Chapter 10 – A Genuine Beginning (2)

In the front corner seat of the classroom, Azalea propped her chin up, seemingly lost in deep thought before she heaved a heavy sigh.

She had always been a worrier, but today her concerns seemed to be particularly burdensome. Inside, she went over the message she had received the night before.

– It’s a mandate, Azalea. Lee Si-heon. Bring someone with that name from among the students who wish to enroll in the academy. He will be of great help to us.

An abrupt notification from her stepfather.

‘He’s ridiculous and self-absorbed, that guy is truly…’

Azalea had never liked her new father since her biological father had passed away. In fact, to say she didn’t like him would be a gross understatement.

She loathed him, despised him, and the mere thought of him made her feel nauseous. The reason was simple: to her, this stepfather was nothing more than the offspring of the very beast that had stolen her mother away from her father. Yet, due to external circumstances, she had no choice but to follow her stepfather’s orders.

Feeling both absurd and sorrowful about her situation, Azalea sighed.

“Lee Si-heon.”

Her first impression of him had not been favorable. He was an incredibly unattractive guy who had creepily observed her in the waiting room for the practical exam. That was all she knew of him. They hadn’t exchanged more than a few words, so how could she know anything more?

‘And how is he supposed to be helpful to us?’

It was laughable. To this day, not a single thing her stepfather had done had been helpful to her. It was clear that he must be assisting the sham organization he was managing.

*Sudden noise.*

Just then, the door opened, and the man entered.

Reacting to the sound of the door, the surrounding trainees glanced at the masked man. Soon after, they resumed their conversations, seemingly uninterested.

Azalea stopped observing the scene and refocused her attention on the masked man—or rather, Lee Si-heon.

Upon reflection, there were more than a couple of peculiarities.

‘I thought it was a given that he would fail. How on earth did he make it through?’

Unlike other cadets, he possessed no magical powers and had a frail physique. At first glance, he appeared weak and helpless, so Azalea had anticipated that he would surely falter and be disqualified under Jung Si-woo’s scrutiny.

Yet, against all odds, he persevered. Could this awkward man possess some special ability?

There had to be something. Should she really approach him?

As she gently brought her thumbnail to her lips and began to bite it, someone tapped her shoulder.

“Azalea!”
“Why? -Huh.”

Puff. The index finger of Gu-seul, standing behind her, pressed down on Azalea’s cheek.

“Caught you! Hehehe.”
“Ugh, go away.”

Gu-seul, a friend from the private Mok-In school she had attended. They hadn’t been close initially – Azalea still didn’t consider them particularly close even now – but as they both pursued the same academy, their relationship had progressed to a point of casual conversation.

“So, what’s been on your mind? Chewing on your nails like that.”

Just as Azalea was about to dismiss it as nothing, Gu-seul tilted her head and inquired again.

“You’ve been watching Si-heon for a while now.”

Azalea’s lips twitched once at the piercing remark. Normally feigning indifference, she displayed an uncanny wit in situations like these.

“Do you like Si-heon?”
“…Are you insane?”

Guseul spouted a frivolous joke with laughter, which Azalea met with an icy voice that even she found startling.

It was the most ludicrous thing she had ever heard in her life. Enough to rank first in ‘The World’s Worst Insults’ according to Namus.

“Hehehe”

At Azalea’s vehement reaction, Guseul clutched her belly and laughed for a while.

“Sorry, you like Si-woo, right? But Si-heon is a bit odd, isn’t he? Always wearing a mask. Did you ever see his face behind it? Weren’t you in the same group during the exam?”
“I saw it.”
“And?”
“Hideous. Looked like a crushed persimmon.”

Guseul found the biting assessment so amusing that she burst into laughter once more, then returned to her seat, still giggling. In contrast to Azalea, Guseul seemed to find joy in everything.

Of course, it was likely due to Guseul’s hidden vulnerability beneath her vivacious demeanor.

“And I don’t like Si-woo.”

