Chapter 231
Chapter 231
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: Teaming (2)
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After clearing away some brush and lighting a campfire beneath it, I sat down with the woman in front of the flames and asked her about what had happened, having already dealt with the wolf.
She had looked exhausted at first, but unlike when I'd first seen her, she now had a bright expression on her face and chattered away nonstop while I built the fire.
"My team all got eliminated, so I was running away and ended up like this."
I pulled a cup from her backpack, filled it with juice, and handed it to her. It was in exchange for the food she'd given me.
"Hing. Thanks. If I hadn't run into that National Tree all of a sudden."
"What National Tree?"
"Plum Blossom. China's National Tree... She had pure white hair and looked really scary."
She'd gotten tangled up with the National Tree, had her mana sucked dry and her stamina drained, barely survived carrying just her backpack, and then nearly died to the wolf.
The woman sniffed and drank her juice.
"...Hehe, it's sweet."
Her lips curved up slyly. Once she got a taste, she sipped at the drink like a cat, over and over.
'As expected, the preliminary round seems to revolve around the National Trees.'
"How many were on your team?"
"More than thirty."
"Thirty?"
It was more than I'd imagined.
The National Tree who took down thirty was impressive, and the group that had assembled that many was no slouch either.
"That's too many."
"To go up against a National Tree, you have no choice but to build up numbers and maximize the advantages of teaming up."
"Even so, just gathering people willy-nilly?"
I countered her words.
It wasn't that I didn't understand. In this survival game, there were only two ways for cadets to stay alive.
Either hide out and survive the week. Or build up a massive team to the point where even a National Tree wouldn't dare touch you.
Of course, the latter had the drawback of making it hard to procure supplies, so it wasn't popular.
"We had this many people, so I thought we'd be fine."
The National Tree had been way stronger than expected. The woman drooped her head dejectedly.
"Thanks to that, my mana and stamina are both rock bottom."
She'd recover after a few days of rest, but practically speaking, she was as good as eliminated.
I opened the combat rations I'd gotten in exchange and took a bite.
'Who'd have thought I'd be eating something like this out here.'
These self-heating combat meals where you just pull the handle to warm them up—and Korean-style beef gochujang bibimbap at that.
The difference was the green packaging with a tree symbolizing World Trees printed on it.
The taste was better than what I'd had back then. Long expiration date, handmade, pretty decent.
"Tastes okay?"
"Yeah."
"Phew, hehe. Thanks so much for helping me. I really thought I was done for."
The woman grinned broadly, dirt still on her face, and scratched her cheek.
"Done for? Even if it hurt a bit, you'd just get transferred out anyway."
"No way, the moment that wolf bit me, I'd have gone into cardiac arrest and croaked."
"You sure you're an academy cadet?"
"Of course~ I can even recite my student ID now? I-K-O-2-2-8..."
The woman raised her index finger and started reciting her student ID. That wasn't what I'd asked.
Was her personality just cheerful? Or was she a bit airheaded?
Still, running into a fellow Korean in a place like this was rare.
No matter how many great hunters Korea had, it was just one small country. There weren't that many Koreans in the Forest Keeper preliminaries.
Meeting a compatriot abroad was always a welcome surprise.
"Do guys in the military really eat this stuff?"
"Yep. ...Wait a sec."
She showed interest and stared at the combat rations I was eating.
I answered nonchalantly, then trailed off.
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.
The military?
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Korean guys all go to the military?"
"Huh? Of course."
"Mandatory?"
"What are you talking about? Everyone goes."
A chill!
"Oh, but I heard academy cadets are exempt..."
I nearly fainted from shock, but her follow-up words brought immense relief, like ascending to heaven.
"Anyway, it's kinda amazing seeing you up close. You're Lee Si-heon, right? From El Academy."
"How'd you know?"
"Come on~ You're kinda famous online. The guy who wears a mask and threw down with Jeong Si-woo!"
Since it had spread online like that, it made sense.
Jeong Si-woo was so popular that I'd naturally ridden his coattails.
Where there were fans, there were haters too. Some people who resented the excessive attention on Si-woo saw me in a positive light.
"And you two are friends. Bound to get famous."
Famous, huh.
There had been one incident that kicked it off.
Jeong Si-woo had appeared as a guest on a weekend variety show and talked about me, causing a huge stir.
Si-woo seemed to feel an oddly strong gratitude toward me. But good is good, so I said nothing.
-Hey, what's this?
Of course, there were mishaps.
-Sorry...
Various fanfic novels featuring me and Jeong Si-woo started circulating online.
I'd discovered it because I hadn't been sleeping much lately and spent a lot of time online.
"What's your name?"
I asked as I finished my meal.
"Oh, didn't I say? Hyang. Yi Hyang."
"The 'Yi' from wild cherry?"
"Yep. Kinda unique, right?"
Wild Cherry Yi Hyang.
With a tree name like that, it stuck in my head immediately.
"From Seoul Academy?"
"Yeah. Came with friends... Who'd have thought it'd end up like this? Hing."
Seoul Academy. From the countryside, maybe.
I looked at Yi Hyang's face.
She seemed more suited to market clothes and a straw hat than a fancy dress. Her features were endearing.
Like a cat, not a Persian but a Korean Shorthair.
p>Like a dog, a mongrel, white stray, or black-and-white patch.
After dealing mostly with strong-willed women, seeing Yi Hyang made me realize there were types like her too.
"So, what now?"
She laughed it off like it was no big deal.
