The One Branch of The Tree
- Raka, an ordinary high school student, dies of exhaustion and is reincarnated with his entire class into a fantasy world. There, everyone receives a class and a blessing from the gods to start a new life. While his friends acquire powerful classes like knight, mage, healer, and assassin, Raka is given the class considered the weakest and most shameful: the One Tree Branch.
- Considered a burden and a threat to the group, Raka was betrayed and hunted by his own friends on their first day of arrival. Cornered in the Forbidden Forest, a place known as a region full of monsters and death, Raka discovered his class' true ability: Devour Root, the power to absorb the attributes, energy, and even skills of anyone he kills.
- Since then, his life changed completely.
- To survive, Raka is forced to kill monsters, bounty hunters, and the people who hunt him. Each victory makes him grow stronger, while his class weapon slowly evolves from a lowly twig into an increasingly terrifying weapon.
- In the midst of his struggle for survival, Raka meets Nara, a mysterious girl wielding two daggers who has her own agenda in the Forbidden Forest. Together with Nara, Raka enters the Core Zone, the mysterious center of the forest filled with ancient ruins, artifacts, and a dangerous organization called the White Council.
- There, Raka discovers that his class resonates with a mysterious entity called the False World Tree, a giant tree that is the source of the anomalies in the Forbidden Forest.
- The deeper he unravels the secrets of the False World Tree, the more it becomes clear that the One Tree Trunk class is not a failed class, but rather a forbidden fragment of the true World Tree-a power that has long been sealed away because it was thought to be capable of destroying the balance of the world.
- Now Raka is at a crossroads: take revenge on his friends who betrayed him, or pursue the truth behind the World Tree fragment that is now directly connected to him.
- But one thing is certain, the more power he absorbs, the closer he gets to something far more dangerous than death: losing himself and becoming the new vessel for the World Tree.
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Chapter 20
The corridor was quiet, only Mira and I were there, the light from the crystal walls cast our long shadows on the stone floor, I leaned back against the wall, or at least looked relaxed.
Inside? I was much calmer than I expected, which was strange. I'd imagined this moment countless times in the Forbidden Forest—revenge, anger, emotional outbursts—but now, facing it head-on, I felt cold and clear.
Maybe seven days in the forest is enough to change or destroy a person. Mira gripped her staff tightly, looking like she was having trouble finding her words. I gave her a few seconds and then said,
“If you want to apologize, you better make it more interesting.”
With a little relief from the pressure, Mira took a deep breath.
"Not that."
Interesting, I raised an eyebrow.
“Very much.”
He looked at me directly, his gaze serious, a mixture of guilt and something else, fear.
“That time…” his voice was soft.
“It was not a spontaneous decision.”
I stopped knocking on the wall. Oh? Now we get to the interesting part.
"Continue."
Mira nodded slightly.
“After we received the class, everyone was called one by one by the government chaplain.”
I'm listening.
“After your class appears…”
He swallowed hard.
“The pastor changed.”
I squinted.
“Changed how?”
“Afraid.”
That answer left me speechless.
Pastor? Afraid of my class?
Mira continued.
“He spoke with the knights and some of the royal people.”
“I didn't hear everything.”
“But I heard one sentence.”
He looked at me.
“'That class should not exist.'”
…
I was silent.
Well the situation is getting worse, I crossed my arms.
"So?"
"After that we were called together," said Mira.
“Knight explained that your class is dangerous.”
“Unstable and potentially disastrous.”
I chuckled.
“Sounds like a good reputation.”
It was natural that Mira didn't join in the laughter.
"Bima was the one who pushed the hardest for that decision," he said.
“Not surprised.”
“He said if we let you live, we could all be in danger.”
Making sense with very flexible moral standards, I looked at Mira.
“And you agree?”
The question made him freeze, for a few seconds he didn't answer.
So:
“…of.”
Honestly unexpected, I appreciate that a bit.
“Why?” I asked.
Mira lowered her head.
“Because I'm scared.”
Simple, human, cowardly, but human. He clenched his fists.
"We have all just arrived in a foreign world."
“Everything is messed up.”
“Then suddenly there were adults, knights, priests, all saying your class was dangerous.” Her voice grew softer.
"I choose to go with the majority."
I nodded slowly.
It makes sense, not justification but it makes sense and that's what makes it even more annoying, because the most realistic betrayals rarely come from cartoonish villains, usually from ordinary people who are afraid, they are the ones who choose their own safety, I pushed my body from the wall to stand upright.
