Chapter 62: With a Ploof

Aside from me, everyone had to take a step back when faced with that ominous phenomenon. Magical energy was so concentrated and thick it was perfectly visible. It all was a blend of white and black, gleaming mana particles. The quantity was so great. When the pure mana appeared, as I said, the change was abrupt.

The atmosphere grew so extremely chilly that we all got goosebumps. At the same time, it felt so warm and hot that we didn't mind the freshness of it. The dryad was in the middle of it all—only I knew it was all about the influence of the System—the pure mass of mana soon washed over the dryad, entirely submerging her as she drowned in it. As quickly as it came, the pure mana swiftly disappeared.

The System, just like my very existence, was a truly terrifying concept in the world. I didn't mind the System, but everyone around—that was White-haired, and the other younger dryads who just appeared and anxiously rushed to their older sister, checking her over, asking whether she suffered any wounds—was immensely appalled and blown away by what just took place.

White-haired in particular suffered from such an exposition to the phenomenon he never could dream to understand. Sweating, shaking, perfectly quiet. He fell on his rear. His breathing was shaky. Offering him a hand, I told him everything was all right. He stood up. From this point on, the elf would be of no use to me.

And the most charming dryad had regained her spirits. Lavishly staring at me, she ignored all of her juniors' calls. A dozen meters were between me and her. Giving her back the knowing smile she threw at me, I watched as she walked up to me. Extensively bowing her whole upper body to me, the gracefully voluptuous lady welcomed me as the Player.

Under the System's influence, the world changed and was bent to my will. "At last you have come, Player. To think I would miss your presence. Forgive my insolence. We wish you a thousand welcomes."

"It's okay."

"It most certainly isn't. My poor welcoming must have gotten to—"

"It's okay," I repeated. "Don't mention it. I want the quest done. You apologizing only delays it further."

"Very well. Player, do follow me. Your Partner may accompany you."

"A-Absolutely, Esteemed Dryad!"

Upon mentioning the 'quest' to the dryad, she had submitted to it with a contented smile. The Dryad mentioned I already accomplished the conditions for the quest she intended to give me after I met her. The Dryads' help wasn't free. After I was supposed to meet them, I should have been asked to— 'The Dryads have required the Player's help — Wander about the Forest and dispose of the Forest's invaders. 0/30' We already did that with the elves, so the quest wasn't issued at all.

And now anyway, the Dryad guided us to our recompense. The System kept telling me this Dryad group of people would help me out in the creation of my Character. Only then was I to start the Game. I was excited. What would happen then? I died to know.

A handful of younger dryads had shown up when 'it' happened. Now that their older sister was safe and sound, they were reassured. There was no time to slack off, however. The older sister they all looked up to rounded them up and gave them orders. Swiftly, every single little dryad got back to her post safe for one. That one dryad was entrusted with the "good preparation of the Pond of Vitality." Handing over the little dryad what looked like a thousand pearls contained in one, the little dryad promptly disappeared into the forest like her sisters.

My journey was reaching an end, but it was only the first quest I ever accomplished. Others were to come. The sky still wept, covered in thick layers of raining, darker clouds. Though we couldn't see the burning lamp of the world, I could still tell that time had passed by again. It never stopped. My little troop and I didn't stop either. At some point, I was standing right in front of it. "The Pond of Vitality… huh?"

"Fufu. That is correct, Player."

"I do have to… jump in there, also?"

"Sure you do, Player."

The same dryad was accompanying me. According to her words, I did have to jump into the Pond of Vitality. It was the second time I'd asked, and the second time she answered with the same blithe chuckle.

❮ Head to the Pond of Vitality. 1/1 ❯ That tiny little pond was the real deal. I was standing right in front of the object of my quest. The oh-so-awaited Pond of Vitality. Dealing with this pond thingy, according to the dryad, I'd get the quest all wrapped up and done. At last.

And so, with my dubious eyes, I examined the little pond, scoffing at how absurd it looked. Once I had heard of it from the dryad, I didn't certainly imagine it to be that way. I also wouldn't have thought the long, long pursuit of the quest I received a while back would lead to the ridiculous pond like it was the final destination. But so it apparently was.

Well, I did complain about the air of ridicule that pond had to itself, but really, the setting I found myself in wasn't all that shabby-looking. Leaving aside the little pond, a most gigantic tree stood in front of me. It wasn't any tree.

All by itself, it managed to add severity and seriousness to the very forest's core. That's right, we supposedly had reached the middle of the woods. Equipped with the thickest roots I'd ever seen, it was as if guarding the little pond, circling around it.

The enormous, guarding tree thrived upward forming a very noble, wooden fortress. Finally, its branches, from up in the sky, arched back down to the pond, like an angel wrapping countless wings around its protegee. That alone brought rich grace to the little pond. In more than one fancy way, the thick upper roots along with other gleaming flowers and verdure solemnly decorated the Pond of Vitality, giving it more of an emblematic air. The pond looked so meagerly fatigued and poor, so of course it needed adornment.

Had the weather been sunny, the scenery would be quite magnificent. All of what I described, the pond and its angelic tree, rested at the top of a hill. And outside of the unshakable tree's protection, there were the others. Trees or people. White-haired and the dryad onlookers, marvelously awe-struck by the ceremonious ritual held up the clearing. The elf stood behind, alone, soaked with water, anxiously waiting for his princess' return.

