Ken’s first day in the survival event.
As the sun set, night fell and the day’s end approached.
Raphne, who had spent an unknown number of lonely hours under the darkened sky, lay on her bed.
The meal she ate alone after sending Ken off that morning.
If it were a normal day, she would have shared that time happily chatting with Ken.
Instead, Raphne spent her time picking at her food all by herself.
And now.
Lying on the bed, Raphne was hugging her pillow and sobbing.
“Hugh, Ken…”
So lonely.
Perhaps today, alone for just one day without Ken, felt lonelier than the year she spent by herself.
It’s more painful now that she knows the happiness of Ken than during the time she had no idea what happiness was.
That’s why Raphne cried bitterly.
“Waaah, snif… Come back quickly, Ken…”
Raphne buried her face in the pillow.
The pillow was wearing clothes.
It was one of Ken’s shirts.
As she caught the scent of Ken from the shirt, Raphne spent yet another lonely night.
—
…I wonder if Raphne is sleeping well.
Staring absentmindedly at the fire, Ken thought about Raphne, who was alone.
It’s still the first day, so it should be fine, right?
But what if something bad happened already? Raphne tends to get lonely easily.
Would the shirt he stole before help her at all?
No, don’t think too much about it.
She should be fine.
If she can’t handle just one day of being alone, there’s no way she can last five days.
Taking a deep breath, he opened his subspace pocket and checked today’s results.
Five badges laid out in front of him.
That was easier than I thought.
This survival event mainly consists of one-on-one battles.
So, the strategy I took was simple.
When I meet someone, I use Calorie Burn to end it swiftly.
Of course, I need to be cautious of anyone with a dangerous unique skill, especially since I don’t have any magical skills.
Thankfully, none of the people I met today had any debuff skills.
The issue is the food consumed after using Calorie Burn.
I packed as much food as I could into my subspace pocket.
But how many battles will happen in this event is still uncertain.
What if I encounter someone with a skill that restricts actions? That would be a disaster.
I’ve thought about tactics, but…
Still, I can’t let something foolish happen like being unable to move and dying after the time limit is up.
All in all, I got five badges while being cautious.
Considering today was mostly exploration, that’s not a bad result.
I put the badges back into my pocket and tossed more twigs into the fire.
So, the problem is how to find people from tomorrow…
Without any tracking skills, I can only wander around looking for people.
But roaming like that could make me an easy target, so I need a suitable plan.
As I pondered various strategies while staring at the campfire…
Rustle.
I heard something moving nearby.
…Who is it?
I quickly switched to a defensive posture.
I focused my attention on the direction of the sound.
Is someone wandering around at this hour?
The forest after sunset is unimaginably dark. It would be hard to move without a torch.
In games, during survival events, nights are typically a time for resting without battles.
But this is reality…
Thinking about it, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone was moving around at night.
It was so dark that I hadn’t considered it…
I swallowed dryly, tense as I gazed into the pitch-black grass.
Considering the possibility of a beast or monster lurking.
And then…
“Taaah! Led by the bright light, here comes Lady Alicia!”
“Oh, Alicia?”
Popping out from the bushes striking a cool pose was Alicia.
“W-wow! W-wait, senpai! I’m not here to fight! Surrender! H-hands up!”
At seeing me draw my real sword, Alicia panicked and waved her hands.
What? You’re not here to fight?
I certainly didn’t expect Alicia to show up, but if she’s here, it means she’s participating in the survival event.
If you’re not fighting, then why are you…
“Seriously, you can’t just jump out like that!”
And then someone else appeared.
A familiar voice walked in, holding a small light magic in her hand.
“Emily too…?”
“Hey Ken! Just like Alicia said, we really aren’t here to fight, so please don’t be too wary.”
It was an unexpected meeting in the darkness of night.
…So, you came to confirm who I was?
Emily and Alicia had been nearby, preparing to camp and noticed my campfire, sneaking up on it.
“I need to know who’s near where we are sleeping. And by chance, we found you here…”
“That was some fateful meeting, so we boldly came out!”
“Sorry, I intended to approach more carefully, but I startled you.”
Alicia spoke confidently while Emily apologized on her behalf.
It turns out the two met earlier today and teamed up after Alicia got lost in the forest and was crying.
But a team?
In the game, survival events were purely individual affairs.
In reality, it seems there could be collaborative groups.
If three people can win prizes, working together is certainly more advantageous than going solo.
