf.
“Wow, that’s fascinating. Is that the Tears of the World Tree?”
-No. In fact, we managed to obtain the dew somehow.
I looked up again at Frey’s words.
You climbed all the way up there to get the dew? How?
Well, let’s say you got it. So, what’s the problem now?
-However, to become the Tears of the World Tree, the dew needs to be mixed with the nectar of the Starflower, which blooms on the snowy mountains to the north.
“There are snowy mountains to the north?”
-Yes.
I had never been further north from here.
But hearing about snowy mountains made me think it’s always cold up there, which was quite intriguing.
-Now, here’s the problem! We managed to get both the dew of the World Tree and the nectar of the Starflower through great effort!
“Uh-huh.”
-But even though our ancestors said mixing them would create the Tears of the World Tree, it never worked! The tears were supposed to turn into a clear blue liquid, but all we got was a transparent liquid!
Frey suddenly sped up her speech, almost venting her frustrations rapidly.
-We even drank the liquid, hoping it might still work, but the second molting never happened! I have no idea why this is…
“Frey, do you still have those two ingredients?”
-Huff! Huff! We drank them all!
“…Then we need to gather the ingredients again.”
Listening to Frey, it sounded like the task was to mix the dew and nectar and drink it. The process of collecting these ingredients seemed extremely challenging, but hearing the story made me think…
‘Couldn’t it be possible with liquid synthesis?’
Our cute Frey, how about we get her to fly?
* * *
After a three-day schedule, I returned.
I left Mark2 and the two new rookies in the Dungeon of Gluttony, but it felt a bit empty being apart from the one who had been with me from the beginning.
“There must be a lot of missed calls and messages…”
Having been cut off from the outside world, I went outside first. Soon, my phone, which had been out of service, started receiving numerous messages and calls.
“Mom, Dad… I also got calls from the guild, and messages from Young-seong, Hanul, and Awakener Jeong So-yeon?”
As I checked each one, I came across an unexpected message.
“Seon-ah?”
Did Seon-ah contact me?
Seon-ah, who rarely contacted me, like a stubborn four-year-old sibling, had sent me a message.
I found a text filled with all sorts of jokes and flowery language.
“An interview, huh…”
I didn’t see why I couldn’t do it, but honestly, it felt a bit awkward.
Specifically, me? Really?
‘I am an Awakener, but I can’t show liquid synthesis.’
I couldn’t reveal the Slime Lord’s abilities I had kept hidden all this time, either.
So…
“Should I ask?”
Fortunately, there were people who couldn’t resist anything to do with my crops, and since they had contacted me, I decided to subtly bring it up.
Cliche Novel 