Chapter 49
After midnight passed, the night wind, which had grown as cold as it could be, pierced through coats like a blade.
It was a ruthless weather to endure with only blankets and a campfire.
The students trembled, yet they hardly tried to open their eyes once closed.
Everyone was carrying extre fatigue and a lack of sleep.
The cause lay in the summit itself.
Whenever the Captains bickered, the surrounding air grew heavy.
Unless one had significant courage, it was impossible to endure long exposure to such crushing air.
It must have been difficult for the students whose experience was still immature.
I had [Steady Nerves], so I was fine.
[If it is hard, you can rest too. I will keep watch.]
Serena, who was standing guard with , took out her notebook and wrote.
“You don’t have to worry about .”
Leaving her consideration behind, I began to trim the ends of branches I had gathered nearby with a dagger.
[What are you planning to use those for?]
“I am going to make a booby trap nearby.”
[For the purpose of dealing with those monsters?]
“No, as a ti-saver for a slightly larger target.”
Usually, it took so ti for a zombie to beco a variant.
However, among so nad ones, there were cases where they changed from the very beginning.
The master of this forest was like that.
The beast was a bear.
Its na was Urgon, and it was a spiritual creature treated as a guardian deity by the people of the nearby villages.
Now, there were no people to hold rituals for it.
Likewise, there were no gentle bears that did not attack humans.
A bear that beca a zombie was a magical beast with thick fur, strong forepaws, and biting force, literally a demon beast.
[If it is a target, which one are you talking about?]
“A bear.”
[That is a good idea. Bears provide a lot of at. Especially before they go into hibernation, bears are fatty and delicious.]
I smiled.
She was a country girl with abundant survival knowledge, having co from a commoner background rather than a noble one.
“I am sorry, but you won't be able to eat that bear. It is already dead.”
[It's dead? If it's dead, it can't move then.]
“You will understand when you see it.”
She put down her notebook and pen, picked up a stick, and poked at the campfire.
She stared blankly at the flas that had grown a bit larger.
In the anti, I organized the remaining wood and stacked the finished spears in layers beside .
Next, I unfolded a map.
On the map, the forest area was drawn in a clumsy shape like a scribble.
It was sothing I received as a bonus when I exchanged the scrolls with Martel.
[What is that?]
“A map.”
[How did you get it? It wouldn't have been easy to obtain.]
“I made a good friend.”
I rose from my seat and looked at the stars twinkling in the sky.
I heard that adventurers read the direction through constellations when it was difficult to identify north, south, east, and west.
[Clever] connected the stars.
Among the connected stars, it pointed out the one flashing at the very end and told it was north.
I turned toward her, who was on the opposite side.
“You are using detection magic right now, aren't you?”
Serena’s eyes widened.
She was in the middle of scattering very fine mana particles in all directions to look for intruders.
[How did you know?]
“Because I am the type who is sensitive to mana.”
For detection magic, not getting caught was just as important as finding the enemy.
If discovered, the opponent changed their plan or ran away.
Beasts were no exception.
In fact, their senses were superior to humans, so they reacted sensitively to the surrounding environnt.
However, if it was Urgon...
Its hungry belly could not be satisfied with only life in this forest.
Having lost its reason and been seized by madness, it wanted to cross the ridge toward the plains.
And we set up camp right in the middle of the path the beast passed.
[You are the first to notice. Everyone else didn't know unless I told them.]
“It must be proof that your ability is that excellent.”
I sat next to her and used [Analyze] at the sa ti.
Information related to her level appeared, but that was not what I was trying to examine.
[Serena]
Status Ailnt — Fallen into Trauma [Maximum].
She lost her voice until the wounds in her heart were recovered.
She lost her hotown.
That alone would remain a wound she would carry for a lifeti.
But the fate entangled with her cruelly left an even larger wound.
She killed her four-year-old younger brother, who had turned into a monster, with her own hands.
While playing as Serena several tis.
I went through various trials and errors to resist that fate, but there was no way to block that specific event.
This ti too, she.
She stained her own hands with the blood of her family.
[You used sothing just now too. Right? What kind of magic was it.]
