Chapter 73 – 14. Uncharted (1)
The damp morning air tickled my skin.
I couldn’t get a good night’s sleep because of the night shift, so when I woke up, my head was dizzy.
I barely got up and checked the time, it was 8:00 in the morning.
I’m glad I woke up earlier than expected even though I stayed up late last night.
When you come out of the tent, the savory smell of food wafts in.
It was unclear whether the others were still sleeping, and Yewon Jeong was alone sitting near the bonfire, cooking something.
“Haam… You woke up early.”
“Huh.”
As she yawned and thoughtlessly passed her greetings to Jeong Ye-won, for some reason, it seemed that she startled and shook her body.
What… Are you still mad?
No matter how tender your heart is, I don’t think you’ll react that way to a joke that asks you to visit me at night.
Or, it could be that there are circumstances unique to Jeong Ye-won that I have not thought of.
For example, it’s my menstrual cycle, or I’m embarrassed to show my face because I’m not wearing makeup… Or something like that.
It was simply my thoughts, so I approached her casually.
A milky stew was simmering in a pot over the campfire.
“Oh, did you make it yourself? It looks delicious.”
“…Would you like to eat?”
“If you give it to me, I will eat it with gratitude.”
You have to eat breakfast so you can move your body.
The elite member, who had looked at me like a half-worm before, but now turned her face away with a shy gaze, was suspicious of something, but it was strange to reject her favor at once.
In response to my answer, Jeong Ye-won filled her bowl with soup with the ladle she was stirring and handed it to her along with a spoon.
After rummaging through the contents with a spoon, I saw potatoes, carrots, and cube-shaped meat presumably chicken.
I can’t eat carrots.
If you eat a little and spit out a carrot while Jeong Ye-won isn’t looking…
“I’ve been working hard since morning, so I eat everything I can…”
However, as if she noticed my thoughts, I couldn’t stop chewing on the carrot.
I can’t get used to the smell of this strange and terrible vegetable that spreads in my mouth…
I don’t like that it’s mushy because it’s been boiled for a long time.
Jeong Ye-won confirmed that I was pouring every last spoonful into her mouth before she smiled in satisfaction.
She looks more like a happy smile of a wife looking at her husband than a smile of gratitude that she ate something delicious, but it must be just my imagination.
“It was delicious…? I-I-I made it with Jihoo-san on purpose, so if you want to eat more, you can eat more…”
“Uh… You just gave me a lot so I don’t think I need to eat any more.”
“That’s right…! Okay then let’s clean it up! Give me the bowl!”
I don’t know why, but it’s unusually flustered.
The reason why I’m so embarrassed at the word that I don’t eat anymore… I’m sure you didn’t put something in the soup, right?
It was clearly a reasonable doubt.
The fact that they filled the bowl of soup when they handed it to me, and the fact that they didn’t take their eyes off me for a moment until I finished eating, maybe they were all trying to feed me something…
It’s true that she honestly did her a bit of her hatred, but I had no idea what the elite would put in her soup.
While thinking about it, a phrase from a web novel I read a long time ago came to mind.
What was it… Was it fried rice made with 100% womb?
I was so shocked the moment I read it that I put my phone away for a while.
For a moment, ominous thoughts ran through my head, but I soon realized that I was having absurd doubts.
I’m not the kind of person who would do such a crazy thing in the first place, and most of all, if I took out something like a womb, I’d die from excessive blood loss.
I felt like an idiot for seriously doubting Jeong Ye-won for a moment.
Still, the taste of the soup was strangely sour, so there was no doubt that Jeong Ye-won added additional ingredients.
The subtle freshness that spreads in her mouth right before her savory taste becomes greasy, her taste is perfect for my taste, but I don’t think vinegar is the cause of that freshness, so I decided to ask her.
“I love this soup. May I ask how you made it?”
“Yes? Ah, yes… First, melt the butter in a pot, then add the chicken and pepper and stir-fry, then add the carrots and potatoes…”
The recipe she told me was not much different from the cream stew I knew.
She asked if there were any other ingredients, just in case, but Jeong Ye-won’s answer was very weak.
“Uh, other than that, did you add anything else? I really liked the slightly refreshing aftertaste.”
“That, that…! …Don’t try to find out, it’s a secret…”
What, is it like a secret stew passed down from generation to generation?
