Survival Exam (13)
On the morning of day five, Lucy and Rumi were making their way along the river, searching for wild berries.
"Rumi! These berries are incredibly sweet."
"They really are, Lucy."
Rumi took a bite and smiled, looking thoroughly pleased.
"Doing this just the two of us is still tough. But joining Kim Young-han's team feels a little... off, you know?"
Lucy scratched her head as she looked at her sister.
"Yeah. It's not like we could go after Hoyeon."
Lucy and Rumi had run into Kim Young-han's team the day before, but they hadn't joined. They'd heard the team's goal was Lee Hoyeon.
The food he had given them had already run out, so joining a team would have been the smart choice. The two of them decided to stay loyal to him anyway.
"Mmm, still, just lasting to day five is a huge achievement!"
"That's right. We did it, Lucy."
They grabbed each other's hands and bounced up and down. The twins had figured out that coordinating with each other — splitting offense and defense — was far more efficient. Both of them had followed Hoyeon's advice and chosen to specialize in what they did best, and it was paying off. They were growing faster than they ever had in the original story.
"Let's head for the center of the island. I've got a feeling there's still a lot of hidden treasure there."
"Okay. We'll do it your way, Lucy."
The twins clasped hands and trotted off toward the center of the island.
The survival exam had entered its fifth day.
"A hundred and ten people on day five..."
This was actually insane. Kim Young-han's team had to be carrying the other cadets pretty hard.
What a sly bastard.
No matter how I looked at it, this felt like petty revenge for losing that one-on-one duel to me. Or maybe not. Did slapping my name on his recruitment pitch actually bring that many cadets in? It wasn't like I'd done anything to anyone.
"I'm done washing up."
"Ah, yeah. Let's get ready, then."
Elise, back from washing at a nearby river, cut my brooding short.
"You said we should head for the center of the island, right?"
She shook the water from her hair as she spoke.
"Yeah. There should still be treasure left in the center."
Knowing the original story, I already knew there was treasure in the island's center. Those pieces were hidden in hard-to-find spots, so they probably hadn't been discovered yet.
"Do we even need treasure? If we're not going to fight Kim Young-han's team like you said, wouldn't it be better to just keep running?"
It was a fair question, but a lot of the treasures had excellent effects. The artifact Elise was carrying right now — the Veil of Verdure — would become incredibly dangerous if Nam Da-eun ever got her hands on it and came after me. Beyond artifacts, some treasures added functions to the smartwatch: the ability to locate a specific cadet, or features that blocked tracking.
"We have to keep moving anyway. Once a group hits fifty people, there's bound to be at least one person who can track us."
"That makes sense. Let's move, then."
We headed deep into the forest in search of treasure.
"Okay..."
Deep in the forest stood something that looked like an altar. I lifted the stone slab that seemed as though it had been meant for offerings to a god. Inside was a box radiating a blue glow.
We took the treasure and immediately checked our smartwatches.
Oh. Not bad.
Something useful had turned up.
"Elise. You got anywhere you'd use this?"
"Not really."
If Elise didn't have anyone to use it on, I might as well use it myself.
I should probably use it on Nam Da-eun or Rumi.
Nam Da-eun for my own safety. Rumi for hers. Prepare for an ambush, or look after a heroine...
Rumi it is, then.
Yeah. I'd go with Rumi. She was probably with Lucy, so I could look after both of them at once. And it wasn't as if I'd be constantly sharing Nam Da-eun's location — once every six hours wasn't enough to prepare for an ambush anyway.
Rumi didn't join Kim Young-han's team, did she?
Given her personality, I didn't think she would have. But the food I'd given them should have run out by now.
After finding a place to sleep for the night with Elise, pitching the tent, and even giving her a mana massage, I used the Cadet Locator.
A map of the Uninhabited Island unfolded, centered on me, and a single dot appeared.
"What."
The dot was moving along the riverbank, gradually coming closer in our direction.
Lucky.
I told Elise, who was tidying her clothes inside the tent, that I was going to bring Rumi back, then headed down along the river. Soon I spotted Lucy and Rumi walking hand in hand, looking for all the world like they were out on a picnic.
"Hey, you two!"
I waved and approached the welcome faces I hadn't seen in days. Lucy and Rumi spotted me too and came running over.
"Lee Hoyeon! What the — it's been forever!"
"Hoyeon! I knew you'd still be holding out."
"Of course. Who do you think I am?"
We caught up on everything we'd missed as we headed toward my tent.
"Were you by yourself? Weren't you lonely?"
"No. I was with Elise."
"Elise...?"
Lucy made a slightly sour face at the mention of her name.
