Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Small Snowball (2)
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A large group of people was wandering through the forest.
However, their condition was off.
Sunken eyes with dark circles underneath.
Cracked lips and bloodshot eyes.
Limply staggering gaits.
Some were even drooling profusely.
They looked like a horde of zombies.
Such groups were being spotted all over the Beast Forest.
"Huff, huff—."
"Grk, grrr...."
Making bizarre noises that could belong to either man or beast, they kept moving without rest.
The way they endlessly scanned their surroundings made it seem like they were hunting for fresh meat dripping with blood.
That was when it happened.
Rustle—.
Something triggered their hypersensitive senses.
The group that had been huddled together whipped their heads around in unison.
And right there, at the edge of the zombie horde, was a bunny girl who had unwittingly stepped into their midst.
"Eek, eek?!"
She startled back at the sight of all those bloodshot eyes fixed on her.
But would a zombie horde that had been searching so desperately just let their prey slip away?
"Bun... bunny!"
"Grab her!"
"She's mine... mineeeee!"
"Out of the way!"
The zombies lost all reason and charged at the bunny girl en masse.
Overwhelmed by their ferocious momentum, she backed away in terror, only to trip over a tree branch and collapse.
"N-No, stay back!"
She looked so fragile and delicate.
But that only excited the horde even more, and they came at her, drooling.
"Bunny! Bunny! Bunny!"
"Bunny! Bunny! Bunny!"
"Bunny! Bunny! Bunny!"
Just as the bunny girl was about to be overwhelmed by the horde—
Preeeeee— pree!
A sharp whistle pierced the air of the Beast Forest.
It was a signal announcing something.
At the sound, the zombies' movements stopped as if by magic.
Instead, they began clawing at their own heads, hands that had been reaching for the bunny now turned on themselves.
"No, no!"
"This can't be happening!"
"Please... just give us a little more time!"
At their wailing, the bunny girl let out a sigh of relief.
She quietly stood up, dusted off her bottom, and carried out her final duty toward the horde—nay, the 50th Cohort—who were still tearing at their hair.
"As of this moment, the quest is over. 50th Cohort, submit your hides at the Beast Forest entrance."
With that, the bunny girl vanished like a shot.
As if fleeing something filthy.
The 50th Cohort's cries grew even louder in response.
"Damn it! This isn't even enough to cover labor costs!"
"Just a bit more... please, just a little more time!"
But time was merciless to them.
And so, on January 29th at 10:16 AM,
The 50th Cohort's first integrated quest, spanning ten straight days—hide gathering—finally came to an end.
* * *
Gulp, gulp—.
Cool water from the canteen slid refreshingly down her throat.
Her bobbing Adam's apple finally stilled.
"Pah!"
Pana Taylor exhaled the breath she'd been holding.
She wiped the water droplets from her mouth, her shoulders slumping in exhaustion.
With her thirst quenched, a heavy fatigue washed over her.
"Hah... now I can breathe again."
Not long after saying that, Pana began nodding off, her eyes blinking sleepily.
That was when it happened.
"Falling asleep during training? On your feet, now—execute!"
She shot to her feet at the voice right beside her.
Then, snapping to attention, she barked in a stiff voice,
"Execute!"
Even in her half-asleep daze, Pana had reacted on reflex.
As she slowly woke up, she finally realized something was wrong.
'Oh? Right... this isn't... the training camp?'
As she blinked, someone giggled right next to her.
"Scared ya? Heh heh heh."
"You..."
There, squatting, was Nelly Blanc, someone she'd befriended at the cradle.
Pana clutched her chest at the sight of Nelly's smile.
Then she shot her a glare.
"I really thought my heart was gonna burst!"
"Loser, such a scaredy-cat."
"It's weirder not to flinch at that. Look!"
Pana pointed around them as she spoke.
Nelly Blanc followed her finger and turned her head.
She shuddered involuntarily.
Zing, zing—.
Angry, irritated glares pouring in from all sides.
Everyone, just like Pana, had jumped to their feet, clutching their chests.
Fearing things might escalate if she didn't apologize, Nelly gave a slight bow toward them.
Then she whispered softly into Pana's ear.
"...Looks like a lot of 'em got dragged to Hell Camp plenty, huh?"
"How many times you get sent?"
"Three."
"Yeah, you can pull pranks like that up to three. But me... six times."
Pain flickered in Pana's eyes.
At a loss for words, Nelly simply patted her friend's shoulder.
Then Nelly asked Pana in a quiet voice.
"Pana, you know... didn't the quests start feeling kinda easier at some point?"
"What're you talking about?"
"Well... didn't the attacks kinda taper off starting around then? Like from day seven or so?"
Pana pondered her question for a moment, then nodded.
"Now that you mention it..."
Pana, who had been sent to Hell Camp six times.
