Weekly chap (day 1 of 5).
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First day of the exam. 9 a.m
Shiki P.o.v.
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After walking for around 10 minutes into the forest, I found an open area near a river to set up camp.
With Evandel here with me, I couldn't blatantly go farm point, leaving Eva alone. I have to set a base first before trying to do anything else.
I have different plans for each kind of encounter I may have to gain points. Even if I don't find anyone, there's still one more solution left.
But for now, I need to settle down before I do anything else.
I bent down on my knee and Evandel jumped right out of the bag. She landed with both hands held high and turned to me with a grin on her face.
"Be careful, Eva. What if you trip and fall?"
"I am not worried. Cause Papa will catch me."
"Oh, you little..." I grabbed the little mischief and tickled her side.
"Hahaha.... Papa staph... Hahahah..." Evandel couldn't resist the assault and laughed.
"Ok. That's enough for me. Now, who wants to make a base?" I said.
"Me me." Evandel said with great excitement.
"Alright, let's go find some stick, shall we?"
"Yes, let's go, Papa."
"Okay okay. Let's take our time, alright?'
"Uhmm."
*Wroooooommmmmm*
From a distance, an engine noise caught my attention. It must be the drone sent to follow our steps. The noise wasn't too loud. The overseers must have revealed it to let me know that they are watching.
'Good to know that they care about Eva."
We walked around the area together, picking up branches and stones for the campfire. We gathered quite a number of them.
"Ok we got firewood and stones, let's go fishing."
"Fishing? Yayyy. I love fish. They are delicious when you cook them."
"Sure you do, Eva."
We headed our way to catch dinner. I didn't want to slaughter animals in front of my little girl so I chose the alternative food source.
On our way, there were some monsters all over the forest. But most of them looked like oversized animals with minor mutations so Evandel wasn't scared of them.
Instead, her eyes glittered at the different animals and their size. One of them, looked like a grizzly, roared at Eva which made her laugh. Kids... Curiosity over fear, I guess.
The bear charged at us with ferocity. Its jaw, dripping with drools, opened wide to take a bite of the humans.
I picked Evandel up into my arms and side-stepped. The grizzly missed us by an inch and rammed into a tree due to momentum.
The bear shook its head in pain, but it didn't give up. The grizzly once again tried to attack.
"You dared trying to bite my princess ?" I couldn't help but to act cool. Papa has to keep his image, you know.
I gave the oversized teddy a Reinforced foot up its nose. The impact of my front kick, combined with the reckless charge of the grizzly, dislocated its nose.
The grizzly was knocked back, tumbling on it hind legs and fell backward. Its groaned in pain, snorting its indented nose which was dripping blood.
Injured, the grizzly decided that the humans weren't worth it. It turned around and ran away, whining.
Evandel, still in my arms, was laughing as if the bear was a bad guy getting beaten in a cartoon.
"Bye bye, Mr bear." She said, waving her hand.
'I really should teach Evandel to recognise danger. She will give me a heart attack someday.'
After dealing with the grizzly, we continued our journey
We finally reached the river nearby. The water there was shallow enough for fish to swim and Evandel to run around. The water is clean enough to wash up as well.
"Okay, let's catch some grub."
Evandel is playing in the water right now and it's the perfect chance to show her some 'magic tricks'.
"There are some of the fish sold on the market here. Those herrings looked good, so do the carps. Meh... I'll take them all. EVA..."
Hearing her name, Evandel skipped her way in the water to me.
"What is it, Papa?" She asked.
"Eva, do you want to see some magic?" I replied.
"Magic? Really?"
Evandel eyes glittered. It's not everyday that she get to see magic happening. Scáthach's lesson was focused on developing her mana circuits.
"Yeah. Watch closely." I pointed my open hand to a spot in the river.
[Imperium Aquae]
A few cubic meters of water slowly towered up from the river. It separated from the flowing water and levitated toward our spot.
The cube stopped at a few inches before Evandel's eyes. Fishes swam around the water cube, turning it into a floating aquarium.
