Chapter 60.

An hour passed by since I entered the island . I was still walking through the forest .

Currently, I was heading to my chosen camping spot, a place that was near a river with a mountain on one side . It was the region the ancient sages would have called, ‘back to the mountain, face to the water’ .

I was prepared thoroughly for an exploration . On my right hand was my laptop, which constantly showed drone footages from the island, and in my pocket was a map of the island outputted by the Book of Truth . In other words, I was full of cheat keys .

But before I could arrive at the camping spot, I ran into a monster .

Clown monkey . Just like its name suggested, it was a monkey with colorful spots on its body . However, its face was a bit grotesque for a monkey, and because it was the size of an adult man, people were taken aback the first time they saw it .

“…Jesus, it looks horrifying . ”

Clown monkeys should be low-intermediate rank grade 9 . Of course, there were individual differences, but the one in front of me didn’t look any stronger than the average clown monkey .

I took out my training handgun .

Because it was quick, it would be troublesome if I didn’t finish it in one blow . So, I aimed for its vital point, its tail . Clown monkeys were innately nimble, but because they would lose their sense of balance without their tails, they were easy to deal with .

I pulled the trigger without hesitation . The fired magic bullet drew a straight line across the air, then pierced the clown monkey’s tail . It tried to jump up in response to the sudden ambush, but with its tail injured, it lost its balance and fell . I quickly fired five bullets into its head, though the fourth bullet was enough to penetrate its skull .

“That was easy . ”

After scanning the clown monkey’s corpse with the smartwatch, I continued on my way .

After about 30 minutes of walking, a river stream appeared .

The source of the water was located in the northernmost area of the island, which flowed down and split into eight branches . This river seemed to be a branch of a branch but had no problem to serve as a water source . Furthermore, there was a rocky mountain behind the river and a dense forest above it, making it an ideal camping spot .

I took out my tent, which looked like a small disk and could be opened up by imbuing magic power . When I put in some of Stigma’s magic power, the disk moved by itself and formed a huge tent .

“Wow . ”

I entered the tent . It was cozier than I imagined . There was even furniture inside, a bed and a small table .

Since nothing big would happen at the beginning of the exam, I decided to get some sleep .

“Huaam . ”

With a big yawn, I jumped on the bed .

**

Nine hours after the start of the exam .

The blazing sun had set, and darkness descended on the island and sea .

“Haa…”

Amidst the fiercely blowing wind, Rachel was sitting on a rocky mountain and collecting her breath .

She had set out by herself after rejecting several offers to team up, but now, she was feeling the need to team up more than anyone else .

The biggest reason was food .

“…Auu . ”

Rachel looked down at her food supply with a mixed feeling . Only half of the provided food remained . She ate only two hours ago, but she became hungry again after scuffling with a monster .

Cadets had to find their own food in this place by looking for edible vegetation or hunting wild animals . Anyone could guess that wild animals stayed near rivers .

But even if she hunted wild animals, there was the problem of cooking them . Cutting their skin, taking out their bones, and obtaining the meat… Rachel had no experience with butchery .

Since she already hunted six monsters, she could also trade with other cadets . But points were precious . She was trying to eat for the sake of obtaining points, so paying points to buy food didn’t make much sense .

When Rachel was pondering with a grave look…

A faint scent of meat tickled her nose .

“…”

She stood up and looked down the mountain . Below, she could faintly see the red color of fire . It especially stood out in the dark .

There were likely cadets there . From the smell, they had to be grilling meat .

Rachel swallowed her saliva . Although she still had half of her food supply remaining, she knew she had to save it as much as possible . Not only would the desperate side be at a disadvantage in a trade, the provided food supply was also clean and trustworthy .

Rachel jumped down . After running down from a 300m height in just three minutes, Rachel reached the ground . Then, she chased after the smell .

Not long afterward, she found five cadets cooking a giant boar . The cadets noticed her presence and turned their gazes .

“Eh?”

Three male and two female cadets . It was a well-balanced group . Rachel stared at them silently .

“…What do you want?”

They put up their guard . Rachel estimated their battle prowess . However, it was still too early to fight other cadets . Rachel pointed at the boar .

“I’d like to buy some . ”

“Ah~ Haha, you’re working alone . ”

A male cadet, who seemed to be the group’s leader, stood up . He approached Rachel and held out his greasy hand . Rachel tried to shake his hand anyway, but the man pulled his hand back before she could do so .

“Ah, my hand is dirty . ”

He laughed heartily and continued .

“You’re welcome to join in . We’re all cadets here . That’s fine with you guys, right?”

The man turned around and gave the others a meaningful look which Rachel couldn’t see .

The man then turned back around .

“Oh right, you must not know our names . We know yours . ”

“…”

Rachel silently nodded . The man scratched his neck and spoke .

“Well, Rachel-ssi is famous… I’m Joo Yeohoon . ”

**

“Argh, where am I?”