"What else? I gotta forfeit."
Yi Hyang answered refreshingly.
I froze mid-scoop with my spoon full of rice.
"No regrets?"
"Come on~ Making it this far is pretty good. And the supplies I brought would've been wasted, but giving them to you like this is a relief. Especially since it's to another Korean—might even contribute to national pride or something... Hehe."
She glanced at her backpack hanging from a tree branch.
"If I forfeit, take it all. Or just pick the food if you want."
In the Forest Keeper preliminaries, which were basically the National Trees' stage, the mindsets of cadets who were practically guaranteed elimination varied wildly.
"It's experience, right? Can't be helped if I get knocked out."
True, but easier said than done.
If you were lucky enough to last the week, you'd have news articles locked in.
Make it to the third trial, and variety shows and job offers would come rolling in. Giving up like that was impressive.
"Oh, want me to sort it for you? Plenty of room in your pack?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, keep eating then. I'll pull out just the food real quick."
She set down her juice and started selecting portable foods from the backpack.
"Hehe, gotta brag to my friends in Seoul that I met Lee Si-heon."
"Kekeke, might even get an autograph later."
"Really? On this shirt?"
I tossed it out casually, but Yi Hyang grabbed the hem of her shirt and pointed.
Why wouldn't she know that flaunting my autograph would just get her teased?
Lee Si-heon, of all people?
They'd snort for sure.
"Ah... You were joking."
When I didn't reply, she scratched her cheek. Then she focused back on sorting the food.
"You really forfeiting?"
"Don't wanna stick around and get mauled by wolves for nothing."
Forfeit, huh. Not a bad choice. Who knew when a Flower might show up.
Separate from helping her out.
"Yeah, well... Good call."
"Oh yeah, avoid the east and north."
"Why?"
She handed over the sorted food, then opened some with short expiration dates and tasted them.
A tangerine slightly cracked from the shock.
She tasted it, deemed it fine, split it in half, and gave me one.
I'd just finished the rations, so I ate it. Cool, sweet, and tangy—delicious.
"Rumors among the cadets. East has 'Yellowy,' north has 'Whitey.'"
"Yellowy and Whitey? Weird names."
"Whitey's the Plum Blossom I mentioned. Yellow... not sure."
Something was in the east, it seemed.
I pondered her words while popping another segment into my mouth.
"Not sure?"
"Yeah. Some woman with yellow hair... supposedly combing the area and taking out every cadet she sees."
A woman with yellow hair. Cornus's face popped into my head.
No way she'd do that, right? Blondes weren't just her.
Even among the stars, and people I knew, there were plenty of blondes.
"Hmm."
"Heard it secondhand, hehe... Might not be true."
"Nah, thanks for the info."
Cornus's direction still pointed east.
High chance that rumor was her.
Was it okay to burn through mana like water? Even as a swordswoman, she relied on it as much as a mage.
Mana was the foundation of all abilities. Hope she wasn't wiped out when we met.
I started to stand and pack my bag.
That's when it happened.
Something tripped my faintly spread mana detection.
Running into people more than usual today.
"Time to go already? Guess I should pack this up then."
"Hold on a sec."
I stopped Yi Hyang.
"Huh?"
"Someone's coming."
Something was approaching this spot at high speed.
Not using mana, just pure physical ability. Crashing through the brush roughly.
"For real? W-what do we do? Leave me behind? I'm forfeiting anyway, so I'll hold them off. I'm a country bumpkin, but I'm good at clinging on?"
She thumped her ample chest proudly. Not bad. Should I ditch her?
But the presence felt off—not normal.
Not strong like facing a National Tree! Just... strangely unfamiliar.
Like a long thread connecting to me, so if I pulled, it'd come reeling in. An indescribable sensation.
I signaled Winterberry, and the staff hanging from the tree floated through the air into my hand.
"Whoa..."
I ignored Yi Hyang's wide-eyed stare, wind cutter in one hand, mana wrapping my staff in the other, and faced the two silhouettes approaching fast.
-Rustle rustle rustle!
A black presence crashing through the brush like a cockroach.
Red hair popped out from the bushes.
"Pha!"
Ruby-like crimson eyes. No hostility, but her gaze on me was sharp for some reason.
"Ah...?"
The woman let out a voice upon seeing me right in front of her.
Suddenly, a subtle tightness gripped my chest. Like when I'd seen her in the cafeteria before. But spreading my mana and seeing her up close felt different.
Goosebumps from my toes. Chills. A solid, inexplicable tactile sensation made me shudder briefly.
-Rustle.
My eyes met the man who followed the girl. A blond guy with slightly tanned skin.
That instant, the odd discomfort exploded, making my head spin.
They reacted the same upon seeing me—their faces twisted strangely.
Not dazed, but like they'd taken a deep shock, just like me.
'What the hell with these two?'
Mana compressed to the brink of release. I hesitated.
Blast them? Chase them off?
My fingers flexed and relaxed, ready to fire any second.
The woman, face poking from the bushes, saw the magic deployed in my hand, hardened her lips coldly, and spoke immediately.
"W-wait a sec. We're not here to fight."
Her eyes trembled.
"...Uh, um."
She stammered repeatedly before finally spitting out a word.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed while looking at me.
"Sorry if it's rude out of nowhere, but... wanna do it with me?"
Gulp-
Another swallow after that absurd line.
Her slightly parted lips revealed a tongue the color of a ripened apple, bright red.
"What?"