"Oooo.... So many fishy." Evandel's mouth gaped.
"Wait... There's more." I said, pointing to a coner of the cube.
A fish swam a little too near the edge of the cube and tore off a small sphere of water from the cube. The sphere, containing the fish, flew around Evandel's head before rejoining the aquarium.
"So cool.... Papa... Can you teach me how to do it?" Evandel asked earnestly. The fondness for magic runs in the family, I see.
"Sure. After you're done with Mama Scáthach's lessons."
"Yayyyy. I love you, Papa."
" Love you too, my little witch. Let's get these fishes back to camp, shall we?"
"Umm..."
I projected two buckets, dropped the fishes in, and brought them back to base camp. Evandel hold on to one of the buckets as if it was a treasure chest as she hugged it with both hands.
Some of these fishes are bigger than what you get at the market. It would be a waste not to cook them now.
We then made a campfire from scratch, with a little teamwork between father and daughter. I could use ElementalMagecraft instead but that would take the experience away from Evandel.
I stacked layers of big branches, leaving a small space below for circulation. As I laid a branch, Evandel handed me another one. That will be our campfire.
We set stones around the campfire so that the fire won't spread and burn the forest.
I carved two pieces of wood out of a nearby log. Then I repeatedly rub the wood together to create wood dust and ember.
After seeing some smoke, I threw on some dry grass and wood shavings from the carving on top and asked Evandel to blow into the ember
My little daughter squatted down and went "Fuu...fuu...", puffing her face like a blowfish every time she took a breath.
Soon, A small fire burst out. I put the burning kindle onto the campfire.
Our campfire was started.
Evandel looked at me, puffing out her chest, smiling.
"Good job, Eva." I said, stroking her head.
"Hehe."
"Time to cook the fish."
I used Projection to create cooking tools. I did this so that I could save space in my bag. The same goes for almost all of our stuff: tent, sleeping bags, chairs, table, you name it.
I gutted the fish and removed the organs. I then washed them with a water spell before skewering them.
I seasoned the fish with some spices before planting them near the fire. Then its time for the rice. It just MRE rice that sold near Cube, Korean's MRE are your go to. Boiled the rice inside for 5 minute and done.
That was our dinner: MRE rice with roasted fish seasoned with spice packets came with the rice. The fish, freshly roasted, are fatty and perfectly seasoned thanks to a special trick.
Basically, I learned from the Throne that you can use Reinforcement in cooking.
Besides sharpening knives and speeding up heating, Reinforcement also helps the seasoning penetrate deeper into the food. Simple, yet very delicious.
Thank you, Nameless Archer.
After dinner, we played around for an hour before Evandel had to wash her face and sleep. We are camping but it doesn't excuse her from staying late.
I created a small tent for us and tucked her into her yellow sleeping bag.
"Good night, Eva." I kissed her forehead before laying on my own bag.
"Good night, Papa."
We closed our eyes, calling it a night.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Is she's asleep? Looks like it... Good."
Haft an hour had passed and I opened my eyes to see Evandel was asleep. I quietly dispelled my sleeping bag, got up and went outside.
I couldn't allow myself to sleep. Not when the final exam's theme is survival. Even less when my little girl is here.
For one, I had to keep watch in case anything or anyone approach this place. In the wilderness, you have to always keep an eye open. Nothing guarantee you don't get killed or eaten in you sleep out here.
And two, this is the only time period that I can hunt for points. Evandel is asleep now and I can create a Boundary Field to prevent any intruder into our camp.
I marked the surrounding trees of our camp with Runes, creating a border for the Boundary Field.
When a buzzing sound interrupted my progress.
*Vroooommm*
" Drone?" I looked at the source of the sound and saw a drone appear again, this time with a cooler strapped underneath. It started descending smoothly and landed right beside me.
"Is this for me?" I cut the string and opened the cooler. Inside, I found some vegetables and fruits, which can be boughs all year round like carrots, apples, and cabbages...
