Chapter 10
* * *
I acquired the pattern for 'wind.'
Since it was a trace left behind by nature, maybe I should call it a Glyph from now on?
Once I discovered a Glyph, I could use magic to manipulate it.
That meant I could use the power of wind from now on, too.
To test it out, I tried using mana to stir up some wind.
Whoooosh!!
A rising gust swept up the leaves on the ground, whipped them into a little whirlwind, then scattered into the sky.
"Wow! What is that?"
The manager exclaimed as if she were watching an amazing magic trick.
"It's a new spell."
"It's so amazing and refreshing~."
"I got a lot out of today thanks to you, Manager."
"You always know how to say the sweetest things, Mr. Woojin♡"
That was true.
I used to be the kind of person who couldn't even lie to flatter someone when I didn't mean it.
Even I was surprised.
Maybe it was because I was genuinely happy?
In a place without YouTube Shorts, experiencing the wonders of magic was the most enjoyable thing for me.
Magic wasn't just useful; becoming a wizard was special in and of itself.
'Wind…….'
Wind had even more uses than water.
I came up with all sorts of ideas that could greatly improve our standard of living.
For now, I could make a fan to cool us down.
Whoosh!
"How is it?"
"Ah~ It's cool. Even cooler than a fan."
Phew, I feel like I can breathe again, too.
When I stirred up a circulating breeze, it felt like the temperature had dropped by at least four degrees.
It was such a game changer that the sweltering jungle trail felt like a stroll around the neighborhood.
"Let's take a look farther inside now."
"Okay!"
With the eager manager, I looked around for somewhere that could serve as a potential settlement.
Beside the waterfall, beneath a rocky outcrop, there was a hollow in the shade where three or four adults could fit.
It looked like a suitable place for shelter, but there were already traces of a beast.
"Mr. Woojin. This is……."
The manager seemed to have noticed, too.
"Looks like this place has an owner."
Damp fallen leaves and dry grass had been trampled in one direction, and the dirt floor had a round depression in it.
It looked as if a large body had repeatedly lain in the same spot, pressing the ground down.
Judging by the size, it was the boar.
A heavy animal smell lingered in the air, too, so it seemed it hadn't left long ago.
Yeah…
A place that's good for people to settle in is also a good place for animals to live.
"What should we do?"
"Let's head back and talk it over with everyone first."
Was it some sort of gatekeeper of the southern forest?
It seemed like a fight was unavoidable.
The losing side would be pushed out of the competition for survival and die, just as nature dictated.
Of course, I had no intention of dying pointlessly in a place like this.
* * *
Day 5 of being stranded, 16:00
The manager and I left the forest early, before the sun went down.
"Oppa~. That scary unnie's bullying me."
As soon as we got back to the shelter, Luka pretended to sob and ran into my arms.
"Did something happen?"
Seoyoon was chuckling behind her.
What had she made the gyaru do……
"Well, shouldn't we make good use of our human resources?"
"Waaah."
I soothed Amane as I looked around the camp.
We've accumulated a lot of odds and ends.
"We searched the entire coastline together, with fifty minutes of exploring and ten minutes of rest."
"I told you to rest, and you were working on the beach?"
"This is relaxing for me."
The fact that gathering as hard as she could counted as relaxing meant Kang Seoyoon was a truly frightening person.
Fifty minutes of work and ten minutes of rest? What was this, the military?
"Did you find anything useful?"
"Yes. We gathered a lot of small fish and shellfish washed ashore."
"Hiiing, Unnie Kang scared me, saying she wouldn't feed me if I didn't work as much as I ate."
She'd trained spoiled Luka pretty well…… That's Assistant Manager Kang for you.
"Telling on her won't help. I'll kick out anyone who does nothing but play around."
I patted Luka as if to comfort her.
If Luka was a naughty child, then Assistant Manager Kang had naturally taken on the strict-mother role, leaving me to play the kind and gentle father.
"Assistant Manager, forgive her already. I think she's earned her fruit."
"Hmph."
We gathered around the campfire again.
Had she gathered firewood, too?
