Chapter 9

"Got it, I took care of it."

It was Song Gayeon who answered my question. She took out a neatly folded map and a compass from her bosom and showed them to me. The compass, originally golden, had turned yellowish due to the considerable amount of time it had been kept, and the map looked as if it would tear if not handled carefully.

I felt relieved that the person who had this was Song Gayeon, who seemed to have a calm personality. These items required meticulous care.

"Gayeon, what are those?"

"Things that might be necessary for us."

In response to Gil Yumi's question, Song Gayeon briefly answered and looked at me. Gil Yumi's face still showed curiosity, but she closed her mouth when I was about to speak.

"Thankfully, those two items were needed. If we didn't have them, it would have been troublesome."

Indeed, fortunately, this group had taken care of those two items. I had made the right choice, breaking the 50-50 odds. I smiled slightly.

After I finished speaking, Gil Yumi asked,

"Is this really that important?"

"It is. We need these to escape from here."

"Escape?"

We were in a forest, a vast forest surrounding a lake. But it wasn't just any forest. Since this place was modeled after a fairy dungeon, a boundary had been created. This boundary was designed to prevent adventurers from easily exploring the dungeon and to make them lose their way. The boundary's power was affecting us as well.

If we moved recklessly, we would wander in this forest forever. Right now, this place was no different from a maze in the form of a forest.

Since we had to find the village inside the dungeon during the tutorial, the map and compass were essential items. Gil Yumi, who didn't know this yet, only tilted her head, but Song Gayeon seemed to understand.

"The message window said we had to take these two items. So, we quietly took them when we found the body. Whether they are absolutely necessary is questionable, but it's better to have them than not."

"Wow, Gayeon, you're amazing. I didn't know anything about this."

In response to Gil Yumi's admiration, Song Gayeon only gave a bitter smile.

"Anyway, with these, at least we can escape from here, right?"

Behind me, Namgung Min, who had been looking at the compass and map, smiled and said, "We," with a tone that carried a strong emotion.

After Namgung Min's words, the atmosphere strangely sank. Namgung Min was likely emphasizing "we" to refer to the people in the cave.

'Does he hate them?'

I could feel that it was because of the children who had left Eun Seo behind. I also remembered the cold looks the children had given Eun Seo. At that time, their gazes were as sharp as daggers, and they could even feel hatred towards Eun Seo, who couldn't walk far due to an injured ankle.

The children had lost their calm and composure after suddenly opening their eyes in an unknown place and being chased by monsters. They were so selfish that they didn't hide it.

Namgung Min, who had witnessed this right next to them, must have felt a lot of disappointment towards his schoolmates. People reveal their true nature when they feel their life is in danger.

"..."

While reflecting on why the group had split, I looked at Eun Seo. What expression was she making now? I suddenly became curious.

Eun Seo's expression when looking at Namgung Min seemed sad. She must have understood the meaning of Namgung Min's words. She didn't seem that clueless.

Her lips moved, and she looked like she wanted to say something to Namgung Min.

"..."

When she met my gaze, she sighed and lowered her head. She looked like a sinner. What guilt was she feeling?

'The fact that she broke the bond with her friends? Or the guilt of the children who stayed behind for her?'

"Seo, it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong."

Seeing Eun Seo's dejected look, Gil Yumi, who was next to her, gave a bitter smile and patted Eun Seo's shoulder.

But then, a message window suddenly appeared.

<'Kim Hyukjae' has died.>

*

Night had fallen. The dense forest was quickly enveloped in darkness, and the children became even quieter. We were hiding in the cave.

We wanted to light a fire to warm ourselves from the cave's chill, but we held back to avoid being detected by the goblins.

Ding!

Even as everyone was silent, the warning sound continued. The red warning sound in my head was signaling that someone had died.

I gave up counting. I knew this was a meaningless act.

It didn't matter how many had died or how many were still alive. Thinking hard about it wouldn't help us. It would be a crazy act to search the vast forest for survivors, even if we knew how many were still alive.

Many had died, but I felt no emotion. I would eventually have to witness the deaths of dozens, even hundreds. Moreover, it was ambiguous to say they were dead.

The fairies were merely testing the abilities of the players they had summoned. They didn't want the players they had summoned with great effort to die in vain.

Someone had probably joked at first that it was like a game.

It was a correct statement. The tutorial in a game is just a stage to show what kind of game it is.

This is the same.

Players learn about the place they have been summoned to through death.

"That makes seven."

Song Gayeon muttered softly. Her voice echoed in the cave. Her calm voice felt unusually cold. Everyone must know what the number she said meant.

"Already that many have died?"

Namgung Min clenched his fists in anger. The face he had when he was happy about having the map and compass was no longer visible. It seemed he didn't want the children to die.

"It seems so."

Song Gayeon glanced at the cave entrance and answered coldly. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. Her eyes were so cold.

But the paleness of her lips showed that she was clearly feeling fear.

As everyone mourned the dead friends, I sighed inwardly.

To be honest,

'They are pitiful.'

If they had just pulled themselves together and fought, they wouldn't have needed to die against the goblins. If they hadn't shouted to run at the beginning, there wouldn't have been such a large loss.

The goblins in this tutorial were probably only level 1.

Yet, such a loss. I didn't expect that even the lowest-level goblins could defeat 15 people. When I went through the tutorial before the regression, I easily dealt with goblins of this level.

Maybe it's because they are young students. If there had been a brave student among them who suggested fighting, the outcome might have been different. But the ones leading the group were scared male students.

The selfish faces of the students who suggested leaving Eun Seo behind are still vivid in my mind. That might be why I'm still here with these kids.

Statistically, 15 people were better for having the map and compass.

That doesn't mean the 15 people who chose to leave Eun Seo behind were wrong. It was a natural thing in this world for the majority to survive at the cost of the minority.

In a crisis, I might have also considered it normal to leave someone behind. The difference between them and me is the perception of danger.

They felt a threat to their lives from a group of goblins, while I didn't feel much danger.

To be honest, the deaths of these kids, whose faces and names I barely knew, weren't particularly sad to me, but it seemed different for the kids.

Among them, Eun Seo was also mourning the death of the male student who had shouted to leave her behind. Was she kind-hearted, or was she slow?

After a while, Eun Seo, who had been hugging her knees and lowering her head with a sad expression, muttered softly.

"Will we also die to those monsters?"

Her voice echoed emptily in the cave. It was a small, whisper-like voice, but it lingered in our ears for a long time because everyone was silent.

"You won't die...,"

In response to Eun Seo's words, Gil Yumi gripped her sword and said. Fortunately, all the kids here had taken weapons when they initially ran. Gil Yumi's eyes, now raised, were strong.

'Good eyes.'

I decided to stop holding back at this point. The kids were already in a desperate situation. If they were here, they wouldn't say they couldn't fight.

If you want to live, you have to fight.

"If you want to live, everyone, pick up your weapons."

My voice was cold and heavy, enough to make Song Gayeon and Namgung Min, who were next to me, flinch and look at me. I was tired of running.

"Can we really do it?"

When Eun Seo asked in a trembling voice, I shrugged.

"We have to try."