Chapter 121. Survival Exam (14)
9 PM.
After dinner, we had some awkward time to kill before going to sleep.
Elise was swinging her sword off in a corner for training, while I sat with Lucy and Lumi by the campfire chatting.
"So you were with Elise for three days?"
"Yeah. That's right."
"I see..."
Lucy looked visibly jealous hearing I'd been with Elise for three days.
Didn't seem like she was jealous about the food—probably just jealous about being with me.
"Hoyeon, how many teams have you run into during the exam?"
"About four teams, I think."
"Whoa... we were lucky and only ran into one."
"Still, you won, right? That's impressive."
"Yeah... hehe."
Good job, Lumi!
Her growth was showing more and more each day. Totally worth the effort I put into helping her.
"..."
Lucy looked like she was trying to figure out when to jump into the conversation, watching us laugh together.
'She's becoming more like Lumi every day.'
She does fine, then clams up when I get close to another girl.
Especially when it's just the three of us, she gets like this sometimes.
'I need to progress with Lucy too... Maybe at the festival?'
With so many unexpected events lately, my progress with Lucy had stalled.
In the original story, just solving the Felix incident and spending normal time together was enough to raise her affection, but now I couldn't spend consistent time with Lucy or Lumi.
If I could do something with both Lucy and Lumi at the same time, that would help. Then I could share time meant for Lumi.
I'll think about it more once the survival exam ends.
I checked the point rankings.
-----------------------
Current Point Ranking on the Island:
1. Nam Daeun - 1,320p
2. Lee Hoyeon - 450p
3. Elise - 404p
4. Kim Younghan - 370p
.
.
.
----------------------
The rankings hadn't changed yet.
Overwhelming 1st place Nam Daeun, then me in 2nd, Elise in 3rd, and Kim Younghan in 4th.
But Kim Younghan seemed to be slowly closing the gap with Elise.
"By tomorrow, he might overtake her..."
Since I was short on points, I'd have no choice but to fight on the final day.
Sure, if survival was the only goal, it wouldn't matter—but our goal was 1st place.
"Can I have some water?"
"Ah, yeah. Here. You're working really hard, huh?"
Gulp gulp.
Elise, who had been training with her sword, finished and drank some water sitting beside Lucy.
Was she getting ready to sleep now?
"Let's decide the night watch order. Lucy and Lumi must be tired from not sleeping properly, so is it okay if they take the easier shifts?"
I looked to Elise to get her approval.
After all, Lucy and Lumi probably hadn't eaten or slept properly like we had.
"Do as you like."
Thankfully, Elise agreed.
"Then Lumi takes first watch, I'll take second, Elise third, and Lucy last. Sound good?"
"Thank you, Hoyeon..."
"What the... Thanks."
Lucy and Lumi looked touched—but it was all part of my plan.
While swapping shifts with Lumi, I'd finish the main event we missed earlier, and when changing with Elise, I'd give her a mana massage. Perfect plan.
"Alright... Let's get to sleep."
*
Afternoon of Day 5.
Boom—!
A massive Grizzly Bear slammed into the ground with a grotesque sound.
A large gash remained on its belly, and Nam Daeun stood in front of it, shaking blood from her sword.
She had already taken down over ten monsters, but didn't stop.
She charged the next monster and swung her sword.
The monsters couldn't handle her speed and were sliced to pieces by the sharp edge of her blade.
"Whoa... isn't she the monster, not the Grizzly Bear?"
"What the hell is she, man?"
Kim Younghan smacked the cadet gawking next to him and kept his eyes on Nam Daeun.
'She really is a freakin' monster.′
Of course, he didn't show it like the idiot next to him.
"Nice work."
"Here's the points."
"Yeah. I'll give you a contact permit."
Nam Daeun didn't talk much.
She'd just come after a hunt, distribute points, take the contact permit, and disappear again.
"She's probably calling her boyfriend, right? I mean, she's so dedicated."
"Who knows... I'm not really sure."
"No way a girl that pretty doesn't have a boyfriend."
"Whatever. Don't worry about her and focus on your own stuff."
"Yeah yeah, Mr. Boring."
"..."
Kim Younghan scratched his head, staring at Nam Daeun's back.
The plan was perfect.
Use Lee Hoyeon as bait to gather cadets, take the lead, and collect points.
Kim Younghan's team had now grown to over 70 members.
Even cadets who originally didn't want to join had no choice once the numbers swelled that much.
The only unpredictable element was Nam Daeun.
Though part of the team, she didn't accept any food distribution, didn't talk to other cadets, and just kept hunting monsters and disappearing somewhere to make calls.
Kim Younghan still had no idea what she was thinking, and it made him nervous.
Meanwhile, away from Kim Younghan's team, Nam Daeun used one of the contact permits she had saved up.
[One person allowed. Time: 5 minutes. The Academy does not eavesdrop or record. However, if any activity is found to impact the exam, strict punishment will follow.]
Ring ring—
Nam Daeun expertly operated her smartwatch and waited for the connection.
- Sis?
"Hey. How have you been, Dahee?"
- Yeah! I've been waiting for your call!
"That's good. You weren't bored?"
- Uncle Mingyu played with me a lot! He even bought me snacks when you got first place! Thanks, sis!
"... Sounds fun."