Our assistant manager is perfect at looking after me……
First, let's light the fire.
I picked up a disposable lighter and pushed the wheel down with my thumb. Click. Click. Only short, dry metallic sounds came out.
"What? What's wrong with it?"
I tried again.
Click, click.
Fuck, even getting a flame out of a lighter was starting to feel uncertain.
There wasn't a Glyph of Fire, either……
"It's harder than I expected to find a working lighter. Everyone uses them, so…."
Seoyoon added an explanation from beside me.
Lighters weren't things people usually carried in their bags. On planes, each passenger was generally allowed to carry one.
And if you weren't a smoker, you had no reason to carry one around……
At the start of the disaster, we'd found quite a few lighters, so I thought we wouldn't have to worry about starting fires. That was about to become a thing of the past.
Maybe we could use this one one or two more times…….
"All right, now let's put the fish here…"
Seoyoon crouched down and busied herself setting up our meal.
She was grilling fish and shellfish to eat with the fruit.
I wondered where she'd found cookware, but a thin metal sheet was propped across a flat stone.
As the small fish skewered in an S-shape and the shellfish heated up, the flesh shriveled white and a salty smell wafted into the air.
"Looks pretty good, doesn't it?"
Seoyoon said proudly.
"It does."
"Oppa, Oppa. I helped Unnie with it, too."
"You did great, too, Luka."
We'd get to eat seafood today, too. Excellent.
The clams that had stayed shut began to pop open one by one with little clicks.
The smell of the sea, smoke, and cooking fish mingled together.
It was a fairly lavish meal for an early evening on a deserted island.
The assistant manager used the plates and bowls she'd scavenged to dish up the food and hand it around.
"Here. You worked hard gathering today."
"Thank you."
"You worked hard, too, Manager."
"Hehe, it was easy with you helping, Mr. Woojin."
Without a word, I used the Glyph of Wind to stoke the fire.
Hmm, this should be enough heat.
"Mr. Woojin. Tell us already. Don't keep us waiting. What did you find?"
"I found a potential place to settle."
"A place to settle?"
"Yes. It had a flat clearing, a shaded shelter, and a freshwater source."
"Wow~ That's amazing, isn't it, Oppa?"
"It sure is."
If I hadn't had water-generation magic, finding a freshwater source would have been a matter of life and death.
But Assistant Manager Kang didn't look all that happy about the news.
Even the manager seemed to have a lot on her mind.
"…That's good news."
"There's an animal living there, though."
"An animal… That boar?"
Seoyoon flinched.
"Yes."
I said, crunching a small fish, bones and all.
"I'm going to hunt it."
I'd use the Glyphs of Wind and Water to create a more lethal spell.
I needed power that could tear through a beast's hide in one strike, not just a heavy bullet of water.
"After that, we'll move our base camp."
"……"
"……"
Huh?
Why did the mood change?
"Luka will follow Oppa wherever you go~."
Nuzzle, nuzzle.
Luka pressed against my side and acted cute.
But the other two didn't look happy.
"What's wrong?"
Was my idea that bad?
Seoyoon looked toward the horizon, as if she still had reservations about leaving the coast.
"If we go into the jungle, won't it be harder for the rescue team to find us?"
……She's right.
Come to think of it, we hadn't given up hope of being rescued yet.
Everyone was staying on the coast partly because we relied on the flotsam for our survival, but also because it would be easier for the rescue team to find us there.
If we lived inside the forest, our chances of being rescued in an emergency would drop considerably.
The manager seemed to feel the same way.
From the women's perspective, moving our settlement inland basically meant living together deep in the forest.
Of course it was hard to accept right away.
……Luka was a dumbass, so she was the exception.
"I'm sorry for dampening the mood when this is such good news."
"It's fine. I hadn't thought it through."
I hadn't realized it would sound like I was suggesting we all live together in the forest.
I just wanted to move somewhere with better conditions than we had now.
The hope that the rescue team might come was a lifeline helping everyone endure this harsh situation.
If I cut that lifeline, everyone would become emotionally unstable……
"Oh, right! Mr. Woojin learned a new spell~!"
