Desert Island Survival # 1
Desert Island Survival # 1
A deserted island.
No kidding, we're supposed to land there and do a survival exercise. What the hell are they making kids do? It's bringing back some faint memories of training camp. But hey, it's faithful to the training objective, so it's all good.
And from the instructor's explanation, they called it a deserted island, but soldiers were stationed at the outposts until early this morning. They're always managing it, and apparently, they thoroughly inspected the island's interior too.
Before training, it's only natural to eliminate any potential risk factors. Because training absolutely must be safe. If you get injured during training, it's a huge loss, way worse than it all going back to square one.
We'll be doing the survival exercise in a safe environment.
"The rules are simple. Survive until the time limit. Of course, simply surviving isn't the only thing that counts. You must gather Victory Points. You acquire 1 Victory Point for each person you eliminate. If you hold 3 points when the time limit expires, you win."
"Ooh."
So this is survival, huh?
Whatever it is, looks like I have to eliminate three people. Great. This is tough as hell. Realistically, eliminating three people at my level is a stretch.
Rather than aiming for victory, I'll have to focus on getting quality experience.
"Ah, question! Instructor!"
"Yes, Kim Geun-cheol. What is it?"
"If I take down someone who has 3 Victory Points, can I steal those points?"
"A sharp observation. Yes."
I knew it.
"Ah, I'm saying this in case any of you think about forming an alliance to pool points. According to the scenario for this training, every cadet other than yourselves is a monsterkin or a villain. You cannot ally with a monsterkin or villain. You are all enemies, so understand that and don't even dream of an alliance."
A scenario where I'm stranded on a deserted island with villains... brutal, just brutal.
"Anyway. At the end, you'll be ranked by the Victory Points you've acquired. Even those eliminated midway will have their final point total recorded, so don't be too disappointed. That is all. We'll board the boats shortly, so submit any unnecessary personal belongings. Submit your belongings, and it's a short rest period. Dismissed."
The instructor finished the announcement and opened her backpack. She wants us to hand in our phones and everything else now.
"Kim Geun-cheol!"
I'd just put my phone away when Leona came over.
"Oh, Leona!"
"Try your absolute hardest. I, for one, hope you at least get 1 Victory Point, Kim Geun-cheol."
"Hey! I can at least do that!"
If Leona expects it, I have to secure at least 1 point, no matter what!
"Fufufu, well, if you run into me, it'll be over instantly. Try to avoid me, okay?"
"Shouldn't be hard."
"Ho-oh, feeling confident, are we?"
I actually am.
"I just need to avoid strong light. Since Archangel Leona always radiates intense light."
"'Light' my ass. Anyway, do your best."
Leona smiled and waved her hand.
Looking over there, several boats have arrived. The instructor said over the megaphone that we just need to board now.
One person per boat?
"Huehueh, Geun-cheol. You planning to collect Victory Points?"
I'd seen Leona off when Si-hoo poked his head in from the side. This bastard. His mouth's about to tear all the way to his ears, isn't it? He's confident in his skills, I get it.
"You bastard, Si-hoo. Huh? Grinning away like you've already won."
"No, even I'm not that overconfident. But I'll try my best. Anyway, Geun-cheol. You planning to collect Victory Points?"
"Of course. Even if winning's a stretch, I plan to do what I can. I've gotta snag at least one, or can I really call myself a hero cadet?"
"Yeah. I really like that attitude, Geun-cheol. I'm very satisfied."
Si-hoo gave a refreshing grin and nodded.
"Hehehe, 'Big bro' my ass. Ah, but still."
"Hm?"
"Just now, Leona said she wanted me to get at least 1 point."
"Oh?"
"Since Leona said that, I've got to get 1 point. Right?"
I can't betray Archangel Leona's expectations. I will definitely collect 1 point and offer it to Leona.
"Hmm... So you're saying you'll collect 1 point because Leona said so?"
Si-hoo tilted his head slightly.
"Of course."
"Geun-cheol. If you see me, be prepared. Since this is training, I won't go easy."
"Don't be like that. How about we secretly form an alliance?"
"No way! It's against the rules!"
Tch.
Too bad.
While we were talking, a bunch of boats arrived.
"Alright, everyone, listen up! Do not remove your protective gear! For safety and for the system. Your survival status is displayed on your Headgear. If you die, quietly head out to the shore. Your survival status and location are all tracked by GPS, so I hope there will be no cheating."
Another briefing.
"Also, the time limit is 24 hours. Once you arrive on the island, use the waiting period to head inland on your own and find a position. Then, the start signal will sound soon."
Good.
"Now go hunt those villains with everything you've got, cadets."
I listened to the briefing as I got onto the unmanned boat.
—thud.
Now I'm heading to the deserted island.
* * *
Now that I've arrived at the deserted island, my heart's pounding.
"Oh."
A beautiful beach with a sandy shore.
I really love this peaceful scenery.
