Chapter 87: Tiger Hunting (1)

Yuri and her friends slipped out of the training facility.

Creak— Thud— Bang!

The rusty iron gate closed with a strange sound.

“Sigh—”

Yuri spread her arms wide, taking in a full lungful of air.

The cold breeze entered, and the corners of Yuri’s mouth turned up slightly.

“Ah... the smell of this society.”

She had barely spent a day in there, yet the smell of the outside world felt so fragrant.

“Sigh— Sigh—”

As if determined to wash away the stuffy air, Yuri kept inhaling the cold air of the forest through her nostrils.

Behind her,

“Ugh...”

“Ugh...”

Pobi and Arin shuffled past Yuri like zombies.

Yuri placed her hands on their shoulders.

Click.

“What? Where are you going?

Pobi and Arin slowly turned their heads.

Yuri was taken aback by the indifferent expressions on their faces.

“...Why do you look like that?”

Her question was met with a cold tone.

“Who are you? A stranger is talking to me? Hmph!”

“I’m hungry!”

The two turned their heads away with a snort.

Yuri laughed and joked.

“Oh, why are you like this? We spent 17 hours and 44 minutes together.”

“Eek! Who wanted to be comrades with you!”

“I’m hungry!”

“Why did we have to suffer for something we didn’t do!”

“I’m hungry!”

Arin’s protest was met with enthusiastic nods from Pobi.

But Yuri just shrugged.

“I didn’t ask you to be by my side, did I?”

“What does that have to do with anything!”

“Think of it as a seat fee.”

“...A seat fee?”

“In exchange for being by my side, I’ll charge you. Well, you still owe me a lot... but let’s consider this as a down payment, and I’ll collect the rest slowly.”

“...A scoundrel?”

“...I’m hungry?”

Despite their gazes, which seemed to say they had never seen such a scoundrel in their lives, Yuri smiled.

But the words that followed from her mouth were quite different from that smile.

“You’d better get used to it. I’ll say it again, being by my side was your choice. So, tough it out.”

“...”

Pobi and Arin were speechless.

With such a shameless attitude, even the energy to protest drained away.

No, now they felt they couldn’t leave even if Yuri pushed them away.

Out of a sense of injustice, they had to stick around!

“Sigh...”

“...I’m hungry.”

Seeing the two sigh heavily, Yuri smiled gently and asked.

“So, do you have anything to do now? Want to do something with me?”

“What?”

Yuri’s answer came quickly.

“Tiger hunting.”

Their reactions were divided.

“Tiger hunting?”

Arin, who didn’t know what a tiger was, showed curiosity.

Startled!

Pobi, who had been dragged around by a tiger before Yuri, was startled and shuddered.

Yuri nodded at their different reactions.

“Yeah, I’m going to catch a tiger.”

“I’m hungry.”

Pobi shook his head.

Even if not precise, his action conveyed that he understood what she was saying.

“You can’t catch a tiger?”

Nod, nod.

Indeed, someone who had been caught by a tiger could say that.

But Yuri was resolute.

“No, we can. If you help me.”

During the time, Yuri had not just undergone hellish training.

She had been thinking and thinking.

How to catch a tiger.

She pondered and deliberated, and finally came up with a plan. For that plan, she needed Pobi and Arin.

Arin’s eyes sparkled as she recalled the memory of working together with Yuri.

“Oh? So you’re asking us to be your comrades?

“Not exactly comrades, just working together to catch a tiger.”

“Same thing! So we’re a squad now?”

“Sure, think of it that way.”

Yuri shrugged.

Despite this, Arin looked excited.

In contrast, Pobi still looked worried.

Yuri asked Pobi.

“What about you? Are you in?”

Though his worried expression didn’t disappear, Pobi nodded.

Since he had already decided to be by Yuri’s side, he had no choice.

Thus, the three-person squad was formed, and Yuri rubbed her hands together.

“Alright, let’s talk about the reward. When we catch the tiger, it’s 5 million points, so considering your contributions, 500,000 points...”

“Sure. Let’s do it!”

“I’m hungry.”

Without even hearing Yuri out, Arin and Pobi nodded.

Yuri’s eyes changed slightly.

“...250,000 points each. Are you in?”

“I don’t care. It sounds fun.”

“I’m hungry.”

