After talking to Shiro for a little longer, Dimos made his way back to the town so that he could investigate the sapling.

While he was doing that, Shiro ventured deeper into the forest.

Remembering the path she took to arrive at the first spot where she found the dryad, Shiro found herself back at the small clearing that had a large tree next to a small pond.

Looking at the roots that acted like a cage for the pond, Shiro glanced around the clearing as this was the spot she felt most powerful.

Cracking her neck, she swiped out with her hand and caused a small gust of wind with the force that she had exerted.

'Hmm… if I had to guess, I'm around 20 to 30% stronger when I'm in this area?' She thought to herself and clenched her hand into a fist.

"I'm surprised that you've found yourself back here again." The dryad's voice rang out again as Shiro turned toward her.

"Why do you seem to follow me everywhere? Do you not have anything else to do?" Shiro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I do but you seem to be rather mysterious so I figured that I should keep an eye on you. You know, the path to this place is supposed to close itself back up and become a maze of sorts. You actually remembered the correct path even though it took you more than an hour to reach this spot. I'm impressed." The dryad chuckled.

"I have a good memory." Shiro shrugged.

"So can you tell me more about his place? I don't know why but in here, I feel much stronger than I do outside."

"Well it's a place where nature is heavily concentrated. Do you know why the tree forms a cage around the pond?" The dryad asked while tracing her finger along the surface of the pond.

"Care to explain?"

"This is liquified nature essence or the 'nutrients' that the sapling has been absorbing from the land. To prevent the sapling from growing any faster, I have received some help in condensing some of the nutrients of this land to this pond. I couldn't make this pond any further than this since it's already hard to transport it to this spot. I'm currently waiting for other dryads from the other parts of the Section of Life so that they can help me either preserve or move this liquefied essence elsewhere so that the sapling can't get it. If we can deal with the sapling, I'll spread this essence back to the land so that it can be used to grow crops once more. However, the sapling had already absorbed quite a bit of the essence before I could condense it so I'm guessing it'll take a few months for crops to grow again. If the mortals can survive this period, everything will go back to normal.

"And as for why you feel stronger in this area, is because spirits thrive in areas where there is a large concentration of this. For you, your wounds healed up quickly because of this pond right here." The dryad explained.

"And I'm guessing it's the same for strength."

"Yup. If you want to increase your physical strength in short bursts for combat I suppose you'll need to learn how to preserve some of this essence inside your body so that it doesn't get used straight away. You can also use this essence to feed yourself. However, let me warn you. Every time you try to absorb the essence and use it for combat, you're essentially a smaller dread sapling that's doing the same.

"While you may not completely drain the land of nutrients, you are still affecting the land. Meaning, if you absorb too much and fight too often, the people will notice a bad harvest when the time arrives. All life in the forest needs nutrients and you using for combat is akin to steal food from others. It's only natural that some will die of starvation." The dryad reminded with a small smile.

Furrowing her brows, Shiro stayed silent. If she was to boost her physical power only slightly, it may cause a bad harvest to the surroundings due to a lack of nutrients.

"Wait, why would me absorbing some power cause a bad harvest? Surely I can't absorb that much energy no?" Shiro tilted her head.

"First, the conversion from nutrients to power is very bad. Second, young spirits are constantly absorbing this energy so that they can mature and obtain a divinity. So the energy in the land is already being used up. However, they don't use this energy for combat so the drain isn't bad. But if you were to start absorbing it and using it for combat, then I'm afraid your intake will be equal to more than 100 spirits every few seconds you use this power in combat." The dryad explained.

"I see… but if I'm feeling strong now, aren't I absorbing the nutrients now?" Shiro asked with some concern.

"Ah you don't need to worry about that. Think of it like an aura that's passively emitted by such a large concentration of nutrients in one place. Normally, you wouldn't feel such a large increase in strength but since I've concentrated quite a bit of the nutrients in this pond, it's only natural that you'll feel much stronger." The dryad chuckled.

 'So I only feel 20 to 30% stronger thanks to this pong of concentrated energy. If not for this then the bonus to my strength might not even reach 10%. Hell, I'm not even sure if it'll reach 5%. For such a small bonus, it may cause a bad harvest. It's quite a bad trade off. Since my base strength is low right now, 5% is basically negligible.' Shiro frowned.

"Never mind then I guess." She shrugged and sat down.

"While you cannot get a boost to your strength, it doesn't mean there aren't any other methods." The dryad smiled and leaned over Shiro.

"Oh?"

"Weapons and armours. Tools that help define a hero other than their superhuman strength. Have you heard of Perseus? He used weapons and armours gifted by the gods to slay the monster medusa. Aside from the weapons and armours, he's basically the same as the other heroes with superhuman strength and agility." The dryad reminded.

"I know. So are you saying there's a weapon that I can obtain to increase my strength?" Shiro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes and no. It really depends as I'm not too familiar with weapons. However, there is said to be a bow within this forest that has been enchanted by Artemis' power. It's location is hidden but I know the general area. You can attempt to find the bow if you want."

Thinking about it for a moment, Shiro figured that this could be a trap as it seemed too easy.

"Why are you telling me this?" Shiro narrowed her eyes at the dryad.

"So distrustful. Young spirits are usually rather pure and trusting." The dryad shook her head with a small smile.

"Well I'm not the usual young spirit I suppose. It seems too easy to obtain a weapon that has been blessed by the goddess so there must be a catch to it." Shiro frowned.

"Nope. There's no catch. Several people have already tried to obtain the weapon but they failed. Don't worry, they didn't die. They were just sent out of the forest. As for why I'm telling you, I'm somewhat like a guide. I guide people to the weapon and if they can obtain it, great. If they can't then I continue my day without worry." The dryad shrugged.

Narrowing her eyes at the dryad, Shiro figured that the spirit was being truthful from what she could tell.

"Fine. Show me the way to the area where the bow is located. Being able to attack the sapling from a distance will be helpful if we do enter combat." Shiro smiled as being near the sapling will kill her. A bow is the perfect weapon for this situation.

"You seem awfully confident in being able to obtain this bow." The dryad raised her eyebrow.

"Somewhat. Even if I don't get the bow, I'll probably try to make one myself later." Shiro smiled.

While she didn't know how helpful this was, she hoped that the fact that Artemis had given her a blessing could help in this situation. After all, things originating from the same god or goddess usually resonate with one another. If it is truly a bow blessed by Artemis then her sigil should work. Of course, nothing could happen since she's not able to access her powers but it's worth a shot. 

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