Eat The World Tree

Chapter 224: Lonnie (4)

Something is different.

Sansuyu felt an inexplicable sense of dissonance during the battle.

“Krurururuk!”

-Slice!

“Krr-?!”

As she swung her sword, the wolf was neatly sliced in half. A thin red line appeared on its forehead, splitting it vertically in two.

‘…It has changed.’

The grip on the sword.

The sensation of cutting through the opponent.

It felt as if she had surpassed not just one, but two levels.

-Woom, woom!

The sword vibrated intensely with mana. The thread-like mana flickered along the blade.

The sword took on an unusual form, emitting an eerie energy like mist.

The circular sword path formed around her shone brilliantly, illuminating her surroundings like a crescent moon on a lake.

It was as if she was about to kill someone right then and there.

-Snap.

But only for a moment.

Sansuyu stopped her mana and raised her head.

Her pure, distinctive eyes blinked, and she immediately sheathed her sword and clasped her chest with both arms.

‘…I have to find Siheon!’

She looked around. Recalling what her friend had told her, she moved her feet quickly again.

Her long, chick-like hair fluttered with each step forward.

Occasionally, her chest ached as if being poked.

Damn it, I was screwed.

I was amazed at myself.

‘…Why would anyone feed a person urine?’

I realized that reaching the peak of lewd thoughts could lead to such notions.

I had understood that intimacy between men and women went beyond just physical contact, through a fleeting fantasy.

When I first came into this world. I remembered the days when all kinds of attributes clung to me and I was ridiculed.

The attributes displayed in my status window accurately indicated my identity.

Yeah, I was a complete pervert.

-Bubbling.

Rising lust. My superhuman mental strength wavered between the delicate states of being aroused and not aroused.

Even in the past, I had reached the level of Young Demon.

Hwangdo’s older brother. Cheondo’s senior. Baekdo’s close friend.

My mental strength was unmatched by anyone. Even with the rising rank of lewd thoughts, I could lead a normal life.

“Hoo.”

“…Eek!”

Maronnie screamed as I exhaled.

She looked at me startled, like a stray cat woken from sleep.

What’s her deal now? Her gaze suddenly changed to one that looked at me like a sex offender.

Her small, cherry-like lips. A sense of conquest surged within me.

“Why?”

“…Uh, nothing. We need to clear this quickly. Wow~ I wonder what rewards we’ll get?”

“Yeah. Please, let’s finish this quickly.”

I wanted to help, but all my focus was on suppressing my lust.

I considered breaking the status window, but in my current state, it was impossible. My focus was too scattered to do anything properly.

I closed my eyes and imagined.

Remember when I was killed by Cheonma.

Having your nails pulled and your intestines crushed. The sorrowful tale of the Young Demon….

Huh. …Gore with a pretty girl?

“Damn.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Maronnie was so scared that she started trembling.

Was that really the National Tree? I wondered inwardly.

‘Attribute enhancement…. So, that means this girl also got an enhancement.’

If that’s the case, it made sense that she turned into a coward.

I was about to turn into a lust-crazed maniac because of this inexplicable dungeon effect.

How was this dungeon even created in the first place?

A dungeon within a dungeon. It wasn’t artificially made but naturally formed in this land, considered a legitimate danger.

To be precise, the danger of the dungeon remained unchanged. Only some rewards were altered by human hands.

So, if one made a slight mistake, they could step into a deadly trap.

From the moment they entered the Forester Selection Competition, all students were treated as B-rank hunters, so accidents were rare.

‘What a crappy coincidence.’

I held my forehead with my hand.

The warm heat felt like my body was protesting, saying it would die if it didn’t have sex.

To put it bluntly, I even felt aroused by the sight of a dead wolf.

Not me, but my attributes.

-Clench.

I tightened my grip on the staff. There was no other choice.

“Lonnie.”

“Yeah?”

“No rest until we clear it.”

I had planned to conserve mana, but at this rate, my body would tire first.

-Thud!

I extended my staff and passed Maronnie. She looked at me blankly and then hurried to follow.

Blue mana emanated from both her shoulders, creating a wind.

Wind Cutter. Improved version.

Originally a crescent-shaped blade, the Wind Cutter had changed to an opaque wedge shape.

Though it was a beginner-level spell, its power was one level higher. Black mana was too powerful to use here.

I walked forward silently.

-Thud!

The floor panel sunk, and arrows flew towards us.

“Hey-”

Before Maronnie’s words echoed, I moved the arrows away from my back.

-Swish!

One shot at a time. The arrows collided and broke weakly.

-Clang!

Blades that shot up from the floor were blocked by the barrier and bent.

A trap. With a little caution, it could be avoided.

“Isn’t this too reckless?”

Maronnie approached, startled.

I turned my head slightly, and she avoided my gaze. She subtly kept her distance.

Even if the attribute rank increased, could attitudes change so drastically?

It’s understandable. She might have a similar reason as mine.

“Just support from behind.”

“…Okay.”

As I moved forward without hesitation, the end of the corridor came into view.

The protection magic that had been at the entrance was also on this door.

Maronnie sprang out and placed her hand on the door.

“…I’ll do it.”

Maronnie, who had been doing nothing but standing behind, started casting her magic hesitantly.

As she poured a considerable amount of mana into it, the door slowly creaked open.

-Ssssss.

Mist began to rise from the ground once more.

It was a dungeon requiring two difficult casts.

