“Kyaaaah━!!”
At the sudden scream of a female student, Emily and Ken, who had been surrounded by a strange atmosphere, jumped in surprise.
Turning to look in the direction of the scream, they saw the group that had just been chatting happily, now panicking and running for their lives.
“What… what is that?”
In the dim light of the campfire, something could be faintly seen in the darkness.
Emily muttered in confusion as she stared at the mysterious object.
However, Ken didn’t seem surprised by the sight.
‘So it finally appeared.’
Ken had expected this to happen.
He couldn’t see exactly what the panicking students were running from, but he knew what it was.
[Giant Kurex]
It was a monstrous insect, the size of a fist that resembled a mosquito.
“What should we do? K-Ken! We need to run too…!”
Feeling the dangerous atmosphere, Emily clung to Ken’s arm and spoke in a panic.
But Ken shook his head with a smile.
“No, we’re fine here.”
“Um…? Why?”
“If we burn this firewood, the bugs won’t come near.”
This was exactly why you shouldn’t follow the strategy guide for the monkey stone event.
The monkey stone event sends Emily and a specific character to a deserted island for a week of drifting.
In the process, they would significantly increase their affection for each other.
But there was a catch: the strategy guide.
When starting the event, only the user of the monkey stone receives the strategy guide interface.
It contains useful information on the island’s ecology and survival techniques.
It was tempting players to follow the guide to gain affection!
But if followed too closely, it could lead to the worst-case scenario: the death of the target character.
That was the trap of the “strategy guide.”
‘That monster must have been drawn in by the scent of the ignition fruit.’
This commotion was of the same kind.
The guide recommended the ignition fruit, which makes starting a fire easy in this magic-less place.
But it only pointed out how easy it was to start a fire, without mentioning the dangers.
“Kyaaaah━! K-Ken━!”
A female student fleeing from the insect-like monster ran toward Ken, tears streaming down her face.
And she jumped right into him.
“Uwaah!”
“Ken! T-There’s a bug! A super huge bug!”
“Ugh…”
Ken blushed and panicked at the student clinging to him, while Emily’s face twisted in displeasure.
Sure, it was understandable to cling to a reliable man in a crisis.
But Emily felt annoyed.
“Calm down, Louis. It’s safe here.”
So, she grabbed the trembling student’s arm and pulled her away from Ken.
“Um? Is it really safe here?”
“Ah, yeah. The smoke from the firewood keeps the bugs away.”
At that moment, Ken, who had been flustered by the young girl suddenly clinging to him, explained.
‘I thought I’d need the ignition fruit, but I’m glad I brought this firewood.’
The firewood Ken brought was hard to ignite, but once lit, a unique sap inside the wood would give off smoke that repels insects.
Thanks to this, no bugs came to Ken’s campfire during Enzo’s commotion either.
“Guys━! It’s safe here! Quickly, come over!”
After hearing Ken’s explanation, the student named Louis waved her hands and called out to the fleeing students.
At the sound of her voice, those who confirmed the safe zone rushed to Ken’s campfire in a panic.
And after a moment, as the flustered group caught their breath and calmed down, Ken explained the dangers of the ignition fruit.
Of course, warning them ahead of time would have been fine, but seeing the overly confident Enzo made him lose his desire to do so and just watch.
After all, the Giant Kurex wasn’t that dangerous a monster.
“What…? So the fruit attracted the monster?”
“I was seriously freaked out! It tried to suck my blood while sitting on my arm!”
“Ugh…”
The female students shared their complaints about the ignition fruit.
Enzo let out a low groan and lowered his head.
Embarrassment shook his shoulders.
‘Why… why is this happening!’
Of course, Enzo had no way of knowing about the strategy guide’s trap, so he couldn’t understand this.
And now, the female students who had been smiling at him just moments before sent him accusing glares, making him feel like he was sitting on a bed of nails.
Most of all.
Ken’s arm being held by Emily.
‘Damn, damn, damn…!’
Seeing that image sparked a fire in him.
‘..Emily.’
And the feeling of fire rising in his chest was not just Enzo’s; Ken felt the same.
Emily, not letting go of his arm.
With her in a swimsuit, her soft skin and chest pressed against his arm.
But Emily didn’t seem to care and refused to release his arm.
