Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Survival Exam (10)
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"Doing it bare skin... would be more effective, right?"
Ellis grabbed my hand on her shoulder and met my eyes as she spoke.
"Uh... wait a sec. Hold on."
Her sudden bombshell declaration, delivered with utterly serious eyes, flustered me even more.
★ Heroine Status ★ ❤️ Favorability: 38 💋 Libido: 59 🍽️ Appetite: 40 😴 Fatigue: 61 Current Status: I can't live like this forever. "...Hmm."
It felt like I'd poked at something wrong again.
Ellis had strong pride by nature.
Even with her inborn mana circuit disorder preventing her from fully realizing her talents, she couldn't betray her country's expectations.
In France, she was seen as a rising star of the Iris Guild.
That's why Ellis pushed herself even harder to break through her situation, desperately hiding her mana disorder.
And she desperately wanted to overcome it to grow stronger faster.
But after years of pouring in astronomical sums to find a treatment, every attempt had failed.
Then I came along with a cure.
Sure, it was a bluff... but when I injected mana, she'd feel her circuits expanding, so she had no choice but to believe.
That made her dead serious about my half-baked massage pitch.
"Let's do that at night for now. It's way too bright out."
"Got it."
Her nonchalant agreement just made me feel awkward.
Anyway, it was too bright right now for me to see Ellis's bare skin.
Not even if she said it was fine. I wasn't okay with it. What if someone wandered by?
"Uh... wanna grab some food first?"
I tried to lighten the awkward vibe with a meal suggestion.
Nothing beats food when you're at a loss.
"Sure."
Ellis trailed wordlessly behind me, her expression blank. Who knew what she was thinking.
She'd gone cold on me again out of nowhere. No clue how to handle it.
Had her mindset shifted or something?
We headed back to the tent from last night and got food going.
While the water boiled and the instant rice heated, I checked my cumulative points.
Surviving cadets: 130, of course. It'd update after tonight into tomorrow.
"350 points... Keep this up, and first place is mine."
I'd racked up a solid haul from monsters, the boss, other cadets, and treasures.
In the original story, first place varied by route, but it usually went to the protagonist.
Average score on the final day: around 700.
I was cruising smooth.
"Think 350's enough? Don't forget Nam Da-eun."
"Nam Da-eun? She probably forfeited by now."
Ellis had been keeping an eye on her.
But Nam Da-eun was no threat.
Midterms had three parts total.
Written exam, practical, and special exam.
The special one factored in more than raw combat power—luck played a big role.
Didn't count toward practical first place.
In the original, she forfeited the first night to call her sister.
Probably the same here.
"...True. She doesn't care about anything but practicals, so yeah."
"Yep. Bet on it."
Nam Da-eun's forfeit was an event across all routes. Unless something weird happened, it was certain.
We polished off lunch with steaming rice and smoked pork belly.
'Should've grabbed more side dishes.'
I'd loaded up on smoked stuff fearing spoilage, but that worry was pointless.
"Hey? Isn't that a supply crate?"
After eating, while stretching, I spotted one dropping a ways off.
"Kinda far, but we could sprint it. Wanna go?"
"Yeah. But inject first."
"Roger."
I gripped Ellis's shoulder and channeled mana.
The sensation of injecting mana was starting to feel natural.
'Could try stimulating deeper inside the circuits.'
The process already stimulated her mana circuits.
If I could direct that stimulus, I could control how much "treatment effect" she felt.
Not that it was real treatment, but if you're gonna fool someone, might as well make it feel good.
"Let's roll."
I dosed her moderately, then we bolted for the crate.
Luck held—no other cadets. We reached it clean.
Heart pounding, I cracked it open: jerky and a blanket.
"Damn... total bust."
We didn't need it, but no way was I handing freebies to rivals. Subspace pouch it went.
But the real prize remained.
I scanned the code with my smartwatch.
⚙ SYSTEM UPDATE ⚙ [97th Supply Crate Acquired. Survival Exam App Updated.] [Twice Daily: View All Cadets' Point Rankings.] "Oh, jackpot."
Supply crate codes triggered random app updates.
The abilities varied wildly. Best ones: nearby cadet positions or rankings.
Point rankings? Big win.
"Use it once now?"
"Yeah. Let's see."
