Eat The World Tree

Chapter 91: Masked Man (2)

[Living Together with Everyone, El Academy Korea Every Day]

―Who attended yesterday's K-class midterm preparation class?

Legendary lol

[Comments 14]

-Anonymous1: What happened? Am I the only one who doesn't know?

└Anonymous2: Seems like they are talking about the guy with the mask.

-Anonymous3: Lim Jonghyun was indeed legendary, lol

└Anonymous4: What are you talking about? It was clearly that guy.

└Anonymous3: S**t, just accept it!!!

└Anonymous5: Lol, denying it through clenched teeth lololol

-Anonymous6: But isn't that guy also reading this?

Sigh…

White smoke leaked from Jonghyun’s lips.

“I don’t like it.”

Lee Shiheon.

At first, he thought he was just a guy who became famous by a series of coincidences.

‘What’s this?’

But when it happened repeatedly, it became inevitable.

Lee Shiheon not only hid his abilities but, once again, he was at the center of the disturbance.

‘Why do I even bother thinking about this… No, why am I thinking about this?’

He was a man he had no interest in.

He believed Jung Siwoo was overestimating Lee Shiheon, and he was firmly convinced that his belief was right.

‘I’m not sure now.’

After stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray, Jonghyun wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel and re-entered the training room, sitting down on a strength training machine.

It was right to shake off trivial curiosities.

It wasn’t strange to focus only on what he was aiming for and run forward.

‘Wait for me, Jung Siwoo.’

He would surpass the relationship that started from the military academy and even his father with ease.

Jonghyun reached out for the giant dumbbell.

Beep

When I returned to the dormitory, Shiba wouldn’t talk to me.

“Shiba…?”

“Beep.”

Shiba, lying on the bed and burying her face in it, kept sobbing.

I wondered if she hadn’t adapted well.

‘She adapted quite well,’ they said.

“Then why…”

“Beep!”

Shiba cried out loudly in response to Cheondo, who was washing the dishes.

“She must be protesting.”

“Protesting?”

“Yes, she must be frustrated that her father is always out and about, ignoring her. It’s the age when she wants to monopolize him. You should understand.”

Had I been indifferent to Shiba?

Not really.

Except for a few times I went out, Shiba was always with me.

On days off, we were almost always together for more than half of the day.

“A daughter always wants to be with her father.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Cheondo’s words seemed a bit bitter.

Knowing she had her own family issues, I didn’t say much.

“Beep!”

“No, but Shiba, you should listen to Dad, shouldn’t you? You’re becoming more and more whiny. What’s going on?”

“Shiba, if you keep sulking like that, we can’t communicate. Come on, look at Dad.”

-Swish!

Somehow, as if she had eyes on the back of her head, my hand got smacked.

…This might require a bit of force.

I reached under her armpits and lifted her small body.

“Squeak, squeeeeee!”

Shiba, startled, started thrashing about.

Her tiny feet hit my nose, and I got smacked in the face.

But once I held her, she calmed down quickly, burying her face in my chest and shedding tears.

“Look at all this snot. Tissue… Come on, blow your nose.”

“Squeak…sob.”

After wiping her tears and helping her blow her nose…

Once I patted her back, she seemed to feel better, wriggling in my arms and hugging me tightly.

“Paah…”

“Do you hate being away from Dad that much?”

-Nod, nod.

She really understood what I said quite impressively.

“I’ll try my best. I’m sorry, I’m busy with school and have a lot to take care of.”

“Squeak…”

Shiba remained silent for a while before finally nodding.

It was heartbreaking, but I couldn’t help it. With the threat of an unknown attacker, I could die tomorrow.

Right now, Cheondo was protecting the entire academy, but who knew when I’d have to leave again.

“Are you ready yet?”

“Oh, yes.”

I put Shiba down and stood up, stretching my neck. Roughly stroking the sulky Shiba’s head, she rubbed her cheek against my hand.

Seems like her mood has improved a bit. Maybe I should take her to an amusement park later.

“Yawn!”

Stretching, a groan escaped my lips.

After several days of intense training, I felt more worn out than empowered.

“Let’s start then.”

But there was no other way. Skills didn’t improve easily.

Today’s training was about magic.

My aptitude was diverse, so I needed to sharpen as many weapons as possible.

“Before changing bodies, I’ll gradually tell you what you’re lacking.”

Cheondo, removing the cotton cloth wrapped around her, continued as she hung it on a chair.

“First is magical power. The power required for the martial arts you use is of a different level. You’ve used it once, so you should know, right?”

“Yes.”

“There’s no easy way to solve this. There are elixirs, but… it’s tough to get them now.”

Recently, for some reason, the supply of elixirs has been frozen.

Moreover, Baekdo and Cheondo, who always pursued pure power in their lives, didn’t have many connections in that area.

If there’s no other way, considering the lottery or the power of the World Tree might be a good idea.

“And the second thing is-”

“Receiving the power of the Heavenly Demon is the priority, right?”

“Yes. I don’t know if you’ll return to the original world, but… that’s a concern for later.”

“Understood.”

As I nodded, Cheondo closed her eyes.

Soon, with a puff of smoke, a shy orange-haired Hwangdo appeared, spreading her arms like branches and rushing towards me.

“Little Brother~!!”

I caught her as she threw himself at me. The soft-touch was tempting, but I resisted and held Hwangdo by the shoulders, pulling her away.

“Little Brother… today.”

“Today is training, right?”

“Hmph.”

It might be different in the evening, but to ask for that during broad daylight.

No matter how attractive she had become recently, some things were just not allowed.

“Okay. Come here. Just take off your shirt.”

Following Hwangdo’s words, I took off my shirt and exposed my back, and soon, she placed her hand near my spine and began to scatter her magic deep into my body.

