Chapter 112. Survival Exam (5)
Chirp chirp—
I woke up to the sound of birds outside.
I tried to get up, but felt weight on my stomach—and saw Lumi lying on top of me.
"Oh right..."
That's when I also noticed the sensation of her pussy still wrapped around my dick.
"Mmm..."
Lumi seemed to come to her senses too as I stirred.
"Yaaawn... Good morning, Hoyeon... Mmm."
"Lumi, let's do it once before we get up."
I firmly grabbed Lumi's ass as she tried to rise.
"Ah, okay..."
Blushing, Lumi pressed herself against me again.
I'd fantasized a lot about morning sex before the morning wood faded—but to actually get to do it.
As soon as she agreed, I thrust up into her.
"Ahh, mmgh..."
*
After finishing, I realized I was completely drained of mana.
Probably from maintaining the rune barrier all night.
Judging from how unstable the barrier had gotten, it must've flickered on and off throughout the night... Good thing nothing happened.
Gotta make sure to clean up properly next time before sleeping.
Lumi lay twitching under the blanket, hips still raised.
Maybe I went too rough this morning.
I released the barrier and looked around. Nothing seemed different from last night.
I splashed water on my face at the stream and cleared my head.
Soon after, Lumi staggered out of the tent, zombie-like, washed her face, and stretched.
"Good morning."
"Yeah... Good morning."
We exchanged late greetings, and I did some stretching to loosen up.
★ Heroine Status Window
[Lumi]
- [Affection: 92] (+0.3)
- [Lust: 46]
- [Appetite: 78]
- [Fatigue: 55]
Current Status: I'm hungry... but I can't be the one to suggest eating first... When is Hoyeon gonna say it's time to eat...
Maybe it's because she slept well—her fatigue dropped a lot.
Still, with that appetite spike, looks like we burned more calories through sex than she gained from the eggs and chocolate bar.
"Lumi, hungry? Want to eat breakfast?"
"Yeah. I'd like that..."
I was hungry too, so we decided to eat together.
Since greasy food on an empty stomach wouldn't be good, I took out beef porridge and soy-simmered beef for a light breakfast.
"Hoyeon... thank you so much."
"No problem. I bought plenty to share with you guys anyway. So, where to now?"
"I'm going to look for Lucy. I want to team up with her."
"Then let's go together. I can tag along."
"No. This time, I want just the two of us to try on our own."
I was planning to go with her since I had nothing better to do—but her reply surprised me.
What's this? Am I getting rejected?
"Oh, okay?"
"Yeah. We talked about it before the exam. We're going to meet up and try syncing our teamwork."
"Ah..."
Looks like they're finally trying to coordinate with each other.
Well, if I spoil them too much, they lose the chance to grow.
Sometimes it's better to let them handle things on their own.
"Then at least take some food."
"It's okay. We'll manage."
"Quiet. Just take it if I'm offering."
I ignored her refusal and pulled out some food from subspace.
I packed lightweight, high-calorie stuff in a bag and forced it into Lumi's hand.
"Ah, really, it's fine..."
"I said it's for you guys. Don't worry about it."
"...Thanks. I'll eat it well."
Now that she's spent a day on the island, Lumi probably understands how hard it is to find food here.
Sure, supply drops start today, but fighting over them will be exhausting—so I'm just covering for that ahead of time.
That food'll last them a few days at most, and after that, they'll appreciate me even more.
"Hang in there. I'll share location data, so if you ever need to run again, run to me."
"Pfft... Got it."
Lumi said goodbye and trotted off into the forest.
Seeing that once-shy Lumi grow like that really warms my heart.
I'm a little worried, but I can't always be the one helping. Sometimes you gotta stumble to grow.
Once she was out of sight, I started packing up the tent.
I needed a quiet place to meditate and recover my mana.
Thankfully, I'd found a small cave in the rocky hill behind us yesterday.
That should do the trick.
Rustle— Step step.
But as soon as I finished cleaning up, I felt a strange presence behind me and turned around.
"Elise?"
Elise, looking worse for wear, was stumbling toward me.
★ Heroine Status Window
[Elise]
- [Affection: 30]
- [Lust: 57]
- [Appetite: 85]
- [Fatigue: 90]
Current Status: I need magic stones. I'm starving to death...
Fatigue 90, appetite 85... Yeah, she's seriously struggling.
Lust is up to 57—guess she's thinking about reproducing before dying or something?
"Elise, what's wrong? Want some food?"
She looked like she desperately needed to eat.
"Magic stone... Just give me a little."
"What?"
No greeting, just straight to the point.
Why's she coming to me for magic stones? Doesn't she have backup stones?
"I've got food, but no magic stones. Why would I bring that to an exam?"
"I know you have some. You packed magic stones too."
"No, I told you—I didn't."
Why does she think I have magic stones?
Sure, I brought a bunch of random stuff, but what good would magic stones be here?
"Haa... I know everything. I know you have mana impairment. I know you've had physical relationships with Lumi, Professor Baek A-Young, and Professor Im Sol. I even know you're secretly living with a woman. But I won't spread rumors. Just help me a little in this exam."
'What?'
Mana impairment? What bullshit is that? And she knows about my relationships?
'How the hell did she find out?'
I'd been as careful as possible...