I was slightly disappointed at the moment, but since one stew wasn’t that important, I decided to pass it on without thinking.
Anyway, the world is wide and there are many delicious recipes, so there must be at least one recipe that tastes similar.
After we finished our meal, we went downstairs, and before we knew it, other people were getting up and getting ready to go out.
I couldn’t see Won Harin even when I looked around her to see if she hadn’t woken up yet, but considering that she was nailed down until she collapsed last night, that was enough.
Today was the day I decided to learn about additional assignments in earnest.
There were a lot of questions about the change in the environment, the function of the artifact as a reward, but the most important thing was ‘what kind of task is coming out’.
It wouldn’t be strange to be given any type of task, including a large-scale sudden break, large monsters, and even artificial dungeons.
What challenges did you face in the original story?
As far as I remember, it seems that the monsters came in nonstop to show that ‘Goryusin has become this strong!’
But now, when I don’t know how much my small actions in the past may have affected the present, I couldn’t simply conclude that our task was a sudden break.
In the first place, at this point in the original work, the character Yang Geum-tae had long since left, and it was different from the original work in that I and Goryushin were in the same group.
“Still, it would be nice to come out with something like a large monster rather than a quantity battle…”
I glanced at the crit shield in the form of a bracelet worn on my arm.
Critical Shield completely defends only up to 3 times when it reaches a critical crisis, so the remaining amount is quickly consumed by continuous damage.
So, to put it bluntly, I prefer a single object, but I have to be prepared for other cases at all times so that I can react properly when a crisis strikes, so I had to be careful about that too.
But… When I thought about it, I couldn’t see the monsters well since yesterday.
It seems that it did not fall in a strange place, seeing the occasional screams from afar in an environment that was difficult to adapt to, but strangely, I have never personally discovered a monster.
Yesterday, too, there was not a single raid in the process of setting up a base camp, crossing the forest twice, making a campfire and cooking dinner.
It’s simply a coincidence, but my intuition is warning me that there is something.
Is it because the other groups have already hunted them all, or did the other monsters cower in a bigger threat…
A subtle emotion mixed with curiosity and anxiety creeps up.
But right now, there’s no way to find out more about why, just because you’re curious.
The only reliable source of information was an explanation of the additional tasks that will be revealed in today’s [Rules of Survival].
“Huh? It seems to be appearing now?”
Ryu Xin, who kept looking at the rules of survival with a slightly nervous expression, shouted at us as if he felt something change.
As he said, golden strings were being engraved in the empty space of the book in his hand, as if burning.
“Wait… I’ll read it to you when it’s all revealed… Your group is probably the same, so let’s divide it into threes and read it.”
[Description of additional tasks: Articles 12, 28, and 50]
If you’re reading this, it probably means you’ve survived 24 hours safely. The fact that you survived for a day in unfamiliar surroundings and constant threats is enough to prove your abilities.
However, since this evaluation is an evaluation that calculates grades, there is no choice but to calculate the ranking by giving students points differently.
The additional tasks I’m going to explain are options that are close to essential if you want to get that many points, so please read the description carefully and complete the tasks.
An additional challenge for members 12, 28, and 50 is the [Treasure Hunt].
True to its name, Treasure Hunt, you must solve various puzzles on the island, defeat monsters, and find treasure left by sea dragons.
In this assignment, cooperation is emphasized and it is assumed that two or more groups gather, so if you haven’t found another group yet, we recommend that you meet first.
Of course, if you think your ability is sufficient, you can solve the task without looking for another group.
* There is only one treasure, but don’t get too attached to the treasure itself as all your actions along the way will be evaluated!
The rule I saw yesterday was a stiff, short-spoken language, but this time, it was a softer tone and a kind explanation.
The more I read, the more I remembered Professor Shiana for some reason, and I couldn’t stop smiling.
I can imagine Professor Shiana staring into the eyes of the observer assigned to our group.
Maybe that’s what she meant when she said, “Because I’ll be watching.”
It’s the first time I’ve heard the name [Treasure Hunt], But ‘multiple puzzles and the monster guarding them’ was a structure that can be seen often in normal games.
Since I was already familiar with this type of game from real life, it was a very advantageous condition for me.
If you do well, you will be able to get a pretty good score in practical skills, I even have such hopeful thoughts.