“I helped Alicia last time, so I thought we could definitely help each other.”
“Hehe, I feel so reassured to have met you, Emily-senpai! I love you, senpai!”
Alicia clung to Emily’s arm, acting adorable.
Emily didn’t seem to mind, gently patting Alicia’s head.
Seeing them like this, they looked almost like sisters.
They made a great team.
Neither Emily nor Alicia was particularly strong individually, but both had abilities that could inflict serious debuffs.
If they combined their strengths, they could have a decent chance of winning.
“And so, Ken, would you join us as well?”
“Uh? What do you mean by that?”
In the midst of our conversation, Emily proposed a partnership.
“Since the prize allows for three participants, if we include you, we’d be three too. Two girls alone would feel a bit unsafe…”
“Uuuh, am I not good enough for you? Huh, in the end, am I just for your amusement… Gack!”
“Focus! We’re talking here!”
“I’m sorryyy…”
Emily’s suggestion wasn’t bad.
Actually, it was an opportunity for me.
Since I just have moments of power, there are many variables in individual battles.
However, if I team up with Emily, who has seal skills, and Alicia, who has hypnotic abilities…
This could be a good chance against Adrian…
While thinking about the most concerning variable in this survival event, I began to strategize the Emily & Alicia combo.
But as I was deep in thought, Emily added, likely assuming I was pondering about the partnership.
“Um, I know Ken is strong and might think we’d be dragging you down… but I can provide some benefits too!”
As Emily presented her subspace pocket to me.
“Check this out… I happened to bring lots of food! …You know, Ken, you need a lot of food, right?”
Glancing back at me, she was clearly prepared for this collaboration.
Clearly, Emily had planned to team up with me even before the survival event began.
And the bargained item was a hefty supply of food.
It was indeed a wise choice for Emily, whose value increases considerably when teamed up rather than relied upon as an individual.
“Alright, I have no reason to refuse. Let’s work hard together, Emily.”
I smiled and reached out my hand to her.
At my positive response, Emily’s anxious face blossomed into a big smile.
“Yeah! We’ll definitely get through this together!”
And she clasped my hand warmly.
“Ahhh, there’s nothing more fun to watch than a blossoming love story~.”
“Q-quiet!”
“Gah!”
With a sly grin, Alicia squealed at Emily’s playful smack on her head.
Now that I had formed a partnership with Emily, I started to have a thought.
Since we did this, couldn’t others do the same?
I should consider strategies for team battles as well…
Thus, what I thought would be a dull first night of the survival event turned into a lively affair.
—
Somewhere in the darkened forest.
In a wide clearing that appeared man-made, several people lay motionless, and only two faced each other.
One was enveloped in an icy chill that seemed to freeze to the bones, ruled by frost.
On the other side, an overwhelming heat that could melt even souls burned brightly.
The two powers clashed, each taking half of the clearing fiercely.
Mary Hyde stared daggers at her opponent.
And opposite her, Adrian Faraday smiled leisurely despite receiving her gaze.
“You’re quite aggressive for a lady, Mary.”
Mary was taken aback by the comment.
The majority of those lying around were taken down not by her but by Adrian.
“I didn’t expect to meet you so soon, Adrian.”
For Mary, Adrian was a person she had to watch out for in this survival event.
Using frost magic while Adrian wielded fire with the opposite element through his shadowless spear.
Mary didn’t lack confidence in her own abilities, but she had no guarantee she could win a battle against him.
That’s why she wished to delay a confrontation with him as much as possible.
But here they were, facing each other on the first night of survival.
“Don’t glare at me like that. I have no intention to fight you.”
…What do you mean?
In an individual battle where everyone came for the prizes they desired, collecting badges would eventually lead to the stronger individuals gathering multiple badges.
And when that happens, the hunted will try to hide while the hunters pursue.
She would want to cut off such annoying situations before they began.
But to say he wouldn’t fight…
Is he planning to run away?
Adrian?
No matter how strong Mary was, it didn’t seem likely that Adrian would flee without a fight.
However, as if to answer Mary’s confusion, Adrian effortlessly waved his hand.
His gesture resembled that of a conductor with a baton, drawing the surrounding flames towards him.
“I have no interest in the restaurant meal tickets.”
Soon, the flames that had covered half of the clearing condensed into a small mass in Adrian’s hands.
With a fist, he extinguished the flames, smiling as he spoke.
“So, Mary, how about forming an alliance?”
It was a sweet proposal, much like his smile.
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