Survival Exam (7)

A treasure that never showed up in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠original.

It had probably appeared because Baek A-young had come to the Academy.

"It's like a spare life."

…I don't know. I doubt that's how it'll get used.

Elise was looking at me with open suspicion. Honestly, I didn't think I'd be using it as a spare life either. Odds were good it'd get spent tonight or tomorrow night, somewhere in a cave like this one.

"Let's head out for now. Doesn't look like there's anything else to grab."

"Okay."

We stepped outside.

Around noon, a massive helicopter began circling overhead.

"That must be the supply chopper."

This was where things got real. Treasures and boss monsters hid their locations, so whoever found them first claimed ownership—but supply crates dropped right out of the sky in plain sight. Which meant fights broke out over them constantly.

"Huh? That one's close enough to go for."

A supply crate had dropped near our current position. We had plenty of food already, but supply crates held more than rations—all kinds of gear useful for staying alive. Sleeping equipment to avoid roughing it outdoors, cooking tools for meals, training artifacts usable only during the Survival Exam… plenty of practical stuff.

And most important of all: every time you scanned the code inside a supply crate with your smartwatch, the Survival Exam app updated. You could check the positions of people nearby, or hunt down the locations of monsters and treasures.

"Elise. Let's go grab that."

"You sure? Cadets are going to swarm it."

"We're together. What's there to worry about?"

Elise and I moved fast. It had fallen close enough that we should have seen it any second now…

"Ah, there it is."

With any luck, there'd be sleeping gear inside. Sharing a tent with Elise still felt a little early.

Elise, taking the lead, opened the supply crate.

"…There's nothing in here."

"What? Someone already took—"

Thump.

My Combat Sense screamed danger, and I instinctively threw up a Cotton Guard on my right.

Chajajang—!

"Oh, for fuck's sake, he blocked it? You said you'd hide our mana—was that a load of crap?"

"Look at who we're dealing with. He's just weird."

"Elise and Lee Hoyeon teamed up? That's completely broken."

"This is so not fair~."

Four cadets burst out of the brush on the right. The fact that I hadn't sensed their mana meant they'd probably pulled some presence-concealing artifact out of a supply crate.

My Mana Sensitivity punched through most artifacts without trouble, but the training artifacts usable only during the Survival Exam traded restrictions for absurd performance. There was no helping it. They might even have synced something with my smartwatch.

Still, catching it at the last second was lucky enough.

"Scared the hell out of me."

"…Were you actually surprised? How did you even know?"

"Just instinct."

Elise looked a little embarrassed that she hadn't sensed the ambush herself. I settled into a combat stance.

"Augh, our luck sucks."

"Still, it's four-on-two. We can manage, right?"

The cadets who'd jumped us were familiar faces from Class A. Not friends, so I didn't know their names exactly. Four Class A students banding together must have felt pretty confident… too bad for them.

"Kids. I'll be taking those artifacts off your hands."

I locked my eyes on the green wooden staff the girl in the rear was holding.

"Mm. Not bad."

Naturally, all four of them got wrecked and made a lonely exit from the island.

So who told them to pick a fight?

I checked the spoils we'd taken after dealing with our classmates' cadets. The artifact was called the Verdant Shroud—an item that erased presence. Having it around would come in handy somewhere.

I shoved the artifact into my pocket and approached the boss monster waiting ahead.

It was the only boss monster whose location I actually knew. Unlike treasures, monsters tended to keep moving, which made them a pain to track down. Only the Giant Tarantula stayed put inside this cave.

"Alright, let's do this~."

I pumped up the energy for the team's morale, only for Elise to hit the brakes.

"Um… I'm running low."

"Ah, okay. I'll top you off."

I took Elise by the shoulders and poured mana into her. Having to do this several times a day was annoying, but farming was always a hassle. Keep at this nonsense long enough and it'd pay off eventually.

"Good? Let's go."

"Yeah. I'll take point."

Elise wrapped her blade in mana and charged the tarantula.

The Giant Tarantula was a spider, but it didn't use webs—it attacked with its massive body and legs. I harassed its legs with flame lances while going after its enormous eyes.

Krrrrrk—!

The Giant Tarantula thrashed its legs and put up a decent fight, but Elise alone could have handled it. With me piled on top, it never stood a chance.

"We got i—oh, shit…?!"

I was walking forward to claim the fallen Giant Tarantula's loot when, out of nowhere, a tiny baby tarantula latched onto my arm and sank its fangs into my flesh. I shook my arm hard and stomped the spider flat under my heel.

"You okay?"

Elise flicked the blood from her sword and came over.

"Stings a little. Arm's tingling too. Looks like some venom got in."

"Call Teacher Baek A-young. Perfect timing, actually."

"Do we have to? Tarantula venom is just a mild paralytic. It'll wear off soon enough."

It'd clear up on its own before long. Using something like that here felt like a waste, didn't it?

"You never know. Just call her."

The look on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Elise's face as she firmly told me to summon Baek A-young was… the kind that said she'd get angry if I refused.

