Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Masked Man (6)
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A single red pencil floated before my eyes.
My mana was being depleted as if siphoning fuel from a gas station.
The air and light contracted, warping my vision.
-Whoooong!
Teleport.
The vanished pencil reappeared behind me, falling onto the bed.
"Hoo..."
I exhaled the breath I'd been holding and wiped away the sweat pouring down like rain.
Then I glanced at Hwang-do, who stood behind me.
"Success?"
"Kyaaak! Prodigy is the best!"
Hwang-do overreacted and clung to me. Her soft cheek pressed against mine.
"Why are you making such a fuss over just moving a pencil?"
"It's not 'just'! You really have prodigy-level talent, you know? Oh no, I'm so excited! So this is what tutoring feels like~!"
Rub rub.
It felt good, but the skinship was too much.
I grabbed Hwang-do's shoulders and pushed her away, but she grinned ear to ear, as if even that delighted her.
"Now we just need to refine it."
Adjust the coordinate precision, reduce mana consumption, increase computation speed.
Once my skills reached that level, assuming I knew the coordinates of the start and end points, I could move anywhere in the world at will.
Of course, I couldn't use it as casually as Hwang-do, popping in and out like it was her own home.
Hwang-do's mana reserves were irregular.
'Using spatial magic for blinks doesn't even make sense.'
To have mana overflowing to that extent, she had to be extraordinary from birth.
Like gaining mana just from breathing.
If mana was like oil, it was impossible unless you had a refinery embedded in your body.
'And those who can do that... are these peaches.'
The more I learned, the more I realized with bone-deep clarity that I was still a fledgling.
Even if I smashed my status window and wrecked my mana circuits on purpose, could I even graze their toes?
And if the ones targeting me were figures even Cheon-do struggled to block...
How long would it take to escape this damn situation?
"Prodigy?"
Hwang-do tapped my shoulder worriedly, reading my expression.
"Something bothering you?"
"No. Let's wrap up. Now even without you, I can drop Shiba off at kindergarten."
"Yeah, with prodigy talent, you'll catch up to me in no time!"
"Heh heh heh, just you wait. I'll surpass you soon."
Glancing at the clock, it was already 1 a.m. I gave a look, and Hwang-do nodded once before shifting back to her original form.
Her deep crimson hair fluttered as if caught in a gust of wind.
"Today's magic lesson ended quicker than usual."
Cheon-do approached, stretching in an outer coat far too large for her frame.
"Yeah, well... she says I have talent."
"Talent overflows from you. Especially with all that effort you're putting in."
Cheon-do snapped her fingers. In an instant, the space before us transformed into the training room.
I chuckled, dazed by the overwhelming display of skill.
"But I still don't get it."
"What don't you get?"
"Ah... well."
I'd effortlessly acquired a talent that negated the need for effort.
But paradoxically, to rise to a position worthy of that talent, I needed even greater effort.
How long would that take?
Lately, those thoughts had been creeping in often.
"Feeling blocked?"
"Yeah... something like that?"
Cheon-do just stared at me with a blank expression.
Maybe it was a stupid worry after all. As I bitterly pursed my lips, she spoke again.
"Take off your clothes."
...Clothes?
I brought my hands to my chest and eyed Cheon-do suspiciously.
"Master, you're not possessed by Hwang-do again, are you...? Don't tell me you're planning something weird..."
"What nonsense? I said take them off."
Half-pale, I slowly shed my top. Cheon-do's face twisted as if looking at something repulsive.
"So why make me strip?"
"Look at this."
Cheon-do pulled over a mirror from the corner of the training room.
"Proof of progress is etched into the body."
I frowned, examining myself.
From the recent intense training, my body was covered in mysterious scars.
Burns, cuts, traces of mana circuit overloads from fights against cultists and ents.
The vein-like remnants of mana surges were grotesquely prominent.
'When did I get so many injuries?'
It was astonishing.
I knew I'd developed a habit of ignoring pain since Purgatory, but had it gotten this bad already?
"Your natural regeneration and healing are better than most."
Thanks to the World Tree's authority. And I was using it effectively.
"Yet you're in that state. Get what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, something like 'I'm working hard enough'?"
Cheon-do smiled.
"No. It means work harder. And go wild—do whatever you want. Don't you love rampaging?"
Yeah, fair enough.
Thinking it over, it was something to brush off lightly.
Lately, I'd been so busy that reality was hitting hard.
I scratched my cheek and grinned brazenly.
"Can't disappoint my master."
With that, I assumed a stance.
Cheon-do watched me with an inscrutable gaze, then drew her leaf-forged sword.
It was three days before the exam, in the dead of night.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A massive pressure crushed the opponent.
"Ugh, urk."
The cadet gritted his teeth, trying to withstand the full-body assault, but soon deemed it futile and shouted desperately.
"I-I surrender!"
"Thanks for the match."
"Y-Yeah."
I readjusted my mask and stepped off the stage, met with awed exclamations from the surroundings.
-How many wins is that guy on?
-Exams are days away, what the hell...
The crowding gazes carried jealousy.
Some sneered, thinking I was showing off moves before the tournament, but that was a solid misconception.
'You guys are the ones with limited cards.'
Magic. Sword. Fists.
I already had more than three attack methods at my disposal.
