The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 30.2

[Stamina: 11.1]

[Strength: 8.5]

[Agility: 14.4]

[Mana: 3.1]

“My overall stats have improved evenly. The increase in magic is probably due to the Moon deer.”

After confirming the results of consistent training, I looked up.

Before the test site.

The knight in charge, Gawain, scanned the candidates.

And beside him, under an umbrella held by the red-haired maid Lia.

There was Eliza sitting in a chair.

She had my red blanket wrapped around her like a scarf, and she also held a black cat doll in her arms.

“I didn’t hear she was coming….”

Our eyes met.

She smiled softly and waved her hand.

I avoided her gaze and just nodded.

The image of her choking my neck came to mind.

Gawain soon explained the test content.

“Welcome to those participating in the first test. Starting with this test, you will constantly be tested on whether you deserve to be Lady Eliza’s Escort knight. The content of the first test is simple.”

Gawain stepped aside.

The entrance to the mountain was revealed.

It was too crude to call it an entrance.

Overgrown grass and trees, rough terrain, protruding rocks.

The winding mountain ridge was like waves, leading to a hill called the ‘Wave Mountain Range.’

“Survive here.”

I heard from Lindel and Felin on the way here, but this is too much.

To throw children into the wild and tell them to survive.

It dawned on me that there is no concept of protecting a child here.

“Survive for two days and return here. The only thing provided is a water-filled jug. What you do afterwards depends on your abilities. Whether you endure without moving as much as possible and starving, hunt animals, or search for fruits, it’s up to you.”

Gawain said quite seriously.

“There is only one virtue I ask of you. Perseverance. This test is a rite of passage. If you can’t pass even this, you won’t achieve anything in the future. So, endure by any means necessary.”

Gawain glanced around at the candidates who were stiff with tension.

Even Lindel and Felin, who had experienced it once before, seemed nervous.

While survival methods are free, fighting among candidates results in elimination. Most nobles have several Escort knights. So you must also know how to cooperate with others, even if they are not close acquaintances.

Perseverance.

Next, they’ll evaluate agility and teamwork.

In the middle of nowhere, with nothing but their bare bodies.

How do you judge the situation and how much cooperation with whom?

Roughly like that.

“If you want to give up, you can return here early. The bracelets given to you are enchanted with location tracking magic. The test area is limited to the mountain range. If you exceed this range, the bracelet will be destroyed, and you will fail the test.”

As soon as we arrived here, we received a leather bracelet.

A small bracelet with a light blue gem embedded in it.

It brought a bitter smile to the Bevel family’s wealth again.

An item enchanted with magic.

Therefore, artifacts are very expensive.

‘No matter how simple and poor an artifact is, its value is not trivial.’

‘That means we’re giving it to dozens of people regularly.’

Even thinking about recovering and recycling it is impressive.

Is this the power of a conglomerate noble?

“For any reason, losing or damaging the bracelet results in disqualification.”

Gawain checked his wristwatch.

“It starts in 5 minutes. If you have any questions, please ask.”

Several people raised their hands and asked questions.

There were no particularly important questions.

I didn’t have anything I was curious about, so I stayed quiet.

‘Keeping a survival expert trait was a good move.’

If there are no special problems, I will pass safely.

More than that, this test.

How to make a colleague in the early stages seems to be the most important thing.

‘It seems that the difficulty will change drastically depending on whether there is a trustworthy colleague.;

All participants enter the mountain range scattered in different places.

If you’re unlucky, you may not meet a colleague until the end of the test.

If you fail to meet your colleagues, you may be in danger from wild animals like wild boars, even though there are no animals like bears hibernating in winter. It’s a mountain.

“A survival expert.”

Adding a colleague makes the test much easier.

“Lindel, Felin… They seemed nervous and frightened. Is there no way to meet them?”

I know this mountain range to some extent.

It won’t be easy, but I can bring those two together.

While Gawain was answering questions, I approached them.

“Seniors.”

“Yeah?”

“It would be convenient if we could meet each other early on.”

“Of course.”

“But we start in completely different places….”

‘I have a way.’

Thinking it might be helpful, I tried using [survival expert].

As expected, it provided a more specific method.

