Episode 246 Survival Tournament (2)
400 students fell into the forest.
Despite falling apart with a wide distance from each other, dropouts began to appear one after another shortly after the start of the tournament.
“Ugh…… My stomach hurts so much. Didn’t I eat that fruit earlier?”
“Whehe! Whoah! Whoah! I drank the water in the knothole earlier and I vomited…
”
The ‘Flood of the Red and Black Mountains’, designated as the map for the tournament, was a harsh place in itself.
Poisonous mushrooms or fruits Contaminated water Armed with poison and clinging to insects The sultry atmosphere and heavy humidity All kinds of vines and leaves that cut, sting, or sting the skin The impossibility of a single thing in front of you is enough to keep students away for a few hours. I was making it unbearable.
Even when I’m still, I’m dripping with sweat.
It was difficult to simply endure the poisonous bugs sticking to it.
Moreover, if you eat something because of rapid dehydration and fatigue or hunger, you will be poisoned or get food poisoning.
HP was melting in an instant like butter thrown on a hot frying pan.
This HP, accumulated in a specially designed suit, increases and decreases in conjunction with the wearer’s physical strength and stress level.
In other words, students must do their best to survive so that the HP of the suit they are wearing does not become 0.
If HP becomes 0, you will be forcibly teleported and summoned back to the waiting room.
Meanwhile.
“……Hee-b-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh.”
‘Grenouille de Leviathan’, a member of the aristocratic faction and second-in-command of the Fever Donation Department of the Colosseo Academy, was sweating and out of breath.
The number recorded in the HP suit is 74%.
I haven’t fought anyone since I fell in this forest, but 26% of my HP has already evaporated.
“It’s crazy. This forest is really hell. A jungle like this really exists in real life?”
But no matter how much I grumble, nothing changes.
Grenouille looked at the rainwater that had pooled in the gnarled hole in the tree.
At first glance, it looked like drinkable water, but when you put your nose to it, it smelled disgusting from the inside.
I strained my eyes and looked closely, and I saw small worms wriggling and floating under the water.
“……Wow!”
Grenouille backed away, holding back his nausea.
If you ate something like that because you were thirsty, a signal would come from your stomach right away.
And you lose a lot of water through diarrhea.
‘If that happens, HP is 0. I can’t do anything and I’m eliminated.’
Grenouille turned his head with a tired expression.
Looking down at the waist, you can see the fish you just caught.
As soon as I caught it, I immediately scooped it up and dried it to dry it in its own way, but it doesn’t dry right away, maybe because the humidity is so high.
I brought it to my nose and sniffed it, and it smelled like it had already been spoiled.
“Ew, I can’t even drink water and everything I eat is spoiled. What are you talking about?”
Grenouille thought he could understand why the seniors chose Red and Black Mountain Flood as the worst maps.
The real wild was so frightening that Grenouille, the heir to Leviathan, was at a loss.
The poisonous mushrooms and poisonous plants seen in the encyclopedia actually look slightly different.
It changes its appearance as soon as it is larger or smaller than it is drawn in the encyclopedia, covered in dust, torn, turned upside down, dried up, in the dark or in the light.
In addition, many variant subspecies and new species were not even listed in the encyclopedia.
“…Uh yes. This body, which has mastered various poisons, is at this level, but other lowly things are shocking.”
Grenouille turned his head while wiping the cold sweat. It was to see how hard the same members were suffering.
……but.
“Oh, this is delicious.”
“it’s good.”
“it’s good.”
On top of a bonfire where a hot fire is roaring.
Hive Bro Middle Bro Low Bro was cooking white fish meat in boiling water in a gourd with a coconut split in half.
And in the center, I see a male student sitting with an expressionless face.
Bikir.
He was so unconcerned that he was adapting to the floods of the enemy and Black Mountain with the same momentum as if he had just entered his own room.
* * *
‘It’s been a while.’
For the first time in a while, Bikir felt as comfortable as coming home.
Sea of red and black mountains. It is a familiar place both as Balak’s hunting ground and as the hunting dog of the Baskerville family.
The blades of the leaves that cut through the flesh, the sting of the insects that made the bite swollen, and the intense heat and humidity that clogged the throat were all familiar and nostalgic.
In a familiar motion, Bikir found flint and lit a bonfire, then raised the temperature of the surroundings with light and smokeless embers.
The sticky moisture was removed with spicy ash powder, and the meal was solved by grilling fish from the nearby river and selected mushrooms and nuts.
Water was also purified using charcoal powder and toasted soil and boiled over a small fire before drinking.
The triplets, Hive, Middle, and Low, also moved after asking Bikir for permission.
