Chapter 235
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: Kukuru Island and the Special Training Survival (2)
Kukuru Island was an uninhabited island floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
If I had to pinpoint its location, I’d say it sat demurely on the equator.
Perhaps that was why. The island, which had been quite cool until the morning, gradually began to reveal its true nature as the afternoon wore on.
The scorching heat from the high sun struck Kukuru Island.
To put it simply… it was hot. No, it was beyond hot; it was hot and humid. Almost like a sauna, steamy and damp.
Naturally, exhausted by the excessive heat, our clothes couldn't help but become thinner.
“It's hot!”
“It is hot.”
“I'm dying of heat….”
Raven and David were shirtless, wearing only men's swim trunks.
Alice, who usually didn't mind showing some skin, was in a bikini, no less. Beads of sweat made her look a bit sensual.
In any case, perhaps because they all worked out quite diligently, the three of them exuded a rather extraordinary charm.
Even Jellin, who had come along, was wearing a competitive-style swimsuit. Surprisingly, she had a better figure than I expected.
The swimsuits came from Jellin. I guess you could call her thorough in her preparations.
It seemed she already knew Kukuru Island would get this hot.
If we took pictures right now, it would look like a complete photoshoot….
Thinking this, I flapped my hand to fan Alice. The effect was minimal.
“Lady Yuria, this is a prototype with temperature-regulating magic. How do you feel?”
“Jja!”
“That is a relief.”
Ah, I was the only one not in a swimsuit.
What I was wearing now was a one-piece dress that felt strangely cool.
It seemed to be a magitech product equipped with cooling magic, as I was the only one not sweating and feeling perfectly fine.
Was it because they knew that, unlike the Fixers, I wasn't very sturdy…?
Or maybe it was because the subjects of this special training were Alice and David.
No, then why is Raven like that?
I tilted my head for a moment, looking at Raven who was dripping with sweat and looking drained.
“Wow, at this rate, you could cook meat just by leaving it outside. What's with this weather?”
“I suspect this might be an abnormal climate.”
“My body is completely drenched in sweat… It makes me want to jump into the sea….”
“Be careful. At this temperature, the seawater might be boiling.”
“The fish will already be cooked, so we won't need a pot.”
In any case, the Fixers, excluding me, were all in swimsuits.
Dripping with sweat, they gazed at the scenery outside and complained.
They seemed quite displeased with the abnormally hot environment of Kukuru Island.
But, as expected, had she already anticipated such comments?
Jellin, who had been listening silently, calmly began to share information.
“The Lunar Mirror at the center of the island is absorbing the sunlight, heating the island. For your reference, at night, the weather will become colder than winter, so you will need to change from your swimsuits into these winter clothes.”
“So it goes from a fiery hell to an icy hell in a single day…. What a harsh environment.”
“How on earth do the trees and grass survive in this weather…?”
“It seems they have adapted.”
“A-Adapted?”
…Don't things usually die if they can't adapt?
Alice, who had asked the question, wore a puzzled expression, as if wondering how that was possible.
But as if there was nothing more she could say, Jellin simply averted her gaze.
And then, perhaps deeming that the lunch they ate earlier had been sufficiently digested.
Jellin, after checking the time, stood up and, looking at the already exhausted Fixers, spoke.
“Then it is about time to begin the planned special training. Everyone, please step outside the tent.”
“So, it's real combat in a harsh environment.”
“Ugh, I don't want to go out….”
“This feels more like torture by heat….”
The Fixers looked reluctant to go outside, where it was much hotter than inside the tent.
But perhaps because they knew this was part of the training, they went out obediently, despite their complaints.
I, too, followed them outside with quick little steps, as if trailing the group.
Despite wearing the temperature-regulating dress, a brutal heat immediately greeted me.
‘Wow…. If I didn't have this dress, I'd definitely get heatstroke in this weather. With my frail body, even a swimsuit would be impossible.’
At least in my Gym Club Yuria state, I could endure it easily.
But then I'd have to give up my psychokinesis, which is a bit inconvenient. It's my most effective means of attack.
As I felt the intense heat, I glanced at the Fixers.
It seemed these generally sturdy people were somehow enduring it with sheer willpower.
Finally, Jellin, with sweat pouring down her entire body, emerged from the tent.
Even in this situation, she maintained her deadpan expression as she looked at me and the Fixers and spoke.
