The 11th Test (Part 2)
The hiding spot Karib had discovered was a natural shelter shaped like a makeshift hut carved by nature itself.
Two enormous rocks leaned against one another like old companions, leaving a wide enough gap between them for comfort.
“This should be enough to keep out the dew and the wind,” I said, nodding at Karib.
“Plenty. Once the sun sets it will get cold, so let’s start a fire first.”
“Good idea.”
I gathered stones at the shelter’s entrance and shaped them into a makeshift hearth, then sparked a flame.
“I’m starving… What kind of insane test is this?”
We all gathered around the campfire, warming ourselves, when Scott grumbled.
“The professors must be completely mad. Suddenly they want us to catch demonic beasts? What are we supposed to do if we’re the ones in the wrong?”
“Scott. Didn’t you say yourself that combat training and physical conditioning were essential classes?”
“Yeah, but this is different…”
Scott looked like one of those arrogant company vice-presidents at first glance, but once you got to know him he was a spoiled rich boy who never quite grew up.
Weakness came natural in this extreme environment.
Still, no one offered any real answers.
“Enough complaining. Let’s think about how we’re going to move forward.”
“Dorn’s right,” Karib agreed.
“Actually, I have something I need to tell all of you.”
“What is it?”
“Before we joined up, I saw demonic beast tracks.”
“——!!”
Everyone stared at Karib in shock, even Scott, who had been in the same group the entire time, looked like he’d heard something brand new.
Of course. The kid shot to his feet and glared at Karib.
“You didn’t tell me about that?!”
“Of course not. If I had, you would’ve sat down right there and frozen up.”
Karib really did know Scott better than we all thought.
“N-No, I wasn’t scared!”
But Scott’s face turned bright red and he shouted, “I wasn’t!” while secretly glancing at Nadia.
Whoa… even in this situation, he’s checking out the girls first?
It was the kind of reaction that matched Professor Zegerof’s “cow” quality.
Once I calmed the grumbling Scott down, we discussed the demonic beasts with Karib.
“Tell me more details.”
“I’ve always been interested in demonic beasts. I’ve read a lot of books on the subject.”
I had read a few books on demonic beasts too, but they were mostly about the history of the Demon Realm.
Karib had read more specialized volumes, and among them was one that covered demonic beast tracks in depth.
“If the book is accurate, the tracks I saw are most likely from a medium-to-small demonic beast called a Scrambler.”
“Scrambler?”
“A deer-like creature with no horns and very long fangs.”
The description sounded oddly familiar.
…Is it a horani? No, that’s impossible.
“It makes strange screams and sucks blood from its prey.”
It did sound like a horani.
But now it was a bloodsucker.
This world really does have bloodsucking horani.
According to Karib, though, it wasn’t the strongest of the beasts.
Two sturdy male demons should be enough to hunt it.
“Any special features or precautions?”
“I’ll explain each one.”
I committed every detail to memory.
After talking with the others, the sky suddenly darkened.
“The sun’s going down fast in the mountains.”
“I’m dying of hunger… Does anyone have anything to eat?”
“Hold on. We’ll rest early tonight and hunt or forage tomorrow. I’ll make sure you eat something.”
I soothed the childish Scott while taking the first watch.
I let Nadia go first out of respect for her, and the rest flipped a coin.
Unluckily for me, I got the second shift.
“You can borrow my watch. Just hand it to the next person when it’s your turn.”
“Uh-huh… got it.”
Nadia took the watch from Karib and sat by the fire, while the rest of us lay down and tried to sleep.
***
“Dorn…”
A voice whispered in my ear.
I opened my eyes and saw a woman wearing bandages staring down at me.
I startled for a moment, but quickly realized it was Nadia.
“Is it already time for the switch?”
“Yeah… If you’re tired, you can sleep a little longer.”
“No, I’m fine.”
I stood and walked toward the fire, stretching my arms.
“Here.”
Nadia handed me the watch.
“You worked hard, Nadia. Go rest.”
“I’m not sleepy yet… I’ll sleep in a bit.”
She spoke softly and stayed by the fire with me, keeping watch together.
It was so quiet.
I was staring blankly into the flames when my eyes landed on her chest.
…It’s big.
Her hips were also noticeably full compared to her small frame, giving her a very pronounced curve.
Yuli had a similar body…
Stop.
I couldn’t let my mind wander.
Casher was waiting for me!
While the firewood crackled, my thoughts drifted to the dried meat I’d stashed in my pocket.
“Nadia, want some of this?”
“Dried meat…? Can I have some?”
Nadia glanced nervously at Scott and Karib before asking.
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
She was right—girls came before guys, especially when the guys were Scott and Karib.
“I’ll eat it.”
Nadia carefully took the dried meat and nibbled it shyly.
Her dark brown eyes sparkled like they were reflecting the firelight.
It tasted good.
Just cheap dried meat, but she eats it like a cute little bunny.
What did her face look like under those bandages?
Just as I imagined it, Nadia finished the last piece.
“Thank you. It was really delicious. And… thank you for taking care of me all day.”
She thanked me shyly, fidgeting with her fingers, then quickly went to sleep.
Nadia was a very shy girl.
***
Next morning.
“Please give me something to eat… otherwise I might just eat Karib alive.”
