LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 36 - Surviving the Harsh Winter (2)
Chapter 36. Surviving the Harsh Winter (2)
Yuri ran quickly through the forest, recalling the words of the one-eyed man.
[Survive for a month. Only those who persistently survive will shed the label of cadet and become the 50th batch of knights.]
Yuri focused on the words ‘survive’ and ‘persistently survive.’
‘To survive means the environment we’ll be living in will be the worst.’
Moreover, the one-eyed man had referred to this place as a “compost bin to sift out the bugs.”
Food, water, and other necessities for survival.
Would they really sift out the survivors while providing all these things?
He couldn’t help but laugh.
Furthermore, there wouldn’t be any cadets who hadn’t harnessed mana.
Mana, in itself, was a miraculous force that increased survival capabilities several times over.
Stamina that doesn’t easily wear out.
Resistance to hunger and cold.
Additionally, physical abilities that far exceeded those of ordinary people.
The utility of mana in extreme situations was limitless.
‘If we have mana, even with only ten days’ worth of food and water, we could easily last a month.’
Providing survival supplies to people with such potential?
Could that really be called ‘surviving’?
‘What kind of survival is that? It’s just telling us to play in the forest.’
Yuri sneered.
At the age of seven.
Yuri had wandered across the continent for several years with nothing but his bare hands.
Spring, summer, fall, winter.
The heat and cold that came with the changing seasons, the harsh sunlight, torrential rain, and heavy snow.
Thirst and hunger, the threat of wild beasts and poisonous insects.
Furthermore, bands of thieves hiding in every nook and cranny.
In this cursed world that Yuri had experienced firsthand, ‘survival’ was a word used only when one was thrown into an extreme environment.
Using such a grand word as ‘survival’ for providing everything needed and conducting camping lessons was a luxury.
‘Well, if it were an academy for young masters who had never dirtied their hands, they might call that survival.’
But could the Cradle really be such a place?
Locking the gates without warning, roughly explaining the rules without any other instructions, and then throwing them into the field?
Could those unfriendly people?
Therefore, Yuri was sure that there would be no survival tools prepared by the Cradle anywhere in this forest.
Of course, there was a tiny chance that the Cradle’s nature might be different from what he expected.
‘If the Cradle was all bark and no bite, there might be a slight chance they’d provide necessary survival items…’
But this was highly uncertain.
So, Yuri had no intention of wandering around searching for survival supplies that might not even exist.
Instead, he planned to procure what he needed for survival himself.
‘Resources that can be obtained from the winter forest are limited.’
That was why Yuri had entered the forest faster than anyone else.
The forest waiting for spring did not easily yield its resources.
Even someone well-versed in the forest would barely get by after much effort.
Moreover, the quantity would not be abundant.
‘If 500 people scour the forest all at once… it’ll be depleted quickly.’
Therefore, he had to move faster and more diligently than others to gather what he needed.
Hoo-.
Yuri, who had been swiftly traversing the forest, paused for a moment.
Exhaling a white breath, he looked back briefly.
‘I need to speed up.’
He needed to find a perfect shelter to block rain, snow, and wind and stockpile food as quickly as possible.
Before the 500 remaining people seriously started competing with him.
Sss-.
Yuri took a deep breath.
Tat-.
His body shot forward quickly, soon disappearing deep into the forest.
At this time, Yuri made one mistake.
He overestimated the other cadets.
Which water to drink in the forest.
What to avoid eating.
Even how to start a fire.
The cadets, being ‘children of wealthy families,’ did not possess knowledge applicable to their current situation in their high-level education.
Even if they had learned it, using that knowledge effectively required accumulated practical experience.
It wasn’t something they could gain within the walls of their families, leaving menial tasks to servants and maids.
‘Still, since they made it to the Cradle, they must be different from those I know.’
…Yuri’s assumption was fundamentally flawed from the beginning.
* * *
Ten days had passed since they entered the forest.
The snow, which had started falling three days ago, covered the world in white.
After three days of heavy snowfall.
A girl staggered through the deep snow, almost thigh-deep.
Crunch- Crunch-.
Clank- Clank-.
A sword dangling from her waist swayed pitifully.
Unable to bear even the swaying of the sword, the girl untied it and slumped against a nearby tree.
“Haa, haa…”
The girl, almost buried in snow, blew warm breath onto her frozen hands.
A faint pain flashed in her eyes.
‘If only I could start a fire… I could warm myself up a bit.’
Though she resisted the cold by circulating mana, it wasn’t easy to maintain continuously.
Thus, whenever her mana circulation stopped, she longed for the warmth of a fire against the cold biting into her skin.
But she didn’t know how to start a fire.
Or, more precisely, she didn’t know in ‘deep detail.’
In the books she read, it said to strike stones together to make a fire, or to use frictional heat.
Recalling this, she tried, but couldn’t produce even smoke, let alone a spark.
She realized anew how precious the fireplace in her room had been.
And it wasn’t just the warmth of a fire she realized was precious.
