Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Survival Exam (16)
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Ellis and I finished our sparring session and headed to the river to wash off the sweat.
"I'm going behind that rock, so don't come over."
"I'm not gonna."
Why would I fall for that and get an earful?
I decided to wash up on the other side of the big rock.
Bzzz- I set up a rune barrier to make sure no one could see us.
Of course, I'd done the same while Lucy and Lumi were washing up. I expanded the barrier centered on me to include Ellis.
"Don't forget to finish by 50 minutes!"
"Got it."
After passing on the time limit, I scrubbed myself thoroughly. In this environment, if you don't wash properly, it's hard to stay clean.
I'd given Ellis 30 minutes out of consideration, but I finished in just 10.
Honestly, taking 30 minutes to wash is the weird part.
Shampoo, body wash, brushing your teeth—that's 10 minutes.
I leaned against the rock and waited for Ellis.
This damn survival test felt less like survival and more like camping, thanks to how overprepared I'd been.
The only downside was missing Lilia.
It'd been a week, and I was starting to crave that succubus's soft body.
'I've become a slave to lust myself.'
Anyway, 30 minutes had passed, but there was no sign of Ellis.
Figuring she must be done by now, I peeked over the rock.
Ellis was already fully dressed, crouched in the corner.
'What the?'
I opened her status window while watching her fiddling with something in the corner of the barrier.
★ Heroine Status ★ [Ellis] Favorability: 42 Lust: 62 Appetite: 17 Fatigue: 31 Current Status: If I do this, a tiny hole opens in the barrier. If I wrap it in mana, it's less likely to be noticed... "...?"
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
I quickly checked the mana composing the rune barrier.
'No hole... wait a second.'
A very subtle anomaly.
The mana forming the rune barrier was slightly damaged—just a tiny bit.
Even with my [Mana Sensitivity], it was so minor I wouldn't have noticed without focusing.
'She went this far?'
Setting aside Ellis's genius at breaching my barrier, I couldn't figure out why she was trying to.
If it was to attack me, that'd make sense. But poking a tiny hole I wouldn't notice—what for?
For now, I needed to stop whatever weird thing she was doing.
"Ellis. What are you doing?"
I called out to her, stepping out from behind the rock like I knew nothing.
"Nothing."
Ellis instantly dispersed the mana and stood up.
Her expression didn't change at all—if I hadn't seen it, I'd have been fooled.
But in that brief moment as she erased the mana, I gauged the hole's size perfectly.
It was too small for a fist—maybe the size of a finger?
So, not for harming me... maybe a peephole?
"...."
"What are you doing? Come on."
"Oh, yeah."
Ellis gave me a strange look as I stood there motionless.
Images flashed in my mind: her raised favorability and lust after I finished with Baek A-young, and her tired face during the next night watch after I'd been with Lumi.
Hmm, no way, right?
She's not peeking at me or anything.
But if not that, what's the reason...? She doesn't even need to find my weaknesses anymore.
I watched Ellis's back as she walked ahead.
For some reason, it felt tempting.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Ellis and I returned to the tent.
Lucy and Lumi were shoulder-to-shoulder, playfully fiddling with each other's hands.
I wanted to squeeze in between them but held back and checked my smartwatch.
9:57.
Perfect timing. The battle royale alert should come any second.
"The test ends tomorrow, so where are we going?"
Lucy asked, pausing her play to look at us.
"Hmm... We should move while keeping an eye on Kim Young-han's team."
I manipulated my smartwatch to check the point rankings.
Current Island Point Rankings 1. Nam Da-eun. 1460p 2. Lee Ho-yeon. 480p 3. Kim Young-han. 452p 4. Ellis. 434p ... ... ... "Kim Young-han climbed to 3rd. They probably don't want a fight first, so let's bide our time until tomorrow."
Kim Young-han's team wouldn't want to fight me.
Even if they'd gathered to take me down, on day 6, they just needed to hold out one more day.
No matter how dumb they were, they wouldn't come hunting me.
Ellis's drive for 1st place had also waned a bit. She'd probably eased up on grades since getting a way to cure her mana blockage from me.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Day 6 of the special exam has arrived.] [Battle Royale begins now.] [All cadets' names and positions are displayed in real-time on the minimap. Cadets who only ran to survive, take note.] The smartwatches showed the island map dotted with glowing points.
