Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: First Theme (2)
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Whoosh!
The first to react to the reveal of my unique ability was the blonde Olena.
She pulled out the long staff she had strapped to her back.
‘That thing looks top-quality.’
Occupational hazard, I guess.
I instinctively eyed the staff.
It was made of fine hardwood, with a blue gem embedded in the center.
And a refined design that looked like it had been crafted with great care.
It was obviously an expensive item.
‘I bet our Demir is doing great business.’
As I smacked my lips and scanned the item from top to bottom.
Swish!
Olena finally swung her staff.
“My ability is magic. Attribute: water.”
Bubble bubble.
The water droplets gathered in the sky soon turned into streams and poured down to the ground.
“You guys got lucky. I can easily supply drinking water.”
Ooh.
Not bad at all?
Olena's ability exceeded expectations.
One of the most essential things for survival is ‘water.’
Especially in these tropical regions, even finding a river doesn’t guarantee potable water.
It’s all muddy sludge.
Now, we wouldn’t have to bother collecting rainwater every time it rained in Skoll Castle.
I nodded.
“Great. That’ll be a huge help.”
“Not only that, my skills are solid too. I was top of my class when I entered Oxford Magic Tower this time.”
“Huh?”
Kapu exclaimed from the side.
“Isn’t Oxford where Sophia Silverstone is? The prestigious one? I heard it’s super hard to get into.”
“Haha, yeah, pretty much.”
“Impressive.”
It was an achievement worthy of sincere praise even from the introverted Kapu.
Sophia Silverstone was ranked 4th.
Practically a god-tier ranker.
For hunters like us, just being in her presence would be an honor.
“…….”
James’s eyebrow twitched.
He was probably feeling sour since the woman he’d argued with earlier turned out to be more impressive than expected.
But he too was a ranker candidate recommended by five rankers.
Thud!
James set down the bag on his back.
Then, clenching his fists, he threw jabs and straights into the air.
Whoosh, whoosh!
The sound of air slicing, accompanied by waves of force.
At the same time, his waist spun in a full circle.
Screeech!
Almost simultaneously with the straight punch landing, James’s back foot slammed into place.
It was a flawless roundhouse kick that drew gasps of admiration.
“Wow.”
I took a step back in awe.
Regardless of its power.
That stance alone was artistic perfection.
James finally spoke.
“My unique ability is martial arts. The drawback is I can’t use weapons, but compared to other classes, I can land critical hits with precision. The moment my fist connects, it’s all over.”
James’s ability wasn’t bad either.
‘Just your standard combat class.’
Combat classes grow with the person.
Meaning, he’s as strong or weak as James himself.
Even a berserker is basically a standard combat class.
Just insanely tough.
“…….”
Kapu glanced at James, hesitated, then stepped forward.
“……I’m more support than combat.”
Support class?
Everyone’s eyes turned to Kapu.
“That’s right. Unique ability: Explorer. I grasp dungeon geography, scout uncharted areas, and specialize in detecting hidden traps or secret conditions.”
Oh.
I’ve seen that job somewhere before.
‘Ah.’
Right.
I remembered.
It was similar to Kang Sun-wook, the A-rank hunter who was the guide for the old ‘Blue’ guild.
Wonder how that guy’s doing?
It felt nostalgic.
Back then, he seemed like a huge deal, but now I’m A-rank.
“…….”
Olena smiled slyly.
“Not a bad balance, right? Golden combo, even.”
She was spot on.
No slouch team anywhere.
Necromancer’s already OP as is.
One combat class, one magic class.
And now support too.
‘Not bad at all.’
Better than the worst-case scenario I’d imagined.
I’d worried we’d all be combat classes……
“Then, shall we divide tasks based on our roles?”
Clap clap!
I clapped my hands.
For some reason, I’d naturally become the leader of this group.
Might as well play along.
“First, Olena, dig a pit up on the high ground. Clear the leaves for visibility. And make some cooking tools so we can eat. Easy for a mage, right?”
“Building a campsite?”
“Yeah, temporary shelter, so rough’s fine.”
“That’s no problem. Leave it to me.”
Olena nodded briskly and headed up the ridgeline.
To the highest point.
Normally, for survival, you’d want to be near water.
But since we had a water supplier, this positioning worked.
“Next, Kapu.”
“What do I do?”
“Scout the nearby area and gather info. Other teams’ positions, hidden clues, whatever.”
“Perfect for me.”
Kapu tied his shoelaces.
“And James.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re combat, so escort Kapu. You two are a team now.”
“So, protect him so he can support properly?”
“Exactly.”
I nodded.
Pairing James and Kapu made sense.
I’d originally planned sentry duty, and vigilance is key in any op.
Why, even that famous MacArthur quote:
“I can forgive a commander who fails in his mission, but not one who fails to be vigilant!”
‘Honestly.’
My bones were more reliable than James.
“I’ll handle high ground watch and forage for food. Be back before sundown.”
“Got it.”
Kapu and James nodded and left.
No complaints or questions.
After my stern words earlier, they’d all accepted the situation coolly.
“Alright, time for me to get moving too?”
I turned.
And looked at my skeletons waiting with weapons at the ready.
Taeyangi and Eldrin, awaiting my orders.
I smiled softly at them.
