"Take responsibility for my mom."
I knew I was screwed.
"Take responsibility!"
It wasn't because of the kid screaming in front of me right now.
'Words won't come out.'
The bizarre sensation that had enveloped my entire body since I opened the door.
Even forcing myself to swallow felt impossible—my throat was stiff and unresponsive.
An indescribable terror, a sensation dragged up from my guts, boiled inside without spilling out.
Cold sweat beaded on my chin and dripped down.
"Got it?"
The kid's innocent smile was eerie.
The feeling of a vast abyss staring into me. Helpless dread. I squeezed my eyes shut, and tears flowed.
[World Tree]
Suddenly, that word flashed through my mind and melted away like morning dew.
-Drip.
-Drip, drip.
Sweat kept falling. The kid's one-sided gaze suddenly felt familiar.
"Tch, why'd you have to go after my mom of all people."
Contempt dripped from the kid's cold face—no trace of childish innocence remained.
My head wouldn't turn. Dizziness hit in this incomprehensible situation.
I hadn't touched that kid's mom. Hell, a shut-in like me—who could I have messed with?
Just your average college student. That was me.
The last thing I touched was... that dawn—
-Twitch.
As if reading my thoughts, the kid smirked.
'Ah.'
Understanding hit, and a deep drowsiness crashed over me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
When I came to, the world had changed.
More precisely, I'd been dragged into another world.
Was this what they called a fateful encounter? Ridiculous.
I lay blankly on the mattress, killing time, then finally looked at the holographic window I'd been ignoring.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙User Lee Si-heon. Welcome as the first husband candidate.
The alien knowledge disrupting my mind since earlier.
An absurd amount of info boiled my brain.
That I'd come to another world.
Even realizing and denying my situation didn't change reality, so I shut my eyes for a while to sort my thoughts.
It didn't take long to realize the injected knowledge was what I needed to survive this other world.
"Ah."
A sigh escaped.
"Fuck."
I covered my face with both hands and dragged them down.
Explaining my situation took one sentence.
Fucked a World Tree and got isekai'd.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
This world consisted of multiple World Trees.
From the void, the World Trees extended roots, nurturing the children born from them, watching over their creations with a mother's gaze to ensure they grew well.
The world I came from was RH2-Earth. A place without World Trees, one that developed uniquely and progressively.
The key point: one young World Tree, intrigued by such a world, took root on Earth.
'And I fucked it.'
Her daughter demanded responsibility, dragging me to this unheard-of other world.
'Unbelievable. What World Tree did I fuck?'
All I did was piston a small tree on the back mountain. It was just a tofu girl. Nothing but an ugly hikikomori's pathetic jerk-off.
If it's a World Tree, act like one—how was anyone supposed to know that tiny thing was one? Crazy bastards.
But no amount of cursing changed the lingering doubt.
I sat on the edge of the bed, sighing heavily. Regret over past deeds flooded in uselessly.
"Busted my ass studying to top the class, and now I'm marrying a tree."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙'World Tree of Purity' is embarrassed.
"Shut up for a bit. You're too sensitive."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙'World Tree of Purity' looks dejected.
The semi-transparent hologram before my eyes updated in real-time, like an online game's chat.
Of course, all it showed were the World Tree's coquettish lines and emotions—nothing I cared about.
This World Tree of Purity had started messaging me nonstop since I arrived in this world.
Seemed like my tree-wife-to-be, but I wasn't a fan.
"Can't I go back to my original Earth?"
I muttered without much hope, and as expected, no response from the World Tree.
Probably impossible. I scratched my head and bit my lower lip.
'What's N-1 Earth? Parallel worlds have their limits.'
This was N-1 Earth, where World Trees took root.
I didn't know their true nature or why they existed. Just injected knowledge.
Every part of my body loathed World Trees. Fucking bitch.
-Beep beep.
A cheerful alert rang in my ear. I checked the hologram.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙User Lee Si-heon, as a World Tree husband candidate, you must become a fitting person.
"No thanks."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙This guide appears only once. You must complete quests.
No way, huh. I kept reading.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Main Quest failure results in your 'complete annihilation.' As the World Tree's husband, maintain proper attitude and responsibility. Your user system will assist.
Complete annihilation. In other words, death.
Basically, these bastards were threatening to erase me if I didn't become the perfect husband material.
"Ha, hahahaha."
Laughter bubbled up from sheer absurdity.
Had I ever felt this powerless before?
-Ding!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[A quest has arrived.]📜 MAIN QUEST 1 📜
Different from the Cotyledon
You are a stranger adrift in this world. World Tree husband material? You have potential, but you're still insignificant. Prove your worth.
Assigned tasks: [1]
📍 Objective: Pass the entrance exam to El Academy.
Reward: World Tree's Love x1
Failure: Death
Time Remaining: 120 days 24:59:54
"Why am I husband material? And failure means death?"
The World Tree watching me seemed to say, deal with it.
"Fuck this."
I shook off the whirlwind of emotions with one curse.
My happy life was over. To avoid dying, I'd have to adapt to this world by force.
