An hour passed since we arrived on the island. I headed back to my camping spot near a river with a mountain on one side. The ancient sages would have called it back to the mountain, face to the water.

I was full of cheats with my laptop displaying drone footage in my right hand, and the Book of Truth with a map of the island in my pocket.

I ran into a monster before I reached the camping spot.

The clown monkey had many colorful spots. However, its face looked grotesque, and its human size always surprised people when they first saw it.

“Jesus, it looks horrifying.”

Clown monkeys should be low-intermediate rank, grade 9. The one in front of me looked average. I took out my training handgun. It would be troublesome if I didn’t finish it in one blow, so I aimed for its vital point at the tail. Clown monkeys moved fast, but lost their balance without their tails.

I pulled the trigger without hesitation. The magic bullet pierced its tail as it tried to escape and fell. I fired five quick shots into its head, although the fourth had already penetrated its skull.

“That was easy.”

After scanning the clown monkey’s corpse with my smartwatch, I continued on my way. Finally, a river appeared after about 30 minutes of walking. The source came from the northernmost area, which flowed down and split into eight branches. This river seemed like a tributary, but could reliably serve as a water source. Furthermore, a rocky mountain stood behind it with a dense forest above, making it the ideal camping spot.

I took out my tent, which looked like a small disk, and opened it with stigma’s magic power. The disk expanded into a large tent.

“Wow.”

It felt cozier than I imagined with a bed and a small table inside. I decided to sleep since nothing major would happen yet.

“Yaaawn.”

I jumped into bed.

***

Nine hours after the start of the exam. The blazing sun had set, and darkness descended on the island.

“Haa…”

Rachel sat on a rocky mountain and collected her breath. She set out by herself after rejecting several offers, but now she felt the need to team up more than anyone else because of food.

“Auu….”

Rachel looked at her food supply with mixed feelings. Only half remained. She ate two hours ago, but she became hungry again after scuffling with a monster. Cadets had to look for edible plants or hunt wild animals. Anyone could guess that wild animals stayed near rivers, but even if she hunted them, she didn’t know how to cook. Rachel had no experience with butchery.

She could also trade with other cadets since she had already hunted six monsters. However, points were extremely precious. She needed food as fuel to obtain points, so trading points for food didn’t make sense. A faint scent of meat tickled her nose as she seriously pondered.

“…”

She looked down the mountain and saw a faint fire in the dark. It smelled like grilled meat.

Rachel swallowed her saliva. Although she still had half of her food, she had to save as much as possible. She would be at a disadvantage if she appeared desperate during a trade.

Rachel jumped and ran down 300 meters in just three minutes. She reached the ground and followed after the smell. Soon, she found five cadets cooking a giant boar. They noticed her and turned.

“Eh?”

The group contained three male and two female cadets. Rachel silently stared at them.

“What do you want?”

They put up their guard as Rachel estimated their combat potential. However, it was still too early to fight other cadets. Rachel pointed at the boar.

“I’d like to buy some.”

“Ah, haha, you’re working alone.”

A male cadet, who seemed to be the leader, stood up. He approached Rachel and held out his greasy hand. Rachel tried to shake it anyway, but the man pulled back.

“Ah, my hand is dirty.”

He laughed heartily and continued.

“You’re welcome to join us. We’re all cadets here. That’s fine with you all, right?”

He gave the others a meaningful look that Rachel couldn’t see. Then he turned back.

“Oh right, you must not know our names, but we know yours.”

“…”

Rachel silently nodded. He scratched his neck and spoke.

“Well, Rachel is famous. I’m Joo Yeohoon.”

***

“Argh, where am I?”

Chae Nayun wandered in the woods for 14 hours. During this time, she used a bow and a sword to hunt 9 monsters and likely placed herself near the top of the leaderboard.

“There’s no end…”

She plowed through vines and tall grass, but couldn’t find any water or food. She never even ran into another cadet. Now she felt exhausted.

A faint light appeared when she almost passed out. It looked like a campfire.

“Oooh!”

Chae Nayun ran towards the light and could smell a spicy fragrance. After escaping the endless field of tall grass…

“Eh?”

She saw Kim Hajin munching on a piece of meat. He stared at her with chopsticks in his hand and a plate full of meat.

“… What?”

He tilted his head and asked. Chae Nayun swallowed hard. Although she preferred high-class meals, she had gone 14 hours with little rest or food. She had already finished her rations and had prepared to eat anything.

Chae Nayun observed Kim Hajin and his surroundings. He had a huge, cozy tent behind him. The source of light wasn’t a campfire, but a portable grill. He also had a table, a chair, a frying pan, and packaged meat.

“W-What the heck, where did you get all this?”

“I prepared for the exam.”

“What? How did you know to prepare all this?”

“I brought them just in case. Don’t you know I’m number 1 in the world?”

Kim Hajin tapped on his head and spoke.

“I’m pretty damn smart.”

“… Yeah, good for you.”

Chae Nayun sarcastically remarked. She swallowed hard at the meat while Kim Hajin wondered if their encounter occurred out of luck. It did seem like points had just walked into him.

“You hungry?”

“…”

Chae Nayun nodded.

“How much food do you have left?”

“… I lost it while fighting a monster.”

She had eaten it all, but lied.

“R-Really, I’m a bit clumsy.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Hajin crossed his arms and thought while Chae Nayun held her breath.

“How many points do you have?”

Chae Nayun breathed a sigh of relief. She had killed nine monsters and obtained 35 points, but lied again.

“Twenty… five.”

“Then give me half.”

“H-Half?”

That was expensive for a single meal.

“Yep, but in exchange, you’re sleepy, right? I’ll also lend you a sleeping bag. Just say no if you don’t want to.”

“N-No! I mean, yes! I, I want to.”

