Chapter 55: Each One’s Solution #1

Chapter 55: Each One’s Solution #1

Wagner walked silently through the wilderness.

It had been 1 week and four days, and he hadn’t spoken to anyone.

While he didn’t necessarily need to talk to anyone, Wagner’s naturally taciturn nature also played a part.

Clank, clank.

With every step, the weight of his armor pressed down on his body.

The sweat that dripped into his eyes stung.

‘Would it have been a bit easier if I had taken off my armor earlier?’

Wagner thought this as he vaguely watched the shimmering wilderness.

‘No.’

He shook his head.

The human heart is weak. And it is fickle.

If you give it an excuse to become comfortable, it’ll demand more and more, never knowing satisfaction.

If his body becomes lighter, next he will think about taking a short rest while sitting down.

And then?

Since he’s resting anyway, he’ll think about getting into the shade to avoid the sun.

Just one more hour, until the afternoon, no, starting tomorrow I’ll buckle down.

Laziness will follow one after another, continuing endlessly.

One must accept hardship.

That is the path of a warrior. The shortcut may seem closer, but it is actually a longer, roundabout way.

Wagner decided to consider the armor that constricted his entire body as a form of training.

‘Perhaps this exam might be a bit difficult.’

Although he was doing his best, Wagner found it difficult to catch the Nitro Birds.

His naturally large build made his body heavier than others, which was also a problem.

For him, it was easier to fight by honestly taking the enemy’s attacks on the front lines.

Tasks that require using one’s head and solving difficult problems like this were always challenging.

‘Still, I won’t give up until the end.’

Wagner knew the odds were slim, but he decided to chase the Nitro Birds until the very end.

At least, he wanted to be able to hold his head high in front of his comrades even if he failed the exam.

He felt he wouldn’t have the face to look up if he gave up halfway.

Stomp, stomp.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps crunching on the wilderness sand behind him.

‘Another adventurer.’

He had encountered competitors several times during the exam period. It wasn’t something new.

However, it was the first time their paths had overlapped for so long.

Stomp, stomp.

The footsteps had been audible for over thirty minutes.

And they were getting closer.

Clank, clank.

Stomp, stomp.

The sound of Wagner’s armor mingled with the mysterious footsteps.

Wagner stopped in place.

And he quickly looked back.

Ready to grab his mace at any moment.

“⋯.”

A slender silhouette, wrapped in cloth like a cloak to block the sunlight.

Judging by her build, she seemed to be a woman.

‘It doesn’t change anything just because she’s a woman.’

Wagner was not someone who held prejudice based on gender.

There was no reason not to be wary of a woman.

The sword in her hand becomes a weapon, regardless of whether its owner is a woman, a child, or an elder.

“Do you have business with me? If not, do not approach any further.”

Wagner said, lowering the faceplate of his helmet.

The next moment.

Flutter-

The mysterious pursuer threw off the cloth wrapped around her body.

The sky-blue cloth fluttered and flew into the sky, and the woman began to run towards Wagner.

“⋯Huh?”

Wagner squinted his eyes.

“Aish, you big bear!”

Mitchell ran through the sand.

Her face was contorted, as if she were smiling and crying.

Faint dew glistened in the corners of Mitchell’s eyes.

“What are you doing alone in a place like this?”

Mitchell scolded Wagner in a choked voice.

For a moment, she spread her arms wide as if to embrace Wagner, but stopped just short at the last second.

Mitchell barely regained her composure and let out an awkward cough.

“Ahem – well – you seem to have been doing well.”

“It’s been a while. You too.”

“Wow – meeting like this in the vast wilderness. It’s quite strange. Huh?”

Wagner also found this reunion strange.

However, he didn’t think Mitchell had deliberately sought him out.

She wasn’t the type. It was too far from the personality Wagner knew of Mitchell.

“Did you catch the bird?”

“Not yet.”

“But I knew before you even answered. Seeing you walking so dejectedly – it’s obvious something isn’t going well.”

“⋯It seems the same for you too.”

“Aish.”

Mitchell pouted.

She shuffled her feet, digging into the sand.

She seemed to have something she wanted to say, but hesitated to bring it up herself.

“Mitchell.”

Wagner spoke first.

“Yeah?”

“We said we would pass the exam individually, but since it’s turned out this way, why don’t we cooperate?”

“⋯Should we?”

Mitchell’s face brightened.

Wagner was inwardly surprised by Mitchell’s reaction.

It was a proposal he had made with half-hearted expectation. He thought it would be okay if she refused.

But he hadn’t expected Mitchell to readily accept it as if she had been waiting for the proposal.

“Well, I guess we have no choice. So, do you have any plausible plan?”

“Not really yet. But if we put our heads together, we’ll surely come up with a good idea.”

Wagner and Mitchell decided to move to a different spot for their strategy meeting.

While moving, Mitchell was more talkative and laughed more often than usual.

***

Here again.

I watched the cauldron hanging over the campfire, aware of the gaze.

‘It’s Maria, I don’t even need to look.’

