Chapter 118: Blame the Guy with the Food (2)

"It works better... if we do it on bare skin, right?"

Ezra held the hand I had placed on her shoulder and looked me in the eyes as she spoke.

"Uh... wait. Hold on."

The sudden bombshell paired with her serious expression threw me off even more.

★ Heroine Status Window

[Ezra]

- [Affection: 38]

- [Lust: 59]

- [Appetite: 40]

- [Fatigue: 61]

Current Status: I can’t live like this forever.

"...Hmm."

I feel like I touched a nerve again.

Ezra is inherently proud.

She was born with a mana disorder, so she can’t fully demonstrate her talent, but she can’t let down her home country’s expectations.

In France, Ezra is considered a rising star of the Iris Guild.

That’s why she tries harder to break through her situation and hides her mana disorder no matter what.

And to grow stronger faster, she wants to overcome the mana disorder.

But despite spending astronomical amounts over the years seeking treatment, all efforts failed.

Then I came along and brought a "treatment method."

Of course, it’s total bullshit... but when I inject mana, it really does feel like her mana circuit expands, so Ezra has no choice but to believe it.

Which is why she’s dead serious about the massage I made up on the spot.

"Let’s do that tonight. It’s too bright right now."

"Okay."

The way she’s so calm about it makes me feel embarrassed.

Besides, it’s way too bright right now to be seeing Ezra’s bare skin.

Even if Ezra says she’s fine with it, I’m not. What if someone walks by and sees us?

"Uh... wanna eat first?"

I used food to change the weird mood.

When in doubt, food’s the best fix.

"Sure."

Ezra followed behind me with a blank expression. Who knows what she’s thinking?

She suddenly turned cold again. I have no clue how to deal with this.

Maybe her mindset changed?

We returned to the tent we used last night and started preparing our meal.

While the water boiled and the instant rice was heating up, I checked my accumulated points.

There were still 130 cadets alive, obviously. Once tonight passes and tomorrow begins, the count will update.

"350 points... If this keeps up, I might actually place first."

I racked up quite a few points from monsters, boss monsters, cadets, and treasure.

In the original story, the first-place ranking varies depending on the route, but usually, it’s the protagonist.

The final day average score is around 700 points.

At this pace, I’m doing pretty well.

"Think 350 is enough? Nam Daeun’s still in the game."

"Nam Daeun? She probably dropped out."

Ezra was keeping tabs on Nam Daeun.

But there’s no need to worry about her.

The midterm exam has three parts.

A written test, a practical test, and a special test.

The special test doesn’t just rely on pure combat ability—it factors in various elements, so luck plays a big role.

That’s why it doesn’t count toward the first-place ranking in the practical test.

In the original, she drops out on the first night to call her younger sibling.

Probably the same this time too.

"...Yeah, she’s never been interested in anything but the practicals, so maybe you’re right."

"Yeah, I’m pretty sure."

Nam Daeun’s withdrawal is an event that happens in every route. Barring any anomalies, it’s a given.

We had lunch with the hot rice and smoked pork belly.

’Should’ve bought more variety in the side dishes.’

I stocked up on smoked stuff thinking the others might spoil, but that turned out to be pointless.

"Huh? Isn’t that a supply box?"

While stretching after eating, I saw a supply box drop a bit in the distance.

"It’s far, but if we run, we can get to it before anyone else... Wanna go?"

"Yeah. But before that, you have to put it in me."

"Okay."

I grabbed Ezra’s shoulder and injected mana.

I’m starting to get the hang of injecting mana now.

’Might be worth trying to stimulate the inner part of the mana circuit too.’

During mana injection, the circuit gets stimulated.

If I can control that stimulation, I could adjust the healing effect Ezra feels.

It doesn’t actually heal anything, but if she’s getting fooled, it might as well feel good.

"Let’s go."

After injecting a moderate amount of mana, we ran toward the supply box.

Luckily, we reached it without encountering any other cadets.

Inside the box, our excited hands found jerky and a blanket.

"Shit... dud."

We didn’t need it, but I didn’t want anyone else getting it either, so I shoved it into the subspace pouch.

But there was still one important thing left.

I scanned the supply box with my smart watch.

[This is the 97th supply box. The Survival Exam app is being updated.]

[Twice every 24 hours, you can check the point ranking of all cadets.]

"Oh damn, that’s awesome."

The supply box codes update the app at random.

The functions vary. The best ones are checking nearby cadets’ locations or seeing the rankings.

Getting the point ranking feature was basically hitting the jackpot.

"Wanna try it out right now?"

"Yeah. Let’s see."

Ezra was also staring at my smart watch, clearly curious about the ranking.

Where the [100% Health Recovery Ticket] used to be, a new icon labeled [Point Ranking Check] had appeared.

’Bet I’m crushing first place.’

When I tapped the icon, a hologram screen appeared above the smart watch.

