I Realized It Was An Academy Game After 10 Years – Chapter 42

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Wow, is this a ship? It’s huge!”

“Is it your first time seeing one?”

“Yeah! It’s my first time!”

Millia shouted in an energetic voice and looked around the ship with curiosity, as if it were something extraordinary.

She seemed quite excited about the fact that she was boarding a ship for the first time in her life.

What a cute kid.

Should I say I’m glad to see her so happy?

I stared intently at Millia’s back.

It was a thought I had countless times, but Millia’s resurrection was close to a miracle.

If it weren’t for the item the skeleton had given me at the end, Millia wouldn’t have survived.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to see that item here.

Kalon’s Mercy.

If my memory was correct, in Survival Academy, you could obtain a maximum of 2 per run.

Although you could get more by using bugs, generally, you could obtain one per run, and another one if you took a specific route, making it an item you could get two of.

Its effect was to revive a dead NPC.

Who would have thought I’d end up using an item originally given to make up for messed up quest lines when playing blindly…?

That skeleton guy might be a better person than I thought.

Although he still gave me the creeps.

…Well, it’s in the past, so let’s leave it at that. I won’t have to encounter that skeleton again anyway.

Now was the time to focus on completing the ship necessary for our escape.

I resumed hammering the planks I had created with my skill.

If I couldn’t finish the allocated amount today, it would take longer to set sail.

I had to keep my hands busy to launch the ship within a reasonable time frame.

Even though the vortex had disappeared, the crazy weather wasn’t going anywhere.

“I wonder if Renny is doing well.”

…I’m a bit worried that she’s getting too hooked on brewing alcohol, but I guess it’s fine.

If she gets too drunk like last time, Karina will smack her precious back a few times with her holy smash, and she’ll come to her senses.

A saint using magic through back smacks was a rare sight that you couldn’t see just anywhere, and it was always entertaining to watch.

It’s not like I was the one getting hit anyway.

Following the flow of my thoughts, I started building the ship to escape the deserted island while recalling various trivial matters.

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“Welcome back! Did the work go well?”

“I think we can launch the ship in a week.”

“That’s a relief! I want to leave this island as soon as possible!”

“Finally, the outside world. We’ll be extremely busy once we return.”

Karina placed the food on the table, which was made for the four of us to have a meal together, with a delighted expression.

It was nothing more than rabbit stew, edible mushrooms grilled by Renny herself, and fruit cut into appropriate sizes, but even this was no different from a grand feast on a deserted island.

“Let’s eat.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I scooped up the broth of the stew made with two rabbits with a spoon.

The light and savory taste unique to the broth with rabbit meat flowed over my tongue and down my throat, filling my mouth with satisfaction.

Glancing around, the others also seemed content with the quite generous lunch.

Karina’s cooking skills had improved a lot.

At first, she would fail to control the seasoning or the fire, resulting in a slightly strange taste.

“Johann, is it to your liking?”

“It’s delicious.”

“Karina, it’s really good!”

As always, the atmosphere was warm and friendly.

In fact, there was no reason for it to be unpleasant, so it was natural.

There were no more monsters threatening our survival on this island, the dungeon had lost its function and zombies no longer popped out, and all the fruits and ingredients from this island had become ours.

We were also planning to set sail towards the continent soon, so given time, this island would become one where only rabbits roamed.

It would become a true deserted island after 10 years.

I, and everyone else, hoped for it to be that way.

After all, everything would unfold on the continent, not on this island.

Ah, is it already over?

While immersed in my thoughts and eating, I had already finished everything.

I briefly contemplated eating more, but decided not to, as eating too much could cause an upset stomach.

I also had some things to think about while taking a short walk.

“I’m going for a short walk.”

“Would you like me to come with you?”

“Oh, then I’ll come too-”

“I have some things to think about alone.”

When I politely expressed my intention to decline, Karina nodded with a slightly disappointed face.

Renny gave me a suspicious look, though.

It’s not what you’re thinking, so don’t look at me like that. It’s awkward because I remember what you said before.

“Have a safe trip!”

Receiving Millia’s cheerful farewell, I quietly walked towards the beach.

My steps came to a halt when I reached the boundary of my territory along the beach.

After surveying my surroundings, I quietly recited the words that were awkward to say in front of others.

“Status window.”

“Why is my age 19…”

It’s dizzying every time I see it.

Is life on a deserted island not counted as life?

When I was first shipwrecked, I should have been at least a similar age, but my age is 19.

No, even if I shave my beard, my face value isn’t much different from 10 years ago… Karina also said I look young.

Then what about my 10 years?

Surely they’re not giving me a mission to enter the academy, are they?

I really don’t like that.

…Let’s skip this for now. I won’t know the next content unless I return to the mainland anyway.

The more annoying part is the characteristics.

The status window I know from Survival Academy should have been filled with numbers, so why is it written in English letters, as if it were university grades?

On top of that, it’s irritating that there are characteristics I’ve never seen in Survival Academy.

Just what are they?

