Chapter 123: Survival Test (16)
<strong>Survival Test (16)</strong>
After our sparring session, Alice and I arrived at the riverbank to wash off the sweat.
“I’m going behind that rock, so don’te over.”
“I won’t.”
I braced myself for some colorfulnguage if she caught me watching and decided to rinse off between two big rocks.
<em>Ssh—</em>
I cast the Rune Barrier to guarantee our privacy, and make sure Lucy and Lumi were included as they cleaned up. Expanding its scope, I included Alice, with the center of the barrier focused on me.
“Don’t forget we have until 50 minutes!”
“I know.”After dropping that reminder, I took my sweet time scrubbing away. It’s a challenge to stay clean in this wild setting without a proper wash. I gave Alice a generous 30 minutes, but I was done in just 10.
<em>Seriously, who takes that long to shower? Shampoo, body wash, and teeth brushing can be speedy affairs.</em>
I lounged against the rock, waiting for Alice. Despite this survival scenario, I felt like we were on a camping trip, thanks to my preparation. The only downside was missing Liliana. A week without feeling the subus’ gentle body made me long for her.
<em>I’ve be a ve to lust…</em>
It seemed like ages, but still no sign of Alice. Wondering what’s up, I peeked over the rock. To my surprise, she was already sitting there, fully clothed.
<em>What’s happening?</em>
Observing Alice fidgeting in the corner and ying with something in her hands, I activated the status window.
<strong>★ Heroine Status</strong>
<strong>[Alice]</strong>
<strong>[Affection: 42]</strong>
<strong>[Lust: 62]</strong>
<strong>[Appetite: 17]</strong>
<strong>[Fatigue: 31]</strong>
<strong>Current Status: If I do it like this, there’ll be a slight hole in the barrier. If I wrap the hole with mana, the chance of it not being noticed is high…</strong>
<em>What’s that noise?</em>
I quickly checked the mana forming the Rune Barrier.
<em>I don’t sense any holes…? No, hold on.</em>
A subtle sense of unease crept in. The mana shaping the Rune Barrier was indeed damaged, albeit ever so slightly. Even with my Mana Sensitivity, it was a minuscule difference that wouldn’t register without careful attention.
<em>Why go through all this trouble?</em>
Despite Alice’s knack for breaking my barriers, I couldn’tprehend why she’d make an effort to breach it. If her aim was to fight me by exploiting the barrier, I’d get it, but why bother creating a tiny opening that wouldn’t expose me?
Let’s put an end to this odd behavior right away.
“Alice, what are you doing?” Pretending ignorance, I emerged from behind the rock and called out to her.
“Nothing at all.” She swiftly cleared her mana and stood up. If I hadn’t anticipated it, her unchanged expression might have fooled me. Yet, in that short moment, I fully grasped the size of the gap. It was just big enough for a single finger, to be exact. It didn’t seem like it was meant to harm me…
<em>Could it be a peephole?</em>
“…”
“Finished? Let’s go.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Alice gave me a peculiar look as she stood there.
Images of her crossed my mind, remembering her increased affection and lust after I had sex with Baek Ahyeong, and the flushed and fatigue on her face when I woke her up for watch duty after doing it with Lumi.
<em>She’s not doing this to spy on me, right? But if not, then why? I don’t need anyone probing my weaknesses anymore.</em>
I observed Alice’s departing figure. There was something strangely tempting about her back.
***
Alice and I returned to the tent. Lucy and Lumi were ying around, leaning on each other and cheerfully waving their hands. As much as I wanted to join their little fun, I resisted the urge and instead checked my smartwatch.
<em>It’s 9:57.</em>
Perfect timing. The Battle Royale notification would pop up any moment.
“Tomorrow, the test wraps up. What’s the n now?” Lucy, who was ying around, asked when she saw us return.
“Um… For now, we need to be cautious and move while keeping an eye on Kim Younghan’s team.” I manipted the smartwatch to check the point rankings.
———————–
Current point rankings on the ind.
1. Nam Daeun: 1460p
2. Lee Hoyeon: 480p
3. Kim Younghan: 452p
4. Alice: 434p
.
.
.
———————-
“Younghan has climbed up to 3rd ce. They probably don’t want to fight us, so let’s seize the opportunity until tomorrow.”
Kim Younghan’s team probably doesn’t want to fight us. Even if the students there harbored aspirations of besting me, given that it’s already day six, I just need to endure for one more day, and it’ll be game over. Even the dimmest ones wouldn’t bother picking a fight at this stage.
Alice’s fervor for iming the top spot has mellowed a bit. Perhaps now that she’s discovered a fix for her mana deficiency, her hunger for rankings is easing.
<em>Ding-ding-ding- ding-ding-ding-</em>
Right then, everyone’s smartwatches chimed in.
[You have reached the 6th day of the special exam.]
[From now on, we will begin the Battle Royale.]
[The names and locations of all students will be disyed in real-time on the mini-map. Students who are just running away to survive, take note.]
The smartwatches showcased an ind map adorned with gleaming points.
“What’s this Battle Royale?!”
