—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
On this island, there were three main sources of drinking water.
The well I dug myself.
A large-sized pond in the bears’ territory.
A pond in the snakes’ territory.
These three were the strategic points for obtaining drinking water on this island. That’s why I had been so enthusiastic about securing drinking water for several years. Sadly, those snake bastards had poisoned it, rendering it unusable. Although it would naturally neutralize over time, until then, I had to endure and secure drinking water by any means possible.
Fucking bastards.
I’ll burn that hydra bastard alive and kill it.
I gnashed my teeth and quickened my pace.
Naturally, I was heading towards the snakes’ pond.
Yes, a pond. There’s no way there would be a lake on such a small island. Although it’s quite large for a pond, anyway, that’s how it is. The snake bastards, who had claimed that water source and relatively fertile land, were the ones boasting the largest force on this island. The bears were no pushovers either, but compared to the snakes, they were fewer in number, simple-minded, and crucially, too busy eating and shitting to have much interest in expanding their territory.
Both of them didn’t have a good relationship with me. When you think about it, I was like a foreign object wedged between their two territories. Now that only the snake bastards were left, the power dynamics had become the snake bastards, the dungeon, and me. I wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.
The dungeon was as much of a headache as the bears and snakes.
For now, I had pushed the dungeon to the back burner because the snake bastards were causing trouble, but in order to escape the island, I had to conquer the dungeon. Although there was no definitive evidence, it seemed like the only way to get rid of the unidentified vortex surrounding this island.
So, once Renny was fully healed, or at least recovered enough to fight, I planned to conquer the dungeon somehow. The undead could be dealt with at Karina’s level. It was bothersome to see a future that would be terribly busy for a while.
Maybe living on this island forever wouldn’t be so bad.
Would I be able to adapt to life outside?
I had already grown accustomed to living alone. Although I longed to feel the scent of civilization, in the end, this wasn’t the world I knew. It’s not a world with cars, airplanes, computers, and my home. What would change even if I entered such a world? In the end, even if I left this island, it would be the beginning of a tearful period of adaptation.
Moreover, the endings of Survival Academy were filled with hopeless bad endings. How many bad endings were there? Twenty? About five main story bad endings and a couple for each heroine. There were also comedic bad endings.
If I didn’t leave this island, I wouldn’t have to get caught up in such bad endings. Even if the world was destroyed, this island would remain peaceful. And someday, I’d hang myself and die.
Anyway, I never even saw the true ending. Because right after the true ending part was released as DLC, I got possessed as soon as I bought it. If I went outside without even knowing the conditions for the true ending in this already unnecessarily difficult game, who knows what I would face. Even if I did nothing, the protagonist would handle it, but the chance was only once. I was a bit curious about who that protagonist was, though.
My thoughts have drifted. For now, I need to take care of the snake bastards first and then think about it. Anyway, I have to deal with those bastards first to make any progress.
As I diligently moved my steps towards the snakes’ territory, I formulated a plan. My goal was the pond in the snakes’ territory. Didn’t the great Code of Hammurabi say an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? So, following the Code of Hammurabi, I planned to terrorize the snakes.
Simply put, it was the “if I can’t drink, you can’t drink either” operation.
The grudge for ruining the drinking water ran deep. Now that the bear bastards were gone, they were telling me to fight. Pathetic snake bastards. This was no different from a declaration of war. Those who mess with the water need to suffer harshly to come to their senses.
As I moved my steps while gritting my teeth, the boundary line gradually came into view. The boundary line plastered with things the snakes hated. How did they cross over? They probably came through the traps laid on the bears’ territory side. I should spray snake repellent there too. I should dismantle the traps and either reinforce the fence or repair the walls. Now that the bears were all dead, they weren’t needed.
No, wait, let’s put dismantling the traps on hold for now since there’s still the dungeon. It’s annoying when zombies bang on the walls and make noise in the middle of the night. I don’t know what’s going on in the dungeon that keeps spawning zombies.
“…It’s quiet.”
Is it because the bears are gone? The information that they were all wiped out must have reached the snakes too. That’s why they’re boldly doing this. Look at how pathetic they are, just as expected of snakes…
Standing in front of the boundary line, I took out a pouch of powder from the leather bag slung over my shoulder and gently sprinkled it on the boundary line. As the powder fell from the pouch, the sound of hissing and the snakes revealed themselves.