At the end of the narrow hallway was a room where a massive entity resided.

A giant black snake, easily several tens of meters long, wrapped around a tree as large as an apartment complex.

The snake coiled its body around the branches and lifted its enormous triangular head, opening its hardened eyelids.

Its bright yellow eyes scanned the entire room before focusing on us.

-Drip.

Water droplets fell from the ceiling, and a pungent smell hit my nose.

The floor was slippery with moss, and dirty water pooled in various places.

The rotten ancient tree growing through the stone bricks seemed already dead, exuding no power.

“…I’ll handle this.”

“Can you?”

“What do you take me for?”

“An academy student.”

“Right… Anyway, that’s true, but I’m not weak.”

Perhaps due to the spacious room, Maronnie confidently stretched out her staff and gathered her mana.

As I stepped back to give her more space, mana expanded at the tip of her staff.

“Sssss.”

The snake hissed, watching us. It seemed wary but didn’t yet perceive us as enemies.

High-level magic. Even beyond that.

Her blue mana swelled, and soon Maronnie’s lips parted as she chanted an unfamiliar spell.

“le. feu.”

The blue flames condensed.

Mana gathered intensely, focusing on a single point.

“lac vert!”

-Whoom!

The magic drew a line in space.

-Boom!

Her laser-like magic hit the tree, resulting in a massive explosion.

Flames quickly engulfed the gigantic tree, with the fire dancing like waves up to Maronnie’s feet.

The snake, submerged in the fire, screamed loudly.

“Kiieeeek!”

Snap. Crackle. The rotten ancient tree burned, turning to ash and falling to the ground. The snake, hanging from the tree, made a bizarre sound as it convulsed and fell below.

The flames were so intense that the snake’s form couldn’t be distinguished.

Maronnie, who had burned the giant tree in an instant, pressed down on her hat to prevent it from blowing away in the wind.

The flames continued to burn without dying down.

If I had been hit by it, I wouldn’t have been unharmed.

‘I heard she was an essential profession for dungeon attacks.’

If she shot several of these together, the dungeon monsters would be powerless.

Maronnie retracted her golem to recover some of her mana.

“Now, we just need to check the reward. I didn’t expect to use 30% of my mana just to clear the dungeon… I wish I had a potion.”

She spoke while trying her best not to look at me.

-Snap, crackle.

The flames were still burning. Was it over?

Something moving caught my eye.

Maronnie, distracted since earlier, hadn’t noticed. If I weren’t a combat-oriented body, I wouldn’t have realized either.

-Thud.

As expected, something massive flew towards us.

A triangular head. The snake opened its jaws, baring its teeth.

I grabbed Maronnie’s shoulder and pushed her behind me.

“Ugh!”

“Kroaaa!”

Thud.

I used mana to stop the snake.

The snake’s head, lunging with its jaws open, suddenly sank to the floor.

Gravity magic. Though classified under wind magic, it was unpopular due to its difficulty.

The snake’s eyes twisted in pain as it stopped moving.

-Thud, thud!

As I increased the pressure, the head was crushed. Still, it didn’t die.

I mixed a bit of mana into my staff and struck its forehead.

-Splatter!

Red blood spurted, and the flames died down.

“…It wasn’t dead. Thanks.”

It’s done.

Without responding, I lowered my staff and took deep breaths.

Please calm down.

It was already stiff. Maronnie hadn’t noticed because we were in combat, but it was quite awkward.

I turned my back to her to avoid being seen and walked forward.

We needed to get out of here.

The reward room was kindly prepared. The golden door shone invitingly, as if urging us to enter quickly.

A peculiar dungeon, indeed. As I opened the door, inside were damp signboards and three backpacks. A chest was also visible.

“Uh… How is it? Ah, this room smells nice.”

Maronnie asked cautiously. The fight seemed to have softened her tone again.

The reward room didn’t have a strong smell and was rather fragrant.

I first read the signboard.

The content of the signboard read…

[In 24 hours. Automatically transferred to the waterfall.]

It meant to rest in this place for a day.

Given the need to survive for a week, being able to spend a day without threats was a significant benefit.

I understood why they took such effort to lock the door.

-Thud!

Yes, we could spend a day safely.

As if to confirm, the door closed brutally as soon as Maronnie entered.

A stronger binding spell than the ones we had broken before was placed on the door.

“Wh-What’s happening?! Why did the door close?”

A startled Maronnie.

“Read this.”

At my words, she stepped closer and read the sentence with narrowed eyes.

Due to the dungeon’s characteristics, it naturally translated into the native language, so reading wasn’t a problem.

“In 24 hours. Automatically transferred to the waterfall. Enjoy your sweet rest time…?”

Maronnie read the sentence haltingly, her words breaking off.

Then she looked up at me, her face visibly hardening.

She seemed petrified with fear.

“…Is this real?”

“Probably?”

Before Maronnie looked down, I sat down and bent over.

Whether she had claustrophobia or was just a coward, I felt the worst right now.

“How… How could this happen?”

“Don’t you dislike this too much?”

“S-Sorry… It’s not that. We need to find our team quickly, both you and me…”

Even saying so, there was nothing we could do.

Trying to break the spell would just drain our mana.

It was definitely a spell cast by a genuine S-rank.

As I didn’t answer, Maronnie also accepted the reality and curled up in a cozy corner of the room.

Or should I say, accepted reality.

“…”

-Tremble, tremble, tremble.

Her face had turned pale with fear.