226 – Maybe, Haildo, Deserted Island #4
Sniff, sniff.
I focused on my sense of smell as I pushed through the brush.
There was a sweet scent at the tip of my nose.
“Oh, Seo Ye-rim, look at this. It’s blackberries.”
I managed to gather a handful of berries, roughly the size of a thumb joint, from the undergrowth. It wasn’t enough to fill my empty stomach, but it was better than nothing.
I also picked some aloe vera that was growing on the ground.
“Wow, there’s food everywhere. Seo Ye-rim, how could you go three days without eating when there’s so much food around?”
Chomp, chomp, chomp.
Seo Ye-rim, who was munching on the aloe like a squirrel beast, stopped in her tracks when she heard me. She frowned slightly and turned her gaze away, replying in a somewhat sulky tone.
“I didn’t see any. I was too preoccupied with the thought of finding people rather than looking for food. But I found you in the end.”
That was true.
It was quite surprising that Seo Ye-rim managed to find me.
Fortunately, I had plenty of experience foraging for herbs and mugwort in Primal Village, wandering through the fields with the Nymph Inoi.
It meant I was somewhat trained in distinguishing between edible and inedible plants, as well as fruits that were safe to eat and poisonous mushrooms.
“Hey! Look at this! It’s a mushroom! What do you think? I can do this, too! This mushroom looks like it’s edible, doesn’t it? It doesn’t look flashy, but it’s plump and seems delicious!”
Swoosh.
Seo Ye-rim raised her hands high, as if she’d found a treasure, having spotted a mushroom growing at the base of a tree. She looked very proud, but unfortunately, I had to shake my head.
“No, that one’s poisonous. This mushroom over here is edible.”
Pluck.
I pulled up a mushroom growing near the tree. It was a colorful mushroom reminiscent of a ladybug, with a red cap and white spots that stood out.
It looked like something out of a game.
“Even though it looks like an obvious poisonous mushroom, that one is edible? And this one can’t be eaten?”
Seo Ye-rim compared the two mushrooms in her hands, sniffing them with a rather relaxed demeanor.
She seemed to find it fascinating that I could consistently distinguish between mushrooms and fruits, and to be honest, I was surprised as well. I never thought the skill I had recently trained in, “Wild Instinct,” would be so useful.
Perhaps the senses I retained from the time I had transformed into a giant squirrel were still lingering.
When I had become the large squirrel Haildo, I was bewildered, but looking back now, I realized that if I hadn’t had that experience, I would have definitely been struggling.
Sniff, sniff.
I twitched my nose again and listened carefully.
I heard the sound of water flowing by my ear.
“Ah, there’s water after all.”
Drip, drip, drip.
I discovered a stream flowing between the rocks inside the island. The water was very clear and transparent, so much so that I could see the fish swimming in it.
The depth was about knee-high.
Slurp.
After taking a sip, it tasted just like ordinary water.
However, I thought it would be good to boil it before drinking, as there could be parasites or other harmful substances.
“First, let’s set up a base camp around here. I think we can make a simple tent using branches and leaves. Seo Ye-rim, can you make a campfire for boiling the water?”
Building a campsite in nature, with no one around, was a task as common as any for first-generation Awakened like me.
Now that we couldn’t use magic, the most important things for survival were shelter and fire.
I propped some nearby branches into the ground and used vine stems and leaves to create a makeshift tent.
It was just big enough for one person to fit snugly, but I was thankful for that. Luckily, I also found a crumpled metallic plate. After hammering it into shape, it seemed usable as a “pot.”
“Luck is on my side.”
If I had had an axe, I would have chopped down some trees to build a hut.
“Seo Ye-rim, the tent is set up. It’ll be enough to protect us from the wind and drizzle. Have you started the campfire? I need to boil some water. I found a pot as well.”
I shared the good news with Seo Ye-rim.
But Seo Ye-rim just stood there looking blank.
Suddenly—
A thought struck me like lightning.
“Seo Ye-rim, can you create a fire? It’s kind of funny asking you this.”
Seo Ye-rim was known as the “Fire Witch.”
She boasted the strongest firepower among flame users worldwide, and she was also the most experienced fire mage.
Creating a small campfire should be an easy task for her.
“…….”
However, Seo Ye-rim didn’t respond.
The way her eyes darted left and right seemed to indicate that she was quite anxious.
Let’s take a guess.
Seo Ye-rim, since she relied on magic to create fire, likely couldn’t handle fire in this island’s climate and environment, which seemed to drain her magic rapidly.
Soon, Seo Ye-rim snapped as if to affirm my thought.
“I can start a fire easily, you know…!”
She picked up a stick from the ground and began rubbing it against a nearby tree. It was a very awkward action, something I could hardly imagine, and I found myself feeling dizzy.
The Fire Witch couldn’t even start a fire?
# # #
Sweat dripped down my forehead.
Having continuously rubbed the wood made my mouth dry and my breathing ragged.
But there was no sign of fire.
Seo Ye-rim collapsed as if exhausted.
“…….”
Her eyes rolled back.
In Seo Ye-rim’s eyes, she saw the figure of Haildo, using a sharpened stick like a spear to catch fish in the stream.
He had already caught three large ones, and he looked quite skilled.
“Local guy, huh.”
It was amusing.
At the same time, it was very reassuring. Thinking back to the days of searching for people while avoiding darkness without sleep, it gave me great relief that Haildo was around.
On the other hand, there was a slight feeling of injustice.
