Chapter 365

Chapter 365

Eat The World Tree.

Episode 365: Sprouting Monster (4)

-Crash! Boom!

My vision flipped.

The scabbed blood on my barely regenerated skin tumbled off.

A fit of coughing surged up as if I had indigestion. The wooden floor was soaked with the blood I spat out.

“Uh… Hyungnim?”

Taeyang and Aori, who had been sitting inside the room, widened their eyes.

A brief moment of silence. Taeyang, who had been sitting there dumbfounded, suddenly sprang to his feet and rushed toward me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be bringing back clothes and food?! You look like you’re about to drop dead!”

I had only planned to pack a few things and return.

Who could have known I’d run into my master and get beaten to the point my soul nearly left my body?

Writhing on the floor like a crippled pill bug, I barely managed to groan.

“I… hurt.”

“Yeah, no shit, you look like you’re in serious pain. Hold on, I’ll bring a potion.”

“What potion? Forget it. Waste of money.”

“This is a top-grade potion I kept as a backup life insurance.”

As if I didn’t know that potions in this world were made from bodily fluids like sweat and… other things.

I shook my head.

I would never use a top-grade potion.

-Buzz!

I steadied my breath while suppressing my wounds with healing authority.

The pounding sound of my heartbeat in my head gradually subsided.

“At least let me wrap you up with some bandages?”

“…Please do.”

“Sigh, seriously. This is painful to watch… Anyway, where’s your stuff? No, before that, what the hell happened?”

As Taeyang and Aori sprinkled medicine on my wounds, I slowly recounted the events of the early morning.

How I had clashed with my master.

How our opinions differed so much that we inevitably ended up fighting.

And how, in the end, I was ambushed and ended up in this sorry state.

“Hyungnim, are you insane? Why the hell did you fight Baekdo?”

Taeyang frowned as he patted my shoulder.

“Hey, I really thought I had a shot.”

“A shot, my ass. No one in the world can beat that woman one-on-one.”

“But I landed a hit on her.”

“Hit my ass. She probably let you.”

That infuriating title of ‘Strongest in the World’ wasn’t just for show.

I thought I had seen enough from the sidelines, but she had become so overwhelmingly powerful that I couldn’t even gauge her depth anymore.

Taeyang sighed deeply and continued applying medicine.

Aori, too, clasped a bottle in both hands and started sprinkling something on me—something that looked suspiciously like fertilizer.

“Wait, is this even medicine?”

“Yeah. I crushed some potions and made it myself… Think of it as a potion version of Vaseline.”

“No, not that. Aori.”

“Yes?”

“What… exactly are you sprinkling?”

Aori, blinking her big eyes, glanced down at the bottle in her hand.

Reldan.

A shiver ran down my spine at the strangely familiar name.

It was a type of pesticide.

“Ah.”

A belated scream escaped my lips. Taeyang, startled, snatched the bottle from Aori’s hand.

“Aori, you crazy bitch…!”

“Kyaaah!!!”

All the strength drained from my body.

“Taeyang.”

“What.”

“The King looks like a dried-up squid that’s been milked at least thirty times.”

“You’re the one who did it, you lunatic….”

Wrapped in blankets and groaning like a dying cat, my future seemed bleak.

Could I really get along with these guys?

Thanks to healing authority, I barely managed to clean up the pesticide incident.

If I had taken a direct hit while already critically injured, I might’ve been carried off dead.

Perhaps feeling a bit unjustly accused, Aori pursed her lips.

“King, this isn’t fair. Isn’t the real problem the person who put pesticide in a medicine bottle in the first place?”

“Taeyang, care to explain this?”

Taeyang, who had been sorting through the medicine bottles, shot me a sideways glance and shrugged.

“I bring in some tree people as guests every now and then. There are a lot of trees around, so we occasionally need pesticides. I just didn’t expect someone to grab one and pour it on a person.”

Tree people guests…

I felt my head throb.

Burying my face in the pillow, I muttered helplessly.

“Do whatever you want…”

My entire body ached, and on top of my internal injuries, my energy core was on the verge of bursting from overload.

The healing authority I had saved up had been completely drained after using Black Path.

The only good news was that the wounds from Cistus had nearly healed, and I would fully recover in about a week.

“Hyungnim, we still have to go.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s pick up some clothes on the way.”

“King…….”

“Aori, it’s not your fault, so stop sulking. People make mistakes, like pouring pesticide on someone instead of medicine.”

Aori clamped her mouth shut and avoided my gaze.

I had gotten used to her antics.

She was too competent to get rid of, no matter how troublesome she was.

“I don’t have money for compensation, so just sell all those cosplay outfits of yours.”

“Ack, anything but that….”

“Forget it. Just explain what’s next.”

That was enough jokes.

Taeyang shot Aori a glare before sighing.

Then, he sat on the floor, pulled out his notebook, and began explaining.

“So, Hyungnim… How many have you gathered so far?”

“A little over ten.”

“That’s not even close. If you’re serious about getting stronger, then I won’t hold back. No complaining later.”

At his quiet warning, I lifted my head from the pillow.

“What exactly are you planning?”

“No matter how resourceful I am, I can’t tailor the trees’ appearances for you. You’ve already been with plenty of beautiful trees, so just accept it as it is.”

What kind of nonsense was that?

Trees didn’t have any looks.

At most, you could say their flowers were pretty, their leaves were lush, or they were impressively large.

The way Taeyang was talking made him sound like some kind of pimp, which left me bewildered.

“Do whatever you want.”

“You’re really saying you don’t care about appearances, right?”

“…What appearances? They’re trees.”

“Really? Really, really? No take-backs.”

