Chapter 10
Chapter 10
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Full-Scale Start (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The corner seat at the very front of the classroom.
Azalea rested her chin on her hand, seemingly deep in thought, before letting out a heavy sigh as if the ground might cave in.
She always had a lot on her mind, but today her worries felt particularly profound.
She recalled the message she'd received from her stepfather last night.
-It's an oracle, Azalea. Lee Si-heon. Among the students trying to enter the academy, bring us someone by that name. He'll be a great help to us.
The sudden decree from her stepfather.
'What a joke, that bastard...'
Azalea had never liked the stepfather she'd gained after losing her real father. In truth, "dislike" was far too mild a word.
She loathed and despised him—to the point where just thinking about him made her want to vomit.
The reason was simple. To her, her stepfather was the spawn of the beast who had stolen her mother from her father.
Yet she was trapped in a situation where she had to outwardly obey him.
Her circumstances felt absurd and heartbreaking.
Azalea sighed.
'Lee Si-heon.'
Her first impression of him hadn't been good.
A ridiculously ugly guy who had leered at her creepily from the waiting room during the practical exam. That was it.
They'd barely exchanged a few words—how could she know anything about him?
'And what, he's supposed to be helpful to us?'
What nonsense. Among the countless things her stepfather had done, not one had ever truly helped her.
It was surely just beneficial to the shady organization he ran.
-Clunk.
Right on cue, the door opened, and that man walked in.
The cadets nearby glanced at the masked man reacting to the door sound, then quickly lost interest and resumed chatting among themselves.
Azalea, mid-glance, refocused her gaze on him—not the masked man, but Lee Si-heon.
Thinking about it, there were more than a few odd things.
'I thought he was bound to fail. How the hell did he pass?'
Unlike the other cadets, he had no magic power and a weak body.
He'd looked pathetically frail, so she'd assumed he'd get crushed by Jeong Si-woo and fail spectacularly.
Yet here he was, passing with flying colors. Did that bumbling guy have some special ability?
There had to be something.
Did she really have to approach him?
As she absentmindedly bit her thumbnail, someone tapped her shoulder.
"Azalea!"
"What? -Mm."
Squish. Bead's finger, standing behind her, poked and squished her cheek.
"Gotcha! Puhihihi."
"Ugh, what? Go away."
Bead. A friend from the private Wood Person school she'd attended.
They hadn't been that close at first—or even now, if she was honest—but aiming for the same academy had turned them into casual acquaintances who chatted occasionally.
"So, what's up with you? You've been gnawing on your nails like crazy."
As she tried to brush it off as nothing, Bead tilted her head and asked,
"You've been staring at Si-heon this whole time."
Her words hit right on the mark, causing Azalea's mouth to twitch.
She played dumb most of the time, but she had a knack for noticing exactly what Azalea didn't want her to.
"Don't tell me... you like Si-heon?"
"...Are you insane?"
Azalea shot back with a voice so icy it surprised even herself, in response to Bead's cheeky teasing delivered with a grin.
It was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard.
The kind of insult that would top a "World's Worst Insults from Trees" list.
"Kekekeke."
Bead clutched her stomach and laughed for a good while at Azalea's intense reaction.
"Sorry, I know you like Si-woo. Si-heon is kinda weird, huh? Always wearing that mask. Have you seen his face under it? Weren't you in the same group for the exam?"
"Yeah, I saw it."
"So, what's he like?"
"Ugly as hell. Like a persimmon that's been stomped flat."
Bead burst out laughing again at the sharp critique, cackling as she returned to her seat.
Unlike Azalea, Bead always seemed to find joy in everything.
Of course, that probably meant she was hiding whatever darkness lay beneath that cheerful exterior.
'And no, I don't like Si-woo.'
Separately from any personal feelings, approaching him was part of her plan.
That's why she'd deliberately gotten assigned to the dorm room next to his.
In her plan, Jeong Si-woo—the husband of the World Tree—was an essential ally she absolutely had to win over.
If she could pull him to her side, the rest wouldn't matter.
Her plan was simple and clear.
'Someday...'
She would drag her stepfather—who had ruined her father and her life—down into the abyss.
-Crack.
The plastic shards of the mechanical pencil in her hand lay scattered in pieces.
Venting her anger once had lightened her mood. Now she could look at Lee Si-heon with somewhat calmer eyes.
'But still, get close to that guy?'
Honestly, she hated the idea—a little? No, a lot.
A physiological repulsion, perhaps. When she'd seen him without the mask last time, she'd even snapped in irritation, which wasn't like her.
A face that provoked anger just by existing.
If someone artificially mangled an attractive face, it might end up like that.
Hard to even hold a conversation with, unlike Si-woo.
This was the first time she'd felt outright disgust toward someone for being so ugly. Honestly, the mask was a godsend.
'Forget getting close to him.'
Her stepfather had probably just thrown out the name as a perfunctory order anyway.
If Si-heon was worth anything, her stepfather would handle the approach himself.
Azalea propped her chin up and sighed again.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After wrapping up some light recreation, I ate with Bead in the cafeteria, then stopped by the training room for a bit.
Proper classes started tomorrow; today was free time.
Reaching out to the massive hologram device, a woman's voice emanated from it.
-Training will commence. Please select difficulty.
A mass-produced wooden doll wielding a light bastard sword dropped from the open ceiling.
