Chapter 44. Dragon Badge Exchange (3)

A little while later.

Yuri returned with something in hand.

He...

"Come on, don't eat it, give it to your skin."

Saying something incomprehensible, he started to smear the thing he brought on Jerry's face.

"What, what are you doing!"

"Hehe, don't avoid it. This is good for your skin."

No matter how Jerry moved his face, he couldn't escape Yuri's evil hands (魔手) since he was buried in the ground.

Jerry's entire face was covered with a strange, unknown liquid.

'What is this?'

As the sweet scent stimulated his sense of smell, he licked a drop of the liquid that was flowing down his face.

Only then did Jerry realize what the liquid on his face was.

"...Honey?"

Where did honey come from in this winter?

This is the Forest of Beginnings?

And why did you put it on my face?

While Jerry harbored these doubts, Yuri, who had disappeared from view for a moment, returned with something else.

It was a clump of mud the size of a human head.

"I really suffered to get this in this weather? I hope Mr. Jerry likes it."

"What... is that?"

In response to Jerry's question, Yuri kindly provided an answer.

By action.

"Honey, anyone likes it. Humans and animals alike. And... these guys too."

Thud.

When Yuri lightly threw the clump of mud near Jerry's face, a small something fell from it.

Or, more accurately, 'one' of them.

'Huh?'

Coincidentally, the small creature fell onto the blood-stained rock.

It had a head, a thorax, and an abdomen.

Two long antennae and six legs.

And a jaw that looked strong.

It was none other than...

"A, an ant?"

A blue ant.

Because its active season is winter, it is often called a winter ant.

Additionally, it was a pest that possessed a venom causing intense itching.

While Jerry's eyes widened in shock, the blue ant, which had been wriggling on its back, righted itself.

The ant's antennae began to twitch continuously as it regained its senses.

Then.

Thud.

The long antennae stopped moving as if they had locked onto a target.

The blue ant slowly turned its body toward Jerry's face.

To Jerry, the scene felt as if time was moving in slow motion.

And the moment their eyes met, Jerry saw the ant waving at him as if saying,

"Peek-a-boo!"

(｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ

It was as if the ant was saying, "I'll be right there, just wait!"

"A, no...!"

Jerry's scream was futile; he couldn't stop the creature that had already set its target.

The blue ant started sprinting from the rock.

Thud-thud-thud-thud.

Naturally, the destination of its sprint was Jerry's honey-covered face.

Jerry let out a scream in terror.

"Don't, don't come! Hoo!"

Jerry blew the ant away with a puff of breath.

The ant flew a considerable distance.

But that was just the beginning.

Thud-thud.

This time, Yuri gently shook the ant nest twice.

Five blue ants fell.

"Aaaah! No, no! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

With each puff of breath, Jerry blew away one ant.

Yuri chuckled at the sight.

"Oh, Mr. Jerry, it's so nice to see you like this. I worked hard to gather them in this bad weather."

Yuri's eyes, hidden behind his long, wavy hair, sparkled.

"I prepared a lot in case you might need more. How about it? Do you like it?"

Saying that, Yuri appeared with a few more ant nests.

Seeing the five ant nests in Yuri's arms, Jerry was horrified.

"Are you crazy?"

How could this be seen as something he liked?

Jerry's face turned grim.

He had met quite a few crazy people over the years.

But now he could confidently say that all the crazy people he had met before were fakes.

This kid in front of him truly possessed 'real madness.'

Seeing Jerry's pale face, Yuri's eyes, hidden behind his long, wavy hair, flickered.

He lifted another ant nest.

"Okay, here's a question! How many ants do you think are in this nest?"

"..."

"And if I break this... will you blow the ants away with your breath faster, or will they surround you faster?"

Saying that, Yuri applied a slight pressure to the ant nest in his hand.

Crack.

As the mud powder began to fall, Jerry's face turned pale.

"And I can guarantee that if this breaks, every hole on Mr. Jerry's face will be filled with ants?"

"A, don't... P, please..."

"Should I not?"

Jerry nodded desperately.

In response, Yuri grinned and said,

"Then tell me everything you know."

"......?!"

"I'll give you 5 seconds. Five, four, three..."

Yuri firmly counted down while applying more pressure to the ant nest.

As the numbers decreased, the mud powder falling from the ant nest increased, and Jerry's face was filled with despair.

'Ah... why... why did I have to...?'

And behind the despair came resignation.

Finally, he tightly closed his eyes.

'...I got caught by a real lunatic.'

Thus, Jerry's lucky day...

"I'll, I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Ah, it's, it's breaking?! Hey, you! Take your hand off it! Take your hand off it, hand!"

ended in tragedy.

* * *

The snowstorm in the Forest of Beginnings gradually subsided.

However, as the snowstorm died down, the screams echoing through the forest only increased.

"Please, not that..."

Crack.

"A, nooo!"

Yuri, who had been watching another Dragon Badge shatter from a hiding spot, turned and started running when he saw 49th batch members leaving to find other prey.

A wooden box was slung over Yuri's back.

Swoosh.

Thud.

Yuri's eyes, which were coldly gleaming as he ran through the white forest, thought,

'What a mess.'

He had already confirmed that over a dozen Dragon Badges had shattered in the forest.

Occasionally, there were some who managed to hold out, but they were just barely surviving.

In the end, they all ended up being 'hunted' by the 49th batch members.

'This is a hunting competition.'

The term fit the current situation in the forest quite well.

The 49th batch members were the hunters.

And the prey were the 50th batch members.

The only thing that bothered him was that he was part of the prey.

"Dragon Badge Exchange..."