The manager clapped her hands, as if to change the mood.
"A new spell?"
"Magic? Oppa, you're a wizard?"
All right. Should I show them?
I used the Glyph of Wind to send the smoke flying upward.
Whoooosh!
Using the smoke as it rose high into the sky, I drew a picture as if a genie were about to emerge from a lamp.
The classic choice was a giant dick drawing.
……
Tch, the smoke scattered when I'd only drawn half of it.
"Wow!"
"Wow."
"It's wind magic."
"That's amazing."
Assistant Manager Kang stared blankly at the smoke for a moment, then suddenly slapped her knee and stood up.
What was that?
"Mr. Woojin!"
"Yes?"
"Let's escape!"
"Huh?"
……Escape?
The plan Assistant Manager Kang explained went like this.
We'd build a raft big enough for two to four people and use the wind to head out into the open sea.
At first, I wondered if that was even possible, but the more I listened, the more plausible it sounded.
With the same enthusiasm as a corporate presentation, Kang Seoyoon tried to persuade us.
"If you can control the wind, we don't have to worry about the raft staying afloat, and we won't need sails or oars!"
"But who's going to build that raft?"
"You, Mr. Woojin."
"And who's going to steer it?"
"You, Mr. Woojin."
So I had to do everything?
Seoyoon avoided eye contact as she spoke.
"Your magic is the key to our escape plan, so we can't help it."
"Even if we can use the wind instead of oars, how are we supposed to cut the logs?"
"Can't you slice them up with invisible blades of wind?"
"Do you think I'm Ryomen Sukuna?"
Say something that makes sense!
"Even if I can do it with enough effort, how are we supposed to join them together?"
"We collected a lot of cargo straps today. They're made of synthetic fibers, so they won't break easily."
"What about drinking water for the trip……?"
"Drinking water won't be a problem. We have you, Mr. Woojin."
In short, it was a plan that started and ended with me.
"Please, Mr. Woojin."
Her desire to escape was desperate.
Kang Seoyoon pleaded with me as if she were begging.
"We can escape. With magic!"
Yeah, it was time to leave.
Exploring the mysteries of magic was fun, but it didn't seem like something worth putting everyone's lives on the line for.
If we could escape using the Glyph of Wind, then let's get out of here.
"All right. Let's give it a try."
What the hell, might as well try.
I filled my stomach, got to my feet, and unleashed a wind blade at full power.
Whoooosh!!
The log did not split with a thunk like tofu───
Of course it didn't.
It was gouged as if struck by a large axe, but it wasn't powerful enough to slice through a log in one go.
This was going to take a while.
It looked like hard work, but even the manager was watching me with hopeful eyes.
"We can get out of here, right, Mr. Woojin?"
"I can't promise anything, but I'll try."
First, we started gathering suitable trees.
I aimed the wind blade at a tree as a test.
'Maybe this isn't so bad if I think of it as training.'
I'd already been planning to develop attack magic using the Glyph of Wind.
I worked hard at whittling down the logs, thinking of it as practice.
"It's falling!"
Koom.
That's magic for you.
"Mr. Woojin! Great job!"
Assistant Manager Kang had switched jobs to become my cheerleader.
I was getting the sort of fawning reaction you'd hear from a company boss: 「Nice shot, boss」.
"You were totally like Omen-Sokuri!"
"…If you don't know the manga, don't pretend you do."
I couldn't chop one through in a single strike, but the work was still much easier than hacking away with an axe until I was exhausted.
How were we going to move them?
Could I lift them with the power of wind?
'That'll be hard…. '
The logs were way too heavy to handle.
If I could've blown them away with wind in the first place, there'd have been no need to make a wind blade.
If I could launch a rock-hard boulder, that'd be an attack spell all by itself.
Craaaack.
By nightfall, I managed to fell three logs.
Wow, this is brutal.
After sending out hundreds of wind blades, I was drenched in sweat from head to toe.
"Drink some water while you work. You're thirsty, right?"
Seoyoon took very good care of me.
"And have this as a snack. Here, say ah."
"Manager…… Please act normal. This is fucking uncomfortable."
