Chapter 59

It seems I arrived just in time, thankfully. Both Grace and Lee Yeon-joo are perfectly fine without a scratch on them.

They have enough ability to protect themselves, but their balance isn’t that great.

Grace is a wizard for whom distance is key, while Lee Yeon-joo is a rogue who’s weak in direct confrontations.

Plus, Lee Yeon-joo doesn’t usually show her true skills unless absolutely necessary.

When I arrived, she was pretending to shiver and act all dramatic.

“Ten people? You took down all of them and came to us?”

“Yep.”

“That’s more impressive than I thought. Mr. Sivar. I believe Luna was with you too.”

After giving them a rough rundown of the situation, Grace responded with amazement. Lee Yeon-joo mirrored her reaction.

Actually, Luna didn’t fight at all; she just left some odd confessions, but there was no need to mention that.

The professors must have been watching the entire time, so I didn’t feel the need to bring it up.

I’m worried that some strange rumors might start spreading soon. I really hope Luna can handle it well.

‘For sure, it seems Luna did see the mural.’

If others heard, it’d sound like a confession akin to asking for a date. But the chance of that happening is practically zero.

She’s never shown any interest in me before and has subtly cast suspicious glances.

It seems she might suspect my existence through the mural, just waiting for a chance to be alone with me.

But with so many eyes on me, opportunities don’t come easily.

So, I decided to take advantage of this practice session to convey my intentions clearly.

‘What should I say? I can trust him since he’s the protagonist, but still…’

I pondered this as I moved toward a safe zone with my team. When it comes to being alone with Luna, questions about the mural will definitely arise.

If she were to ask whether I know about the future, I wouldn’t know whether to affirm or deny it.

Or maybe I could defiantly ask what she means by “future.” If I did that, she’d surely have suspicions about my true identity.

‘No, right. She’s already suspicious of my identity.’

It’s more of a suspicion from another angle. Not that I crossed over from another world, but that I’m extraordinary from birth.

Still, since I’m the protagonist, it’d be better for us to cooperate. Hiding things would only lead to more suspicion.

Also, even if I revealed a secret, there’s an extremely low chance Luna would spill it. She didn’t even mention the mural to Rod.

Demons are a real threat, so I need to ask for help, but I have no certainty about anything.

“Sivar?”

“?”

While I was deep in thought and making my way to safety, Grace called out to me from behind.

I snapped out of my reverie and looked back. My legs kept moving.

“About what you showed earlier? The way you threw stones and took them down one by one?”

Grace asked, her face full of curiosity. Though her gaze was sharp, she looked a bit relaxed.

Hearing her question made me blink a couple of times before mimicking throwing something.

“This?”

“Yes! You knocked people out by throwing stones. Where did you learn that?”

I haven’t learned it formally, just self-taught. But since I wasn’t familiar with the term self-taught, I could only answer vaguely.

“By myself.”

“By yourself? No way, you taught yourself?”

“Yep.”

Grace was taken aback by my answer. Next to her, Lee Yeon-joo looked amazed as well.

To be honest, there’s nothing surprising about it. To survive in the forest, you need to utilize the human body’s potential to the fullest.

Humans have the best throwing ability among all animals. The structure of our shoulders is optimized for throwing.

Even primates that might be stronger than humans fall short in throwing ability. That’s probably why ‘Throwing’ was the first skill I acquired.

“So, um… what about masking your presence? I didn’t feel anything approaching from the side just now…”

This time it was Lee Yeon-joo’s question. Despite pretending, she is naturally a talented assassin.

Considering that someone like her couldn’t sense me at all adds to the curiosity.

“Survival.”

“Survival…?”

“Detection. Death. Survival. Essential.”

My explanation was ridiculously brief, and Lee Yeon-joo blinked in confusion. The tear duct under her left eye stood out.

If it were Kara, she would have easily interpreted it, but they tend to take their time.

“Hmm… Since Sivar lived in the forest, there must have been many dangerous animals, and to survive from that, you learned how to mask your presence. Something like that?”

“Ah! That sounds right! I think I understand why you mastered ambush techniques now.”

“Ambush? You call the act of hiding one’s presence ‘ambush’? I wasn’t aware of that.”

“The act of masking one’s presence and then taking out the opponent is also part of ambush.”

“Ah… I see.”

Lee Yeon-joo casually mentioned killing in a calm tone. Grace, perhaps feeling the off vibe, reacted with a slight cringe.

She sometimes throws out comments that could feel unsettling in that manner. I remember it was shown in the game too.

“By the way, it’s starting to get dark now. There are a lot of eliminated teams, so it’s relatively safe, but…”

In that eerie atmosphere, Grace hurriedly shifted the topic. I looked up at the sky upon hearing her words.

As she said, the sky was noticeably darkening. The denser the trees in the forest, the faster the sun sets.

I had eliminated at least five teams, so there were roughly about ten people left. Possibly even fewer.

But the forest is always dangerous. You never know where or when a threat might pop up.

In the woods, animals are riskier than people. Especially snakes are the most annoying.

“We should first find a place to rest. If it gets completely dark, it’ll limit our activities.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

Following Grace’s command, we searched for a place to rest. Fortunately, we quickly found a suitable terrain for camping.

We could roughly set up a makeshift tent and prepare a meal. There was some smoked wild boar left from lunch.

“Can’t we make the ground soft with this moss?”

“Sounds fine to me.”

While I was in the process of making the tent with branches, Grace and Lee Yeon-joo nearly did something ridiculous.

