Chapter 95 – Masked Man (6)

A crimson pencil floated before my eyes.
Magic power drained away like siphoning fuel at a gas station.
Air and light contracted, distorting my vision.

– Ugh!

Teleport.
The vanished pencil reappeared behind my back, atop the bed, and fell.

“Whew…”

I exhaled the breath I had been holding and wiped away the sweat pouring like rain. Then, I looked at Zodiac standing behind me.

“Was it successful?”
“Kyaaa! You’re amazing!”

Zodiac exaggeratedly clung to me. Our cheeks touched, and a soft sensation enveloped me.

“Why are you making such a fuss over just moving a pencil?”
“It’s not just any pencil; you really have a talent for this, you know? Oh, what do I do? I’m so excited! This feels like tutoring~!”

She continued to fuss.

I did feel good, but the physical contact was a bit too much. I grabbed Zodiac by the shoulder and pushed her away, but even that seemed to make her smile brightly.

“Now I just need to improve the rest.”

Adjust the accuracy of the coordinates, or reduce the amount of magical power consumed. Or increase the speed of calculations.
If one’s skills advanced to that level, assuming the coordinates of the starting point and destination were known, it would be possible to move anywhere in the world at will.
Of course, it’s not something one could use as casually as Zodiac does.
The magical power of Zodiac is irregular.

‘Using spatial magic like Blink in the first place doesn’t make sense.’

To possess that much magical power, one had to be extraordinary from birth.
Simply breathing increases one’s mana.
Comparing mana to oil, it would be impossible unless an oil reserve was embedded within one’s body.

‘And the ones capable of that… are these peaches.’

The more I learned, the more I knew, the more I achingly realized I was still a novice.
Even if I intended to shatter the status window and destroy the magical circuit right away, would it be possible to even come close to these people’s abilities?

And if it’s someone who struggles to even block Heaven from targeting me… When will I escape this wretched situation?

“Bronze statue?”

Upon noticing my gaze, Zodiac patted my shoulder with a worried expression.

“Is something troubling you?”
“No, let’s just get organized. Now, we can take Shiba to the kindergarten without her sister.”
“Right, with your talent, you’ll catch up to me in no time!”
“Hehe, just wait and see. I’ll beat you soon.”

Glancing at the clock, it was already 1 AM. I gave a wink, and Zodiac nodded before transforming her body. Her crimson hair fluttered as if caught in a gust of wind.

“Today’s magic practice ended rather quickly.”

Heaven, draped in a cloak far larger than her frame, stretched and struck up a conversation.

“Well… they say you have talent.”
“Talent is indeed overflowing. That’s why I’m putting in so much effort.”

Heaven snapped her fingers, and in an instant, the space before us transformed into a training room.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of that overwhelming technique.

“But I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah… well…”

I had effortlessly gained a talent that negated the need for hard work. However, paradoxically, it required even greater effort to ascend to a position befitting such talent. I wondered how long it would take to get there. Lately, that thought had crossed my mind quite often.

“Is the path ahead daunting?”
“If that’s the case… yes, I suppose.”

Heaven gazed at me with a sullen expression. Was I being foolish for worrying about this? Just as I was about to bitterly purse my lips, she spoke again.

“Take off your clothes.”

…Clothes? I placed my hands over my chest and looked at Heaven with meaningful eyes.

“Master, surely you didn’t catch this from Zodiac…? Like, doing something strange…”
“What are you talking about? If I tell you to undress, then undress.”

Half lost in thought, I slowly removed my top. Cheondo’s face took on an expression of disgust, as if she was looking at something repulsive.

“So why should I take it off?”
“Look at this.”

Cheondo retrieved a mirror from the corner of the training room and held it out to me.

“The evidence of your progress is etched into your body.”

I frowned as I examined myself. Due to the recent intensive training, my body was covered in countless unfamiliar scars. Burns, lacerations, and the remnants of magical circuit overloads from battling shapeshifters and ents. The traces of the mana surges that had erupted like blood vessels were undeniably grotesque.