“Hey. Bikir. Can I drink this water?”
“Can not be done.”
“Can you tell me why? It looks clear on the outside.”
“When I went upstream earlier, I found dead elk bodies strewn about.”
“I see. Even though it looks clear on the outside, microbes are swarming inside. So what about this tree fruit? Is it edible?”
“If you steam it lightly and evaporate the miasma, you can eat it. If you just eat it, you’ll go blind.”
Joe’s mood was revolving around Bikir.
Grenouille was greatly surprised that ‘those Baskerville triplets’ obediently followed Vikir’s instructions.
‘……That guy. Was he a little more amazing than I thought?’
Grenouille’s gaze reached the fish stew that Vikir was cooking.
Red soup simmering hot, and various vegetables and white fish meat floating around.
Looking at that spicy-looking soup, my saliva drips down my chin without even realizing it.
‘Oh, no! I can’t beg for food from a commoner.’
Grenouille fiddled with the spoiled fish bag in his pocket for no reason.
Now that I have to rely on that commoner, my pride for being from one of the 7 famous families is hurt.
……but. In the end, there was no business in front of hunger.
“hey.”
At Vikir’s call, Grenouille turned his head with wide eyes.
A bowl of beolgun maeuntang soup in a coconut bowl was held out in front of him.
“Do it while eating. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Hearing Vikir’s words, Grenouille felt tears well up in his eyes.
‘……This commoner child. Maybe he’s a little better than I thought.’
And the moment Grenouille puts a little bit of Maeuntang soup on his lips.
“……! ……! ……!”
His eyes widened as if they would tear apart.
‘it’s good!’
Grenouille was thrilled by the shocking gastronomy that seemed to melt his tongue.
The taste of whatever food you eat while staying overnight in the open air doubles.
Besides, is it because I’m exhausted from dehydration and hunger?
The Maeuntang cooked by Bikire was even more delicious than the first-class chef’s dish eaten at the mansion of the Leviathan family.
‘I’ll be sure to ask if you’d like to work in my kitchen later!’
Grenouille ate a bowl of Maeuntang on the spot, as if hiding his eyes.
Bikir looked at it blankly, then poured a few more mushrooms and dried fish worms(?) into the pot and simmered it for a while longer.
Grenouille stared at it drooling as if he had forgotten what he just ate, then shyly said a word.
“There…”
“Eat more. There are many.”
“Go go go keuhmm. Thank you…”
Grenouille cleared his throat a few more times, avoiding his eyes, then tilted the coconut bowl and scooped out the soup.
Omnyomnyomnyom…
Grenouille ate 15 more bowls from him and soon burped as if he was going to live.
His HP, which had fallen to 41%, had risen to 92% before he knew it.
Grenouille stroked his protruding belly.
Despite having eaten so much, there was still a lot of Maeuntang in the large coconut fruit.
Grenouille tilted his head and asked Vikir.
“Hey commoner… Bikir.”
When Vikir turned his head, Grenouille carefully asked what he was curious about.
“This red fish stew. Why did you make so much of it? Apparently you didn’t eat much.”
Then, Hive, Middle, and Low, who were next to me, also turned their gazes in this direction.
He didn’t say anything, but he seemed curious.
“…”
Bikir fell silent for a moment and closed his eyes.
Then he answered, stirring slowly over the coconut pot with his broad leaf.
“fishing.”
Then, everyone including Grenouille tilted their heads.
Making Maeuntang with fish caught by fishing and going fishing again?
Bikir was extraordinarily kind and provided additional explanations.
“The prey are waiting to bite the bait.”
Even at this moment, the leaves that Bikire is slowly stirring become a fan, spreading the spicy and savory smell of Maeuntang.
It was slowly spreading through the whole sea of water with the faint light from the embers.
and soon.
…Crusak!
Prey, attracted by the warm heat and delicious smell, were caught in the trap.
The sound of approaching the bait becomes louder and louder.
Sreung-
High Bro Middle Bro Low Bro pulled out the sword halfway from his waist.
Grenouille, who took out the magic book and staff, also had a clear expression of nervousness on his face.
“…”
Only Vikir remains calm, hiding behind the brush and watching the bonfire.
yet.
…Crispy!
Attracted by the smell, someone emerged from the bushes.
A very tired and weary expression. Tattered clothes with leaves and ashes on them.
And after checking the visitor’s face, Hive, Middle, Low, and Grenouille’s expression was tinged with astonishment.
and.
“……?”
Surprisingly, Bikir was the same.
The voice from beyond the undergrowth was tired, but still clear.
“Whoa… what is this smell?”
It was Dolores.
