Ch.34034. Surviving on a Deserted Island

“I’m tired. I’ll rest a bit. You go ahead first.”

What was happening?

Gilbert, no, Kang Do-jun, trembled as he watched his wingman dying before him, bleeding profusely. Though he had been fully aware this was a reckless mission, seeing his close friend dying didn’t feel real.

Do-jun’s own body wasn’t in good shape either, but he tried his hardest not to cry in front of his partner who was joking until his dying moment.

“Stop talking nonsense and get up. We need to go.”

Though he knew there was no hope, he still said they should return together.

Do-jun’s partner lying on the ground let out a snicker.

Blood surged up with the laugh, but seeing him still smiling foolishly made Do-jun cry and cry again.

“Do-jun.”

“Tell me, you bastard.”

His friend’s smile began to fade. Do-jun couldn’t tell if his eyes were looking at him or staring into empty space.

As he crossed the river of death, he grabbed Do-jun’s hand and pulled him closer.

“Make sure you return alive. By any means necessary.”

Even as he continued coughing up blood, he only wished for his close friend’s safety, and so he died in Do-jun’s arms.

Do-jun closed the eyes of his partner who couldn’t even properly close them, worrying about his friend until his last moment.

He was determined to return alive as his friend had wished.

But he vowed that would come after fulfilling the purpose of his mission here. He couldn’t let his dear friend’s death be in vain.

Shortly after, Do-jun kept his promise. He perfectly completed his assigned mission and did the unthinkable by retrieving his friend’s body and returning.

Though his body was half-destroyed, he had no regrets.

His friend’s death wasn’t in vain, and he had returned with him—that was enough.

Both then and now, Do-jun truly believed that.

***

Gilbert, who had fallen into a light sleep at dawn, frowned as he got up. Perhaps because he was sleeping outdoors, memories of his military days surfaced, putting him in a bad mood. It had been quite a long time, and he should have forgotten by now, but the fact that these memories occasionally resurfaced made him think he couldn’t help it.

If he was going to recall the real world, he should at least remember women.

Grumbling about remembering some dark-skinned guy instead, Gilbert stomped out the dying embers of the campfire.

He had to reach the southern coast today at the very least, so there was no time to dawdle. Gilbert slung the remaining bundle of Kelni legs over his shoulder and shook his water flask. Perhaps because he had shared it with Lily yesterday, it was almost empty.

Deciding he needed to replenish his water supply first, he began climbing trees to search for water sources, just as he had done yesterday. But his luck wasn’t as good today; several hours into his journey, he still couldn’t find a suitable water source.

Clicking his tongue at the continued futile effort, Gilbert took a small sip from his nearly empty flask and continued on his way.

About an hour after drinking that water, he heard something that stopped him in his tracks.

Grrrr.

It was a rough growl that sounded desperately hungry. Along with the sound of trampled branches, the growling grew closer.

Gilbert sighed and turned his head toward the sound. As expected, a massive bear stood there, drooling and looking ready to pounce at any moment.

Gilbert briefly considered what to do with the hungry bear. Even if it attacked, the bear wouldn’t be much of a problem for Gilbert, who could manipulate mana. But he thought it would be better not to use his power if he didn’t have to.

He drew up his mana and spread his aura. True to its survival instincts in the wild, the bear was intimidated by his aura and didn’t dare to charge, instead cautiously watching him. If it hadn’t been extremely hungry, it would have fled immediately.

Gilbert threw two of the bundled Kelni legs to the bear. Despite the food landing right in front of it, the bear was still wary of Gilbert and hesitated to approach. Eventually, it couldn’t resist its hunger.

As Gilbert watched the bear devouring the meat ravenously, he wondered why such a large bear was so starved. Judging by its size, it should have been the king of the forest, so it was strange that it couldn’t find food. Even if it had been fleeing from the academy students, that would have been for at most a day, which didn’t explain this level of hunger.

Having finished the Kelni meat, the bear now appeared somewhat gentler, smacking its lips. The food was clearly insufficient for its large body. After a moment’s consideration, Gilbert carefully approached the bear with the remaining Kelni legs.

“Stay still.”

It might have seemed ridiculous to try to tame a bear with just Kelni legs, but the bear, already subdued by Gilbert’s aura, lowered its body like an obedient dog and allowed him to approach. He handed over the remaining Kelni legs and examined the bear’s condition. Soon he could see why this king-like bear had been unable to find food and was so weak.

‘These wounds are severe.’

They weren’t cuts from something sharp like a sword. It looked like the bear had been in a territorial fight; there were claw marks and bite wounds all over its body. Gilbert thought it was quite a discovery to learn that there was something in this forest capable of such brutal violence against this monster.

It might have been a problem that he had given away his food, but in such a humid region, meat spoiled quickly. He had to find new provisions anyway, so he figured gaining this information wasn’t a bad trade-off.

“Be careful then. I’m going ahead.”

After patting the bear’s body a few times, he left to find water and food. The bear, having eaten all the Kelni meat, made an appreciative growling sound as Gilbert departed.

