I Realized It Was an Academy Game After 10 Years

It had been two days since the trap was triggered.

During that time, I had been helping Karina recover, while also gathering food and crafting various items to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

“What is this?”

“It’s paralysis poison.”

“And this?”

“It’s a pouch made of things that bears hate.”

Bears have an extremely developed sense of smell, far superior to that of dogs. So, a pouch that emits odors bears despise could prove quite useful. The problem is that humans would also suffer from the foul smell…

But who cares about that?

Without such measures, a single meal could be lost in an instant.

“Here, take it.”

“Huh?”

I handed the pouch over to her in silence. Even the saint had to grimace at the smell wafting from the pouch resting in her hands. Was her restless behavior a result of her instinctive aversion? She’d get used to it eventually, but until then, it was quite a putrid odor.

Of course. The contents of this pouch were a mix of snake droppings and various plants with smells that monsters loathe. The stench of poop is always repulsive, but it was potent enough to serve a purpose on a deserted island. It could drive off bears or be used as fuel once dried.

Human poop, however, had no practical use…

“Keep it away from your body.”

That repugnant odor would serve as a shield to keep other beasts away. At least the mediocre ones wouldn’t dare approach. On this island, the smell of snakes was, in many ways, something to be wary of and fear.

“Thank you!”

Karina smiled brightly, easing my heart. No matter how many times I saw it, her face brought me comfort. If only it weren’t a deserted island. Or maybe it was because we were on a deserted island that I could see such a smile?

Once we leave the deserted island…

“Damn it…”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

I had let a curse slip out casually, but fortunately, she seemed to miss it.

For me, that was a relief. There’s nothing more troublesome than having to explain an unexpected curse. I awkwardly shifted the mood before standing up with the bear-hide pouch slung over my shoulder in front of the brazier.

“I’m going to scout. Rest well.”

“Yes! I’ll keep a good eye on the house, so don’t worry and have a safe trip!”

Her eager voice tickled my ear. It seemed she was planning to tidy up the house while I’d be away.

How wonderful.

Is this what marriage feels like for people? Of course, we weren’t really married, just in an awkward cohabitation relationship… I turned away from Karina’s warm send-off and stepped into the forest. Today was the day I had decided to officially scout in the bears’ territory.

The goal was to check if anything had happened to the bear leader.

I needed to find out if the leader had changed or if it had eaten something bad and gone crazy; this would help determine our future actions.

Depending on the leader’s disposition, my tasks would change.

For example, if the leader had changed and the group became aggressive, we would have to prepare for war, despite there only being two of us. We couldn’t just let it slide.

“I’m not sure if I can make it back today…”

The island isn’t that big, but without a vehicle, I couldn’t just wander aimlessly; I’d have to scout cautiously. Chewing on dried meat, I absorbed the tranquil scenery of the woods.

“It’s so quiet.”

Well, it was natural, given it was still my territory. Apart from endless rabbits, birds, and other miscellaneous creatures, there were hardly any other life forms. So it couldn’t be loud. The only sounds were the peaceful chirping of the birds.

This peaceful forest had initially felt like hell.

Until I established my territory, it had been a region shared between bears and snakes. Looking back, it was a miracle that I survived. At that time, I didn’t even know how to use my skills and struggled to keep a fire going for half a day.

I once ate a mushroom that looked like a button mushroom out of sheer hunger and suffered from hallucinations. Now that I think about it, it’s astonishing that I survived. I found myself collapsed near a dungeon after coming to my senses.

But the scariest memory was waking up on a tree after a week of being possessed, only to find a bear hanging from the tree, looking at me as if I were some curious creature.

That was the first time I ever wet myself.

Thank goodness the bear likely left because human urine smells potent and probably looked unappetizing. If it hadn’t, I would have become a snack by now.

“I should catch some rabbits soon.”

I need to catch a couple of those pesky nuisances, or rather rabbits, to make smoked meat. That way, I could store enough food to withstand any emergencies. After the scouting, I would need to hunt. Meat is crucial for life on a deserted island. Ultimately, whatever you do requires physical effort, and without meat, there’s no strength.

