I had a dream.
I was lying on the grass and staring blankly at the sky when a gray fluffy cat appeared from somewhere.
For some reason, its sleepy expression felt strangely familiar.
“…….”
The cat came right up next to me and tapped my head, cheek, and shoulder with its paw.
When I continued to look up at the sky without responding, it hopped onto my chest and curled up into a ball as if it had claimed this spot as its own.
I just went along with it and continued to watch the clouds drift by until suddenly I opened my eyes and saw the ceiling of the cave.
It was just a dream after all.
It didn’t seem to carry any special meaning, so I figured it could be dismissed as a silly dream—no, a cat dream.
But when I lowered my gaze a bit, I was met with a scene that looked quite similar to my dream.
Seo Ye-in was fast asleep while leaning against my chest.
Her sleeping bag was pressed right up against mine.
“What is she doing here?”
The cave was spacious yet she had come all the way over here.
I gently shook Seo Ye-in’s sleeping bag.
“Hey, Miss Seo. Wake up.”
“…….”
“Miss Seo, it’s morning.”
“Five minutes….”
Did she mean she wanted to sleep for just five more minutes?
If I left her like this, it would easily turn into fifty minutes.
I figured I should get up first, so I gently laid Seo Ye-in who was sleeping against my chest flat and carefully moved her sleeping bag to the side.
I had noticed yesterday when I carried her on my back, but she was as light as a feather.
“……?”
But as soon as she was separated from me, Seo Ye-in’s eyes fluttered open.
She was still half asleep, barely awake, and her eyes were only about 20% open.
In that state, she weakly tugged at me.
“Let me sleep a little more….”
“You need to wake up now. Eat.”
I took the last remaining fruit and cut it into small pieces before I started feeding her one at a time. She slowly chewed and her eyes opened a bit more; she was now about 40% awake.
When she finally reached about 60% awake, Seo Ye-in sat up and started helping me tidy up our spot.
As we left the cave and walked, each holding a calorie bar, Seo Ye-in asked me a question.
“Where are we going?”
“To resupply.”
Just like yesterday, we were moving quickly to secure supplies ahead of others.
We circled around the lake and kept walking until we reached our destination.
I looked up at the sky and spoke.
“They should be here soon.”
“Jets.”
Whiiirrr—!
As if they were waiting for those words, jets appeared in the sky above the deserted island.
They circled once in the air and then started scattering supply crates before they went away.
One of the crates that was attached to a parachute was descending right in front of us.
One is guaranteed for sure.
Knowing the time and place, we could secure at least one crate without any conflict with other participants.
The others were either still asleep or just now scrambling to move after seeing the jets.
This supply crate was smaller, and inside was a crudely carved flute made from an animal skull.
[Goblin Flute]
An item that summons goblins within a certain range when played.
It was a single-use item but its effect was incredibly powerful.
I put the flute into my space bag and extended my hand to Seo Ye-in.
“Let’s go. Time to check out the next crate.”
“Jump.”
Poof!
We quickly moved to the next location while holding hands,
As we ran, we occasionally used Wind Force to leap great distances, and soon a supply crate came into view on the horizon.
We slowed down as we approached and stopped at the same time. Both of us said the same thing.
“It’s a trap.”
“Trap.”
The lid was closed but there were faint traces around the crate that suggested someone had been there.
Others might have been fooled, but neither I nor Seo Ye-in would miss something like that.
If someone went out of their way to make it look untouched, the chances were high it was a trap.
Seo Ye-in silently pointed to a spot in front of the crate, and I picked up a large stone and tossed it there.
Whoosh!
As soon as the stone hit, vines instantly wrapped around that spot.
It was indeed a trap.
And then the one who burst out from the bushes,
“We got you, you punks!”
Shin Byeong-cheol appeared with chopstick-like tools in each hand, alongside Go Hyeon-woo who was wielding a golden magic sword.
However, they both hesitated midway when they realized that what had triggered the trap was a large stone and not a person.
They then looked around, and their eyes met with Seo Ye-in’s who was aiming her gun directly at them.
Her magic gun unleashed a barrage of blue flames.
Ratatatatatatata!
“Wait, wait! Time out, time out! Let’s settle this through dialogue, through dialogue!”
Shin Byeong-cheol turned his back and fled in a hurry.
Go Hyeon-woo quickly took position to protect Shin Byeong-cheol. He was swinging his sword with precision to block the magic bullets.
Clang, clang, clang!
The magic bullets shattered and scattered.
Go Hyeon-woo deflected the bullets and sent several sword slashes my way, but I dodged them using Wind Force and Storm Cloud.
In the meantime, Go Hyeon-woo also took cover by leaning against a tree.
“Haha, to think I’d encounter you both during the midterm exam. I’m not sure if I should consider myself lucky or unlucky.”
“Let’s call it both. Since we’ve met, why not have a go at it?”
“I’d love to, but unfortunately, the situation isn’t ideal.”
As he said this, Go Hyeon-woo casually revealed his magic sword.
Despite its high durability and auto-repair feature, there was already a crack on the blade.
It must have taken damage from deflecting Seo Ye-in’s magic bullets one by one.
If the fight continued like this, there was a good chance the sword would break.
