When Suzuki finally stopped his brutal assault, he didn't let go of his blood-stained weapons. His muscles remained coiled, and his eyes stayed sharp as he cautiously observed the entity that had just materialized before him. Despite the gentle, suffocatingly warm aura radiating from her and her impossibly beautiful face, he couldn't afford a single moment of carelessness.
Where was he?
He was standing in the very heart of the Great Forest of Jura. In this primordial wilderness, any danger was possible. It was a terrifying place for anyone, but for an ordinary human, it was practically a death sentence. This was a realm where the absolute law of the jungle reigned supreme. Therefore, he felt absolutely zero guilt about slaughtering the monsters that had tried to eat him. It was kill or be killed.
Yet, even so, the being standing before him was not a simple, mindless beast. She was a type of fairy—a Dryad, an elemental spirit that had physically incarnated into plant life.
How did he instantly know her race?
Because the ambient nature energy in the clearing had suddenly grown overwhelmingly heavy, almost suffocating. A soft, luminescent green light bloomed from the trunk of a massive ancient tree, coalescing into a physical form. Besides a Dryad, what other creature possessed such pure, raw elemental energy?
Yet, what Suzuki genuinely didn't expect was to cross paths with Treyni—the notoriously laid-back, potato-chip-eating Dryad who usually spent her time lazing around.
However, the Treyni stepping out of the woods right now wasn't entirely relaxed. She was visibly startled by Suzuki's presence. Her face was serene, perfectly unreadable, but her emerald eyes were sharp with deep caution. She had felt a terrifying anomaly pulse through the leylines—an Otherworlder violently slaughtering A-minus and B-rank monsters with zero wasted movement, effortlessly wielding raw chunks of wood and bone as if they were mythical-grade weapons.
This wasn't a normal, confused Otherworlder. This was a highly lethal anomaly, making her extremely wary.
"O traveler from another world," Treyni spoke, her melodious voice echoing with the absolute authority of the forest. "I must ask you to stay your hand. While the strong consume the weak in this domain, a massacre of this level drastically disrupts the delicate balance of the forest. Please, lower your weapons."
Beneath the soil, she subtly prepared a powerful, constricting binding spell. She fully expected this blood-soaked, adrenaline-fueled human to attack her next.
However, Suzuki didn't move. He simply stared at her. Within his mind, his acquired Etymologist skill instantly went to work, translating her archaic words, analyzing her calm tone, measuring her immense magicule count, and confirming her total lack of killing intent.
Hmm...
While Treyni might seem like a comedic, joke character in the original Tensura story, Suzuki knew she was anything but weak. Furthermore, she wasn't alone; there were undoubtedly other Dryads monitoring this sector. More importantly, as the absolute guardian of the Jura Forest, almost all the monsters in this region were bound to her command. If he provoked her, she could easily summon a horde to overwhelm him.
Lastly, it just didn't feel right to fight a woman—especially one this stunning. Fighting mindless monsters was one thing, but he knew the difference between a predator and a peacekeeper. He completely understood the purpose of Treyni's visit and her intention to stop the bloodshed.
Fortunately, I know the plot.
If he didn't know who she was, his survival instincts would have forced him to either run away or fight her directly, creating a massive, terrifying mess that would make his life in this world infinitely more troublesome. Becoming the sworn enemy of the Dryads on day one was a terrible survival strategy.
So, he casually dropped the bloodied wolf fang and the jagged ant leg. The black magicules coating the makeshift weapons instantly vanished, returning them to mere organic trash.
Even unarmed, he wasn't weak. With his Manager system quietly running in the background and his Self-Made skill constantly adapting his body, he felt entirely secure.
He calmly wiped a streak of monster blood from his cheek, smoothed out the wrinkles in his ruined, bloody shirt, and offered her a polite, perfectly calculated bow.
"My sincerest apologies," Suzuki said in fluent, flawless monster-tongue, his voice completely level. "I was merely protecting myself due to my sudden, unprompted arrival in this world. I have absolutely no interest in disrupting your ecosystem. Unless they provoke me, I won't raise my hand against them. Fighting meaningless battles isn't exactly my hobby."