They had been alone just moments before, but now other female students were gathering around.
‘If I could just have a little more time, I could have said something…!’
Emily harbored different resentment than the others.
At the critical moment, an unexpected interruption kept her from saying the decisive thing.
Moreover, these girls gathered around Ken’s campfire based on their need to avoid danger, began chattering cheerfully.
Mostly centered around Ken.
‘So annoying….’
Thus, Emily tightened her grip on Ken’s arm.
Shortly after the minor ruckus passed, the chaotic first night had ended.
“Haah~ I want to sleep in a bed….”
The students who had spent the first night on the sandy ground stretched their stiff bodies the next day and said this.
‘Should I make a tent or something?’
Watching the students’ reactions, I made that plan.
After all, they had to stay on this island for a week due to this event.
So, securing a place to sleep in advance would benefit long-term fatigue.
‘Can I use crafting skills?’
I tested it out by selecting “Barbarians’ Axe” from the category to use the skill.
Zing!
As familiar magical energy flowed through my hands, it transformed into an axe.
Looks like skills are possible here.
‘Well, crafting skills wouldn’t be something the targeted characters have to block.’
The developers blocked magic skills because living on the island would become too easy.
Magic could be employed in various ways.
But that wasn’t the case for skills.
Notably, Adrian’s unique skill is closely tied to magic, so he can’t use it at all.
Emily’s skill requires a target for sealing, so it doesn’t need to be blocked.
It seems like they left skills untouched.
Of course, that’s just my guess.
Boom!
First, I used the axe I made to cut suitable trees in the forest to gather materials.
“Ken? What’s that log for?”
After a while, returning to the beach with the cut log on my shoulder, everyone looked at me with surprised eyes.
“I was thinking of making a place to stay.”
In front of everyone, I cut the logs and trimmed them into materials for making tents.
“Wow, Ken, that’s amazing….”
“I’m kind of excited.”
“You’re really good with your hands.”
Female students watching me from the side gazed at me wide-eyed.
“I like those arm muscles when you’re hammering.”
“Yeah, isn’t it sexy?”
It became hard to concentrate due to the gossip behind me as I worked.
I was getting used to it, but the students’ giggles were still rather noisy.
And similarly.
“…Tch.”
Enzo, leaning against a nearby tree with an annoyed look, was also quite uncomfortable.
‘It feels like I’m putting on a performance for everyone.’
With all eyes on me, I gathered the materials and made a suitable wooden tent.
“Whoa! This is way better than I expected!”
“It’s really spacious, right?”
“I could probably sleep here easily.”
The interior of the tent was spacious enough for about four people to lie down and sleep.
After repeating these tasks a few times, I made a tent where the group could sleep.
‘Though it’s only a tent in name.’
In reality, it should be called a makeshift hut.
“Thanks for your hard work, Ken. Here.”
As I admired the neatly made shelter, Emily approached me and casually handed me something.
It was a fruit the size of a soccer ball, its top cut off with cool water inside.
‘Looks like a coconut or something.’
Of course, I had gathered this fruit several times during the monkey stone event in the game.
Actually drinking that fruit felt strange.
“Thanks, I’ll drink it well.”
“…Just let me know if you need more. I can get more.”
“Uh, yeah….”
Since yesterday, the atmosphere with Emily had felt strange.
Even small conversations made my heart race, and Emily’s actions caught my attention.
‘Is it the event’s influence….’
I thought as I drank the fruit beverage.
This event was systemically prepared for Emily.
Although Enzo was using it, Emily, the original owner of that space, was also present.
So, was my heart’s fluttering due to the influence of that event?
‘If not….’
Did I really develop feelings for Emily?
“Are you okay?”
“Um, what?”
As I subtly glanced at Emily, she was looking at me with a worried expression.
“Your face is red. Are you sick?”
“Eh? No, it’s….”
I panicked and moved away from Emily, but she quickly reached out toward me to stop me.
No, it’s not because I’m sick; it’s because of you, Emily…!
“What’s with you! You’re burning up!”
Wait?
Emily grabbed my shoulder and put her hand on my forehead, looking startled.
And suddenly, her hand felt incredibly cool.
“Dummy! How can you not tell me if you’re feeling like this?!”
Emily scolded me with a furious face.
