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Chapter 20
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 20
“Why is he so late?”
In front of the Masterclass building.
At the time when Do Jin-hak’s secret mission to find the missing alchemy students was underway.
Okamoto Daichi, the top student of the alchemy department, nervously checked his watch and muttered, “I'm going to miss the movie at this rate.”
He had finally managed to score a date with Shin A-sol, the girl he had been crushing on for years.
The fact that he was going to see a movie alone with a girl, and that girl was someone he had had a crush on for years, was raising Okamoto's anxiety level to the maximum.
“Now, what was I going to say during the movie...? I keep forgetting.”
To relieve his tension, Okamoto once again reviewed his mental simulation.
What lines to say at which scene.
When to hold her hand pretending to reach for popcorn.
How to naturally lead her to the hotel restaurant after the movie.
He had repeated this scenario hundreds of times.
As the top student of the alchemy department, he even planned his dates like he was studying, erasing and rewriting them repeatedly.
That was why he was confident. He was sure that no woman would resist his dating plan.
"Hehe... Just wait, Shin A-sol. I'll make you mine tonight..."
"Make me what?"
"?!”
Startled, Okamoto turned around. Shin A-sol was standing there, somehow.
"Since when were you there?"
"Since a little while ago."
"You should have said something when you came..."
“I did. You were mumbling to yourself so much that you couldn’t hear me.”
Oh no.
Okamoto’s heart pounded.
‘Had I been so focused on my scenario that I didn’t hear anything?’
Okamoto carefully observed Shin A-sol’s expression. Fortunately, she seemed oblivious to the details.
“W-well...! Anyway, why are you so late? I was about to give up and go alone.”
Of course, he hadn’t considered giving up for a second, but Okamoto boasted anyway. He didn’t want her to know how much he would have waited for her, even for three days and nights, if his date was Shin A-sol.
Unfortunately for Okamoto, Shin A-sol had no idea and didn’t care about such inner thoughts.
She apologized slightly and said, “I was just buying some new clothes. I didn’t think it was appropriate to wear my academy uniform to the movies.”
“You bought new clothes...?"
Hearing those words should have made his heart flutter, but Okamoto was dumbfounded when he looked at her new outfit.
Shin A-sol was wearing what looked like a tracksuit she'd just bought from a sports store.
“...That's your new outfit?”
"Yeah. My old tracksuit was stolen by a thief."
Of course.
Okamoto, who had been hoping she had bought a new outfit specifically for their date, immediately felt deflated.
"Haven't you found it yet? I heard they found all the other stuff the thief stole."
"Yeah, except for my tracksuit. That perverted thief must have hidden it somewhere special."
Shin A-sol clenched her fists, clearly upset that she couldn't personally beat up the thief.
Meanwhile, Okamoto was incredibly envious of the thief who still had Shin A-sol's old tracksuit.
‘Wait, could it be in a pawn shop?’
Okamoto secretly vowed to check pawn shop websites every day, just in case.
Just then, someone called out to Shin A-sol from a distance.
“A-sol!”
A tanned complexion and flowing blond hair.
Even from a distance, they were trademarks that made her recognizable.
“Arche, what’s wrong?”
Shin A-sol looked puzzled as her friend ran towards her. Arche asked urgently, “Have you seen Seo Su-kyung?”
“Seo Su-kyung?”
Shin A-sol suddenly had a bad feeling. It wasn’t common for Arche to look for Seo Su-kyung so urgently.
“I haven’t seen her today... Did Seo Su-kyung cause trouble again?”
“Not yet, but...”
“But?”
Arche explained the situation to Shin A-sol, who looked puzzled.
The incident between Seo Su-kyung and Professor D during the Alchemy class.
Arche, who had been sitting next to her, explained that Seo Su-kyung looked like she was about to explode with anger.
Hearing that, a scene immediately came to mind for both Shin A-sol and Okamoto.
"Wait, so maybe the reason she enchanted the weapons was..."
Suddenly remembering Seo Su-kyung appearing with a bunch of weapons, demanding they be enchanted.
A dark premonition began to form in the minds of all three.
Perhaps, the first-ever professor murder case in the Masterclass was about to happen...
“No way.”
Okamoto shook his head.
“Even if she’s reckless, I doubt she’d actually try to kill a professor.”
“Yeah, Seo Su-kyung isn’t that heartless...”
...Why couldn’t she finish that sentence?
Having known Seo Su-kyung for a long time, Shin A-sol couldn’t be entirely sure.