* * *
About two hours later.
“My lord, as requested.”
Taeyangi returned to the high ground and dumped something on the ground with his subordinates.
Thud thud!
Guava roots, cassava, sugarcane, various mushrooms, eggplants, etc.
Several edible plants.
“I got some too.”
Swoosh.
Eldrin leaped from a tree and landed.
She too had brought loads of tropical fruits with her subordinates.
Bananas, mangoes, papayas, pomelos, etc.
Enough to last nearly a week.
“What in the world…… What’s all this?”
Olena, finishing the campsite, gaped.
“This much in such a short time……?”
“It’s routine for the forest folk…… Not sure if it helps, though.”
“Wow.”
Olena’s jaw dropped.
Openly amazed at the necromancer’s convenience.
I gave Eldrin a thumbs-up.
“No need to say it. You’re the best.”
I’d told them to gather stuff we could eat raw.
In survival games, fire just screams [I’m right here~] to enemies.
“Hold out with this for today.”
“……This is basically hotel buffet level.”
Rumble!
Olena used magic to dig a shallow pit.
As the bones carefully moved the food.
Step step.
The two scouts returned.
James and Kapu.
“Phew, Hoon. We’re back.”
Kapu looked disappointed.
Less success than hoped.
“No clues nearby. Just raw jungle. No monsters, no traps.”
Explorer Kapu set down his gear and wiped sweat from his brow.
“Checked the central area on the sly too, but seems picked clean. No other hunters.”
“Yeah, thought maybe dropped supplies. Total bust. Damn it.”
James shook his head.
“Supplies?”
I asked.
“Yeah, in these survival games, don’t supply items always drop from the sky?”
“…….”
Dude.
That’s games.
This is real life. What’re you saying?
Not that the attempt was bad.
With no solid info, keep all possibilities open.
“Good work, both of you. Food’s ready, so we’ll hold through the night with this.”
“Ooh? What’s all this?”
“Hoon, you gathered this?”
The two men’s eyes widened too.
“……Compared to my zero results, you two did a ton.”
Kapu muttered apologetically.
I’d thought it earlier.
This tough-looking black guy had the purest heart.
I grinned.
“We’ve only been a team a few hours. No pressure—just do your jobs.”
“Thanks, Hoon.”
Kapu nodded, and Olena beamed.
“Alright, shall we dig in?”
She grabbed a bunch of bananas Eldrin had brought.
Chomp!
She bit in boldly.
“Huh?”
Olena, who’d been munching hungrily, suddenly froze with her mouth agape.
What’s with her?
Why’s her reaction so over-the-top?
“What? That good?”
I asked, and she shook her head.
Like that wasn’t it.
What then?
“……Fucking hell. What is this?”
Olena cursed.
What?
Poison in the banana?
“Hoon.”
She looked at me.
“Try it.”
“……?”
“No weird stuff, just eat it!”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head and took a bite.
Eldrin from the forest folk wouldn’t bring poisoned bananas.
And I was starving after so long.
Crunch!
‘Mm? Tasty?’
Just as I wondered why she was freaking out.
My pupils dilated like hers.
Because.
[Ding!]
[Consumed ‘Banana.’]
[Gained 10 Trial Points.]
An absurd message appeared.
“Crazy?”
Killing someone gives 100 points, but one banana nets 10?
With zero announcement?
“What? What’s up?”
“Hoon, why’re you freaking too? Scary……”
“Is this really safe?”
James and Kapu stirred.
Crunch! Crunch!
I quickly swallowed and grabbed another banana.
But.
The Trial Points didn’t rise again.
‘Huh?’
No points for repeats?
I went to the pit and pulled out a mango spinach.
Crack!
Smashed it open, scooped out the flesh.
[Ding!]
[Consumed ‘Mango Spinach.’]
[Gained 10 Trial Points.]
“Yes!”
Ahh.
I don’t know what Trial Points are.
But one thing’s clear.
Eating stuff produced here builds ‘Trial Points.’
“What the hell?”
James blinked and chewed a banana.
“Wha? Damn it, what! Trial Points went up!”
Now the whole team knew.
[Ding!]
[Consumed ‘Papaya.’]
[Gained 10 Trial Points.]
We devoured the food frantically.
[Ding!]
[Consumed ‘Guava Root.’]
[Gained 10 Trial Points.]
No pickiness allowed.
We savored every single item brought.
[Ding!]
[Consumed ‘Cassava.’]
[Gained 10 Trial Points.]
[Consumed ‘Sugarcane.’]
[Gained 10 Trial Points.]
…….
Over 30 kinds of edible plants.
“Man.”
James finally marveled.
“We basically got the effect of each of us killing three people just from meals?”
Trial Points: 320.
The final tally each of us earned.
“Insane.”
“This is all thanks to you, Hoon.”
Kapu bowed deeply to me.
“You gathered all these varieties. Thanks, Hoon.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“Just luck. Nothing’s confirmed. We don’t even know what these Trial Points mean.”
No need for thanks.
We don’t know what trials await.
Feels like we haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg.
But.
A sudden thought.
‘Does it have to be edible stuff?’
Can’t stack points with other things?
That moment, what caught my eye.
Was a colorful mushroom growing at the base of a tree trunk.
What if I ate that?