Although it was true that her feelings for him were separate from her approach to him, she had deliberately chosen to be assigned to the dormitory room next to Si-woo’s. In her plan, Jeong Si-woo, the husband of the World Tree, was a crucial ally she needed to win over. If only she could bring Jeong Si-woo to her side, she thought, everything else would fall into place.

Her plan was simple and clear.

‘Someday’

She would send her stepfather, who had ruined both her father’s and her own life, tumbling into the abyss.

– Snap.

The hand that had been holding the sharpie was now littered with shards of broken plastic. She felt a sense of relief after venting her anger, and now she could look at Lee Si-heon with somewhat softened eyes.

“But do I really have to befriend him?”

To be honest, she disliked the idea, no, she detested it quite a lot.

Was it a visceral reaction? The last time she saw his face without the mask, she had even felt an irritation she normally wouldn’t experience.

Perhaps his face was one that just seemed to provoke anger.

There was a peculiar allure to the thought of deliberately disfiguring one’s face.

Engaging in conversation with someone like Si-woo was undoubtedly challenging.

Never before had she encountered someone so unattractive that it incited revulsion. Frankly, wearing a mask seemed like a stroke of divine intervention.

“Let’s abandon the idea of getting closer.”

In any case, that guy probably only spoke to her out of courtesy. If Si-heon had any real value, her new stepfather would have made the approach himself.

Azalea propped her chin on her hand and sighed once more.

* * * * *

After they had finished their recreation in moderation, they ate at the restaurant with Gu-seul before stopping by the training room for a short while.

The official classes would start tomorrow, and today was a free day.

As she reached out to the massive hologram device, a woman’s voice soon emerged from within the machine.

“Training will now commence. Please choose the difficulty level.”

A mass-produced wooden dummy wielding a lightweight bastard sword suddenly dropped from the open ceiling.

He removed a wooden sword from the wall and set the difficulty to Beginner.

-Geek, gigigigig.

The moving wooden puppet.
After bending its body several times, it charged towards me, gripping the sword with both hands.

Thump thump, a racing heart and blazing body.

I could see the movements of the battle puppet as it ran toward me.

The current ability of the wooden puppet was 3.

I dodged the sword and, naturally, struck the back of the puppet’s head with my elbow instead of the sword.

– Kwadang!

The unsightly wooden puppet collapsed.

The light shining on the ceiling flickered once.

‘It’s too easy.’

What level of ability did Jung Si-woo, whom I had faced, possess?

-Adjust stats to 4.

The wooden puppet sprang back to life and charged at me again.

With a movement devoid of fear or hesitation, unlike humans, the path of the sword was clearly visible.

But even there, there were lessons to be learned.

– Swish!

A decisive strike, and footwork that maintained the fundamentals.

Although it is sincere, the advantages of a puppet that can be seen with such honesty are reflected in my eyes.

An aura of latent power and a combative physique.

Even within those apparent movements, there are lessons to be learned.
And so, I had to learn.

Assuming a stance, I gaze up at the wooden figure.
Our abilities are already on an equal level.

Following the movements of the wooden figure, my feet begin to move.
The somewhat sensual motion slowly adapts to my own standards and starts to take on its own unique form.

-Paang! Paang!

In the training ground where I stand alone, the sound of clashing resonates throughout.
Having entered this place with a simple mindset for training, I unknowingly wield my sword as night falls.

– Ability is adjusted to 5.

I learn to overpower opponents weaker than myself.

– Ability is adjusted to 1. Difficulty has been adjusted to Intermediate.

I learn to bring down opponents who are stronger than me.

– Ability is adjusted to 1. Difficulty has been adjusted to Beginner.

You learn to embrace the battles you can never win.

Here lies a simple training ground, a place occasionally used when no suitable opponents are found, and it conceals a treasure no one could locate.

The inherent qualities and fortitude etched within my body led me into the realm of swordsmanship.

– Kaang!

Ability Level 6. Intermediate Difficulty.
The wooden master who finally toppled me gave a nod as if smirking.

