Chapter 239
Chapter 239
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: Baobab Tree (3)
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A heavy weight presses down on my lower abdomen.
-Squeeze, squeeze.
"You have no idea how much I searched for you."
Bao giggles in a vicious tone as she mutters.
Her massive hand gently strokes my neck, then suddenly clamps down tight.
"Where is that bastard?"
"Even if you say that, I don't kn—urk!"
I try to play dumb, but pressure tightens around my throat.
"Don't act like you don't know. I already know that Peach Bitch's disciple is you."
No matter how much I've boosted my physical abilities, I'm around National Tree level or just a tad below.
The Baobab Tree, born into a battle-hungry race, possesses overwhelming innate physical prowess.
Unless I rip open my status window or unleash my magic power, there's no way I can beat this one.
...And I can't exactly cause a scene where all the cameras are watching.
And Peach Bitch? Do all these guys have such foul mouths?
I reach out and twist Bao's wrist.
"Oh ho?"
Bao's eyebrow twitches.
It's a razor-thin margin.
My hand trembles violently. Hers does too.
Our raw strength is evenly matched. Veins bulge on our wrists as I slowly pry her hand from my neck.
-Thud.
At that moment, Bao's hand grows even larger.
A 3-meter giant. Her body looms like it's about to swallow me whole.
Her arm, over eight feet long, crushes down on my stomach. The weight is immense.
Tug-of-war like this is pointless.
My arm, locked in the struggle, gets pushed back, and soon Bao's hand tightens around my neck again.
[Whirr]
The belated camera drones catch up and film us.
"Still not talking?"
She snorts mockingly.
My lips quiver as air leaks from my mouth.
Lungs crushed, breathing is a struggle.
"Staying silent like this will just make it more painful for you."
"What if... I forfeit?"
"I'll follow you."
Her icy voice pierces my brain.
"I'll chase you to the ends of the earth."
"......What the hell is this about?"
"Finding that bastard. Just tell me where he is. Bob. You know? I know everything about Peach Blossom Paradise."
"Peach Blossom... Paradise... What's... your connection?"
Bao's brow furrows. Her grip loosens slightly, letting me breathe.
Now I can finally see her face.
I couldn't get a good look amid the chaos earlier, but as a National Tree, she's strikingly beautiful.
Dark skin base, yellow eyes, mid-length hair.
Even enlarged, she retains the sexy curves of a woman's body.
Finally, words spill from her lips.
"That bastard's my little brother."
Bob's sister?
Little sister?
An image flashes in my mind: a burly black muscleman. Baobab Tree.
I knew they were the same species, but actual blood siblings? No way.
I stare at her, dumbfounded.
...They don't look anything alike?
Bob's image is still that bald Black guy in a suit.
A man who pulls off formal wear quite well.
Bao and Bob.
Bob and Bao.
No matter how I try, their images don't overlap.
"......"
"What? Feeling like spilling now?"
Her hand tightens again. My throat squeezes shut, breath cut off.
I shake my head furiously.
Where the hell are those two?
I slip my fingers under her palm in a small act of resistance.
Gently pushing lets me breathe a little.
Did they go too far? No sign of Sun or Aori heading this way.
I spread my magic power, scanning the surroundings meticulously.
No sign of them.
-Rustle.
A few monsters, vast forest. A dungeon that just opened today on the third day.
Searching every nook and cranny, I finally detect two presences far off.
They're heading here, but agonizingly slow.
"I don't know where those people are either."
"I told you, don't play dumb. You might regret it."
"No one knows Peach Blossom Paradise's location to begin with. All I heard was that I'd be contacted after graduation."
Bao's eyes bore into my face.
Eyes that read people's innermost thoughts.
"......That might be true. If I didn't have my lie-detection eyes, I might've fallen for it."
Could be a bluff.
Anyone can fabricate a skill they don't have when cornering someone.
"Kukukuku."
But this time, it seemed genuine.
Her laugh isn't normal.
Bao folds her massive fingers one by one into a fist.
"Lee Si-heon."
"......"
"...You're gonna have to talk eventually."
The clumsy Korean name slips from her mouth.
If she wanted the location, why not just approach and ask nicely?
What's the need for violence?
Battle-crazed race, huh? Guess they solve everything with fists.
No choice.
I gather magic in my palm.
Spotting the move, Bao swings her fist.
-Boom!
I raise my hand and slam the ground.
A massive dust storm erupts, engulfing Bao.
Fierce winds kick up dirt into her eyes, blasting toward her.
We vanish from the cameras' lenses.
"...You sneaky bastard!"
I wrap my body in magic power and thrust my upper body forward to shake her off.
-Thud!
Our foreheads clash.
A finger's width apart. We glare at each other, masks the only barrier between us.
I reach for Bao's chest.
The soft sensation in my grip is fleeting. I invoke magic to shove her back.
