Eat The World Tree

-Diiiing!

The sound of an alarm woke me. I opened my eyes to a brightened surrounding. It seemed we had been teleported out of the dungeon, marking the end of the first trial.

Back in the waiting room, I was surrounded by instructors and bishops from the church.

“…It’s over.”

“What, did we actually make it?”

“Ha, I thought I was going to die.”

The cadets muttered in a daze.

It was the end of the first trial.

Looking around, a significant number of cadets had decreased. Just before the trial, this space was bustling with cadets. Now, it felt somewhat deserted.

Sansuyu, who had stuck close to my side, gently pulled on my arm.

“Was that you just now?”

The technique that subdued Maehwa.

I looked down at Sansuyu. I grabbed her cheeks with my hands, feeling the softness.

I jokingly respond with a healing touch.

“Wasn’t it you?”

“…?”

“It’s because it was too hard to fight, so some unknown power must have come out.”

“Are you teasing me again? How long will you keep this up?”

Sansuyu slapped my hand away and stuck her tongue out. My tricks no longer worked on her.

I laughed and wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

She tried to wriggle away but didn’t seem to mind as she closed the distance slightly.

Her soft cheeks pressed against my arm, and I wondered if her love for tteokbokki had made her body as soft as rice cakes.

“Uh…”

She gasped a little and pushed against me with her small hands.

“Let’s see. The people who dropped out…”

As I let Sansuyu breathe, I took a broader look around.

Cadets from Seoul Academy, including Taeyang and Aori, were waving at me, apparently having survived.

Most of the National Trees were alive, and I even spotted Maronnie.

-….

Looking around, I caught Maronnie’s eye. Her doll-like face looked surprised, then she quickly turned away.

I still couldn’t quite remember what happened then.

“…I’ve never acted so thoughtlessly in my life as I did then.”

I turned my gaze elsewhere.

Baobab narrowed her eyes at me, showing a slight hostility.

All the cadets from El Academy seemed to have passed. The academy must have trained them well on how to easily pass the trial.

“?”

That one might not have, but…

Guseul waved at me cheerfully. She looked clean despite whatever she did for a week.

I didn’t know where she rolled in from, but she was probably from Flower. She had more than enough talent to advance beyond the first trial.

I responded to her lively gesture with a smirk.

At least half of the cadets had dropped out after this first trial.

Many would be packing their bags at the dorms in the coming days.

I began to relax as the bishop started his speech.

Today, I might get some rest.

I might get some rest.

Seemed like something was bound to find me now that I had some free time.

“Hey.”

-Thump!

I was pinned against the wall.

It felt a bit unfair.

After the speech marking the end of the first trial, and after eating, Sansuyu had just cheerfully entered her room, and I was about to enjoy some time alone.

“Don’t you have anything to say?”

Bao suddenly came to my room and gave me a charismatic thump against the wall.

“…Why are you doing this? You know this is a crime, right?”

“What are you talking about, crazy.”

Bao frowned at my incredulous yet frightened reaction.

“Stop messing around, you never told me everything.”

She relaxed her tone a bit.

“What?”

She clearly didn’t care about her status as a National Tree. So, I spoke informally as usual.

Bao was about to lose it.

“Where is our brother?”

“Oh, that… But I really don’t know.”

She kept asking, but honestly, there was nothing I could do.

“Contact info.”

“I don’t have it. Even if I did, logically, if I tell him you’re looking for him, wouldn’t he just change it?”

“……”

“People like him move from one country to another in the blink of an eye. That’s just how Spring Peach Blossom works.”

Hwangdo’s spatial magic and the coordinates she memorized were beyond my limit.

If I usually memorized up to seven locations, Hwangdo memorized at least a hundred.

She knew all the easy spots to obtain materials and magical stones, showing how irregular Hwangdo’s existence was.

“But how are you going to catch those people? By what means?”

Bao listened silently to my words.

“If you meet him, what, can you drag that man here?”

“…I could bring him here.”

It was absurd.

Though I had only seen it roughly, Bao’s strength was beyond imagination.

If she fully utilizes her power, she might grow as big as a building.

“Still, there’s no way.”

Give up.

That was the implication, but Bao didn’t drop the fist she clenched against the wall.

“Then.”

Soon, her mouth opened.

“…just make them come.”

“What?”

“If I capture you and wait, wouldn’t my brother come looking for you? You said you’re from Spring Peach Blossom.”

Was this girl serious?

“Open the door.”

She seemed serious.

“I just want to rest.”

“Rest then. Next to me.”

It sounded like something a guy who had made many women cry would say.

I felt a weird gaze since earlier. She had been planning this.