The product were separated in different containers and chilled with ice. However, I'm 99 percent sure that these weren't meant for me.
Not to my surprise, there was a note sticking under the lid that said "For Evandel. Do not eat too much."
"Figured."
Evandel wasn't a part of the final exam, so they wouldn't treat her like the cadets. Besides, Also This island doesn't have many edible greens — at least, I haven't seen one.
'These should keep Evandel's nutritious diet going strong throughout the exam. As for me... leftovers it is.
I put the cooler inside our tent. The drone also went in and landed facing the sleeping Evandel. The camera has a red dot blinking indicated that the overseers are watching.
'Even they fell for Eva's cute charm, huh? Good to know.'
Outside, I did some finishing touches on the Field before heading out. With the BoundaryField, anyone outside wouldn't be able to see what's inside.
Unless they can see through the illusion from the spell, everyone will be going in a circle without their knowledge.
Afterward, I went around near our base to catch some sleeping preys for the rest of the night.
...
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First day of the exam. 12 a.m
Rachel P.o.v.
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Currently, I find myself on a sandy beach of this island. I did not anticipate that the examination would be a survival test. The only things I have right now are my training weapon and half a day's worth of food given to me by the instructor.
However, something else is occupying my mind right now: Evandel. I'm still burning up right now when I think about yesterday.
'Why did I treat her like my own daughter? And why did I sleep with them without a second thought? AAAAHHHH...'
Initially, I did not anticipate having a daughter at this stage of life. The idea had never occurred to me. However, I found myself naturally opening up to her. Could it be because she bears a resemblance to me? Or is there another reason?
'Is this how mother and father felt when I was born? It's embarrassing... but.... It's also a pleasant feeling.'
I have often wondered what it would be like to have a more... ordinary life. One that isn't burdened with duty and responsibilities. One where I can just be a normal girl.
Is this what it would look like?
'No, forget about it, Rachel. You still have an exam to pass.'
Earlier when we got to the deck, I departed with a different group from the Teacher. The Cube probably didn't allow him to board with any other cadets. He had a daughter with him after all... my daughter...
Even when we reached shore, my eyes were still pointed toward the cruise. Why is it? Is being away from my daughter the cause of this? I don't know for sure.
"Rachel." A voice called me. I turned to see it was Hajin.
"Hajin-ssi. What do you need from me?"
"Do you want to partner up for this exam?"
"Partner up?"
"Yeah. Like our training with 'him'."
"Training... Ah! I see."
Hajin-ssi proposed that we team up. Someone much stronger like him wants to team up with me. He is probably capable of handling this exam alone.
I know. I'm not that dense not to realize that the teacher treated us differently during our training. He always pushes Hajin to his limit while only slowly guiding me at my pace. (Author note: Definitely not favoritism. ;D.)
That alone proved his power at least triumphed over mine.
Still, Hajin-ssi is a very reliable person. I cannot count how much he saved me during our lessons, and back in mid-term as well.
Normally, I wouldn't trust anyone, especially during the exam. But with Hajin-ssi, I can completely entrust my back to him.
"That sounds good to me. Let's do it."
"Really! That's great. I'll leave my back to you, as always, Rachel."
"And I'll leave mine to you, Hajin."
"Let's find somewhere that we can make our plan. There are too many ears here."
"That's a great idea."
Thus, we split up with the group we came with and headed into the forest.
With the two of us, monster hunting was a breeze. With me taking the frontline and Hajin-ssi in the back, we took down whatever came our way.
With the new tool in my arsenal, Wind Magecraft. Ever since midterm, Teacher had been focusing more on our own specialty. Developing our magecraft while training at the same time.
I can now channel wind element into my rapier. It helped me cut through the monsters' flesh like paper.
With further training, I believe I can push myself to be better. With his teaching, I believe so.
On the other hand, it never ceases to amaze me how much Hajin-ssi could do with just a training pistol. While I have to mind my position all the time, Hajin-ssi can just pull the trigger and most monsters would just drop dead at the spot.
I wonder if I can reach that level anytime soon.