“I-I had no clue this was a thing.”
“What do we do now, Hoyeon…?”
All eyes were on me. As I studied the mini-map, numerous students were huddled around Kim Younghan, just as expected.
<em>No, seriously, there are way too many.</em>
Even the students who should have been eliminated early in the original work are still alive, and more than 80 students formed the team.
“Let’s first head toward the center of the ind.”
“That direction will actually get us closer to Kim Younghan’s team.”
“I’m aware.”
“Weren’t you the one suggesting we seize the opportunity until tomorrow?”
“We’ve been silent until the 6th day, and now we’re starting the Battle Royale. If that’s the case, there will probably be an event on thest day tomorrow as well. Since we have the map now, instead of keeping too much distance, I think it’s better to maintain a reasonable distance.”
“Alright… Let’s do as you say.”
After convincing Alice with the prepared excuse, I looked at the twin sisters, who were looking at me with round eyes, and headed towards the center of the ind.
***
The message also reached Kim Younghan’s team, putting him in an unexpected and awkward situation. He certainly had considered facing Lee Hoyeon if they ran into each other, but actively seeking him out was not on his agenda. After all, this special test was about rtive evaluation, and if it ended now, he couldfortably secure 3rd ce without adding unnecessaryplications.
Sure, his team boasted over 80 members, while Hoyeon had Alice, Lucy, and Lumi, totaling 4 members – a simple math equation resulting in a 20-fold difference. Despite the high probability of winning in the confrontation, he preferred not to take unnecessary risks.
He wanted to avoid the prospect of getting eliminated in a surprise attack and the chance of stirring ill feelings from Hoyeon were concerns, but it seemed like gathering too many bottom-tier students had created a problem.
“Let’s off Lee Hoyeon!”
“Let’s do it!”
“He’s getting cozy with three girls in this test; I’m gonna put my damn all into taking him down.”
The guys were making amotion, targeting Lee Hoyeon.
<em>Why stir up trouble now after enduring for six days?</em>
While officially the team gathered to raid Lee Hoyeon’s provisions, the significance had dwindled with only one day left. There was no need to initiate a fight and risk elimination at this point. However, Kim Younghan didn’t anticipate that many students at the academy were indifferent to their grades. Those in the middle and lower ranks were treated simrly. They didn’t even consider entering top guilds; instead, they nned to graduate and utilize their diplomaster.
Currently, Kim Younghan’s team had plenty of such students. Since they epted everyone they encountered into the team, the quality of the students wascking. As the number of people increased, the difficulty of survival decreased. The number of students thinking, ‘I’ve endured this far, let’s just end it like this,’ had also decreased. The remaining hopey with the female students, but even they were adopting a wait-and-see approach.
“I’ll take care of Lee Hoyeon.” Nam Daeun, who had been silent until now, confidently dered.
“Haa… This is idiotic…” Kim Younghan ran his hand through his greasy hair and lowered his head.
“Captain! Let’s quickly go kill Lee Hoyeon!”
“Fine… I don’t know… Let’s go.”
<em>If I stay put, I might catch some k, being the point hoarder for the team. </em><em>What’s worse is it might wreck the image I’ve carefully crafted at the academy. All that effort to make a ssh when I announce myself as the heir to the Iron Blood Guild could be a waste.</em>
Kim Younghan reluctantly headed towards the center of the ind to aim at Lee Hoyeon.
***
In a professor’s researchb, certificates,mendations, and research achievements adorned the walls, narrating the brilliant past achievements of the professor. Yet, upon closer inspection, these des hinted at ack of clear results in thest 10 years. Within the confines of such a professor’sb, a student-d man and the elderly professor were engaged in a conversation.
“Professor, I’m Shin Dongmin, the vice president of the student council. My opponent is just a freshman with no background; let’s be crystal clear about that.”
“Young man, are you fully aware of the potential repercussions if this bes public knowledge?”
The material Shin Dongmin presented included a request to manipte the friendly match arena during the festival.
“It will be fine. With you being a professor, it should be easily achievable.”
“How did you end up like this? In your first year, you were a bright kid everyone had high expectations for…”
“Professor, considering your imminent retirement, you should n for the future. I’ll secure a ce for you in the Shin Young Guild.”
Shin Dongmin smiled faintly and locked eyes with the old professor.
“…”
Unable to utter a word, the professor silently pulled the documents towards himself.
“Well then, I’ll be going. Please handle it well.” With a slightly raised smile, Shin Dongmin exited the professor’s office. As he left the building and walked for a while, he finally contorted his expression. “Tsk, that old roon. Does he truly think he can join Shin Young when he’s practically dposing?
Although Shin Dongmin had felt a slight unease about Lee Hoyeon’s strength after watching the one-on-one duels, he was now relieved.
<em>No matter how talented that guy thinks he is, it’s just gonna be a fight between a fire mage and a water mage. Not only do I have the elemental upper hand, but we’re also doing it on a little buoy in the middle of the sea.</em>
“Bastard. Just you wait…” Confident in his victory, Shin Dongmin strolled away, cing his hand in his pocket.