Chapter 110. Survival Exam (3)
A few hours had passed since the exam started.
I was following the river upstream, looking for a spot to pitch my tent.
Might as well find a good place I can keep using.
"Why the hell is it so hot. Damn."
I wasn't exactly sure where the island was located, but it must be near the equator. The sun was blazing and the humidity was nasty.
"Kinda hungry. Maybe I should eat something."
I had brought plenty of snacks aside from meals.
I sat on a big rock nearby and opened a bag of potato chips.
Crunch.
Good call bringing snacks.
"...What the hell is that?"
While munching away and taking a break, I spotted something golden in the corner of my vision.
Looking closer, a blonde female cadet was floating downstream from the upper river.
"Is that... Elise?"
Her face was submerged so I couldn't see it, but I recognized the familiar figure and hair length.
I jumped up, tossed the chips aside, and dove into the river.
I didn't know what had happened, but someone floating unconscious in the water was clearly not normal.
She might actually be in danger.
I pulled Elise out of the water.
Luckily, not too much time had passed—she was still breathing.
Cadets with status windows don't die that easily. Once awakened and with leveled stats, our bodies are nothing like regular humans.
Still, it was a damn good thing I found her.
Just because we don't die from a little water doesn't mean we're invincible.
Another 30 minutes in that state, and she would've been in real danger.
"...Guess I'll set up camp here."
It didn't seem right to move Elise while she was soaking wet and unconscious, so I decided to settle here.
Just in case, I scanned her body with my mana.
No internal damage. As long as I dried her clothes, she should be fine.
Even without hypothermia, wet clothes are uncomfortable.
I gathered some decent firewood and lit a fire.
Then I undressed Elise from her cadet uniform.
It would be best to remove her underwear too for drying, but with her affection that low, she might actually try to kill me if I did.
Crackle, crackle—
I laid her uniform across some rocks near the fire.
"...Not much else to do. Might as well eat."
I had to watch over her until she woke up anyway.
I put a frying pan over the fire and started cooking some smoked duck.
"Good thing I brought everything."
The savory scent whetted my appetite.
'Now that I think about it, this smell might attract others.'
If it's a heroine, I'll share. If it's some rando, I'll take their points.
Most cadets probably aren't feeling real hunger yet.
By tonight or tomorrow morning, they'll learn what survival really means.
Me? I'll be sleeping in a warm tent.
"Whoa, that looks good."
Just as I was plating the nicely grilled duck, I heard rustling.
"Nngh..."
Elise started squirming and groaning.
I had laid her near the fire to dry her clothes, and the warmth must've helped her regain consciousness.
While I continued prepping my meal, I kept an eye on her.
"Mmmgh... Haa, haa..."
After a moment, Elise sat up, breathing heavily.
She groped around herself and looked confused—probably still remembering falling into the water.
"You okay?"
"Eek?!"
She flinched and turned around at the sound of my voice.
For the record, I was eating smoked duck and heating up some instant rice.
"You were floating down the river, so I pulled you out. Your clothes are drying over there."
I pointed to the rocks with my index finger to avoid any misunderstanding.
"...Thanks. I'll be going now."
Elise tried to grab her still-wet uniform and leave right away.
"Your clothes aren't dry yet. At least eat something while they dry."
"What's your angle? Offering me food now?"
"No angle. We're both on the student council's PR team. And I brought way more supplies than I need."
I bought it all to share with the heroines, so why is she being so stubborn?
"...Forget it."
Elise looked at the food but turned away.
"Suit yourself. If you get hungry, contact me. I'll share my location."
Even though there was no communication network on the island, cadets could contact each other once they met.
It was likely a feature meant to support alliances—you could even share locations. I had already set that up when she was unconscious.
"Why are you doing this? Why share your location with me?"
"I mean... we're both PR team. And friends."
I couldn't exactly say, 'Because I want to seduce you,' so I just threw out whatever came to mind.
"...Haa."
Elise sighed and left without replying.
With how hostile she is, I'm pretty sure she did investigate me... but I can't push her without knowing exactly what she found.
No matter how tough the exam gets, Elise won't give up. There's too much pressure on her—being France's top prospect, being the daughter of the Iris Guild.
Especially with her inferiority complex toward her sister, I know she won't quit.
She'll come find me when she gets desperate.
Sharing a little food and raising her affection would be a huge win.
If she doesn't come, oh well. I'll try again later.
'Come to think of it, where did she stash her backup mana stones?'
They weren't in the outer pockets. Maybe hidden inside the clothes?
*
"...."
Elise wandered through the rainforest, her face twisted in discomfort.