‘When did I get injured so severely?’

It was astonishing. I knew that I had developed a habit of ignoring pain after the incident in Purgatory, but I hadn’t realized it had progressed to this extent.

“You have a naturally greater regenerative and healing ability than most people.”

It was thanks to the power of the World Tree that I had these gifts. And I was certainly making good use of them.

“Even so, that happened. Do you know what I’m going to say?”
“Well, isn’t it something like, I’m putting in enough effort?”

Cheondo laughed as she spoke.

“No? I meant you should try harder. And go for it, do whatever you desire. Don’t you enjoy indulging yourself?”

Come to think of it, that’s true.
Upon reflecting, it is indeed something that can be taken lightly.
It seems that I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately because life has been so hectic.

I scratched my cheek and grinned amiably.

“We mustn’t disappoint our master.”

With that thought in mind, I assumed my stance.
Cheondo looked at me with an inscrutable gaze, then drew her leaf-made sword.

It was early morning, with just three days left until the exam.

* * * * *

A tremendous air pressure bears down on the opponent.

“Ugh, ugh-guk.”

The student gritted his teeth, trying to withstand the pressure that struck his entire body, but soon cried out desperately, as if realizing it was too much.

“I lost, I lost!”
“Thank you for the match.”
“Yes, yes.”

As he adjusted his mask and descended from the stage, astonished exclamations echoed around him.

– How many victories does he have now?
– There are only a few days left until the exam, what the…?

The flurry of gazes, and the jealousy they conveyed.
Some scoffed at him for revealing his skills ahead of the tournament, but that was a grave misconception.

‘It’s only you who have so few cards to play.’

Magic. Sword. Fist.
I have at least three types of offensive methods at my disposal right now.

I surveyed the other students from behind my mask. Some averted their gazes from me.

– That insanely talented bastard.

Has my time come to hear such words?
There was no denying it. If I hadn’t possessed this talent, I would have died long ago.

Still, their jealousy leaves a sour taste.

I rolled my eyes once more, and my gaze met someone with a familiar face.

‘Lim Jong-hyun.’

An aristocratic man who always admired Jung Si-woo with fervent enthusiasm. For some reason, those passionate eyes were directed at me this time.

‘What’s with him?’

It wasn’t that there was nothing to pinpoint. I had noticed, to some extent, that his gaze had changed since Jung Si-woo had equated Lim Jong-hyun and me at the last drinking party.

Now that I’m participating in open sparring like a madman, is he finally showing interest? Well… it wasn’t my concern.

“You’ve worked hard.”

As I returned to the tiered seat and sat down, Azalea, who was next to me, spoke gently. I nodded once and closed my eyes, using the backrest as a makeshift bed. Drowsiness crept in.

“Did you stay up all night again?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that pushing yourself too hard? What will you do if you collapse?”

“When I collapse, my master gives me a potion.”

Azalea blinked with a bewildered expression on her face.
It wasn’t an exaggeration; truly, even when I felt as though I was dying, after consuming a few potions, my eyes were forced open.

“Is this some sort of… torture?”

It’s somewhat similar. I heard that I have to endure this for nearly a year. Before long, I was told that even without any guidance, I must continue training on my own. What could I say? Accepting my fate as a disciple, I resigned myself to my circumstances.

“It’s not as if a body can be built instantly, so what choice do we have?”
“Your master must be quite strict.”

Azalea let out a short sigh and then pulled something out of her pocket, offering it to me.

“Here, have this.”

A single piece of candy wrapped in a tiny plastic package. Upon closer inspection with weary eyes, I noticed a flower drawn on it.

An Azalea.

“Next up, Azalea!”
“Oh, it’s my turn. I’ll be back.”

Wand in hand, Azalea raced toward the competition arena. I unwrapped the candy and rolled it around in my mouth.