Serena smiled softly.
Befitting a master of detection magic, she herself was sensitive to surrounding changes.
“Give your hand.”
Serena had a slightly surprised face, but she soon held out her arm as requested.
I held her hand and used [Serenity].
Warm light overflowed.
However, it was insufficient to lt her heart, which had been closed off.
She was still smiling.
Serena always smiled ever since she went through her unfortunate past.
It looked normal at first glance.
But she wore a mask to reassure those around her.
It was not that she was full of emotions.
It was that nothing else was left.
The inside of her eyes was still dark, and an endless emptiness was felt.
For a very brief mont.
Vitality returned to her gaze, but it was such a montary instance that it seed like an illusion.
[Thank you. You were trying to do sothing for , weren't you?]
“...I am sorry, I acted presumptuously.”
[Why do you have such a sad expression? We t for the first ti at this summit.]
“Right, we are seeing each other for the first ti. But I have known you since before then. And I tried to save you several tis, but I failed every ti.”
[Save ? Why?]
“Back then, that was my way of proving my ability.”
Serena smiled.
She listened intently to the story that would only be abstract if one did not know the circumstances.
A serious gaze as if thinking deeply about sothing.
She picked up her pen again and wrote down what she wanted to say in her notebook.
[I have already lost everything.]
“I know. I failed this ti too.”
She was not saved this ti either.
But she was not dead yet.
Even if the past could not be erased, the future could be changed.
“If there is even one thing left for you to cling to in life, and you have no intention of letting it go...”
I continued speaking.
“Help . I will help you too.”
Serena smiled.
But that smile was a bright one, as if her heart had seeped in a bit, unlike the hypocritical ones she had shown until now.
[Fine, what do you want to do?]
I laid down the map and pointed to the circled part.
Detection magic generally sensed in a circle.
But depending on the case, it was possible to narrow the range and increase the distance.
It was near the front of this camp.
There was no need to look at the back.
Because three monsters much stronger than us were positioned there.
“I want you to look at the marked place intensively. If sothing cos, you will be able to notice it quickly. The bastard is twice as large as us.”
Serena nodded.
The mana scattered around began to concentrate in one direction.
[There is nothing right now.]
“Okay.”
I packed my equipnt and headed toward the trail where I would set the trap.
Perhaps the clouds had cleared a bit, as moonlight fell between the trees and soaked the ground.
As the vision grew bright, a single zombie lurking in the darkness wandered out and revealed itself.
Graaaah!
A horrific shriek flowed from a decayed neck.
Rather than being intimidated by that shriek, the worry that other fellows would flock in ca first.
I quickly ran forward and swung my club.
The rascal resisted fiercely, swinging its arms even though its head was crushed.
“Good timing.”
I needed bait to lure the bear.
Zombies moved for a while even if their bodies were torn apart.
That was a characteristic to be careful of, but it was also a characteristic that could be utilized.
I stabbed the zombie’s upper body deeply with one of the spears I was holding.
I pinned it in place like a scarecrow.
I poked around the nearby ground and selected a spot good for digging.
After that, it was all smooth sailing.
I took out a shovel from the tools I kept in my inventory, dug the ground, and planted the spears.
Graaaah!
Even when I was about to leave after finishing the work.
The zombie did not try to withdraw its gaze from .
I saw birds, awakened by the rascal’s howling, moving between the trees.
[Are you okay?]
When I returned to the camp, Serena showed a worried look.
Since she was using detection magic.
She knew the fact that I had engaged in a battle once.
“It wasn’t anything special.”
I smiled lightly to ease her worry and approached the campfire.
I threw in a few pieces of firewood to grow the fire.
Nevertheless, a student who could not endure the continued cold woke up with a painful sleep talk.
It was Leo.
He pulled the blanket he was covered with strongly and curled up.
But as if that alone were insufficient, he stood up with an angry face and cast aside the blanket.
“Those damnable Captains. They must be avoiding the wind inside their tents, right? I hope they all get bitten by zombies and die.”
The boy, who jumped up from his seat, huffed for a long ti.
Unable to withstand the gaze with which Serena and I were staring blankly, he sat back down.
