episode_0100

‘Why on earth do they do such things?’

I could guarantee that about 95 percent of the students on board were thinking this way. Of course, I was one of them. The ship was luxurious enough to accommodate our entire grade. Of course, it was not very exciting since the ship was rented with our tuition.

What should I say? A deserted island survival test? Anyway, both the students who participated and those who didn’t participate were all on board the ship, and it seems like they’re just enjoying a simple trip after the survival test. There were a lot of things going on inside and outside the academy, so it was an event to console the students. But if that was the case, was there any need to include the test in the first place?

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no answer to the question. Was the Dean really suffering from dementia, as Ayla had said? I don’t think he’s that old. After all, the human body can break down even at a young age.

In addition, according to the annoyingly proud words of the teachers who guided us before boarding the ship, thanks to the help of the magicians of the Magic Tower, the students who were quietly resting on the ship could see our appearance in real time. Of course, it is not like they are observing every move, but it seems like they are projecting it in case of a sudden use of magic power… or any kind of environment close to battle.

It was a very nerve-wracking condition, but… as long as I didn’t show up in an embarrassing way, it didn’t really matter. Rather, what bothered me was that it wasn’t too late, so I thought I should just opt out.

I don’t really care about grades, so I could have just said that I was feeling a little sick and quit, but for some reason I hesitated because I felt a little uneasy. It wasn’t just because I yelled at Yugram so loudly, but for some reason… I don’t know.

As I was struggling alone like that, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Ayla. I blankly stared at her, and Ayla pointed at something with her hand. It was a small boat. It seemed that they were getting close to the uninhabited island, so instead of landing on the land, they boarded the small boat and went.

In the meantime, I was dragged onto the boat by Ayla, and before I knew it, I was standing on the shore of an uninhabited island. I sighed deeply. It was already too late. Anyway, since I had to participate, I had to work hard.

“Okay, everyone, please come this way?”

A teacher whose name I didn’t know called us, clapping her hands. She seemed to be a teacher who usually taught other grades. I lined up according to the teacher’s instructions and checked how many of the people who took the test had familiar faces. As expected, most of them were familiar faces.

Of course, to participate in something like this, you had to be quite confident in your skills or someone who valued grades, so it was inevitable that you would often run into me, a member of the upper class. As I turned my head, a guy I had even shared a name with caught my eye. A very handsome guy with silver hair, was it Raynard? He was quite skilled, so it was only natural.

I nodded slightly as he waved his hand towards me. Then, Ayla, who was next to me, responded.

“What, are you close with Ricardo?”

Was it Ricardo? I answered in a small voice.

“Well.. Rather than being close, we had a brief encounter last year. Be careful with Ayla, she’s probably much stronger than you.”

“I know too.. but what will change if I’m careful?”

That’s what it was.

While we were chatting, the teacher continued to explain various things, most of which were already written in the notice posted on the bulletin board. A student who seemed to be an assistant handed us something, a bracelet with a strange pattern.

They said that if this was stolen or broken, we would be disqualified and that the teachers would escort us back to the ship right away, so it seemed like I could abstain by just throwing the bracelet away. It was a bit big for me, so I just roughly pulled it up to my forearm and put it on, then absentmindedly listened to the additional explanation.

After the usual conversation about how free to fight but refrain from intentional killing, etc. continued, and when I wondered how long this would last, they started to head toward the forest one by one. That’s how it felt. I noticed the first student walking toward the forest, glancing at us with a slightly anxious expression.

While I was thinking about the meaning of this test while one or two people disappeared into the forest… The part that I couldn’t figure out was the part about this battle. I thought it was like they were going to see a battle in an extreme situation where everyone was fighting and fighting to get first place. Who would choose to fight unless they were an idiot?

Whether you win or lose, you’ll expend stamina and magic power, and even if you win… there seems to be no benefit to be gained by knocking someone down, according to the rules explained to me? I couldn’t really get a feel for what the rules were for. Did you come all the way here to see who could survive the best on this deserted island? Really? For what?

“Okay, let’s go.”

While I was pondering the meaning of this test that I had no idea about, I was the only one left on the beach. The last one? Not bad. I slowly entered the forest. I dodged the swinging branches with natural movements and kicked the empty stomach of the attacker.

“Black..”

Unfortunately, all tools including weapons were prohibited in the test, so I had no choice but to use my body. The man who was hit hard without even being able to react properly to my kick rolled around on the ground, vomiting. If I had attacked him without properly suppressing his sound or presence, I should have expected a counterattack.

I stopped the man by stomping on him, then grabbed his bracelet and broke it. I heard the teacher running behind me. As soon as I confirmed that, I turned around and walked into the forest. It was a boring match from the start.

Perhaps because summer was approaching, the forest was not a very pleasant environment. The hot sunlight itself was blocked by the large trees, but the warm heat and dampness rising from the heated ground were quite irritating. The cries of unknown birds and bugs, and the weeds growing uncontrollably and blocking the passage.

If there was anyone wearing a skirt, it would be hell. Of course, even if they were a student who usually wears a skirt, they would be out of their minds if they wore one on this test.

Feeling annoyed by the weeds tangling around my feet, I broke off a branch of an appropriate length from a nearby tree, concentrated my magical power on my hand, and swept it from top to bottom, smoothing it out as if it had been sanded. When I swung it around in the air, I noticed that its center of gravity wasn’t all that bad.

After pouring mana into the makeshift wooden sword and swinging it at the weeds, I was finally able to easily get inside without much trouble. For some reason, I felt a little excited, so I hummed a tune and continued to advance inside.

“~♬”

First of all, the direction was random, but what I had to find was clear. Drinking water. No matter how much I was a human, it was impossible to survive for a long time without eating anything, so I had to find a water source to use as drinking water. Of course, the water in this terrain could be dirty in various ways, but it could be solved by boiling it after purifying it once.

Then where would the water be? It would be fun if someone came running in the middle again.

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.

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‘What on earth was the Dean thinking when he gave this test?’

Guswald, a new teacher who has been teaching at the academy for two years, thought blankly. It is common in most organizations for subordinates to not understand their superiors’ intentions, but it suddenly occurred to him that what was happening now could not be classified in that category.

The thought of what the hell is the point of this test? has been on my mind ever since I first heard about the plan for this test, and when the teachers were given various roles, and among them, when I was forced to take on the most difficult and annoying job of waiting close to the students and preventing any accidents or incidents because I was a newbie, and because of that, until now, when I am waiting in the forest in a daze..

‘It’s clear that training and actual combat are different, but can we really call this actual combat? Is this really a helpful experience for students?’

Even as Guswald thought about such things, he kept his eyes on the metal plate distributed to the teachers. This was a magical device that showed the activities of the students who had participated in the exam, as seen by the remaining students on the ship and the teachers. It was currently showing two male students engaged in a fierce battle.

‘Right, right! No! If you hit that!’

Guswald was already quite deep inside the forest, so he had decided that he would have little to do at this early stage, when the test had only just begun. That was why he was trying to relax and focus on his magic tools, but at the very moment when he was cheering on the boys’ battle, he realized something was strange.

‘You mean we’ve come this far already?’

A student was walking slowly toward him. It seemed like he was the one who had started early. Guswald tried to quietly move out of his way so as not to meet the student, but he noticed something strange. The student’s eyes were looking straight at him.

‘what..?’

Those were Guswald’s last thoughts.

Without any sign or sound, Guswald’s head flew into the air naturally. The body, which had lost its cork called neck, fell backwards, spewing blood like a fountain like a burst barrel. The student who had been staring at it turned back the way he had come.

To find another goal.