What the hell was that supposed to mean.

"…Fine. Let's check the rewards first."

Well, I wanted to see Baek A-young anyway. No point overthinking it.

I pulled the device off the Giant Tarantula's back and scanned it with my smartwatch.

"I'll send you fifty."

"Okay."

We'd agreed to split points straight down the middle no matter what. I could have taken a bigger cut, but Elise was aiming for the top ranks, so I just conceded the even split.

"…What?"

A chance to contact the outside? Why would they hand out something like that?

"Elise, you want it?"

"Mm… if you're offering, I'll use it."

"Then it's yours. I don't need it."

The only people outside worth calling were Professor Lim Sol, Mun Su-rin, or Liliana, and I had nothing to say to any of them. Ah—Baek A-young was out there too. But I was about to see her anyway, so that was fine.

"Should I use it right now, then?"

I reached for the button labeled Treasure No. 19. 100% Stamina Recovery Ticket.

"Yeah. We're in a cave already. Use it comfortably."

"Got it."

I pressed the button. With a cheerful little boing, a portal bloomed open in front of me.

"You okay? Just breathe slowly and—huh?"

And out of the portal popped Baek A-young.

"Hello, Teacher Baek A-young."

"Uh… hello, Cadet Lee Hoyeon."

Baek A-young looked mildly confused that I'd summoned her when I appeared perfectly fine. I flicked my eyes toward the drone watching us.

"Ah, Cadet Lee Hoyeon. Please take off your upper clothes."

She read my signal perfectly and, under the pretext of beginning treatment, shooed the drone outside.

"Thanks, A-young. Sharp as ever."

I'd never once called her A-young in front of other people, but Elise already knew everything, so I decided to just be comfortable about it.

"Yeah, Hoyeon… huh?"

Baek A-young tilted her head at how casually I was treating her with Elise standing right there.

"It's fine. Elise found out about us."

"Huh? What?!"

She looked genuinely stunned. Her eyes went wider than I'd ever seen them. I hurried on before she could start imagining anything worse.

"Don't worry. She's not the type to go telling people. Right?"

"Yes. I'll guard the entrance outside, so you two enjoy yourselves. Oh—can I have the Verdant Shroud? I'll keep watch at the mouth of the cave."

"Uh, thanks."

Why had she suddenly gotten so cooperative? Offering to erase her presence and stand sentry for us was more than I could have asked for.

Elise really did walk out of the cave, cloaked her presence, and vanished into the undergrowth. With no one left around, we could finally relax.

"A-young. It's been a while, hasn't it."

"Mmh… we saw each other Saturday."

Three days wasn't exactly a long time, but we'd been seeing each other so often that it felt like one.

"Why didn't you tell me ahead of time it was the Survival Exam? I could've prepared properly."

I pressed her a little, just to tease.

"I-I'm sorry. There was a mana oath on it…"

"You think that excuse is going to cut it? Come here."

"Hnnngh…"

At first I'd tried to look after Baek A-young because she was the only heroine outside the Academy… and now she was the person I saw the most. Playing along with her perversions had been exhausting at the start, but now I was starting to feel like a pervert myself. A little terrifying, honestly.

I pulled a chair from my spatial pouch, sat down, and spread my legs.

"A-young. It's been a while. Say hello properly."

"…Hello, darling. Slurp."

Baek A-young dropped to her knees, unzipped me, and stared hungrily at my half-hard cock, licking her lips.

…She's not calling my dick "darling" instead of me, right?

Elise left Baek A-young and Lee Hoyeon inside the cave and stepped outside. First she powered on her smartwatch and used the contact privilege Hoyeon had just transferred to her.

A warning message appeared, followed by a contacts window. Elise tapped Sebas Chan.

Sebas Chan sounded rattled by the sudden call.

"Yeah. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I got a chance to contact the outside. Sorry for interrupting your vacation."

Sebas Chan had been looking forward to a full week off. She felt a little bad, but this was urgent.

"When you investigated Lee Hoyeon's relationships with women… did you keep any video or photo evidence?"

Elise kept her voice low and careful.

"No—something more definitive. Photos of sexual contact? Mucosal contact?"

For the first time, Elise found Sebas Chan frustrating. Of course she didn't need those kinds of pictures. Why was he making her say it out loud?

"…I've been intimate with Lee Hoyeon, and I need leverage. Could you take photos like that for me? Ah—video would be even better. The more explicit and the longer, the better."

"Fine. If it's beyond your ability, there's nothing to be done. I'll look for other means."

A thin smile.

Elise knew exactly how to handle a man who still had pride left over from his glory days.

"Alright. Just don't push yourself too hard."

"Thank you, Sebas Chan."

Beep—

Time ran out, and the call cut off.

…Surely they aren't finished already?

With so little sexual knowledge to draw on, she had no real sense of how long a man and a woman typically took. Elise hurriedly unfurled the Verdant Shroud, erased her presence, and crept along the cave wall toward the interior.

Gulp.

Only the sound of a swallowed breath lingered outside the cave.