Ch.2222 – This Is So Unfair

<22 – I Feel Wronged>

The girl and her companions couldn’t contain their emotions.

The very people who had tracked them down with the intention of eliminating them, even subjecting them to humiliation, had saved them from the landslide and earthquake.

“You… your hand… you held onto the rope until it got that bad?”

Isabelle, the young female leader guiding the young blood of the Esonia Adventure Party.

She felt both gratitude and shame toward a child who wasn’t even half her size.

“I said such harsh things to you. I wanted to eliminate you because I couldn’t stand the sight of you. Why did you help us?”

“Just because. I did it because I could.”

It was pure goodwill without any calculation.

Does a human need a reason to help another human?

Selflessness without expecting anything in return!

It was a strength of heart that children who grew up too quickly couldn’t possess.

In a world of ‘little adults’ where there were no ‘children’ because everyone was put to work by age seven, it was an untainted purity that couldn’t even be called a child’s privilege.

‘Could this be what they call a spirit in legends?’

A pure, innocent spirit raised in a bountiful forest.

A selfish human raised in the harsh human society.

Every adventurer hears the tales of spirits and humans at least once.

And they begin to dream.

That they wish to live the life of a spirit, not a human.

That rather than living a selfish life in a closed-off village or region, they would obtain the purity of spirits who roam the vast unknown world, unbound by anything.

‘Our leader was just like that child.’

Isabelle saw the image of their deceased leader overlapping with the child.

The leader’s face, which had smiled with childlike innocence unbefitting an adult, had looked just like that.

He had accepted complete strangers into the adventure party and taught them how to pursue purity together.

“I’ve lost.”

“Completely defeated as a test participant, as an adult, and as an adventurer.”

“Is this what it takes to enter the world’s best academy?”

As the hostility disappeared from Isabelle’s eyes, those who followed her let out sighs.

“Sorry, Isabelle. We’re giving up.”

“I see. You too…”

The participants who expressed their intention to withdraw had their ticket watches turn red.

The word “Retire” indicating elimination appeared one after another above their watches.

<Golden Ticket Holder>

<Status – Retired>

<Reason – Voluntary Withdrawal>

What face would she have if she remained alone?

As she tried to withdraw with them, those who had already withdrawn stopped her.

“Wait. Not you.”

“Why? If you’re all withdrawing, what am I supposed to do alone? Have you forgotten the spirit of our adventure party?”

“Isabelle. We came along because we were worried about you. We never really intended to enter the academy from the start. We knew we lacked the skills.”

“So I was the only one serious about the adventure party?!”

“That’s not what we meant. From the beginning, we were just rear support or rookies without much experience in the adventure party. We barely escaped with our lives. You’re different from us, having followed the leader from before.”

“We almost died when we lost grip of the rope earlier, remember?”

Only then did Isabelle notice the condition of her companions.

They were exhausted and could barely stand.

In such a state of fatigue, it would be impossible to pass the next gate.

“We appreciate that you helped us get tickets too, but this is our limit.”

“We’re sorry, Isabelle.”

“This is cowardly. Telling me to stay alone while you all leave, that’s selfish. Wasn’t an adventure party supposed to always stick together?”

Isabelle protested with tears streaming down her face.

Instead of responding to her plea, her companions bowed their heads to Oknodie, Giselle, and Son Ocheon.

“We apologize for causing trouble. We sincerely apologize.”

“We won’t ask for forgiveness given the circumstances. But please, would you forgive our female leader? Unlike us, she has real skill.”

“That’s right. Without Isabelle, we would never have obtained the golden tickets. I assure you she’ll be helpful if you accept her as your leader.”

Giselle looked at Oknodie with a questioning gaze.

It was Oknodie who had noticed the earthquake.

It was Oknodie who had saved them.

Only Oknodie could decide whether to forgive them or not.

The girl asked.

“Do you know how to cook?”

It was a perplexing question for everyone.

Why would she ask about cooking skills during an academy entrance exam?

“In an adventure party, local provisioning is essential. If you don’t know how to identify edible ingredients and cook on the spot, you’ll die from poison or disease.”

“Then you pass.”

Oknodie playfully extended her hand.

As Isabelle hesitated, unsure if she should take the injured hand, Oknodie’s small hand firmly grasped hers.

The adventurers thought:

She was going to forgive us anyway.

The child just needed an excuse.

“This is truly touching.”

“Our adventure wasn’t in vain after all.”

“If that purity isn’t a spirit, what is?”

“Right. That child is a spirit.”

“Having met a spirit, I have no regrets.”

All sorts of praises for pure-hearted people were showered upon Oknodie.

Isabelle, holding the small but strong hand, found herself smiling genuinely for the first time since the leader’s death.

