Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: One of Them Is Flower (6)
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-Ziiing!
The camera artifact opened its aperture and blinked its lens. As it turned transparent, the surrounding cadets tensed up, their bodies stiffening.
Now, every action of theirs could be broadcast to the entire world, so everyone was on edge.
[Zing? Ziiing.] The transparent artifact floated around, capturing our images one by one on the screen.
Our turn came after passing through crowds of cadets. The orb-shaped artifact that snapped my face once zoomed its lens in front of Cornus.
Cornus blinked her large eyes and stared blankly at the artifact. Then she reached out and stroked its head section.
"...It looks like a puppy."
-Pat pat.
[Zing?] Even with the broadcast going out worldwide, she paid no mind and did exactly as she pleased.
Her pure nature led to moments like this. It wasn't anything that would draw hate, so I just let it be. But then she tugged at my collar.
"Si-heon, Si-heon. Look, doesn't it look like a puppy?"
"......"
Just like when she met Shiba, Cornus loved cute things.
But no matter how I looked at it, it wasn't cute. Did girls just see things differently?
Considering this artifact had its own fan cafe, apparently there were people who adored cameras like this.
[Zing?] "...Yeah, kinda cute."
From inside the mask, I nodded in agreement to Cornus's question as I looked at the camera.
Cornus kept stroking the camera.
[Zing] The camera lowered its head, expanding its lens even more.
The focus of the camera's gaze was her chest.
-Jiggle jiggle.
Did she skip squeezing her milk this morning or forget to wear her compression bra properly? Her breasts were subtly quivering.
This little punk.
I subtly extended my hand, covering her chest area while lowering her arm.
Wasn't it a bit pitiful if unwanted posts popped up on internet communities unasked?
[Ziiing] The camera bolted away the moment her hand dropped. She chased it with a regretful look.
-Thump thump.
Just then, the sound of a mic trembling echoed from afar.
"The 25th Forest Keeper Selection Tournament..."
The Archbishop of the World Tree Church stepped forward and began his speech.
The white-haired man glanced around once, cleared his throat, and continued.
"That is the first trial."
The filming artifacts lined up neatly around the Archbishop.
"You've all heard the explanation."
Forest Survival.
True to its name, it was a Hunger Games-style event where participants survived in the forest.
Forage for food, form teams, eliminate enemies, and whittle down competitors. A classic tournament format.
"To those of you aspiring to become knights of the World Tree, I offer my infinite respect and wish you the best of luck."
The Archbishop recited the standard speech and stepped down from the podium with those final words.
The auditorium fell silent. The cadets, wearing tense expressions, began glancing around and moving.
The artifacts captured the cadets' procession on camera.
Their destination was the magic circle inscribed with spatial magic.
I drew close to Cornus and stuck by her side.
"Si-heon?"
"Find me the moment we enter. I explained why this morning, right?"
"Yeah, you said teaming up is absolutely necessary?"
She got it perfectly.
I'd had a tough time convincing Cornus, who had been wary of me as a rival competitor.
I'd coaxed her, saying that when she got hurt, I'd have to help her out, sweet-talking until she finally understood.
I tapped the top of her head, and her lips puffed out in a pout.
"You touched my head again."
Cornus hated people touching her body with unusual intensity.
But touching her breasts was fine?
Wasn't it usually the opposite?
A bitter sigh escaped me.
-Wooong!
The cadets at the front began vanishing atop the magic circle one by one.
We walked along, surveying our surroundings.
First, the El Academy cadets.
Bead, Lim Jong-hyun, Cornus.
The most suspicious by far was Bead at the top.
She hid her strength, and she made no secret of advertising, "I've got something special about me."
If Flower was among them, she had the highest odds.
'As for the others, I haven't tested them properly yet, so who knows.'
Still, some looked like they'd survive at least to the latter stages of the selection.
Coming from afar first were the National Trees.
Bell, Marronnier, Abby.
Kim Soo-yeon, Saku, Banya.
And... that woman with the dark skin.
'Bawo, was it?'
All of them radiated an extraordinary aura.
'Even among the cadets, a few really stand out.'
Worth of the so-called green generation, the cadets drew involuntary gasps when their power was gauged.
Far too many were strong for mere cadets. I even spotted some around Jeong Si-woo's midterm level.
Frankly, it made the situation one where Flower could be anyone without it seeming off.
"Si-heon-nim! Cornus-nim! Good morning~!"
"Good morning to both of you."
Saku and Kim Soo-yeon bowed their heads slightly as they passed us.
Cornus and I returned the greeting.
"Hello."
"You two as well..."
The two smiled at the sight of Cornus waving her hand gently. I could tell they doted on her.
"Cornus-nim, together again today? Teaming up, maybe...?"
"Yeah."
"Cool~"
"Teaming is necessary, you know. Even the National Trees are doing it."
They exchanged a few words with Cornus before turning their eyes to me.
At first, I was just Masked Man A next to Cornus. But after bumping into each other in the halls and cafeteria and chatting, we'd gotten somewhat friendly.
"Si-heon-nim, not nervous?"
"What's there to be nervous about? Just gotta do it."
"Ooh~ Guts!"
Saku clapped with sound effects of pachi pachi pachi. Kim Soo-yeon continued, looking at my face.
"Three to four is the sweet spot for a team. Found anyone else?"
"Not yet. But the National Trees teaming up too? Feels like cheating, honestly."
