Ch.199199 – Ruler of the Demon Eye

<199 – Ruler of the Demon Trees>

The name of the tree monster is Mok, the Demon Tree.

Also called the Devil Tree.

Dark mana—an ominous energy that causes self-destruction or rampage when absorbed by living beings.

When a tree absorbs it for a long time, it becomes a Devil Tree, and when a Devil Tree absorbs dark mana for an even longer period and continues to grow, it achieves hyper-evolution.

A massive Demon World Tree comparable to the elves’ World Tree.

As the leader of all Devil Trees!

Devil Trees cannot go against the will of the Demon World Tree.

If a smaller tree defies the will of a larger tree or invades its territory, it won’t even be allowed to survive.

Not permitted a single drop of water, handful of nutrients, or ray of sunlight, it will starve to death.

<Mana Control>

<Mimicry>

<Call of the Demon World Tree>

By mimicking the Demon World Tree and artificially recreating the ominous rustling sound of leaves, the Devil Trees were startled.

[You perfectly deceived the Demon Trees by mimicking the Call of the Demon World Tree.]

[Mimicry experience +10]

[Psychological Prediction experience +5]

[You saved your companions in crisis with your mysterious ability. Aren’t you receiving someone’s admiring gaze?]

[Charisma experience +10]

[Good Child experience +2]

[The sophomores in the testing ground are bewildered by your strategy that breaks the game and are loosening their encirclement.]

[Fear Induction experience +15]

[Behavior Prediction experience +5]

[Detection experience +5]

What started as an attempt to save Giselle and Isabelle who were with me soon revealed the presence of freshmen trapped between the sophomores’ encirclement.

I hadn’t planned to save them too, but somehow they all seemed about to get a free ride.

“Young lady. Are you straining yourself for our sake? You don’t need to use such large-scale magic…”

“Huh? Not at all! This is easy for me. Anyone could do this like me if they knew the trick!”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me. Is that true?”

Who’s worrying about whom?

Such a worrier.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I don’t.”

“Am I that untrustworthy!?”

“You suffer from nightmare curses in bed, fill your pockets with stones you shouldn’t eat—how can I not worry?”

“Ugh. There are reasons for all that…”

“And you can’t tell us about them?”

“I’m sorry!”

“It’s fine. I didn’t mean to corner you or make things difficult.”

A tone that seems brusque yet caring.

I saw someone else’s image overlapping with Giselle.

“Uncle Giselle. You’re starting to resemble Uncle Son Ocheon!”

“…Me? Like that muscle-brain?”

“Eeeek, you’re messing up my hair!”

“Naughty children who tease adults need to be taught a lesson.”

Only after becoming a woman did I realize.

When someone ruins your carefully styled hair, it’s so irritating you want to kick them in the shin.

Anyone else would have done so already, but somehow today I didn’t mind being scolded.

Is it because it’s Giselle doing the scolding?

That’s probably not all.

It feels like someone familiar.

Right.

It feels similar to being scolded by Jona.

My heart feels all warm and fuzzy!

“Ehehe.”

“Don’t laugh. It’s annoying.”

“You’re already annoyed!”

“You’re hopeless. I try to be serious but you smile so cutely.”

“Hey, the friendly atmosphere is nice and all, but shouldn’t we hurry up? Both sophomores and freshmen are slowly gathering around us.”

At Isabelle’s urging, we led the Demon Trees up to the aerial staircase located in the center of the Demon Tree forest.

Looking down from the height, I could clearly see the forest teeming with over a thousand sophomores.

That wasn’t all.

Crash!

Boom!

Flash—

In one part of the forest, a huge glacier rose up.

Tremendous lightning strikes rained down indiscriminately.

White flashes of light knocked down Demon Trees and regular trees alike.

The top-tier students from the freshman advanced class made their presence known with distinctive sounds.

“It’s mind-boggling.”

“We were really lucky. If it weren’t for Oknodie, we would have been swept away like debris down there by now.”

Isabelle and Giselle’s expressions darkened a bit.

They must be feeling gloomy at the thought of facing such opponents.

They certainly lag behind in combat power.

But do a chef and a merchant need combat power?

It doesn’t seem particularly relevant.

As demonstrated in the entrance exam, combat power is only a concern for those lacking intelligence.

With me here to think for everyone, there’s no need for those two to excel in combat, right?

“If you’re that worried, go through the staircase first!”

“What about Oknodie?”

“I’ll stay here until you two pass through safely.”

“Let’s go together.”

“Then the Demon Trees won’t be able to buy time!”

I stubbornly insisted on not moving an inch until the two left, so Isabelle and Giselle reluctantly sighed.

The two looked at each other and, whatever they were thinking, suddenly grabbed my hands firmly from both sides.

Isabelle’s chef-like calloused hand held my left, while Giselle’s soft hand held my right.

“When this is over, the three of us will play together again.”

