Episode 185 Week 9 Midterm Exam (9)
Hong Yeon-hwa walked alone, stumbling along.
Baek Jun-seok was judged incapable of combat and was released from the dungeon.
They were unlucky enough to face two teams at the same time, and had to fight a 2 vs. 4 battle.
Baek Jun-seok was a warrior with a sword and shield and had some impressive defensive abilities, but he was unable to withstand the concentrated attacks of the four and ended up collapsing.
Instead, Hong Yeon-hwa burned all the enemies with her powerful firepower, so if you just look at the results, it was a great victory.
The crystals and survival items we took from them were also quite good.
However, the problem came next.
Participants who are removed from the midterm dungeon will have to wait 6 hours to re-enter.
And darkness was already falling all around.
That means she has to survive the night alone.
‘I slept a lot today… … .’
Yesterday, I took turns keeping watch with Baek Jun-seok, but today, since I was alone, I felt like I would have to stay up all night.
If by any chance you fall asleep and are suddenly attacked, you won’t have even a small chance of winning.
Still, I wish there was at least a comfortable place to sit or lean on.
This was the reason why Hong Yeon-hwa was wandering around aimlessly even as the night deepened.
‘!!’
– Rustle.
There was a rustling of leaves not far away.
Hong Yeon-hwa became very nervous and grabbed the staff.
He immediately begins to cast spells, ready to launch fireballs at any moment.
‘!!’
There was a rustling of leaves not far away.
– Rustle.
A squirrel was seen climbing up a tree.
Hong Yeon-hwa, who saw that, was so shocked that she canceled the magic.
And then I felt a sense of despair and let out a deep sigh.
‘What the heck is this?’
To be in a situation where I have to startle even at the sound of a squirrel.
The fatigue and hunger that came at the same time added to the misery.
Hong Yeon-hwa, who was walking slowly again, suddenly stopped.
‘ah.’
Because it felt like I had touched something magical.
It is assumed to be some kind of alarm magic.
Hong Yeon-hwa immediately turned her back and tried to run away, but then stopped.
‘It’s already too late.’
The speed at which the sound was approaching from that direction was much faster than expected.
In that case, rather than running away and getting caught, it would be better to prepare now and face the opponent to increase your chances of winning.
Hong Yeon-hwa immediately began casting magic.
Several red magic circles are drawn on the floor.
The intention was to activate them all at once as soon as the opponent revealed himself.
However, upon confirming the other person’s identity, Hong Yeon-hwa had no choice but to freeze like a stone statue.
“… … .”
Kim Ho looks at her silently.
Hong Yeon-hwa lamented her bad luck.
‘Why only me… … ?’
If it had been any other opponent, I would have at least tried to resist, but why did I have to meet that monstrous human being?
Now his fate was in Kim Ho’s hands.
Kim Ho took his gaze away from Hong Yeon-hwa, looked around carefully as if exploring, and then asked.
“What about Baek Jun-seok?”
“doesn’t exist…….”
He would also have understood what ‘no’ meant.
Hong Yeon-hwa also asked a similar question.
“Hey… … the calligrapher… … ?”
“… … .”
Instead of answering, Kim Ho turned his head over his shoulder.
Then, the corners of his eyes flickered and a calligrapher appeared.
He was hiding while wearing a transparent ghillie suit.
Indifferent gray eyes, and the rifle in his hand was pointed straight at him.
At this point, Hong Yeon-hwa gave up completely.
Because I realized that neither running away nor resisting was meaningful.
“… … .”
Kim Ho looked at himself and slowly gestured.
It seemed to mean that he was telling her to come closer, so Hong Yeon-hwa approached him cautiously and hesitantly.
“Hey, here… … .”
Then, with trembling hands, he took out the crystal and held it out.
It was a token of his sincerity, asking him to just send his body in good condition in exchange for the crystal.
“… … .”
However, Kim Ho looked down at her for a few seconds, then turned his back and started walking ahead.
“Follow me.”
“… … ?”
Hong Yeon-hwa just blinked while holding out the crystal.
Nothing… …not doing anything?
Crystal too… … You’re not going to take it away?
He even tells me to follow him.
I guess he meant to let us rest together at the rest stop.
Hong Yeon-hwa felt tears welling up in her eyes.
‘Good… …!’
How dare you be the first to offer such a favor, even though you have the absolute upper hand.
While moved, Hong Yeon-hwa reflected.
Kim Ho treated him so well, but didn’t he continue to harbor prejudices and half-avoid him?
I should try to treat you a little more kindly.
—That promise was short-lived.
The place Hong Yeon-hwa arrived at after following Kim Ho was in front of a mountain of tree branches.
At first glance, it looked like they had been piled up to make a bonfire.
Kim Ho said, pointing to them.
“Please light a fire.”
“… … .”
Hong Yeon-hwa just blinked blankly.
I was so shocked that I couldn’t even speak.
As a direct descendant of the Ruby Tower and the precious daughter of the Hong family, she has always grown up being supported by others.
This is the first time in my life that I’ve been treated like a lighter.
The rebellion that had been suppressed by fear raised its head.
There was a clear need to protest here.
Since you have shown me a favor first, I intend to help you as much as I can.
But I am a person, not a tool!
You shouldn’t treat me like this!
Just as Hong Yeon-hwa was about to open her mouth after completing a perfect simulation.
