Chapter 10
- Crackle.
- Crackle-crackle.
The campfire's flames leaped.
One of the flames struck Mist's cheek.
- Sssizzle..
The flame touching the droplets on her cheek died down.
In contrast, Bin looked completely different.
- Ow, hot!
His body was already dry and fluffy.
The moment a spark flew, he screamed and stepped back.
‘.. Why is there such a difference?’
Mist bit her lip.
The contrast was far too stark.
Between the team she'd led,
and the teams led by Mizha and Kanghan.
Could things really be this different?
Her team was in danger.
Dangerously so.
‘We.. didn't do particularly badly.’
But if this had only happened to her team, she would have blamed herself too.
However, this wasn't just happening to her team; it was the same with the other teams.
She'd encountered quite a few other teams on the way there.
They were all in similar situations.
That was why Mist found these two teams strange.
“How are you all.. still in such good shape?”
Mist shivered.
As her wet body dried, it was losing its body heat.
Her lips turned blue.
But she was curious.
How had they achieved this result?
“Ahaha! It's because we're so great!”
Kanghan snickered as he looked at Mist.
He and Mist had an uncomfortable relationship.
Mist, known as the strongest among the promising students their age.
And Kanghan, known as the one right after her.
To make matters worse, they were both close-combat fighters.
Kanghan had had no choice but to be compared to her.
But to have something happen where it felt like he'd beaten her?
It was quite satisfying.
Kanghan wanted to savor this a little longer.
But there was someone who couldn't stand to watch it.
Ena.
Since she hated Kanghan, she spat out the truth.
“What are you talking about? It's thanks to Bin too. We'd have been starving otherwise!”
Ena gestured toward the corner.
Bin was there.
“Mr. Bin..? Did you bring supplies with you?”
Mist tilted her head.
Bin certainly seemed competitive and appeared to put in a lot of effort, but.
This situation wasn't something strength or effort could solve.
What on earth had Bin done?
“Bin suggested going into the forest in the middle of the day. Thanks to him, we got to explore the forest area comfortably.”
Mist nodded.
If they'd entered the forest early and prepared from the start,
this appearance made sense.
“Oh..? You went in right away?”
But that made it even more surprising.
What kind of preparations had he made
to think of going into the forest right away?
“.. That's amazing.”
***
This is awkward.
I was just joking.
And they were the ones who'd overinterpreted it.
Why were they turning me into some incredible guy?
“I didn't do anything.”
..
Everyone looked at me strangely.
This was so unfair.
If I was going to be treated like some amazing guy,
they should have put me in the top tier and given me plenty of support.
All I got was aggro, with nothing substantial to show for it.
They treated me like a genius just because I made a joke.
What was I supposed to do now?
“Anyway, Ms. Mist, are you going to join us?”
It was Mizha's voice that broke the silence.
Her voice was calm as always.
As if even this situation wasn't flustering her,
Mist nodded at her voice.
“Ah.. Join you? For now.. I suppose I should. But I hope I won't be a burden..”
“With more people, we can take fewer watch shifts, so it's actually better. The cave is fairly large too, so there's plenty of room.”
‘Mist doesn't find it strange that we're merging teams?’
Merging teams for a group project.
Since it was practically a loophole, I expected her to feel some resistance.
But she didn't.
‘Well.. if we keep going like this, we'll end up collapsing somewhere and having to be rescued, so it can't be helped.’
Considering that my team and Kanghan's team were already together,
it wasn't all that strange.
“By the way, when did the two teams start traveling together?”
Mist suddenly asked, as if she found it strange.
I felt like I should answer this one.
“We've been together from the start.”
“.. Huh?”
“Our interests aligned from the beginning.”
“Uh.. Was that allowed?”
“There was no rule against it. No one said we couldn't merge teams in the middle.”
“Ah.. Right..”
Mist nodded with an ambiguous expression.
She seemed to be thinking about whether merging teams like this was legitimate.
“Either way.. the professors decide the evaluation at their discretion, and we're not harming anyone, so isn't it fine?”
Mist nodded at my words.
“That's true.. It's a way of doing things without harming anyone.”
She probably still felt reluctant deep down.
It wasn't like the scam that had fooled everyone at the entrance ceremony,
but it didn't exactly feel fair, either.
Still, there was no real point she could object to.
“Anyway, welcome to our team..? Alliance?”
“We.. were glad to have more people too.”
Saying that, I looked deeper into the cave.
There was a dungeon in the back of that cave.
If.. I was right.
Monsters would come out of that dungeon.
Sometimes, gamers discovered dungeons during expedition events.
Monsters would often burst out of those dungeons.
‘Anyway, to deal with the monsters coming out of the dungeon.. the more people we have, the better.’
