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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shio
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The survival event was one of the Academy’s traditional challenges, involving all students and accounting for 10% of the year-end rankings for first-years.
While coming in first place wouldn’t dramatically change the overall standings, it certainly wouldn’t hurt.
“The reward for being in the top 10 would be nice, but the reward for being the last one standing would be even better.”
Even if party play became necessary, as long as his strength met the conditions, he could still operate solo as much as he wanted.
To achieve this, he needed to move quickly and gather as many scattered resources as possible.
“To do that, I need to move first.”
In survival, the most important priorities were food, shelter, and clothing.
Without food, he couldn’t move; without shelter, safety couldn’t be guaranteed; and without clothes, vital areas would be too exposed.
This created an information imbalance among the first-year students.
Mirinae Academy traditionally held the survival event as the first class of the first semester.
Those who were unaware of this would inevitably be caught off guard.
Being dropped on a remote island in just a school uniform would naturally cause panic after all.
But with prior knowledge, one could be somewhat prepared and remain calm.
Typically, this preparation was the domain of the nobles.
In this class, most nobles would secure the upper ranks, while the commoners would be largely eliminated early.
This result would soon lead to conflicts between classes, providing an opportunity for the nobles to pressure the commoners by highlighting their poor performance.
“That would be troublesome.”
The key to succeeding solo was to move carefully and consider the consequences of each action.
Running around relying solely on strength, without any backup or plan, would be a death sentence—a game over.
To prevent this, he needed to resolve the deeply rooted class conflicts at Mirinae Academy.
Therefore, the top priority in this class was clear:
“Eliminate a large number of nobles.”
Allowing the morale of the commoners, already suppressed by the nobles since admission, to sink further here was unthinkable.
He had to pull the commoners into the upper ranks and fill them with confidence.
“I can definitely do it.”
His confidence stemmed from a simple fact: he had lived as a survivalist for 10 years.
The probability that nobles or commoners had experience chewing tree bark or making clothes from leaves?
0%.
Only he could claim to be the master of this island.
To do that, his immediate task was:
“Conserve energy and rest well.”
Extreme endurance—he had to hold out until the end.
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Chew, chew, chew.
The edible mushroom that Benras thought he had cooked well suddenly tasted strange.
It felt like a warning—a sign that it would ruin his body if he didn’t spit it out immediately.
Unable to bear it, Benras spat everything out.
“Ptui! Ptui! Ptui! What the hell is this? What’s going on?!”
It was the third day since being dropped on the deserted island, and Benras finally snapped, unable to endure the monotonous and grueling life any longer.
Out of 1,523 students, about 800 had already been eliminated.
Although it seemed like a lot, nearly half still remained, and the rate of elimination was slowing.
Only the toughest were left.
“Can’t even make a proper fire…Always uncomfortable when eating and sleeping…Can’t sleep peacefully…”
The constant fear of enemies lurking everywhere weighed heavily on Benras and most of the other students.
Some formed teams, taking turns to keep watch, but these alliances often dissolved quickly.
There were even times when they suffered greater injuries from surprise attacks by those who struck when backs were turned.
Fortunately, Benras had brought some first aid supplies and emergency food, thanks to prior knowledge.
Originally, they should have had high-quality down sleeping bags and single-person tents with protective magic, but all of these had been lost during combat.
It was a relentless cycle of stealing, being stolen from, fleeing, and chasing.
Having slept only five hours in 72 hours, their bodies were naturally pushed to the limit.
No amount of training at Mirinae Academy had prepared them for this kind of survival.
“On the first day of the first class…How can this be? Without any time limit…”
A crazy survival event that continued indefinitely until only one person remained.
Benras desperately wanted to shout his surrender, but his pride as the 7th-ranked student wouldn’t let him.
He was determined to endure and aim for first place.
“Kim Seok-cheol, was it? I’ll definitely crush that bastard.”
Whether by fate or ill fortune, Benras and Kim Seok-cheol had ended up sitting next to each other, ranked 7th and 8th respectively.
Right in front of them was Lee Seokhyun, leaving Benras sandwiched between commoners.
“That’s really unacceptable.”
A noble, sandwiched between commoners—that was unthinkable.
“For now…I need to find a place to rest.”
Benras composed himself and assessed the situation coolly.
He had medicine and food, and his school uniform was still intact.
What he needed now was a hideout.
Most caves were likely occupied by teams, making them difficult to approach.
He was left with two options: climbing a tree or digging an underground shelter.
“Digging would consume too much energy, so a tree is safest.”
Being up in a tree would also provide better visibility—a two-for-one benefit.
There was little worry about beasts climbing up, and he could rest comfortably while maintaining a good view.
With a look of triumph, Benras began searching for the tallest tree, dreaming of a hopeful future.
“Found it.”
After about two hours of searching, he finally discovered one of the tallest trees on the island.
The eerie silence around it didn’t bother him.
He even imagined he might be the only one to have discovered this place despite the large number of students present.
“Yes, this is what it means to be a noble—pioneering a place no one else knows. Just like Professor Kerrar.”
Feeling like he had just taken the first step as a great explorer, Benras happily began climbing the tree, dreaming of safety and a successful end to this ordeal.
As he climbed hand over hand, nearing the top,
“Spider web…?”
Benras noticed thick white webs strung around the treetop.
He wondered what kind of spider must live here to spin such webs.
Though it was creepy, he pressed on, determined to secure his refuge.
But as Benras reached the treetop,
Shudder.
He sensed an unfamiliar pressure, as if his neck would be snapped at any moment.
An ominous feeling told him that his next action might be his last.
“Wh…what…?”
The thought of using his ability didn’t even cross his mind.
The desire to survive filled his body, but his strength gradually left him.
He hadn’t yet learned how to maintain composure when faced with a hopelessly despair-filled situation.
“Ugh…”
His hands and feet trembled.
He wanted to shout his surrender immediately, but his body wouldn’t listen, as if paralyzed.
An existence that could instill such fear without direct confrontation.
Benras knew this presence.
Because it was…
“Uhhh…uh…uh…?”
First year, ranked 6th.
“Why can’t you speak properly, Benras? You were saying so much at the bottom of the tree.”
The representative speaker.
“Well…I was thinking of looking for you, but you came on your own. Thanks.”
The one who sat next to him.
“L-Lee Se-Seo-Seok-Hyun!!!”
“That’s right, it’s me.”
It was Lee Seok-Hyun.
“Nice to see you.”
His words sounded like a death sentence in Benras’s ears.
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[Shio here~!
Benras is literally going to develop trauma from Seok-Hyun LMAO.
Actually, wouldn’t it be fair to say that he already HAS developed trauma?]
This was kinda a non-chapter, I’d almost recommend skipping it if you’re using coins.
All you need to know is survival starts (being greatly skipped over unfortunately) and proud noble kid climbs a tree and meets protagonist. (Proud kid will likely be eliminated first thing next chapter lol)
thanks