Kim Ho’s eyes sparkled.
“fire.”
“… … .”
– Whoosh whoosh!
After a while, Hong Yeon-hwa found herself diligently tending a bonfire.
‘Let’s protest… later.’
Maybe it’s not necessary to do it right now?
There will always be opportunities later, right?
Now that I think about it, I wonder if it’s something to worry about that much?
It was Hong Yeon-hwa who quickly rationalized it.
Then, when Kim Ho handed me the golden-brown grilled fish, even the little bit of dissatisfaction I had left disappeared.
Hong Yeon-hwa thought as she slowly ate the grilled fish.
‘It’s delicious.’
* * *
Hong Yeon-hwa could light a bonfire with just a flick of her staff and even adjusted the heat to the perfect temperature for grilling fish.
In no time, fish as big as our arms were golden brown and grilled, and we each took a skewer and started tearing into it.
‘As they say, half of cooking is the ingredients.’
Because the ingredients were so excellent, it couldn’t be bad.
As evidence, Hong Yeon-hwa showed incredible concentration while grilling fish, as if she had starved for several days, and the calligrapher also moved at a faster pace than usual.
After dinner, we sat around the campfire and talked.
The topic is, of course, the midterm exam status.
“What about Crystal?”
“Right now… … I have it like this… … .”
In response to my question, Hong Yeon-hwa took out all the crystals she had and showed them to me.
The blue and yellow ones are fully charged, and there are two more blue crystals that are not glowing yet.
These ones only come in blue.
As I looked down silently, Hong Yeon-hwa kept checking my expression and then pushed them forward a little.
“here…….”
“I don’t mean to ask.”
I raised my hand to stop him.
You keep trying to give me something. If you do that, I’ll seem like a bad person.
Instead I took out uncharged red and green crystals.
“Okay, change.”
“I, really… … ?”
Hong Yeon-hwa opened her eyes wide.
If I exchange and get my crystals and recharge them, I can neatly complete a set.
I nodded nonchalantly.
“We’re already done. Anything we get now is redundant.”
“Well, then… … . Thank you.”
Hong Yeon-hwa became bright and exchanged the crystals.
From my perspective, it is neither a gain nor a loss, but Hong Yeon-hwa, who gets to choose only the colors she wants, must be much more grateful.
‘There’s nothing wrong with being nice.’
Ruby Tower will repay you for that.
– My older sister said thank you and asked me to stop by the club room when I have time… … .
I was asked to come back just to help him do well during mentoring week.
If they are people who never forget gratitude, they will definitely give thanks for the help they received during the midterm exam.
I made another suggestion to Hong Yeon-hwa.
“Let’s go together tomorrow. There are two more people besides us.”
“Six people?”
“Yeah, you probably noticed.”
On the first day, they almost always moved around in pairs, but on the second day, teams of four or even six were seen moving around together.
The original reason they acted as a team was to search for crystals more efficiently.
However, on the second day, the quality and quantity of monsters have increased, and obtaining crystals has become relatively easier.
“Instead, there was competition in charging.”
“huh.”
For example, the last mill I visited today was a total mess due to the intense competition.
It would be fortunate if the crystals you have weren’t stolen, let alone recharged.
Didn’t Hong Yeon-hwa just meet a four-person team and fight and Baek Jun-seok collapse?
Even tomorrow, the competition is expected to be even fiercer.
As stronger monsters appear, the crystal drop rate will also increase.
So, in order to recharge stably and to keep the crystals you have safe, it is better to travel in groups of six.
Hong Yeon-hwa also nodded in agreement.
“Okay. I’ll talk to Baek Jun-seok.”
“When is he coming back?”
“W… … There’s probably 5 hours left… … ?”
“Okay, tell me when you get there.”
Suddenly, the calligrapher turned his gaze and saw someone dozing off while warming himself by the campfire.
As it was getting late at night, we decided to go in and rest.
While she was tidying up the place, Hong Yeon-hwa spoke carefully.
“Over there… … I’ll be on night watch.”
“Thank you for your words. But you don’t have to.”
I winked across the forest.
“There’s an alarm trap set. The one you stepped on earlier.”
“ah……!”
“So just rest. I happen to have a sleeping bag left.”
“… … !”
When I handed her the sleeping bag, Hong Yeon-hwa was almost on the verge of tears.
He had volunteered to stay overnight, but he seemed touched when he was given a comfortable place to rest and even had a sleeping bag provided.
After cleaning up the place, we headed to the cave in the crevice of the rock mountain.
Hong Yeon-hwa looked around here and there, wondering how the entrance was so well hidden, and when she saw that it was dark inside the cave, she recited a spell.
– Hururuk!
Then, several sparks the size of fireflies began to float in the air and fly around.
The cave was filled with a fairly warm glow compared to the small size of the fire, and the light, which was neither too dark nor too bright, created a cozy atmosphere.
It was a completely different atmosphere from yesterday when I used red crystal and it had a butcher shop feel to it.
Hong Yeon-hwa let the fireflies fly like that and laid out a sleeping bag on one side with an expression that said she still couldn’t believe this happiness.
Meanwhile, the calligrapher hugged my sleeping bag, came closer, and looked up at me intently.
I couldn’t help but ask.
“Why did you come so close?”
“Let’s sleep together.”
“??? ???”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s gaze wandered, lost as to where to go.