“I’ll make snacks too.”

“What about Uncle Son Ocheon?”

“Let him do what he wants. He ran off all excited by himself.”

“Hehe. That’s true. Uncle Ocheon would just tell us to bring him a lunchbox!”

Chatting pleasantly like this while basking in the sunlight made me feel like a child on a picnic holding parents’ hands.

These two aren’t my real parents, and this isn’t a peaceful picnic spot.

Still, I don’t mind holding hands with these two as substitutes for Leaf and Jona.

<Precision Shot – Non-lethal Area>

<Bracelet of Automatic Defense>

An arrow aimed at Giselle’s forearm and an automatic shield appearing above the body.

Sophomores who had evaded the Demon Trees were starting to launch long-range attacks.

“You should go now.”

“You must follow quickly.”

“Don’t keep us waiting too long.”

“I’ll follow soon!”

The two departing.

I waved my hand enthusiastically to see them off.

The two growing distant beyond the bridge.

The number of arrows I had suspended in mid-air behind me had already exceeded several dozen.

When the two seemed to have completely disappeared from view, I turned around.

“So… what kind of nerve do you idiots have, failing to shoot Giselle and Isabelle but still not running away?”

It’s troublesome if you underestimate someone just because they act silly around certain people.

“Prepare yourselves. It’s the midterm exam after all. And you’re sophomores. I don’t need to go easy on you like I did with the freshmen, right?”

You’d better prepare.

I’m really angry right now, for the first time in a while.

I’m going to make you suffer a bit!

* * *

‘A monster of a kid.’

He had vaguely sensed the difference in power.

Despite the delicate frame, there was something beyond simple physical strength within that child—something inexplicable.

Squirt.

Greenhorn.

Such dismissive terms contained his desire to ignore that terrifying presence.

But this…

Is this what happens when that child gets serious—a display of strength from a completely different dimension?

The trap of the Demon Tree forest.

After falling firmly into the initial trap.

Son Ocheon, who had approached near the central staircase amid the confusion of the Demon Trees’ mass migration.

He felt fear watching the sophomores being swept away in real-time and Oknodie’s Demon Tree army mowing them down like civilian casualties.

An aura not of humans but of demonic creatures.

It manifests through a human body rather than a demonic creature.

Evil arts performed through dark mana.

Monster taming that controls evil beings through powerful charisma.

Outside the Academy, these are designated as forbidden techniques—if discovered, one would be pursued by the Twelve Divine Gods and branded as an enemy of the Empire with a string of bounties.

Yet here these forbidden techniques were being displayed during the midterm exam, watched by over a thousand students, instructors, and professors.

No matter what you see.

No matter what you think.

No matter who you tell.

It’s something that can’t be done without the confidence that nothing matters—not even what others might do.

Is even the Twelve Divine Gods being taken lightly?

Is even the Empire not feared?

Son Ocheon was bewildered that the kid who generally gave a cute impression despite occasional unpleasant aspects could appear so unfamiliar when seen from afar.

“Ah, Uncle Son Ocheon!”

“Are you okay?”

Honestly, he couldn’t help but ask.

Hadn’t she just been in a state where even the whites of her eyes had turned black, looking completely deranged?

It was amazing that she could return to normal in an instant by her own will.

“I’m fine!”

“What about Giselle and Isabelle?”

“I sent them ahead!”

“They could have helped if they stayed.”

“I didn’t want to show them. I’m always causing them worry.”

Around Oknodie, who spoke these words, the evil magical energy that seemed inhuman remained connected to the Demon Trees.

“You’ll keep it a secret that I used this power, right?”

Though it sounds like a request, this is no request.

It’s practically a half-threat, implicitly suggesting that there will be regrets if not complied with.

Dark Princess.

The true face of the good child.

The reality of the foundation’s top scholarship student.

Perhaps the Oknodie he knew was just a pretense, a fake shown only to those two, and this is the real Oknodie.

“What are you saying, squirt? A child who worries their guardian deserves a scolding. I’m going to tell on you!”

He spoke firmly without being crushed by such anxiety.

The overwhelming presence felt through those staring eyes.

The pressure of that expressionless gaze dissipated like a lie with a gentle smile.

“That’s mean~. Give me a break just this once. Then I’ll let you use this path too.”

“No means no.”

“Fine. You can pass through.”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t torment Uncle Son Ocheon. It would obviously make Giselle and Isabelle sad.”

Wouldn’t it make you sad too?

Son Ocheon swallowed the question that had risen to the tip of his tongue.

“Oh. Thanks. I’ll be in your debt then.”

Running up the aerial staircase, he felt the presence behind him rapidly darkening.

He didn’t want to look back.

He didn’t want to feel it on his skin anymore.

He only felt sorry for those who would challenge this path without being friends with Oknodie.

He had to try hard to erase even the vague imagination of what hell they would go through to cross this staircase.