The transparent rectangular tank was filled with blue water.
Doah was bewildered.
“Water?”
“This magical beast is called ‘Dinadam’ It can transform into any form.”
“Oh?”
“Of course, there are restrictions. It can only transform into magical beasts that it has completely consumed.”
It devours completely.
There was something chilling about it.
“I see. So, it’s like a slime?”
“Something like that. Originally, it lived in the water, but it wanted to come onto land, so it made a contract as a steeds.”
“Did you catch this one through a pre-order too?”
When Doah asked, unsure if it was a joke, May laughed.
“Something like that. If you give it a name, it will become your steeds. For now, you can choose its basic form from three options. Would you like to name it first?”
“Okay.”
Doah looked at the creature, which seemed like nothing more than blue, wobbly water in the tank, and said,
“I’ll call it ‘Sea King’ If I’ve seen enough of the sea to get tired of it, ‘Sea King’ should be fitting.”
“Understood. The magical beast’s name will be ‘Sea King.'”
At that moment, the blue water surged from the basin.
Doah’s eyes widened.
It looked like a small basin, but the water kept rising endlessly.
The blue water hovered in the air like a giant jellyfish.
“Am I supposed to ride a jellyfish…?”
As Doah mumbled, May laughed and said,
“Of course not.”
With that, she took out three small animal figurines and showed them to Doah.
“So, which of these three forms would you like to choose as its basic form?”
The first was a horned wolf, the second a creature similar to a large ibex with impressive curved horns, and the third a cute yellow duck-like creature.
After much deliberation, Doah finally chose the wolf.
May picked up the wolf figurine and threw it to the jellyfish.
Plop.
As the wolf figurine was sucked into the jellyfish—no, the Sea King—it swirled around.
The figurine dissolved and disappeared, and as it fell to the floor, the Sea King transformed.
From its blue slime-like form, it changed into a wolf.
It was a large wolf.
Although it wasn’t as tall as a horse, it was still quite sizable.
May brought a saddle and showed Doah how to put it on, then attached a bridle like a harness and secured the saddle.
Doah diligently added saddle bags on both sides of the saddle.
These, of course, were also dimensional bags.
Each had five compartments.
She also attached a quiver to the side of the saddle.
“Sea King, I look forward to working with you.”
When Doah greeted it, the wolf blinked its golden eyes and nodded lightly.
“Huh? You understand me?”
Surprised, Doah asked, and the Sea King barked,
“Arf!”
When Doah looked back at May, May smiled and said,
“It’s a magical beast that’s lived for a thousand years. Of course, it has intelligence.”
“A thousand years?”
“Yes.”
Amazing.
“You’re really the Sea King, huh?”
“Arf arf.”
The Sea King barked again.
May smiled and said,
“But it’s still different from a fully intelligent creature. It’s its first time on land, too.”
“I see.”
Doah nodded.
“Do you need anything else?”
At May’s question, Doah sighed.
There were so many items she wanted to take from the item corner earlier, but they were too heavy, so she left them behind.
“I don’t think I should be greedy.”
It’s not like I’m immigrating; as a traveler, I should pack lightly.
If I empty my bag now, it feels like a lot would fall out.
‘Thank goodness for the magic bag.’
If it were a regular bag, I might not have been able to bring even half—no, not even 10% of this.
And I’m so satisfied with the steeds.
The wolf was big, beautiful, and perfectly balanced.
It felt almost wrong to put a saddle on such a free and beautiful creature.
‘But it looks cool with the saddle.’
When Doah patted the Sea King, it sniffed her face with its damp nose and nudged her.
Doah couldn’t help but laugh.
“Sea King, you’re really cool and beautiful.”
“Arf.”
The Sea King wagged its tail gently.
Watching that made Doah feel glad she chose the wolf.
“You said it can transform into any form, right? How does it change into another form?”
“It needs to eat.”
May answered.
“Eat?”
“Yes, if Dinadam swallows something whole, it can analyze it and transform into that form.”
“Is that so…”
So, it can’t transform into something like a dragon.
Doah thought and patted Sea King’s neck.
“Now that you’ve got everything you need for your journey, let’s go get the item for the main quest.”
“Okay.”
Doah nodded.
Since it was a warehouse-like store, the elevator had also been changed to a large freight one.
It was better to ride it with Sea King.
They descended deeper.
When they got off the elevator, a long corridor stretched out.
As they walked, May stopped in the middle and said, “Sea King, please wait here,” and took Doah to the door at the end of the corridor, which she opened with a key card.
Inside, it was dark and dim.
A pinpoint light was falling in the middle of the room.
Dust particles sparkled in the golden light.
Wondering where the light was coming from, Doah looked up, but it was falling from an incredibly high place.
“Please stand under the light.”
At May’s words, Doah nodded and stood under the light.
Immediately, the dazzling light enveloped her.
“?!”
The golden light sparkled, broke apart, lifted Doah, and brushed past her.
She didn’t understand how light could exert physical force, but it did.
The light was ticklish, warm, and gentle, making Doah laugh uncontrollably.
As she laughed, tears came to her eyes.
It felt like the warmth was soothing her loneliness.
The playful light condensed in front of her and transformed into a golden branch.
She knew what it was without anyone telling her.
“The branch of the World Tree…”
As if in a trance, she reached out and grabbed the branch. The golden light disappeared, leaving an ordinary branch in her hand.
The branch was white, but its leaves were lush and green.
Pop!
The lights in the room all turned on.
Surprised, Doah looked around and saw that it was just an ordinary room.
“Amazing…”
Doah examined the branch closely.
“Hmm?”
There was a switch-like button under the branch. It felt odd having it on something living, but it seemed natural somehow.
“What’s this?”