I grabbed a wooden sword from the wall rack and set the difficulty to beginner.
-Gick, gigigigik.
The moving wooden doll.
It twisted its body a few times, then charged at me gripping the sword with both hands.
Thump thump thump—my heart raced, body heating up.
I could see the combat doll's movements clearly as it rushed me.
The doll's current stats were 3.
I dodged the sword and naturally struck its back with my elbow instead.
-Kwang!
The wooden doll tumbled clumsily.
Clunk—the light on the ceiling flickered once.
'Too easy.'
What level had Jeong Si-woo been at, the guy I'd fought?
-Adjusting stats to 4.
The wooden doll sprang back up and charged again.
Its movements showed no fear or hesitation like a human's—the sword path was obvious.
But there were lessons to learn even there.
-Whoosh!
A strike without hesitation, footwork solidly by the basics.
Straightforward, but that straightforwardness revealed the doll's strengths clearly to my eyes.
Late Bloomer and Combat-Type Physique.
Even in those predictable moves, points to learn stood out.
So I had to learn them.
I assumed a stance and raised my wooden sword.
Our stats were now equal.
Mirroring the wooden human's movements, my feet moved.
The somewhat instinctive motions gradually aligned to form, taking on a proper shape.
Bang! Bang!
Soon, the sounds of exchanged blows echoed through the training room where I stood alone.
I'd come in with the simple intent to train, unaware of the night falling as I swung my sword.
-Adjusting stats to 5.
I learned how to overwhelm opponents weaker than me.
-Adjusting stats to 1. Difficulty set to intermediate.
I learned how to topple opponents stronger than me.
-Adjusting stats to 1. Difficulty set to beginner.
I learned the stance for battles I absolutely couldn't win.
This was just a training facility, a place I visited occasionally when no proper opponents were around, but it held a treasure no one else could find.
The aptitudes and sturdy frame etched into my body led me into the realm of swordsmanship.
-Kclang!
Stats 6. Intermediate difficulty.
The wooden puppet master that finally toppled me mockingly tilted its head.
-Gikik?
Want more? Its arrogant chin-up seemed to say.
My body should have been sore all over.
Yet peering inward, I found myself thrilled by the learning.
I sprang up and clashed swords again.
A horizontal swing met a vertical one, producing a sharp clash that disrupted both our stances in the training area.
The wooden doll corrected its imperfect form with a few steps.
I did the same.
Moving as it moved, as my body led.
Like surrendering to a downpour, drenched in exhilarating thrill. The flab clinging to my body momentarily fell away.
Grip the sword, swing, end it.
-Kwang, tang!
The doll, struck by my sword strike, collapsed limply and stopped moving.
I gazed at it, then reviewed the stance I'd just taken.
For a long time.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The dark conference hall.
"This authority is quite impressive."
A masked woman spoke up.
"Who are the husbands selected for this year's World Trees? Are we prepared?"
"Yes, President."
A secretary approached her, handing over a file folder.
Lee Si-heon took it and read it aloud.
With World Tree activity quiet lately, the documents contained some intriguing content.
<Tree Seeker>.
-Those who monitor World Tree movements and track them.
The meeting's topic wasn't anything special.
Who had become the World Trees' husbands.
And what functions the newly updated system had.
As a system with transcendent power, they needed to secure husband candidates as soon as possible.
"Shall I explain now?"
"Go ahead."
"Yes. So far, we've identified three husband candidates. Two have already gone to major corporations, and the remaining one is currently enrolled at the academy."
"Ah, that one... Jeong Si-woo, right? That's the guy you're talking about? He's all over the news articles lately—total star."
"Yes. Much of the concrete info we've gathered wouldn't have been possible without Jeong Si-woo's help."
Seo-hyun nodded. A signal to continue.
"The abilities discovered so far for World Tree husbands include a shop system called World Tree Auction and a quest system. Notably, the shop uses connections with Sacred Trees as currency."
"Using connections with Wood People as currency? Why?"
"Unclear. Among the requirements for World Tree husbands, broad networks are included—perhaps that's the purpose."
"What if he falls for another Wood Person? Do World Trees enjoy having their lovers stolen?"
It sounded like an insult to World Trees at first glance, but no one here could reprimand Seo-hyun.
"Next."
"Yes. The quest system seems designed to gradually strengthen husband candidates. Failing quests incurs penalties, but minor ones like 10 hours of forced training."
"Like a game."
"Exactly— this system has strong game-like elements."
Forcing training on quest failure? An interesting method.
"Oh, and there's a fun feature in the shop: a gacha. You can draw unique traits or items not from this world."
"Hmm, why would a World Tree clinging to classic methods pull something like this?"
Seo-hyun didn't hide her interest.
Drawing unique traits.
Abilities at the pinnacle of talents.
"Rumor has it legendary artifacts exist too."
"Legendary grade!"
Seo-hyun couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Legendary artifacts—treasures treated a step above national treasures.
Seeing Seo-hyun's excited face, the secretary hastily corrected herself.
"Of course, it's just possible. Based on precedents, no unique traits or artifacts have ever been drawn—not a single case."
Probably extremely low odds.
The secretary fell silent after that.
At the same time, everyone in the conference hall thought to themselves:
These candidates would make money.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Legendary Artifact Appears! "Huh?"
Lying on my dorm bed, I'd been spinning the gacha with sleepy eyes when drowsiness vanished in an instant.
"Lucky."