-Gigig?

Shall we continue? It seemed as if that was what it was saying, with its chin raised haughtily.

Though my entire body should be aching,
I could see myself reveling in the learning experience upon closer examination.

Suddenly, I rise and cross swords.

The horizontally swinging blade meets the vertically swinging one, and the stances of the two combatants on the battlefield become disturbed with a faint collision sound.

The wooden figure corrects its flawed posture through several maneuvers.
I do the same.

Moving as the body dictates, following its lead.

Immersed in electrifying ecstasy, as if surrendering oneself to a torrential downpour, the excess flesh clinging to my body momentarily breaks free.

Grasping the sword, swinging it, and bringing it to an end.

– Kwadang, bang!

The movement of the doll, struck by the sword and falling lifelessly, ceases. I gaze upon this sight, reflecting on the stance I had just held.

For a long time.

* * * * *

A dimly lit assembly hall.

“This power is quite remarkable.”

The masked woman spoke.

“Who are the husbands of the World Tree chosen this year? Are you prepared?”

“Yes, Madame Chair.”

An assistant approaches her and hands over a file. Seohyun Lee accepts it and begins to read.

As the activities of the World Tree have become scarce, the document contains some rather intriguing information.

– Those who observe the movements of the World Tree and pursue its actions.

The subject of this meeting was by no means insignificant. Who had become the husband of the World Tree?

And what functions does this newly revamped system possess?

Given its transcendent capabilities, it was crucial to secure a suitable husband candidate as soon as possible.

“May I begin explaining?”
“Go ahead.”
“So far, we’ve identified three potential husbands. Two of them have already been snatched by major corporations. The remaining one is currently enrolled in the academy.”
“Oh, who was it? Jung Si-woo? You’re talking about that guy, right? There was an article about him recently; he’s quite the star.”
“Yes. Obtaining the detailed information we’ve collected so far would have been impossible without Jung Si-woo’s assistance.”

Seohyun nodded, signaling for the explanation to continue.

“The abilities discovered thus far for a World Tree husband include a shop system, known as the World Tree Auction, and a quest system. Notably, the shop possesses the unique feature of using connections with our sacred individuals as currency.”
“You mean it uses relationships with these sacred figures as currency? Why?”

“I’m not sure. Among the elements required for a World Tree’s spouse, a wide network of connections is included; perhaps that’s the purpose.”
“And what if they fall in love with another tree being? Do World Trees have a penchant for having their lovers taken away?”

At first glance, it seemed like an insult to the World Tree, but no one could reprimand Seohyun here.

“Next.”
“Yes. Regarding the quest system, it’s used to gradually develop the spouse candidates. There is a penalty for failing a quest, but it’s a trivial thing like 10 hours of forced training.”
“It’s like a game.”
“Indeed, this system has many game-like elements.”

Training if you fail the quest? What an intriguing method.

“Oh, by the way, there was an interesting feature in that store. It’s a lottery, and they say you can draw unique attributes or items that don’t exist in this world.”
“Hmm, why would the World Tree, which insisted on the classical method, do such a thing?”

Seohyun didn’t hide her interest.

Can you believe one can draw out a unique characteristic?
It’s an ability that ranks among the highest in the realm of talents.

“I’ve heard that legendary artifacts even exist.”
“Legendary!”

At that, Seohyun couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
A legendary artifact—wasn’t that a treasure treated with even greater reverence than a national treasure?
Seeing Seohyun’s face filled with imagination, the secretary hastily changed the subject.

“Of course, I’m only saying it’s possible. Based on precedents so far, there hasn’t been a single case of someone drawing out a unique characteristic, let alone an artifact.”

The probability must be incredibly low.

With that, the secretary closed their mouth.
Simultaneously, those seated in the association thought to themselves:
These candidates will bring profit.

* * * * *

【 A Legendary Artifact Appears! 】

“Huh?”

Lying on the dormitory bed, I snapped awake while sleepily spinning the gacha.

“I must be lucky.”