May approached and explained.
“It’s a button that allows you to use the purification power within the branch. You can adjust how much power you use with the button. If you push it all the way, it will use all the power, and it will connect you to customer service in an emergency.”
“Customer service?”
“Yes, the World Tree Travel Agency always provides the best service to our customers.”
“Hmm…”
It didn’t seem like it would be used often.
May gestured for them to leave the room, and Doah followed.
As they walked down the long corridor, May explained.
“And when you take out the branch, its power will affect the surroundings. The grade of magical beasts will drop by two levels.”
“That’s a total cheat code, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but it takes a long time to recharge after use, so be careful.”
“Got it.”
Using cheat codes too often isn’t fun.
Besides, being a disciple of the masters, having these items already felt like cheating, so she decided to save it.
Doah put the World Tree branch in her pocket and looked back at May.
“Oh, right.”
“Yes, Doah.”
“You haven’t told me what the main quest is yet.”
“Oh, you’ll find out once you start your journey. Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing!”
May clapped her hands.
“I need to give you a guide!”
Huh?
Right here in the corridor?
Doah was confused as May took something from her pocket and sprinkled it.
Golden powder sparkled around Doah.
“Guide mode, version May! Start!”
“Wow!”
Suddenly, laser beams shot out from all directions, and Doah covered her eyes.
A fast-paced upbeat song played.
Flash!
The light flashed, and with a monotonous voice, everything disappeared.
[Guide mode update complete]
“How is it? I thought if I gave you a normal guide, you wouldn’t appreciate my effort, so I added special effects.”
“Uh… it’s amazing…”
Her eyes tickled from the exposure to the light, and Doah rubbed them as she answered.
May chuckled and said,
“What’s the most important thing in a journey, customer?”
“Money?”
“No! The most important thing is connections! Have you heard this story?”
“What story?”
“A story where someone hears ghosts chatting in a graveyard and cures Kim Jin Sa’s daughter the next day!”
“Oh…”
Doah tilted her head.
She seemed to recall an old story like that.
In the version she knew, it was about hearing sparrows talking. The context was probably the same.
The story was about Kim Jin Sa’s daughter being ill, and the protagonist overhearing how to cure her, then going to Kim Jin Sa’s house, curing the daughter, and living happily ever after.
“I think I’ve heard something similar…”
“What’s the moral of this story?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
Was there a moral to that story?
“It’s about the importance of connections! The protagonist could cure Kim Jin Sa’s daughter because they heard the ghosts’ conversation!”
“Is that so?”
Is that really a story about connections?
Doah thought as May’s eyes gleamed.
There was a hint of madness in her eyes.
“This guide mode is activated to help you find such connections! Oh, did you save a young man in distress? He should at least be the master of a magic tower! Did you carry an old lady who wasn’t feeling well? That lady should be the mother of a gang leader!”
“Hmm…”
Suddenly, countless clichés flashed through Doah’s mind.
May’s voice grew louder.
“Think about how much easier and more comfortable these connections will make your journey! The active cooperation of locals and mingling with them will enhance the quality of your travels.”
“Well… I guess it’s true.”
Having a local guide definitely makes a difference.
Why else would there be searches for local hidden gems and places only locals know?
‘Besides, it’s not bad.’
Clichés are fine.
Doah had another purpose for this journey.
She liked the main quest.
It was only natural to do her best to survive.
But she didn’t want to do everything just for the purpose given by someone else.
She needed her own purpose.
‘Approaching people first.’
That was her goal.
She was too busy surviving to meet friends.
She had that excuse, but ultimately, she was also afraid of people leaving her.
Just like her mother had left her.
But living with her masters softened that thought.
‘Maybe I was missing out on something wonderful?’
She wasn’t saying all relationships are beautiful and glittering.
Not every grain of sand on the beach glitters, right?
But there are surely pieces of quartz that do.
She wondered if she had just passed them by carelessly.
Someone might ask.
* Is it worth looking through the sand on the beach for that?
(*This phrase is metaphorical and asks whether it is worth the effort or trouble to do something, similar to searching through sand at a beach for a specific purpose. It implies questioning the value or significance of the effort being considered.)
‘There is.’
That was her conclusion after meeting her masters.
So, for the first time, Doah decided to approach people first.
Like Rakshasa said.
Give as you wish to receive.
Doah enjoyed and appreciated the affection she received from her masters.
So, if there were people like her, she wanted to treat them the same way.
Of course, there would be many shortcomings, and it might not work out well—but she thought.
May’s guide mode fit perfectly with that.
Anyway, it helps, right?
Helping and then becoming friends, right?
That makes starting much easier than just saying, ‘Let’s be friends,’ doesn’t it?
“It’s very nice, isn’t it?”
Doah’s words made May smile brightly.
“Right? Doah, you understand that!”
May held her hand tightly.
“I put a lot of thought into creating this guide mode, but people don’t realize its importance!”
“Oh, no.”
Doah shook her head.
“How could they not understand the importance of such a wonderful guide mode? Knowing locals makes everything much more convenient.”
“Right?!”
When May’s grip on her hand started to hurt, May whispered softly.
“So, I’ve linked the guide mode with side quests.”
“?”
“When you complete side quests, you earn points to upgrade the World Tree Cottage.”
“Oh, right.”
“You gain connections and points, killing two birds with one stone. That’s what I call efficiency.”
May winked and let go of her hand.
“And you chose the adventurer profession, right? To become a proper adventurer, you need to register at the Adventurer’s Guild. I hope you make good connections.”
“The Adventurer’s Guild…”
The word came out like a sigh.
The Adventurer’s Guild.
Isn’t that an exciting story?
Since she was very young, most of her mother’s stories started with the Adventurer’s Guild.