-----------------------

Current point ranking on the island:

1. Nam Daeun. 1,125p

2. Yaze Orpheus. 350p

3. Ezra. 324p

4. Kim Younghan. 250p

.

.

.

----------------------

"...?"

"...."

The two of us fell silent as we stared at the rankings.

"Didn’t you say Nam Daeun definitely dropped out?"

"...Sorry."

Ezra looked at me with cold eyes.

Come on, people can be wrong sometimes...

’No, I shouldn’t be wrong about this.’

And seriously, what the hell did she do to score 1,125 points...?

"...My head hurts."

What the hell is she even doing out there?

___

"Captain. We haven’t located Yaze’s position yet. But there’s a report that he’s with Ezra."

"Yeah? Also, stop calling me Captain. What is that, seriously?"

"It’s fun. Feels like we’re in a war or something."

"True, when you’re up against the pretty boy and Ezra, it is war. This is the Student Council PR Division, after all."

Kim Younghan smiled as he looked over the cadets.

More than 30 cadets had formed a team.

The target was only one person.

Yaze Orpheus.

After obtaining the "Cadet Location Tracker" from a supply box on Day 2, Kim Younghan began steadily recruiting cadets.

The bait, of course, was the food Yaze had stockpiled.

No matter how much food he brought, it wasn’t enough for all these cadets to survive a whole week.

Even if they split it among 30 people, it wouldn’t be more than enough for two meals, tops.

But after three days of surviving on berries alone, warm food was desperately needed.

"What a jerk, hogging all the good stuff for himself?"

"Well, Yaze’s a psycho for prepping like this, expecting a Survival Exam."

"Still! He could’ve shared a little, right?"

"Would you have shared?"

The male cadet shut up at Kim Younghan’s sharp remark.

"...Kim Younghan. You’re our leader. You shouldn’t be taking Yaze’s side."

"I’m just doing this for fun~"

Kim Younghan shrugged and turned his head.

"Supply box at 9 o’clock!"

"Okay! Hang on!"

Kim Younghan was scanning all the supply boxes himself.

When scanned, the codes randomly update the Survival Exam app.

The added abilities from updates don’t duplicate. In other words, once an ability is gained, it won’t show up again.

Realizing this, Kim Younghan asked everyone to let him scan the codes.

[Targeted Cadet Location Tracker has been added.]

[Once every 24 hours, you can get the coordinates of any cadet you choose.]

"Finally... it showed up."

The ability to hunt Yaze was finally here.

"Now I can get revenge on the pretty boy with a one-on-one duel."

"Didn’t you say you were just doing this for fun?"

One of the cadets nearby gave him a disbelieving look. Kim Younghan just shrugged again.

"It is fun."

"Wait, someone’s coming this way...."

At the cadet’s words, Kim Younghan turned to look.

Step, step—

A stunning girl with sharp eyes and sculpted features.

Nam Daeun was walking toward them.

Her face was still completely indifferent to others. Even with over 30 people gathered, she showed not a shred of interest.

"...What do we do? Should we try acting friendly?"

"Y-yeah. There’s over 30 of us—we don’t need to be scared."

Normally, they’d have ignored her, but since Ezra and Yaze were teamed up, they needed powerful reinforcements too.

"Hey, Daeun. What’s up?"

Kim Younghan confidently stepped in front of Nam Daeun.

"...?"

Nam Daeun looked at Kim Younghan with a questioning expression.

"Uh, wanna team up with us? We already have over 30 people."

"No."

"...Okay."

Kim Younghan backed off cleanly, as he had expected that answer.

You couldn’t force someone you couldn’t control into a group.

"I’ve got something to ask."

But just when they thought she’d disappear, Nam Daeun spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Do you know where Yaze is?"

"...."

Kim Younghan thought that maybe, just maybe, they could bring Nam Daeun over.

___

Night fell, and we naturally settled into a spot to pitch the tent.

"This spot looks good."

I unfolded the pop-up tent and laid out the blanket and pillow inside.

Since we were taking turns on night watch, there was no need for us to sleep together inside.

Of course, we were still sharing the blanket and pillow... but that’s easy to excuse under the pretense of "survival."

But that’s not the point.

Rustle, rustle—

Ezra was undressing inside the tent.

’No way she’s taking it all off, right?’

I didn’t know how far Ezra would go, but chances were it wouldn’t be much. In that case, what should I do?

’I’ll make sure the effect is obvious.’

Since it’s on bare skin, I needed to make it feel more effective.

"...Come in."

I swallowed hard and stepped into the tent.

Her snowy-white back stole my gaze.

The straps of her bra dangled loosely from both sides, and Ezra, with her cadet uniform and bra covering only her stomach and chest, had her back turned to me.

"H-hurry up."

Ezra spoke in a voice that was uncharacteristically feminine.

She was definitely feeling shy.

I had to pull this off no matter what. If this didn’t work, I was fucked.

’Clairvoyance.’

My eyes turned gold as I concentrated mana at the tips of my fingers.

***