As expected, they were lying in wait at the boundary line. There’s no way that hydra bastard wouldn’t know I was coming. If I went in blatantly, it was obvious that dozens of snakes would greet me with a welcome.
I moved along the boundary line, sprinkling a little powder at a time, heading to the closest point to where the pond was located. Thanks to the powder, the snakes couldn’t even attempt to attack me and only hissed angrily. Although the hissing sound was grating to my ears, I wouldn’t be hearing it soon, so I could endure this much.
“Around here, I guess.”
The trees were densely packed, so it was just a rough estimate, but still, if I recalled my past memories, this was probably the right place. I stood there and looked in the direction where the pond would be. There were a lot of trees. Enough to make me want to burn them. In fact, if I set the entire forest on fire, I could easily wipe out the snakes, but that would only result in mutual destruction, so it was a pity that I couldn’t do it.
So, as the next best thing, I would mess with the pond. If I contaminated the pond water, the snakes wouldn’t be able to replenish their moisture and would suffer. And it would delay the snakes’ advance, even if just a little. Raiding the water source in the bears’ territory was too far a distance, and I would face the problem of potentially encountering the monsters from the dungeon.
No matter how venomous the snakes were, their attacks wouldn’t work on skeletons or zombies.
Oh, wait.
A good idea came to mind.
I turned my gaze from the direction of the pond to the direction where the dungeon would be. Monsters were probably still being generated in the dungeon even now. Maybe I could use that.
I immediately turned my steps and headed towards the dungeon.
Pondering how I could efficiently execute the plan I had come up with.
————–
“Ugh…”
“Renny?! Are you conscious?”
“Lady Karina…where is this…”
In a hazy and dreamy state, Renny spotted a fluttering pink head of hair in a corner of her wavering vision. The color she had longed to see. The world’s only pink hair shimmered before her eyes. She wanted to reach out and grab it right away, but her body wouldn’t move.
‘I’m a failure as an escort knight.’
An escort knight being nursed by the one she was supposed to protect – it was a story that others would laugh at if they saw it. Still, Renny was happy.
Anyway, it was fortunate that she was alive. Renny couldn’t gauge whether she should be grateful to Kalon, whom she couldn’t even believe she had met Karina again without dying, or if she should think she was just lucky.
Renny moved her lips to convey this joy.
She wanted to speak, but she couldn’t. Realizing then that her body’s condition was serious, Renny tried her best to roll her eyes, which at least moved, to see Karina’s face. But unfortunately, her eyes couldn’t perform their function due to the excessive movement over a long period. She hadn’t gone blind, but until her body recovered, she would have to live in a haze.
“Renny…you don’t have to push yourself. Rest for now. It hasn’t been long since the poison was purified…”
‘…Poison?’
I was addicted? Renny tried to recall her memories while ignoring the pain engulfing her entire body. What had I gone through? I can’t remember well. I woke up on the beach, defeated a bear, ate mushrooms because I was hungry, and then…
“Ugh…!”
“Renny?! Are you okay?!”
Karina examined Renny’s condition with a face that looked like she would shed chicken poop-like tears at any moment. She scanned Renny’s body with eyes wondering if there were any additional wounds, but fortunately, there were no new affected areas. Karina let out a sigh of relief. Her body was covered in cold sweat.
Renny fainted again due to the pain coursing through her entire body.
‘I used up all my mana to purify the toxic poison that was thoroughly permeating her body…I feel dizzy. I need to rest a bit too.’
The poison tightly packed in Renny’s body was extremely vicious. From hallucinations and auditory hallucinations to blood-contaminating poison, organ-melting poison, and wounds all over her body. It was difficult to distinguish whether this was a corpse or a living human. Even patients who had been experimental subjects for dark wizards for a long time weren’t this bad.
‘Still, if I treat her for about a week…’
Although a complete recovery was impossible, she could at least recover enough to move around minimally. Karina was once again grateful for being a saint. If it weren’t for the powerful holy magic that only a saint could use, Renny would have been buried in the ground on the day she was carried on Johann’s back.
With her limbs severed.
“When will Sir Johann return…”
Muttering to herself in a way that no one could hear, Karina closed her eyes.
Just for a very brief moment, just a very brief rest.
A quiet breathing sound was added beside the crackling sound of the burning firewood.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
