Six driards to one druid. And all strong-looking driards. More than anything, even the druid himself looked strong. He was wearing a heavy armor like Mesquite.

Unlike me carrying only a handphone, he has a weapon? Does he participate in battles himself?

“That is our druid, Seedling, next to him with the violin is Brazilian rosewood, the one with the pistols on her waist is the dominant species from the Kalmia forest, Kalmia Latifolia. The one with the whip is Periwinkle, the one with the crystal is Blue Mellow. And the one over there who hasn’t been able to keep his eyes off your driard with the shield, is Cadon, the prince of the desert. He must be out of it since it’s been some time since he’s met a driard originally from the desert field.”

Her tone became slightly more enforced as she introduced the driard named Cadon. It must have been to hint that his incessant staring was rude. Thankfully he came to his senses surprised and bowed his head.

“Oh, I am druid Jay. This is the first time meeting a druid outside the terrarium…this is velvet Mesquite, the small child is red daisy…”

“You don’t have to introduce the last one, I can already tell. It’s a driard with the most beautiful original form. The driard we previously met from the same species was equally beautiful and grand. You must be ElderFlower?”

Oh, Elder’s pretty looks must be famous even to them. I only came to know about the elderflower when I came to this world but I guess he was considered to be a celebrity here. I mean he is really pretty.

You could see the arrogance growing on Elder’s face. I wonder if the previous elderflower they met shared the same character?

“But wow to think this is Mesquite. As expected you’re an amazing driard. I wasn’t so sure from your appearance but I knew for sure as soon as I heard your name. It’s an honor to meet you. Field…”

“It’s an honor to meet you too. You have a great team”

Somehow it felt like Mesquite had cut Belladonna mid-sentence. Mesquite was definitely a special and amazing driard but from Belladonna’s nuance, it sounded like there was more?

Suddenly Cadon from behind started to make a ruckus. The driards near him were restraining him as he tried to say something while spreading out his arm.

“Are you done talking?”

At his words, Belladonna sighed deeply.

“Yes. With that, the three of us are done. Your name was Jay, right? I ask for your understanding. Our druid, Seedling….ever since he was born has spent time and lived amongst driards so his social skills are not very good. In fact…he is somewhat lacking. That’s why in our bouquet, there is a rule where before he engages in a conversation, at least three of us driards engage in the conversation. After that Seedling will carry on the topic of the conversation. The first two driards blew their turns to talk so I am not confident he will be able to engage politely…So I ask for your understanding.”

The man passed Belladonna and approached us. Mesquite was considered tall and this guy was nearly on par with her.

As we faced him near us, his energy was overwhelming. It felt like a force was continuously pressing down on us. It was a different feeling I got from looking at Mesquite.

Perhaps this was the feeling of the difference in level? If that was true then I wonder just high this druid’s level was?

He had dark brown hair and oceanic blue eye, with a rather decent face. But maybe I was normalized to good looks by spending time with Elder, I wasn’t interested in his decent looks.

Near the edge of his brows, he had a scar that looked like it was from a sharp object. There was a lumpy burnt scar on his lower chin. He seemed to have experienced the battlefield a lot.

So this guy must take part in battles align with his driards.

Just as the guy was about to open his mouth and speak, the Kalmia driard shouted softly.

“Think before you speak! And try not to say everything at one go!”

The reaction from those driards was making me nervous. How bad were his social skills…Finally, he spoke his first words.

“You’re small.”

What was this? I had never heard that one before.

I think I look small in comparison to you and the driards because you guys are so big? My height is above average! And to call a person you just met small!

“I told you so many times! It’s different talking to a human from a driard! Try to understand the other person’s feelings before you speak!”

The Belladonna driard scolded him from afar.

“Go back. This is no place for a small soul like you to be. You must have benefitted from Velvet Mesquite so far, but don’t stretch it any further.”

What the….

“I told you not to talk like that! If you have something you want to say, make your intention clearer to the other party! Do you want to end up in a fight like the last time? Because of that we nearly got chased out of the 15th Terrarium!”