It seemed the heat concentrated on my head was not just because I was conscious of Emily.
Indeed, the warmth didn’t go down but remained consistent.
And a growing haziness crept in.
The feeling was akin to having a common cold.
‘What suddenly happened….’
Of course, it was a situation where I could catch a cold.
Running around looking for firewood in just a swimsuit on the first day, starting a fire,
not being able to sleep well due to the tension from sleeping next to Emily.
And from early morning, cutting trees to create a place to stay.
‘…No, maybe it’s part of the event’s design.’
Putting aside all those reasons, I suspected the cause of my cold was the monkey stone’s affection event.
How could a cold become an affection event?
That’s because….
“E-Emily. You might catch it too….”
“Forget it. Just be quiet.”
I ended up lying down as the first guest in the shelter I had made.
The others all left for food, and only Emily stayed by my side, taking care of me.
I rested my head gently on her soft lap and relaxed my body.
Swish.
She went to fetch water from the nearby river and wet the towel I made, placing the cold cloth on my forehead.
The cool towel felt refreshing, but the touch of Emily’s thigh resting against my neck felt soothing too.
Guess I must really be burning up.
Emily looked down at me with worried eyes.
Her eyes seemed to shimmer as if she were on the verge of tears.
‘Now that I think about it, something similar happened during our travels.’
As a healer, Emily always had that expression when treating my injuries in battle.
At that time, I was quite weak due to being on a diet, so I often got injured.
Seeing Emily’s nostalgic expression warmed my heart.
Was it because of that?
“Emily…”
“What? Do you need something?”
As I gazed at her, forgetting the memories we shared, I reached out my hand.
I held onto Emily’s hand resting on my forehead.
“……”
Emily’s face was filled with surprise, but she didn’t pull her hand away.
Instead, she tightly grasped mine in return.
Feeling the softness of her hand, my hazy mind began to think.
‘I wish for Emily to regain her memories soon.’
And I prayed for the moments of joy from our shared memories to return again.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it━!”
Thud!
Enzo stomped through the woods alone, kicking up his rising anger.
A nearby stone flew through the air and crashed into a tree.
Enzo recalled everything that had happened just moments ago.
The monsters converging towards his campfire.
And Ken’s perfectly safe campfire.
Moreover, the smoke that drove away the insect-like monsters was his fault.
Then, the next day, Ken came alone to chop wood and build a temporary shelter.
He recalled the female students blushing as they watched him from behind, giggling.
Especially, he couldn’t shake the image of Emily approaching Ken to kindly hand him the fruit.
That expression of hers.
It kept flashing through his mind like the face of a girl in love.
“And they stuck together all night!”
The other female students’ interest was merely self-indulgent.
But Emily was different.
Enzo wanted Emily to be his, so he didn’t want to accept that undeniable crush he was feeling.
Seeing them together only infuriated him.
“Strategy Guide!”
Once alone in the woods, Enzo activated the powers he gained from being stranded on the deserted island.
A translucent blue screen materialized before his eyes.
Enzo grinned wickedly as he examined its contents.
‘Yeah, this is what I have.’
A unique ability that holds all the knowledge needed to survive on this island.
This ability was his, and he should make the best of it.
“Damn it, where is it… what can I do to screw over that bastard Ken….”
Enzo flipped through the strategy guide, searching for something to use against Ken.
And opened a page filled with information about the island’s monsters.
“Ha-ha-ha, this is it… with this, I can…”
Enzo saw the final note and image on that page, and a wicked grin spread across his face.
Ken’s body condition was poor.
Although there were rumors that Ken had defeated Raphne, in that condition, he wouldn’t be able to handle this monster.
‘Killing him wouldn’t matter.’
Blinded by jealousy, Enzo even devised a drastic plan.
It involved using monsters to threaten Ken.
In the process, he didn’t care if Ken died.
With that, Enzo moved to use the monster.
Grrrgh.
The sudden chilling cry from behind made him tremble.
“…Uh, wh-what?”
Slowly turning around, he was met with the source of the sound.
It was something he had seen before.
Exactly like the image he had viewed moments ago in the strategy guide.
The island’s master.
Seeing its yellow eyes staring hungrily at him, Enzo wet himself.
“G-Gyaaaa━…!!”
Before his scream could finish, his body was split in two and sent flying.