After walking and thinking for about an hour, I finally reached the boundary. The traps I’d set up two days ago hadn’t shown any signs of change since I repaired them. It seemed like there hadn’t been any commotion since.

I cautiously crossed the boundary and entered the bears’ territory. Once inside, the scattered bear footprints caught my eye. They must have been the tracks of the bears that had fallen into the traps. Upon examining the direction of the tracks, I realized the bears had charged straight inside the territory.

This was, of course, to be expected, but strange occurrences often emerge from trivial differences. Thus, even the seemingly obvious things needed careful observation.

In the wild, overlooking familiar sights could lead to fatal mistakes. Even slight changes could result in catastrophic blunders.

“…There are no peculiarities in the outskirts.”

Muttering to myself, with no one to respond, I quietly advanced deeper into the woods. My target was a small hill within the bears’ territory. If my memory served correctly, I could glimpse the area where the bears resided from the tree atop the hill.

I quickly moved my feet and reached the foot of the hill. The hill, surrounded by trees, was eerily quiet.

However, the condition of the hill was anything but.

“Did a bulldozer pass through here?”

Or had the bears collectively lost their minds and gone on a rampage?

What on earth happened to all these fallen trees? I clicked my tongue as I observed the tangle of fallen trees covering the hill. There were traces of blood on the trees. I also spotted several gruesome bear corpses lying under them.

Perhaps they were bears that had fled into my territory. Some may have died here, while the rest ended up caught in traps hidden in my domain… That seemed quite a plausible theory.

Turning my gaze, I examined the base of the trees. I wanted to check for signs of breakage. Looking closely at the broken parts revealed irregularly torn surfaces. As expected, it appeared to have been broken by a significant impact.

However, amidst them, some sections were cut neatly. It seemed as if something sharp had sliced through them in an instant. What could leave such marks?

It’s not thin, nor is it a size that two arms could hug. How could such thick trees be cut so cleanly?

Is that even possible?

At the very least, I couldn’t imagine bears doing something like this.

Even the boss, as massive as a rhinoceros, shouldn’t be capable of such feats. What on earth happened? It was as though it had been sliced with a sword…

A sword?

Could it be what I’m thinking?

The sudden thought left me confused about whether I should be happy or concerned. If my guess was right, it could indeed be a bad omen.

There were no guarantees that anyone powerful enough to hunt the bear leader would be friendly towards me. Even if the other party was a character I knew, I might be an unwanted presence in their eyes, as they wouldn’t know who I was.

There was a reasonable chance they would see me as a suspicious individual and harbor hostility towards me, so I needed to stay cautious about these new possibilities.

Maybe it was a monster wielding a weapon that had emerged from the dungeon, but I hadn’t seen a monster in a dungeon wielding weapons before.

So, this trace was likely left by a person.

With my guard raised as much as possible, I stealthily stepped on the trees and climbed the hill. The hill wasn’t too large, so I made it to the top in about ten minutes.

“Crazy.”

Has a tsunami swept through here without me knowing? I couldn’t close my mouth at the sight beyond the hilltop.

The once tree-filled forest had turned into a plain with only tree stumps left, as if lumberjacks had ravaged the area. The beach, which was normally hidden, was faintly visible now.

What in the world happened? Among the horrific scene, familiar corpses slowly came into view— all of them bears.

While pausing to survey the devastating sight, an alarming sensation rushed through my body.

It’s dangerous.

Get out of here.

You can’t stay here any longer.

My instincts triggered an alarm. It was a loud warning that made my head spin. I immediately tried to turn and flee instead of worrying about scouting.

“…Damn it.”

The blood that burst from my bitten lip trickled down my chin. Even as the wet, sticky sensation stained my jaw, I couldn’t bring myself to wipe it away.

Unbearable malice.

A gaze filled with enough bloodlust to freeze my entire body.

It was certain that whoever was looking at me had one thing in mind.

“This island is starting up again.”

A being filled with overwhelming intent to kill began to approach me.

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