The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

“……”

A restaurant in District 3, where I had a free-use contract.

In the noisy, bustling interior, I sat in one corner staring into empty space.

I felt a bit ridiculous acting this way while drawing glances from curious onlookers, but I had my reasons.

「An achievement for guiding a mage who defied the natural order back to harmony!」

「The spirits feel a great kinship with you!」

「Your affinity with nature has increased!」

「The spirits faintly awaken to their origin!」

The system messages that appeared after finishing off the black mage.

Not something to just ignore—there was plenty to analyze.

‘The first line just means I killed the black mage.’

The phrasing was fancy, but that was the gist.

The nuance didn’t matter. What mattered was identifying the trigger and what I gained.

‘My Nature Affinity went up.’

The stat was now at 13.

A small number, but each step was hard to earn, making it no trivial gain.

And that increase tied into the last message.

‘The spirits awaken to their origin…?’

I rinsed the dry taste of fried rice from my mouth with cold water.

‘If the World Tree’s power stems from the spirits, then this means I’m close to unlocking a new ability.’

The word faintly suggested I hadn’t actually learned the skill yet.

But that was only a matter of time.

And the best way to accelerate the process was practice.

“Hey, come here.”

After polishing off my food, I called to the spirit swimming through the restaurant owner’s hair.

It zipped over in a lively zigzag like a puppy wagging its tail.

I pretended not to hear the owner murmur, “What’s wrong with my hair?”

The spirit had started showing signs of physical power—maybe from growing used to handling mana.

But with that came endless mischief, getting into trouble at every turn.

“If you’ve awakened anything new, try showing me.”

The spirit tilted its head at me, then tapped on the World Tree.

「The World Tree beats its chest, telling you to just trust it.」

“You don’t even have a chest.”

The World Tree muttered something to the spirit.

Still confused, the little thing wobbled—then lit up like an exclamation mark.

‘When did it learn that?’

As I marveled at its learning ability, the spirit put on a show.

It dove between the World Tree’s branches, then poked the table with its glowing tail.

Crunch!

Something began to spread across the surface, branching outward until it reached my fingers.

I peeled it off.

“Tree bark…?”

Deep grooves, thick and hard like metal.

The spirit bounced up and down on it, clearly thrilled.

The World Tree watched intently, and soon—

「The World Tree awakens the power of Petrification (Wooden Skin).」

“How was the meal today?”

I didn’t get to examine it further.

The owner, now with her hair neat again, approached with a friendly smile.

“Yes, well. Not bad.”

Not exactly my taste, but I couldn’t complain to her face.

Besides, it was free—and they even offered coffee afterward sometimes.

That alone washed away any complaints.

“No wonder business is booming,” I remarked, noticing the packed tables.

Her eyes lit with ambition, “Thanks to you, the word spread fast. I’m even thinking of expanding.”

I couldn’t help but think—she hadn’t seemed so ambitious when I first met her in the game, But then again, trying to recruit me as a poster boy had been a bold move already.

“By the way, those pickpockets I warned you about—what’s become of them?”

“Oh, quiet as the grave now. Word is one of them messed with the wrong man and ended up dead…”

She leaned close and whispered.

“…Turns out they were Brotherhood. The local branch is making a fuss, sending people to hunt down the killer.”

My brows furrowed.

Normally, a few dead lowlifes wouldn’t matter. The Brotherhood was infamous for its lack of loyalty.

But if the local branch really was mobilizing over this, it was unusual.

‘Hella did say this branch leader was serious about managing his people.’

So they really would draw swords over a handful of expendables.

Troublesome.

‘Hiding my involvement will be tricky.’

I hadn’t exactly concealed my movements. Plenty had seen my face.

A little digging, and they’d know it was me.

Still…

‘Honestly, I’m not scared.’

The Brotherhood’s strength varied wildly by branch.

If this was one of the weak ones—like the 100-series branches—then they were more like street punks than gangsters.

If I were still the powerless factory worker I used to be, I’d be terrified. But not now.

The real problem was—

‘If they deliberately target me, it’ll get annoying.’

I had too much to do—buying information on Hynax, waiting on Greenwood’s request.

If they tried to mob me, it’d be a stumbling block.

‘Should I reach out to Drexier?’

Hella owed me, and teaming with mercenaries would make this branch think twice about provoking me.

But no. For now, I’d hold off.

Better to watch and wait than burn down the house to kill a flea.

I couldn’t spare the money to hire mercenaries formally.

And joining a company was out of the question, given my circumstances.

‘If it comes to it, I’ll just deal with them myself.’

I didn’t want outright war with the Brotherhood. For all their flaws, they were no small organization when serious.

But I wasn’t about to just roll over either.

If they came for me, I’d draw my blade.

“By the way, sir.”

The owner’s bright smile remained as she pointed at my table—

“Why did this suddenly happen?”

“……”

Ah, I slipped up.

“Beats me.”

There wasn’t a shred of evidence tying this to me.

So I brazened it out.

“Wasn’t it already like this before you sat down?”

“Guess so.”

“I could’ve sworn I showed you to a clean table, though…”

The back-and-forth was stifling.