Her soaked clothes brought not just a sticky feeling but discomfort and irritation, while swarming bugs clinging to her skin pushed her patience to the limit.
As the surroundings began to darken, she still hadn't found anything remotely edible.
There were scattered mushrooms on the ground, but after getting sick from eating one earlier that looked edible, she hadn't dared to touch any since.
'Should I have accepted that food earlier...'
The image of Lee Hoyeon's smoked duck hovered in front of her eyes.
"No, absolutely not."
She was genuinely grateful he had saved her, but Elise knew it was all just a ploy to get into her pants.
After all, Sebastian's report had confirmed that Lee Hoyeon met different girls every day.
He even maintained promiscuous relationships with professors at the Academy.
'The Saintess and Professor Im Sol... I'm disappointed in both of them.'
The fact that the two professors she considered the most decent turned out like this left Elise deeply disillusioned.
And her disappointment in Lee Hoyeon was no less.
'I really wanted to get close to him.'
She had admired how he worked hard despite his mana disorder—never imagining it would all spiral into this mess.
Still, she had protected her pride by rejecting his help—even if she was starving.
And to make matters worse, she was out of mana stones and had no idea what to do.
Elise stealthily checked Lee Hoyeon's location on her smartwatch.
He was still in the same spot.
"...No. I need to find treasure."
She didn't know exactly what kind of treasures existed, but they were clearly items that could help her survive.
As long as she survived the week, she would easily place in the top ranks.
Awoo—
At that moment, a wolf's howl echoed from afar.
"...."
Unable to properly use magic, Elise decided to hide.
She had lost her sword when she fell in the river. She could subdue weak monsters with her bare hands, but her stamina had limits. Escaping was the best choice.
Awoo—
Bark bark—
Elise spent the whole night being chased by monsters through the forest.
The humiliation of being chased by such low-level creatures gnawed at her, but there was nothing she could do.
Thud—
"Ugh."
With limited vision in the dark, Elise tripped on a vine and fell. She quickly scrambled back up.
There was no time to rest, pain or not.
Thankfully, after walking a bit more, she spotted a cave.
Elise entered the cave and hid.
Rustle, rustle—rustle, rustle—
The disgusting sound of insects crawling on the ground tortured her ears, but it was better than dealing with monsters.
And so, Elise fell asleep in the cave.
*
"Ugh..."
Elise woke up with muscle pain all over her body.
A full day of walking without eating, combined with sleeping in an awkward position on an uncomfortable surface, left her body screaming.
"...."
No matter how she thought about it, this couldn't go on.
She turned on her smartwatch and checked Lee Hoyeon's location.
He wasn't in the exact same place as yesterday, but he was still near the river—probably still sleeping.
"At the very least, I need to get some mana stones."
Since Lee Hoyeon also had a mana disorder, he likely brought a lot.
'I should've paid closer attention during the item inspection.'
Elise regretted it, but it was too late now.
Judging by how much gear he brought, he must've packed plenty of mana stones too.
Her pride would only suffer for a moment.
As long as he didn't demand her body, it would be fine.
Growl—
Rationalizing with herself, Elise began trudging toward the glowing coordinates on her smartwatch.
*
The special exam app also showed how many participants remained.
"So we already have dropouts."
The app updated the remaining cadets at midnight each day.
Out of over 200 students, around 40 had dropped out.
"Seriously, you could just camp and easily make top 50. Idiots."
Honestly, if someone just hid until the final day, they'd still end up in the upper ranks.
A fifth of the participants were already gone on day one—doing nothing and surviving was already enough to escape the bottom tier.
"Why haven't I run into anyone yet? Did I stick to one spot too much?"
Of course, not all 40 were taken out in fights. Most probably surrendered.
Surviving out here without preparation isn't easy. Some cadets probably gave up without caring about their grades.
From today onward, it would be a real battle among those still giving it their all.
Everyone would be scrambling to grab the supply drops, hidden treasures, and boss monsters that gave out big points.
Some would conserve their energy while watching from the sidelines, waiting to steal points from others who had worked hard.
In the end, it was a game of timing. Go too early and become a target. Wait too long and walk away with nothing.
"Not my problem~ Figure it out yourselves."
The winner would be the one who survived until the end.
And I had just found the perfect spot.
After Elise left, I finished my meal, took a break, and kept moving until nightfall. It paid off.
It wasn't a cave, but there was a mountain behind and a river next to me—a great spot.
Just as I was about to set up my tent and a protective barrier, I heard rustling in the grass.
"Who's there."
I instantly summoned flames into my hand and braced myself.
"H-Hoyeon..."
Trembling and pushing through the bushes at my warning—was Lumi.