If she even found out about Professor Im Sol, that means she got into her lab...
'Must've been someone really high up involved.'
Professor Im Sol is considered a holy figure in the magic world, but she's still only in her late twenties.
Compared to true powerhouses with decades of experience, she's still lacking at this early stage of the story.
I didn't think someone of that level would be watching me... I should've been more cautious.
"...Let's talk after you eat. You look like a wreck."
I pulled out some smoked pork belly.
Sure, greasy food isn't great on an empty stomach, but I don't owe a girl who came to threaten me any special kindness.
"Here. Eat slowly."
"..."
Elise quietly picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and started eating.
What the hell happened to this girl?
Elise was never like this.
She's the poster girl for prideful characters—but once seduced, she's surprisingly easy to break and softens quickly.
I'd already seen that side of her when her affection suddenly spiked and she started acting all sweet.
So why the change now?
Because I'm a womanizer? A scumbag?
'No, that's not it.'
Elise is surprisingly tolerant of harems.
Her own dad was a legendary cheater, constantly having affairs behind his wife's back. But her mom tolerated it because of his capabilities—that's the example she grew up with.
The original game only had a pure romance route, but Elise had a line like this:
["It's only natural for capable men to attract bees. I can allow it all. But don't forget—I'm the queen bee."]
In other words, if you're capable, she'll forgive you. And I've been proving my worth nonstop.
With that much, my value should be skyrocketing. Claiming I lack ability makes no sense.
So what's missing?
'Affection.'
She simply doesn't like me enough.
If she starts liking me, she'll tolerate other women too.
'Gotta raise her affection again.'
And I need to prove a clear hierarchy between us.
If I'm the flower, Elise is the bee.
Elise should be the one coming to me—not the other way around.
Might as well be upfront about the harem from the start. Gotta have at least one heroine like that.
As Elise was nearly done with the meat, I spoke to her.
"The meat was on sale at the mart. Tastes okay?"
"...Yeah."
"Good. I mean, everything tastes good when you're starving, right?"
"...You're seriously weird. I came here to blackmail you. Why are you acting like we're friends?"
Elise put her chopsticks down and gave me a confused look.
Snort
I purposely scoffed loudly. Elise's expression stiffened slightly.
"Elise. You're threatening to leak things? Go ahead. Try it. This isn't your home country—it's Korea."
"..."
"Professor Baek A-Young and Professor Im Sol are seeing me of their own will. There are complex contracts behind the scenes you don't know about. Even if this goes public, which side would the media support? You're going back to France after graduation. I'll be staying here in Korea."
It's simple logic.
Elise, who'd become a foreign national after graduation, versus me—who'd become a national Hunter representing Korea.
No need to even think about which side Korea would take.
Truth doesn't matter.
People believe what the media prints.
Of course, if Elise really went public, it'd be a huge pain in the ass for me.
It'd be a major obstacle in wooing the other heroines. And Elise herself is one of them—I can't make her a true enemy.
But the key is—Elise doesn't know that.
And if I didn't have any heroine-specific conditions to worry about, I'd barely suffer any losses.
Worst case, I could just go after other girls. I had the skills.
Elise is smart—she probably got the message.
"You seriously believe that?"
"Elise. You're the one who did the digging. Why are you mad? I just want to help you—as a friend. You know what I said makes sense. Better than anyone."
"...You're not just after my body?"
"Come on. If I were, I'd have acted already. You don't even have a drop of mana in you right now."
Elise went quiet at that.
Crap. That kinda came off like a threat.
"I don't jump every girl I see. And sorry, but I really didn't bring any magic stones. As for the mana impairment thing—I honestly have no idea where that came from."
No point bluffing about something I don't even understand.
If she catches me faking, it'll only backfire.
"...Fine. I'll tell you. I was born with mana impairment. Of course I know a lot about it."
Didn't think she'd admit that herself... She must be really desperate.
"But you—you've been buying high-grade stones that are useless to cadets. You get regular treatments from Professor Baek A-Young. Your mana levels are low for your magic skill. How do you explain that if not mana impairment?"
"..."
Elise pressed me, her tone urgent.
She clearly thought I wouldn't help her unless she held some leverage.
★ Heroine Status Window
[Elise]
- [Affection: 31]
- [Lust: 55]
- [Appetite: 43]
- [Fatigue: 87]
Current Status: This has to be a lie...! I'll get the truth no matter what.
'At this point, bluffing might work...'
Elise wasn't thinking straight from fatigue. Normally meticulous and calculating, she was making a huge mistake by spilling this much.
I had the full picture now.
Unlike the original, Elise misunderstood and thought I had mana impairment. That boosted her affection and made her act kind.
Then when she found out about my relationships, her affection dropped again.
So to raise it again, I needed to address the mana impairment.
Of course.
Keeping a calm face, I continued.
"Haa... Yeah. You're right. I had mana impairment."
"Had...?"
Elise didn't miss the way I phrased that.
"Yeah. I got treated recently."
As I spoke, I drew in mana from the atmosphere.
In an instant, the mana filled my body and surged through my mana circuits.
"H-How is this... possible...?"
Drawing mana from the air without a stone—someone with mana impairment could never do that.
"As you can see, I was cured. And... I also know how to cure it."
Elise's eyes widened at my words.