“...But why were you two here?”
Arche suddenly noticed Okamoto's outfit and was curious. The way he was dressed head-to-toe in designer clothes was quite eye-catching.
“Okamoto asked me to watch a movie with him.”
“A movie? This guy?”
Arche's gaze turned hostile as she looked at Okamoto. Her concern for Seo Su-kyung vanished instantly.
‘...Why do I feel like I’ve committed a crime? Is there something wrong with asking her to watch a movie?’
Okamoto felt like he had committed a great sin and unconsciously cowered.
Arche stared at Okamoto as if he were trash, then her expression changed as if she had a good idea. She asked Shin A-sol, “So, what movie are you going to watch?”
“It’s a movie called Love Death. Have you heard of it?”
“Wow! I’ve been wanting to see that!”
“Really? Great, then let’s go together... No, we should probably find Seo Su-kyung first...”
“Aw! What’s the big deal? She’ll be fine. Let’s not jump to conclusions. What time is the movie? We’re going to be late!”
Arche pushed Shin A-sol, who was hesitating.
Okamoto felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him.
“Wait, wait! It doesn’t work like that if there’s one more person...”
He tried to salvage the situation, but Arche had already linked arms with Shin A-sol and was walking out the door.
As if to taunt him, she turned around and flipped him the middle finger while clinging tightly to Shin A-sol.
Okamoto was fuming. And yet, he was incredibly jealous of Arche being so close to Shin A-sol.
“Damn it...! Why are there so many evil people at this academy?!”
He thought only Seo Su-kyung was evil, but no, there were demons everywhere in this academy.
Okamoto followed the two girls, feeling like he was about to burst into tears.
* * *
“These humans have such a delicious aura... slurp!”
The Imugi licked its lips as it looked at the unconscious students floating in the air.
It had found the alchemy students in an unexpected place.
I asked, hoping against hope,
“Why did you capture the humans?”
“Why? To offer them as sacrifices to the mountain, of course! By offering them as sacrifices, the mountain’s energy will recover greatly!”
I closed my eyes. The worst-case scenario was unfolding.
‘Things are getting complicated.’
I had planned to persuade the Imugi to temporarily clear the fog so I could find the students, but it seemed they had already been captured.
I checked the students’ condition.
‘They’re still breathing, but barely…’
If they were offered as sacrifices, they would all die, and worst of all, Clementine, who was already mentally fragile, might leave the academy forever.
If that happened, my plan to use her against Kim Taekhee would be ruined...
‘...I can’t let that happen.’
I gathered my thoughts and spoke to the Imugi again.
“I don’t think sacrificing humans is a good idea.”
“What are you talking about?”
“As a forest spirit, I can hear the voice of the mountain. The mountain doesn’t want human lives. Can’t you hear it?”
I pretended to listen intently.
Of course, I had no ability to hear the voice of a mountain.
‘Maybe if my tree spirit essence grew stronger, I could.’
For now, this was the best I could do. Since I was speaking as a tree spirit, it wouldn’t be entirely unbelievable.
In fact, the Imugi seemed to be pondering my words.
“The voice of the mountain... Can you really hear it?”
“It’s not surprising if you don’t. Even among the forest spirits, not everyone can communicate with the mountain.”
“Hmm... You say you’re such a spiritual being...? You don’t seem like it...”
The Imugi seemed to be thinking deeply.
‘Good. It doesn’t seem to completely disbelieve me.’
My acting seemed to be working. I pretended to listen even more intently and said, “The mountain is very worried. If you sacrifice these humans, other humans will come for revenge.”
“What does it matter? By then, I will have become a dragon and ascended.”
“Then the humans will be angry and burn down this mountain and forest. Humans are like that. You know that better than anyone after two thousand years.”
“Burn down this mountain...? Humans would really do that...? That’s possible...”
The Imugi looked conflicted for a moment. As a deity of this mountain for so long, it wouldn’t want such a thing to happen.
“Leave the humans. I’ll help restore the mountain’s energy.”
The Imugi’s eyes narrowed at my suggestion.
“Why do you care about humans? You’re supposed to be indifferent to the life and death of humans.”
“I don’t care about human lives. I’m just worried that angry humans will burn down the mountain and forest.”
“Hmm... Strange, very strange...”
The Imugi suddenly circled me with its long body, its nose flaring as if it were smelling something.
“You smell like that human.”
“Like who?”
“Jeon Woo-chi! The human I could tear to shreds!”
