The teleportation of Kizen’s 961 First-Year Students was complete. The Island Survival had begun. And with it, chaos.
"Aaaah! Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!"
"Why the hell did you touch the beehive, you crazy bastards!"
"Can’t I eat this? Why am I getting hives on my arm?"
Seventy percent of the first-year students were from the highest echelons of nobility. They were hothouse flowers who had rarely ventured into their own gardens, let alone a jungle. Dropped into a tropical rainforest, it was only natural for panic to erupt. They had all likely co ntally prepared—prepared to sleep outdoors, to go unwashed, to eat monster at.
However...
"A snake! It’s a snake!"
"I got bitten by a bug!"
"The mushroom is moving!"
Once they were actually in the jungle, the reality far surpassed their imagination.
"Hah." It had been thirty minutes since the evaluation began, and irin stood frozen, her expression rigid. She considered her situation slightly better than most. Thanks to Dick, she had gotten information early and had even learned survival skills from Hongfeng over the weekend. She was prepared, in her own way.
She took a brave step forward. The grass crunched under her boot, and a swarm of ants poured out.
"Aack!" she yelped, scrambling backward in terror. As the ants appeared, centipedes with dozens of legs erged from the dirt to feast on them.
irin froze. ’I-I really can’t move a single step.’ Her sheltered upbringing had left her utterly paralyzed. As she fled, she pressed her back against a tree, completely unaware of the fire ants that were, at that very mont, beginning to crawl up onto her shoulder.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
The situation was just as bleak for the others. It wasn’t that they hadn’t prepared. The Island Survival was a well-known annual event. But the students, assuming the core of the evaluation was monster hunting and combat between students, had focused solely on honing their fighting skills.
It didn’t take long for them to realize their mistake. Under these adverse conditions, they all resorted to the sa primal instinct.
"Let’s team up!"
"We’re seeing this through to the end!"
They ford groups out of fear. Since everyone started with zero points, there was little risk of betrayal. Students clustered together, pooling their collective intelligence to devise solutions. In these groups, any commoner students instantly beca invaluable leaders.
"What are you all doing?" Lorenna, a commoner from Class B, stood with her hands on her hips, her expression one of utter disbelief. Behind her, a group of grown noble boys were hugging each other, pressed tightly against a tree as a single earthworm wriggled past on the ground.
"G-get rid of that thing, quickly!" one of them shrieked.
"Nanny! Nanny!" another wailed.
The unfamiliar environnt, the oppressive heat, and the constant threat of disgusting bugs and monsters drained their energy quickly, leaving them ravenous. As if on cue, Kizen began distributing supplies. Magic circles unfolded in the sky, and crates began to fall.
"Over there!"
"Let’s go!"
Students who saw the circles rushed toward them without a second thought.
"Pant, pant... we’re here!"
"We’re the first...!"
But as they pushed through the dense thicket and erged onto an open hill, they stopped dead.
At a glance, over twenty students were already there, warily eyeing each other as they waited for the supplies to descend.
’What is this!’
’The competition is insane.’
"Everyone, get lost," a deep voice bood. A particularly large student was striding up the hill. "If you don’t want to die."
It was Hector Moore of Class A. At the appearance of a student of his caliber, a few others hesitated and backed away.
Just then, a student leaning against a rock snickered. "Little shit, acting all high and mighty. Are you the young master of the Moore family?"
He was lean, with yellow-dyed hair covering his left eye and a long, unfamiliar staff in his hand.
Hector’s expression soured. "Special Admission No. 10. Malcolm Randolph."
"Oh, give a break," Malcolm scoffed. "It’s been over a month, and you’re still going on about special admissions?"
"The vermin who caught the last train has a big mouth," Hector shot back.
Malcolm’s eyebrow twitched. There were exactly ten special admission students. The final mber, No. 10, was often mockingly called the ’last-trainer’ by others, though rarely to his face.
"You’re in Class A, right?" Malcolm said, spitting on the ground as he stood up. "Doesn’t that ’No. 1’ in your class keep his dogs on a leash?"
This ti, it was Hector’s eyebrow that twitched. "Forget the supplies. I’ll deal with you first."
"Ooh, I’m so scared," Malcolm taunted. "Try it, if you can."
The two activated their Cores and charged. From the very beginning, Kizen’s elite clashed, the sound of their battle echoing across the island.
Fights over supply drops were breaking out simultaneously all over. While the randomly included ’artifacts’ were valuable, the most pressing need was food.
"I’m starving."
"Should we really roast a monster?"
And so, on the first day of the Island Survival, while most students were mired in confusion, one boy stood out.