“Hehe, Little Brother’s back…”

“……”

A tickling sensation to the bone.

“Little Brother is really fascinating. You weren’t like this at first. Your face has changed a lot, too.”

“My face… I took care of it through the status window. It’s gone now, though.”

“Ah, but you still look neat? Your voice matches perfectly, too.”

Breaking the status window caused various changes in my abilities.

My intelligence increased from 5 to 6, and the imbalance in my body was resolved.

It felt like things that shouldn’t have been there, like stretch marks, had been neatly changed.

Above all, it felt like my body was reformed, taking only the advantages from the status window, making me feel like I was experiencing things straight out of a martial arts novel.

“It seems you’ve been living diligently.”

“Why suddenly such creepy praise?”

“I always want to praise Little Brother, you know? This part is big, too.”

Thump-thump-

As Hwangdo tapped my hip with her remaining hand, the magic inside me twitched, and blood rushed to my lower body.

What did she just do?

“It’s up.”

“……Crazy. What did you just do-”

“You’ll be able to do it too if you get more familiar. Maybe even on women? How about… trying it once?”

…Such a bold woman.

She was not to be taken lightly for even a second.

That was when it happened.

“Squeak! Squeet!”

Shiba, who had been sitting grumpily watching me, got up and hit Hwangdo’s shoulder.

“Squeak!”

“Sh, Shiba?”

“Squeak! Eek, squeak!”

“Ouch! Shiba, that hurts. Okay, I’m sorry, sis…”

‘Don’t mess with our dad!’

Whether it was the threatening cry that worked or not, Hwangdo, who came back to her senses, focused again on searching for my magic. Shiba returned to her seat and sat on my knee. Hwangdo, seemingly disappointed, just stroked my back.

“…Hmph.”

Surprisingly flustered, huh?

I needed Shiba to stop Hwangdo… I should keep that in mind.

“Stop talking nonsense and… do your job.”

“But Little Brother needs to learn this, right?”

“No, why are you teaching your disciple magic to arouse women? Were you not a Heavenly Demon but a Lust Demon? Do you even use lust techniques?”

“It’s not magic, just a skill, and it can even prevent pregnancy! Perfect for Little Brother, right? I might be the only one in the world who can do it. Wait… maybe not? That sage might be able to.”

With an air of confidence, as if she could read my every thought, Hwangdo spoke assertively.

“Why would someone with a unique ability use it for such things.”

“Little Brother has the talent to do it, too. And it’s necessary.”

“……”

“…Eating fruit increases your magic power.”

Hwangdo’s words were laden with many meanings.

She had the knack of speaking in a twisted way that Cheondo couldn’t understand.

“Not to say you’re not a pervert.”

“Hehe”

“That’s not a compliment.”

Filling the tree planting encyclopedia was one way to get stronger quickly.

However, the conditions were strict, so it was kept as a last resort… And unexpectedly, it was Hwangdo who brought it up.

“Anyway, let’s finish this, shall we?”

“Please do.”

Hwangdo closed her eyes again and concentrated on emitting magic.

I also took a deep breath to calm my excited mood and raised my magic.

“Start slowly.”

Hum-hum-

Blue magic flickered on the outside of my skin.

Though it was a magic inspection, I couldn’t be careless.

As Hwangdo pushed in the generated magic and I suppressed it, we checked my magic manipulation ability. A small mistake here could damage the magic circuit or container. There’s a risk, but the return was just as great. Knowing the performance and amount of a disciple’s magic circuit was the best benefit for a teacher.

-Uuumm.

But…

‘Oh?’

It was surprisingly tough.

It felt like she was coming in with full force, and no matter how hard I tried, it was difficult to push back. A terrible sensation of her forcibly prying into my magic circuit and pushing her way through. I adjusted my posture and heightened my concentration.

“…?”

‘Look at this person.’

Like a long, slithering snake, the magic inside me churned. I also extended my magic to counter hers.

As I increased, the output and our magics clashed, the circuit slightly misaligned. Just as I pondered whether to forcibly increase the output to the maximum,

“Okay, that’s enough.”

Hwangdo’s voice rang out.

Sigh…

“This is your first time, right? I remember it hurt a lot when I first did this with my master. But Little Brother, you’re exceptionally talented!”

Sweat had formed on my forehead. Seeing Shiba sitting between my legs, leaning her head against me, seemed to lift my spirits a bit.

“I didn’t realize it would be this tough.”

“The basic check is done. You seem ready to learn teleportation now. It looks doable.”

“… That’s good to hear.”

It meant I could send Shiba to kindergarten even without Hwangdo in the future.

Relieved, I sighed, and Hwangdo, clinging to my back, whispered in my ear,

“So, do you want to learn that thing from before?”

A magic-like technique to sexually excite men or women.

I almost smacked her out of annoyance, but a better idea came to mind.

“I think I can do that thing from before now.”

“Eh~ Little Brother, even if it’s teleportation, you can’t learn this in one go.”

Was that so?

I pressed my finger into Hwangdo’s thigh and slowly, gently infused magic, caressing her lower body.

“I’m sure I did the magic like this.”

“…Little Brother, it won’t work.”

“Just a moment.”

No reaction. Maybe it really wasn’t easy…

I emitted more magic, recalling the sensation I had experienced earlier.

“…Oh.”

The flesh began to tremble. I heard a panicked voice.

-Press.

Should I twist it harder here?

“Hic!”

A sudden hiccup from Hwangdo.

Turning my head, I saw her face flushed red.

“Little Brother… I, I need to go to the bathroom for a bit.”

“Huh? Oh, sure, go ahead.”

As Hwangdo quickly got up and headed towards the kitchen, I stared blankly at my finger.

‘…Did it work?’

Magic.

No… I acquired the skill.