“First, find the highest and clearest place after starting the test…”

As I explained, Lindel and Felin’s faces brightened.

By the time I finished, both vigorously nodded at my suggestion.

“5 minutes have passed. Participants should move to different entrances and start according to the instructions of the escort knights.”

Just then, Gawain instructed everyone to disperse.

“Do you remember?”

I asked them one last time.

“Yeah, we remember everything.”

They nodded confidently.

“Now they scattered, each heading towards their own entrance.

As I began to walk, Eliza waved her hand gently.

She whispered quietly.

I read the movement of her small lips.

‘Come back safe.’

Once again, I avoided her gaze and bowed my head.

It seemed like she was instructing Gawain about something, but her voice didn’t reach me from that distance.

***

I leisurely climbed the mountain.

If you move too fast at the beginning, you’ll lose stamina.

Received only one bottle of water.

Everything else needed must be self-sufficient on the mountain.

Pushing through bushes, climbing steep hills while grabbing onto trees.

Occasionally, dirt would slide down, almost causing me to slip down.

If I die like this, Bevel won’t take responsibility.

‘There’s really no crazy test like this.’

I muttered inwardly while reaching a relatively flat area.

‘A spot where the sky is just right.’

I immediately used [Survival Expert].

First, I need ‘fire’ right now.

I looked around for a moment.

A forest of only dirt, grass, and trees.

There seem to be many things that could become fire, but I don’t know how to start a fire.

I don’t know that survival knowledge.

But a few pieces of lumber, dry grass, and rocks were clearly visible to my eyes.

As if shining.

[Survival Expert] was telling me what to do.

First, I picked them all up.

I threw a rock at a nearby rock with all my might and shattered it.

I carved one side of the wood with the sharp edge of the broken rock.

The other trees were sharpened sharply.

I started to quickly hollow out the wood with sharp wood on top of the found wood.

Like scraping.

If you’re not skilled, it could take hours.

But thanks to the survival expert, smoke rose after a few minutes.

“Phew-.”

I blew wind through my mouth.

The smoke rose thicker.

The smell of carbon spread.

Finally, the dry grass caught fire.

I raised thin gray smoke rising to the sky.

‘I wonder if Lindel and Felin are doing well.’

I quietly guarded the fire while supplementing the firewood.

Not long after, I heard rustling from one side of the forest.

As I turned around, a welcoming voice flew in.

“Judas!”

It was Lindel and Felin.

“Wow, we can really meet so easily.”

“Where did you learn to make fire? It’s not easy to make it this quickly…”

The instructions I gave them were simple.

As soon as the test began, I instructed them to find the highest and clearest place possible first, then head towards where smoke was rising.

Although other participants might disrupt the route by lighting fires, the chances were very low.

It was rare for someone to start a fire right at the beginning of the test.

“I learned this a long time ago.”

It wasn’t appropriate to explain the specifics of the ability, so I evaded the topic.

“But… what do we do now?”

Lindel asked bluntly.

I heard he had wandered and given up last time’s test because he didn’t know how to survive.

I might know. Hmm.

“First of all….”

The moment I tried to use [Survival Expert] this time.

A commotion erupted in one direction of the forest.

Rustling, rustling.

The sound of someone approaching, stepping on grass.

The three of us froze, all looking in that direction simultaneously.

I just looked down at the recently extinguished campfire.

The embers were still smoking.

“I expected this….”

Only Lindel and Felin didn’t see this.

Other participants might accidentally see the smoke and come here.

Attacking other participants to eliminate them from the test is against the rules.

There is a fatal flaw.

I can’t prove it.

Felin who is next to me, witnessed that flaw.

The reason he was eliminated in the last test.

‘Betrayal by another participant over food. Couldn’t prove it, so the other person passed.’

I cautiously held my sword and wooden shield.

Standard survival equipment given to defend against wild animals encountered in the mountains.

Which means the opponent also has equipment like this.

Lindel and Felin also drew their weapons following my lead.

“If they’re fellow candidates or wild animals, it’s probably better….”

For a moment, I was distracted by the tragedy.

I earned Barak’s displeasure.

There’s a chance he sent someone, though slim, it’s not impossible.

Rustling, rustling.

Footsteps approached closer.