“Indeed, spirits connect with other spirits.”

The adventurers grinned.

Isabelle might not know it, but she was the adventurers’ own little spirit.

Many had joined her because they wanted to see the pure smile she used to have when following their leader.

How sad it had been to see Isabelle lose her smile.

And now she had found it again.

It would be joyful news to share with the older adventurers who couldn’t challenge the academy due to age restrictions.

“I’m glad we came to take the test.”

“Indeed.”

The young members of the Esonia Adventure Party departed with their own small enlightenment.

Monk Myungho, the first gate examiner who had been watching them from a distance, smiled benevolently.

“Those with pure hearts find their own path even in defeat. The future of the Esonia Adventure Party looks bright.”

Thirty minutes later, a clear bell sound echoed throughout the collapsed rocky mountain.

The evaluation time for the first gate of the entrance exam had arrived.

* *

[You have passed the landslide event.]

[You identified the approaching disaster and responded wisely.]

[As a reward, the Intuition function is now unlocked.]

[Observation experience +5]

[Intuition experience +1]

Intuition’s warning is important.

The subconscious instinctively recognizes dangers that the conscious mind hasn’t yet perceived.

Just by listening carefully to the subconscious warnings, one can overcome unfair elements like landslides.

‘I got lucky too. To think I’d find a cook this way.’

Though not a professional chef, it doesn’t matter.

As long as they can cook, that’s what counts.

Good at procuring ingredients, good at cooking—this is a tier-1 support companion.

“Out of the 500 participants in this first gate, there were 315 casualties and withdrawals. Therefore, 185 participants will proceed to the second gate.”

Those who relied solely on numbers or were careless due to inadequate skills were largely eliminated.

Of course, the named NPCs all survived and passed, though their dirt-covered faces and torn clothes showed they had been caught in the landslide and had a rough time.

“I would like to say this to all of you.”

Monk Myungho struck a bell to wake the participants from their complacent mindset, his face benevolent.

“Merely praying for salvation is not the path for those who dream of being the best in the world.”

“You must not become part of a closed circle, dedicating your lives and prayers to small town deities, mountain gods, or minor divine entities.”

“That is also why this humble monk left the Eastern Empire and set foot in the center of Western educational institutions.”

Monk Myungho’s test.

It wasn’t a test of building stone pagodas to accumulate wishes.

What he desired was not dependence but independence.

His test was a test of autonomy.

The talent that Gift Academy seeks—the shining Gift—is born from autonomy.

“The first step in polishing the raw gem of shining talent is to embrace autonomy. Most of you failed to prove this, but you didn’t fall in the face of trials.”

“Not dying leads to opportunity. The opportunity to transform today’s failure into tomorrow’s success. So you must prove in the next gate that you are worthy of entering the world’s best Gift Academy.”

Judging by his words alone, a mass elimination wouldn’t have been surprising, but the generous Monk Myungho gave them another chance.

He showed mercy to the participants who had been desperate just to survive the harsh variables of landslides and earthquakes.

“Of course, there are exceptions.”

This was as far as I remembered from the test evaluation.

As I was gathering my things to move to the next gate, strange lights flew around me.

The subordinates following the examiner began pointing huge light generators with illumination magic at me.

“This child, despite being the youngest participant in this test, identified signs of the landslide and wisely positioned herself on flat ground beyond the mountain peak.”

“Huh? Me?”

“This child’s name is Oknodie! She has passed the first gate with the highest score!”

Disbelieving gazes poured in from all directions.

I had only prepared to reduce the drastically increasing probability of elimination (60%) or serious injury (30%) if I failed to notice the landslide.

In a game, this event would have ended with [You avoided serious injury. (9.9%)] or [The entire group avoided serious injury. (0.1%)], but now there was an unexpected bonus.

“A talent praised by the examiner. How tempting.”

“My, what a cute child.”

Characters with good alignments.

“That little runt got the top score over me?”

“So she wasn’t just from some insignificant lower noble family. Tsk. How annoying.”

Characters with neutral alignments.

“Looks like she’d break if you kicked her.”

“Hehe. I suppose it’s time to change my pet.”

Even characters with evil alignments.

All the main and supporting characters were focusing on me.

Is this how an introvert feels when they go to a play, make eye contact with the actors, and get dragged onto the stage?

In a game, I would have said “What are you looking at, scrub?” while flexing my huge muscles, but with this small body barely over 130cm and being female, it’s impossible.

Above all, this is reality now, not a game.

Such boldness is too much for an introvert.

“D-don’t look…”

I hid behind Giselle’s legs to avoid their gazes.

Sighs echoed from all around.

Was it because of my shyness?

The gazes I felt on my skin grew even more intense.