Chapter 50. Special Discount Store (2)

The one-eyed man and the surrounding Black Sword Guards all blinked in surprise at the sudden change in Yurui's stance.

In the silent stillness.

The one-eyed man, representing everyone, asked.

"…You didn’t even hesitate?"

"I’m not stupid enough to spit out an opportunity that’s practically handed to me, nor am I full enough to do so."

"You sure have a thick skin."

"Actually, I feel a bit… embarrassed by all the praise."

"……."

Yurui, scratching the back of his head as if truly embarrassed, made the one-eyed man speechless.

Meanwhile, Yurui bowed with a look of extreme satisfaction on his face.

"To return the items, we need to move a bit… How about I guide you to the hiding place right now?"

"…Do it."

Normally, such a task would be left to the subordinates.

But at this point, he couldn’t help but be curious.

Indeed, where had this creature been doing all this?

Where had he hidden the stolen points?

Thus, the one-eyed man followed Yurui, who moved cautiously.

The Black Sword Guards followed behind them.

The place they arrived at, led by Yurui, was quite far from the base, by the water.

As soon as they arrived, Yurui jumped into the water without giving them a chance to stop him.

Splash.

He advanced through the water without hesitation, quickly diving under.

A moment later.

Bubbles.

Yurui reappeared with a rope in his hand, which he had pulled out of the water.

"Ugh!"

Yurui, now on the shore, gave a small shout and pulled the rope, causing the items tied to it to be dragged out one by one.

The one-eyed man and the Black Sword Guards were once again at a loss for words.

"Wow…"

The one-eyed man’s faint sigh.

After all, they had thought that only the points had been stolen.

But the items being dragged out were not just points.

Clothes that looked like they belonged to the Black Sword Guards.

Boots, canteens, raincoats, belts, hats, and more.

Moreover, several items of each kind were tied together, which made the one-eyed man speak in disbelief.

"…Didn’t you say you didn’t steal?"

"No, I didn’t steal these."

"Then what?"

"Taking war spoils isn’t usually called stealing, right?"

"……."

"Ah, and I was told I could take half of the spoils I obtained, right?"

"……."

The one-eyed man finally acknowledged something.

He had overestimated Yurui Holland.

'This guy didn’t avoid my tent because he had some intention; he just came out empty-handed because there was nothing to steal.'

At that moment, the one-eyed man growled in frustration.

"Who caught him… who?"

A Black Sword Guard stepped forward and gave his name and rank.

"Black Sword Guard Unit 21…!"

"Enough. You can take a vacation."

"…What?"

"It’s a reward vacation. Nine nights, ten days."

"Thank you, sir!"

"If you had broken his limbs, I would have given you thirty nights, but… tsk."

"……?!"

"Also, this guy… hmm?"

The one-eyed man, frowning as he looked at Yurui, seemed puzzled for a moment.

'Now that I think about it, this guy’s aura has grown significantly?'

It had been over twenty days since he last saw Yurui in that cave.

He had been so surprised by the sudden situation that he hadn’t noticed it until now.

'That he has grown so much in such a short time… Did he find and eat some kind of spirit medicine?'

Otherwise, it was rare for someone’s mana to increase so much in such a short period.

'Well, the Forest of Beginnings has been around for a long time, so it’s possible there are a few spirit medicines lying around.'

And if it was this guy, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had indeed found and eaten some.

He added 'petty and grudge-holding personality' to the information he had on the one-eyed man in his mind.

'Well, I did manage to get a decent amount of points, and the rest of the items aren’t completely unusable.'

The Black Sword Guards had followed the order to cut the items exactly in half so faithfully that the items were neatly halved.

Thanks to this, with a bit of repair, they might still be usable.

'Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have gone this far…'

However, from the perspective of someone who had been to the mainland, Yurui thought it was better to take what he could when he could, even if it seemed a bit petty.

Yurui’s head drooped slightly as he thought about the mainland.

"Ha ha… ha ha ha."

A soft chuckle echoed, and the golden eyes hidden in his hair flashed.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Yurui, who should have been in the Forest of Beginnings, was not there.

If leaving the Forest of Beginnings didn’t mean disqualification, there was no need to return.

'I was planning to appear with a flourish and join them on the mainland…'

But all his plans were completely derailed by a single encounter.

He had scrapped his original plan and made a new one.