It was soon evening and it was time for dinner. To my surprise, Hajin-ssi had prepared very thoroughly. In no time, he had set up a grilling station with foldable chairs and a tent.
Hajin-ssi also brought fresh meat to grill along with plastic plates and utensils.
Curious, I asked: "Hajin, did you prepare this beforehand?"
"Yeah. I heard the exam spans for a week so I had some speculations."
"I see. You're right now that I think about it. That's very impressive."
"It's nothing. Teach also packed a duffel bag, right? We all saw it in his room."
"I think so, too." There is a large bag in his room, between him and... her.
"Speaking of Teach, should we locate him? He should be somewhere around the island."
"Teacher? Are the two of us not enough to pass?" I asked.
"No no, that's not what I meant. I was asking if you wanted to visit those two."
"Ah... I see what you meant... To be honest, I don't know if I wanted to."
It's very awkward to go anywhere near Teacher right now. Especially after last night, but I can't tell him that.
"What's wrong? Did he do something to you?"
"No!!! It's just that I... I..."
"Hmn?"
All of a sudden, Hajin-ssi looked at a distance.
"Hajin? What wr–"
"Shh... Something's nearby."
"Huh?.... !!!"
It's true. There was a mana signature faintly radiating where Hajin-ssi was looking. If Hajin-ssi didn't mention it, I would have not noticed.
But Hajin-ssi is a sharpshooter, his mana-detecting ability are better than mine despite the both of us learned at the same time.
*Rustle rustle*
It made a move. Something was quickly moving toward our position. We both stood up and draw our weapons toward the its location.
A shadow came out of a bush as we were ready to strike. Turns out, it was a person, Chae Nayun. And since it was not a monster, we sheathed our weapons and sat back down.
She stood froze for a moment before shouting:
"HAJIN!!! AND RACHEL?"
"Lower your voice. There are still 12 hours before cadets are allowed fight each other." Hajin-ssi said.
"You two are teaming up? And what with all of that? Where did you get those?" Chae Nayun asked again.
"I made a guess on the exam and prepared around it. You should have done the same."
"Right. I forgot you smart-ass has a good grade.
What a smart... *Grumble*."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"How many points do you have?" Hajin-ssi asked.
"Huh? Twenty-five."
"Hand over half and the food's yours."
"You want half? Are you nuts? What about her?" Chae Nayun pointed at me. Should I also pay for my meal?
"Rachel? She's my teammate. She eats for free."
"Then make me your teammate as well."
"No..." Hajin-ssi coldly rejected.
"What? Why...?"
...
I stayed silent, watching the Hajin-ssi argue with Chae Nayun. At that moment, something came out of my head.
'I remembered hearing something about the two of them in our class. Something like.... Ah!'
"So this is what an old couple looks like" I blurted out.
"WE''RE NOT AN OLD COUPLE." X2
Both of them shouted in sync.
"What made you think me and this asshole were a couple, princess?" Chae Nayun said.
"Was I mistaken? I remember our classmates talking about it all the time." I replied.
"Rachel, please forget what the class said about us. I am not this... girl's boyfriend."
"Hah? What's that supposed to mean?" Nayun said, glaring at Hajin-ssi.
"Shut up and eat your pork."
"Grrr... Hmf... 'Yummy'."
Nayun sat down and put a piece of pork belly in her mouth. Her facial expressions changed from anger to compromise and finally... bliss.
After dinner, Hajin lent us his sleeping bags. He said he had prepared two of them in case anyone teamed up with him. But this left him without a bag to sleep in.
I tried to refuse, but Hajin insisted, saying that he would keep surveillance. At that point, I could only impose on his kindness.
I took the sleeping bag and went inside the tent. Nayun-ssi had already fallen asleep on the right side of the tent.
'I should also rest. Then I could have the energy to pull my weight.'
I lay down on the sleeping bag and rested for the night.
....
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Meanwhile, Hajin P.o.v.
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Outside the tent, Hajin who had taken the night watch role, sat on his chair.