"...."
Treyni blinked, momentarily thrown entirely off balance by his sudden, jarring shift from a lethal killing machine into a polite, highly educated young man.
Suzuki straightened up, looking around the dense, endless trees before confidently locking eyes with Treyni once more. "Since you are clearly a figure of great authority in this region, I would like to negotiate an exchange of information. I will immediately stop hunting in your forest. In return... could you provide me with a safe, direct route to the nearest human city?"
"...Are you sure?"
Dryads were heralded by many as the divine wardens of the Great Forest of Jura, the ones who exacted absolute punishment upon those who dared damage the ecosystem. Being the direct servants of the Elemental Queen, they possessed a terrifying affinity with nature and could summon devastating elemental powers in battle, making them overwhelmingly formidable opponents.
This was the detailed lore Suzuki pulled from his memories as he stood there, intensely curious about her exact biology. While others might lazily categorize her as a standard monster, according to the world's deep lore, she was essentially a high-tier fairy or a physical Elemental.
Still, at the end of the day, she is basically a tree, right?
He knew it was an incredibly weird, inappropriate thought to have during a tense negotiation, yet his mind couldn't help but wander. And somehow, that thought spiraled even further into dangerous territory. What would actually happen if a human engaged in a deeply intimate, physical exchange with a Dryad?
This sudden, intrusive thought caused him to stare at her in a dazed silence for a long moment, feeling a little troubled by his own degenerate mind.
Yes, he had to admit she was breathtakingly beautiful. She was far more stunning than any supermodel he had ever seen in his original world. Her beauty was entirely natural, and despite standing in a blood-soaked clearing, she smelled incredibly nice—like fresh rain, blooming wildflowers, and raw, overwhelming magic.
But if he actually did it with her, would it count as normal activity? Or was he crossing a terrifying biological line?
But... she is just so incredibly beautiful...
As he stood there, completely lost in his internal crisis, the Manager suddenly spoke up in his mind.
[Report. Treyni is a Dryad. Dryads are high-tier Fairies/Nature Spirits who have gained physical bodies. She possesses human-level—and often superhuman—intelligence, speaks perfectly, and acts as the literal caretaker of the forest. Biologically and conceptually, intimacy with Treyni is closer to being with a high elf, a goddess, or a divine nature spirit than an animal or a plant.]
"...."
Thank you, Manager. Good to know.
Suzuki felt a massive wave of relief wash over him. In the Tensura universe, there was a massive legal and biological distinction between mindless "Magical Beasts" and highly intelligent "Spiritual Lifeforms." Since Treyni was practically a minor goddess, his conscience was completely cleared.
Meanwhile, Treyni was growing intensely curious about the human standing before her. She had lived for centuries, yet she had never met someone quite like him. While she was a powerful guardian, she was also notoriously laid-back, curious, and playful. Seeing this blood-soaked Otherworlder suddenly switch into a polite, gentlemanly negotiator fascinated her deeply.
Instead of preparing a magical attack, she released her hidden spells and floated closer, leaning in to inspect his face.
"Hm... let me see you closer."
Suzuki froze. While his Self-Made skill could effortlessly keep his heart rate perfectly steady in the middle of a brutal, life-or-death battle, it absolutely wasn't programmed to defend against a staggeringly beautiful, ethereal woman violating his personal space. He instinctively took a step back, holding up a hand, feeling completely overwhelmed by the sudden, intense desires flaring up within his chest.
"I must ask you to maintain some professional distance," he said, trying desperately to sound authoritative, but failing miserably as a deep flush hit the tips of his ears.
"Why? What will happen if I get close to you?" Treyni teased, moving even closer, clearly trying to provoke a reaction.
"....."
Feeling entirely helpless against her overwhelming charm, he decided to just abandon the polite act and tell the absolute truth. "Because you are incredibly charming. It is highly dangerous for me if you get too close."
"...."