As he muttered, the conversation he had with Jerry a few hours earlier came to mind.

* * *

"Dragon Badge Exchange? What's that?"

In response to Yuri's question, Jerry began his story with a small sigh.

"Ha... You know that the Dragon Badges of the members are determined as soon as the proof test starts, right?"

The Yellow Dragon Badge given to the recommended candidates.

And the rule was that the higher-level Dragon Badges, such as the Silver Dragon Badge and above, were awarded based on the results of the proof test.

However, the Dragon Badge you entered with wasn't necessarily the one you left with.

"Usually, you can upgrade your Dragon Badge by earning points, but it's hard to earn enough points while trying to survive and improve your score."

"Points?"

"Ah, you don't know? They're silver coins. The Black Swords probably distributed them during the test, right?"

"Is this it?"

Yuri took out a unique silver coin with a hole in it from his pocket.

Jerry nodded upon seeing it.

"Yes, that one. In the Cradle, they call it a point."

"Is it a currency used in the Dragon's Cradle?"

"Sort of, but not exactly."

"Then what is it?"

"Facilities in the Cradle can only be used with points, and items can only be purchased with points. So, it's definitely a currency. The problem is that points serve more than just a currency role."

"Then what?"

"Grades."

"......?"

"The standard for determining your grades in the Cradle is 'how many points you have.'"

"......?!"

Yuri's eyes widened slightly.

'This silver coin... is more important than I thought?'

The silver coin, which he had considered just a currency, had a much greater value.

'The Cradle is designed to make you spend points while also forcing you to collect them.'

Yuri smiled at the cruel system the Cradle had created.

'Interesting. Just my style.'

Seeing Yuri's silence, Jerry sighed and continued his story.

"You'll understand when you become a real member. The stories about the Cradle are just fantasies."

"......?"

"The month in the Forest of Beginnings? Phew. If you can't even survive that, it's better to give up and go home. Because if you become a real member, you'll have to do that for a year."

"What do you mean?"

"The Cradle is a thorough competitive society, and it rewards those who survive the competition. But the most despicable thing is that even food and shelter are differentiated."

"Huh?"

"The only thing given to first-year members in the Cradle... is the clothes provided when they first entered."

Yuri looked at his clothes in disbelief.

"This? Just this?"

"Yes, just this one set."

"What if it tears?"

"Well, you can buy new clothes with points at the store, or if you don't have points, you can patch them up... or if you can't do that, you'll just have to live with the torn clothes."

The information Jerry continued to pour out about the Cradle was shocking.

The only thing given to first-year members in the Cradle was one set of clothes.

Just like during the month in the Forest of Beginnings, they had to find their own places to sleep and food to eat for a year.

'The month in the Forest of Beginnings... was just practice?'

After surviving the first year and becoming a second-year member, they would receive new clothes every six months and rations every month.

Then, third-year, fourth-year, and fifth-year members.

The more years they survived and the higher they ranked in the competition, the more benefits they received.

Yuri clapped his hands in amazement after hearing this.

Clap-clap.

"Wow, the Dragon's Cradle is even crazier than I thought."

Such a crazy place being packaged and rumored to be like an academy in the world.

Yuri whistled, and Jerry nodded in agreement.

"A crazy place. But it also gives a lot of opportunities."

"Anyway, continue with what you were saying. What is the Dragon Badge Exchange?"

"...Where did I leave off?"

"You said you can upgrade your Dragon Badge with points."

"Ah, right. Well, you need a huge amount of points to upgrade your Dragon Badge. But once every five years, there's an opportunity to change to a higher-level Dragon Badge without points."

Yuri had a rough idea of what this opportunity might be.

He grinned.

"Is that opportunity... to take the Dragon Badges from the new members?"

Jerry nodded.

"Exactly. When the new members enter, it's a festival only for the second-year members... and in the Cradle, they call it the Dragon Badge Exchange."

* * *

While traversing the forest, Yuri chuckled.

'The Forest of Beginnings... wasn't made for the new members.'

Out of the total five years of living in the Cradle, there was only one opportunity.

After enduring the hellish first year, second-year members were given a chance to exchange their Dragon Badges for free.

That was the Forest of Beginnings.

'Not only the Dragon Badges, but they also generously scattered points, so it's understandable why the 49th batch members are going crazy.'

Even if they weren't interested in the Dragon Badge Exchange, the 49th batch members had to move diligently to earn points.

The Cradle could filter out incompetent new members without adding extra manpower.

The members could earn points.

Although it was unfortunate for the new members, it was a pretty good mutual benefit.

'Interesting. All the new members are like golden goblins...'

If caught, they would not only give up their Dragon Badges but also their points.

That was the current situation of the new members.

Thinking about this, Yuri chuckled.

"Does that make me a king golden goblin?"

Over the past month, he had collected hundreds of thousands of points from the new members, which were now in a box slung over his shoulder.

And he also had the highest-level Dragon Badge, the Black Dragon Badge.

If anyone caught Yuri, it would be a 'jackpot.'

If this fact became known, it was obvious that the 49th batch members would swarm like bees to catch him.

Therefore, the best action for Yuri was to hide somewhere until the Dragon Badge Exchange ended.

It wouldn't be difficult for Yuri, unlike others.

Then he could easily protect his points and Dragon Badge.

But Yuri left his hiding spot and ran into the forest where the Dragon Badge Exchange was in full swing.

He started heading south through the forest.

There was one reason for this.

'This Dragon Badge Exchange... isn't just a festival for the 49th batch members.'

As if savoring the taste,

Yuri's red tongue licked his lips.