“Don't you two agree? Did I say sothing I shouldn't have?”
When we responded with silence, his eyes had nowhere to settle.
After clicking his tongue once, he stepped toward the campfire as if feeling embarrassed.
“I didn't intend to eavesdrop, but I overheard a bit. That talk about catching a bear or whatever.”
He glanced at and cautiously threw out a topic for conversation.
Knights received training to prepare for ambushes.
Even when lying down for sleep.
It was a thod of maintaining tension while keeping a certain amount of senses awake.
It was a difficult technique, but he perford it skillfully.
“Right.”
“Isn't that a rule violation? The promise with was clearly to settle the match tomorrow.”
“Since it is past midnight, it is tomorrow if we count by the date.”
“...Ugh.”
Leo covered his mouth with his hand and struggled to find a word to counter.
However, as if nothing ca to his mind.
“Serena, what do you think?”
He requested help from her, who was unrelated to this matter.
Serena seed to give a slight smile.
[Joshua is in the wrong.]
The single sentence written in her notebook was enough to revive the boy’s dying montum.
“See, you are the bad one.”
“I suppose so. I am indeed the bad one.”
When I admitted it obediently, Leo wore a listless expression.
Even when having an argunt, the boy was.
The type whose attitude changed according to the opponent’s heat.
“If you don't mind, I would like for us to face the enemies we will fight from now on together.”
“Are you asking that as a favor?”
“Yes.”
Leo said with a pleasant snort.
“In that case, call my na with plenty of respect. The title... Yes, ‘Senior’ would be good.”
I groaned and shook my head strongly.
I did not do anything that would shake the chain of command.
Especially if it was a situation where a battle must be fought soon, I had to refrain even more.
I took sothing out of my backpack.
In case a situation like this arose, they were boiled eggs I brought to use occasionally.
“That is a sha. I was planning to share these, believing we were comrades who would fight together.”
The boy’s Adam's apple twitched.
If it were not for a world like this, he would have mocked it as a snack only commoners eat.
But in terms of the biting cold and the fact that eggs were now difficult to obtain.
The value of this round object was imnse.
I threw one to Serena as a demonstration.
She showed a flustered look and then took out her notebook.
[Can I eat this?]
“Yes, since you are already helping .”
[Then I won't decline.]
At the trade that happened before his eyes, Leo looked very hesitant.
The boy’s way of thinking was simple.
The thought of acting shalessly was not in the options.
Serena peeled the shell of the egg.
When the white flesh was revealed and she tucked her hair behind her ear and took a bite.
It seed sothing inside the boy snapped.
“...I apologize.”
The boy was not in the wrong.
If there were a fault, it should be found on my side instead.
Nevertheless, he knelt down, having completely forgotten the situation from a few minutes ago after surrendering to appetite.
Sympathy welled up.
I rolled one egg I was holding on my palm.
“Your waist seems a bit stiff.”
“Ugh!”
He hesitated, but it did not take long for him to stand up.
The value food possessed in this world was great.
The boy would not be unaware of that either.
“Listen while you eat. What your role is. And I will tell you, I don't really like power struggles.”
“Haha, I will keep that in mind, boss.”
Leo nodded vigorously.
I continued the explanation.
It was a situation to tell everyone anyway, but I told the people who were awake first.
It could save ti and prevent confusion from growing.
How much ti has passed since then?
Serena noticed that a monster was approaching.
[It is coming. Just as you said, it's a huge guy.]
The forest beca noisy.
As if day and night had been reversed.
All animals woke up and tried to run far away from the north.
My heart hamred.
Leonard, whose playfulness had disappeared at so point, began to wake up the sleeping students one by one.
“What is going on?”
“What, is it an enemy?”
When the students were asking about the reason they were woken up.
Bang!
A shout like a thunderbolt erupted from a place slightly away from the camp.
It was a sound sufficient to shake off sleep.
Urgon fell into the trap I set.
However, it was far from enough to kill the bastard.
It ant I had bought a few minutes, and that ti should be used to calm them down and explain the situation.
I composed my breathing.
And as always, I drew a strategy for survival in my head.
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