Chapter 47. Dragon Badge Exchange (6)

At Jerry's muttering, Yurie tilted her head.

"Strange rumor?"

"Hmm... I guess you could call it a kind of urban legend?"

"What is it?"

"The special items are updated on the 1st of every month. But for one day a year, from midnight on January 1st for 10 minutes, a special sale shop appears."

"Special sale shop? What's that?"

"A special discount sale shop."

"...Stop using weird abbreviations, okay?"

"Everyone calls it that. Anyway, it seems to be true that the special sale shop appears on January 1st."

"Then what makes it an urban legend? It's just confirmed information, isn't it?"

"For both the special items and the special sale shop, the items you can buy vary by year. But..."

"......?"

"On January 1st, there are items for sale exclusively for first-year students. That's why I called it an urban legend."

"Why? Is that not allowed?"

"The Dragon Badge Exchange ends precisely at midnight on January 1st! Historically, it has never ended before midnight. Besides, it takes a whole day to travel from the Starting Forest to the mainland, even by black boat."

"So, a first-year student can't set foot on the mainland until January 2nd at the earliest?"

"That's right! Even though some second-year students give up on the Dragon Badge Exchange and stay on the mainland to aim for the special sale, it's hard to believe that there are items for sale exclusively for first-year students. And they're cheap, too."

"Special discount sale, right? So, they're naturally sold at a lower price."

"No, it's not just that. Items worth tens or hundreds of thousands of points, which you'd never even see normally, are sold for just a few thousand or ten thousand points."

"Is that even possible? Who said that?"

"...I can't say."

"Now?"

"Ah, anyway, it's information rated as 'Upper' in accuracy. It's a high-level piece of information, not just some urban legend."

Yurie's eyes sparkled slightly at Jerry's evasive tone.

But she didn't show any particular reaction and changed the subject.

"If it's true, then the Cradle is just taunting us, right? Since you obviously can't buy anything, they're just letting you watch and lick your lips?"

"Given how the Cradle likes to play tricks, it's highly likely."

Yurie nodded half-heartedly in response to Jerry's story.

Jerry, excited, continued to speak passionately.

"There's no way a probationary student would have enough points to use the special sale shop."

Nod.

"Even if someone did, how would they get to the mainland?"

Nod, nod.

"They're not going to swim the entire distance, right?"

Nod--- tilt.

Yurie, who had been nodding half-heartedly, suddenly stopped and tilted her head.

'Huh?'

Someone with plenty of points.

Someone who can swim to the mainland from the Cradle?

'That... is me, isn't it?'

"Honestly, the Cradle is a bit malicious..."

Mutter, mutter.

Jerry kept talking, but Yurie, lost in thought, didn't hear him.

'Is it really true?'

From Jerry's tone, it seemed he had some confidence.

'He said it was information rated as 'Upper' in accuracy, didn't he?'

From Jerry's casual remark, Yurie gained a certain conviction.

'That means someone classifies the information.'

In other words, there might be a group within the Cradle where students exchange or buy and sell information.

Thinking this way, Jerry's 'urban legend of the special sale shop' seemed somewhat credible.

Of course, that didn't mean she wasn't still conflicted.

'Special discount items for first-year students who haven't even set foot on the mainland...'

First, getting that information.

Then, accumulating at least tens of thousands of points.

And finally, arriving on the mainland by midnight on January 1st.

If she were a regular probationary student, she wouldn't have been able to achieve any of these.

'Actually, I wouldn't have known about the special sale if this talkative senior hadn't told me.'

Is it right to act on this information I stumbled upon by chance?

Can I leave the Starting Forest before the exam ends?

What about the consequences?

Should I just wait for the exam to end without doing anything strange?

All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind.

'But the temptation of the bait thrown at me is too strong to just let it go...'

The opportunity to buy rare items worth tens or hundreds of thousands of points at a rock-bottom price.

If this urban legend of the special sale shop is true, it would be a huge opportunity for Yurie.

An opportunity that only she could seize.

Because of this, Yurie's conflict only grew longer.

After a while of deep thought.

'Wait, what did that one-eyed guy say?'

She recalled the five conditions the one-eyed man had mentioned on the first day of the survival exam.

[First, survive for a month. Only those who survive tenaciously will shed the 'probationary' label and become the 50th batch of students.]

[Second, murder among probationary students is forbidden, but everything else is allowed.]

[Third, the Dragon Badge you carry is your life. If it is damaged, you are considered dead.]

[Fourth, there is no chance for a retake. Those who fail here will never be allowed to set foot on the land of the Cradle.]

[Finally, fifth, if you want to give up, strike the bell. You'll be sent back to your parents' home safely. Hehehe.]

And the last thing he said.

[Remember, only those who survive until January 1st will truly set foot on the land of the Cradle!]

The one-eyed man disappeared after saying just that.

In other words, the only rules the Cradle had given for the Starting Forest were those.

'Nowhere in his words did he say that leaving the forest would disqualify you.'

There were only two conditions for disqualification.

Striking the bell or having your Dragon Badge damaged.

With that, Yurie's dilemma was over.

"Ah."

Having reached a conclusion, Yurie smiled and stood up.

"Ouch."

Her thighs were sore from squatting for a long time while talking to Jerry, so she patted them.