I looked over the faces of all fifteen team members who had gathered together.
Mist
Kanghan
Ena
Mizha
What a crazy lineup.
A lineup made up entirely of people so elite
it wouldn't be strange if they swept the academy rankings.
‘.. At this level, we could even clear the dungeon, couldn't we?’
But.
I soon learned how foolish that thought was.
——
“.. Watch duty. It's your turn.”
It was late at night.
The person who had taken the watch before me woke me up.
I didn't know who it was.
Just one of the people I didn't know well.
The person standing watch with me was Mist.
She was already awake and keeping watch over the inside of the cave.
“You're awake.”
There wasn't a trace of drowsiness on Mist's face.
Was she made of iron or something?
How could she have just woken up and not look sleepy at all?
“We have to stand watch..”
I trudged over and stood beside Mist.
Watch duty, which I'd done to death in the military.
Who would have thought I'd end up doing it here too?
A sigh escaped me on its own.
“Mr. Bin.”
“What is it?”
“You seem to know a lot of things.”
I subtly turned my head to look at Mist.
What was she suddenly talking about?
“.. Thank you for the sudden compliment, but.. I'm not sure what you mean.”
“I heard it from Ms. Ena.”
“.. What did you hear?”
“That you said the cold air meant the rain would probably stop at night?”
Mist said that and pointed outside.
The rain had stopped.
“Ah.. I just happened to figure it out.”
“That kind of survival knowledge is really not easy to come by.”
“.. Your decision to enter the forest must have been based on that kind of knowledge as well.”
“That.. honestly, it was just a joke. I hadn't planned on entering the forest either.”
Mist slightly turned her head at my words.
Then she stared intently at my face.
“.. You're at the level where even your unconscious knowledge makes its way into your jokes.”
Mist overinterpreted things however she wanted.
Seriously.. what was I supposed to do about this?
I didn't know where to put myself.
“How did you come to know so much?”
Mist looked at me with sparkling eyes.
They glittered like moonlight.
No.
Even the moonlight greeting us from between the clouds after the rain stopped
wasn't brighter than the light in her eyes.
She looked like someone expecting something.
Honestly.. I felt a little uneasy around Mist like this.
A little afraid, too.
‘.. Seriously, all she can think about is getting stronger without taking a break.’
I'm not such a diligent person.
The fact that Mist was asking me this was ironic.
What I had was the method of someone who wasn't diligent,
a method that directly denied Mist's way of doing things.
Freeloading.
But..
Because of that, I had to deceive Mist.
I had to make her think I was someone who worked hard.
‘.. Later, if it comes out that I'm someone who only uses loopholes.. will I be able to deal with the consequences?’
I sighed.
I was worried.
Should I just tell her here that I'm not the person she thinks I am?
Then things would be easier.
But would she believe me?
Probably not. She'd just dismiss this as another joke.
‘.. What can I do? I have to keep deceiving people.’
I looked at Mist.
How had I come to know so much?
I looked into it because I wanted to freeload.
But I'm the kind of person who can't say that.
“Honestly.. I don't know that much, but if you're asking how I came to know so much..”
“It was simply because I had to know a lot.”
I pretended to have a melancholy look in my eyes.
This was enough acting for now.
Humans are creatures of imagination, after all.
In Mist's mind, she'd filter through the possibilities until she found the one that seemed most plausible and most appealing to her.
“Ah.. I see.”
Mist nodded.
She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth.
“Um...”
But the words didn't continue.
- Clatter!
Because a sound came from inside the cave.
“It looks like an enemy has appeared!”
“We can talk later!”
“I'll hold them off for now.. Please wake everyone who's sleeping!”
Mist drew her sword.
I shook out my hands and started moving too.
“I'll be right back.”
I quickly headed toward where the team members were sleeping.
The campfire had burned down to embers, giving off only lukewarm heat,
and most of them were sound asleep.
“Everyone!! Monsters have appeared!!”
I announced it in a voice loud enough to echo through the cave.
“Everyone!! Wake up!!”
But something was strange.
“Wake up!!”
Why.
Why was no one waking up?
I hurried toward the people lying down.
- Thump.
- Thump. Thump.
Their hearts were beating.
- Hah.. huff..
Their breathing came out too.
But..
No one could wake up.
As if they were having sweet dreams.
Everyone had a grotesque smile on their face..
It was as if I'd entered a dream.
“Could it be.. sleeping sickness? Or.. have they been hit by magic? Or an ability?”
I frantically recalled the sleep-related sections from the game.
A curse-type supernatural ability?
Or a sleep-type supernatural ability?
I didn't know.
But..
One thing was certain.
- Kieeeeeeek!!!
Mist and I.
We had to hold off the monsters alone.