“Graaaah!”
“Screeeech—!”
Chammy slashed past the Draconic Soldier, and right behind her, Bum pounced and slammed it head with a front paw.
The Draconic Soldier collapsed to the ground with its neck twisted.
The members of the Emerald Magic Tower and the Mother Nature Club also unleashed their combo magic.
The ground rumbled as thick tree roots shot up and grabbed the monsters by their ankles.
Debris from buildings came flying like bullets at the monsters struggling to break free.
That was Kwak Ji-cheol’s doing.
They’ve all improved a lot since I last saw them.
It looked like they hadn’t been slacking off. Their overall skill level had risen.
Their coordination felt natural, too.
As I thought that, I extended my staff, and another whirlwind surged forth.
Boom!
By the time I had used Spiral Explosion three or four more times, the battlefield was cleared.
Bum came back, carrying our share of cards in his mouth.
Coincidentally, all three were [Piercing Spear] cards.
“We needed these. Thanks.”
“Grrr.”
When I scratched his chin, he made a purring noise like a motorcycle and rubbed his forehead against me.
Chammy naturally settled on my shoulder, grooming her feathers.
Park Na-ri looked caught between guilt and awkwardness.
“Ah, um… sorry. These kids…”
“No need to apologize. No one’s hurt, right?”
“No. Thank you… for helping.”
As I continued scratching Bum from his chin to his forehead, I asked her a question.
“You were supposed to be moving with Song Cheon-hye, right? Where are the others?”
“Right now… they’re out gathering cards.”
They must have realized it too.
This midterm exam wasn’t something that could be overcome with skill alone.
If enemies this tough were showing up so early on, what would the mid-to-late stages look like?
To even slightly improve their chances of survival, it was necessary to secure more cards.
That’s why they had split into groups and come out onto the monster-filled streets.
They must have taken a wrong turn and ended up surrounded.
Once I had a decent grasp of the situation, I asked Park Na-ri,
“You’re in most need of [Campsite] cards right now, right?”
“Mhmm…”
An item that provides the bare minimum safety for resting.
For survival’s sake, they needed to gather enough to match their numbers. Ideally, with some to spare.
Since Song Cheon-hye’s expedition group had a lot of members, they’d need a lot of campsites too.
So I made a proposal.
“Want to trade a few?”
“W-Would that be okay?”
Park Na-ri’s eyes widened in surprise.
I nodded casually.
“We’ve got some extra.”
In fact, we didn’t just have “some”. We had a surplus.
[Item Cards]
▷ Campsite (1-person) ×17
Day 4 is the limit anyway.
No matter how well the first-years use their items, that’s about as far as they’ll last.
For our party, four people only needed 12 cards to get through three nights.
The rest were unnecessary, so we could trade them all without issue.
“We’ve got 5 extra campsites. And we’ve got 6 [Retreat] cards too. If you need them, I can trade those as well.”
“……!”
From our perspective, [Retreat] cards were completely useless.
Running away only negatively affects side quests.
[Displacement] was similar in purpose, but since it actually knocked enemies away, it could still be used strategically.
We didn’t need more, but it was better to hold onto the ones we have.
So the cards I put on the negotiation table were [Campsite] and [Retreat].
Now it was Park Na-ri’s turn to balance the trade.
“What do you… need?”
“[Piercing Spear] and [Sanctuary].”
To upgrade the card ranks, we’d have to scrape up every last one across the entire city.
Park Na-ri glanced at her party members, silently asking for their approval.
Of course, none of them had any reason to object.
Soon, a bundle of item cards came out of Park Na-ri’s inventory.
“These are what we have…”
▷ Piercing Spear (C) ×5
▷ Sanctuary (C) ×8
I counted the cards and said,
“Thirteen cards total. We’re offering eleven.”
“Mhmm…”
“How about a bonus?”
“Uh, well…”
“Our side is offering survival cards. Throw in one more.”
Park Na-ri hesitated, then slowly nodded.
With that, we were now trading 11 of our cards for 12 of theirs, but I still wasn’t satisfied.
So I made an additional offer.
“If you give us one more, I’ll combine the cards for you.”
“Combine… them?”
“I’ve got a card synthesizer.”
I briefly explained the synthesizer to her.
Combining single-person campsites into multi-person versions increases efficiency.
“And [Retreat] cards are better used in a bundle. If each person uses one individually, you all might end up scattered.”
“Oh… that’s true.”
“For such a useful service, just one Sanctuary card? Total bargain.”
“M-Mhmm… I guess so?”
In the end, Park Na-ri gave in to my persuasion.
Since I was already synthesizing their cards, we took the opportunity to do some maintenance of our own.
▷ Campsite (1-person) ×12
→ Campsite (4-person) ×3
▷ Displacement (C) ×5
→ Displacement (B) ×2, (C) ×1
▷ Piercing Spear (A) ×2, (C) ×8
→ Piercing Spear (A) ×2, (B) ×4
→ Piercing Spear (A) ×3, (B) ×1
▷ Sanctuary (A) ×1, (B) ×2, (C) ×8
→ Sanctuary (A) ×1, (B) ×6
→ Sanctuary (A) ×3
[Item Cards]
▷ Dragon Compass
▷ Handkerchief of Deception ×2
▷ Card Synthesizer
▷ Campsite (4-person) ×3
▷ Displacement (B) ×2
▷ Displacement (C) ×1
▷ Piercing Spear (A) ×3
▷ Piercing Spear (B) ×1
▷ Sanctuary (A) ×3
After wrapping up a deal that left both sides satisfied,
It was about time for everyone to go their separate ways.
I decided to plant some seeds for the future.
“Tell the others to bring anything they want to trade or synthesize. I’ll only charge a small fee.”
“Mhmm, I will.”
“Good luck, my friend.”