The skills all appeared as expected, but… What’s the point of throwing in a skill I don’t know?

They didn’t accidentally throw in a status window from a different game, did they?

“If you’re going to give me a status window, at least throw in some cheating characteristics or skills…”

In order to survive in Survival Academy, which is filled with inhumanly difficult scenarios, they should give me at least one skill that’s so cheating that everyone would say, “This is a bit…” Give me something easy to use!

Crafting is a bit unique, but it’s ultimately a production-type skill, so it’s difficult to make use of.

Is there any other status window in the world as unappetizing as this?

No, they’ll probably throw in something tasty as a mission reward.

Maybe they’ll give me an EX-grade characteristic or skill, or throw in something like shape memory alloy, or a firearms recipe… I think there were flintlocks in Survival Academy, but… No, was it a much older version?

Anyway, I hope they give me something good.

Turning the useless circuit of hope in my mind, I turned around.

I should go back quickly and finish the preparations.

There wasn’t much time left until we set sail.

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“Are we really leaving…”

After nearly a month of preparations for departure, today was the day we would finally leave the deserted island.

I stopped in the yard and looked at the house.

The house I had built myself, which had been my home for a long time.

Once we left, it would become a ruined house, unable to withstand the passage of time.

Maybe the next person to be shipwrecked here after me would make good use of it. By then, rabbits would probably cover the entire island.

Well… It’s none of my business.

I turned around.

In the distance, I could see a single ship floating on the beach.

It was a ship made with reference to the times when I used to build ships to leave the island long ago.

Wouldn’t it be about the size of a decent sailboat?

Since I had never seen a sailboat, I wasn’t sure if it was really that size.

“Johann! Come quickly!”

“Don’t run too much! If your head falls into the sea, we won’t be able to find it!”

It was good that we revived her, but seeing her head and body moving separately, like a Dullahan from the dungeon, made me anxious every time she ran around.

After all, if she misstepped, her head would fall off and be swept away by the waves.

“I know that too!”

Millia seemed really excited about leaving the island.

Having spent her entire life in a dark dungeon, maybe she was looking forward to the outside world.

I hope the outside world lives up to her expectations.

I climbed the pre-made stairs and stepped onto the deck.

On the deck, Renny was busily moving around, preparing for departure.

Renny was trying to lift the anchor when she saw me leisurely walking on the deck and shouted.

“Johann! Come and help me quickly! No matter what, it’s too much for me to lift it alone!”

“Got it!”

We pooled our strength to lift the anchor and checked the condition of the sails.

I didn’t have any professional knowledge, so it felt like it was put together haphazardly, but it couldn’t be helped.

Fortunately, we had a powerful power source with strength surpassing a bear right in front of us.

I looked at Renny, who had volunteered to be the power source during the long voyage.

Perhaps because of the hot weather or because she was constantly sweating from working, her figure was more explicitly exposed than usual, giving off a sensual vibe.

Noticing my gaze, Renny looked at me with a puzzled expression and opened her mouth.

“Is there something on my face?”

“…Ahem, are you okay? You’ll have to pedal hard from now on…”

“Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m fine, I’m fine. Karina said she would use magic if needed, so don’t worry. The real problem is the direction. No one knows which direction the mainland is in, right?”

“…I have a rough idea.”

“Really?”

The direction from which the shipwrecks drifted was always similar, so there must be a new island or mainland in that direction.

Or I could guess based on the decreasing distance shown in the status window.

The real question was whether the steering wheel, which we had created through trial and error, would function properly.

If we couldn’t change direction properly, we could end up as a ghost ship.

We had set up various devices to prepare for that, but I didn’t really want to use them.

“Then I’ll go to the helm.”

“Yeah. I need to prepare again too…”

I turned around and headed towards the helm.

Climbing up to the helm that looked like it came straight out of an old movie about pirates, I saw Karina leaning against the railing, gazing at the sea.

When I approached, Karina turned her head and smiled brightly.

It was like a scene from a pictorial.

“Welcome. Are you all ready?”

“We’ll be departing soon.”

“Will we be able to arrive safely?”

When our eyes met as she said those words, I saw her wavering pupils.

Come to think of it, Karina had drifted to this deserted island because her ship was wrecked.

She must be afraid of the voyage.

I quietly placed my hand on her shoulder and spoke.

“We can arrive safely. Don’t worry too much.”

“I hope so.”

Karina smiled weakly.

I turned around, forcing a smile.

“We’ll be setting sail soon, so I recommend resting in a safe place. The deck is dangerous.”

“Okay. I’ll see you at mealtime, Johann.”

Karina disappeared below the helm.

Are we departing soon?

I leaned against the wheel and looked at the swaying sea.

The endless sea.

Will we be able to reach the mainland?

What will be happening on the mainland we struggled to reach?

Unresolved questions await me, piled up high.

“Johann! Preparation is done!”

“Unfurl the sails!”

Let’s put aside the questions and think only about the immediate task at hand.

As always.

And so, our first ship, the Wilson, began its voyage.

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