"What's battle royale?!"
"Th-there was something like this?"
"... What do we do now?"
Everyone looked at me.
Scanning the minimap slowly, as expected, tons of cadets were clustered around Kim Young-han.
'Damn, that's a filthy lot.'
Even low-level cadets who should've been eliminated ages ago were still in, forming a team of over 80.
"Let's head inland for now."
"That's getting us closer to Kim Young-han's team."
"I know."
"Weren't you the one who said to bide our time until tomorrow?"
"They waited until day 6 to start battle royale after us sitting tight. That means there'll be an event on the last day too. Now we have a map—better to keep a moderate distance than pull too far away."
"... Fine. We'll do as you say."
I convinced even Ellis with my prepared excuse, then led the wide-eyed Lucy-Lumi twins toward the island's center.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The message went out to Kim Young-han's team too.
And Kim Young-han found himself in an unexpected bind.
Of course, he'd planned to fight if we crossed paths. But he wasn't about to go hunting me.
This was a relative evaluation exam. If it ended like this, he'd take 3rd—no need to stir variables.
His team had over 80 members; mine had me, Ellis, Lucy, and Lumi—20x the numbers.
They'd likely win a fight, but he didn't want the risk.
Friendly fire could eliminate someone, or I might hold a grudge against him.
But... gathering too many subpar cadets had backfired.
"Let's go hunt Lee Ho-yeon!"
"Gotta go for that status reversal~"
"Three girls with him even in the exam? Let's throw everything at him and kill him."
The guys were rioting to go after me.
'Why the hell are they flipping out now after surviving 6 days?'
The team had nominally formed to steal my supplies, but with one day left, that meant little.
No need to risk elimination for a fight.
But Kim Young-han overlooked something.
Surprisingly, many academy cadets didn't care much about grades.
Mid-to-low rankers got similar treatment anyway. They weren't aiming for top guilds—just a diploma for later.
His team naturally had plenty of them. Accepting everyone visible had diluted quality.
Plus, more people meant easier survival. Fewer thought, 'We've lasted this long—let's play it safe.'
His hope in the female cadets fizzled too—they were holding back after Nam Da-eun's sudden declaration.
"I'll take on Lee Ho-yeon."
Nam Da-eun, who'd been quiet, boldly claimed me.
"Haa... those idiots."
Kim Young-han pressed his throbbing forehead and bowed his head.
"Boss! Let's go kill Lee Ho-yeon quick!"
Even the guy always yapping by his side was the same.
"... Fine. Whatever. Let's go."
Staying put might turn their dissatisfaction on him, the one collecting points as leader.
It could even damage his academy image. He'd been managing it for feel-good stories when he revealed himself as Iron Blood Guild's heir later—that effort might go to waste.
Kim Young-han had no choice but to head toward the island center after me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A professor's lab.
Wall-mounted plaques, awards, and research records spoke of his brilliant past.
But closer inspection revealed no notable achievements in the last decade.
In old Professor No's lab, a cadet in uniform spoke with him.
"Professor. I'm Shin Dong-min, student council vice president. You think I'd lose to a freshman? Let's just make it certain."
"... Do you know the fallout if this gets out?"
The documents Shin Dong-min offered were requests to rig the festival's friendly match arena.
"It won't. You can pull it off, Professor."
"How did it come to this? You were the bright kid everyone expected big things from as a freshman..."
"Professor, you're nearing retirement. Time to plan ahead. I'll secure you a spot at Shin Young Guild."
Shin Dong-min met the professor's eyes with a faint smile.
"......"
Under that gaze, Professor No silently pulled the documents toward himself.
"Then I'll be going. Handle it well."
With a smirk, Shin Dong-min bowed and left.
Once out of the building and walking awhile, he grimaced.
"Tch. Senile old fox. Rotten trash like you thinks you can join Shin Young?"
He'd felt uneasy about my power after seeing the 1v1 duel, but now he relaxed.
No matter my skill, it was fire mage vs. water mage.
With favorable matchup and the arena on a tiny buoy in the ocean...
"Just wait a bit, pest...."
Shin Dong-min pocketed his hands, certain of victory.