Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Azalea's Blossoms Fall (2)
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"Understood."
Recalling the answer he'd given Lee Seong-han at that moment, he pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth.
Tick- tick- The sound of the lighter. He leaned his back against the utility pole beside him, his hazy mind stumbling along as he watched the gray smoke wafting from his lips. The hard stone pressing against the back of his head felt cool and refreshing.
For some reason, a laugh bubbled up.
Back in college, he wouldn't have given booze or smokes a second glance, yet here he was learning them.
-Huuk.
The exhaled smoke scattered into the air, mingling with his tangled thoughts.
Yeah. When he thought about it, he'd been helplessly swept up in the quests and events dictated by the World Tree, unable to even put up a fight.
Dragged into a world that had nothing to do with him, forced to complete quests or die on failure.
In a place where death loomed so close, there was no such thing as comfort.
To him, the World Tree was an object of hatred and resentment, and this godforsaken world was somewhere he could leave without a shred of regret.
'Can't keep living like this forever.'
If they thought he'd obediently follow their lead after turning him into this mess, they were dead wrong.
He intended to betray them at the first opportunity, and today was exactly that chance.
"Huu."
He exhaled the smoke he'd been holding once more.
His stuffy chest eased a little. The pain faded away.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The 'World Tree of Purity' earnestly gazes at you. The tree that was to become his wife kept sending him pleading signals.
She must have known. What choice he was about to make. From the start, this bitch had no right to judge him.
Others might call this pathetic tree a World Tree and sing its praises. What did he care?
Yeah, they probably saved this world and made it prosper.
To beings who played on a world-spanning scale, one human from another world was utterly insignificant.
They saved the world, but to him, it was nothing but a tsunami of disaster.
If a chance for revenge came, taking it was only natural.
"Time to head in."
He dropped the cigarette and entered the dormitory.
As he walked down the corridor, he came to an abrupt halt in front of one room.
[3054]
Chocolate boxes scattered haphazardly in front of the door. He already knew Azalea had rejected him.
One box was open, but upon counting, it seemed she hadn't eaten any.
He left the chocolates where they were and entered his own room.
-Clunk.
He closed the door and reached for the water bottle on his desk, watering the sprouting shoot.
"Shiba, it's me. Time to eat."
-Squelch, squelch.
The cotyledons rising from the soil swayed back and forth as if pleased.
"Heh heh, you like that?"
-Squelch!
What sin has this little one committed? The thought crossed his mind, but he felt ridiculous even talking to a plant and shut his mouth.
"I'm such a moron."
He removed his mask and peered into the mirror.
His current Charm was 6. Handsome enough to become a meme on the internet.
And it resembled his face from the original world, too.
If it went up by 2 more here and he shed the obesity, Charm would hit 9. Probably idol-level good looks.
Thinking about it, coming to this world wasn't a total loss.
He'd hooked up with pretty girls, after all. That alone was a massive win.
'Don't dwell on it. Denying reality won't do any good.'
A life tangled in threats and blackmail existed everywhere.
Whining about it would only make his life more miserable.
"Shiba. Dad's heading out."
He stroked the sprout's head and casually left the dormitory.
-Creeeak!
"We meet you, Brother."
In front of the empty dormitory stood people in black hoods, kneeling on one knee.
The fanatic members he'd spoken with today.
He vaguely remembered hearing their names, but they'd gone in one ear and out the other. No matter—Brother would do.
"Rise."
"Yes. And this."
The burly man at the front handed him a black bag that looked straight out of a mafia flick.
One of the aids they'd discussed: weapons.
-Clank.
He pulled out a hefty sword from within.
A grip protruding midway along the handle, and a blade wider than most swords. It could pass for a longsword, but up close, it was closer to a bastard sword.
A barbaric medieval weapon through and through.
Yet for those with inhuman strength, it packed more than enough lethality.
"A gift from Apostle Lee Seong-han to Apostle Lee Si-heon."
Nominally, he'd risen to a rank equal to Lee Seong-han.
Some oracle or whatever. Cults gonna cult.
"Thanks."
"Of course. And a message."
"What is it?"
"In three days, we raid the Academy. Reserve Apostle Azalea's growth is sufficient—the time has come, he said."
That soon?
He nearly blurted it out but calmly sealed his lips and thought it over.
The Azalea he'd seen back then hadn't been that strong.
'She only used a beginner spirit, so that's to be expected. Taking down a single wolf beast with a beginner spirit means her control is solid enough.'
He nodded to signify his understanding. The hooded figures bowed to him and vanished like the wind.
'Not giving the exact time and place means they don't fully trust me yet. Fair enough.'
They were probably planning to test him with this.
'They planning to kidnap Azalea?'
The thought made him sling the sword bag over his shoulder with a smirk.
'Fat chance.'
It was a chance to screw over the World Tree, sure—but he planned to reap the benefits first and betray them later.
The reason was simple.
He hated NTR.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -Splat!
Betrayal was betrayal, but there were more pressing matters.
How far could he go against that cult's armed thugs?
