Eat The World Tree

Me: ▶∥――――[4:15] - Video File

Me: Am I doing this right?

Champi? Teacher: Yeah, yeah, you’re talented

Me: Thank you, Champi Teacher!

Champi? Teacher: Not Champi, it’s Champie

Champi? Teacher: Hey, didn’t I tell you to change your nickname properly? It’s not Champi but Champie, Champie.

Me: Sorry ㅠㅠ

In a large room fitting for a noble, all lights turned off, Sansuyu was tapping on the keyboard with just her index finger, engaged in chatting.

Champi? Teacher: Hey, but… why do you do online community stuff?

Champi? Teacher: You’re from a good family and talented. Why? It’s not like you started doing it since a young age, like me.

Me: My friends don’t play with me pu-rease.

Me: I mean, plase.

Me: Sorry.

A brief silence. A message from the teacher, seemingly flustered, pops up.

Champi? Teacher: Ah… Don’t those nobles have parties? You can make connections there.

Me: Parties are rare these days. That’s why I’m watching Tsuri Inside, as Miho advised, to learn about society.

Champi? Teacher: Not Tsuri, it’s Tree.

Champi? Teacher: The saddest thing I’ve heard since becoming an S-grade hunter. Miho? Who is that?

Me: It’s Jiho. She’s my secretary.

Champi? Teacher: What about Jiho. You should fire her if she’s just average.

Genuine advice soaked in years of community life. How did these two end up in a teacher-student relationship? Like many users, Champie Tree, always present in the community, had helped Sansuyu, who didn’t fit in the fencing community. Since then, their relationship continued.

Champi? Teacher: Stop doing online community stuff.

Champie Tree’s goal was, of course, to make Sansuyu quit the community. A place dominated by those who shout about sex instead of fencing, a virtual asylum where Sansuyu shouldn’t be.

But innocent Sansuyu couldn’t fully grasp that. So, on days without training with Shiheon, she would lock herself in her room and engage in the community.

Click, click.

Letting go of the chat, Sansuyu started scrolling through the posts, immersing herself in the words on the screen. The online community was fun for her. Sometimes, it was comics; sometimes, it was the banter of ordinary people. Each story was unfamiliar, and the uncensored posts were a big stimulus for her.

“Planning to Yas”

‘Yas? What’s Yas?’

These new words that stimulated her brain cells provided a faint joy to the desensitized Sansuyu.

“Planning to Yas”

(Chicken Picture)

“I’m going to watch this year’s Geomdeok Cup while eating this.”

This is Yas, right?

ㅇㅇ(12.34): Ou Yeah~

‘What is Yas? It seems I also like Yas, considering they are talking about chicken.’

However, a fresh and hot new post immediately caught her eye. Provocative titles that seemed like they were certified.

[Spring Peach Blossom Baekdo Butt Enlargement Shot.jpg] - Likes 21 Dislikes 54

Baekdo.

‘A familiar name.’

She happily moved the mouse cursor over the post, and then the screen changed, showing the photo in the article.

A photo within the incendiary title was…

Spring Peach Blossom Baekdo Butt Enlargement Shot.jpg

[Photo Inciting Disgust]

ㅇㅇ(14.23): Damn it

ㅇㅇ: Why is this a popular post? Crazy bastards, really disgusting

└ㅇㅇ(51.233): Ahㅋㅋ Can’t be the only one to dieㅋㅋ

Not: It’s arousing ㅇㅇ;

└Abnormal Sexuality:?

└ㅇㅇ:?

└ㅇㅇ(552.23): What are you looking at, damn it

└ㅇㅇ(32.122): Came to curse but lost my words, teacher..

Sansuyu found the photo odd enough to evoke a reaction even for her, who was usually unresponsive to stimuli.

With her eyes wide open, Sansuyu instinctively turned to check behind her. Assuring herself that no one was there, she returned to the community and wrote a post.

-Why do you write such posts?

Poster: Soft Sansuyu

-I don’t understand. Why write such strange posts?

Champie Tree: Didn’t I tell you not to engage in online communities?

Sansuyu shivered at the swift response from her teacher, Champie. However, she was not deterred by Champie’s admonition. Curious about the psychology behind such a post, Sansuyu decided to refrain from deleting the post and escaping for a full five minutes.

KakaoTalk!

KakaoTalk!

Ignoring Champie Tree’s calls, Sansuyu repeatedly refreshed the page every few seconds.

ㅇㅇ(52.13): Why does a high-nick talk like that?

└Shinsu: This person is always like that

└ㅇㅇ(52.13): F—, now we’re rubbing shoulders with such a guy?

└Shinsu: Not rubbing, just saying.

The usual quarrels that arose whenever Sansuyu posted. But these were not the answers she was looking for.

ㅇㅇ: You don’t like that meme?

A comment caught her eye amidst the fray. A small, orange icon that intrigued Sansuyu.

└Soft Sansuyu: It’s strange.

└ㅇㅇ: Take it.

‘Take it? Take what?’

That was when a notification popped up on the right side of Sansuyu’s community account. Several comments from Champie Tree began to appear under the orange nickname.

└Champie Tree: Hey, you crazy guy

└Champie Tree: Bringing a newbie who knows nothing about online communities, damn

└ㅇㅇ: If you’re jealous, just admit it.

Oong! Woong woong!

The phone vibrated loudly. Sansuyu read each email line by line and then moved the mouse pointer to a specific spot.

ㅇㅇ: Huh? Why’s the point turning blue?