But if you go just a little further in, a jungle-like forest spreads out. There are plenty of places to hide. Should I find a decent spot and dig in?
Or should I climb a tree?
I looked out at the sea while thinking about that. The unmanned boats were on the move, spacing themselves out so the cadets scatter nicely.
So, let's head in and find a spot.
I pushed through the undergrowth right away.
"There aren't any snakes here, right?"
A pointless worry pops into my head. Getting bitten by a snake would really suck, but yeah, like that'd happen.
—shff.
As I moved along lazily, the surrounding scenery started to change. It was completely dense in here. If something hid in a place like this, it'd be hard to find.
I was thinking that while searching for a decent spot, making sure I didn't overlap starting points with anyone else.
And the moment I spotted a decent-looking tree.
—leap.
I jumped high, planted a foot on the tree to spring up, and grabbed a branch. Holding on, I pulled my body up like I was doing a pull-up and got into position on the tree.
I'm not staying long, so being up here beats digging in.
"Alright."
Time to just chill and wait it out here.
While I was killing time—
—Beeeep!
The start signal rang out from above.
It's go time.
Now I need to move strategically.
First, since it's right when we've started, it's obvious that everyone is in top condition. If I start acting up now, there won't be any bones left of me to pick up. It's better to rest a bit, preserve my stamina, and then fight.
I was thinking that as I looked at the surrounding scenery through the leaves.
—rustle.
Was I lucky or unlucky right from the start? I sensed someone nearby.
Someone had pushed through the undergrowth and entered.
I haven't been spotted yet. Should I just drop right down from the tree for an ambush? No. Doing that to another cadet feels kinda dangerous. What's more likely is that I'll lose because I can't control my body properly while falling... huh?
Wait?
"..."
Isn't that Mun Min?
Shockingly, the intruder's identity was none other than Mun Min... The guy. He looked healthy. Well, I've got stuff to say to him. Should I go down?
—shff.
"Yo. Mun Min."
"Hurk?!"
The guy saw me and gasped, gulping down air like he'd seen a Grim Reaper, before collapsing on the spot. Looks like I gave him a real fright.
"Hey, hey. Calm down. What am I, a ghost?"
"A-ah... right."
"Let's talk for a sec."
"Talk? According to the survival rules, that's..."
"What do you mean 'that's not allowed'? A villain's still human, idiot. A tactic where you talk to sow confusion works."
"Y-yeah?"
The guy gave an awkward reply, hunched over and eyeing me like he was trying to shrink into himself.
Looks like the physical therapy really did the trick.
"Hey. You feeling okay?"
I mean, I did mercilessly club him with a stick, but he had no visible injuries. Moving around seemed fine too.
"Uh... for the most part. It hurt a lot, but I got treatment. I'm all healed."
Whoa. As expected of a superhuman body, that's crazy.
To recover from that in a single day.
Truly an amazing level.
"Is that so. Well, still, I'm sorry for beating you even after you were down."
"You apologized for that yesterday."
"I wasn't sure if that apology properly got through."
"Ugh."
He rubbed the back of his neck like it was bothering him.
"Honestly, I think you went a bit too far... Of course, it's true that I picked a fight with weird stuff first and called you a shithead or whatever, so I've got nothing to say. But still, that mercilessly..."
This guy's attitude really had changed a lot. Back then, he was looking down on me and glaring like I was some piece of shit, but now he just looked docile.
"Yeah, well. That was wrong of me, it's true. I got so pissed at being cursed out that I snapped. I'm sorry. We won't have any reason to fight going forward anyway. Let's not be too awkward around each other. Let's shake it all off and move on."
"If that's how you feel... I'm also sorry for needlessly picking a fight over weird stuff. I'll apologize again."
Mun Min bowed his head and apologized.
"..."
Still, seeing him accept my apology, he doesn't seem like that bad of a guy. And to think I beat the crap out of a kid like this... I'm sorry, but I still don't regret it. Even if I went back to that moment, I'd probably do the same. Weird certainty aside, I just can't stand that kind of thing.
Anyway, if he's like this, then.
I think we can definitely be friends.
Because once two men apologize to each other, it's over.
Once it's all cleared up, you can become friends.
"Yeah. Okay. Thanks for accepting my apology, Mun Min. Well then, let's get along from now on. Once training camp's over, let's go train at the training ground..."
So I bowed my head to greet him.
—whisk.
Whisk?
"Huh?"
Was that a footstep just now...?
I swiftly grabbed my sword and looked up.
"Well, since we've apologized to each other!"
Mun Min had drawn his sword and was charging at me with a dead serious face.
"Let's settle this!"
"Th-this bastard, a sudden surprise attack?!"
—clang!
I swung my sword right up to block his attack!
This bastard!
To think he'd be this cunning!
"Honestly, after getting beaten that badly, I can't just let my wounded pride sit either! Come at me!"
"Bring it!"