Naturally, his top priority was his own power. His personal strength.
With little time to spare, he skipped morning classes and holed up in the training hall, swinging his sword.
-Kang!
He coldly assessed his skills as he bashed the wooden training dummy across the back of its head.
'At best, beginner hunter level.'
Disappointing. Of course, compared to right before enrollment, he was several times stronger.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Strength: 5.1 🛡️ Endurance: 4.2 💨 Agility: 3.9 💪 Stamina: 4.5 ✨ Magic Power: 4.1 These stats were a solid improvement, and compared to the other cadets at the Academy, he wouldn't fall short at all.
The rapid growth was largely thanks to his potential. A few more months of training, and he might catch up to San Su-yu or Jeong Si-woo?
-Kikikik!
He extended his hand toward the wooden dummy forcibly rising and summoned his mana.
In the stuffy, enclosed space, azure mana bloomed, forming translucent blades.
Mid-level magic: three Wind Cutters.
The three blades shot out like arrows, shredding the dummy from multiple angles.
And yet, it still wasn't enough.
He sat on the bench and checked his phone. Skipping class had been the right call—missed calls galore.
-Lee Se-young (27 missed calls)
'What, this many?'
It was break time exactly. He called Se-young.
Ruru- "Why the hell didn't you pick up?!"
She answered before the first ring even finished, demanding an explanation.
"Uh...... I'm in the training room right now."
"You lunatic. Can't you at least show up for homeroom? You think your teacher's a pushover?!"
"That's not it—why the overreaction?"
"I heard you met with Lee Seong-han yesterday... Shouldn't you have at least texted?!"
So, he'd met Lee Seong-han and skipped school the next day—naturally, she'd worried.
He'd been inconsiderate. But had her personality always been this fiery?
"Were you lonely?"
"Lonely my ass. I'm your homeroom teacher, you idiot. You have any idea how tough it is dragging around a failing cadet?!"
"You were worried. Aw, teacher's so sweet."
"Cut the crap. I'm hanging up."
-Click.
He shoved the phone—cut off unilaterally on her end—into his pocket and resumed training.
Fights with the wooden dummy felt like real combat, and he quickly grew accustomed.
Summoning mana. Heightened bodily senses. Precise muscle movements.
The dummy's stats had maxed out in no time.
"Next."
-Kikikik!
The new wooden dummy dove into his guard faster than he expected.
He reverse-gripped the bastard sword and deflected its blade.
As he hooked a foot to flip it over, the dummy stepped back, creating distance.
He advanced with footwork of his own, closing in.
The dummy's expression seemed to pale as he closed the gap in an instant, swinging late.
He didn't miss the opening. He threw a punch.
Wooden Fist Technique.
His mana-infused fist tapped the dummy's chest—thud—and its entire body erupted violently.
'As expected.'
Perfect mana control.
The second effect of Hyperion's Mask was shining.
-Effect 2: Charm +3 immediately upon equipping. Major bonus to mana control.
Major bonus to mana control. The vague description irked him, but it was undeniably helpful.
Results spoke for themselves—who could argue? Techniques like internal bursting were now possible.
"Okay, next one."
-Thud thud!
He was honing his weapon when someone knocked.
He turned to the glass wall by the entrance. There stood Lee Se-young, fuming, holding a large basket.
"Huh? What're you doing here, Teach—"
"Open up."
-Clunk.
"Got something to say?"
"Nope...?"
"You could've at least said something before vanishing!"
"Ow, oof! Sorry!"
He opened the door, and she latched onto him, locking him in a headlock.
Her arms around his neck, she rained knuckle-raps on his crown.
-Thwack! Thwack!
"No more excuses—spill it. Why're you here? Hate seeing me that much?"
"Why would I hate seeing you, Teach?"
"Tell me why!"
"Well...? Ack!"
-Thwack! Thwack!
It genuinely hurt.
Only after a small bump formed on his head did she finally release him.
He rubbed his crown miserably while she eyed him, anger not fully spent, then shyly offered the basket she'd brought.
"What's this?"
"Just open it."
The picnic basket was stuffed with sandwiches.
"Eat up. Extra rice cake for the jerk. Figured you skipped meals, so I bought these."
"But I already ate."
"Shut up and eat. Gotta eat to grow."
"But I'm dieting."
"......So you're not gonna eat?"
Her slightly pouty face made him fear another beating if he teased more, so he shoved a sandwich in his mouth.
It was decent—homemade crab salad.
"A little pudge is fine anyway."
"Pardon?"
"Even if you slim down, you'd probably still be ugly."
"Fuck. That stings. So why'd you come?"
Se-young pulled an apple juice from the basket, stuck a straw in, and held it to his lips.
"Can't I?"
Her slightly upturned lips were kinda cute.
Sure, why not? But still—this didn't seem like something a woman who'd tried to backstab him would do.
'Whatever.'
He sipped the drink. She'd even packed an ice pack on the way; the lightly chilled apple juice was super sweet.
His stuffy gut eased a bit.