Rumble-
Thunder roared at the mention of that name.
“Because of his deceitful tongue, I had to wait a thousand more years! That can’t happen again! Never!”
The Imugi’s eyes turned into slits as it stared at me. A chilling light began to shine from those narrow eyes.
Ding-!
[The Imugi of the Fog is reading your mind.]
[You feel completely exposed in front of the Imugi.]
‘Telepathy? It can do that?’
It’s a rare spell that only high-ranking beings in military academies could use.
I never thought an Imugi, let alone one that wasn’t even a dragon yet, could use such a spell.
‘So the setting about it cultivating for over a thousand years wasn’t just for show…’
Thump, thump, thump-
My heart pounded like it would burst.
If the Imugi’s divine power could see through my lies...
‘I’d die right here.’
The thought of dying again made my head spin. I’d died over 100 times, but death was always terrifying.
However, I didn’t show any sign of fear. The 137 deaths I’d experienced weren’t for nothing.
[Your sufficiently high intelligence stat defends against the Imugi's mind reading.]
[The Imugi cannot read anything from you.]
“Hmm... I definitely smelled something... Strange, indeed!”
The Imugi licked its lips, looking disappointed. The gleam in its eyes began to fade.
Whew-!
I breathed a sigh of relief. The intelligence I had developed while disguised as Do Jin-hak had barely managed to defend against the Imugi’s divine power.
“Then show me! Prove your words!”
Whirl-!
Just as I was about to relax, the Imugi’s tail wrapped around me.
With a splash, I was pulled down into the depths of the lake.
‘Is this really a lake?’
The depth of the Dragon Lake was beyond imagination.
It felt more like the deep sea.
As I was pulled deeper and deeper by the Imugi, the surroundings grew darker and darker. When I could no longer see anything, a faint light appeared far below.
‘Wait... is that?’
I could recognize the light from a distance.
Something I had seen countless times in this game. Something I couldn’t possibly mistake.
‘It’s the Divine Tree!’
Growing at the very bottom of the lake was the Divine Tree.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
It was twice as big as the one in the garden, but its light was much weaker.
“This is where the mountain’s energy gathers. Can you really save it?” The Imugi asked, still full of doubt.
Released from its tail, I slowly approached the Divine Tree.
‘So the mountain’s energy meant the Divine Tree...’
As the Imugi said, the Divine Tree was dying, its branches rotting.
To think that the Divine Tree, which could heal thousands, even tens of thousands, of ENPs on the battlefield, has ended up like this…
‘How much power must that greedy Imugi have sucked out of it.’
After being tormented by that greedy Imugi for two thousand years, even a Divine Tree would end up like this. It was the first time I’d seen one in such a state, and it was pitiful.
“What are you hesitating for? If what you say is true, then you should be able to save this tree right away.”
The Imugi glared at me with its sharp snake-like eyes.
It seemed ready to swallow me whole if I didn’t revive the Divine Tree immediately.
‘I never thought I’d end up in a situation like this.’
Looking at its ferocious fangs, I fell into deep thought again. Even though I had polymorphed into a tree spirit, I didn’t know how to revive a Divine Tree.
I had simply planned to appease the Imugi, clear the fog, find the students, and then escape.
It was a complete dilemma.
No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find a way out.
‘...Or could I?’
As I was cornered, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
The reason why this situation had occurred in the first place.
Tracing the cause back to the beginning, it was because I had killed the tree spirit in the academy garden.
‘I didn’t know back then that it was protecting the garden’s herbs.’
That means the original tree spirit must have had the inherent ability to revive dying plants.
And the Divine Tree was, after all, a kind of tree.
If only I could awaken the power that the tree spirit possessed...
Ding-!
[You can feel the weak power of the Divine Tree.]
[The Divine Tree's power is too weak to recover ENPs.]
A message appeared when I put my hand on the Divine Tree.
It was a common message that appeared when touching a weakened Divine Tree.
‘For ordinary humans or villains, this message would be the end, but…’
As a polymorphed tree spirit, I felt something different. The emotions of the dying Divine Tree flowed from my fingertips and pierced my heart.
... ... ...
... ... ...
It wasn’t a human language, nor was it anything like the language of dragons.
But somehow, I felt like I could understand what the Divine Tree was saying.
It desperately wanted to live.
Ding-!
[The voice of the Divine Tree has reached you.]
[Due to the Polymorph spell: Tree Spirit, you have remembered a new spell.]
[You have learned the spell "Breath of the Forest"!]
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]