The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 100

The morning after packing their gear, Kassan began his explanation with a loud voice.

The second-year students, who had been trembling with fear until just yesterday, now looked different.

“Is that the senior?”

“…The one who confessed to Solia?”

“Ugh.”

“Hey, you in the back. If you don’t pay attention, I’ll kill you.”

Kassan spat out the words threateningly before returning to his usual calm tone. If he let it get to him, he’d lose. If he let it get to him…

But the murmuring didn’t die down easily.

“Enough, you do it.”

With no other choice, Kassan handed over the explanation to Rbeni. Rbeni, as if expecting this, chuckled and continued the briefing in Kassan’s place.

“You have six days to survive. If you make it through safely, you succeed. If you fail, you can return here.”

Failing meant being sent back to Ardel Academy. According to the records, more students from the lower grades ended up quitting than expected.

So, this year, they increased the amount of supplies provided.

“Form your groups! Each group will receive a bag. It contains food, water, a tracking stone, and other necessary items.”

“In my day, they barely gave us any food. Why’d they suddenly increase it this year?”

Kassan added some grumpy commentary, agreeing with Rbeni’s words. Han Siha, meanwhile, was quietly listening to Natalie’s whisper with a smile.

“Do you think that senior doesn’t remember what happened yesterday?”

“No, I think he remembers just fine.”

Otherwise, there’s no way he’d be glaring at me like he wants to kill me.

Yesterday was quite a sight. Han Siha flashed a grin at Kassan.

“Kuoo! I like youuu too!”

“Basilus, stop mocking him.”

Basilus mimicked Kassan’s sloppy speech, hopping around excitedly.

‘Honestly, you’re worse.’

Han Siha glanced at Kassan’s tattered clothes. With no extra clothes to change into, it was starting to look a bit pitiful.

But that feeling of pity vanished in just a few minutes.

“Take it.”

When Kassan handed over the bag, Han Siha got a bad feeling.

‘This bag shouldn’t be this light.’

“Aren’t you going to take it?”

“Thank you. It’s as light as a feather.”

It was obvious that Kassan had sneakily taken out some food and water.

Han Siha chuckled at the predictable behavior, grabbed the bag from Kassan’s hand, and returned to his original spot. Adela, who had been watching with a worried expression, approached him.

“What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?”

“It seems like some of the stuff was taken out of the bag.”

“What?”

Adela looked surprised.

“Then shouldn’t you ask for it properly?”

“You think he’ll just hand it over?”

Even if he asked directly, Kassan wouldn’t hand it over. Instead, he’d probably accuse them of hiding the supplies themselves and demand even more. Heck, he might even disqualify them on the spot.

“It’s so childish.”

Seriously, just because we burned his clothes a few times, made him drink a bowl of champagne, splashed him with water a few times, and made him confess in front of the juniors, he steals our supplies?

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“Huh?”

Han Siha suddenly understood how Kassan felt.

Nodding his head, Han Siha muttered quietly to himself.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t have let it slide.”

The fact that Kassan left them with anything at all might mean he’s not as terrible as they thought. Maybe he’s just a slightly pitiful old-fashioned guy.

But now wasn’t the time to be worrying about Kassan, who had just created a new embarrassing memory for himself.

“Let’s begin the survival test.”

Beeeep.

As the signal echoed through the outskirts, Han Siha spoke firmly.

“Let’s head left.”

Thanks to Professor Ernst, they knew the terrain well.

—

“Adela, this is your first survival test too, right?”

“Of course. It’s my first time camping at all. I’ve heard countless bad things about it.”

“Whew, it’s already tough. How are we supposed to survive here for several more days?”

Han Siha’s group consisted of five members: Adela, Seymour, Won, Natalie, and himself. Luckily, they were all familiar faces, so there wasn’t much pressure.

None of them were particularly troublesome, and they had plenty of practical experience.

But even those experienced in real combat couldn’t help but frown at the terrain.

“Ugh.”

Most of the students had headed to the right for a reason.

The dense vegetation made it difficult to take even a single step. It felt completely different from climbing the hills behind Ardel.

Looking up at the thick forest, it was easy to feel overwhelmed.

Han Siha sighed and began taking items out of his bag.

Ah, this is really not right. Even in survival games, they give you three soups and three bottles of water.

“One bottle of water.”

Kassan, you bastard.

Han Siha cursed under his breath as he emptied the rest of the bag.

“And some rope?”

“Anything else?”

“Shouldn’t there be a map?”

“Well, it looks like he took that out too.”

It was infuriating.

If he had known the map would be missing, he would have gone back and punched Kassan in the face again.

“We’ve got heating stones and cooling stones.”

And a few basic items for maintaining body temperature. Adela looked up with a troubled expression. They were moving steadily to the left, hoping to find better terrain.