"Now that they're asleep. I should check out the island." Hajin said.
He took out his laptop and started hacking. With little effort and System Intervention, his laptop screen now displays monitors from all the drones on this island.
Almost all of them were showing cadets struggling or running from monsters. Some were resting or chatting with a fellow cadet. It even showed Kim Suho diligently hunting and Shin Jonghak brutally 'executing' others cadets.
One of them, however, displayed a different scene.
One specific drone was filming the sleeping face of a little girl inside a bag. Her face stood out in a corner of Hajin's laptop.
"Look at that sleeping face, she really takes after her mother. Why are you so cute?"
"!!!"
"Huh? Did someone said something?... Nah, it's probably nothing."
Hajin decided to ignore the noise and focused on the laptop.
A closer look at the monitor showed that something was amiss, or in this case, someone. Someone who supposed to be next to Evandel 24/7 wasn't on that monitor.
"Where's Teach?" Hajin said.
As Evandel's father, Shiki would never leave her alone. But Hajin couldn't control the drone to search for him. That would tip the overseers that the drones were being hacked.
"Maybe he's around somewhere. He wouldn't go anywhere without Evandel."
After a quick scan across the monitors, Hajin has found Shiki. Hajin immediately synchronized the drone with his watch and deducted his estimated location. At the time, Shiki was moving around one spot so it wasn't hard to pinpoint where he was.
"I'll mark this down on my map and we can maybe head there tomorrow. I have things to ask considering Rachel's behavior."
Done with his tasks, Hajin leaned onto his chair and watched the star to pass the time.
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Second day of the exam. 7 a.m
Shiki P.o.v.
[Author's note: if you haven't eaten or it's midnight there, sorry.]
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Last night wasn't very productive. Since I couldn't stay far away from camp, the number of monsters I was able to hunt also dwindled.
The fact that the Boundary Field also affected monsters didn't help me much either. For the whole night, I barely scored more than a dozen points.
Now the sun is rising and the Boundary Field's effect will soon diminish. I have to go back and prepare breakfast. Evandel should wake up by the time I'm done cooking.
Back at my camp, I had already decided what to cook.
Among the prey I caught was a hog-like monster, so I bled the pig and skinned it last night. The meat was then trimmed and turned into different cuts and chilled in a different containers with ice.
The excess fat from the hog is rendered down into an empty bottle for cooking. Now that I have some sort of fat, I can make more dishes for us. As for today, the main dish will be pork soup paired with tomato salad.
Diced four carrots, onions and a cabbage head and set them aside. I will be making enough for lunch as well.
I lightly simmer the scrap with leftover fish bones from yesterday to make a light stock.
MRE rice are our staple for this week, just give a few of them a boil. The seasoning packets will be used for something else.
In a pot, lightly sear chunks of pork rib using its lard on medium heat until it's slightly brown, then take it out into a plate and lower the heat.
After that, sweat the veggies in the pot until it starts to soften. Different veggies are cooked at different time so be mindful of it.
Then, pour in a ladle of stock and scrape the fat from the pot with a wooden spoon before slowly adding more stock.
At this point, you can taste the soup to season accordingly. Use seasoning packet from the MRE, I used four and save some for later.
When the liquid is reduced by around half and slightly under-salted, add the pork back in with its juice and simmer. The juice from the pork will bring the soup to just right. Taste the soup one last time, then keep it warm until served.
But since I didn't season my pork due to the lack of spices, the soup will be on the lighter side.
Lastly, a simple tomato salad plus some fruit slices on the side and we're done. A hearty meal in the forest.
'Time to wake Evandel up.'
I went to check in on my daughter. Not surprisingly, Evandel is still in her dream. Morning sun has no effect on sleeping Evandel. Still, it isn't good for her wake up late.
"Eva, it's morning. Time to wake up." I said, while gently shaking her shoulder.
No reply.
"Eevaaa..." I call her again.
"Umu..."
A movement occurred. I thought that she was about to wake up...
But no... She just turned to her side to be more comfortable.