At last, the restaurant owner relented.

“Maybe I was mistaken. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t trying to accuse you. Actually, this looks pretty good as interior design.”

“Really?”

“Wood tables are expensive, you know. Rare, and popular. Whoever did this—I wish they’d do it to all the tables.”

She whistled, sending me a look hot enough to burn.

Not subtle urging—open demand.

It felt like a leash was about to snap shut around my neck, so I played dumb.

“Yeah, that’d be nice.”

“Wouldn’t it?”

“I’ll come again next time.”

“Take care.”

Ignoring the heat of her gaze boring into the back of my head, I left the place.

“You’ve come at the right time.”

I visited the broker’s office again after some days had passed.

Oddly, Cromwell welcomed me, though his complexion didn’t look bright.

“What’s with your face? Don’t tell me the city government refused to pay?”

“No, the reward was settled cleanly. We even collected the black mage’s bounty. That part went well enough.”

Then it had to be the other matter—Hynax’s background check.

I had a bad feeling, and the sinking mood on Cromwell’s face confirmed it.

“Best if you read this before I explain.”

He handed me a thin dossier.

I’d asked not only for information on the company, but also the identities and whereabouts of anyone connected.

A matter that couldn’t possibly be covered in a few pages—yet that’s all I held.

“…If this is how you handle things, you’re a decent broker, but a terrible information dealer.”

I skimmed it and immediately snapped.

“Untraceable. Unknown identity. Investigation failed. What’s the point of giving me this?”

Even those few sheets were blank with excuses.

Hard to believe this came from Cromwell.

“We know each other well enough that I don’t need to make excuses. I did my best. But with the money you offered, that was the limit.”

“You could’ve used the bounty too, not just the reward.”

“Of course I did. That’s why the only money left for you is the mission’s base pay. It was your decision, so don’t regret it.”

He pulled a bundle of bills from his drawer.

Not small by normal standards, but far less than what I’d expected.

“Unbelievable.”

All that money spent for this garbage.

It wasn’t disappointment—it was suspicion.

“How can digging up one company’s background be this hard?”

In this world, where money and power could buy anything, results always had causes.

“Someone upstairs intervened.”

“Exactly.”

The most obvious reason.

Cromwell confirmed it without hesitation.

“The company went bankrupt a year ago, dissolved. The researchers were either dead or vanished. Measures from above.”

“…The city government?”

They had the authority.

The ultimate ruling body of the city.

Silencing a handful of people wouldn’t even cost them effort.

“Not certain. In truth, the city government isn’t usually so thorough.”

His words were measured.

“This sort of cover-up is more like a corporation’s handiwork.”

“A corporation?”

“There were rumors Hynax bulked up on scraps from a major conglomerate.”

“…A mega-corp, huh.”

Worst-case scenario from my list.

The megacorps that gripped the city’s economy rivaled even the government.

Sometimes, the government itself had to step aside for them.

“How much would it cost to dig deeper?”

“At least the price of a nice house. And that’s the bare minimum.”

“……”

Far out of reach for a back-alley freelancer like me.

“Militechnica, maybe. But if it’s Sylvester or Centrim, give up.”

The latter two were monsters.

Centrim controlled half the city’s capital, Sylvester chased close behind.

True megacorp giants.

Too big to be chasing just because of one black mage and a closed lab.

‘Things just got complicated.’

As Cromwell warned, I had to pull back.

Maybe someday, but not now.

‘At least I know I wasn’t mistaken.’

If a megacorp was involved, then I’d been on the right trail.

The circuits engraved on that cocoon fragment weren’t natural.

There were competitors seeking those fragments, no doubt.

That was enough of a gain.

‘And it’s not like this is the end.’

There was still one trail left.

“The black mage had a bounty, right?”

The suspicious mage himself.

Bounties were public, so his details wouldn’t be erased.

“Knew you’d ask.”

Cromwell handed me the wanted notice, marked with a big X.

Name: Dalton Sunderland. Age: 45. Black Mage…

I read down until my eyes locked on one line.

His affiliation.

A name that stood out like a beacon.

“…Brotherhood.”

An unexpected link.

And with it, a thread to untangle this mess.

“Hey, pal. Hold it right there.”

On my way back to the hotel.

Funny how the streets seemed emptier than usual—until I found the reason.

Men blocking the road, waiting for me.

“Take off that hood for a sec.”

“…What’s this about?”

“Whoa, whoa. Don’t get scared.”

They grinned and cracked their necks, fists flexing as they stepped closer.

‘What the hell…?’

Even in this city, where police barely patrolled, it wasn’t like some vigilante checkpoint.

The truth became clear soon enough.

“We’re just looking for someone. If it’s not you, no problem.”

“Yeah, just a face check. No need to make it messy.”

Maybe they weren’t lying—after all, even lazy cops wouldn’t ignore outright street fights.

But I couldn’t just comply.

The exposed skin on their arms bore skull tattoos.

Familiar marks.

‘Brotherhood.’

And the men conducting this so-called inspection?

They were after me.

(End of Chapter)