These days, all candy tastes like wood.
I wondered if it might even taste like some kind of lump, but I found myself detestable for suddenly entertaining such a thought.

– Tap, tap.

Having dozed off for a moment, I sensed a presence beside me.
As I raised my eyes, they met with Sansuyu’s, who had approached in the absence of Azalea.

“Ah.”

Sansuyu, who had been crawling along the seat with the excitement of a puppy, suddenly stiffened.
My body tensed as if caught in a game of reflexes.

“What are you doing?”
“Master’s technique… crawling?”

I was taken aback by the reality that I still used such words.

“…Please, make a joke that sounds like a joke. Are you still visiting weird sites?”
“Huh?”

Of course, I thought it wasn’t the case.
But, Sansuyu, seemingly proud of herself, raised her upper body from her crouching position, puffed out her chest, and spoke.
Her large breasts swayed once along with her tie.

“I became a manager this time.”

Oh, for heaven’s sake.

An array of repulsive images flickered before my eyes. I would normally respect one’s preferences, but this world seemed utterly insane. These weren’t ordinary pictures; they were disgustingly incomprehensible images circulating around.

—
Title: If Short Girls Tempt You, Time for Bed
Author: Arboretum MVP

(Picture of a knot in an old tree)
Sleep well~

-Nature sex enthusiast
-For fuck’s sake, they’re blatantly jerking off now. At least bring some driftwood or something.
└ ?
└ Seriously, report this
└ ?
└ Disgusting pedo creep
-What a lunatic… twisted bastard.
└ Seriously, better off with Jesus’s nail hole…
└ Just jerk off with a water bottle instead.
└ How about some floor action?
└ No wooden sticks, water bottles, or Jesus for these sick fucks. They really want to screw everything.

—

Upon initially visiting the site, my assessment of the trending posts was as follows:

‘…Apocalypse.’

That place was a realm of madness where humans should not dwell.
Sansuyu cocked her head as if she still didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation. I felt like I was going to burst.

“Are you still visiting that site?”
“They’re all nice.”
“Nice? Where exactly?”
“The Swordsmanship Gallery.”

…Remember the Swordsmanship Gallery.
It was hard to believe that up until recently, Sansuyu was so innocent and unaware. Time had certainly taken its toll.

Suppressing a sigh, Sansuyu asked with a face that suggested she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Cool.”
“Si-heon.”

Sansuyu stuck out her tongue.

“…Si-heon.”
“Don’t visit that site anymore.”
“But I’m bored.”
“There are plenty of other things. Comics, movies, swordsmanship videos on MeTube – so why that place?”
“I have a teacher there. And friends too.”

Why were her friends there, of all places?
Bemused, Sansuyu pulled out her phone and showed me one of the comments.

-[Admin] Let’s not use these words.

– Us? Who are we?
– [Administrator]… Friend?
– [Laughing] [Laughing]
Don’t say that–

“You’re obviously being laughed at.”
“Laugh… Who?”

Sansuyu seemed to be becoming a target for teasing.
It was very much like her to appear unscathed at heart… Nevertheless, it seemed necessary to disconnect the internet.

“But don’t do it.”
“… Siheon doesn’t even train with me anymore.”

When I asserted it, Sansuyu pursed her lips. It felt like she was saying it was my fault that she ended up like this.
Is it because reality is dull that she turns to the internet?
Initially, the problem was that I was the only one she could call a friend.

“Try making some other friends.”
“Who? Oh, right. Siheon… The secretary wants you to come.”
“Me? Why me all of a sudden?”

Sansuyu smoothly changed the subject, and soon placed her index finger on her lips as if she had realized something after contemplating.

“Are you attempting to foster camaraderie?”
“…My secretary desires to cultivate a rapport with me?”

Suddenly, I was baffled by such words.
It felt as if I was grasping at clouds, and I was left perplexed.
A significant misunderstanding seemed to be at play.