The Daily Life of the Late Bloomer Tamer - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: The Spirit of the Great Tree

I set up the incubator in the barn, so I think I’ve done everything I need to do.

Now, I can finally proceed to solve the mystery. I take the mysterious key that I found while picking up trash and examine it.

“Even though I have this key. If I don’t know what this key is for, I can’t use it.”

No, there is one place. The locked steel door under that bridge. Maybe this key for that door. Both of them were found during my labor quest. It’s possible, isn’t it?

“It may not be that convenient, but let’s give it a try.”

It’s free to try anyway.

With that decided, let’s go there as soon as possible. It is nighttime, but it is perfect because it is rather inconspicuous. It’s in the city, so there are streetlights. With a map, I should be able to reach the door without any problem. I sneak down to the canal, being careful not to be seen. I try to be as quiet as possible and go under the bridge.

“I can’t see a thing at night. Um, I’m pretty sure it’s around here.”

But I can’t see the keyhole at all. I search for the keyhole by groping and try to stick the key in.

Gacha, kacha.

“Still no luck?”

Kacha—- gachan.

“No way. It’s open.”

The door slowly opens in front of my eyes with a squeaking sound.

“Is it okay to enter?”

Deep down, I regretted coming here at night. It is extremely creepy. It feels like it is haunted by ghosts.

“Ugh, let’s just try to go in.”

Just in case, I’ll set up a shortcut to the wound medicine. If a monster appears, run back immediately. If the monster is strong enough to kill me in one hit, I’ll have to give up.

“Excuse me.”

On the other side of the door lay a downward staircase. I slowly walk in. There are lamps on the walls at even intervals, so I can see around the stairs.

I think I descended about thirty steps. At the end of the stairs is a small room.

“Still further to go?”

Walking forward, I notice that the passage splits in two. Which way should I go?

For the time being, I decided to go to the left. Then, a downward staircase appeared on the way. I couldn’t see what lay ahead, and it looked very scary. Hmm, should I turn back?

I encountered another fork. This time, I go to the right. There is another door at the end of the long passage. I try to open it, and it opens easily without much effort.

“Oh, God. This isn’t the boss’s room, right?”

Before entering, I quietly peek inside to check. It is a strange room. The first thing I see are huge roots, each one as thick as a drum, intertwined and covering about half of the room. Surrounded by these roots is a kind of altar.

“Looks like the boss isn’t here.”

I timidly entered the room. The place is filled with fresh air, and it doesn’t look like a place where monsters would come out.

“What’s this altar for?”

It smells like an event.

“I think these big roots are the roots of the Water Guardian Great Tree up there.”

“That’s right.”

“Uwaa!　Who is that?”

“I am here, adventurer.”

The one who answered was a beautiful woman wrapped in light who floated above the altar. Her emerald green hair looked mysterious.

“Eeto, who are you?”

“I am the spirit of the Great Tree.”

That reminds me. There is something about the Water Guardian Great Tree being a sacred tree where spirits reside in the game’s setting. So this person? Is this person the Spirit of the Water Guardian Great Tree?

I got really excited and took a screenshot. That’s right, I should also take a video. It’s a bit rude to do such a thing in front of a Spirit, but maybe Alyssa-san will buy it.

I’ve heard that NPCs won’t notice we are taking a video, but it seems to be true. There is no change in the Spirit.

“Excuse me for intruding without permission.”

“It’s okay. In the past, anyone could come to this altar and leave an offering.”

“Hee, really?”

“In return, I would give them a blessing, and we would maintain a mutually beneficial relationship.”

The Spirit speaks nostalgically. However, her face immediately turned sad.

“But because some fools tried to harm me, I asked the Adventurer’s Guild upper management to install a door. That way, I can limit the number of people who can come in here.”

“Well, then, isn’t it bad that I got in?”

“As long as you have obtained the key on your own and found your way in, there is no problem. The key cannot be touched by the wicked.”

“I didn’t know this is such a great key.”

“It seems that it was created by magic power. That door also contains the same magic power.”

So that’s the setting.

“If I make an offering, will I get a blessing?”

“Yes, although the blessing you receive will depend on your offering.”

What should I do? I want the Spirit’sSpirit’s blessing. But I don’t have any good things with me right now.

“Oh, that’ s right. Can I make offerings every day?”

“I can only descend on the tree day (Thursday) every week.”

I see, so the tree spirit only appears on tree day. Incidentally, the days of the week in this world are the same as in the real world: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. 1/1 is Sunday, so today (1/5) is Thursday. Today is Thursday, which means it’s a Thursday. Well, I am so lucky! It is very close. In about an hour, the day will change.

“And once the blessing is given, you can’t get another blessing until 8 weeks later.”

“I see.”

Then I can’t even try to offer something strange as an experiment. But the Spirit will not descend until next week. There is no time to go back and get something that could be used as an offering.

“Is there anything I can offer?”

What qualifies as a good offering? Is it the price, rarity, rank? In the first place, what kind of thing would make a tree spirit happy?

I was thinking for a while, and then I remembered. That’s right, I have some high-grade fertilizer that I just bought. Maybe this would satisfy the Spirit of the tree.

“Can I offer something like this?”

“This is good stuff. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. In return, I will give you a blessing. Here, take this.”

It is not the blessing I was expecting. I was expecting a skill, a status boost, or perhaps a title. It turned out to be an item. A cherry blossom-colored fruit.

Name: The Fruit of the Water Guardian Tree

Rarity: 3 Quality: ★3

Effect: Restores the user’s fullness by 15%. Increases the user’s resistance to abnormal conditions for 1 hour. Cool-down time 5 minutes.

No, I will correct that. Rarity 3? I got something really good for the beginning of the game. Considering the rarity of the high-grade fertilizer was 2, this fruit is one rank higher.

“Thank you very much.”

“May the fortune be with you.”

The Spirit disappeared with a satisfied look on her face.

[The Altar of the Water Guardian Great Tree’s Spirit has been specially unlocked. The first player to reach it will receive the title ” The Great Tree Spirit’s Divine Protection”]

Wow, I even got a title. And a unique title. Plus, a rare item!　Thank you, Spirit-sama!

Title: The Great Tree Spirit’s Divine Protection.

Effect: Earn 5,000 G prize money. Gain 4 bonus points. Increases damage dealt and decrease damage taken when fighting tree-type and spirit-type monsters.

Isn’t this strong?　If I have this, even a weak guy like me can fight. Though the opponents are limited.

“This, maybe I should give this to Orto.”

The fruit of the Water Guardian Tree. If I can grow it on my farm…… That will be great, right?　I may get very rich. Maybe I should ask Alyssa-san for more information before I take it to Orto.

“How much is it worth? The rarity is 3, so it can’t be cheaper than the 2000 G high-grade fertilizer.”

I hope her shop is still open. Time is running, so let’s go.