We didn't sleep together. I just gave her massages.
"You're not hungry? You already finished all the food I packed for you, right?"
"Yes... but thanks to that, Lucy and I were able to hold out pretty easily."
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Then let's go eat first."
In front of my tent, Elise had already gathered firewood and was warming herself by a campfire.
"You're back."
"Yeah. I brought Lucy and Rumi too."
We were a party of four now. Girls got along better among themselves, right?
"Hey, Elise. First time seeing you since the survival exam started."
"Hello, Miss Elise."
"Yeah. Nice to see you."
Elise was a bit prickly, but at least she returned the greeting. That was huge progress.
I prepared a meal for the twins. I gave Lucy extra meat, her eyes lighting up at the first real meat she'd seen in days.
"I-it's delicious!"
"There's plenty, so eat as much as you want."
Good thing I'd prepared generously. We still had a lot of food left.
Rumi and I finished eating a little early, while Elise and Lucy were still going.
"Rumi, want to go pick some berries for dessert?"
I said this to Rumi, who had been watching Lucy after finishing her meal.
"Sure. I'd like that."
"Take your time eating. We'll just do a quick loop around the area."
I said this to Elise and Lucy as I stood up.
"Mmph. Can't we all go after we finish eating?"
Lucy didn't seem to like being left alone with Elise, but I had my own reasons.
"It's going to get dark soon. I just want to take a quick look around before then. Eat slowly."
I took Rumi and led the way into the forest.
"Hoyeon? Where are we going?"
"This way."
I went in a straight line, putting as much distance as possible between us and Lucy and Elise.
"Hoyeon?"
Rumi tilted her head as she followed behind me.
After walking about ten minutes to put some real distance between us, I put up a Rune Barrier and looked at her.
"Rumi... I want you."
The entire time I'd been with Elise, I hadn't come even once. I touched her body several times a day, but I never got to go all the way, and my cock was pissed about it.
"Ah.... Okay."
As expected, Rumi didn't refuse. She knelt in front of me and pulled my pants down herself. I'd been hard ever since I started leading her here.
"Just... finish quickly so Lucy doesn't get suspicious... mmph."
The sensation of a woman's mouth after so long. A warm, soft tongue and lips, her cheeks wrapping around my cock. The first real stimulation in days made my hips and legs feel like they might give out.
"Rumi... over here."
I pressed her back against a nearby tree and braced my upper body against the trunk. In that position, moving only my hips, I thrust into her mouth.
"Mmph... ghk... slurp... khh..."
Rumi didn't seem to be struggling, as if she was used to taking it down her throat.
Why is she apologizing to Lucy...?
Did Rumi know that Lucy had feelings for me?
"Rumi, I'm gonna come soon."
"Nngh..."
She met my eyes and gave a small nod. I leaned my entire upper body against the tree, gripped her head tightly with both hands, and started thrusting in earnest.
"Ghk... slurp. Khk... nngh..."
As I drove my cock all the way into her throat and pulled back, again and again, strange sounds leaked from her neck. But the more they did, the better I felt. The rasp of sliding past her throat, the sticky tongue and lips slick with saliva — it brought me to the edge fast.
"I'm coming. Rumi. I'm coming...!"
I didn't hold back. I came down her throat. Rumi gripped my thighs and hips tightly with both hands and took every drop.
Gulp — gulp —
Her throat bobbed as it went down, and only after I pulled out did she start breathing properly again.
"S-sorry, Rumi. It's been so long I got carried away."
"It's okay. We're secret friends, after all..."
Even while breathing hard, she licked me clean with her tongue. Watching that kind of dedication made me want to make her feel good too.
"...Want to go once?"
"No. If we take any longer, Lucy will think something's strange. It's already been twenty minutes."
"Alright. Tonight, then."
When we set the night watch later, I just needed to take the shift after hers.
"Okay... I understand."
Promising myself I'd return the favor for her later, I hurried back to the tent. Lucy and Elise were sitting by the campfire out front.
"What were you two doing?"
The fire crackled as Lucy looked up at us.
"Ah... sorry. There weren't any berries at all, so we kept going deeper, then just came back before it got too late."
"Sorry, Lucy. We couldn't find a single one."
"Not finding any is fine. I was just bored. Elise just got back too, actually."
Lucy poked the fire with a stick, her lips jutting out in a pout.
Why did Elise just get back?
I looked at her. She was staring at the campfire with a completely innocent expression.
...She followed us?
Looks like she'd tailed us to confirm the relationship between me and Rumi. Good thing I'd put up the Rune Barrier.
I'd have to be more careful in front of Elise from now on.