Chae Nayun wandered in the woods for 14 hours . During this time, she hunted 9 monsters, likely placing herself near the top of the leaderboard . It was the result of simultaneously using a bow and a sword .

“There’s no end…”

She plowed through vines and tall grass, but no matter how much she walked, she couldn’t find a useful source of water or food . In fact, she never even ran into a cadet . Now, she was exhausted .

When she was on the verge of passing out…

Like a light of salvation, a faint torchlight appeared in the distance . She felt that it could even be a campfire .

“Oooh!”

Chae Nayun ran towards the light, and as she approached the light, she could smell a spicy fragrance .

After escaping the endless field of tall grass, Chae Nayun witnessed the source of the light .

“Eh?”

There, she saw Kim Hajin munching on a piece of meat . With chopsticks in his hand and a plate full of meat, he was staring at her .

“…What?”

He tilted his head and asked .

Chae Nayun swallowed hard . Although she favored high-class food, she had moved for 14 hours with little rest or food . She had long since devoured the provided food . If it was something that could be eaten, she was prepared to eat it tastily .

Chae Nayun first observed Kim Hajin and his surroundings . There was a huge, cozy-looking tent behind him . The source of the light wasn’t a campfire like she had thought, but a portable grill . Not only that, he had a table, a chair, a frying pan, and packaged meat that was being cooked…

“W-What the heck, where did you get all these?”

“…I prepared them for the exam . ”

“What? How did you know about the exam to have prepared all these?”

“I brought them just in case . Don’t you know I’m number 1 in the world?”

Kim Hajin tapped on his head and spoke .

“I’m pretty damn smart . ”

“…Yeah, good for you . ”

Chae Nayun’s sarcastic remark only lasted for a moment . She swallowed hard looking at the meat .

On the other hand, Kim Hajin was wondering if their encounter was brought about by luck . Thinking about it, it did seem like points had walked into him on their own .

“You hungry?”

“…”

Chae Nayun nodded without speaking .

“How much food do you have left?”

“…I lost it when I was fighting a monster . ”

She had eaten them already, so she made a small lie .

“R-Really, I’m a bit clumsy . ”

“Hm . ”

Kim Hajin crossed his arm and fell in thought, while Chae Nayun held her breath and waited for him to speak .

“How many points do you have?”

Chae Nayun immediately breathed a sigh of relief in her heart . Things were going as she hoped .

She killed nine monsters and obtained a total of 35 points, but she didn’t say the truth .

“Twenty… five . ”

“Then give me half . ”

“H-Half?”

Half . It was an expensive price to pay for a single day’s meal .

“Yep, But in exchange, you’re sleepy, right? I’ll also lend you a sleeping bag . Just say no if you don’t want to . ”

“N-No! I mean, yes! I, I want to . ”

Chae Nayun turned on her exam smartwatch . This watch could recognize other smartwatches within a 3m radius .

[Kim Hajin]

—Point trading

—Location sharing

She clicked on ‘point trading’ .

Half of 25 was 12 . 5, but only whole numbers could be used in trading . After thinking about it for a bit, she sent 12 points to Kim Hajin and stealthily sat down next to him . After confirming that he received points, Kim Hajin gave well-cooked pork chops to Chae Nayun .

“But are you okay with just this? They’re pork chops . ”

“…I’ll have to eat to live . ”

Chae Nayun heard that something like this was a common occurrence in Dungeons and Towers .

She put a pork chop in her mouth . Was it because she was hungry? She found it quite delicious . Then, she saw Kim Hajin dipping his pork chops in a sauce . She did the same thing and found that it was tastier .

The two of them continued eating for 20 minutes .

During this time, neither of them talked .

“Ah, now I’m full . ”

Once her hunger went away, Chae Nayun felt a bit awkward . She wasn’t particularly close to Kim Hajin . In fact, their relationship was better described as uncomfortable .

Just when she was thinking about running away…

“Here . ”

Kim Hajin gave her a bottle of water . Chae Nayun only stared at it in hesitation .

“It’s mineral water, not river water . ”

Did this guy have mind-reading abilities?

Kuhum . Chae Nayun let out a dry cough and took the water . Gulp, gulp, kyaa . After emptying half of it in one go, she let out a satisfied sigh .

“…By the way, what’s that?”

Then, she suddenly caught sight of a ring on Kim Hajin’s index finger .

“ . . . . ”

Kim Hajin’s face stiffened . For a moment, he rubbed his ring without talking . It was as though he was choosing his words . Seeing his solemn yet flustered reaction, a flash of insight arose in Chae Nayun’s mind .

“Ah, nevermind, nevermind . I’m not curious at all . ”

‘I might not act like it, but I’m someone who can take a hint . It must be a keepsake of his family . ’ Chae Nayun finished the rest of water without waiting for Kim Hajin’s answer .

Meanwhile, Kim Hajin stared at Chae Nayun with the eyes of a dead fish .

“I never said you could drink it all . ”

“…Eh?”

**

The next morning arrived . Birds chirped and the howling of monsters rang out from the forest .