Did she really have to do this right in front of my room? After all, we had to stay here for a while because of the Forester Selection Competition.

There was no need to run anyway.

‘Should I have had her eliminated then?’

Should I report this to the authorities?

“Don’t make any rash moves.”

“Are you serious?”

“Does it look like I’m joking?”

Bao brought her face threateningly close. Her enormous chest heaved visibly, the fabric of her torn shirt revealing her chest.

Passing cadets started whispering as they noticed us. Let’s go inside before the commotion grows.

I unlocked the door and punched in the code as I glared at her.

-Diiriiik!

I entered the room and turned on the light.

Startled by the lingering scent of Sansuyu inside, I quickly turned around, relieved that Bao hadn’t noticed anything.

I closed the door and stepped into the bedroom. Until then, Bao had been glaring at me, arms crossed under her chest.

Let’s hear her out properly.

I casually sat on the bed, resting my elbows on my knees and propping my chin up.

“So, why are you so desperate to find your brother?”

“You don’t need to know. You just need to stay captured.”

“In the Forester Selection Competition? You must be joking.”

“It’s not a joke.”

Bao’s voice turned icy. She seemed to have completely forgotten how I outsmarted her recently.

Could she be deluded enough to think she could win if we clashed again?

That’s a grave miscalculation.

I stopped myself from sighing.

“Traveling around the world is tiring… and since you’re from Spring Peach Blossom, if I stick with you, I’ll eventually meet him.”

“You’re going to keep me until then?”

“Yes.”

Bao responded curtly.

“If you drop out of the Forester Selection Competition, then I can just forfeit.”

“And if you drop out first?”

“…That won’t happen, but if it does, I’ll just wait outside.”

If there wasn’t the excuse of looking for her brother, I’d think she was driven by pure devotion.

This way or that, there’s no reason for me to help her.

“Isn’t that too arrogant?”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice a bit.

“If you dislike it, shall we clash again?”

“We can’t use magic here.”

Bao responded to my question.

Minor magical powers were permissible, but actions likely to cause issues were not.

“Then I’ll win.”

Being caught immediately disqualified one from participating in the Forester Selection Competition. Engaging in a fight within the hotel would also be reported up the chain and could not be avoided.

“If we get caught, that’ll be a problem.”

“If we don’t get caught, it’s not a problem. And…”

This bastard was a National Tree.

If she really wanted to, arranging a cover-up wouldn’t be impossible.

She might be a run-of-the-mill National Tree, but… Baobab was recognized as an S-class among the National Trees.

‘Sounds like bluster.’

But whether this girl had connections in the Forester Selection Competition was still uncertain.

It seems that Bao had entered here without much thought, her head all muscles.

Of course, because of that, it didn’t seem likely she’d use his power to impose sanctions on me here.

“Hold on.”

I stopped Bao just as she was about to switch to combat mode.

“Can’t we resolve this peacefully? I’m tired… just let me hear the reason. If it’s good enough, I might help you.”

“…”

It depended on the reason.

If it was something like the survival of a nation or a family breaking apart.

In that case, I would recognize the seriousness of the situation and help connect them.

“If you just attack me, do you think I’m some saint? Oh yes, kidnap me, please. What’s the reason?”

Bao refused to speak until the end.

She clenched her mouth shut and glared at me. Her straight black hair fluttered slightly.

Wouldn’t someone from Africa usually have curly hair? She looked just like a beautiful woman with her skin color changed.

‘It’s a world with the World Tree and elves. So, it wouldn’t be strange if there were Dark Elves.’

I hoped the persuasion worked.

In the ensuing silence, I examined Bao’s face.

Her yellow eyes were still glaring. Her hand slowly rose.

“I don’t want to.”

She really wanted to fight.

“Why? I could just knock you down and have my way.”

“Do you really think you can win?”

Bao was confident and arrogant, and at a glance, she smiled refreshingly. It’s unbelievable. She still didn’t understand what she had gotten herself into by entering the dungeon.

This time, no fooling around.

If she didn’t understand her place properly.

I stood up and loosened my fist.

‘I wonder if the room will hold.’

Without using magic, it’s less intense, but still beyond human strength.

Bao must be aware of that too. If we minimized the impact area, it was not impossible to fight.

Bao confidently clenched her fist and assumed her stance immediately.

‘She must be mistaken if she thinks I’m weaker without magic.’

A combat-oriented physique, coupled with high potential, shone brighter under tougher conditions.

When wielding a longsword and facing monsters in a cave.

When clutching a bow and arrow, colliding with an opponent in close combat.

In situations where neither her tree form nor her own advantages can be utilized, my abilities were far superior.

Especially without using magic, how could I lose?

“Then come at me.”

The fight was destined to end trivially.