"Teacher! The dungeon! The dungeon has gone berserk!"
At the dungeon's exit, Sooyoung, wearing a slightly torn student uniform, shouted in urgency.
"Calm down. What happened?"
"Damn it. This isn't the time to stay calm!"
Sooyoung, stomping her feet in frustration, attracted the attention of the other students and instructors. Jin Dallae, with a somber expression, spoke in a low, almost melancholic voice.
"Shut down the dungeon quickly."
"What?"
"We found an activated magic stone. Magic has been unleashed from it."
Upon hearing about the discovery of the magic stone and the dungeon's erratic behavior, the instructor tried to calm the students and contacted the management department.
The situation was quickly brought under control.
Upon receiving the information, the management department disconnected the magical veins, ceasing the operation of the artificial dungeon. As a result, the students began to emerge from the exit.
However…
"What just happened? The monsters disappeared."
"The berserk…?"
"Yes? Berserk?"
A student who was in the midst of their own strategy spoke with evident confusion.
A wave of silence swept over the gathered crowd. The minor changes were so subtle that the onslaught of the dungeon seemed unnoticeable. Yet, Sooyoung and Jin Dallae's experience contradicted that.
The number of monsters they encountered was undeniably strange. The way they had set up their formations as if they had consciousness and the peculiar magic that had surged from behind confirmed it. Evidently, the dungeon had gone berserk due to someone's scheme.
So, what was their goal?
As time passed, Jin Dallae asked the instructor with a worried tone.
"Um, teacher, the other students inside…"
The instructor's face hardened.
"They are nowhere to be seen."
Despite no apparent harm, only one person was missing. It was clear who the intended target had been.
I felt completely screwed.
This was the real deal.
[Heaving, heaving]
Damn it, this couldn't be happening.
Of all places to be sent, why here?
I didn't want to die, but I'd rather have been killed if this was the alternative. These crazy bastards took it too far.
[Man.]
[Ah, a man.]
[He looks delicious.]
[Even his butt, perhaps?]
"Shi- shit."
Forgetting the pain in my body, I retreated at a frightening speed. The massive roots of the colossal trees were inching towards me.
Once inside them, I felt like I wouldn't be myself anymore.
Did I make the right choice sending Jin Dallae and Sooyoung away back then?
While contemplating this, I racked my brain for a way out.
Should I use the Teleportation spell?
If misused, without knowing the exact coordinates of this place, disaster could strike. Spatial magic wasn't something you could easily conjure.
[Ah. I'm already drooling…]
So, should I just stand still and let these trees have their way with me?
I couldn't let myself be consumed by trees, not twice in my lifetime as a man.
I closed my eyes momentarily, estimating my remaining magical energy.
It wasn't enough to obliterate all of them. I need a plan.
Having never thought so hard and so fast in my life, I had to engage every ounce of my brain power.
"Wait a moment! Honorable tree beings!"
[?]
[Can he communicate?]
[Human… give us your essence.]
[I just want it once.]
"Ah, I understand, but I'm not human."
[Yes.]
[That's right… that's why I want it more.]
[Are you giving up your butt too?]
"No, not the butt! Anyway, humans have a limit to their stamina, right?"
The trees, swaying their branches, seemed to agree.
At least they could communicate.
Using every ounce of energy and wit I had, I started to negotiate, infusing sincerity into my final plea.
"If you go all out from the start, I'll just die instantly. Is that what you want?"
[…But we want to have sex.]
[Can't we just consume him now?]
[…I want to smell him. And his essence, too.]
"Listen carefully. Human stamina is not just something that depletes; it regenerates slowly. Would you tear apart the goose that lays golden eggs?"
[Is that so?]
[Let's keep him and consume him slowly.]
[… Can't we just have him now?]
[The butt doesn't wear out, right?]
The trees began to argue amongst themselves.
I subtly backed away, taking note of my surroundings.
'It's like a dungeon… but figuring out which dungeon is another matter.'
If certain conditions were met, it was said that spaces between dungeons could be connected.
The magic I fell victim to was certainly of that spatial variety.
Though I had never heard of or seen a dungeon with such trees in my life, no other explanation seemed plausible.
'Escape plan is…'
I just needed to find an entrance or an exit.
I didn't know what those who made the dungeon go berserk were thinking, but judging by these trees wanting to consume me, they were definitely not sane.
I refocused on the trees.
[The sap isn't infinite. Let's let it grow and eat later.]
[…I just want to eat it now.]
[I said wait!]
[Let's just eat it!!]
The trees seemed to be engaged in a 'tree fight', extending their branches to start a battle with each other.
[Should we give it a shot?]
[Yeah, you birdbrain! It's been a while since we had a man. Let's savor him!]
Soon, they started arguing about how to consume me.
It was horrifying.
"Gasp, gasp."
My hands were shaking, and I felt suffocated. As I rubbed my chest repeatedly with my right hand and stepped back, I felt something hard and heavy touch my back.
'Ah.'
A chill ran down my spine. Turning my head, behind me was a giant tree, sinisterly extending its branches.
[Butt…]
A peculiarly shaped tree, its thick branch near my cheek. There was… no hole. My face froze instantly.
[Butt!!!]
"Ah! Damn!"