Scott rubbed his belly the second he woke up.
His eyes were so serious it wasn’t even a joke.
While Karib found sharp stones, I quickly gathered food supplies.
“Scott, bring that big rock over there and drop it in the water.”
“Why?”
“Just try it. I’ll feed you plenty of fish.”
“…For real?”
At the word “fish,” Scott picked up the rock and hurled it into the stream with superhuman strength.
Indeed, that troll had absurd power.
“Now throw another rock at it. As hard as you can.”
Scott followed my instructions exactly.
“Heh!”
Crash!
The rocks slammed together and fish began floating to the surface.
It was hammer-fishing, but using rocks instead of a hammer worked surprisingly well.
“Whoa!”
“Don’t just watch—hurry and pull them out!”
We all jumped into the stream and hauled the stunned fish out.
We repeated the method until we had enough.
“These are freshwater fish. They’re small.”
“If we clean the guts and roast them whole, it should be fine. There might be frogs nearby too… I’ll go look.”
Karib rolled up his pants like a nerd and searched the streambanks.
After a while of busy digging, he actually found something.
“There’s really a frog?”
Karib shook his head.
“Not a frog, but something that looks similar.”
“Wait… those are hard-scaled toads?”
“You know them too.”
Of course—he’d seen them as alchemy materials in class recently.
Hard-scaled toads looked like normal toads but had hard scales on their backs.
“They’re poisonous and not edible—”
“I brought them because of Scott. If he tries to eat me, I’ll feed them to him instead.”
“…Smart.”
Karib had a whole plan lined up.
“We should head back soon. The fish aren’t biting anymore. Where’s Nadia?”
“I’m right here…”
Nadia emerged from the forest.
While we were fishing, she had collected mushrooms and tree fruits.
A woven basket full of plants.
“I only picked the ones that are safe to eat.”
“You really know your mushrooms.”
“I picked them in my hometown a lot…”
“Amazing.”
She was much more capable than I’d thought.
After praising Nadia, we all returned to the shelter to prepare food.
“Dorn, start the fire.”
“Leave it to me.”
We skewered the fish and mushrooms on sticks, roasted them over the fire, and peeled the tree fruits to share.
The taste was average, but we were all full enough.
Only Scott rubbed his belly with a disappointed look.
“If only there were more…”
“You ate the most and still have no conscience.”
“It’s because I’m big!”
Scott jumped up and yelled at Karib’s jab.
“Both of you stop fighting…”
We were all green-skinned demons—let’s at least get along.
To change the subject before they started arguing again, I brought up the test.
“We’ve all eaten, so let’s think about the test.”
Surviving five days in the mountains was already hard enough, but the real test was hunting demonic beasts.
“I want to hear your thoughts. Nadia, start us off.”
“I—I want to do it!”
She usually spoke quietly, but today her voice was unusually loud.
“I have to work after classes at the Cradle. If I fail and have to take make-up classes, I won’t have time…”
“Work?”
There must be some reason behind it.
“I understand. Karib?”
“I’m in favor too. I’d like to aim for a good grade if possible.”
“Great, then it’s decided—we’ll hunt the Scramblers.”
“Wait!”
Scott jumped up in shock.
“Why aren’t you asking my opinion?!”
This was a problem.
I’d thought he would just go along with it.
“Listen, Scott. Opinions are just… like a tail. Everyone has one.”
“…What?”
“I’m not curious about your tail.”
If he’d understood, I would’ve waved him away dismissively, but this oblivious troll kept pushing.
“What are you talking about?! If we’re supposed to work together, you have to listen to my opinion!”
“Fine. Then let’s be fair. All demons who are against hunting Scramblers, raise your hands.”
Scott raised his hand.
“Now the ones who are in favor.”
I, along with the others, raised our hands.
“The result is in.”
“It was decided quite fairly.”
Clap, clap, clap.
Karib clapped.
I looked at Scott and said, “By majority vote, we will hunt the Scramblers.”
“……”
Scott’s face turned dark the moment he realized the result had been decided from the start.
Annoying male pride.
Of course, I usually listened to everyone’s opinions as much as possible.
But Nadia’s words still bothered me.
She said there was a reason she needed to work.
To make the pouting Scott calm down, I decided to offer a plan.
“Scott, don’t worry. It won’t be as dangerous as you think.”
“…How can fighting demonic beasts not be dangerous?”
“I have a plan.”
After gathering everyone, I explained my idea step by step.
“We’ll set a trap to catch the beasts.”
“A trap?”
Karib was especially interested.
“What kind?”
“A pitfall.”
“…I don’t want to be the first to criticize, but demonic beasts are more agile than ordinary animals. They’d react the second their paws hit the trap.”
Karib’s point was fair.
But I already had an idea.
“That’s where the problem comes in.”
I described the trap I’d designed in my head.
“…If we do it this way, what do you think?”
After hearing me out, Karib nodded.
“It’ll take time, but the structure is simple, so it shouldn’t be hard to build.”
“I can help!”
Karib and Nadia both agreed.
“Scott, what about you?”
“Well… it’s better than blindly running in…”
Even though he grumbled, he finally agreed.
“Perfect. Then we proceed as planned. It might be tight on time, so let’s start building right now.”