Survival Test (10)
âIf we go with bare skin⊠itâs more effective, right?â Alice held my hand on her shoulder, peering into my eyes as she tossed out the idea.
âUh⊠Hold onâŠâ
Her out-of-the-blue bombshell caught me off guard, and I had to admit, it got me more flustered than I thought.
â Heroine Status Window
[Alice]
[Affection: 38]
[Lust: 59]
[Appetite: 40]
[Fatigue: 61]
Current Status: I canât live like this forever.
âUmâŠâ
I mightâve stepped into a zone I shouldnât have.
Pride runs deep within Alice. Hindered by her innate mana deficiency, she struggles to showcase her talents entirely, all while striving not to let down her homeland. In France, Alice is acknowledged as a promising figure in the Iris Guild.
She consequently puts in even more effort to navigate this situation. She attempted to conceal her condition, desperately seeking a way to overcome it and becoming stronger quickly. Despite pouring astronomical sums of money into searching for a cure over the years, all attempts have failed.
In this scenario, I happened to bring in a supposed cure. Itâs a lie, of course, but as long as Alice senses her mana circuits expanding when I infuse mana, sheâs left with no option but to believe in me. Thatâs why she took my impromptu massages seriously. freÄwÄbηovel.cà«Šm
âLetâs save that for nightfall. Itâs⊠too bright now.â
âOkay.â
If sheâs that nonchalant, it just adds to my embarrassment⊠Regardless, itâs too bright at the moment, and even if Alice is fine with it, Iâm not. Iâd rather not have anyone passing by see.
âUm⊠how about we have some food for now?â I tossed in the food card to lighten the mood. When in doubt, turn to food.
âSure.â Alice, showing no emotion, trailed behind as I guided the way. Her persistent nonchalance put me in an awkward spot.
Is there a change in her mindset?
We returned to the tent where we had spent the previous night and prepared our meal. While boiling water and heating instant rice, I checked my accumulated points. There are still 130 surviving students. After tonight passes and transitions into tomorrow, the count will be refreshed.
â350 points⊠If I continue like this, I might get first place.â
I racked up quite a few points from monsters, a boss monster, fellow surviving students, and treasures. In the original narrative, the top spot fluctuates depending on the chosen route, but more often than not, itâs claimed by the protagonist. My score on the final day hovered around an average of 700 points.
This should be enough to sail smoothly.
â350 points⊠Will it be enough? And thereâs Nam Daeun too.â
âNam Daeun? No, she probably gave up.â
Alice warned me about Nam Daeun, but thereâs no need to worry about her.
The midterm exam comprises three subjects: a written test, a practical test, and a special test. The special test often factors in various elements beyond pure combat ability, making luck a significant player. It doesnât influence the conditions for achieving first place in the practical test, so she doesnât care. In the original story, Nam Daeun forfeits the special test on the first night to talk to her younger sister. Itâs likely to happen again in this exam.
âWell⊠She doesnât really care about anything other than the practical test.â
âYes, youâre right.â
Nam Daeunâs surrender is an event that occurs in all routes. Itâs likely to happen unless there are special circumstances.
We settled for lunch with hot rice and smoked pork belly. I should have bought a more diverse set of side dishes. I bought a lot of smoked products, fearing they might go bad, but it turned out to be a needless worry.
âOh? Isnât that a supply box over there?â As I stretched and loosened up after eating, I noticed a supply box dropping a bit far from here.
âItâs a bit far, but if we run, we should have enough time⊠Want to go?â
âYeah. But I need to infuse mana into you before we go.â
âOkay.â
I held Aliceâs shoulder and infused mana. By now, the sensation of infusing mana had become familiar.
I could try stimulating the inside of the mana circuits.
During the process of infusing mana, thereâs a sensation of stimulation within the mana circuits. If I can induce that feeling, I might be able to adjust the therapeutic effect Alice perceives. Of course, thereâs no real therapeutic effect, but if Iâm pulling a trick, might as well make it a nice one for her.
âLetâs go.â After pumping in just the right amount of mana, we sprinted towards the supply box. Lucky for us, we got there without bumping into any other students. With excitement, inside the supply box were beef jerky and a blanket.
âOh, darn⊠no luck.â
We didnât really need it, but I stashed them in my subspace pouch anywayâIâm not in the business of doing anyone a favor. But thereâs still something important left to do.
I aimed my smartwatch at the supply box and gave the code a little scan.
[This is the 97th supply box. The Survival Test app will be updated.]
[Twice a day, every 24 hours, you can check the points ranking of all students.]
âOh, this is amazing!â
The supply box codes randomly update the app, each providing different abilities. The best ones include locating nearby students or checking the rankings. And this time, it seemed to be the latter.
âShould we use it right away?â
âYes, letâs give it a shot.â
Even Alice seemed curious about the rankings; she shot a glance at my smartwatch. In the spot where there used to be a [100% Health Recovery Voucher], a new icon popped upâ[Check Points Ranking].
Iâm probably in the first place.
As I tapped the icon, a holographic screen appeared above the smartwatch.
ââââââââ
Current point rankings on the island.
