Chapter 7: How to Live as a Druid in Another World Part 3

Now that I gained 20 gold and Khalid's space ring, the next task was…

[Main Quest: Find the Temple of the Origin God.]

The quest was to find the Temple of the Origin God.

It seemed like a straightforward quest, but in reality, it was not.

To seek the Temple of the Origin God, you probably needed to be around level 50…

Level 50 was no trivial matter.

In <Age of Envis>. The maximum level for this game that I was currently living in was level 99.

From what I remembered, the highest-level player in AOE at the time was a level 67 warrior…

"Even they couldn't find the Temple of the Origin God."

There were suspicions, but since entry was impossible without the required level, most players focused all their energy on leveling up.

This meant that to progress in the main quest, I too needed to reach around level 50.

Leveling up, of course, required money.

That's why I worked tirelessly to earn the mercenary badge and worked as a caravan escort.

Having made a considerable amount of money from the Black Opium deal, what remained was "investment".

To level up, investment was essential.

And where to invest?

Totems.

Just as wizards could create various magical tools, druids were also capable of making totems.

These totems could enhance abilities or produce various effects, making them precisely the items I needed at the moment.

Coming to Solen was a wise decision in many ways.

I unpacked my bags at the inn and went out wearing simple clothes.

In Solen which was overflowing with wizards, obtaining materials for totems was much easier.

I currently had 22 gold and 15 silver in hand.

I originally could have barely managed to make one totem, but due to this unexpected profit, I could now create about three.

And they would be quite decent ones at that.

I thought I could only just manage to make the Harmony of Nature.

Arriving at a street lined with shops selling various magical tools and rare, odd materials, I looked around carefully.

Many merchants who saw me as a rookie mercenary rather than a wizard tried to swindle me.

I filtered out the trash.

"May I have a look around?"

I stopped in front of a shop strewn with dried herbs and asked the dozing merchant.

Without a word, the merchant just nodded his head and then went back to dozing.

There was a total of three totems I was planning to make.

The first was the Recovery of Nature.

This totem increased the regeneration of magical power and health by 30%.

The second was the Harmony of Nature.

It not only increased recovery speed by 30% but also inflicted 30% more damage on undead and demon-type monsters.

The third was the Exclusion of Profanity.

This totem caused 70% more damage to undead and demon-type monsters.

Equipping these three totems meant that the damage dealt to undead and demon-type monsters would be increased by 100%.

Why was I focusing on items specialized against undead and demon-type monsters?

The reason was simple.

They provided an incredible amount of experience points.

In fact, the ones that made more money were also undead and demon-type monsters.

Since these monsters were overwhelmingly more dangerous than other types offered greater rewards upon their defeat.

For the purposes of leveling up quickly and accumulating wealth, targeting the undead and demon-type monsters was the best strategy.

Of course, this was only true if one could survive.

I chose the thinnest and strongest amongst the well-dried moonlight tree trunks.

This was the basic material needed to create the necklace string for hanging totems.

Since druids were not familiar with metals, I couldn't use metals such as gold or silver that wizards commonly used.

However, the moonlight tree trunks that were well dried in the moonlight were thin yet very tough, making them perfect for necklace strings.

Unlike metal, they also emitted a faint scent, killing two birds with one stone.

The one I chose was even better because it had a cool scent much like the night air.

The next thing to choose was the frame of the pendant that will become the foundation of the totem.

Since metal was not an option, I had to choose between leather and plant materials.

For the "Recovery of Nature" and "Harmony of Nature", it seemed appropriate to use well-aged steel oak…

For the "Exclusion of Profanity", using the unicorn horn that was disliked by undead and demon-type monsters would do the trick.

Regardless of my selection process, the merchant in front of me continued to doze off.

Well, since the items were of good quality, I guess it didn't matter much.

Continually talking to the merchant would have been more bothersome and uncomfortable anyway.

I selected the materials slowly and carefully.

"Hmm…"

A frozen phoenix heart, this was absolutely necessary for the Exclusion of Profanity.

"Hmmm…"

Ent leaves? Not buying this would be a loss.

"Oh!"

The Tears of the World Tree?! How could such a rare item be tucked away in this corner?!

After I haphazardly gathered the items, I noticed the merchant had woken up from his sleep and was now observing me.

"…. Ahem. How much for all of these?"

I handed the items in the basket to the merchant.

The merchant adjusted his round glasses, wrote something down with a still sleepy look on his face, calculated the bill, and handed me the parchment.

"T-twnety gold coins?"

I had expected a hefty sum, but not this much… I thought I could get everything for about 15 gold coins…

The problem was that the items available were of too high quality.

But then again, if I was going to make something, wouldn't it be better to spend a bit more and make it right?

After a brief hesitation, I took out the gold coins one by one from my purse and handed them to the merchant.

The merchant checked twice to make sure the 20 gold coins were correct and genuinely imperial gold, then nodded his head.

Shit… the expense was more than I had anticipated.

Now, all I had left was 2 gold and 15 silver coins.

After buying decent clothes and equipment, and covering today's lodging and meal expenses…

I guess these 2 gold coins will disappear in no time.