"Like father like daughter."
Aside from her natural affinity with mana, Evandel has somehow inherited my 'heavy sleeper' trait as well. Proven by yesterday's incident and now.
"Eevaaa... Time to wake up." I called her once last time.
If she isn't awake by then, then I'll have to carry her on my back for the day until she wakes up. And breakfast will have to be put away until then.
Luckily, Evandel heard my calling. She twisted and turned before groaning softly.
"Ah! You finally awake."
"Huaamm... Papa?"
"Good morning, little princess."
"Goo... Morning, papa."
"It's morning. Let's go wash your face, sleepyhead. Your breakfast is ready."
"Umm..."
I gave Evandel a toothbrush and a cup and created a water basin. As an artificial lifeform, Evandel has no need for toiletries aside from daily toothcare and baths.
All of the food she consumes is fully converted into mana that sustains her life. Which turned Evandel into a true foodie. One that is unburdened by any weight problems.
After washing her face, I wiped down Evandel with a wet towel and changed her clothes. We then sat on out table and had our breakfast together.
————[King Crimson]————
Now that Evandel is awake and had her breakfast, time to catch up on my sleep. It's been more than 24 hours since I last woke up. And I've been active for the last 20, without a cup of coffee or energy drink.
I'm too tired to even recharge the BoundaryField right now. I'll just head inside the tent and close my eyes. But before I can rest, I instructed Evandel carefully:
"Eva, play around the campfire, got it? Do not leave this place."
"Yes." Evandel nodded.
"Good girl. Go get your toys. Wake me up if any stranger comes by, okay?"
"Umm."
"Great. Love you, Eva, goodnight."
"Goodnight, papa. I love you."
I headed straight into the shelter. I didn't even bother to project a pillow and plopped my head next to Evandel's yellow sleeping bag.
I missed the sleeping bag? I don't care.
Comfort is temporary. Sleep is eternal.
'Sweet dream...'
*Zzz*
*Zzz*
*Zzz*
I didn't know how many hours I had slept. The only thing I need to know is that it was comfy and warm where I was lying down. It was the best sleep I had for a long while.
*Zzz*
*Zzz*
*Zzz*
"Huaamm..... What a great nap. Don't know if I can even call it a sleep at all."
I opened my eyes slightly, catching the sun shining down. Damn, is it noon already?
"Ah... Go-good... morning, Teacher."
Is someone here? Great! Then I don't have to wake up.
"Good morning. Mind if I sleep for another few minutes?"
"I.... don't mind. Sleep all you need."
"Thank you. Please, excuse me."
I turned sideways only to touched something soft and warm with my face. I didn't know what it was but I couldn't care less. So I hugged it instead.
"Hieek..!"
The pillow feel too comfy for me to wake up right.... now? Wait a minute.
Pillow? There isn't any pillow around here. I don't remember making one.
So what am I resting my face on right now?
I opened my eyes to see white, silky white. It was slender and long with a bit of muscle making it soft to lie down on. It was someone legs, a woman's legs at that. So I looked up to see whose it was.
What greeted me was a face steaming red, looking away from me. Her blond, wavy hair flowed down covering part of her embarrassed face. Blue eyes occasionally peer into mine before turning away again.
Her features are somewhat familiar. As if she resembled someone close to me.
It clicked.
'Ah...it's just Rachel...'
So it was Rachel's lap I'm touching. She got a nice figure down here. I can definitely sleep with her thighs alone.
...
Huh?
"Rachel? What are you doing here?"
"...." *Sizzling*.
Oh shit... That said a lot. Now I'm confused.
What the fuck happened while I was asleep? When did Rachel find me? How did my face ended up touching her lap? And where's Eva?
Rachel's expression showed that she might explode any time soon. I will have to wait for a moment before I can get my answer.
"Mr.Shiki... C-can you... l-let go of my leg, please?" Rachel pleaded.
...
"Sorry..."
I fucked up, royally fucked up. This will surely come back to bite me later.
Such misfortune...
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