"Hehe, want me to massage your shoulders? Hm? You're all I've got, really."
"……"
She's completely fixated on the escape plan now.
Well, maybe I should enjoy being treated like an emperor for once.
"Then could you massage my shoulders?"
When else would I get Assistant Manager Kang to massage my shoulders?
I plopped down and stretched my legs out.
Seoyoon put strength into her fingertips and diligently massaged my shoulders.
For the great Kang Seoyoon, even playing the maid was no big deal.
How desperate was she?
"Mr. Woojin. Please keep it up tomorrow, too. Once we gather suitable logs and trim them to size, we'll handle putting them together."
"Hoo, a little more to the right."
"Here? Here?"
The manager quietly came over and started massaging my legs, too.
Wait, what?!
That was so ticklish, I almost jumped.
"M-Manager! You don't have to do that!"
"Uh, ahem. I want to help, too…. Mr. Woojin, you can do it…!"
"No…"
"Luka wants to, too! This leg is mine!"
Before I knew it, all three of them were giving me an escape-motivating massage.
I couldn't even imagine how badly these people wanted to get off the island.
"But what will happen to the people we leave behind?"
The thought had suddenly occurred to me.
The hands massaging my shoulders paused for a moment.
"If we manage to escape, we can call the rescue team and save everyone else, too."
Hmm……
If the rescue team couldn't find the island, would we know where we were well enough to tell them?
But… whatever I said now, Seoyoon would argue back.
She was like a zombie, ruled by the dopamine of the escape plan.
"Let's make sure we escape."
What would I do once we got out?
Maybe I could become a YouTuber who did magic tricks.
Hamburgers, cola, pizza, fried chicken…
It was a night when all those things came to mind.
* * *
Day 6 of being stranded, 13:30
"Hah!!"
I summoned a wind blade with my hand and felled a sizeable tree.
I'd gotten used to handling the Glyph of Wind, too.
I'd gotten the hang of cutting logs, so now I could even carve them in advance to make them fall in the direction I wanted.
When I concentrated, the work took about twenty minutes.
With repetition, both the sharpness of my blade and my ability to manipulate mana were improving considerably.
"""One, two!"""
Meanwhile, the other survivors helped join together the logs I'd cut.
They were people Seoyoon had gathered under the pretext of 'calling the rescue team.'
The two exotic older women who were good at physical work were the biggest help with the heavy labor.
"It's coming down!"
Koom!
As the log fell, applause broke out.
"Holy crap. Did you just cut that with wind?
(Oh my god, did you just cut that with wind?)"
Claire, one of the two foreign women, was a white American paramedic. She smiled brightly as she spoke to me.
I remembered her very clearly.
She was the woman who'd coolly shown me her boobs on the beach.
'Oh, right. I can understand English, too.'
“Clean cut. No splinters. Honestly? Better than an axe.
(It was a clean cut. Hardly any splinters. Honestly, it's better than an axe.)"
"Haha… I got used to it after doing it for a while."
Then, from a little ways off, I heard footsteps on the sand.
A Brazilian fitness model, Vitòria Costa.
A sheen of sweat covered her bronze skin, and her dark hair was tied back. It was a ponytail like Seoyoon's, but hers felt more like a wild horse's tail.
She had quite a bit of muscle, too. I felt like I'd lose if we seriously fought.
Vito gave me a quick look, then glanced at the cut log and said in a low voice,
"Nada mal. (Not bad.)"
Huh? That wasn't English. Portuguese, maybe?
It didn't matter as long as I understood her.
"O que eu faço agora? (What should I do now?)"
"We’ve got four main logs lined up (We've got the four main logs lined up.)"
"Thank you."
She had an amazing figure, and she was beautiful.
"You’re blushing. That’s cute. (Your face is red. Cute.)"
Damn it. I got shy around exotic older women.
Claire laughed and clapped once more.
"But we need five more. Come on, keep working, Mr. Wind Cutter."
"Don't stop. I'll come move the next one."
All right……
Now that I had reliable reinforcements, maybe I should pick up the pace.
I felled the next log.
Thud!!