I investigated this world using the room's computer.
'Hunters and heroes, dungeons and villains.'
From what I gathered, it resembled the modern fantasy worlds I knew—except populated by Wood People who looked human but were trees.
I got the gist. Familiar setup from fiction I never thought was real.
Fantasy where magic and swords coexist!
But no excitement stirred.
I'd never wished to get dropped into some world, leaving my mom in Gangjin, Jeollanam-do.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Create your character.]
Staring at the floating hologram, I let out a resigned breath.
'Denying it changes nothing. I'm already here. Who knows—obey well, and maybe they'll send me back.'
That mindset shift had simple reasons.
First, that crazy World Tree bitch held my life in her hands.
And second...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Creating Lee Si-heon's info window.⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Strength: 5💨 Agility: 5✨ Magic Power: 5💪 Stamina: 5🍀 Luck: 5🛡️ Endurance: 5Name: Lee Si-heon (World Tree Husband Candidate) Age/Height/Weight: 24 ⇒ 20 years / 174cm / 65kg Charm: 5 | Intelligence: 5 | Potential: 5 | Luck: 5
※ Charm, Intelligence, Potential, and Luck are innate stats and cannot be increased with additional points.
□ Unique Traits (0) □ Skills (0) □ Temperaments (0) Remaining Points: 100
The second reason: this was my expertise.
Years of gaming had made me proficient in systems like this.
I manipulated the most important stat first.
-Potential 10.00 (Max)
-Remaining Points 27
Innate stats like Potential and Intelligence at 5 were fairly high.
7 was genius territory.
9 was reserved for era-defining talents.
'No idea how long I'll be here, but if fate's on my side, Potential is essential.'
Potential decreases gradually with growth, blooming into unique traits and skills.
Over half my points gone, but Potential was a winning lottery ticket.
Explaining why was complex, but the biggest reason was—
'A gamer's instinct that can't pass up kingly potential.'
I planned to allocate all points toward growth potential.
It was a no-loss deal, and to survive in a world watched by the World Tree, I needed wisdom.
⚙ UNIQUE TRAIT SELECTION ⚙-Sword God (EX) 500p -Mana Ruler (EX) 500p ...
Most unique traits required more points than I had.
But no points? Make 'em.
The stats had + and - buttons beside the numbers.
-Strength 4.00
-Remaining Points 29
Lowering Strength increased points as expected.
So my task was clear.
-Strength 1.00 (Min)
-Endurance 1.00 (Min)
-Agility 1.00 (Min)
-Stamina 1.00 (Min)
-Magic Power 0.00 (Min)
-Remaining Points 256
Acquired stats could grow with effort, but most unique traits were unobtainable no matter how hard you tried.
Choices and focus.
Can't have it all—bet on potential.
I reached for the Charm stat.
-Charm 4.00
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙'World Tree of Purity' is startled.
"Hm?"
-Click.
-Charm 3.00
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙'World Tree of Purity' shakes her head vigorously.⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Compulsion activated!]
-Charm 3.00 ⇒ 5.00
"Nope, hate it."
-Charm 1.00 (Min)
-Remaining Points: 561
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙'World Tree of Purity' sniffles.
Important thing is ability, not looks. If it bugs you, give up on me as husband material.
Especially innate points like appearance—high value to sacrifice. I dumped into Luck.
-Luck 10.00 (Max)
'Luck's essential.'
Wanted to slash Intelligence too, but chickened out on becoming a retard.
Now for traits and temperaments.
To farm points, I added debuff temperaments.
-Temperament: Ugly Appearance (F) +100p
-Temperament: Lewd Demon (F) +50p
-Temperament: Anger Management Disorder (F) +50p
-Temperament: Severe Obesity (F) +100p
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙'World Tree of Purity' bursts into tears.
"What? Why?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙'World Tree of Purity' earnestly pleads with you.
Cry all you want—couldn't be helped.
To get the temperament I wanted, I had to take these penalties.
🛡️ TEMPERAMENT: LATE BLOOMER (EX) 🛡️▶ [Extraordinary Growth]: Potential greatly increases. (Current Potential: 10 ⇒ 20) ▶ [Destined to Bloom]: Excel in various fields. Proportional to Potential. ▶ [No Giving Up]: Mental strength greatly increases.
※ This ability is invisible to others!
A priceless ability forged from all farmed points.
[Confirm? Y/N]
Hitting Y made my whole body heavy.
Looking down, a hefty gut sagged over my belly. Future suffering was obvious at a glance.
But temperaments could be removed with personal effort.
Lose the weight, and Severe Obesity vanishes in a snap.
'The others are relatively easy to overcome compared to the worst.'
Not high risk, high return—high risk, hyper return.
No way to lose.
100 days until El Academy applications.
Had to max stats by then.
I slapped my cheeks a couple times.
Situation was hopeless, but oddly, I didn't feel bad.
No— I felt downright cheerful.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙'World Tree of Purity' sobs uncontrollably.
The World Tree that fucked me over was hanging itself in tears.