“Y-You too!”
I waved at Park Na-ri as she walked away, but then I suddenly felt someone’s gaze and turned my head.
Seo Ye-in was staring at me in silence.
“Player.”
“She’s just a friend.”
I answered casually, and Seo Ye-in pointed at herself with her finger.
“What about me?”
“You’re a friend too.”
Then she pointed at Hong Yeon-hwa.
“……?”
“She’s a friend too.”
“……Player.”
Her gray eyes looked at me, demanding an answer.
As if saying, “So I’m a friend, she’s a friend, and that one’s also a friend?”
Even I had to admit I didn’t exactly sound convincing, so I chose not to make any excuses.
But then Seo Ye-in pointed at Go Hyeon-woo this time.
“……Friend?”
“He is, but that’s it.”
I answered firmly, drawing a clear line.
***
We followed the Dragon Compass all around the city, taking down any monsters and Draconic soldiers we came across.
Along the way, we made sure to collect every item card we spotted.
By the time the sky turned red, after farming tirelessly—
[Draconic Soldiers Eliminated]
▷ Dragonscale Soldiers: 25
▷ Portal: 1
[Item Cards]
▷ Dragon Compass
▷ Handkerchief of Deception ×3 New!
▷ Card Synthesizer
▷ Campsite (4-person) ×3
▷ Campsite (1-person) ×6 New!
▷ Displacement (B) ×2
▷ Displacement (C) ×8 New!
▷ Retreat (1-person) ×2 New!
▷ Piercing Spear (A) ×4 New!
▷ Sanctuary (A) ×3
▷ Sanctuary (C) ×3 New!
We now had three handkerchiefs.
We had more than replenished the Campsites we used in trades and picked up a good balance of survival and combat cards.
We now had six [Piercing Spears] up to S-rank and nine [Sanctuary] remaining.
If we kept up this pace tomorrow, we’d be able to finish comfortably.
With that, we decided to look for a place to rest before it got any darker.
Standing behind Seo Ye-in, I placed my hands on her shoulders.
“Activate lucky radar.”
“Whirr—”
“Please scan for a comfortable resting place.”
“Scanning…”
“Have you found one?”
“Whiiirr—”
Seo Ye-in suddenly started walking off in a random direction.
When we followed, the destination turned out to be… a bedding store.
“Look at this radar’s performance. How is this the first thing you find?”
“Praise.”
“You are truly exceptional.”
“Encouragement reward.”
“Nope, can’t give you that. Let’s just head inside.”
Before she could say anything more, I quickly stepped into the store.
As expected, there was no shop owner or clerk in sight.
It looked like someone had already ransacked the place. Blankets and bedding were scattered everywhere.
Go Hyeon-woo smiled gently.
“A better place to spend the night, you could not ask for.”
“More than good. This is luxury.”
In a situation where surviving is already hard enough, having blankets and bedding was a rare comfort.
We made a simple dinner with the food we’d packed in our inventory.
And once night had fully fallen, we cleaned up a section of the store.
“We’ll set up camp here.”
[Campsite (4-person)]
▷ Creates a space for 4 people.
▷ Duration: 8 hours
▷ Campsite is undetectable.
Although combining four units into one increased efficiency, the space was still limited.
And stepping outside meant losing the concealment effect.
“So we need to lay the blankets down in here too.”
“Got it.”
Seo Ye-in moved around the store like it was her own home, gathering blankets and comforters, then began stacking them neatly in the middle of the campsite.
The height of the blanket-and-comforter tower quickly reached waist level, and before long, it was as tall as Seo Ye-in herself.
I asked casually,
“Is there really a need to stack them this high?”
“There is.”
“Why?”
“Soft and fluffy.”
Which meant in her language the higher the pile, the softer and fluffier it gets.
With that explanation, Seo Ye-in burrowed into the middle of the blanket-and-comforter tower and dug in even deeper.
Then, after some shuffling from inside, she poked just her head out.
Seeing that, I said,
“You look pretty comfortable.”
“Very comfy.”
“You’ll probably sleep just fine even without Kim Ho Pillow.”
“……?”
Seo Ye-in picked up on something unusual in an instant.
I gently took Hong Yeon-hwa’s wrist and said,
“Looks like it’ll be just the two of us tonight.”
“J-Just the… two of us…?”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s face lit up with a shy excitement.
Seeing that, Seo Ye-in’s pupils dilated.
“Traitor…”
She began wriggling her way out of the blanket-and-comforter tower, but I pushed her back in, mimicking Go Hyeon-woo’s tone.
“Hoho, Miss Seo. You’ve just made yourself comfortable. Why leave now? Please, rest well where you are.”
“Nooo…!”
***
After a bit of back-and-forth, Seo Ye-in ended up choosing Kim Ho Pillow over the blanket-and-comforter tower.
Though she still slept on a thick pile, all the same.
We’d been through a lot, and tomorrow would be just as tough. So I wanted to let them rest well.
But one more event still remained.
So I only closed my eyes for a moment and got up at the scheduled time.
Go Hyeon-woo was in a corner of the campsite, training his mana.
Sensing my presence, he wrapped it up and looked over at me.
“Kim-hyung.”
“Let’s step outside for a bit. There’s something too good to miss.”
“Something too good, you say. Should we wake the two ladies as well?”
“Leave them for now.”
They’d end up waking on their own, anyway.
I walked out of the bedding store with Go Hyeon-woo.
After roughly gauging the direction, I raised my hand and pointed into the distance.
“Probably around there.”
“……”
Go Hyeon-woo didn’t press for details and simply waited calmly.
Not long after, a thin white line streaked across the sky, landing exactly where I’d pointed.
A brilliant white light momentarily lit up the entire city.
And the next instant, a deafening roar shattered the silence.
Booooooom—!
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