Chapter 262
Chapter 262
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 262
Chapter Title: Woo the Tree (3)
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Right after my meeting with Mary. When I returned to my room, a familiar face came into view.
Bao, who I hadn't seen for a while.
I thought she'd been traumatized by what happened and vanished for good, but she'd come back after all.
Bao was leaning against my door, vigilantly scanning the surroundings. Our eyes met.
"Hey."
Her eyes narrowed menacingly.
"Rematch. I can win today."
Her temper was as fiery as ever today.
Why doesn't this girl ever get tired?
I brushed past Bao, waved my hand to shoo her aside, and silently unlocked the door.
Then Bao's hand roughly grabbed my collar and yanked me.
"You ignoring me right now?"
My body shook like a piece of paper.
I turned my head slightly to check her expression. Her face was flushed, as if she was about to throw a punch any second.
"Why are you doing this to me? I just got back from the trial and want to rest a bit."
"Three times. You said three times yourself."
"I have a meeting to go to."
As soon as I showed my reluctance, something was thrust in front of my face.
A slip of paper guiding me to my meeting partner. The date was today, and surprisingly, my name was written on it.
A triumphant smile crept across Bao's lips.
"Come at me."
How could there be such a coincidence?
Team-building, my ass.
Why pair me only with people I know?
Bao was a Wood Person who was dying to devour me whole.
I cleared my throat. I fully opened the door and pointed inside to Bao.
"Wait in there. I'll handle some work and come back."
"How can I trust you?"
"If I don't show, you win."
"You think I'd accept a cheap victory like that?"
How the hell do I make this girl submit?
If the skill gap between us was overwhelmingly huge, I could've crushed her with sheer pressure.
But in reality, when we actually fought, I couldn't guarantee victory because of her Authority and mana reserves.
"...Come in together. I promise."
Anyone seeing her forcibly dragging my shoulder would think I was the one on the losing end.
In the end, I was led into the room by Bao's hand.
No choice. I took off my shoes and headed to the living room. I sat on the sofa and sniped at Bao, who followed me in.
"After getting wrecked like that last time, you still wanna fight?"
Or had she been honing her skills specifically for today?
Bao's expression was brimming with confidence, like she could devour a wild beast whole.
"I won't lose this time."
"...You said the same thing last time and got beaten. How about giving up already? Or—"
I warned her quietly.
"You might really break."
I said something outrageous, hoping it'd make her back off.
Last time, we'd stopped midway.
She was so out of it that I'd basically had to release the binds halfway through.
I lost. Because I wouldn't say that one phrase.
But she did beg me to stop. So I let it slide and freed her.
I thought she'd given up since she didn't come to my room last night.
"Or do you just wanna sleep with me outright?"
Bao's eyes slanted.
"Is that why you're chasing after your oppa so desperately... Ah, you said that last time—"
"No, it's not."
Bao's mouth twisted into a sneer. She raised her fists into position, looking ready to charge, so I stood up too.
I raised my fists.
"What bullshit are you spouting, you moron? I just can't stand losing to a guy like you."
I assumed my stance.
"It's not about you. Whether that bastard shows up or not doesn't matter right now. Even rotten, I'm still a Baobab tree."
Bao closed in.
"...I can't accept losing to a punk like you."
"What if you lose all three?"
Her fist came rushing in.
I lightly twisted my head to dodge.
The sound of air slicing past my ear. That's how powerful her punch was.
Bao's sharply gleaming eyes flashed right in front of my nose.
"Then I'll be your slave."
She shouldn't make promises so lightly.
-Paang!
As I threw my punch, pain suddenly exploded from the side of my head.
Our third fight, at best.
Had she honed her technique in the meantime?
She might've done image training all day yesterday.
This wasn't a stance you could pick up in a few hours.
Clean and powerful.
Movements prepared solely to fight me, without a thought for the second trial.
"Slave? What, you gonna be my errand boy or something?"
"...Shut up, punk. If I win all three, then you're mine."
Bao charged ferociously, confidently clashing her fists together.
I felt something wet trickling from just below my temple.
I didn't need to touch it to know it was blood.
-Puk!
We exchanged blows.
The one-sided beatdown from two days ago had turned into a proper match.
Our techniques were on equal footing.
I used some inexplicable brawling style that looked tricky to handle.
Probably something Bao had developed herself to counter me. This girl wasn't your average genius.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have risen to National Tree status.
'...No openings.'
Should I use Lewd Technique?
Using mana is forbidden, but she doesn't know if Lewd Technique counts as mana-based.
But it wasn't something I could use easily.
It was obvious she'd prepared thoroughly for today.
Bao had been subtly exposing her lower abdomen. She was deliberately showing an opening.
'Does she think I won't notice?'
No.
Lewd Technique is lethal even with one hit. It's the ability to watch most closely. There must be a reason.