In the case of the National Trees, even I couldn't guarantee victory without dissecting their status windows.
Part of it was my strength's wild variance around the Black Path threshold, but a group of that caliber posed a balance problem.
Yet Kim Soo-yeon smiled faintly, denying my words.
"The reason National Trees team up... isn't to knock out cadets. It's to compete with the other National Trees."
"A fight just among themselves, huh."
"Exactly... well, not only that."
"Huh?"
To my follow-up question, Kim Soo-yeon raised her index finger to her lips.
Her serpentine eyes curved slyly.
"We do drop cadets, after all. Be careful. We're enemies when we meet."
Kim Soo-yeon and Saku, plus the woman standing beside them. Were they forming a team including her?
The brown-skinned woman wore clothes with exposure levels that bordered on burdensome.
It felt like she'd customized the standard Forest Keeper selection uniform to her taste.
The neck and arms were cut away, baring her body up to precarious spots.
'Tattoos.'
Tattoos etched across her entire body. Probably why she'd sliced the clothes—to show them off.
And they weren't ordinary tattoos. What were those patterns?
As I examined the geometric traces over the curves of her slender, rib-revealing frame, she caught my gaze and glared.
"Unpleasant."
"Ah, sorry."
A haughty Indian accent pierced my ears as the translator relayed her words.
I apologized right away and turned my eyes forward.
Our turn had arrived.
The magic circle before us glowed golden, with tree roots protruding from spots here and there.
A faint vibration hummed as I stepped onto it.
I took one last look at Cornus's face. I trusted she'd remember what I'd told her.
'For now, let's play it by ear.'
As I stepped onto the magic circle, I glanced around.
Every cadet's tense face was staring right at me.
Could I do well?
What if I just got eliminated?
The cadets' budding worries were plain as day on their faces.
'Maybe it's better if the cadets drop out quick.'
By my estimate, Flower would definitely strike.
Even without executives showing, they'd pull any stunt to expose the World Tree's incompetence.
In that case, how much distance should I keep? What actions to take?
With those thoughts, I closed my eyes against the blinding light filling my vision.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The bitter scent unique to crushed weeds wafted over.
"As expected."
Participants randomly scattered throughout the forest.
No camera assigned to me yet.
Which also meant an ordinary cadet like me wasn't making the broadcast.
"So, what to do."
Muttering to myself, I tapped the bracelet on my wrist.
-Chiriririk!
The mistletoe shifted into black liquid, instantly forming a set shape.
I created a large staff in my hand, stabbed its end into the ground, and stretched.
Mage.
The role I needed to stick to in this Forest Keeper selection tournament.
Different from the sword in the entrance exam or the fists in midterms, but I was confident I'd built enough knowledge in this field too.
Reverse Surge, learned from Hwangdo's school of interpretive mechanics.
Of course, against a proper mage, I'd lose easily. But I could eliminate the riffraff before they even cast a spell.
High potential let me cover a broad curriculum.
Recalling what the Heavenly Demon and Heavenly Path had told me, I began probing the forest depths.
'Magic detection won't work here.'
First, I gauged the surrounding air and confirmed it.
This was a dungeon. One thick with mana.
Its properties disrupted mana flow, limiting detection to about 50 meters max.
A nightmare environment for those specializing in mana manifestation.
[Kiric!] A bit further in, monster noises reached my ears.
"Grrrr."
One growling wolf.
No—widening my senses, it felt like seven at least.
Drooling with unfocused eyes, they began encircling me.
"...First time fighting with only magic."
Golden eyes lurking in trees and underbrush, hungering to rip out my throat.
I raised my palm and lowered it.
[Kuwoong!] At that instant, the surrounding trees shook.
Countless leaves rained to the ground, and the wolves prostrated, unable to withstand the pressure.
'...Ddaekbok Supremacy.'
An improved version of what Baekdo had shown me.
This time, purely with magic, of course.
The magic I was most confident in right now was unequivocally wind magic.
Chewed acorns, munched them, devoured them endlessly.
Ate acorn jelly by the bowl, drowned in soy sauce, turned into acorn soup.
Stacking Wood Person fruits diluted the effects, but cramming hundreds or thousands into my mouth was another story.
"Wind Cutter."
Beginner magic.
Dozens of blades erupted from behind me, shredding the wolves to pieces.
"Kruk—"
They collapsed without even finishing their cries.
I stepped forward without a glance at the corpses.
'Riverside might be good.'
Had to last a whole week.
Water was crucial, and food necessary too.
Build a house, eat well, live well, and the troublemakers would come crawling.
If Flower was mixed in among the cadets I'd drop, all the better for me.
'...Just boot that Bead bitch while I'm at it?'
She seemed to have ulterior motives, but that was only if she passed this trial.
Thinking about it, wasn't blasting them on sight best for my situation?
Easier to make a name, and it'd block Flower's advance.
-Gurgle.
Did the dungeon have a hunger-inducing spell? I'd eaten breakfast, but I was starving already.
The method for securing food remained unknown to everyone.
Monster meat would've been nice, but impossible.
Rumors said it tasted like crap.
'No tree fruits in sight.'
I'd been checking sporadically, but not a single fruit anywhere.
Not even cassava or the like.
I'd expected as much.
This was the Forest Keeper selection—no way they'd let anyone breeze through.
[Grurrk.] This time, a single bear.
I pointed my staff at it and summoned mana.
The mana stored in my body hadn't diminished by even a fraction.