Focusing all my strength into my right fist, I struck hard. A large branch tore off with a harsh sound.
[K, keeeeek!]
The tree cried out in intense pain, toppling backward.
[The World Tree of Purity breathes a sigh of relief]
"You crazy thing, don't just breathe, help me!"
[The World Tree of Purity apologizes with a tearful face. ]
The mood turned tense. The trees looked on with dazed expressions. Since one was already downed, there was no going back. My only option now was to run.
[Huh? The man's running.]
[Running?]
[Catch him!]
[Give us your sap!]
Given the circumstances, I channeled energy into both fists and sprinted with all my might.
My vision narrowed. Despite my fast pace, the vast number of trees made it impossible to easily shake them off.
[Man!]
Then, a tree with wide open arms lunged at me. I could see its hard, robust chest coming at me.
[Eat my fruit♡]
"Ah!"
Desperate to survive, I instinctively thrust my right fist into its hollow.
-Thud!
[Uhk!]
The tree collapses with a strange cry. A thick liquid oozed out to my wrist upon withdrawing my fist.
I felt disgusted.
[Human!]
Dodging the branches of another tree from behind by bending my knee, I swiftly spin-kicked its trunk.
With a thud, the tree was uprooted entirely. To evade the next tree's attack, I leaped into the air.
-Whoosh!
Looking down from that height, dozens of eyes were glaring at me.
All with menacing glares. I estimated about forty, no, fifty trees.
'Can I win by fighting like this?'
If only I had a buff.
I lowered my head.
Running away remained the best option.
'I'm bound to get dirty anyway.'
Would it matter if I roughed myself up?
I had already been devoured by a World Tree once.
Suddenly, tears welled up, and I lifted my head.
-Whooooosh!
Wind came from behind me.
No, it wasn't the wind blowing at me; I was generating the wind.
Feeling the resistance of the air all over my body, I slowly began to fall towards hell.
With their hollows wide open, dozens of trees looked at me with joyous faces.
The sight was so terrifying that I tightly shut my eyes.
The sensation of my fluttering hair brushing against my forehead.
Speeding up. Composing myself.
If I died like this, my name, which consisted of three characters, would definitely make the news.
My eyes, trembling with fear, seemed to project an image of a TV screen.
A man in a suit solemnly said,
-"Breaking news. Unfortunately, a student from El Academy has passed away after being sexually assaulted multiple times by trees."
"Damn, that can't happen!"
-Fwoooosh!
I activated wind magic with all my might.
From freefalling, my body shifted and sped forward like a bullet.
[Human!]
A longing(?) shout from behind.
Biting down hard on my teeth and landing on an empty ground, I began to sprint.
Even if I felt sick and humiliated, I couldn't let the trees have their way and end me.
After escaping the forked path and exiting the cave, I saw a forest where the trees lived.
…A forest.
Their home ground.
[Human.]
…A human with a provocative scent.
More trees than before surrounded me in a circle.
The densely packed branches slowly approached. I felt despair creeping up to my throat.
"Damn."
I muttered dejectedly.
"Did I tell the teacher to look after our daughter?"
I didn't.
I imagined that Shiba might have woken up by now and could be looking for food.
I wanted to get back tonight. Wasn't there a way?
Facing them, I smirked, gathering energy in my fists and determination in my mind.
I thought I might just have a slim chance to get through.
Looking for an opportunity.
Focusing.
Somehow, I was trying to hold out until someone could come to help.
At least stall for time.
-Slither.
Roots wrapped around my shins.
I flexed my legs and activated a spell I had been memorizing in my mind.
A spell from the very edge of my grimoire, an advanced magic.
'Wind Hole.'
…A slightly modified version of it.
-Whooooosh!
A wind storming like a tempest circled around me.
The dense air expanded outward. The strong centrifugal force pushed the tree roots away, and I took a step forward.
[Hum…an!]
I refilled my rapidly depleting energy by absorbing energy from surrounding nature.
Blood dripped from below my nose. I felt excruciating pain as if my veins were melting.
It was undoubtedly overexertion, but I sustained the magic circuit using healing power.
'Is it too much?'
In the midst of short complaints, I spat out blood and continued to advance.
The trees that couldn't withstand the wind were uprooted.
-Crash!
The fallen lightning set them ablaze.
I wish I could maintain this state, but would that really be possible?
10 minutes. 20 minutes.
…30 minutes.
My dwindling energy signified my end.
Despite the fierce wind, the trees chasing me finally reached my back.
-Stop.
The storm ceased.
Eruptive clouds billowed up into the sky, and I was reminded that this place was a dungeon. Soon after, I felt the falling raindrops.
Steam rose like wisps off my muscles as my whole body got soaked.
-Thud thud.
Between the tree-like beings, the footsteps of two individuals echoed.
[Heavy breathing. Heavy breathing.]
The eerie heavy breaths of the tree beings continued.
-Tatatatatatat, Whirrrrr.
Then, a peculiar mechanical noise followed. It sounded like rapidly rotating chains or a gear in motion. An ominous atmosphere approached, and I turned my head to identify the source.
"Lee Shiheon."
The girl with brown hair was right before me.
-Vroom!
"I found you."
Holding a continuously revving red chainsaw in both hands, she suddenly swung it towards my neck.
-Slash!
Blood splattered.