The Kalmia driards voice became louder. The man frowned as though to show that he wasn’t hearing what he wanted. He hesitated before continuing.

“Going around with your pathetic skills is speeding up your encounter with death. If you die your driards will be eaten up by fires. If a driard of Mesquite’s level is eaten up, it will lead to chaos. So go back to the terrarium you came from. If you want we can escort you.”

“What? You ass….”

What is this ass going on about? I was about to lose my temper when Belladonna gestured and the Rosewood driard hurriedly ran over.

He saw me and bowed deeply. The Kalmia driard also came running and stood between me and the guy. Then smiled sheepishly before and apologized before asking for some time to themselves.

The guy’s behavior was absurd but since his driards apologize sincerely I let it go.

“Seedling, I’m sure you find it fascinating to talk to another human since you are one too. And that druid is the first druid to not avoid you in a long time. But the language you learned from driards is very blunt. Driards do not get hurt by anything the druid says. But it’s different for a human. That’s why I’ve told you many times to put yourself in their perspective before you talk.”

“I told you not to use the word pathetic right?”

The driard called Rosewood swung his violin around as he spoke softly to the guy. The Kalmia driard added on.

“Think before you talk.”

“Do you not see that Lens Mesquite is holding? If you make the druid angry, she will step in. And it could lead to a fight! We may outnumber them but they have Mesquite and an elite recovery driard. Their combination is not in our favor! We won’t be able to avoid getting hurt.”

At Kalmia’s words, he looked to Mesquite whose eyes had turned cold and was staring directly at the guy.

Really if that Seedling guy spoke out of line again, it seemed like she wouldn’t hold back. Daisy and Elder didn’t look too happy either.

While the guy was engaged with the two driards, the driard named Cadon who was hard to overlook, approached us.

He didn’t seem to read the situation very well as he spread out his hand to Mesquite. Was this an attack?

“I…I admire you! It’s a great honor to meet you! I never dreamed of meeting the guardian of the desert in a palace like this! I have admired you since I was young! Please would you shake my hand!”

What on earth was he doing? His goofy behavior seemed to relax Mesquite’s tension slightly. To be more exact, the tension between the two packs disappeared.

“Hey! Come back here! I knew he was going to do that.”

“I….I knew…it….”

The driard named Periwinkle shouted continuously and the Mellow driard muttered to himself. All the driards seem to have a unique character just like their druid.

“If a handshake is not possible, will you hit me with that lens of yours! To sustain an honorable scar from the guardian of the desert! I will proudly share this experience with other fellow desert driards.”

“What is he doing, it’s putting me in a bad mood.”

At my word, Mesquite lifted her lens to chase him away.

But he didn’t avoid it and closed his eyes. That was even more annoying. That makes me even madder.

“We are on our way to the 28th terrarium from the 26th terrarium. I have no reason to listen to you. From the looks of it, you must have wiped out all the fire thinking you were doing us a favor. But you were wrong because we are not that weak. If you continue to speak down on us I won’t be nice to keep my manners anymore.”

You should be grateful that I didn’t start by swearing. From a distance, the Periwinkle driard whipped her whip around Cadon’s neck and pulled. Cadon was dragged back while the Kalmia driard asked me with a surprised look.

“Is this a quest related to the burning down of the 28th terrarium? That…for you to… Ah, this is not speaking down to you. That quest is specifically sent out to druids that are highly established, like ours. We are warning you because a quest of that level is too much for someone with a small soul. The 20th digit terrariums seem to have sent any druids without investigating the situation in detail, but from what I know all of them have lost their lives. That’s why the 10th digit terrariums specifically sent highly skilled druids like Seedling. So far, we’re the only ones that arrived in one piece.”

What are they talking about? The beginner’s quest shared by the 28th Terrarium administrator was in fact a high-level quest?

So it was true when he said nobody returned?

Suddenly Mesquite picked me up and backed away. The driards from the other pack backed away into our direction and lifted their weapon.

Just as Elder’s shield wrapped around us I felt an immense heat that made my skin feel like it was about to melt off.