How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

“…Are you not going to stop them…?”

“I’m thinking about it. Should I watch the teacher rookies struggle for the first time in a while, or should I just take you all over there right now?”

Yggdrasil grinned at me.

Kang-yu’s eyes sparkled as he quickly answered, “Master, I want to go over there!”

“Hmm! Kang-yu wants to go! Then let’s go! Everyone, get ready to leave!”

“Wait?”

“Are you going to miss the chance to see my battle up close? My disciples? Let’s go!”

We looked at her in disbelief, not bothering to hide our shock, but there was no use against Yggdrasil’s pressure.

Yggdrasil jumped right out of the window and fell down to the ground.

Naturally, we followed her, leaping over the window and landing outside the building.

The problem was…

“Uh…”

That hopelessly overpowered guy, Na-yu-han.

I reached out to Na-yu-han and lifted him into my arms in a one-person transport method.

“Let’s go, Yu-han!”

“Uh… uh… huh?!”

Na-yu-han clung tightly to me, bewildered.

“Unnie?!”

I heard Kang-yu shouting something from below, but this time there was nothing I could do.

Still holding Na-yu-han, I jumped down and landed, then started running after Yggdrasil.

“Should I carry him instead?”

Park Si-woo, who had come up beside me, suggested, but I shook my head. Since this was happening, I might as well earn some metaphor points.

Kang-yu stood beside us, pouting as if he was sulking.

“…Your gaze is piercing.”

“Haha…”

I felt cold sweat trickling down my back as Na-yu-han muttered that while avoiding Kang-yu’s gaze.

Kang-yu worries too much.

Calm down, Kang-yu! I explained everything to you before we got here!

Ignoring my inner anxiety, Yggdrasil, leading our group, soon reached the place where the teachers were struggling.

“Lord Yggdrasil!”

“Welcome!”

“That student is hardly following our commands!”

“I saw everything! Pathetic fools!”

Yggdrasil shook her head in disapproval, clicking her tongue, then stood confidently in front of the shield.

Seeing her imposing presence, the invention duo didn’t seem to want to give up on the robot.

On the contrary, they looked even more excited and poured a massive amount of magical power into the shield.

Seeing this, Yggdrasil scoffed and turned to us.

“Hey, disciples!”

“Yes!”

“I’ve talked to you about skills for handling magical power before.”

I recalled when Yggdrasil had taught me about magic bullets.

“Gang Na-hyun! Your magic bullet skill level is high! Currently, you have reached a level where you can somewhat gauge what form of magical power the fired bullets will take and their level of power.”

“Um… I’m not quite at that level yet…”

“No, you can do it; do it!”

“…Okay!”

It seemed she had given similar teachings to the other kids as well. Everyone looked like they had an inkling of what she meant.

Yggdrasil clapped her fists together with a loud bang.

“This time, it’s the next step. It might still be too soon for you, but… it’s a stage you must reach someday. There’s a saying: ‘All things return to their source.’ In other words, all flows eventually become one. The same goes for skills in handling magical power.”

Soon, a green magical light began to rise from Yggdrasil’s fists, resembling the color of her eyes.

“Some people will use magic bullets, some will use magic arrows… Most will initially manifest their magical power in limited forms like that. But as the skill level increases, as proficiency grows, you will be able to manipulate magical power into forms you want, rather than those dictated by the skill.”

Yggdrasil adopted a stance as if about to swing her fist towards the shield.

Behind her, a huge green magical force in the shape of a fist appeared.

“And once you can truly manipulate magical power freely, you will even be able to imitate the skills of others with the same attribute of magical power!”

The robot shrank back, seemingly tense upon seeing her. Yggdrasil laughed heartily at the robot’s reaction.

“Just like this!”

Then, she lightly swung her fist.

The green magical power met the transparent shield in a moment that seemed to be in slow motion.

The two magical powers collided fiercely, and the world trembled.

Kuuuuung—!!!

The shockwave turned into wind, violently shaking the green trees. The leaves fluttered down, obscuring our view.

“Hmm! This is the ultimate point you must reach with the skills to handle your magical power!”