Not to drive her away, of course.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Connection with World Tree temporarily severed. Muscles swell. Magic surges through me, black flames igniting across my body.
Crossing the first threshold, my vision expands wide and far.
Every object and position nearby. Every flow of magic power.
My heightened senses capture it all, mapping optimal paths.
The perfect route to victory.
But this time, I advance differently.
Sometimes reason trumps beastly instinct.
I kick off the ground and charge forward.
"...Grk. What...?"
My fist meets Bao's hand.
As it's blocked, I spin and slam my heel into her head.
Speed is my advantage.
-Bang!
A heavy impact at the heel.
Her massive frame makes it feel like I've shattered a tree.
A moment of carelessness allows the blow she permitted.
The shock to her jaw and skull blanks her mind briefly.
I seize the opening and grab her face.
"Grk... mmph!"
Drag her like this.
Against this opponent, I can't win as a mage.
-Thud!
Grabbing her head, I dash far away.
Her growing size becomes a liability.
Leaping between trees repeatedly.
Our final destination.
Inside the dungeon.
[Whirr!]
Leaving the last camera's shot behind, we tumble across the cave floor after passing through the gate.
Splash. Bao and I sprawl.
We spring up instantly, glaring with raw emotion.
"...This is a dungeon? What's your plan?"
Bao assumes a stance, smirking arrogantly. Her body towers at 4 meters.
Her boosted strength and stamina are still below mine, but if she grows more, even I'll struggle.
"You gonna face me without your team?"
"Yeah."
"......What?"
Bao squints at my reply.
"No eyes on us now."
Black magic power rises from my shoulders.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "He's gone?"
Aori says to Sun while rummaging through the bushes.
Her wrecked gauntlets were discarded long ago.
A few seconds of clash had left them both battered.
"Probably dragged into that dungeon."
One hidden gate in the forest. Signs someone already entered.
Impossible to track once inside.
Cameras scattered, leaderless. Only a few remain filming Sun and Aori.
Sun slumps before the gate.
"Argh."
Humiliating.
He'd struck all the poses, but who could've guessed it'd be that woman.
Sweeping his forehead, mocking laughter erupts behind him.
"...Hehehehe."
"Don't tease."
Aori laughs recalling the scene.
"Bro... hehe. Do I seem... that weak...? Urk! Hehehehe."
"Shut your mouth."
"One punch and he was done. Pathetic."
She ribs him endlessly whenever she gets the chance.
Sun strokes his throbbing forehead, sighing deeply.
His king wouldn't drag her into a dungeon recklessly. Even against a battle-mad Baobab berserker, he won't go down easy.
"Hope the king's okay."
Aori's smile fades, her voice laced with genuine worry.
Sun scoffs at her.
"Just trust him."
"That woman was insanely strong."
Aori thrusts her broken gauntlet at him.
A punch with bone-shattering force.
Aori's combat prowess is no joke.
Even she fell short against Bao.
"If I unleashed, maybe. But holding back? Tough."
"Fair. You're in the same class as me..."
Those empowered by the king. Without drawing their tree powers, combat drops sharply.
Aori, as a Wood Person, has far higher potential than human Sun.
Even rotten, Wood Spirit King's bloodline.
Plus, she inherited powers from extinct families.
"If even I can't handle her, she's top-tier National Tree at least."
"Cocky much?"
"Who am I?"
Aori plants hands on hips, proudly naming her parents.
"Daughter of Golden Delicious and Red Jade."
"How's a person's name Golden Delicious?"
"You just dissed my dad?"
"Yeah."
"Asshole. Worst."
Apple tree family. Wiped out for allying with Wood Spirit King, most sold as slaves or killed.
But their power is undeniable.
Thick World Tree blood mixed with Wood Spirit King's chosen talent.
One who stayed loyal to the end: Golden Delicious's breed.
Male Golden Delicious and Wood Spirit King sired a son, who with Red Jade bore Aori.
"...Hope the king's fine."
Aori tilts her brows, pouting.
"Quit worrying."
"Doesn't look like it?"
"You ever fought Sun?"
"Unlike you, I know my place."
Aori sticks out her tongue. Sun flips her off with a rotten grin.
"If he goes all out, no one here could match him."
"Huh? Even National Trees?"
"Fuck the National Trees."
Sun grew up in the slums.
He's seen countless untouchable experts.
He knows their expressions, their gazes.
Lee Si-heon's power he witnessed couldn't touch Baobab level.
Obviously, since he wasn't at full strength.
But that ominous aura rising from his body? Can't hide that.
"I said it before, right? That vibe average S-ranks lack."
"When?"
"At home, eating ramen. Cup noodles."
"Maybe... But why?"
Sun raises a finger.
"Bro's a god."
Half-joking remark.
Aori's face sours.
"......Lame."
"Kukuku, but he could take most S-ranks."
Nothing else explains that vibe.