The one using her little sister Dahee as leverage—the Guild Master of the Buyer Guild, Uncle Mingyu.
She'd known him since childhood, so she still couldn't stop calling him Uncle Mingyu.
Nam Daeun had never even cursed someone directly before, so she didn't know how.
Like an elephant raised in captivity, she couldn't rebel as long as her sister wasn't being harmed. Her defenses remained firmly in place.
- Sis, you're coming to see me next week, right?
"Of course. I'll bring lots of yummy stuff."
Since she was guaranteed first place in the practical exam, Uncle Mingyu had started treating her nicely again.
'He looks just like the Uncle Mingyu from my childhood... but I bet it won't even last a month.'
Haa...
Holding back a sigh, Nam Daeun continued her call with Nam Dahee.
- Can't you come this weekend? I really want to see you soon.
"Sorry. I'm in the middle of an exam right now."
- But didn't the practical exam already end?
Nam Dahee asked with her big, bright eyes.
"That's true... but I still have a debt I need to repay."
The special exam didn't count as part of the practical exam.
Originally, the moment she realized she couldn't contact her sister, she planned to forfeit. But Lee Hoyeon's face kept appearing in her mind—the one who gave up first place for her.
She'd also found out by chance that monsters could drop contact permits.
From that point on, Nam Daeun began forming a plan.
A plan to give her points to Lee Hoyeon and help him reach first place.
- Really?! Uncle Mingyu said debts must be paid back. Otherwise, you're a bad person!
"... You shouldn't say things like that."
- Okay! If you say so, I won't say it anymore!
"Hehe... I love you, Dahee."
- I love you too, sis!
Nam Daeun smiled warmly as the call continued.
*
"Hoyeon... wake up, Hoyeon..."
Tap, tap.
I opened my eyes to the sensation of someone touching my cheek.
"Ah, finally. You're up."
Inside the cramped tent, Lumi was waking me.
"Mmm... I'll head out."
"Okay."
The tent wasn't exactly small, but with three people sleeping in it, we had to stay huddled close.
I took some water from the subspace pouch to quench my thirst and carefully stood up, making sure not to brush Lucy's arm.
Lumi was sitting by the crackling fire.
"Ah, Hoyeon... mmm..."
As if waiting for me, Lumi stood and I pulled her into an embrace and kissed her.
Wet breaths and soft kisses echoed quietly through the forest.
I had already set up a rune barrier when I exited the tent.
From the drone's point of view above, I'd just be sitting by the fire.
"Lumi, we're doing it, right?"
I had told Lumi to wake me up 30 minutes earlier than usual.
Checking the time, she'd followed my instructions perfectly.
It had only been an hour since I fell asleep, so I was a little groggy—but nothing I couldn't handle.
"Y-yeah... since we couldn't earlier..."
"Take it off."
I responded simply and placed my hand on Lumi's chest.
"Nnngh..."
My hand roamed her body as Lumi slowly undressed from her cadet uniform.
She didn't strip completely in the forest—just removed her outerwear and stockings.
"Were you looking forward to it all night during your shift?"
"Mmmgh..."
Her pussy was already soaking wet, more than ready to take me in.
"I'm putting it in."
"Y-yes... mmngh...♡"
My cock slipped deep into Lumi's pussy.
*
"Ah, ahh... I-I'm...!"
Lumi hugged my upper body, trembling with short, shaky breaths.
"Yeah. I'm gonna cum too...!"
Spurt, spurt—
I held Lumi tight and released every last drop deep inside her.
Her small body quivered as she clung to me, then she leaned in to kiss me.
"Mmm... smooch... mmm."
I enjoyed her soft, full breasts while kissing and basking in the afterglow.
As my erection started to fade, Lumi slowly pulled away, withdrawing me from her.
Without a word, she knelt down and started sucking me clean—so I stroked her head and gazed up at the night sky.
Stars looked beautiful while getting head.
"Haa... slrp. slrp. slrp..."
A quick glance at my smartwatch showed that it would be time to wake Elise in 10 minutes.
As Lumi buried her face deeper into my crotch, I gently pushed her back.
"Lumi, we went a bit too long. It's already time to wake Elise."
"S-slrp... huh? Already two hours..."
"Sorry, I lost control—it's been a while. You go rest first. I'll switch with Elise."
"Okay... thanks for the meal, Hoyeon...!"
Lumi blushed and scampered back into the tent.
"What the... heh."
I guess that was her version of being cute. Seeing my dad-smile in the reflection meant it worked.
I stoked the fading fire for about 20 minutes and added more logs, then headed into the tent to wake Elise.
"Elise... wake up."
I tapped her cheek like I did with Lumi, but then worried she might snap at me—so I spoke instead.
"...I'm awake."
Thankfully, Elise got up quickly.
"Yeah. I got a bit distracted, so I woke you a little late. Take your time coming out."
I had timed her wake-up to let Lumi fall asleep before giving her the massage.
It meant less sleep for me since I woke up early and stayed up late, but it couldn't be helped.
If I wanted to succeed with this harem, sleep was a sacrifice.
But despite Elise getting four straight hours of sleep, she still looked more tired than me with less than two.
"You okay? You look really worn out."
"... I'm just not a morning person."
As she said that, Elise looked at my face, then averted her eyes.
Hmm, maybe she really is not a morning person.