From behind the mask, I scanned the cadets. Some averted their eyes.
-Freakin' talent bug bastard.
Was it my turn to hear that now?
It was true, so I had nothing to say. Without talent, I'd be dead already.
Still, the envy grated.
Glancing around again, my eyes met a familiar face.
'Im Jong-hyun.'
The noble guy always burning with rivalry toward Jeong Si-woo.
For some reason, those fervent eyes were now fixed on me.
'What's his deal?'
It wasn't entirely clueless.
Since that drinking party where Jeong Si-woo put me on the same level as Im Jong-hyun, I'd noticed the shift in his gaze.
Maybe he was finally taking interest now that I was openly challenging everyone like a madman.
Whatever. Not my problem.
"Good work."
Returning to my tiered seat, Azalea spoke softly beside me.
I nodded once and reclined the backrest like a bed, closing my eyes. Drowsiness washed over me.
"Pulled another all-nighter?"
"Yeah."
"Aren't you pushing too hard...? What if you collapse?"
"If I collapse, Master force-feeds me potions."
Azalea blinked in stunned silence.
No exaggeration— even on the brink of death, a few potions would forcibly snap me awake.
"It's not like... torture or anything, right?"
Pretty similar.
Apparently, I had to live like this for nearly a year.
She even pleaded that if she wasn't around soon, I should train alone. What could I say? Just accept my fate with a "Yes, Master."
"Can't make a body out of thin air."
"Your master must be pretty strict."
Azalea sighed briefly, then pulled something from her pocket.
"Here, have this."
A single candy in a small plastic wrapper. Peering through bleary eyes, I saw a flower drawn on it.
Azalea flower.
"Next, Azalea!"
"My turn. Be right back."
Azalea grabbed her wand and dashed to the arena.
I unwrapped the candy and rolled it in my mouth.
These days, even candy tasted like tree.
Worried it'd start tasting like knots, I hated myself for the thought.
-Tap, tap.
Drifting off, I sensed movement beside me.
Lifting my eyes, I locked gazes with Cornus, who'd snuck over while Azalea was gone.
"Ack."
Cornus, who'd been scampering up the seats like an excited puppy, froze solid.
Her body stiffened like she'd lost a game of stare-down.
"What are you doing?"
"Executive Sword Technique... crawling?"
My body jolted at the reality of her still using that phrase.
"...Please stick to actual jokes. Still browsing weird sites?"
"Huh?"
I'd said it assuming obviously not.
But Cornus puffed up proudly, lifting her torso from her crouched position and thrusting out her chest.
Her ample breasts jiggled once with her necktie.
"I became an admin this time."
Oh fuck, Lord have mercy.
A dizzying array of disgust-inducing images flashed before my eyes.
📰 Breaking News Title: If the Meme Girl Turns You On, Go to Sleep Writer: ArboretumMVP (Photo of a knot on an ancient tree trunk) Sweet dreams~ 💬 Comments — NaturePervert ㄷㄷ Shit, now they're being blatant. At least bring a driftwood or something. — ? ? — Report this ? — Pedo bastard is disgusting Crazy bastard... total psycho. — ㄹㅇ Better Jesus' nail hole than a knot.. Just jerk to water sprouts. — Floor jerk? Tree bark, water sprouts, Jesus—no normal people left. They're gonna fuck everything ㅅㅂ. My first impression of that popular post when I stumbled on the site:
'......Apocalypse.'
It was a mad space unfit for human habitation.
Cornus tilted her head, oblivious to the gravity. Infuriating.
"You're still doing that place?"
"They're all nice."
"Nice? Where the hell is it?"
"Swordsmanship Gallery."
......Swordsmanship Gallery. Noted.
I couldn't stand by while the once-innocent Cornus fell to degeneracy.
Swallowing a sigh, she asked with an innocent face, as if she'd done nothing wrong.
"Shi-won."
"Si-heon."
Pfft— Cornus stuck out her tongue.
"......Si-heon."
"Stop that site from now on."
"But it's boring otherwise."
"Plenty of other things. Comics, movies, Mityube sword vids. Why that one?"
"Teacher's there. And friends."
Why the hell are friends there too?
Astounded, I stared; Cornus pulled out her phone and showed a comment.
— [Admin] Don't use words like that. ↳ Reply Our? Who's 'we'? ↳ Reply [Admin] ....Friends? ↳ Reply Lolololololol ↳ Reply Don't kidnap ㅡㅡ "Anyone can see they're mocking you."
"Mocking...? Who?"
Cornus seemed to be the prime target for teasing.
Her apparent lack of hurt feelings was very her, but...
Still, cutting off her internet was necessary.
"Even so, stop."
"...Si-heon doesn't train with me anymore."
As I declared firmly, Cornus pouted. As if it was my fault she ended up like this.
Bored with reality, so off to the net? Something like that.
The root problem: I was her only "friend."
"Make some other friends."
"Who? Oh right. Si-heon... Secretary says come get you."
"Me? Why me all of a sudden?"
Cornus smoothly changed topics, pressing her index finger to her lips thoughtfully before realization dawned.
"For bonding?"
"......The secretary wants to bond with me?"
What the hell was that?
Her out-of-left-field comment left me blank.
There had to be some huge misunderstanding.