“So that's the point,” I said calmly.
“When the situation was difficult, you chose to sacrifice me.”
Mira looked shocked but didn't argue, well at least there was no false defense that was insulting, I took a step closer she reflexively tensed up in fear, I could feel it clearly through Predator Sense.
It's interesting that I was the one who was afraid before, but now the position is reversed, how efficient is this development?
“I have one last question,” I said.
Mira looked at me.
“If I really die in the forest…”
I tilted my head slightly.
“Will you regret it?”
Silence, the question hung for a long time. Mira looked at the floor then answered slowly.
“Yes.”
I stared at him for a few seconds searching for lies Predator Sense didn't detect any manipulative intent meaning he was being honest, I let out a small sigh.
“At least you're honest enough to admit that.”
Mira raised her head, a hint of hope on her face. Mistake, I saw that change and immediately crushed it.
“But that doesn't change anything.”
Her expression fell, I continued,
“I didn't die because you changed your minds.”
“Not because you guys helped.”
“Not out of pity.”
My tone remained calm, but colder.
“I live because I am stubborn enough to refuse to die.”
The corridor felt quieter, I stared at him.
“So don't misunderstand.”
“This conversation is not a reconciliation.”
Mira bit her lower lip, she looked like she wanted to say something but in the end she just lowered her head, I walked past her and then stopped for a moment without looking back.
“Oh yeah,” I said casually.
“If Bima or the others think everything can return to normal…”
I smiled faintly.
“They are adorable.”
Then I left Mira alone in the corridor, my steps echoed on the stone floor, somehow I felt lighter, not because I had forgiven, not because I had closed my eyes, but at least I had reopened one part of the past and the result was as expected.
They are afraid, they are weak and they choose the easiest path nothing new, I went out towards the main area of the city night had fallen, crystal lights were shining on the streets.
For the first time since coming to this world, I truly saw a fantasy city: white stone buildings, tall towers, a night market, and adventurers carrying weapons and carriages. The large guild hall in the distance wasn't bad, it was truly impressive.
A notification appears.
New arc quest available.
Grow Stronger
Objective:
Reach level 25
Register with the Adventurer Guild
Uncover the secrets of your class
Reward:
Unknown
I read the new quest and smiled.
Yes, revenge can wait a bit because before destroying others I need to become much stronger and this city is most likely the right place to start.
I saw the large guild hall at the end of the street still lit up, my smile widened.
"Okay."
“New arc.”
Let's see what kind of trouble awaits me now.
[END CHAPTER 20]
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8.3
Betrayed at the altar. Replaced by her own sister.
On what should have been the happiest day of her life, Amara loses everything-her fiancé, her dignity, and her future.
But that same night, a dangerous man steps out of the shadows with an offer she can't refuse.
Marriage. Power. Revenge.
Now bound to a ruthless CEO, Amara is ready to destroy everyone who betrayed her.
There's just one problem...
Her new husband knows more about her past than he should.
And the closer she gets to revenge-
the more she realizes she may have married the man who ruined her in the first place.
8.4
I worked three double shifts at the garage just to buy a velvet-boxed cake for my wealthy girlfriend, Arleen.
But when I pushed open the VIP room door, I saw her lover kissing her bare leg.
She didn't push him away. Instead, she laughed and swirled her martini.
"I only forgot Finn because I knew he would stay. He is a poor boy from Queens who follows me around like a loyal dog."
Later that night, her lover intentionally crashed a Porsche to scare me, sending a piece of jagged metal into my skull.
Lying in a growing pool of my own blood, I watched Arleen crawl out of the wreckage.
She didn't even look at me. She threw herself at her uninjured lover, screaming for a medic.
"He just got scraped by a piece of plastic. He is faking it. Deal with Jaquez first!"
When I woke up, I wasn't free. Arleen had locked me in a private hospital wing with 24-hour security, planning to isolate me and keep me as her broken, captive toy forever.
My blind, pathetic devotion finally froze into absolute disgust.
I looked at the heart monitor next to my bed and grabbed an IV needle.
I severed the sensor wire to trigger a flatline, slipped out the fire stairs while the nurses panicked, and burned my identity to ashes.
This time, I was going to disappear to London, build my own empire, and watch hers burn.
7.2
Clifton, the god of esports, was secretly battling a career-ending wrist injury to protect his team.