Treyni blinked, genuinely surprised by his blatant, unfiltered honesty. Then, a slow, incredibly playful smile spread across her perfect face. Instead of stepping back to respect his boundaries, she glided completely into his personal space. Her emerald eyes gleamed with intense amusement.
"Oh? Dangerous?" she whispered, tilting her head slightly. "And what exactly will happen if I get even closer?"
"....."
For an orphan who had spent his entire life fighting for absolutely everything he had, backing down from a direct challenge simply wasn't in his nature. All logic completely flew out the window.
He stared deep into her emerald eyes, completely dropped his polite, cautious mask, grabbed her waist, pulled her flush against his chest, and kissed her.
It was incredibly sweet and moist, like pure forest honey, he thought wildly. The intoxicating taste only made his burning desire grow stronger. Similarly, Treyni had never expected physical contact to be so overwhelmingly joyful. She became instantly ecstatic, leaning heavily into his embrace as the intense, foreign sensation spread like wildfire throughout her spiritual body, making her incredibly greedy for more.
Yet, there was a massive, unforeseen problem.
Treyni wasn't a normal woman from his original world. She was a Dryad—a high-ranking spirit born directly from the dense magicules of the Great Forest. Her physical body was essentially a highly concentrated, walking mass of pure, potent natural energy.
When a normal, mortal human engaged in deep physical and spiritual intimacy with a being of that terrifying caliber, physical exhaustion was the least of their worries. The moment their lips locked, their magicule pathways violently linked up. Because Treyni was intrinsically connected to the vast, endless energy network of the entire Jura Forest, Suzuki's relatively tiny human magicule reserves were instantly dwarfed.
To equalize the newly formed connection, the forest essentially started "sucking him dry."
Shit!
Within moments of kissing her, his vision blurred violently. The world spun. It felt like his literal life force was being forcefully vacuumed right out of his soul. Treyni, suddenly realizing she was accidentally draining the life out of him, tried to pull away in sheer panic, but the spiritual connection was already locked tight!
Am I actually going to die by snu-snu?!
As his consciousness rapidly began to fade from the sheer, overwhelming magical exhaustion of handling a Dryad's raw energy, his ultimate survival mechanism finally triggered.
The Self-Made skill recognized a fatal, catastrophic danger within his body. To prevent its host from turning into a dried-up, lifeless husk on the forest floor, it violently overwrote his biological limits, forcibly absorbing and adapting to the overwhelming flood of nature magicules pouring into him from Treyni.
Then, the cold, mechanical Voice of the World echoed loudly in his fading mind.
⟪ Warning. Host's life force is rapidly depleting due to high-density spirit contact. ⟫
⟪ Unique Skill [Self-Made] activated. Forcing bodily adaptation to process high-density magicules... ⟫
⟪ Condition met. The physical body has successfully surpassed human limitations. ⟫
⟪ Evolution confirmed. Race has evolved from [Human] to [Enlightened (Sage)]. ⟫
"....." Suzuki gasped, his eyes flying open as a massive surge of new, divine energy flooded his veins.
"A-Are you okay?!" Treyni gasped, pulling back slightly, looking at him with deep, panicked worry.
Suzuki stared at Treyni for a long moment, catching his breath. A slow, wicked grin spread across his face. He stuck out his tongue teasingly, which made her blush furiously. Catching his rhythm, she shyly stuck out hers too.
With his newly evolved, magically reinforced body, the danger of death was completely gone. Without a second thought, they seamlessly continued their newly discovered, highly enjoyable activity right there in the forest!
Only, what Suzuki didn't realize in the heat of the moment was that in the Tensura universe, evolving from a standard mortal human to an Enlightened Sage was not a quiet, personal process. It was a fundamental, earth-shaking shift in the world's ambient energy. A human suddenly shedding their mortal limits in the dead center of the monster-infested Jura Forest was the magical equivalent of setting off a massive, blinding nuclear flare in the pitch dark.
Naturally, many powerful beings across the continent would soon realize a human had ascended to an Enlightened state. But in that exact moment, Suzuki couldn't possibly care less about the geopolitical consequences. He was far too preoccupied with the fact that being with a Dryad was just too incredibly good.