It was sad he wouldn't get to have the princess back. From up the hill, I turned to him. Without uttering a word, he humbly nodded to me. Along the way here, I'd already informed the elf of what he should expect. The princess might take a long time to wake up, I'd said, so you be patient.

"Still, it's kind of a let-down."

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"Fufu," the dryad laughed in her hand. "Should it be blatant disappointment I read on your face, Player? This is the Pond of Vitality. The real deal. By doubting it… Player, you mustn't hurt a lady's feelings, you know. Stop staring and bathe in it already."

"I get it, I get it… But see?" I stepped forward. "Not quite blatant disappointment, but how do I even jump in? There's barely enough room… You have me in a tight spot, dryad. Hey, quite literally at that." The pond was too small and barely large enough. This little room couldn't shelter even half of me. How was I to enter it? Well, the mistake I made, facing the final object of the quest, was to think of the Receptacle, meaning the elven princess, as myself.

"Fufufu." The dryad laughed again and left the matter at that. She must have been aware of what I missed. My Receptacle—the one I secured following the System's instructions using the Dwelling skill—was not considered a part of myself here. Who could blame me for missing that technical detail? Ever since the beginning, I'd always been subjected to having a Receptacle. The System kept tossing me warnings about not being able to ensure survival if I didn't, and that I couldn't proceed with the Character's Creation Quest if I had no Receptacle.

It was needless to say I wasn't especially used to having my own character around. At any rate, even though I missed that detail, it was far from me the idea of doubting the dryad's word. ❮ Character's Creation — Bathe in the Pond of Vitality. 0/1 ❯ What's more, the System had to speak the truth. That pond was thus totally legit. I could somehow feel it anyway. That thing was filled with tremendous energy. Mana Perception told me as much.

The world was ahead. I'd now take a step and obtain what I was promised. Both the old man and the System spoke of a concept known to me. What the World recognized as 'Nobility'. A human form. A character. An ability to wield tools and ascend to greatness. The pinnacle of evolution. As a higher-level monster, I qualified for the title.

With that, I could supposedly do away with my Receptacle. And start the… 'Game' or whatever the System talked about. Everything—and I mean it—would only start now. I might have seen the end of my quest as an end, but really, it was only the grandest doors pushed open to an entire world of wonders, and the beginning of my true journey. And there was a saying. My old man kept tossing it in my face whenever I longed for the outside world.

A frog in its pond knew nothing of the vastness of the ocean. Well, as I stepped towards the Pond of Vitality, I remembered these words like it was the first time they were addressed to me. The vastness of the ocean would soon wash over me.

Pushing the imaginary doors open, I stood the closest to the Pond of Vitality. Striking me as totally natural, I held out a hand to it. A notification rang out.

❮ Interact with the Quest's Object 'Pond of Vitality'? Y/N ❯

My eyes turned to a slit. Before I knew it, the pure mass of mana—the same as earlier with the dryad—floated around my hand. That was the System again. Scoffing, I let myself be guided and just went on with the flow. White and black dots—mana particles—gathered around me and let me 'interact' with the pond. ❮ You interacted with the object 'Pond of Vitality'. ❯

It felt off, now. ❮ 'Dwelling' will be canceled. ❯ For some reason, I felt like dozing off. ❮ 'Dwelling' has been canceled. ❯ And then, my surroundings became all dark. Still issuing many notifications about many technical details, the System gave a lot of info. Useless info, mostly. The safe travel from the Receptacle to the Object 'Pond of Vitality' was ongoing…

From the Receptacle, a body of water was drained out. As soon as it left the elven princess, I, still assuming a somewhat humanoid appearance, gradually dropped to the ground. I felt way more comfortable in that form. My body wasn't totally shapeless. Well, after inhabiting my Receptacle for so long, I'd gotten much more used to taking on a somewhat human-shaped form. Needless to say, that alone was far from genuinely being human-like, though. The monster tried to stand, but it couldn't really.

Though I had no eyes, I still had Mana Perception. Around me, an elven princess was lying on the grass, unconscious, and a most charming dryad babe stared in amazement. When I slightly turned to her with a "Hm?" that couldn't be heard, she politely laughed like she always did repeating the word "Magnificent, exceptional creature" with raised eyebrows. Heh, so I impressed her? Jiggling my body of water in front of her, I let the woman have another taste of me. Beholding my jiggly dance, she laughed with more elation and commented "Such a wholesome monster!"

With how I presently looked in my true form, I was halfway between a slime-like creature and a legendary water spirit Undine.

It was time.

The unique monster slipped into the Pond of Vitality with a Ploof. Finally, the Character's Creation Mandatory Quest was completed. What would happen from here on out… was unknown to me.

To finally create my 'character'?

To be able to, at long last, participate in the 'game'?

The reason why I was born?

The storyteller's story on my first day?

By 'Isekai Production'?

...Unknown to me.

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(Author's note: That's it, people. From now on, the chapters will be locked. Thanks for reading up to this point. Our MC will be waiting for you on the other side. Up until now, my chapters were pretty uneven. Though the average was always 1500~, very few were 900~ words while some others were way too lengthy above 2000~. From this point on, they'll all more or less be 1500~ words. I'll see to it. Maybe. Glad you enjoyed the ride anyway.)

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