Chae Nayun turned on her smartwatch. It could recognize other smartwatches within a 3m radius.

[Kim Hajin] —Point trading —Location sharing

She clicked on point trading. Half of 25 was 12.5, but they could only trade whole numbers. So she sent Kim Hajin 12 points and stealthily sat next to him. Kim Hajin gave her some cooked pork chops after receiving the points.

“Are you okay with just this? They’re pork chops.”

“… I’ll have to eat to live.”

Chae Nayun heard this was common in dungeons and towers. She ate the pork chop. Was it because she was hungry? It tasted delicious. Then she saw Kim Hajin dipping his into a sauce. She did the same and it tasted even better.

The two of them silently ate for 20 minutes.

“Ah, now I’m full.”

Chae Nayun felt a bit awkward once they finished eating. She wasn’t particularly close to Kim Hajin. Their relationship felt uncomfortable.

Just when she thought about running away…

“Here.”

Kim Hajin handed her a bottle of water. She stared in hesitation.

“It’s mineral water, not river water.”

Can he read my mind? Cough. Chae Nayun took the water. Gulp, gulp, kyaa. She sighed in satisfaction after consuming half of it in one go.

“By the way, what’s that?”

She suddenly spotted a ring on Kim Hajin’s index finger.

“...”

Kim Hajin’s face stiffened. For a moment, he rubbed it without talking and thought about what to say. Chae Nayun suddenly understood.

“Ah, nevermind, nevermind. I’m not curious at all.”

I might not act like it, but I can take a hint. It must be a family keepsake. Chae Nayun finished her water without waiting for a reply. Meanwhile, Kim Hajin stared at her with the eyes of a dead fish.

“I never said you could drink it all.”

“… Eh?”

***

The following morning arrived. Birds chirped, and monsters howled from the forest. I woke up from the noise and got out of bed. I felt a bit stiff, but this was a luxury on the island.

“Auuu.”

I left the tent and basked in the sunlight. However, no sunlight shone.

“Is it a polar night?”

Outside remained dark, probably because of the magicians at the island’s central tower. I saw Chae Nayun still asleep in her sleeping bag on the ground. Last night must have been cold since only her face peeked out. She looked like a caterpillar.

Tong!

Suddenly, the seed on my tent table jumped up. It had already finished its meal and quivered.

“… Why are you so cute?”

I tickled the seed and wrapped it with another bloody gauze. Then I retrieved the tent. I had no intentions of staying in the same place. Chae Nayun still slept in the sleeping bag, but I could just gift it to her.

Now that cadets could fight each other, I planned on going against some dangerous individuals. Of course, I couldn’t kill them. Some didn’t even realize they were djinns. Technically, they weren’t yet. That was the difference between a djinn who contracted another djinn and a djinn who contracted a devil.

In the former’s case, their contracted djinn supplied them with magic power. As a result, they could avoid going berserk, and their contracts were less strict. These djinns were often treated as expendable if they failed their mission.

On the other hand, djinns who directly contracted devils like Sven, Yun Hyun, and Lancaster were rarer. Only a cadet named Joo Yeohoon overcame the side-effect of directly contracting a devil on this island.

“I’ll have to go higher.”

For now, I planned on climbing the world tree located at the island’s center. Although it sounded grandiose, it was just a huge tree.

***

Yoo Yeonha managed to form a group in just 24 hours. She led a small team of five and efficiently amassed points utilizing their strengths.

“Yeonha, I found someone.”

A sharpshooter named Rose whispered to Yoo Yeonha and drew her bow without permission. Yoo Yeonha’s whip flew in like lightning and snatched it away before she could fire.

“Eh?”

“Don’t.”

Yoo Yeonha glared at Rose.

“You can’t touch that cadet.”

“Eh? I-Isn’t he rank 934?”

Every cadet wore a nametag with their rank, and rankings wouldn’t change until after the final exam. Most would know that cadet even without a nametag. Rank 934 Kim Hajin was known for his gun-related gift among other things.

“No, you can’t win against him.”

However, Yoo Yeonha cut her off. Suddenly, Kim Hajin made his move. As if to save her from explaining, he climbed to the peak of a giant 150 meter tree with impeccable movements. In just a few breaths, he disappeared into the dense leaves. The series of unrealistic maneuvers astonished Rose.

Yoo Yeonha spoke in a stern voice.

“See that? I just saved your life, Rose. To that guy, rank is just a number. You would have lost for sure if you released that bowstring. Not only that, but the rest of us would have also been in trouble.”

“Ah…”

“Many hidden dragons exist in this world. That’s why the Hero Association can’t do anything about hunters of the Vast Expanse. Next time, don’t do anything before I give the order.”

Rose nodded like a child scolded by her teacher.

“Also, keep it a secret about that guy being uncharacteristically strong.”

“Eh? Why?”

Rose couldn’t help but ask. Yoo Yeonha briefly explained.

“Because he might become a part of our family. For the record, I like people with heavy mouths.”

Rose shuddered. Essence of the Strait was the world’s second ranked guild. The rank 68 Rose couldn’t believe the offer.

“Ah, yes! I’ll keep it a secret! Until death!”

“Good.”

After smiling at the obedient Rose, Yoo Yeonha stared at the giant tree Kim Hajin had scaled. It looked so monstrous even the most courageous would hesitate to climb it. Just looking up at it made one’s neck hurt, but Kim Hajin reached the peak in mere minutes.

“… Hmm.”

Should I modify Kim Hajin’s physical ability rating? Yoo Yeonha thought about her report.

Tiiring— A message arrived on her smartwatch.

“Ah, Ijin contacted us. Let’s go back.”

Cadets who shared locations could also message each other. Yoo Yeonha was likely the first to discover this.