As a result, Yurui had to endure the arduous journey of traveling back and forth between the Forest of Beginnings and the mainland.

"…You, you perverted troublemaker, just wait."

At that moment, a strange excitement laced his voice.

Yurui’s memories traced back to the past.

* * *

Around 3:00 AM on December 31.

Whoosh.

A sandy beach battered by waves.

Wet footprints were imprinted on the white sand.

The footprints led from the beach into a nearby forest, where a figure emerged.

Squish.

The figure, none other than Yurui, was wringing out his wet clothes in his underwear.

Plop!

After shaking off the excess water, he put his clothes back on and looked up at the sky.

Yurui’s expression slightly twisted.

"No wonder the mainland didn’t appear, I must have taken a wrong turn."

Yurui had left the Forest of Beginnings seven hours ago.

During that time, he had swum without stopping.

With a swimming speed several times faster than a regular boat, he should have arrived at his destination long before.

However, the problem was the worsening weather.

'If only the clouds hadn’t rolled in.'

Halfway through his swim, a snowstorm had obscured the sky.

Thus, Yurui, who had been navigating by the stars, had to rely on his instincts.

By the time the sky cleared and he could correct his course, he was already significantly off track.

As a result, Yurui had arrived at a completely different location than he had expected.

'Where am I now?'

The artificial island created by the Sword Master, Dragon’s Cradle.

According to Jerry, the mainland had a unique structure.

A giant oval-shaped land divided into four parts by two streams crossing in an X shape.

Dragon’s Cradle consisted of four large islands and a central island where the streams intersected, making a total of five islands.

Among them, the place where the first-year and second-year students stayed was the northern island, known as North Island.

Yurui had originally planned to arrive at the northernmost part of North Island and then move south.

But now, where he had arrived was…

"Tsk, the west side."

Judging from the sky, he was currently on the western coast of North Island.

'If it’s the west side, it’s the territory of the third-year students…'

North Island, where the Dragon’s Cradle students lived, was divided into four territories centered around the circular arena in the middle.

The northern territory, where the first and second-year students lived.

The western territory, where the third-year students resided.

The eastern territory, where the fourth-year students lived.

And the southern territory, where the fifth-year students stayed.

Recalling this, Yurui sighed softly.

'…This is going to be troublesome.'

At this time, all the first and second-year students were in the Forest of Beginnings, so the northern territory was empty.

In other words, it was a very convenient condition for Yurui, who was visiting the mainland for the first time.

On the other hand, the western and eastern territories, where the third and fourth-year students lived, were areas he had to avoid as much as possible, as anything could happen.

This would inevitably slow down his travel time.

'Should I follow the coast to the north and then move south?'

It was one option, but he thought it would take about the same amount of time, so he shook his head.

In the end, Yurui decided to head to the center from the west.

'Should I be grateful that it’s not the east side, where the fourth-year students are?'

Teresa, the top student of the second year, was no pushover.

Jerry, who was just a Silver Dragon Token holder, was also not a weakling.

Those who had survived and grown for another year were the third-year students.

Their strength was unknown.

'Jerry also said it’s better not to enter the seniors’ territories if possible.'

You might end up in a bad situation if you do.

Recalling this, Yurui tensed up and picked up the point box that was lying next to him.

'First, I need to move.'

There were 20 hours left until midnight on January 1.

Although he had plenty of time, it was easier to move without being noticed at dawn rather than during the day.

'I need to move as much as possible now and find a place to rest before it gets light.'

With this plan in mind, Yurui headed straight for the eastern area where the central zone was located.

As Yurui entered the deep forest, he soon sensed someone nearby and stopped.

Yurui’s eyes narrowed.

'Someone is coming!'

He quickly climbed the thickest tree and held his breath.

A short while later, a man and a woman appeared.

A man with purple hair and a woman with brown hair.

The two, holding hands affectionately, were about to pass by the tree Yurui was in when…

"Ah…!"

The man suddenly grabbed the woman’s wrist and pushed her towards the tree.

Thud.

Leaning one hand against the tree, the man lifted the woman’s chin with the other and kissed her aggressively.

At first, the woman seemed slightly startled, but she soon wrapped her arms around the man’s neck and accepted the kiss.

Yurui, who had inadvertently become a front-row spectator to the entire scene, watched in real-time.

Gulp.

His Adam’s apple moved strangely.