Meaning, she was accounting for Lewd Technique too.
Even though it should've been unusable normally.
-Paang!
I dodged Bao's punch and thought again.
'Psychological warfare.'
Deliberately showing an opening to keep me from going for it easily.
She's gambling.
Instead of exposing vitals, Bao attacked even more aggressively.
The opening was so blatant it deterred me from committing.
'But if she really knows how to counter it.'
Then I'd be the one taking damage.
Whether I attack it or not would decide this match.
'However.'
Just thinking that meant I'd already fallen into her trap.
Bao saw Lewd Technique as a martial art.
'She can't use it anyway. Lewd Technique is magic.'
No need to rush.
Her talent was impressive, but nothing compared to mine.
If it was a mana battle, maybe, but pure hand-to-hand was different.
-Paang!
I shifted my momentum.
I grabbed Bao's collar as she dodged my punch.
She deftly slapped my arm away in defense.
But my body was more flexible and combat-oriented than she thought.
The Heavenly Demon had called it Heavenly Martial Physique, after all.
I absorb martial arts I see with my own eyes.
And surpass them.
That's why I gave Bao three chances from the start.
I burrowed into her guard.
Her fist grazed my cheek dangerously. I gripped her chest with both hands and shoved her forward, toppling her.
-Kwang!
A loud crash echoed.
Pinning her down was impossible. Who knows what trick she'd pull.
I mounted her stomach and bound both her hands.
-Hoo, hoo.
Our breaths mingled.
How to press her further from here?
She'd never submit. I couldn't just beat her face until she passed out.
Bao glared at me with venomous eyes.
"Fuck."
She thought she'd lost again. Her eyes trembled.
Her cheek twitched, bracing for my blows.
"...I lost."
Her mouth opened moments later.
"What?"
An answer I never expected.
Even after getting pummeled unconscious the day before yesterday, she'd refused to accept defeat. Now she admits it so easily?
What changed in her mindset?
I kept her bound, eyeing her suspiciously.
Bao gritted her teeth, as if seething.
"I said I lost! ...Today."
"What's up with you?"
"Whatever. Just let me go."
Bao had learned.
Dragging it out here would only make her suffer.
I released the bind.
Bao stood, straightening her clothes.
"Haa..."
She stomped her feet. She must be furious.
She'd thought she'd win for sure this time.
I was pretty shocked too.
Normally, I'd tank a few hits and overwhelm her, but her movements were on another level.
'...Will I really lose next time?'
A sense of crisis crept in.
I healed my wounds with my Authority. Several spots were torn open from how hard she'd hit me.
Bao was the same, so I approached her as she stood fuming and placed my hand on her injured areas.
Bao flinched.
She looked at my body, then grabbed the hem of her tank top.
"Pathetic..."
Slipping up. Her top rose.
Exposing her belly and underarms, the tank top strained over her chest before her breasts bounced free.
"What're you doing?"
"What, fuck... aren't you gonna do it?"
I hadn't planned to.
Just heal and send her off.
"Wasn't planning to."
I tapped her wounds nonchalantly.
Bao's gaze followed.
It didn't take long for her to see the blue-bruised pain vanish.
"Ah."
Black bra, sweat trickling between her cleavage.
Armpit and skin exposed right before she fully stripped.
Her nipples poked prominently over the bra.
"Were you expecting it?"
-Ppeong!
My body toppled backward from her punch to the face.
*****
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [...Hey.]
"Yes, Mary."
Mary's branch pointed accusingly at Im Jong-hyun in front of her.
Im Jong-hyun. A Wood Person.
Much better than humans, with a bit of tree blood mixed in— one who didn't disgust her.
[You said El Academy, right?]
"Yes."
[Do you know who Lee Si-heon is?]
Im Jong-hyun's eyebrow twitched slightly at Mary's question.
Mary couldn't miss that brief change in expression.
Frowning at her question?
If he were human, she might've incinerated him with magic.
But he's a Wood Person. She'd let it slide this time.
"Just some nobody human."
[...Is that so?]
A nobody.
Lee Si-heon. He knew his place well enough. What he showed today was, well, decent for a human.
He didn't make a ridiculous face at her question. Didn't demand the trial either.
This morning, he'd even provided delicious fertilizer and water.
That fertilizer... what was it? A taste she'd never experienced in her life.
Why would a human have something like that?
It couldn't have been easy to obtain. That was his show of sincerity.
On the other hand, Im Jong-hyun. What was this guy?
Reporting only the trial's completion, polite but treating her like a mere tool.
Just a checkpoint to pass the second trial.
Not treating her as a person. Just bowing because he had to this time.
That human had a cute charm at least.
[...No, you can go.]
"Pardon the intrusion."
Im Jong-hyun left without looking back.
That was fine. He was a Wood Person. She was nobility.
But Mary couldn't shake the lingering knot deep in her heart.