A year ago, he kissed his duo partner, Justice, only to be met with violent disgust. Justice shoved him away and dry-heaved in the rain, looking at him like a monster.
Humiliated by the straight man's raw revulsion, Clifton cut him out of his life.
But now, Justice suddenly appeared at Clifton's club as a rookie tryout.
Instead of an ambitious climber, Justice played the perfect, pathetic victim. He cowered, trembled, and acted terrified whenever Clifton was near.
He even signed a bloodsucking contract with a toxic teammate, sparking rumors he was brought in to replace Clifton as captain.
During a scrimmage, Clifton hesitated to shoot because he remembered Justice had just severely burned his hand.
Justice showed no mercy. He ruthlessly gunned Clifton down, humiliating the captain in front of the entire coaching staff.
Clifton was consumed by blinding rage and betrayal.
If Justice was so disgusted by him, why did he fake his devotion for six months just to use him?
Why was he acting like helpless prey now, after trampling all over Clifton's pride?
Determined to rip off the liar's disguise, Clifton dragged Justice into a live stream in front of sixty thousand viewers.
"He's asking if you are in love with me."
Clifton smiled cruelly, waiting for the public execution. But just as the trap snapped shut, a choked, terrified gasp came through the headset.
8.6
Lilac Stone once wanted nothing more than being unnoticed. But everything changed the moment she met Adrian Cole, the new lecturer.
He's distant and completely off-limits. She's quiet, guarded, and unprepared for the way he sees right through her.
What begins as harmless conversations after class quickly turns into something far more dangerous-something neither of them can stop no matter how hard they try.
But then they're living in a world where rules are meant to be followed, and their connection is one line they were never supposed to cross.
Whispers turn to accusations. Secrets are exposed. Their futures are at risk.
They are merely two opposites-a lecturer and a student, a male and a female-but they are bound to destroy each other as long as they are huddled in one space at the same time.
What then can they choose: forfeit their futures and embrace their happiness, or let the latter slip while keeping their careers intact?
8.8
"Fuck...please..."
He risks a nibble, sending shockwaves to my core. My back arches off the wall with a sharp moan.
His hand slides between my legs, cupping my soaking panties.
"Look how wet you are," he whispers, "...shaking, and I haven't even fucked you yet."
He strokes my clit gently first, then harder. My toes curl, hair spilling into my sweaty face.
He's breaking me, ruining me with just his tongue and fingers. I can't speak. I can't think. I just tremble in his arms.
*********
The night I caught my fiancé cheating, something in me broke.
I cried.
I screamed.
I drove - into the rain, into nowhere, into him.
Cassian Cross.
A stranger with gray eyes, a sinful mouth, and hands that made me forget my name.
One night was all it took. One reckless mistake to burn away my heartbreak.
Until he showed up at my mom's wedding...
As my new stepbrother.
Now, Cassian won't stop.
He corners me in hallways, whispers filth at the altar, and looks at me like he still owns my body.
But there's one thing he didn't tell me-
He already belongs to someone else.
A fiancée bound to him by a contract... and a secret that could destroy us both.
He's dangerous.
He's forbidden.
He's promised to another.
And God help me, I still can't stop wanting him.
9.7
Gemma expected the tearing agony of the bullet wound that had just ended her life.
Instead, her trembling fingers met the cool, smooth friction of heavy silk.
She stared into the mirror. Her face was flawless, completely devoid of the jagged scar that had marred her cheek for the last five years.
It was exactly ten years ago. The day of her engagement party to the ruthless billionaire, Brion Hubbard.
In her past life, her "best friend" Katelyn convinced her to run away with a scheming scumbag.
Katelyn claimed Brion was a heartless tyrant who would ruin her. Gemma had foolishly believed those fake tears.
That choice led to her family's bankruptcy, her brutal disfigurement, and ultimately, a fatal bomb explosion.
The only person who tried to save her was Brion, his blood-soaked body shielding hers from the blast.
She even realized too late that the strawberry cream cakes she always made for him were full of dairy.
He wasn't leaving to cheat on her. He was locking himself in a medical bay, fighting fatal allergic shock, just to accept a tiny scrap of her affection.
Gemma had been so incredibly blind. Why did she trust the venomous snakes who destroyed her, while hating the man who died for her?
Hearing Katelyn frantically knocking on the dressing room door, urging her to run away again, a towering hatred surged through Gemma's veins.
This time, she wasn't going to run.
She was going to expose the traitors, take back her family's wealth, and claim the tyrant for herself.