On one shoulder, he carried a bundle of vines, timber, dicinal herbs, and fruit. In his other hand, he dragged a monster’s leg. His face was sared with crushed fennel to ward off bugs, and he wore sturdy boots.
’Is he a native?’
’What’s with that look?’
The students who saw him stared in disbelief. It had only been a few hours, yet he looked perfectly at ho.
’I heard there was nothing to eat here.’
Simon just bead, stowing his haul in his Subspace. ’There’s a ton! This place is a paradise of ingredients!’
He was systematically sweeping the area, gathering fruits, herbs, edible beasts, and sturdy branches.
’He must know the jungle well.’
’Is he a forr treasure hunter?’
His effortless competence inspired a kind of awe. A few students approached him, srized.
"Hey, want to join our team? We can handle the combat."
"If you don’t mind, why don’t you join us..."
Simon just shook his head with a smile. "Sorry, but I plan to be alone on the first day."
After curtly rejecting all offers, he took an axe and poked at a large plant in front of him.
The plant’s husk split open, revealing a sweet, fleshy fruit. Simon pocketed it and moved on. A few students, having watched him, approached a similar plant. When they poked its body, its leaves snapped open like a Venus flytrap and swallowed one of them whole.
"Isn’t this how you do it?"
"Aaaah! You crazy bastard! Don’t just stand there, do sothing!"
Those who tried to imitate him without knowledge only ended up paying the price.
Simon’s progress was relentless. Flanked by his skeletons, he continued to sweep up every useful material the island had to offer.
"Oh, I can get this here." He scooped up a mass of plants floating in a stream. They were called bladderwort, sturdy enough for a person to walk on. He also gathered wild coconuts, full of sweet water, and sorghum that could be used as a spice.
But the most peculiar thing about his movents was that while the vast majority of students were pushing toward the center of the island, Simon was heading toward the sea—the complete opposite direction.
[Hey, boy,] Pier’s voice echoed in his mind. [Your determination to find Vickrum is comndable, but aren’t we getting too far from the center?]
"It’s fine," Simon replied with a grin. "I’ll catch up to all of them in one go tomorrow."
Perhaps because he was moving against the current of students, the area grew deserted. Traces of others vanished. Conversely, monster attacks beca more frequent.
Of course...
The island’s monsters were no match for Simon’s summons. Thanks to his training with Pier, he could now control four undead simultaneously.
’This ti, it’s a Grade 2 monster, a Racker.’
A creature with a long, leopard-like snout and six legs charged at him. Simon flicked a finger, and a skeleton bearing a shield intercepted it.
"The leg," he commanded.
A spear-wielding skeleton thrust its weapon over the shield, burying it in one of the monster’s legs.
"Arrow."
A skeleton archer’s arrow sank into the monster’s eye. Blood stread down, blinding it.
"Flank."
Another skeleton circled to the side and swung its sword, sinking the blade deep into the Racker’s neck. It went limp.
"Nice, good work," Simon said.
The skeletons rattled their weapons in victory. Simon crouched beside the dead monster and touched it with his ’Tonguepad’. The device’s tongue shot out, absorbing the creature’s magic. His points increased by two.
"Can’t eat this one either. Let’s go."
Pier’s clone watched, a skeletal grin on its face. Simon’s command of his skeletons was improving daily.
Leaving the jungle behind, Simon arrived at a beach with a small pier. A few servants were moving luggage while two teaching assistants stood guard.
"What is it?" one of them barked. It was Brad, the combat magic assistant with whom Simon had a history. "Why is a student here? This area is off-limits. Get lost." He waved his hand dismissively.
Simon offered a wry smile and bowed his head.
"Or what," Brad sneered, pounding a fist against his chest. "Not satisfied with picking on students? You want to have a go with ?"
"I’ll pass. Have a good day," Simon replied simply and turned to leave, heading back toward the dense forest.
’Since he’s here, it must be nearby.’ Simon scanned the area until he found a series of connected spiderwebs, forming a path. He followed it to its end, where a massive web was spread between two trees. Resting upon it was a single bracelet. The Subspace bracelet.
"It’s ti for us to et, Pier."
[Hehehehe!]
Just in case, Simon ticulously scanned his surroundings. High above, Kizen’s magical ’Observers’ patrolled the island, but since this area was so deserted, none were in sight. After confirming he was alone, Simon slipped the bracelet onto his arm. He clenched and unclenched his fist three tis, and the bracelet’s Subspace tore open in mid-air.
[Bwahahahaha! I’ve waited a long ti!]
What erged was not just Pier, but an entire troop of skeletons from the Legion.
The Legion had arrived on Kera Island.
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