After leaving our room together, we headed out to the large clearing in my core room—the same spot where I had considered planting mushrooms, but instead, the seed would be placed there. The air was still, and the faint hum of magical energy lingered around us, making the moment feel oddly significant.
"I really hope this seed doesn't need sunlight," I muttered, rolling the small, glowing seed between my fingers. It pulsed with warmth, a soft golden light radiating from its core. With a little focus, I reached out with my power, shaping the ground to make a small hole just deep enough to drop the seed in. The earth was soft, parting easily for me, and as soon as the seed settled, I covered it with a careful motion. Once done, I stepped back, brushing the dirt from my hands, not expecting anything to happen right away.
Even in a world of magic, I never would have thought the tree would grow and sprout as quickly as it did. A faint tremor ran through the ground beneath us, and before I could fully register what was happening, the soil split open. Small, glowing roots emerged first, twining upward in a mesmerizing dance. A trunk thickened rapidly, bark forming and hardening, as twisting branches stretched toward the ceiling of my core room.
When I turned back, the tree wasn't massive like some I'd seen, but it resembled a basic orchard tree. However, the fruit growing on it wasn't apples—it was pink with green edges. No… these were dragon fruit. The sight of them hanging in clusters, their vibrant hues standing out against the dark bark, was surreal.
"Dragon fruit..?" I whispered in amazement. I took a hesitant step closer, my eyes scanning the branches. When I looked around, I noticed more fruit growing—similar in shape but different in color. There was a yellow one with spines and a bluish-purple one. The colors shimmered under the ambient glow of the core room, making the fruit look almost jewel-like.
Nike stood beside me, his wings twitching slightly. "You said it's possible that this tree could either attract monsters or that the fruit itself could become monsters, right?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the strange sight.
Nike simply nodded, wide-eyed and staring at the fruit in fascination. He reached out as if to touch one but hesitated at the last second, glancing at me for confirmation. I shook my head slightly. We needed to be cautious.
I slowly pulled my concentration away from my body and into my core panel, deciding to summon another crystal drone queen along with a few drones specifically for this tree. Once summoned, they all settled down, waiting for their new orders. Their crystalline bodies glowed faintly as they aligned themselves into formation, awaiting my command. I addressed the new queen.
"Your name will be Orchid, and you will be in charge of our new fruit tree. We are unsure whether the fruit it produces will become monsters or attract them. Whatever the case may be, harvest the fruit when it's ready and kill any monsters that appear. Do your task well, and reward yourself with some of the fruit if you desire."
The queen bounced around excitedly, clicking in acknowledgment before heading toward my body and the tree. Her drones followed, skittering along the ground like living gemstones. I shifted my focus back to my physical form, blinking a few times as my vision readjusted.
Nike looked at me with curiosity. "How do you know what they are?" he asked.
I let out a small chuckle, rubbing the back of my head. "Before I became a demon and was bored enough to attract a god's attention, I worked many jobs. One of them was making smoothies, and that's when I first encountered dragon fruit. Though, back in my old world, they weren't magical—they just looked like how people imagined dragon eggs would appear. Or at least, that's what they said… still not sure about that one."
Nike tilted his head. "Smoothie?"
I responded with a chuckle before hugging my cute imp. "If you like, I'll make one for you sometime, just so you can see if you like it."
His tail flicked with curiosity, and he nodded before snuggling into me, rubbing his head against my chest. It was an oddly domestic moment, one that almost made me forget the bizarre circumstances of my new life.
It didn't take long for Orchid and her drones to arrive, and they immediately began setting up what looked like a hive near the base of the tree. Just as Nike and I were about to walk away, one of the drones suddenly attacked a fallen fruit. We rushed over to see why, and when the drone moved away, we saw that the dragon fruit had quite literally become a dragon.
The white flesh underneath the outer purple skin had taken the shape of a baby dragon, its tiny body curled up as if it had just hatched. The outer layer, which was meant to protect the pulp, acted as its wings, flexing slightly as the creature took its first breath. It blinked at us with curious, glistening eyes before letting out a tiny squeak.
"So, it's fruit monsters, then? And you definitely called it dragon fruit," Nike giggled at the absurdity of it all.
I shook my head in disbelief. "Well… that's a thing now."
The newborn dragon wobbled slightly before flapping its petal-like wings, attempting to take flight. It barely lifted off the ground before tumbling back onto the dirt with a soft plop. The drones stayed on high alert, watching the creature but not attacking it. For now, it didn't seem hostile.
Nike glanced at me. "Azazel, go take care of the dungeon for a bit. I'll help the drones here and collect some fruit."
I nodded, giving him a playful kiss on the forehead before teasingly swatting his cute rump. He squeaked in protest but grinned, tail flicking playfully as I walked away.
When I made it back to my room, I pulled my focus away from my body and shifted my attention to my first three dungeon rooms. The feeling of expanding my dungeon was exhilarating. Since I had moved up to bronze rank, I had the ability to add three more rooms, which made me question which mobs I should summon for them.
That's when I pulled up the panel of available mobs. My eyes scanned through the list, nothing particularly standing out—until I saw my first boss unlock: Crystal Mouse King. The panel listed its stats but provided no description of its appearance. I frowned slightly, curiosity piqued.
"A boss, huh? Might as well give it a try."
After a sigh, I summoned one Crystal Mouse King along with twelve crystal mice for him to command in the new fourth room.
For the fifth room, I summoned more crystal cobras, their sleek forms slithering out of the summoning circle with a faint shimmer. And for the sixth, I summoned some golems along with two baby manticores. The manticores let out soft, feline growls as they stretched, their scorpion tails twitching behind them.
After finishing the summoning and setting up my new floors, everything around me started to spin, and a wave of exhaustion hit me like a brick wall. My vision blurred at the edges, and I barely managed to stagger back to my bed before collapsing onto it.
With so little mana left, sleep came quickly, pulling me into a deep, dreamless rest.