Ellis eyed my smartwatch curiously, dying to know the standings.
The [100% Stamina Recovery Ticket] slot now held a [Point Ranking Check] icon.
'Gotta be me in overwhelming first.'
I tapped it. A hologram flickered up from the watch.
🏆 POINT RANKINGS 🏆 Current Island Point Rankings
1. Nam Da-eun. 1,125p 2. Lee Ho-yeon. 350p 3. Ellis. 324p 4. Kim Young-han. 250p ...
"...?"
"..."
We both went silent staring at the rankings.
"You said Nam Da-eun definitely forfeited, right?"
"...Sorry."
Ellis fixed me with an icy glare.
Hey, everyone slips up sometimes...
'No, I can't afford slips.'
And how the hell did she rack up 1,125...?
"...Headache."
Where the heck was she, and what was she doing?
*
"Boss. No lock on Lee Ho-yeon's position yet. But word is he's with Ellis."
"Yeah? And quit calling me that. 'Boss'? Really."
"It's fun. Feels like war."
"Fair. Pretty boy versus Ellis? Total war. Student council PR squad, right?"
Kim Young-han grinned at his cadets.
Over 30 strong, teamed up.
One target.
Lee Ho-yeon.
Day two supply crate gave him Cadet Position Tracker. He'd steadily recruited since.
Bait: Ho-yeon's food stash.
No matter how much he'd packed, it wasn't enough for a week for everyone here.
Even split 30 ways, maybe two meals tops.
But after three days on fruit alone, they craved hot food bad.
"Sneaky bastards hogging the good stuff?"
"Well, Ho-yeon's the psycho who predicted survival and packed everything."
"Still! Could share a bit."
"You would?"
The guy clammed up at Kim Young-han's jab.
"...Young-han. You're our leader—can't take Ho-yeon's side."
"I'm just here for the laughs~."
He shrugged and turned away.
"Nine o'clock—another crate!"
"Roger! Hold up!"
Kim Young-han handled all the scans.
Random app updates on code scan, no duplicates.
Once he figured that out, he asked for all the codes.
⚙ APP UPDATE ⚙ [Designated Cadet Position Tracker Added.] [Once per 24 hours: Reveals target cadet's coordinates.] "Finally..."
Ability to hunt Ho-yeon.
"Payback time for that pretty boy's 1v1 duel."
"Didn't you say it was just for fun?"
He shrugged at the baffled cadet.
"Fun is fun."
"Hold up—someone's coming this way..."
Kim Young-han checked it out.
Thud. Thud.
Perfectly sculpted features, razor-sharp eyes—an alluring woman.
Nam Da-eun, heading straight for them.
Her face still screamed zero interest in people. Thirty-strong crowd? Not even a glance.
"...Dunno. Play nice?"
"Y-yeah. We've got 30+. No sweat."
Normally they'd ignore her, but with Ellis and Ho-yeon teamed? Needed firepower.
"Hey, Da-eun. What's up?"
Kim Young-han stepped up confidently.
"...?"
She gave him a questioning look.
"Wanna team with us? Already 30-plus strong."
"No."
"Ah... okay."
He backed off clean—couldn't force it.
"Got a question, though."
She didn't walk off like expected.
"Shoot."
"Lee Ho-yeon... know where he is?"
"..."
Kim Young-han thought: play right, and she was in.
*
Night fell. We picked our usual tent spot.
"This area's good."
Popped the one-touch auto-tent, laid out blankets and pillows inside.
Alternating watches meant no co-sleeping.
Though we shared pillows and blankets... eh, survival rules.
That wasn't the point.
Rustle rustle—
Ellis was stripping inside the tent.
'No way she's going full nude.'
No telling how far she'd go, but probably not far. So how should I play it?
'Gotta make the effect crystal clear.'
Bare-skin massage had to feel way more potent.
"...Come in."
I swallowed hard and ducked inside.
Her snowy-white back hijacked my gaze.
Loose bra straps fluttered at her sides. Uniform and bra shielded her belly and chest—she showed only her back.
"Q-quick, do it."
Uncharacteristic. Soft, girly voice.
She was embarrassed.
Had to nail this. No results? Game over.
👁️ Clairvoyance Activated 👁️ [Clairvoyance] Eyes glow golden. Mana concentrates at fingertips.