“This is the only weapon I have at the moment.”
“Two items are allowed according to the rules. That’s a handicap for you. What’s the other one?”
“I chose the pen that Kim-hyung made for me.”
The Durable Pen.
It was an item made by combining the Durable Clip and the Millennium Iron Pen, with an effect that supported weapon durability.
It seemed his plan was to use the magic sword carefully without breaking it.
“What did you get from the supply crate?”
“An item called Twin GPS.”
Go Hyeon-woo put away the magic sword and pulled out two small handheld devices.
They were GPS devices that allowed them to track each other’s location.
“How did you end up with those?”
“Looks like you already know what they’re for, Kim-hyung.”
“In simple terms, they’re cooperation items.”
More precisely, they were items used for cooperation between different teams.
Though the midterms were primarily conducted in pairs, there was no rule saying a team couldn’t collaborate with other teams.
Depending on mutual interests, cooperation was entirely possible, and these Twin GPS devices were used to keep track of each other’s location.
Go Hyeon-woo nodded his head.
“I was wondering why there might be a need for us to split up, and now I see it’s for this purpose.”
“Pairs should always stick together.”
Since you never knew when or where a battle might break out, it was best to maintain at least a pair.
Go Hyeon-woo and Shin Byeong-cheol emerged from behind a tree and approached us.
He handed over one of the Twin GPS devices and an unspoken alliance was formed between us.
“What about the crystals?”
“I managed to get one. Early this morning.”
Shin Byeong-cheol answered as he pulled out a green crystal.
It wasn’t charged.
I showed him our second red crystal and made a proposal.
“We can go charge it together. The more people guarding, the better.”
“Oh, genius.”
Yesterday, while I was charging, Seo Ye-in had to fend off all the other teams by herself.
But with a total of four people, three could keep watch while one charged.
It made things much more secure.
So we all headed toward the sanctuary.
A tower stood tall like a lighthouse.
It was about four stories high which was slightly taller than the windmill.
I pointed to the top and asked Seo Ye-in.
“How about that? Is it too high?”
“It’s okay.”
This height seemed manageable.
Using Wind Force, I lifted her up to the roof of the tower where she took her position and hid.
Next, I gave Shin Byeong-cheol a nod.
“You go ahead and charge. We’ll stand guard.”
“Ah, thank you. I’ll take you up on that.”
Shin Byeong-cheol immediately dashed into the tower.
I could hear him climbing the stairs with some effort,
Wiiiiiiing—
A strong light began to radiate from the top of the tower.
Someone was charging the crystal which meant enemies would soon swarm from all directions.
Go Hyeon-woo and I hid along the path they were likely to take and waited in ambush.
The first to arrive were a male and female pair. The male student was a heavily armored warrior and the female student was a healer.
Judging by how cautiously they approached the tower, they seemed to have experienced situations like this before.
Just as they suspected, a blue light flashed from the top of the tower,
“Hup!”
Thud!
The armored warrior raised his shield to block the incoming sniper shot.
Though the impact made him stagger for a moment, he quickly regained his composure as if nothing had happened.
He probably wanted to impress the healer girl.
“Only one shooter. Let’s go take him out.”
Slash!
However, it was the female student who was taken out first.
Go Hyeon-woo who had been lying in wait swiftly cut her down.
She collapsed to the ground and was immediately ejected from the dungeon.
“There were two more.”
“This… This can’t be…!”
Whoooosh—
A whirlwind gathered around the stunned armored male student.
Reflexively, he raised his shield and activated a defensive skill.
His entire body was enveloped in blue mana, which further reinforced his defense.
He had a decent reaction speed, and his skill level seemed to be somewhere between D and C rank.
But that won’t be enough.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
When the compressed air exploded, the armored warrior’s back bent like a shrimp.
He looked at me with eyes full of disbelief, as if questioning how I had so easily penetrated his defense.
How could he possibly know?
That this seemingly simple wind magic had a “defense piercing” effect attached to it.
Mediocre defensive measures were effortlessly pierced and dealt damage just like this.
As he exposed a clear opening, Go Hyeon-woo’s magic sword slashed through the air.
Slash!
Both of them became incapacitated and vanished, leaving nothing behind.
They must not have had any items at all.
Not even a calorie bar.
I exchanged glances with Go Hyeon-woo.
“Let’s welcome our next guests.”
“Ambushes do have their own charm.”
While we were hiding in the bushes and waiting, our next guests arrived.
Two male students.
Their faces practically announced, “We are warriors,” and each one of them held a sword in hand.
They approached cautiously just like the others, but the difference was they quickly realized the ambush.
They stared at the bushes where we were hiding and immediately sent a sword energy slash our way.
Slash!
We had no choice but to dodge and emerge from the bushes.
One of the warriors looked at me and his gaze grew intense.
“Kim Ho from Class 3.”
“Do you know me?”
I didn’t know him though.
A smile as intense as his gaze spread across his face.
“I’ve been looking for you, and here we meet in a place like this.”
“Why were you looking for me?”
He only smiled without answering.
Then four more warriors appeared behind him.
Seeing that each one was armed with a sword, I could guess.
“You must be from the swordsmanship club.”
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