Waking up to the noise, I got up from my bed . Though I felt a bit stiff, this much was a luxury on this island .

“Auuu . ”

I left the tent to bask in the sunlight . However, no sunlight shone down outside the tent .

“…Is it a polar night?”

The outside world was that dark . It was likely because of the magicians of the island’s central tower .

I looked around . On the ground, Chae Nayun was buried in her sleeping bag, still asleep . Last night must have been cold as she only had her face peeking out . In a way, she looked like a caterpillar .

Tong!

Suddenly, the seed sitting on my tent table jumped up . By the looks of it, it had already finished its meal . It must have felt my gaze as it began to quiver .

“…Why are you so cute?”

I tickled the seed and wrapped it with a new gauze . Then, I retrieved the tent . In the first place, I had no intention of continually staying in the same place . Chae Nayun was still using the sleeping bag, but well, I could just gift it to her .

Now that cadets were allowed to fight each other, I had no plans to sit still . I planned on picking fights aggressively, especially against dangerous individuals .

Of course, I wasn’t allowed to kill . Some of the Djinns here didn’t even know that they were Djinns, and in reality, they weren’t Djinns yet .

That was the difference between a Djinn who contracted another Djinn and a Djinn who contracted a devil .

In the case of the former, Djinns were supplied with magic power by their contracted Djinns, so they could avoid going berserk, and their contracts were also less tight . These Djinns were often treated like expendables, being abandoned or killed if they failed their mission .

On the other hand, Djinns who directly contracted devils were rarer .

Examples of such Djinns were Sven, Yun Hyun, and Lancaster . But because directly contracting devils caused large side-effects, the only ‘cadet’ on this island who managed to overcome this side-effect was a man named Joo Yeohoon .

“I’ll have to go higher . ”

For now, my goal was reaching the World Tree located in the center of this island . Although it had a grandiose name, it was just an extremely big tree . It had its roots in the center of the island, and it was called the World Tree solely because of its size .

**

In just 24 hours since the start of the exam, Yoo Yeonha managed to form her own group . It was a small team made up of five people with Yoo Yeonha as its leader . Utilizing their strength, Yoo Yeonha was amassing points easily and efficiently .

“Yeonha-ssi, I found someone . ”

A sharpshooter named Rose whispered to Yoo Yeonha, but before waiting for Yoo Yeonha’s orders, she drew her bow .

But right when she was about to fire, Yoo Yeonha’s whip flew in like lightning and snatched her bow away .

“Eh?”

“Don’t . ”

Yoo Yeonha glared at Rose with stern eyes .

“…You can’t touch that man . ”

“Eh? I-Isn’t that person rank 934?”

Rankings didn’t change until after the final exam, and in accordance with the final exam’s rule, every cadet was wearing a nametag with their rank on it . But even without a nametag, the man Rose was aiming at was someone most people knew .

He was known for his gun-related Gift among other things, the rank 934 cadet, Kim Hajin .

“No, you can’t win against him . ”

However, Yoo Yeonha lightly cut her off .

At that moment, Kim Hajin made his move . Almost as if to save Yoo Yeonha from having to explain, he climbed up a giant tree with impeccable movements .

After reaching the peak of a 150-meter tree in a few breaths, he went into the dense leaves .

This series of unrealistic maneuvers caused Rose to be dumbstruck .

Yoo Yeonha spoke with a stern voice .

“See that? I just saved your life, Rose-ssi . To that man, a rank is just a number . If you had let go of that bowstring, you would have lost for sure . Not only that, the rest of us would have also been in trouble . ”

“Ah… . ”

“There are many hidden dragons in this world . It’s the same reason that the Hero Association can’t do anything about hunters of the Vast Expanse . Next time, don’t do anything before I give the order . ”

Rose nodded like a child being scolded by her teacher .

“Also, about that man being uncharacteristically strong, keep it a secret . ”

“Eh? Why?”

However, Rose couldn’t help but question this order . Yoo Yeonha gave a brief explanation .

“Because he might become one of our family members . For the record, I like people with heavy mouths . ”

Rose shuddered .

Essence of the Strait, the world’s second ranked guild .

For Rose who was a rank 68 cadet, it was too enticing of an offer .

“Ah, yes! I’ll keep it a secret! Until death!”

“Good . ”

After generously smiling at Rose who was as obedient as a dog, Yoo Yeonha stared at the giant tree Kim Hajin climbed up .

It was a monstrous tree that even the most courageous people would hesitate to climb . Just looking up at the tree would cause one’s neck to hurt, but Kim Hajin had climbed to its peak in mere minutes .

“…Hm . ”

‘Should I modify Kim Hajin’s physical ability rating?’ Yoo Yeonha began to think about her report .

Tiiring—

At that moment, a message arrived on her smartwatch, ending her thought .

“Ah, Ijin-ssi contacted us . Let’s go back . ”

People who shared locations with each other could also message each other .

This was likely something that Yoo Yeonha was the first to find out .

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