“Now, I will explain the two objectives proposed by the Association President and Tempest. First… the four of you are to establish the most efficient tactics.”
“Tactics….”
“The three of you from the Crowley Fixer Agency have worked together for a long time, but you have no experience joining forces with Lady Yuria, correct? Therefore, it would be ideal if you could achieve maximum coordination within these three weeks.”
Hmm, I see…. I got the gist of what Jellin was talking about.
Since I have no experience fighting alongside others, they must want me to learn how to cooperate to some extent during this period.
I need intense concentration to use my psychokinesis, so having help wouldn't hurt.
No, rather, the Fixers would be a great help in overcoming my weaknesses.
I wonder if Raven, Alice, and David could fully understand the situation.
Drenched in sweat, they glanced at me and nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
But Jellin had only stated the first of the two objectives.
So, what was the second objective? As we perked up our ears for her next words…
…she suddenly tugged at the bottom of her swimsuit as if uncomfortable, letting a trickle of sweat run out, and spoke.
“And the second objective pertains only to Lady Alice and Sir David. The two of you… must secure the artifact at the center of the island, the Lunar Mirror, within three weeks.”
“The Lunar Mirror… is it.”
“Come to think of it, I forgot to ask. What exactly is this Lunar Mirror? I get that it's some kind of extraordinary artifact….”
Unable to contain her curiosity any longer at the mention of the Lunar Mirror again…
…Alice, who had been fanning herself, asked Jellin about it.
It awakens the user's potential, and it makes the island's environment extremely dangerous.
She seemed to understand that it was an unusual artifact, but she didn't quite grasp what it was exactly.
Jellin seemed to think it was a reasonable question.
She let go of the swimsuit she was pulling, which snapped back against her bottom with a sharp smack, and began to speak.
“The Lunar Mirror… is a mirror-shaped artifact from another world. It is called the Lunar Mirror because it shines like the moon. I have not seen it myself, but I heard it was so dangerous that Tempest personally sealed it on this island.”
“It certainly is… dangerous.”
“Just by existing, it can turn an entire island into a fiery hell like this. If something like this fell into a city, it would be a disaster.”
I nodded vigorously, agreeing with Raven's opinion.
It didn't even do anything, it just sits in the middle of the island and turns it into a hot, humid sauna?
It was no wonder Tempest had hidden it away, sealed on an island not even on the maps.
Honestly, it would have been too dangerous if the Metahuman Liberation Army had gotten their hands on it.
However, it seemed Jellin's explanation wasn't over yet.
She cleared her throat softly and continued, as if pulling out information from her memory.
“I am not certain how it draws out the user's potential. However, Tempest said that the mirror contains a door that connects to the mind, allowing one to draw out power they themselves were unaware of.”
“Heeh…. Power you're not even aware you have….”
“If that's the case, I'd like to see it myself.”
With the explanation about the Lunar Mirror more or less concluded, the Fixers and I began our training in earnest.
While adapting to the island's hot and harsh environment…
…to achieve the objectives proposed by the Association, we decided to advance from the base camp to the center of the island.
But as expected of something called special training, it couldn't be easy.
As soon as we entered the untouched forest, an unexpected visitor appeared.
“Kigigigik!”
“A-a spider? There are living creatures here too?!”
“What an absurd size…. It looks like a tarantula magnified a hundred times!”
What burst out from the dense forest was none other than a giant spider.
And it was huge, almost the size of a car.
Of course, the problem wasn't just that it had suddenly appeared from the forest.
It was because the moment the giant spider saw us, it charged as if it had found its prey.
“Eek!”
No, it's so big I can see every single hair on it!
Being weak to bugs and the like, I grimaced, reached out my hand, and forcefully snapped the giant spider's limbs.
*Crack!*
The spider's eight legs bent in unnatural directions, and its massive body crashed to the ground.
Unable to move with its broken legs, the giant spider lay on the ground, its legs flailing.
Alice and David, who had been about to charge with their weapons drawn, stopped in their tracks.
Then, after staring at the spider that had been subdued in the blink of an eye, they whipped their heads around to look at me and spoke.
“This is….”
“No way, Yuria?”
“…Yeah.”
Sorry, it was just too gross.
I gave a slight bow and apologized to the two who had turned to look at me.
It was supposed to be special training for Alice and David, but I had ended up interfering.
However, this outcome seemed to complicate their thoughts in various ways.
The two of them looked dumbfounded, as if they had been completely mistaken about something.