With every “really” he said, his face inched 10 centimeters closer.

I was so overwhelmed by his intensity that I couldn’t even respond properly.

Were these lunatics seriously evaluating the attractiveness of trees?

What the hell made a tree ugly or pretty?

“It’s different. Completely different. Like the difference between a knot worth admiring and one that isn’t.”

“Are you even speaking Korean right now?”

“Yes.”

“What? No… Ugh, just do whatever you want.”

I averted my gaze. Pressured by Taeyang’s intensity, I kept my mouth shut, but somehow, the conversation had gone completely off the rails.

There was no way my mouth existed to have discussions like this.

A deep sense of self-loathing stirred in my chest.

“Alright then, I’ll proceed as planned.”

“Proceed with what, exactly?”

“Right now, the priority is for you to increase the number of tree species you’ve, uh… bonded with.”

“That’s true. But weren’t we supposed to go to a dungeon?”

“We still have to do that. But listen, I’ve lived in slums, I’ve been rich, I’ve rolled around in all kinds of filth. And I know the best place to meet trees.”

“…Fine. Let’s hear it.”

Taeyang spoke a single word.

My face froze, and Aori’s turned bright red.

Was this guy insane?

That was the first thought that crossed my mind the moment I heard his suggestion.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“I’m a king. Is this really how you’re supposed to treat a king?”

“Right now, both the princess and the queen are about to die. Who cares about formality? You’ve got that mask that hides your identity, right?”

“…….”

“Didn’t you say you’d use any means necessary?”

He had a point.

I couldn’t just dismiss this idea outright.

Swayed by Taeyang’s logic, I nodded.

Aori, who had been watching me, broke into a wide grin.

“Alright… Let’s go.”

Deep within society, tucked away in an unseen corner, was a tiny world that clung like a leech.

The summer air of the pleasure district was thick with sweat, bodies entwined in the heat.

A man-made city where the sun never set—Nagoya, Japan.

Each person indulged their desires according to their status, and among them were even high-ranking tree spirits.

It was an open secret that some World Trees frequented these places.

A faint scent of narcotics lingered in the air.

Alcohol, cigarettes, men, and women.

The powerful, on the brink of the world’s collapse, still drowned themselves in pleasure.

-Click, click, click.

A young girl walked down the street, her pale thighs exposed.

With every step, the street spread open like a courtesan’s legs.

Dressed elegantly, Aori crossed her arms under her chest and walked forward, flanked by two men.

The murmurs around them grew.

Even in a place like this, there were veterans and newcomers.

A fresh face in the scene always drew attention.

“Are we really doing this?”

At Shiheon’s question, Aori nodded.

“You look great, Your Majesty.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.”

Aori, who even had a designer’s license, had taken full responsibility for the outfit and makeup.

With her keen fashion sense, she had dressed and styled me well—there was no way I looked bad.

Thanks to the Infinity Mask, my identity was completely hidden, and I could do whatever I wanted…

But I never thought I’d fall this far.

Shiheon grimaced. Under the mask, his face was already sweating.

“Let’s move quickly, Hyungnim. We need to wrap this up and head to another country immediately.”

“…….”

“Why the long face?”

“…It’s nothing. But I don’t speak Japanese.”

“Ordinary guys who don’t speak Japanese aren’t in demand. But a handsome foreigner who doesn’t speak Japanese? That’s a different story.”

‘Am I really being treated like a king?’

If someone barged in and declared that these bastards weren’t actually on my side, I might just believe them.

“So what, I just play host or something?”

Pushing through the crowd, Siheon occasionally caught the gazes of attractive women.

Some lightly tapped his shoulder, others playfully winked at him.

He had no idea what it meant, so he just ignored it.

“Hyungnim, you just got hit on.”

“Huh? What?”

“Alright, repeat after me. ‘No matter what happens, I can endure it.’”

Before he knew it, they had reached the deepest alley.

The sea of people had vanished, leaving only the three of them.

At the very end stood an old, battered door.

But even at a glance, it was clear—this wasn’t just any rickety door.

It was an artifact, reinforced under a disguise of shabbiness.

Taeyang slipped his fingers into the cracks, fiddled with something, and then pushed the door open.

Aori gently nudged Shiheon forward.

“I’ve already explained everything. You just have to go in and do your part.”

“Do what, exactly?”

“Come on, Your Majesty. Just go in, close your eyes, and enjoy the experience.”

-Thunk. Boom.

A long staircase awaited him.

Neither Aori nor Taeyang offered any further explanation.

-You’ll understand once you get inside—handle it yourself.

Brushing dust off his shoulders, Shiheon walked forward.

A faint glow appeared in the distance.

A strange medicinal scent wafted into his nose.

“Ah, you’re here?”

A Korean woman greeted him.

The moment she saw him, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Wow… This one’s a Special S-grade. You really have unique tastes. What kind of twisted situation are you into?”

“Excuse me?”

“Alright, go on in.”

She discreetly slipped a black envelope into his hand and pushed him into a room.

Shiheon frowned as he stepped inside.

-Creeeak.

The door groaned open, revealing what lay beyond.

His body stiffened like stone.

“Ah.”

There were trees inside.

Gnarled, knotted, of various species.

Somewhere, at some point, Shiheon had seen a scene like this before.

When was it?

“Ah.”

When he had been caught in a dungeon trap, abducted, and nearly spent his life as a pleasure slave.

[Oh my~! What a handsome one.]

“…Shit.”

A mass of vines shot toward him, unable to hold themselves back.

“Taeyang, you son of a—!”

His voice was swallowed by the trees.

And just like that, his collection grew a little larger.