But was it just her imagination?

Won had been tilting his head curiously for a while.

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t you feel a bit dizzy?”

“What are you talking about?”

“It just feels like we’re going in circles.”

Once again, the scenery wavered before their eyes.

Won shook his head, trying to dispel his negative thoughts.

No, that can’t be right.

“I think we’re heading in the right direction. Though we can’t be sure without a map.”

“That’s a relief, then.”

“Oh, by the way, I’m terrible with directions, just so you know.”

Won’s unease grew at Han Siha’s confident admission.

“We’re not going to get lost, are we?”

Little did they know, Won’s anxious comment would soon become a reality.

* * *

“What? The kids have already left?”

Rbeni’s panicked shout echoed through the tent where the third-year students were stationed. Kassan frowned as he stretched. He had watched the group depart earlier, so what was Rbeni going on about?

But Rbeni’s next words made Kassan jump to his feet.

“Then why does their location show up here?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Kassan, alarmed, rushed to the spot where he had stashed the supplies. There was no way those second-years hadn’t left yet.

If that’s the case…

Kassan rummaged through the supplies until he found the tracking stone hidden among the rations. His face turned pale.

“Why… why did this come out with the supplies?”

“You’re telling me… you sent them off without the tracking stone? Are you out of your mind?”

“I didn’t leave this out on purpose!”

“What?”

“I swear! As annoying as those guys are, I didn’t want them to go missing!”

The tracking stone was a safety device. Although Ardel’s outskirts were managed by the academy and used for the camping event, exceptions and emergencies could always happen.

The tracking stone was meant to immediately alert Ardel in case of emergencies. It had been stashed away with the supplies Kassan had hidden.

Despite knowing the potential danger, Kassan chose to keep his mouth shut.

“Those stubborn brats. Annoying as they are, they’ll find a way back.”

“Are you seriously just going to leave it like this?”

For Kassan, this was about pride.

Rbeni glared coldly at him, but Kassan had already made up his mind.

“Let’s report it in three days.”

“What?”

“Nothing serious should happen until then.”

If this were reported immediately, both Kassan and Rbeni, as third-years, could face disciplinary action.

Even if it was a minor penalty like losing points, that could mean losing their scholarships.

If they could get away with this, it was the best option.

“Just keep it quiet.”

Kassan gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath.

* * *

[Main Episode 5: The Secret of Survival]

[Track the secret in the unknown campsite!]

[Time Limit: 7 days]

[Reward: ??]

[Failure Penalty: ??]

What is this?

Seeing that kind of message pop up in front of me, it was clear this wasn’t just an ordinary camping trip.

Based on past experience, the main episode window only appeared in dire situations that could choke the life out of you.

“A main episode? Not even a side one?”

In the original story, this part wasn’t particularly significant. It was more of a light break—a part where Lee Han catches fish, hunts wild animals, starts a fire, and has a relaxing time surviving in the wild.

There weren’t any particularly dangerous scenes aside from playing a few pranks on the third-year seniors like Kassan.

But that “main episode” label is seriously bothering me.

Moreover, both the reward and failure penalty are marked with question marks.

Main episodes were usually related to the Cube, and the more mysterious the episode, the higher the difficulty tended to be.

The secret of survival? What is that even supposed to mean?

Weren’t we just supposed to survive here?

In a situation where surviving alone is already urgent, the idea of having to track something is unsettling, to say the least.

“This feels wrong.”

I had a bad feeling about this.

But what made me feel even more uneasy was the current situation.

“Save the water, Seymour.”

“Okay….”

“I just want a sip too.”

I’m sorry.

You’re suffering because you’re stuck with the wrong team leader.

Natalie hung her head in defeat.

“I’m hungry….”

She was usually one to hide her struggles, but having walked for hours without a proper meal since they left, it was only natural that everyone’s stamina was starting to drain.

It was an absolute mess.

No map, no food to last through the first day.

All we had was one bottle of water.

And we had to share that among five people.

Ah, I’m going crazy.

From my ten years of reading fantasy novels, I know that whenever someone transmigrates into a situation like this, they always seem to survive by overwhelming everyone with their skills.

But honestly speaking…

“How is that even possible?”

Those guys must have gone through some sort of special forces training before being thrown into a novel.

How am I supposed to survive this? Drop me in a jungle or desert, and I’d be the first to die of starvation.

I’ve never gone fishing or hiking; I’ve lived comfortably holed up at home!

The only thing I’ve held is a pen!

This is where you realize reality is very different from novels.

Ah, if I had known this was going to happen, I would have gone camping a bit in college.

“What should we do first?”

Adela asked, looking a bit lost. The only silver lining is that, while I’ve never done this before, I’ve seen enough to answer her question.

“First, we need to start a fire.”

That’s the basic rule of survival.

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