Chapter 679 – Dreamweaver World 17

“How about this…” Old Groot gritted his teeth, his beard trembling along with him. “For every dream gold coin you spend, I’ll knock off one dream silver coin; for every dream silver coin, I’ll knock off one dream copper coin, and so on!” He added with a pained expression, “That’s the most I can discount—take it or leave it!”

Mo Lan quickly did the math in her head: by this discount structure, it was essentially a 99.99% price—a 0.01% discount overall.

Though the discount was laughably small, considering Groot’s habitual stinginess, getting him to budge at all was already a pleasant surprise.

“Deal!” She agreed without hesitation.

Groot’s face instantly broke into a beaming smile, and he hurriedly pulled up his merchandise interface for her to browse.

Mo Lan’s backpack had five slots filled with dream coins—two slots of dream crystal coins, and one slot each of dream gold coins, dream silver coins, and dream copper coins, all stacked to 99. More than enough to buy Groot’s profession invitations and skill books.

As the transactions went through, Mo Lan’s system notifications came in rapid succession:

【Obtained Mo Lan “Beast Speaker Profession Invitation” ×1】

【Obtained Mo Lan “Profession Skill Book – Grey Cap Mushroom Transfiguration” ×1】

【Obtained 《Profession Skill Book – White Cat Transfiguration》 ×1】

【Obtained 《Profession Skill Book – Titmouse Transfiguration》 ×1】

【Obtained 《Profession Skill Book – Gale Wolf Transfiguration》 ×1】

【Obtained 《Profession Skill Book – Human Speech》】

【Obtained 《Profession Skill Book – Soothe Animal》】

……

Each skill book was still priced well above market value, but the advantage was not having to complete any additional quests, saving her a great deal of time. Mo Lan could reluctantly accept the markup.

Watching Mo Lan truly sweep his entire inventory of skill books clean, dream silver coins and dream copper coins flowing endlessly into his pockets, the wrinkles on Old Groot’s face smoothed out, and his cloudy eyes sparkled with satisfaction.

【Groot’s Affinity +10】

The moment the notification popped up, Mo Lan glanced up and happened to meet Groot’s gaze. His expression was so soft it bordered on tender, the corners of his mouth curved in a deeply contented smile.

A chill immediately ran down her spine—the way this old codger was looking at her was exactly the same as when he stared at dream gold coins!

She discreetly took half a step back, quickly stowed all the skill books into her Spatial Card, and turned to leave this place that made her skin crawl.

“Wait!” Seeing her about to walk away, Groot hastily called out, his tone absurdly eager. “I’ll collect other skill books as soon as I can! You absolutely must come find me again when the time comes!”

“Got it.” Mo Lan waved her hand without looking back. “I should be staying at the Heartwood Inn for a while. When you’ve got stock, just come find me there!”

Thinking that Groot was at least the village chief and might have some standing not only among Greenwood Village’s dream citizens but also know dream citizens from other villages and towns, she added:

“It’s not just Beast Speaker skill books—I’m interested in skill books for other professions too. As long as you can get them, I’ll buy at the same price!”

“Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!” Groot’s face lit up immediately, agreeing enthusiastically.

Before Mo Lan had even taken more than a few steps, the old codger had already sprinted past her with astonishing agility. After running just a short distance ahead, he transformed in the blink of an eye into an iron-clawed hawk, its wings beating at a frantic pace that made him look more urgent than someone rushing to put out a fire. Clearly, he couldn’t wait to go scrounge up new skill books.

Mo Lan shook her head and headed toward the Heartwood Inn. Only after she had walked far away did the two squirrels hiding in the treetops near the altar finally let go of each other’s tails.

“Oh my goodness! Did you see that?! All those skill books—stacked up they’d almost be as tall as a person—and she bought them all!”

“I saw! That many—she must have cleaned out Groot’s entire stock.”

“She had enough money to buy from that black-hearted Groot without even going to a Federation contact point first—she’s definitely not a new adventurer!”

“Where did she get so much money?! I want that too!”

……

Outside an ancient tree on the eastern side of Greenwood Village.

Mo Lan looked up to see doors and windows carved at staggered intervals into the trunk, vine-woven staircases spiraling upward connecting the various treehouse guest rooms. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow across the bark.

This hollow ancient tree that had been converted into an inn was actually quite famous on the forums.

Rumor had it that it was actually the remains of a powerful Dryad Forest Warden.

The Dryad could perform one irreversible permanent transformation in their lifetime, granting themselves a “second” life.

Most Dryad dream citizens saved this transformation opportunity until they were on the verge of death, transforming into a plant.

From then on, they could continue to exist as a plant, though they could never regain consciousness or continue growing.

There were quite a few plants in Greenwood Village that had been permanently transformed from Dryad members like this.

But this hollow tree was one of a kind—you couldn’t find a second one in the entire Beginner Zone.

Because the skill “Hollow Tree Transfiguration” had been lost after that Forest Warden passed away.

On the forums, a lucky adventurer had once triggered a hidden quest here and obtained a copy of 《Hollow Tree Transfiguration》, but unfortunately there was only that one copy.

Compared to “Hollow Tree Transfiguration,” Mo Lan was more interested in the hollow tree itself.

This type of tree naturally formed a hollow structure during growth, and its inner walls became extraordinarily tough.

Though this ancient tree formed from the Forest Warden had stopped growing, its interior space remained spacious and comfortable, well-ventilated, showing no signs of being a living organism converted into a building.

If this tree could still grow and bear fruit normally, collecting some seeds to give to Sylph would have been perfect.

Unfortunately, as a deceased Dryad, even having completed the permanent transformation, its life was forever frozen in this moment. It would never bloom nor bear fruit—it could only stand here as a silent monument.

To obtain hollow tree seeds, she would have to search in the Exploration Zone.

Mo Lan gathered her thoughts and walked up to the reception desk at the tree’s midsection.

On the reception desk sat a clay flowerpot with a yellow-pistil flower quietly growing inside it.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, falling perfectly on the budding flower.

Seeing Mo Lan approach, the yellow-pistil flower spoke up:

“Welcome to the Heartwood Inn. Looking to stay? Small single rooms are 20 dream copper coins per day, medium rooms are 50 dream copper coins per day, and large rooms are 1 dream silver coin per day. How many days would you like to stay?”

Mo Lan didn’t find this strange at all. The Dryad dream citizens of Greenwood Village were all adept at Natural Shapeshifting, so this yellow-pistil flower was obviously a dream citizen in disguise too.

Probably unable to leave work, so it had planted itself in the flowerpot to absorb energy.

She took out seven dream silver coins and ten dream copper coins from her backpack. The metallic clinking was especially crisp in the quiet tree hollow. “Seven days to start.”

Mo Lan deliberately paid an extra 10 dream copper coins. “Please pick me a room with a good view.”

The yellow-pistil flower swayed slightly, its leaves sweeping the coins toward itself before collecting them. Then it produced a leaf that gave off a fresh fragrance:

“This is your room key—press it against the trunk to open the door. Your room is at the end of the third branching limb. That room has the best view, with a balcony and windows, and you can even sunbathe there!”

(End of Chapter)