Amidst the chaos, Yggdrasil stood with her back to the shattered shield, smiling at us.

The torso of the robot, visible through the shield, appeared deeply dented, as if it had taken a heavy hit from the magical fist.

We gazed at the scene in a daze.

Yggdrasil was an archer, and I knew that most of her skills were related to archery. Her primary attack skill must be one that creates arrows made of magical power.

Yet what she had just used was not an arrow, but a magical fist. It seemed she had mimicked the skills of a martial artist.

It was amazing to think that even a non-mage could handle magical power with such proficiency…

I was once again in awe of the level Yggdrasil had achieved.

The silence in the space was broken by the voices of the invention duo.

As soon as they spoke, the teachers snapped back to reality and shouted.

“Get down!”

“Can’t you return the walkway to its original state right now?”

Fortunately, the young mad scientists seemed to comply, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, a panicked voice soon emerged from the robot, causing everyone’s expressions to harden again.

“What?!”

“Explosion?!”

“Wait, something that size is going to explode?!”

“Students! Evacuate the students!”

…Now that I think about it, aren’t they broadcasting this over the school speakers?

I glanced toward the school. As expected, there seemed to be chaos, with everyone flailing about.

No, more importantly, we were the ones right in front of the robot.

“How much time do we have before it explodes?”

I shouted, and Park Yul-ah answered.

“First, you all need to get out! Let’s evacuate!”

Fortunately, the escape button seemed to work properly, as some kind of capsule shot out from near the robot’s heart. It then vanished into the sky.

For a moment, we forgot the urgency and stared blankly at the backs of the invention duo as they became stars in the sky.

…What the heck is wrong with those idiots?

“…Uh, um, I guess we’ll be safe, right?”

“Yeah, right…?”

“I suppose that’s good enough…”

Hearing the overly gentle concluding remarks from Na-yuri, Min Jae-yoon, and Shin Ba-ran, I turned to look at Yggdrasil.

Yggdrasil was still smiling calmly amidst the confused teachers.

When our eyes met, she grinned widely.

“Don’t worry. Your little brother is here, right? With his amount of magical power, he could easily wrap the whole robot in magic. Kang-yu! Try what I just told you!”

“Yes!”

At Yggdrasil’s words, Kang-yu cheerfully extended his hand.

As soon as he did, the ground trembled once more.

“Meow?! An earthquake?”

“No, this is…!”

“I can’t see, Su-jeong!”

Choi Su-jeong’s tail stood on end as she clung to Lee Ha-na. Park Si-woo stared at Kang-yu with a serious expression.

Dududududu—

The shaking gradually intensified, as if something enormous was just beneath the ground. Just when everyone’s expressions stiffened, a fierce jet of water shot up from beneath the robot’s feet.

Kuwung—!

“Water?! No way…!”

Na-yu-han’s voice sounded flustered, but that wasn’t what we needed to focus on right now.

I knew he was in an overexcited state, but I was still worried. I couldn’t take my eyes off my little brother.

The rising water slowly began to envelop the robot.

It was as if the robot, nestled within the expanding water like a balloon, resembled a decorative item inside a transparent balloon.

However, it seemed that merely enveloping the robot wasn’t enough to prevent an explosion, as the robot’s joints ominously creaked.

Chiiiiiing—

The water stream that touched the robot just before it was about to explode evaporated, emitting steam. But Kang-yu quickly gathered even more water and wrapped it around the robot again.

Before long,

Kuwung—!

The robot exploded.

However, we were able to watch the massive explosion unfolding right before our eyes in utter calmness, as if we were observing aquatic creatures through the glass of an aquarium.

Using his powers, Kang-yu calmly maneuvered the lifeless hunk of metal that had once been a robot and gently lowered it to the ground.

Everyone gazed at him in astonishment, but the one responsible for the event ran over to me with a bright smile.

“Big sister! I did well, didn’t I?!”

Kang-yu rushed up and hugged me tightly.

Yggdrasil, as if to scold him, said, “Didn’t I tell you not to rely on the things around you and to use your own inherent strength?”

“Come on, I still made it happen!”

“What do you mean ‘made it happen’? What does that even mean!”

And with that—