Maria seemed to have gotten into the habit of getting free meals, and now she visited our camp every night.

“Wow – it looks delicious today too.”

Flora, who was preparing the meal, smiled brightly as she looked into the cauldron.

Tonight’s dinner menu is pork bone soup.

It’s a wild stew made with tender and firm meat from wild boars, cooked with the bones.

It’s packed with nutritious medicinal herbs for nourishment and spices to eliminate any gamey smell, so it’s bound to taste amazing.

“Should I add a little spiciness?”

I finished it off by sprinkling chili powder, pepper, and perilla powder.

I took a spoonful and tasted it.

“Mmm-“

This is it.

This is the taste I know.

It’s about 82% of the taste of the good Gamjatang place near Sungshin Women’s University Station.

Flora swallowed hard.

And Maria, hiding at the cave entrance without realizing she had already been discovered, must also be swallowing.

“Shall we eat soon?”

“Yes!”

The gaze felt even more intense.

It felt like lasers were being shot, my nape felt prickly.

“Senior, call the examiner. Tell her to come and eat.”

“Huh? Was the examiner here?”

“She’s been here since earlier.”

Thump.

As I spoke, I heard something hit the stone wall of the cave.

A moment later, Maria appeared, rubbing her forehead.

“No, don’t misunderstand. It’s not like I came here with any other intention – as an examiner, I have to see firsthand how the participants are doing-“

“Stop rambling and sit down. Let’s eat.”

“Ugh…”

Maria swallowed her displeasure and sat between me and Flora, as if reluctantly.

Appetite is a terrifying thing.

No matter how much food you stuff into your stomach, the attack of hunger comes back the next day.

Whether a noble saint or a king of a nation, humans cannot escape this fundamental desire.

There’s no way someone like Maria could resist it.

“It seems Wagner and Mitchell decided to cooperate starting today.”

Maria, without being asked, now naturally reported the movements of her party members.

Perhaps she considers it a give and take.

“Wow! That’s great. I feel more at ease now that those two are together.”

“Hmm.”

I narrowed my brow slightly as I distributed the meat into each bowl.

As Flora said, it’s a good thing.

The risks are reduced compared to acting alone, and the chances of passing the exam have increased.

However, is it something to be entirely happy about?

‘Perhaps a suspicious feeling is starting to sprout between the two of them.’

I mentally raised the alert level by one notch.

No, I really don’t want to see it.

As long as I’m alive, I will never stand by and watch them flirt throughout the adventure.

“What, what is this taste?”

Maria, after tearing off some meat, opened her mouth wide.

Even though she tried not to show it, the unmistakable joy of a gourmet was clearly visible on her face.

“It’s meat that’s been simmered over low heat for six hours. The texture is tender, and the meat should come off the bone easily.”

“⋯Well, it’s delicious.”

Maria averted her gaze slightly and finally admitted the quality of my cooking.

It feels like I’m gradually taming a cat that doesn’t listen and is wary of people.

“I have something to ask.”

“⋯Ask away. As long as it’s not related to the exam.”

“About the Nitro Bird. One of them died while you were bringing them here, right?”

“How do you know that?”

Maria narrowed her eyes and glared at me.

“I have my ways. Where did you bury the corpse?”

“⋯.”

Maria did not answer immediately.

She tilted her bowl, drank some broth, and fell into deep thought.

I shouldn’t rush her.

When taming a cat, push and pull is important.

Tease them appropriately, and sometimes ignore them appropriately.

“I’m adding noodles. Is everyone going to eat?”

“Yes! Give me a lot!”

Flora, with her cheeks puffed out, raised one hand high.

I dissolved the dried noodles into the spicy broth.

For Koreans, noodles, fried rice, and porridge are desserts. Even if you’re full, there’s always room for dessert.

“Ah!”

Maria exclaimed in surprise just as the noodles were almost cooked.

“I get it. I know why you’re asking about that. You’re trying to pluck feathers from the corpse, aren’t you?”

Maria smiled triumphantly, like a detective who had solved a complex trick.

“Hmph – it’s useless even if you do! It’s true that one Nitro Bird died on the way to Garden. But of course, I expected someone like you to try a trick like this. I pulled out all the feathers before you could ask. Uhaha-“

Slurp-

Maria slurped her noodles energetically and was excited.

“Is that true? That’s a shame.”

“Idiot, fool! How do you think you can pass the exam cleverly with such a shallow trick? I’m above you in that regard-“

“I don’t believe it. I’ll have to see it with my own eyes.”

“If you’re curious, try digging it up yourself!”

Maria told me where she buried the Nitro Bird.

‘Fool.’

Of course, it would have been best if I could get feathers from the dead Nitro Bird’s corpse.

But I wasn’t expecting much anyway.

My target from the beginning was the Nitro Bird’s corpse itself.

“Estel, was that your only secret weapon? Too bad-“

While listening to Maria’s chatter, I silently drank the remaining Gamjatang broth.

Then, perhaps tomorrow, I should go and clear the exam.