After loosening her legs and back, she picked up the sword she had placed on the ground.

Swish.

The sword blade, emitting a faint white light, was revealed.

Jerry, who had been talking enthusiastically, finally turned pale when he saw this.

"What, what are you doing?!"

"......"

"I thought you said you'd let me go if I told you everything!"

Are you going to finish me off now that you've gotten what you wanted?!

This thought was clearly visible on Jerry's face.

Yurie, facing him, moved her sword without a word.

"Damn it!"

As the sword blade approached, Jerry squeezed his eyes shut.

Then.

Rip.

The expected pain didn't come.

Hearing the sound nearby, Jerry slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing this, Yurie smirked and said,

"You're scared."

"......"

"Stay still. Don't move and get cut accidentally."

Rip, rip.

Yurie's white steel sword dug into the soil, digging a hole.

Jerry, watching the sword blade busily digging around him, had a slightly embarrassed look.

"Ugh, if you wanted to dig, you should have said so... You scared me."

Regardless of Jerry's grumbling, Yurie continued without stopping.

When she had dug down to Jerry's abdomen, the wooden ropes binding him appeared. Yurie cut a few strands and asked,

"So, Senior Jerry, what will you do if I let you go?"

Yurie's sudden use of the senior title made Jerry look flustered.

"Let, let me go? Well... I still need to participate in the Dragon Badge Exchange to earn points."

"Is that so?"

His answer made Yurie's eyes gleam suspiciously.

But that feeling quickly subsided.

Yurie said casually,

"Then, how about I give you some good information?"

"Information? What kind of information?"

"Information about probationary students with the Yellow Dragon Badge who have plenty of points."

"......?"

"Trust me, most of the Yellow Dragon Badges wandering around this forest now are just empty husks. The other 49 batches are probably all chasing ghosts."

"......?"

"How do you know that?"

"......I can't tell you that. So, are you interested in my information?"

"Of course I'm interested, but..."

Honestly, how could he not be interested?

If what she said was true, it meant that even if he searched hard, he'd likely end up chasing ghosts.

Moreover, the probationary students with points were said to have the Yellow Dragon Badge.

'Not all probationary students are like this guy, but... the Gold Dragon Badge and White Dragon Badge holders are too risky to mess with.'

After being thoroughly beaten by Yurie, his initial confidence had vanished.

Jerry thought it was better to target Yellow Dragon Badge or Silver Dragon Badge holders rather than risk dealing with Gold or White Dragon Badge holders.

To him, Yurie's offer was quite tempting.

The only problem was...

"...Why? Why are you offering this information for free? Why?"

"Of course, it's not free."

"...What do you want?"

"Nothing much. Just a simple favor later on."

"Fine..."

At the mention of a favor, Jerry was about to say, 'Fine, I won't do it,' without any hesitation.

Dealing with a crazy person with ulterior motives was never a good choice.

Originally, the shorter the association with a crazy person, the better.

So, Jerry was about to firmly refuse.

But he didn't, because of one word Yurie had casually thrown out.

"Three."

"......?"

"The three Yellow Dragon Badge probationary students I'll tell you about... If you gather their points, it should be a considerable amount. At least four digits."

"......!"

Jerry's eyes widened.

'Three? Four digits of points?'

That was a significant temptation.

'At least 1,000 points... If I catch those three quickly and then clean out other probationary students during the remaining time, I could make a decent profit.'

He had already wasted a lot of time being interrogated by Yurie.

Even if he moved quickly now, he didn't know how many points he could gather.

'What should I do...?'

A simple favor from a crazy person.

Or a chance to efficiently and reliably gather four digits of points.

As Jerry's dilemma stretched on, Yurie's soft voice broke through.

"Unnecessary long deliberation will only fill someone else's point pouch."

"......?!"

"If you don't move quickly, the other 49 batches will get there first. Tick-tock, tick-tock."

When shopping, nothing clouds a buyer's judgment more than phrases like 'closing soon, sale ending soon!'

Jerry, feeling the urgency in Yurie's words, exclaimed,

"Ah!"

Snap—crack—.

Rip.

With a scream, Jerry exerted his strength, and the ropes Yurie had cut came loose.

At the same time, his arm, buried in the soil, was pulled out.

Jerry, with gleaming eyes, reached out to Yurie.

"Fine! I'll accept your offer!"

Yurie, shaking the dirt-covered hand in front of her, smiled broadly.

"An excellent choice, Senior!"

* * *

Clunk.

The moment the pouch landed in his palm, Jerry's flashback ended.

He left the unconscious Eric behind and continued moving.

"That makes two."

Before meeting Eric, he had already cleaned out another student and obtained a decent amount of points.

In total, he had already surpassed 2,000 points.

Jerry smiled contentedly.

'Honestly, I thought I might have been scammed by that guy...'

The story about the Yellow Dragon Badge probationary students with many points turned out to be true.

Jerry, unaware that Yurie had headed south, looked in the direction of her hiding place and said with a slight tone of regret,

"You, even though you're a pain in the ass... you turned out to be a pretty reliable guy."

* * *

"...I wonder if our innocent Senior Jerry is still running around?"

Yurie, who had successfully evaded Teresa, looked up at the sky and muttered.