This Is What a Vacation Looks Like
Looking down from the sky above the island made one thing crystal clear: this place was anything but natural.
"Looks just like that dungeon."
Was it the first week of the Academy? During the selection exams, the clear conditions had differed by chosen subject. The virtual dungeon for the combined Monster Studies and Exploration test had looked almost exactly like this.
More precisely, they had probably built that dungeon based on this island.
That barrier dungeon had been a virtual space, so it could pull off things like mismatched day and night or entirely different seasons. This place didn't go that far, but the way wildly different terrains and landmarks were jumbled together at regular intervals was a dead ringer for it.
In particular, the sight of a massive lake connected all the way to the edge of a volcano belching thick smoke, forming a swamp that was somehow both soggy and bone-dry, was a landscape you could only explain as one of nature's mysteries—if you were feeling generous.
The fact that living creatures were casually wandering around in such an extreme environment said everything you needed to know about how completely unhinged this world was.
That aside, I found myself pausing to think.
"...What exactly do I need to do to raise my score?"
According to the pre-exam briefing, the devices would track every action we took on the island and assign points. The categories were broadly three: Hunting, Survival, and Exploration.
But the explanation only listed those three categories. Nothing about what specific actions fell under each one.
"If I just tear through everything in sight, I'll definitely lose points."
Even if fighting enemies counted as Hunting, random destruction was a long way from actual hunting.
The key was food, clothing, and shelter. This whole thing would only last five days, so I could put up with a little discomfort on the clothing front and mostly ignore it.
That left food and shelter. To rack up a good score, I'd need to catch something and cook it, or build a camp secure enough to stay safe. That would be the real measure.
On top of that, I'd have to deal with other students whose nerves were frayed from the constant threat of being targeted by "criminals."
I'd also have to endure the faculty posing as those criminals, and keep an eye on the shrinking boundary line that drained points in real time the moment you stepped outside it.
"...More of a pain than I expected."
The island's layout was simple. The closer you stayed to the outer edges, the more abundant and mild it was. The farther inward you went, the harsher and more barren it became.
Creatures followed the same pattern: outer areas had weak but numerous ones; the interior had fewer but far stronger. The whole arrangement had clearly been designed with the shrinking boundary in mind.
The ideal approach was to hold out as long as possible in the precarious outer zones, stockpile everything you could, then dig in at the central interior. That way you could survive the full five days, and the longer you lasted, the more bonus points you'd rack up.
Starting in the dead center from the beginning was also an option. If you could just hold on, it would end eventually. But your score would be lower for it.
What I wanted was to pile up points as fast as possible and then rest. After running through every possible scenario in my head, I had Kallion set down near the outer rim.
It was a spot where the sea and a river met—head upstream and there was a river; head down and the open ocean stretched out before you.
"First things first: a place to live."
I fed Kallion mana along with a rough blueprint of what I wanted. Understanding at once, he immediately used the non-attribute basic magic Force to flatten the surrounding ground into a solid foundation.
Even where boulders sat, he crushed them flat with mana until the whole area was level. Then he carved out trenches to set the dimensions. Anywhere that felt short or needed expanding got fixed on the spot.
That finished the first stage of construction. Next was Haze's turn.
First, Haze used compressed wind to fell the trees rotting all around us—untouched by human hands and overflowing. Kallion hauled them over while applying magical heat treatment, turning green wood into dry timber.
Once the finished logs were ready, I checked them for flaws. Then I reinforced a blade with shadows, cut the rough ends clean with wind, and shaped notches so the logs could slot together like building blocks.
Having mana as a non-standard resource made gathering materials far easier than I'd expected.
After that it was just repetition: stack the logs one by one, secure them, and keep going. The whole process felt no different from assembling a slightly oversized set of Lego bricks.
I started by building and fixing the framework that would serve as the skeleton, then filled in the outer walls with additional materials.
I didn't make everything identical. Just like Lego needs different parts for different jobs, I mass-produced whatever was needed for each section as quickly as possible.
No need for perfection. If my plan worked, I'd be finished with everything inside two days.
With time to spare, I built whatever I could. On the leveled ground I made a space where we could actually enjoy the base camp, plus basic furniture like tables and chairs, and even wooden tableware.
I could handle most of it with shadows, but the act of making these things itself would earn Survival points. That counted too.
Exploration was already covered—I'd circled the island from the sky and scattered shadow crows all over it. The longer time passed, the fewer places would remain unknown to me.
There were probably hidden treasures inside the island, just like in the virtual dungeon.
I'd even spotted something like a mystery circle, so once the house was done I'd make a point of checking out every spot that looked blatantly suspicious. Just reaching those places should net Exploration points. With luck, I might even snag treasures the Academy had prepared.
If that covered Survival and Exploration, that left Hunting. I had my own ideas there.
In a limited environment like an island, what thrives the most? My answer was insects.
To prove it, I gathered mana at my fingertip.
What I pictured was a creature clad in hard armor.
"Bihos."
Click!
The moment I flicked my finger, Bihos crawled out of the shadow at my feet as if it were a hole, then immediately opened the carapace on its back and took flight. I gave the order I'd deliberately held back until now.
"Multiply."
It was one of the fundamental traits of insects—and the fastest way to build power. The only reason I hadn't done it before was for skill grinding.
More numbers meant enemies fell faster, but proficiency piled up that much slower.
The other two skills had built up enough proficiency, so it was finally time to raise the mastery of what could be called Bihos's main skill: [Insect Swarm].
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, right? Insects that stubbornly survived any extreme environment were best suppressed by other insects.
Well, to the bugs that had originally claimed this island, this would be nothing short of a bolt from the blue... but that wasn't my problem, was it?