Seeing their pure nods, as if they had no interest in the points, Yuri was quite moved.

‘Are these... angels?’

Originally, Yuri had planned to give each of them 10% of the 5 million points.

But Arin shouted “Sure!” and even dragged Pobi along.

Yuri wouldn’t let this opportunity slip.

She immediately adjusted the reward to 250,000 points per person.

Seeing their reaction, which seemed to say it didn’t matter much, she felt a deep sense of gratitude.

‘I... must have made good friends.’

Goodness, such kind friends.

Yuri was very pleased with her first friends.

And she had a feeling that things would go well.

“So, what now? What should we do first?”

“First...”

Arin urged, and Yuri answered with a clear voice.

“Let’s rest for a bit.”

Although the recommended daily sentence was 8 hours, they had endured 17 hours and 44 minutes without rest to get out as quickly as possible.

Thanks to Pobi’s skilled hands, they were in better shape, but Yuri had been groggy from the aftereffects of overusing her brain.

After 18 hours of hellish training, even she was exhausted.

‘It’ll be dawn soon.’

There was quite a bit of time before night fell again.

They needed to rest and recover their strength until then.

Thud.

Yuri led the way, with Pobi and Arin closely following.

Thus, Yuri and her friends returned to the forest of animals.

* * *

At noon.

Yuri and her friends appeared.

Their faces looked much better than when they had just been released.

Arin, who was loosening up, turned to Yuri.

“So, what now?”

“Follow me.”

Yuri nodded.

She led Pobi and Arin through the forest.

Their destination was none other than the wolf zone.

The reason Yuri was going to the wolf zone was simple.

‘I need information.’

To tackle the tiger, she needed various pieces of information.

So, she was heading to the wolf zone to conduct an experiment to gather that information.

Arin’s eyes sparkled as she recalled the memory of working together with Yuri.

“Are we going to catch a wolf?”

She seemed excited, thinking they might have a similar experience again.

But Yuri didn’t give her a direct answer.

She waved her hand lightly.

“No, you two rest for a bit over there.”

“Huh?”

Pobi and Arin tilted their heads.

They had formed a squad to hunt wolves together, so why were they being told to rest?

Their confusion was evident in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the wolf seemed to be slightly offended.

“Are you going to face me alone?”

“Yeah.”

“...”

Just as the 49th wolf’s brows were about to furrow, his eyes caught a glint.

“You... you’re that guy. Yuri Holland.”

“Do you know me?”

“No way. In this cradle, no one doesn’t know your name.”

“The 50th batch doesn’t know my name? Oh, except for them.”

Yuri pointed behind her with her thumb.

Although she hadn’t specifically taught them, Pobi and Arin had heard her name during the trial.

They were the first in the 50th batch to know Yuri’s name.

The 49th wolf adjusted his words.

“...Except for the 50th batch, no one in this cradle doesn’t know your name.”

“Wow, you changed your words so quickly. No backbone.”

“...You lack manners compared to your skills. Where did you sell your respect for seniors?”

“What did I sell? I never had anything to sell in the first place.”

Annoyed by Yuri’s tone, the wolf drew his sword.

“I guess I’ll have to teach you some respect for seniors.”

“Eh, with your skills? You might get hurt.”

Waving her hand, Yuri’s eyes curved like a crescent moon, looking incredibly annoying.

The 49th wolf, thinking he was overwhelming Yuri Holland, let out an excited roar.

“Is that all you’ve got! Walking fifteen steps in the Hundred Steps Ritual was just luck! Hahaha!”

“Grr!”

The wolf was excited, thinking he was pushing Yuri Holland.

Urgency was evident in every expression on Yuri’s face as she faced him.

Arin muttered softly.

“...He’s just a natural con artist.”

Look at that facial acting.

It would be harder not to be fooled.

Arin, who had been marveling at this, suddenly remembered what the wolf had said and was startled.

“Wait... fifteen steps in the Hundred Steps Ritual?”

Her eyes widened.

‘He... walked fifteen steps?!”

Goodness! How is that possible?

She had only managed six steps... no, she hadn’t even completed six steps before fainting.

Even before she fainted, Yuri had been walking at the front, and she had been curious about what happened after that... but fifteen steps?

Pobi was equally surprised by the news that Yuri had walked fifteen steps, and his eyes were wide open.

But what truly surprised them was just beginning.