“I’m Seo Ye-rim, an S-ranked player. The daughter of Telos. The top student at St. Maria’s Private Girls’ High School… The elite among the elites….”
Seo Ye-rim took pride in always being the best. That pride was like a pillar that supported her.
But here on this island, Seo Ye-rim was powerless.
Being part of a chaebol family, being the greatest fire mage, and everything she had studied until now were of no help at all.
It was frustrating.
I felt a tear might well up, but I held it back.
“Still, I’m glad I’m not alone.”
Seo Ye-rim truly felt relieved to have found Haildo.
Swoosh.
So, unable to resist the fatigue that had built up over the past few days, Seo Ye-rim fell fast asleep.
“…I wasn’t sleeping!”
When Seo Ye-rim suddenly woke up in shock, darkness had fallen and the crackling of the campfire could be heard nearby.
Haildo was sitting in front of it, grilling fish.
“You weren’t sleeping? You were sleeping so well. If you’re awake, you should eat this.”
Swoosh.
Haildo handed her a fish that was skewered on a stick.
It was very warm and the flesh was delicious.
“What is this fish?”
“I don’t know. Everything that grows on this island is something I’ve never seen before. The phenomena caused by the Rift are all like that. But at least it’s good that we’ve secured enough water and food.”
Crackle.
Haildo was eating whatever mysterious thing he had caught, munching on it to the point that it was crunchy.
Whoosh!
Just then, a cold wind blew by.
“Ugh-choo!”
Seo Ye-rim couldn’t withstand the cold and sneezed.
Her body felt unwell.
She felt like she was getting a cold, a discomfort she hadn’t experienced since puberty.
“Ugh-choo! Achoo!”
Seo Ye-rim continued to sneeze and sniffle.
Soon, Haildo, who had been tying stones and branches together to make arrows, stood up and approached her, placing his hand on her forehead.
Swoosh.
When she felt his hand was cold, Haildo spoke.
“You might have a touch of a cold, huh?”
Whoosh!
The cold wind continued to blow fiercely.
The weather on the island, which had just felt like a tropical climate, now seemed to plummet toward below zero.
Haildo lifted his head.
Something cold fell onto his forehead.
“Snow…?”
Haildo opened his palm in surprise. Several relatively large snowflakes fell into his hand, and he gazed at them in shock.
“No way, it’s snowing? What’s with the climate? Isn’t this a tropical island?”
It was not a normal climate.
It was truly a deserted island experiencing bizarre weather.
Seo Ye-rim continued to shiver, and even though she tried to warm herself near the campfire, the cold wouldn’t dissipate.
The snow began to fall more heavily, and Haildo looked around, seeming somewhat troubled as he spoke.
“If body temperature drops, our chances of survival decrease. There’s not much we can do.”
Swoosh, swoosh.
Haildo began to take off his clothes.
He turned to Seo Ye-rim and said.
“You should take yours off too.”
“What? Wh-what are you talking about? Why do you want me to take off my clothes? I don’t know what you’re planning since we’re the only two here! The moment they hear I’m missing, Telos or the government will send a rescue team! We’ll be rescued soon! Don’t do anything reckless!”
“What are you talking about? If we want to raise our body temperature, the best way is to huddle together. They taught us this in training. How could you forget such a basic thing?”
Haildo, having removed his upper clothing, enveloped Seo Ye-rim in an embrace. Her mind felt dizzy as he started to undress her.
“Hey! Wait, just, hold on! I’ll do it! I’ll take it off! Just wait! Ugh! Ugh!”
Soon, Seo Ye-rim found herself stripped down.
Haildo wrapped Seo Ye-rim, who was only in her underwear, in his clothing like a sleeping bag.
Warm.
Haildo’s body heat was very warm. Seo Ye-rim had been so cold until a moment ago, but now she felt so warm that she thought she might pass out from the intensity.
Her heart raced, and her mind became hazy.
“Tomorrow, I plan to climb that mountain over there. If we get to a high enough point, we should be able to see the island in one glance. Perhaps we’ll even find other friends. Seo Ye-rim, are you listening to me?”
‘…….’
Swoosh.
Feeling reckless, Seo Ye-rim buried her face into the nape of Haildo’s neck.
‘Deserted island life is the best…!’
We were certain of being rescued within a few days anyway.
So perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to just keep staying here together like this.
It was what this deserted island entertainment was originally meant for!
‘But, why is he so calm even though I’m cuddling with just my underwear on? I’m the prettiest girl in the world, and I’m in just my underwear, yet he seems so relaxed?’
Crump.
Seo Ye-rim felt a bit upset for some reason.
A sense of determination bubbled up.
‘Let’s see how relaxed you can be while I’m like this!’
# # #
A jolt.
Yu Ari frowned at the sensation resonating in her nape.
Soon, her companion Lee Jin-A, who was beside her, asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I just have this very unpleasant feeling, a really bad one.”
Yu Ari rubbed her nape.
Lee Jin-A then leaned her head out of the cave.
It was dark outside, and the sound of branches swaying in the wind was loud.
“Is it a more unpleasant feeling than suddenly snowing? More unpleasant than the bear we met earlier? This is troublesome.”
Lee Jin-A and Yu Ari had been stranded on the island together, surviving for three days now.
They had planned to climb the mountain they saw far away, but now had to change their plans due to the snowfall.
Boom…! Boom…!
“What is that noise…?”
Swoosh.
Lee Jin-A pulled out a dagger from her waist as she heard the sound in the darkness.