Fencing Gallery.

Sansuyu, with her extraordinary fencing talent, was about to have an armband proudly attached to her shoulder. It was a disaster brought on by Lee Shiheon’s indifference.

“What’s with this peach?”

The next day. When I opened the window for ventilation in the morning, Cheondo looked strangely at me, noticing the peach on the bedside table.

“I bought it in the middle of the night.”

“You suddenly bought this many in the early morning?”

“I wanted to eat a peach.”

Maybe I overdid it. The problem was impulsively buying it on sight during cleaning. Overwhelmed by pleasure, we ended up with more peaches than we could eat, so I hastily made up a story.

“…Hmm, if you wanted to eat, you could have just told me. I could have used magic.”

Unaware of what Hwangdo and I had done, Cheondo pressed on the peach on the table. Worried about being caught, I quickly praised the peach’s deliciousness.

“It’s a water peach. Try biting into it. It’s really sweet.”

“I see it. But it feels familiar…”

“Maybe it’s just your imagination?”

“Is that so?”

“I’ll eat it; just leave it.”

I took the peach from Cheondo’s hand and bit into it with an exaggerated motion. The soft flesh of the peach burst with sweet juice. It was incredibly sweet but still edible for now.

‘The peach really is delicious.’

Confident I wasn’t caught, I threw the eaten seed into the trash bin. Cheondo looked puzzled.

“Well, that’s that… Now, come here and sit down. I’ll explain what you have to do next.”

Cheondo patted the blanket next to her, grabbed my arm, and pulled me down. Sitting close to me, Cheondo took out her phone from her bag and showed me a video.

Woong woong!

Cheondo’s hand wrapped around my shoulder.

“Come closer to see better. Closer. Closer.”

As our shoulders touched, the video became clearer. A stadium where swordplay and magic were rampant. The players had unfamiliar faces. They looked young. Maybe it’s something like the Olympics. I asked her, tilting my head.

“What is this?”

“This is the Forest Keeper selection competition held by the World Tree Foundation. It’s a TV program and competition that gathers first-year students from academies worldwide every time.”

Forest Keeper.

More an honorary title than a job. It signified someone talented enough to protect the world. Of course, being honored as a Forest Keeper didn’t bring responsibilities or duties. It was more like a trophy. If you won this selection, you would become the 42nd Forest Keeper and receive a lot of attention.

“After the mid-term exams, El Academy will also gather the top and second top students, along with promising ones, to participate in the selection.”

“Is that so?”

“The selection will probably happen from the end of the exams until the vacation. Lee Shiheon, you need to go there.”

Really?

That was my first thought. But as I sat there and thought about it, I began to understand what Cheondo meant.

The Forest Keeper selection was a square for young talents. Those who would influence the future gathered there early, where people with various talents collaborated, enhancing each other’s skills and forming connections. There was a chance for factions to form, but that was a common issue everywhere.

“Many talents will gather.”

“Yes.”

“Cherry trees, ginkgo trees… probably the scions of families symbolizing national prestige too.”

Japanese cherry trees.

Chinese ginkgo and plum trees.

Leading with the national tree (國木) families that laid the foundations of nations, those with strong power and talent are expected to appear in the square.

Having such talents by one’s side would undoubtedly translate to power. Not just power, but with talent, money rolled in, and opportunities to attract other talents would appear.

That was how it was even on the Earth I lived on—a society clinging to books to become talented. In this place where the logic of power was absolute, where everything was solved with power alone, how would it be?

Here, although systems were in place, it was a world where personal might could surpass limits. In such an unstable world, having talented individuals or connections was always paramount. To foster camaraderie and shape the future, attending that event was almost a necessity.

“Then I must raise my rank as much as possible.”

My current rank was terribly low. However, the entrance rank was just that. The current rank didn’t influence mid-term or final evaluations. Everything would be determined by future performance. Cheondo showed a faint smile.

“Let’s shake up the board big time in this exam.”

Our shoulders stuck together, and Cheondo’s direct gaze met mine.

“Announce to the world whose disciple you are in this selection.”

There were uncertainties. With my connection to the World Tree severed, some of them would surely take notice of me. Of course, the World Tree of Resentment wouldn’t shy away from physical means.

“Keep training.”

There might be assassins sent again like last time. But for some reason, I wasn’t too worried. After all, with Cheondo and Hwangdo, these people would quickly come up with a solution.

If Cheondo failed to provide a solution, then it was up to me to devise one when the time came.

“It’s announcing the birth of Socheonma.”

I shrugged lightly. Cheondo, with her clever thoughts, looked very pretty to me. But, well, I didn’t think our relationship would develop in that direction. Cheondo didn’t seem to see the opposite sex as potential romantic interests.

‘Perhaps that’s for the best.’

Too many women around, I had been thinking lately. Lee Seyeong, Byeol, and Hwangdo, too. Until now, it felt unreal, so I didn’t show it.

‘I’m not sure.’

I lay down on the bed.

“Sleeping again?”

“No, I’ll get up soon. Just want to lie down for now.”

I felt the need to have time to think about relationships with Hwangdo and the opposite sex. It was surprising that no one had asked me out yet. Did I lack charm? If someone did ask me out, that would be a problem, too. If that happened, I would have to end my current relationships. That was only natural. Relations should be clean in a romantic partnership.

“……”

-Polygamy, perhaps?

However, very cunningly, a part of my heart kept recalling the words uttered by Byeol.

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