Chapter 54. The Troublemaker (2)

Click.

Stunned, Yoo Ri was staring at the vision of the bone clan when a loud swallow brought her back to her senses.

Rustle.

Shaking her head vigorously, Yoo Ri's eyes, which had been half-glazed, returned to normal.

'You know what it is and you're trying to eat it! Get a grip!'

Is this green liquid a poison or a medicine?

If it's medicine, what kind of effects does it have?

Right now, there's no information at all.

"Normally, you should eat the delicious things first..."

Delicious things aren't just delicious to me.

So, delicious things should always be eaten first.

If someone else takes it, it would be a big problem, wouldn't it?

'In professional terms, it means that if you don't use it, it will go to waste.

Expensive, good, and delicious things should be put in your mouth first, no matter where or when.

That's how Yoo Ri has lived so far, and it's the secret to surviving on the streets.

However,

"...I'll put this on hold for now."

There are exceptions, like this time.

If I put it in my mouth recklessly, who knows what might happen.

Clang.

Smack.

Yoo Ri, who had slightly smacked her lips, tucked the pendant inside her clothes.

At the same time, she turned her body north and started running.

Yoo Ri's eyes, which were staring straight ahead, were bright and clear.

'This is so refreshing that I won't be able to sleep, and since this is where I'll be living from now on, it wouldn't be bad to secure a place early.'

Even though she has become a real initiate by removing the probationary label, her situation won't be much different from the Starting Forest.

Every day will be a continuous struggle for self-sufficiency.

Therefore, she intended to find a hiding place and a home from now on.

'It's a place where I have to stay for at least a year, or even longer, so I need to find a proper place.'

However, the northern area is a living area where first and second-year initiates live together.

Most of the good places have already been taken by the second-year initiates.

To secure a relatively good place among the remaining ones, she had to move early before the other 50 initiates arrived.

Moreover, since the second-year initiates have left due to the dragon scale change, there's no better time to explore the northern area without any interference.

"Hmm~."

Yoo Ri's steps as she ran were very light and lively.

She had already obtained what she wanted, and she no longer had to rush.

Her body was light, and her mind was clear.

There was nothing to be careful about like in the west and east, so there was no reason for Yoo Ri's steps to be heavy.

'First, I need to search this area.'

While running quickly, she set the conditions for the hiding place she wanted in her mind.

First, it should be easy to guard against external intruders.

'That's the most important requirement for a hiding place.'

Second, it shouldn't be too far from the central area with the circular arena.

'It would be good to be close to the central area if I want to use shops or other facilities.'

Third, it should have a secluded training space.

'Since inspiration will come from time to time, I need a training space where I won't be exposed to the outside.'

After all, it wouldn't be good to show the magic currents they are researching to others.

'A hiding place that meets all these conditions... It won't be easy. Let's check out the underground tunnels first.'

Thus, Yoo Ri searched various places in the northern area as she moved north.

Although the northern area was very wide, the traces of the 49th initiates were surprisingly easy to find.

To be precise, the traces of the 49th initiates who had settled near the central area.

'Since people think similarly, the 49th initiates must have tried to settle as close to the central area as possible.'

And the traces of human habitation that she found.

Seeing them, Yoo Ri defined the 49th initiates' lives in one word.

"Refugees?"

Yoo Ri's head shook involuntarily.

"Wow... How are these people living?"

The 49th initiates have been living in the northern area for a year.

If Yoo Ri had been given that much time, she would have at least set up the basic necessities for human life.

However, the traces of the 49th initiates' lives that she found in the northern area were at a truly primitive level.

"Tsk."

She clicked her tongue, then suddenly remembered something and was startled.

'Hmm, thinking about how the 50th initiates went crazy in the Starting Forest... Is this actually impressive?'

Finding a somewhat plausible situation, Yoo Ri nodded slightly.

After that, Yoo Ri quickly passed by uninteresting places and expanded her search area again.

About 10 minutes later.

"Oh?"

Yoo Ri found a place that somewhat met the conditions she had set.

It was a cave hidden behind a small waterfall.

Swish.

After looking around the cave behind the waterfall, she shook her head.

'It's a good distance from the central area, well-hidden, and the internal space is spacious, so it's not bad, but...'

The only problem was the sound of the waterfall.

'If the sound of the waterfall drowns out the sound of intruders, the response might be delayed.'

For that reason, Yoo Ri turned away without any regret.

After that, she looked at many places.

However, each time, there was something wrong with them.

If the conditions were good for guarding against intruders, the internal space was too small.

If the internal space was spacious, it was too exposed.

If all the conditions were met, it was already occupied by someone else.

Despite her efforts, the situation of finding nothing useful continued.

However, Yoo Ri did not give up and continued her search.

She didn't expect to find a good place in a short time anyway.

About an hour later.

While pushing through the grass, a strange place caught Yoo Ri's eye.

"Huh?"

It was a crack in the ground.

The width was about 1 meter.

However, the depth was so dark that it was impossible to guess.

At first, Yoo Ri was going to pass by without much thought.

However,

'Huh?'

She noticed a very small light flickering from deep within the crack.

'Did I see it wrong?'

But Yoo Ri shook her head.

Although it had disappeared now, she was sure she had seen a light from deep within.

And,

"......?!"

The small light flickered again.

It piqued her curiosity.

'A light underground?'

Her instincts kicked in.

There must be something interesting down there.

With a smile, Yoo Ri fearlessly jumped into the crack.

It was almost like throwing herself off a cliff.

Of course, Yoo Ri didn't jump without any preparation.

Squish.

Her legs caught on the split earth walls as she fell.

She used that force to control her descent.

Squish, squish, squish.

Dust flew.

The deeper she went, the more her eyes sparkled.

'...Look at this?'

At first, the entrance was about 1 meter wide, just enough for one person to pass through.

However, the distance between the walls widened as she went deeper.

In other words, it was a kind of hourglass-shaped terrain that widened as she went deeper.

Finally, when the width became too wide to support with her legs, Yoo Ri alternately kicked the walls with her legs.

Thud, thud, thud.

Left, right.

With each kick, her body descended further.

When the distance between the walls exceeded 2 meters,

Yoo Ri finally reached the place where she had first seen the light.

And it was really there.

A fist-sized hole from which a faint light was leaking.

Yoo Ri, who had kicked the wall, stopped to investigate the hole.

The moment she extended her hand to touch the hole,

Crack, thud.

A sound of something collapsing was heard, and Yoo Ri's balance was thrown forward.

'Ugh, uh?!'

Her upper body was suddenly thrown forward before she could react.

The surroundings had suddenly brightened.

A flat floor was quickly approaching her nose.

Slightly startled, Yoo Ri calmly regained her balance.

'In situations like this, don't panic, and use the falling technique...!'

Yoo Ri used the forward momentum to perform a forward roll.

Roll, roll, roll.

It was a perfect forward roll, textbook-worthy.

Yoo Ri, praising her own calmness and reflexes, stood up with her arms spread wide.

"Ta-da!"

...she exclaimed.

At the same time, Yoo Ri froze in that position.

"......?!"

Yoo Ri, who had faced countless situations, from battles to aerial combat, and was proud of never having experienced anything she hadn't seen before at a young age,

Even he couldn't take any action at the sight before him.

He just blinked his eyes.

Blink, blink.

'...Huh? So... what is this... an absurd situation?'

Yoo Ri, who had performed a cool forward roll and stood up impressively,

What greeted him was none other than...

"......"

"......"

...two naked people.

A man and a woman, naked and embracing each other as if they were one.

Clearly, they were in the middle of 'that situation.'

Just before the grand event.

"......"

"......"

"......"

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