Young Master's PoV: Woke Up As A Villain In A Game One Day

Chapter 244: The Tree King’s Court

I’ll say this once— I don’t like being saved from situations I could easily handle.

This one, for instance.

There was no need for Michael to jump in like some knight in shining armor, shoving me out of harm’s way as if I were a damsel in distress.

I could’ve blocked that attack. Effortlessly, might I add.

Maybe it’s my mountainous arrogance. Or my deep-seated inability to accept goodwill because I hate being in anyone’s debt.

Whatever it is — I don’t like being saved.

Plain and simple.

But today — Oh gods, today I wasn’t going to complain!

”Are you alright?” Michael asked, his voice laced with genuine concern as he offered me a hand.

I took it and pulled myself upright. ”I’ve never been more thrilled to see your ugly face.”

Michael threw my hand away and scowled. ”What the hell? I just saved your life, you jerk! Did you hit your head in the fall and forget basic manners?!”

I laughed. Or wheezed. Hard to tell since my ribs still ached and breathing was a chore.

Michael groaned like he already regretted rescuing me — which, let me be clear again, he didn’t. I had everything under control.

”Anyway,” he turned toward the Tree King and raised his longsword — its dark blade wrapped in layers upon layers of sinistrous shadows. That was, obviously, the Fang of Xaldreth. ”What’s its status? How strong is that beast?”

The Tree King, meanwhile, raised an arm to ready its next attack.

”It’s almost Greater-grade,” I said, dusting myself off and stretching my limbs. ”As for how strong? Well, it tanked a colossal stone axe launched by two Titan-sized earthen hands I conjured. So... ridiculously strong is my guess.”

”Then this isn’t going to be easy,” Michael sighed.

”Yeah, but we don’t have to fight it,” I said, pointing toward the far left of the canyon, just past the narrow river. ”Alexia and Juliana are trapped over there. Our goal’s just to grab them and get the hell out of here.”

”Yeah, I saw them,” Michael nodded. ”So what’s the plan?”

I paused to think for a moment. ”I can clear the path, reach them, and pull them out without much trouble. The problem is the Tree King. If you can distract it long enough, I’ll slip past.”

Michael’s scowl returned in full force. ”Wait. Are you seriously asking me to be the bait? Again?!”

I smiled sheepishly at him. ”Preetty please?”

”Arghh!” Michael growled. ”Fine! Let’s just get this over with!”

Right then, as if on cue, one of those tree-crab-troll-things lunged at us from the right.

I caught it in my peripheral vision and already started manifesting a flaming arrow, when suddenly—

—Thwaaak!

A young man jumped on top of that tree-crab and started clawing at its bark with all the ferocity of a wild beast.

I squinted.

The young man had cotton-white hair, cerulean eyes, sharp features, and an athletic build.

But the strange part about him was that thick fur — white like the color of his hair — covered his entire body like a wolf’s hide. His canines had elongated into fangs, and his nails had grown to harden into claws.

”Wait, is that Kang?” I muttered.

Michael activated his Origin Card and copied mine. ”Yeah. Met him just a few seconds before coming down here.”

I’m really not exaggerating when I say Kang was fighting like a rabid animal.

He bit the tree-crab’s face.

Bit it!

The creature shrieked in confused agony as Kang tore a chunk out of its barky face and howled at the sky like a man possessed.

”...S-Should we help him?” Michael asked, brow furrowed.

”Help him?” I looked at Kang again — still perched on the creature’s back, slamming his fists down in furious percussion like he was trying to beat out a drum solo on it. ”I’m more concerned for the monster.”

In hindsight, it made sense.

After all, Kang Tae-jin’s werewolf powers were directly tied to the lunar cycle.

And in the cursed forest — where the moon never set and was always

at full shine — he was practically a dire wolf on permanent steroids.
Which explained why he was currently ripping into the tree-crab like it was made of paper instead of wood.

The poor beast let out one last cry before Kang tore off one of its limbs and used it to beat the rest of it into submission.

A few more tree-crabs charged at us, but Kang leapt at them first, using the severed limb of the last one like a makeshift club.

—Thwack! Crack! Splurt!

Michael blinked. ”You know what, fair. He can handle some of them for a while.”

That was all the attention we could spare Kang.

Because immediately after, the Tree King roared.

And a myriad of colorful flowers instantly bloomed across the canyon floor around me and Michael.

Their large petals unfurled, and before either of us could react, a cloudy fog of iridescent pollen exploded outward from all of them.

The world was shrouded in a glittery haze.

We both clamped our mouths shut, instinctively holding our breath. But it didn’t matter.

The pollen clung to our skin and seeped into our flesh.

And soon after that, a wave of crippling lethargy washed over me. My limbs turned heavy, like someone had replaced all my bones with lead.

My head spun and my knees nearly buckled.

Michael staggered. ”Shit—”

But thankfully, both of us were at [B-rank].

We could circulate Essence.

So we did just that.

We forced Essence to surge through our entire bodies, through our adrenal glands — and instantly felt the effects of boosted adrenaline in our veins.

Heat flooded my legs. My heart thundered. My eyes snapped wide open, and my mind cleared a little.

The wave of lethargy was pushed back in a blink.

Michael didn’t waste a second after that.

He bent his knees, pushed off the ground, and shot forward like a bullet, his sword drawn back in a wide arc.

The smog parted behind him as he lunged at the Tree King, the dark blade in his hands gleaming beneath layers of swirling shadows.

The Tree King snarled and thrust its palm toward him. Roots, vines, and thick cords of bark lashed out in retaliation.

Then the fight broke out in full.

Michael slashed, ducked, and weaved with expert form.

Each swing redirected the Tree King’s attention, forcing the beast to focus on him and him alone.

Roots slammed into the ground where he’d stood a second ago.

Vines cracked through the air like whips.

Bark-shields sprouted before the Tree King mid-strike to block Michael’s blade — only for him to slip past them, sidestepping with ease.

It was a true spectacle of distraction.

...Which was my cue.

I turned and bolted.

Using Michael’s chaos as cover, I dashed toward the far left of the canyon, where the thin river split the lush land.

Of course, nothing’s ever that easy.

Several more of those grotesque tree-crab things spotted me and skittered forward, their root-legs stabbing into the ground like javelins.

”Urghh!” I grunted in frustration and activated my innate power.

In response, the terrain beneath them turned sludgy like quicksand.

The tree-crabs plunged into the suddenly softened ground, their root-legs wriggling in panic as they started sinking deeper into the very earth.

Now they really looked like trees — half-planted and wholly struggling to move.

But I had to give them credit.

Because some of them still managed to wrench themselves free and stumble after me.

Unfortunately for them, I was already at the river.

The stream was thin and cold and about knee-deep.

I knelt, touched the water, and imposed my will on it.

—Fwwaash!!

The stream surged upward in the very next instant, exploding like a geyser. A tidal wave rose high, looming over the tree-crabs and casting them in its dark, rippling shadow.

And then... that tidal wave flash-froze mid-air, turning into a great wall of glistening ice.

The monsters slammed against it.

Some tried to skirt around.

One stupidly tried to dig under it.

But it didn’t matter.

Because by then, I was already in front of Juliana and Alexia.