After leaving the bear, Gilbert spent his time searching for water and food as he headed toward the southern coast. Fortunately, as if being rewarded for helping the bear, he managed to find water and edible fruits. He finished his lunch with fruits atop a tree, then continued toward the coast, finally reaching his target shoreline well past noon.

After arriving at the coast, his first destination, Gilbert confirmed his position once more. Finding himself roughly in the middle of the southern coastline, he began moving southwest along the shore as planned. If he traveled smoothly, he would likely reach the end of the coastline around noon tomorrow.

Pause.

As Gilbert was pushing through the undergrowth, he began to sense what appeared to be several people ahead. Though he had been lucky enough not to encounter any students except Lily so far, it was natural that the probability of encounters would increase along the coastline, where food was easier to find.

“Huh!”

As expected, he saw five students gathered, trying to start a fire. Judging by the tassels on their uniforms, they seemed to be from a Grade 3 class. Gilbert quickly assessed their possessions. He could see freshly caught fish and a pile of edible fruits.

Just as he needed to find dinner, Gilbert grinned.

Before the Grade 3 students could react, Gilbert rushed in and sent all five of them back to the comfortable and cozy academy.

Of course, their fare was the fish and fruits they had diligently hunted.

Gilbert picked up a fruit, wiped it on his sleeve, and took a bite.

Indeed, the most delicious food was that which was taken from others.

***

Ian hadn’t expected the comprehensive evaluation to take place on an uninhabited island. His original plan was to use Cook as a card to interfere with Gilbert during the evaluation.

It was an excellent method that would allow him to remain hidden while using a third party, but the plan fell apart when the evaluation format was decided to be survival on an uninhabited island. Finding both Cook, his key card, and Gilbert, the target of his sabotage, on this vast island was virtually impossible.

Having postponed his plan to interfere with Gilbert, Ian decided to focus on the comprehensive evaluation first. Although the unexpected island survival had begun, it posed no problem for him.

Even before coming to the academy, while still with his family, he had been consistently trained by experts under the premise that one never knew what situations might arise. This training included finding water, procuring food, and navigating in forests.

And that training finally proved its worth in this comprehensive evaluation. He secured water and food as trained and prepared shelter. If not for his foresight, he might have been struggling like the other students.

Having secured the three essentials for survival, he contemplated his next move. The thought crossed his mind that since his rival Gilbert had taken the lead since the beginning of the semester, it was now his turn to shine. No matter how much the protagonist was supposed to bloom after hardship, that didn’t mean he had to be trampled on forever.

Absolutely right.

Having thought very rationally, Ian decided to end this comprehensive evaluation with an overwhelming performance. He quickly formulated his plan. Although little information about the evaluation island had been provided, one thing had been clearly communicated to the students:

Giant mecha and magical weapons were hidden throughout the island.

That was exactly what Ian was aiming for. If he could get his hands on a giant mecha, completing the evaluation spectacularly would be no challenge at all.

After quickly finalizing his plan, Ian welcomed the second day. On the second day, as per his plan, he began scouring the island primarily in search of a giant mecha. During this time, some students tried to target him, but he easily dealt with them and continued his search.

He checked for clues that might lead to a giant mecha, but finding one wasn’t easy. Though he called it a search, Ian was essentially relying on his intuition to find the mecha.

After combing through the forest for about half a day, he sat down near a large tree for a late lunch and rest. He began chewing on the fruits he had prepared and the meat he had roasted.

Finding a giant mecha was proving more difficult than he had anticipated.

With a deep sigh, he took out his water flask for a drink. But due to the sweat on his hands and the moisture on the flask’s surface, it slipped. He reached out desperately, but the flask fell to the ground.

‘Damn…’ Frowning at the thought of having to find more water, he quickly grabbed the flask, but more than half the water had already spilled. Still, thinking that at least half remained, Ian was drinking when he casually glanced at where the water had spilled and noticed something strange. The water that had spilled near some dry leaves seemed to be seeping into the ground in an unusual pattern.

Ian closed the flask and hurriedly began digging around that area.

Thud!

As soon as he started digging, he felt something hard. After scraping away the soil in that area, he found something flat and solid that resembled an entrance.

Ian instinctively realized what he had found.

With a grin, he located the handle buried in the soil and flung the door open. Inside was a space with a ladder leading downward. Thanks to luminous magic stones, it wasn’t dark, and he could see the end.

Ian immediately climbed down the ladder and closed the entrance. It was somewhat surprising that there was such a deep space beneath the uninhabited island, but it made sense considering it was prepared by Demeia Academy.

As he walked through the underground space, he soon reached a hangar.

There, as he had expected, was a standard giant mecha used by the academy.

As expected of a protagonist, things work differently for me.

Ian nodded as he looked at the hangar that seemed prepared just for him. He thought there was no need to even compete with Gilbert at this point.

Feeling much more at ease, he laid out a spot and lay down. He planned to catch up on the sleep he had missed the previous night due to keeping watch.

The first place in the comprehensive evaluation is mine.

Grinning until he fell asleep, he naturally drifted off.