Just as I was about to sigh, something happened.

-Thud.

The merchant placed something on top of my basket.

"What is this…?"

"A bonus."

"A bonus?"

I had never heard of a magic shop giving away bonuses.

"It's been a while since I had a customer who didn't haggle at all. Consider it a gift from me for not wasting my time."

The merchant then yawned widely, and before I could properly express my gratitude, he closed his eyes.

"Th-Thank you…"

"...…"

He was already asleep.

I carefully examined the item handed to me by the merchant.

It appeared to be an ordinary leather cord, but upon closer inspection, I realized it was a dog collar made from the finely polished hide of an Obsidian Alligator.

– Grrrr!

I glanced at Ayla who had been fidgeting in my arms. Was this a gift for her?

It was still too big for her, but she would grow into it soon, especially since shadow wolves grew rapidly.

There weren't any magical gems or similar items attached to it that had any special magical properties, but I could always add those later if I wanted to.

I briefly bowed my head to the merchant, who quickly began to doze off, and then left the shop.

***

After purchasing a few decent outfits and shoes, as expected, my funds were now depleted.

"Let's see, I have 55 silver coins left…"

After organizing my money, I laid out the totem materials I had purchased today on the floor.

In truth, the condition of the materials was so good that there was hardly anything I needed to refine or purify.

All I had to do was shape the moonlight tree trunks into a necklace shape, drill and carve holes in the steel oak and unicorn horn that would become the foundation of the totems.

I put a lot of effort into carving it, thinking that if I made a mistake, I would lose money, and the result was quite good.

Now, let's take the blessed spring water…

I opened the window wide, allowing the moonlight to pour into the room, and poured the blessed spring water into a clean silver tray.

The spring water sparkled under the moonlight.

I placed the totems over the spring water and began praying to Lynshaka, the goddess of forests and the earth.

Before long, the sound of a distant pan flute mingled with the sparkling magic of leaf colors infused the totem.

[Totem: The recovery of nature has been completed.]

[Totem: The harmony of nature has been completed.]

[Totem: The exclusion of profanity has been completed.]

The result was a resounding success.

Whether it was due to the fine materials used or the earnest prayers, the totems were evidently overflowing with the pure aura of the forest.

I then intertwined the totems with the moonlight tree trunks and hung them around my neck.

With this, the first stepping stone to becoming a high level was laid.

Now, it was time to head to the cursed lands in the north.

This is the best for quick leveling up.

It was a common rule to head straight to the cursed lands right after leaving the beginner's village when leveling secondary characters or carrying newbies.

The "Cursed Lands".

In the northern part of the continent lay these cursed lands.

Once stood "Aurora", a sacred nation with a population nearing ten million.

How did "Aurora" become the "Cursed Lands"?

It was because they committed an act deserving of a curse.

The heir to the throne of Aurora had dared to ra*e the saintess chosen by the World Tree.

The saintess was furious, filled with hatred and curses, and her intense will drew an unexpected response.

Demons.

In her quest for vengeance, the saintess offered herself to the demons, and thanks to her powerful sacrifice as the saintess, they were able to manifest themselves on the earth.

Thus, Aurora became the homeland of all evil things.

The curse of the saintess who colluded with demons was so powerful that it fell not only on the nation of Aurora but on everything that constituted it.

The land, forests, rivers, animals, even a single blade of grass, a piece of wind, and humans too…

Every living being in Aurora that was cursed by the saintess turned into an undead, and even now, anyone who dies in the cursed lands becomes undead.

As a result, each nation built fortresses along their borders adjoining the cursed lands to fend off the overflowing undead.

I'm going to hunt there.

I was lost in thought while fiddling with the glowing totems.

It's dangerous but worth the risk.

As my level rises, I'll become stronger, and with that strength, I can solve the main quest, and solving it brings the "possibility" of returning to my original world.

The possibility of returning from this fu*king pseudo-medieval land to a safe, civilized world!

"Phew…"

It is nerve-wracking.

Now that I have the totems…

If I could obtain common skills before leaving that would mark the completion of all preparations.

Once I arrived in the cursed lands, I would have no time to acquire a common skill.

It was best to finish up simple tasks like this when there was still time to spare before departure.

Common skills, unlike the Druids' exclusive skills, were something that "all" classes could learn.

Until now, I had been too busy surviving, leveling up, and dealing with various things, leaving no opportunity to learn them.

I should stay here for a few days and master the skills.

Since Ayla still needed care, this approach was beneficial in many ways.

To acquire a common skill, I had to visit a specific NPC or a particular temple and undertake a certain quest.

I pulled out a book and flipped it open. Let's see, the common skills available in Solen were…

[Regeneration]

[Toughness]

[Poison Resistance]

[Cold Resistance]

…Are these four the only useful ones?

[Fire Resistance] would be nice too, but I would have to go to Roshan for that one.

Of course, the fact that I could obtain [Poison Resistance] and [Cold Resistance] which were essential for my journey to the cursed lands here was satisfying in itself.

Then, who is the NPC giving out the quest…

As I was perusing the list of common skills, I was surprised by something.

"…Why are you here right now?"