It wasn't just luck that she'd capped it at six.
Starting on day seven, evading had become surprisingly manageable.
At first, she'd thought she'd just adapted and gained some leeway, but hearing Nelly say it confirmed that the attacks had indeed lessened from day seven.
"Yeah. They dropped off a lot after that."
"See any bears after day seven?"
"Nope, don't think so."
"Figures?"
Nelly's face hardened slightly, as if she had a hunch.
Pana tilted her head.
"Why? Something up?"
"Nah. It's over anyway, and we'll find out soon enough."
"......?"
"Don't worry about it. So, how many hides you get?"
It was an obvious attempt to change the subject.
Pana let it slide.
"Decent haul? All rabbit, though. You?"
"Rabbit and a few deer. Plus three wolf hides."
"No way... wolf hides too?"
Pana's eyes went wide.
Nelly shrugged.
"Only three, and I didn't hunt 'em solo."
Her gaze shifted to one side.
Two boys were there.
One boy in pristine clothes, as if he'd been somewhere else entirely.
The other giving off a rough, delinquent vibe.
Pana, following Nelly's gaze, blinked at them.
"Gunther Irons and Ivan Baskin? You teamed up with them?"
"Kinda happened that way. We got out of training camp at the same time."
"Makes sense. With you three, wolves are doable."
In terms of feats, Gunther had done most of the work, but Nelly didn't mention it.
Then Pana fired back a question.
"Oh, right! Who you think takes first?"
First place got an extra 100% of their settled points.
Second got 50%, third 30%, but first's bonus was so overwhelming that everyone's attention was on it.
Nelly scanned the surroundings at the question.
Gunther Irons.
Ivan Baskin.
Clarice Van.
Eric Redman.
And over there, a massive bald giant and a blue-haired girl.
They all looked formidable.
But in Nelly's mind, only one could take first.
"Obviously that guy... huh?"
Searching the crowd for black hair, Nelly finally noticed 'the black-haired guy' was nowhere to be seen.
Black-haired recruits popped up here and there, but none with hair flowing long like his.
Nelly blinked.
'...Gone? That guy? No way...'
Her reaction screamed disbelief.
She wasn't alone.
Gunther and a few others were scanning around for 'the black-haired guy' just like her.
But no matter where they looked, he was gone, leaving everyone baffled.
'Really gone?'
The implication was simple.
'That guy... dropped out?'
Dropouts from this quest were those who'd voluntarily left the forest.
Most dropouts couldn't endure the nightly beast attacks and hellish training, so they fled.
But 'the black-haired guy.'
The one who'd led at the front even in that horrific Hundred Paces ordeal.
Quit over something like this?
It was hard to believe.
'No way...'
As Nelly denied it—
"Line up!"
The booming shout turned the 50th Cohort's heads.
At the sudden appearance of Black Sword Soldiers, the sprawled-out recruits moved swiftly.
Snap, snap, snap—.
In an instant, they formed neat rows and assumed parade rest.
The glasses-wearing man leading the Black Sword Soldiers cracked a faint smile at their disciplined look.
'Finally shaping up.'
Just ten days ago, this would've been unimaginable for the 50th Cohort.
But the torture-like hell training and drill had transformed them.
If Yuri had seen it...
[Whoa, all the civilian softness gone in just ten days.]
...she would've said.
Of course, the Yuri who might say that wasn't there.
Meanwhile, gazing at the motionless 50th Cohort, the glasses-wearing man shouted.
"All tallies complete. Announcing third through first place now."
He raised the folder with the point tallies.
Some recruits' eyes lit up.
'I'm solid enough for third, at least?'
'Might've cracked the rankings...'
Those confident in their quest performance brimmed with anticipation.
In the tense moment, third place was announced.
"Third: Clarice Van. 87 rabbits, 23 deer, 5 wolves. 452,000 points earned."
Listing the rankings with hide counts crushed the hopes of those with less.
Before disappointment could spread, second was called.
"Second: Gunther Irons. 231 rabbits, 42 deer, 11 wolves. 991,000 points earned."
Even after second, no mention of Arin or Poppi, who had raked in at least 1.5 million points.
Anyone knowing that would've been puzzled.
But the clueless simply marveled at the 991,000.
Especially those who'd barely snagged a few rabbits—it was like another world, hundreds of thousands of points.
"991,000 points..."
"Sigh... I'd kill for just 100,000."
Envious stares turned to Gunther.
Now only first remained.
People figured: second at 991k, so first around 1-1.5 million?
Or since second doubled third, maybe first doubles second—two million?
As they speculated, first place was finally named.
"First: Bobikertankapurtavi."
The odd, bizarre name drew eyes.
The glasses-wearing man flipped a page in his folder and said,
"Hm... it's a lot, so listen closely."