I was half-hoping that wiping out insects would count toward the score. It would be nice if it did, but even if it didn't, it wasn't a big deal. I wasn't getting my hopes up too high.
To keep Bihos from getting wrecked by other students, I marked a huge number of the Hive's shadow crows on it. They were to retaliate only enough that the students wouldn't die. Even without me feeding them mana, fighting would automatically raise [Subjugator] and make them stronger. My crows would outclass any half-baked opponents.
Bzzzzzt!
At my command, Bihos vanished straight into the forest. I watched it go for a moment, then—once things had settled—summoned Echidna and Growl as well.
Keres was on hold. Ever since evolving into a Soul Eater, she drew way too many eyes.
Kallion alone was already conspicuous enough. Add Keres standing there in all her glory and the base camp would look less like a camp and more like a makeshift Demon King's castle.
I'd summoned everyone else and left only Keres out, which somehow made me feel like I was the one leading the bullying. Still, I planned to bring her along without fail whenever we moved out to hunt, so that would have to even things out.
For Keres, growth mattered, but devouring as many soul fragments as possible and making them her own was even more important. That alone raised her stats—effectively the same as gaining a full level.
"Let's take a break."
I lit a campfire, fashioned a shadow grill over it, and had the Hive pull out the meat I'd stored in the shadows.
Echidna took it as naturally as breathing and began grilling with practiced ease.
The meat was already well-seasoned, so the moment it hit the heat it started sizzling, the delicious smell of burning sauce spreading instantly through the air.
Just the aroma made my mouth water.
Part of it was that we'd arrived near lunchtime and my stomach was empty, but the smell of this meat grilling was pure cheating. Using the scent as a side dish, I pulled a drink from the shadows and took a swig.
Sizzle!
Gulp, gulp, gulp...
"Pwah!"
I downed a solid third in one go and exhaled roughly. The sharp prickle of carbonation tickled my throat.
I leaned back against the wooden chair I'd made. The cool, solid feel of real wood supporting my body was a refreshing change from a shadow chair.
"...Haa."
Peaceful. If everything could just resolve itself while I sat still, how perfect would that be?
Having nothing at all to disturb me felt this good. When would I finally get to live a life this peaceful for real?
"Here you are, Master."
"Ah, thanks."
The meat sat neatly on a wooden plate. Since I was going to have her cook anyway, I decided to go all out—I made shadow scissors and tongs, cut the meat, and handed it back to Echidna.
She had been using wooden chopsticks; she accepted the tools with clear delight and threw herself back into grilling with renewed focus.
The wide-open surroundings gave the whole scene a certain charm. Just sitting there felt scenic. I watched her work, sipping my drink with one hand and eyeing the meat, leisurely enjoying the view.
"...Ahh."
This was the good stuff. Fuck. The combination of perfectly grilled meat and carbonation pulled a pure Korean sigh of satisfaction out of me.
Suffering later was a given, so how I spent this leftover scrap of free time on sweet rest was entirely up to me. Right?
...Yeah. Just until Bihos finished multiplying. The moment I confirmed that, we'd head out for Exploration points.
Eating well and feeling full counted as part of Hunting, and resting comfortably was the foundation of Survival. In that sense, I was basically earning points right now.
Sure, I hadn't hunted yet, but there was no reason not to use what I already had. Even inside the shadows, things spoiled. That was exactly why I tried not to store raw food in there.
Even if I was enjoying myself this comfortably right now, the end wasn't far off.
Starving hyenas drawn by this smell were everywhere on this island.
See? Growl just twitched his ears and reacted.
"...Grrrr."
Growl, who had been lying near me with his eyes closed, suddenly lifted his head and stared into the distance.
Rustle, rustle-rustle.
The underbrush shook as something approached. I gave a casual nod, ordering Haze to blow that brush away.
Thanks to the strengthened connection through the skill [Link], that alone was enough for Haze to understand. A mass of wind shot forward and swept through the bushes with a sharp whoosh.
"Whoa—?!"
"W-why is the wind suddenly—"
That was all it took. The ghillie-suited figures who had been camouflaged under the brush had every scrap of cover blasted away, revealing their positions in an instant.
Three of them total. They wore coats that could double as full-body ghillie suits, which was mildly impressive—but that was as far as my surprise went.
I could tell they had prepared seriously for this exam. So what? They still got caught by me.
I fed Kallion mana and ordered him to launch them far away with Force.
"W-waaaaah?! We're being blown by the wiiind—!"
"No! This isn't wind, you idiot—it's magic!!"
"...Empty mind, empty heart. A futile effort, it seems."
Sorry to the unknown extras one, two, and three, but I still wasn't ready to lose my peace. They'd have to exit the stage for now. Bihos had only been gone a short while.
I leaned comfortably against the tree and waved at the three of them as they dangled limply in Kallion's magic like scruffed cats. Their faces went pale just as they went sailing over the forest.
Waaaaah, aaaaaah, aaaaah...
The farther they flew, the more their screams stretched into a fading gradient. I didn't bother watching the landing. Anyone superhuman enough to have survived this far wouldn't die from that.
As long as they didn't land headfirst on a rock, they'd be just barely safe.
Therefore, I was fine with it.
While I was at it, a fence would be nice. A clear marker that crossing the line meant death. I immediately put in the order with Haze and Kallion, then fashioned shadow sunglasses and closed my eyes in lazy contentment.
...Ah. This was a vacation. What else would you call it?
Skipping work on a weekday made it even better.
Was this the silver lining of midterms or what?
Part of me wanted to just scrap the whole thing and finish early, but since that wasn't possible, I might as well enjoy this for as long as I could.
With that settled, I chewed on the extra meat Echidna brought over and stretched out completely, body fully at ease.