Grrr-.
When her stomach growled, the girl frowned deeply.
A harsh, broken voice escaped her lips.
“I’m hungry…”
When had she last had a proper meal?
She couldn’t even remember.
It had been ten days since she wandered the forest, believing survival supplies were hidden.
Today, too, she combed through the white snow, clinging to the faint hope, but couldn’t find any survival supplies no matter how hard she looked.
‘Did everyone else find them and I didn’t? Am I just unlucky?’
Was there really any survival gear in this forest?
Such thoughts gave her a headache.
Grrr-.
The sound of her stomach demanding food again made her snap irritably.
“Damn it, what kind of forest is this?!”
It was truly a bizarre forest.
Typically, a forest would have an ecosystem within it.
If there were grass, there would be insects or herbivores eating it.
And predators eating those insects and herbivores would also exist.
However, in this strange forest, no four-legged animals could be seen, as if someone had deliberately wiped them out.
‘If there were at least deer, I wouldn’t be this hungry.’
But there were no deer, not even a single rabbit.
The only things visible were…
Queek- Queek-.
Those bizarre birds making weird sounds.
Queeek-.
Annoyed by the bird’s screeching, which sounded like a pig being slaughtered, the girl grabbed a stone nearby and then put it down.
‘…Forget it. Don’t waste your energy.’
How many stones had she thrown trying to catch those annoyingly noisy birds?
Each time, the birds would mock her, flying high into the sky, avoiding her stone throws.
Even if she could catch them, without being able to start a fire, she couldn’t roast them.
Grrr-.
When her stomach growled again, longer this time, she looked up at the tree she was leaning against.
The snow-covered branches looked like cookies topped with white cream.
Unconsciously, she muttered.
“…Should I eat that?”
Thirst could be quenched with snow.
The only chewable thing in this cold winter was the leaves of coniferous trees.
The girl shook her head sharply at the thought that escaped her lips.
‘Ah, no!’
Who was she?
The proud heir of the prestigious Blanc family, Nellie Blanc.
Also, the self-proclaimed top gourmet, feared by the family’s chefs.
How could she, of all people, think of filling her stomach with such leaves just because she couldn’t bear this hunger?
It was the height of disgrace.
“Haa…”
Nellie’s long sigh contained many emotions.
The joy of receiving the Silver Dragon Plaque and passing the Cradle’s exam.
The excitement of leaving her family for the Cradle.
The tension of seeing her competitors on the renowned Black Ship.
The exhilaration of imagining herself standing atop the Cradle, having defeated her rivals.
The despair of facing reality.
And above all, the pain of hunger tormenting her.
For a moment, she thought.
‘…It would be easier if I gave up, right?’
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she shook her head and straightened her face.
“What am I thinking?”
She shuddered at the thought of giving up just because she couldn’t endure hunger.
And that was only after ten days without proper food?
“Kugh!”
Nellie stood up.
She wasn’t weak enough to give up over such a trivial ordeal.
She could still hold on.
She just needed to find survival supplies or other food before her mana and stamina ran out.
There was still plenty of hope.
“Let’s move.”
Crunch- Crunch-.
The sound of a young lady from a prestigious family stepping on the snow.
Grrrr-.
Mixed with the loud sound of hunger.
And this situation didn’t apply only to Nellie Blanc.
In fact, Nellie Blanc and a few others were among the better-off.
Among the 503 cadets, 98% were delicately raised young masters and ladies.
They were suffering in the harsh environment, their mental strength eroding day by day.
Their noble pride barely keeping their sanity intact.
And the more they endured, the more they began to resemble beggars.
Much like how Yuri had appeared to them when he first boarded the Black Ship, the very image they had despised so much.
* * *
In the clearing near the castle gate.
Next to the bell known as the ‘Conflict of Bugs,’ the one-eyed man asked.
“Still not a single dropout?”
“Yes.”
“The 50th batch is holding up well.”
In previous batches, there had been some weak-willed bugs who rang the bell to quit after just three days.
The fact that not a single dropout had appeared in ten days was indeed commendable.
However…
“This is boring.”
The one-eyed man’s lips twitched.
Even though they harnessed mana, they were still inexperienced boys and girls.
After ten days, it was about time for their limits to show.
‘Yet, no one has dropped out, meaning they’re holding on out of sheer stubbornness.’
They were probably thinking they couldn’t be the first trash to drop out.
Then…
“What if someone sets a precedent?”
The man grinned and grabbed the rope attached to the bell, shaking it vigorously.
Ding- Ding- Ding- Ding-.
The loud bell rang out, echoing through the forest.
‘Now, the first dropout has occurred. What will you do?’
The cadets who heard the bell would ponder.
Should they endure and bear this pain?
Or just give up?
Can they really last another twenty days?
What face will they show their families if they give up now?
Someone else gave up, so can’t they give up too? Isn’t that okay?
The cadets would mentally agonize and suffer more.
The bell echoed through the forest, reaching Yuri’s ears.