With zero prior knowledge, they were about to suggest making a soft bed from moss.

I gasped at that suggestion and hurriedly stopped them. There were bugs crawling all over the leaves, and moss would be even worse.

While it could be used to block the gaps in the roof, using it like a mattress would lead to getting sick.

“Absolutely not.”

“What?”

“Bugs. A lot.”

“……”

As I firmly pointed that out, Grace carefully began to back away from the moss. In situations like this, she listens quite well.

“So, what about the ground? There’s nothing we can lay down to sleep on…”

“Just. Sleep.”

“……Is that really okay?”

“Yep.”

“If the ground is hard, I can’t sleep…”

Grace pouted, looking like a proper lady who’s used to cushy beds.

I’d love to sleep on a soft ground too. The fear of adaptation is real; I’m already missing a comfy bed.

I just need to close my eyes and get through today. While I dealt with the complaining Grace, I focused on pitching the tent.

When living in the woods, I used caves as my hideouts, so I had some idea of how to make one.

“Wow. With this, we won’t have to worry about the rain.”

“It’s a bit cramped, but it’ll be fine for a day.”

Since more than two people need to sleep in the space, I made it relatively spacious.

Regardless of anything else, a roof is essential. Even if it can’t stop the smallest bugs, it at least needs to keep out snakes.

Moreover, I don’t need to sleep due to my constitution. Thanks to my wilderness instinct, I remain alert even while resting.

So I planned to let Grace and Lee Yeon-joo get some good rest. Even if the ground is hard, they’ll succumb to tiredness.

“We should manage with the wild boar meat, right?”

“Yeah. We can’t always ask Sivar for help. Honestly, this is a huge stroke of luck for us.”

For dinner, we settled on smoked wild boar meat. It was too dark to hunt.

I had prepared the smoked meat in advance for occasions like this. It was pretty tasty thanks to the smoking.

While the wild boar’s texture might be tough, it should be enough to fill us up.

Flick!

With that, a campfire was lit, and our temporary camp was set up. Even though it’s summer, and it’s hot, having a fire is essential for survival.

It keeps animals at bay and has a potential use as a weapon in unexpected situations.

Of course, there’s a high chance other survivors might notice us. Even a tiny spark can be quite visible in a dark forest.

There’s a saying not to even light a cigarette during war for a reason. But when it comes to survival, there’s no choice.

‘Even if discovered, we’ll notice it before they get here.’

As I added more wood to the fire, I looked up at the sky. After wrapping up the tent and dinner, it had already grown dark.

Timewise, it must’ve been around 9 o’clock. It was soon time to sleep and take watch.

“I can’t fall asleep.”

“Me neither.”

Grace and Lee Yeon-joo, lying in the makeshift tent, were having a conversation. Most of it was about how they couldn’t sleep.

Given the tumultuous events of the day, they should be tired enough to fall asleep normally. It feels more like they’re too anxious to sleep.

When people are under extreme tension, they tend to forget all about fatigue. I addressed them.

“Sleep.”

“……Yeah?”

“Guard.”

Implying that I’ll keep watch, Grace’s eyes widened.

We had also decided on a watch schedule, so I’d need to wake her up in a few hours.

“Is it really okay to sleep?”

“Yep.”

“……You seem trustworthy, Sivar.”

Grace chuckled a bit. The sense of security was clearly showing on her face.

Following that, she slowly lay down on the hard ground. Perhaps she was so exhausted from today that she didn’t care about her dirty clothes.

I shifted a bit to help relieve her tension. I stood in front of the tent where the two of them were trying to sleep.

Soon, I felt them shifting around behind me, and in no time, it went silent.

As their bodies relaxed, the tension faded, and fatigue began to take its toll.

“Zzz…”

“……”

Seems like they were really tired. Grace’s snoring was far from elegant.

But it wasn’t too bad; it was relatively quiet. I added more branches to the fire to keep it burning.

Cricket chirps and the crackling fire were the only sounds around. It brought back memories of my time living in the woods.

The difference now is that there are people around, but not much else has really changed.

If anything, it’d be about food. I used to store food abundantly, but today it’s all empty.

Rustle, rustle.

That’s when I noticed something moving in the bushes opposite me.

Honestly, I had sensed its presence earlier, but I stayed still, unsure if it would come closer.

But not anymore. As soon as I saw the bushes shaking, I subtly grabbed hold of Ragnarok on my back.

Animals usually know our presence beforehand, so they generally don’t approach unless they’re predators. Unless it’s a survivor, of course.

Honestly, it’s likely a survivor. The presence didn’t feel animal-like at all.

And they didn’t seem to harbor any hostility either; they clearly weren’t here to fight. But being prepared doesn’t hurt.

Rustle, rustle.

Gradually, the shaking of the bushes increased, and before long, someone emerged from within.

“……Sivar?”

“……”

It was someone completely unexpected. It was Kara.

As soon as I saw her, I set Ragnarok down.

If it had been anyone else, I would have remained on guard, but with Kara, it was a different story.

In the Soul World, she always chose survival over fighting. Unless she attacked first, we wouldn’t have any problems.

“Hey.”

I guess a greeting is in order. I waved my hand gently and welcomed her.

Kara looked dazed for a moment at my calm greeting, then broke into a grin.

“Hey.”

She smiled adorably and raised her hand.

Kara glanced at the makeshift tent I had set up behind me and asked, “Can I sit next to you?”

I answered with a slight shift of my behind.

---