1. Nam Daeun. 1,125p
2. Lee Hoyeon. 350p
3. Alice. 324p
4. Kim Younghan. 250p
.
.
.
âââââââ-
ââŠ?â
ââŠâ
Both of us went silent at the same time after checking out the rankings.
âDidnât you confidently predict Nam Daeunâs resignation earlier?â
âI⊠stand corrected.â
Alice shot me a cold look.
Well, people can make mistakes⊠No, I canât afford to be wrong. And what in the world did she pull off to score a ridiculous 1,125 points?
âItâs a real headacheâŠâ
What on earth is she up to?
***
âCaptain, we havenât located Lee Hoyeon yet, but thereâs a report that sheâs with Alice.â
âOh, really? And stop calling me that. Whatâs with the âcaptainâ?â
âItâs amusing. Feels like weâre at war.â
âWell, facing Lee Hoyeon and Alice is indeed like a war. Itâs the Student Council PR Department, after all.â Kim Younghan smiled and glanced at the students gathered, over 30 of them in the team. The target is only one person: Lee Hoyeon.
After obtaining the Student Location Tracking Voucher from the supply box on the second day, Kim Younghan consistently recruited students. The bait, of course, was the food Lee Hoyeon had. He brought a substantial amount of food, and the students here couldnât last a week even if it divided reasonably. Sharing it among 30 people would provide at most two meals. But after three days of eating nothing but berries, they really craved a warm meal.
âAre they selfishly enjoying delicious food?â
âWell, to be honest, Lee Hoyeon, who brought everything, is the crazy one expecting a survival test.â
âStill! Canât they share a bit?â
âIf it were you, would you share?â
The male student fell silent in discontent at Kim Younghanâs remark.
âKim Younghan, you shouldnât take Lee Hoyeonâs side. Youâre our captainâŠâ
âIâm just doing it for fun~â Kim Younghan shrugged and turned his head away.
âAnother supply box in the 9 oâclock direction!â
âOkay! Hold on!â
Kim Younghan was monopolizing the scanning of supply boxes. The Survival Test app updated randomly when scanning the code. The added abilities from the update didnât overlap. Once you gained an ability, it wouldnât appear again. Discovering this, Kim Younghan requested others to give him the codes.
[Designated Student Location Tracking Voucher added.]
[Once every 24 hours. Provides the coordinates of the desired studentâs location.]
âFinally, itâs here.â freŃweÉnovel.com
The ability to target Lee Hoyeon has finally emerged.
âI can have a revenge duel one-on-one with the handsome guy.â
âYounghan, didnât you say you were just doing it for fun?â
When a nearby student questioned with disbelief, Kim Younghan shrugged again.
âItâs for fun, indeed.â
âWait, someone is coming this way.â
Hearing the studentâs words, Kim Younghan also looked in that direction. An attractive woman with sculpted features and sharp eyes, walking as if she had carved her path.
Nam Daeun was approaching.
She still had the same indifferent expression, seemingly uninterested in anyone. Even with over 30 people gathered, she appeared completely disinterested, not sparing a hint of attention.
âWhat should I doâŠ? Should I act friendly for now?â
âYeah, we have more than 30 people; thereâs no need to be intimidated.â
Normally, Kim Younghan would have ignored and let her go, but with Alice and Lee Hoyeon joining forces, his side also needed a strong force.
âNam Daeun, hi there!â Kim Younghan confidently stood in front of her.
ââŠ?â Nam Daeun looked at him with skepticism.
âWell, do you want to join our team? There are already more than 30 of us.â
âNo.â
âYeah⊠Figured.â Kim Younghan gracefully stepped back at the expected response. Forcing an uncontrollable person into the group wasnât an option.
âBut I have a question.â However, Nam Daeun, who was expected to just leave, posed a question.
âWhat?â
âWhere is Lee Hoyeon⊠do you know?â
ââŠâ
Kim Younghan thought that if he handled it well, he might be able to bring Nam Daeun along.
***
As night fell, we located a familiar spot to set up the tent.
âHere looks good.â
The pop-up tent was deployed, and I carefully set up the sleeping bag and pillow inside. The two of us never actually slept side by side in the tent; we took turns keeping watch at the fire. Sure, we shared the pillow and sleeping bag, but letâs chalk that up to survival tactics.
But thatâs not the critical part.
Rustle, rustle.
Inside the tent, Alice was in the process of undressing.
She likely wonât strip entirely, will she? Iâm not entirely sure about the extent of Aliceâs exposure, but thereâs a good chance it wonât be much. In that case, whatâs the plan? I need to make the effect clear. I must ensure the massage on bare skin feels even more potent.
âCome inâŠâ
I nervously swallowed and stepped into the tent. Her bare back caught my eye. The straps of the loosened bra dangled from both sides. Alice, with her student uniform and bra covering her stomach and chest, only revealed her back to me.
âHurry up.â Alice spoke with a voice unlike her usual self.
Looks like sheâs feeling a bit self-conscious. I absolutely must excel at this. If thereâs no difference, well, Iâm royally screwed.
Vision Enhancement.
My eyes tinged with a golden hue, and I focused mana on the tips of my fingers.