It had bulging eyes that looked like they would pop out if tapped from behind, large spread out ears, and purple skin.

Gramble.

A monster with the appearance of a hairless little monkey.

At first glance, it didn’t seem like much.
And in reality, it wasn’t much.
In terms of combat ability, it was slightly stronger than a goblin, perhaps comparable to a adult goblin.

However, only during the day.

When night falls, its danger level shoots up vertically to the point where it surpasses goblins.

During the day, its ears, which are mixed with various noises and seem useless, become sensitive at night, capable of picking up even the slightest rustle of a sleeping prey turning in its sleep.
Its eyes, which struggle to open properly during the day due to the glare, allow it to see clearly even in the dark forest at night.
And if it senses that its opponent is beyond its capabilities, it will immediately flee, relying on its instinct.

‘Something feels annoying…’

As I thought about its characteristics, I felt a vague sense of irritation.

‘It’s a sensitive creature, so if it notices me, it might run away immediately.’

This forest is its familiar territory.

Even if I have the speed advantage, there’s a good chance I could lose it if it uses the terrain to its advantage and escapes.

Huff—

I held my breath and quietly moved behind it.

Ker-rur—

The monster rolled its large eyes, searching for prey.
But it didn’t seem to be cautious about the path it had taken, as its head only turned from side to side.

One step.

Another step.

Using the Dark Stride, I took long strides until I was within arm’s reach.

‘Now!’

Thud!

I pushed off with all my might and reached out.

Kwa-duk!!!

A brutal sound of bones breaking.

‘…Huh?’

The outcome was surprisingly anticlimactic considering the effort I had put in.

The Gramble hadn’t noticed my presence even as I charged towards it with unconcealed momentum.
In fact, it died without even uttering a scream as its neck twisted, unaware of what had struck it.

‘…Is the Dark Stride too overpowered?’

I scratched my head, looking down at the Gramble’s lifeless eyes, now staring blankly with its head twisted backwards.

“Well, at least I got a weapon now.”

I nodded and picked up the old, worn-out dagger that had been in its hand.

Whoosh—

Swish—

The dagger spun and danced in my hand as if it had a will of its own.

However, I frowned at the sensation I felt from the weapon.

“It’s a huge contrast going from using Moonlight to this.”

Unlike Moonlight, which always felt sharp and could withstand any amount of magic power I poured into it, this dagger’s blade was so dull that I doubted it could cut anything properly,
and its durability was so poor that it felt like it would break if I infused it with too much magic power.

“Still, it’s better than nothing.”

I let out a soft laugh.

No matter how inferior this dagger was, it was still a blade.
Having a weapon with a sharp edge expanded my senses and made the world around me sharper and clearer.

“Okay, now that I have a weapon, let’s take our time and find a good spot.”

I adjusted my grip on the dagger, took out a compass from my backpack, and headed north, following the direction indicated by the red needle.

.

.

.

As the dawn passed and the sun rose high in the sky,
Yoo-ri settled not far from where she had first landed.

‘Never underestimate nature. I need to move slowly and carefully.’

She was busy setting up her camp.

“Heave-ho!”

Snap—

With a show of strength, she snapped arm-thick tree branches like twigs.

Swish-swish!

Bang—!

Yoo-ri untangled the vines from her shoulders and securely fastened them so that the skeletal structure supported each other.
A square-pyramidal frame was erected, and she covered it with large leaves to create a shelter from the rain and wind.

Hoo—!

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at the makeshift shelter she had created.

“This is excellent!”

Yoo-ri proudly nodded, pleased with her handiwork.

When the mid-term evaluation began with the sudden kidnapping via airship, she had been just as bewildered as the other cadets.

But soon, she realized that this test had been prepared specifically for her.

Survival on a deserted island!

Wasn’t this her area of expertise?

She was confident that she could excel at crafting various items and living off the land in such a remote area!

Unlike other hunters who tend to overprepare when entering a dungeon, Yoo-ri, due to her financial situation, always had to make do with scarce or insufficient supplies, and this had honed her adaptability.

“It’s the first time being poor has come in handy.”

Pfft—

Yoo-ri let out a soft laugh at her own words.

“Okay, so I’ve got the shelter done. Now, fire and water? Hmm, no. First, I need to take care of the insects.”

Even for a physically robust hunter, underestimating nature could lead to trouble.

In a forest like this, the most dangerous thing was poison.

Often, tiny insects that were barely visible to the eye could carry deadly toxins that threatened one’s life.

“……Still, this is a bit much.”

She frowned slightly as she held a few leaves in her hand, considering them.

The leaves she had plucked while gathering tree branches and vines earlier.

They were off-yellow in color and had wings spreading out on both sides.

Offria leaves.

Crushing these leaves and applying the juice to one’s body would keep most insects at bay.

Even monsters found the smell unpleasant and tended to avoid it, making it a useful deterrent.

“But the smell is unpleasant to me, too. And it makes my skin itch… Although it doesn’t have any adverse effects on the skin…”

Yoo-ri stared at the leaves for a moment before steeling herself and vigorously grinding them on a flat rock with another stone.

“Ugh… As expected, the smell is awful!”

Even before applying it to her body, the pungent odor assaulted her nose, making her gag.
She persevered, grinding the leaves and smearing the paste on her body.

Ugh—

The smell was almost unbearable, and the brown color made it look unsightly.

“……But the nose will adapt, so it’s better to distract myself with another task.”

Next on her list was fire, an essential element for survival.

She wrinkled her nose at the overwhelming odor and jammed a dry piece of wood into the ground.
Then, she began rubbing two sticks together above it.

“Grrrr!”

With rapid back-and-forth motions, she quickly produced smoke between the two wood pieces.

“Oh, right! I need tinder to start the fire!”

She frantically looked around, but it was unlikely to find loose fibers lying around on a deserted island.
Then, her gaze fell on her clothes.

“……Anyway, I probably won’t be able to wear these clothes again after this mid-term evaluation, right?”

She would have to make do with this single set of clothing for two weeks in this harsh environment.
While the clothes were sturdy and well-made, it was obvious what state they would be in after two weeks of roughing it.

Her hesitation was brief.

“Yeah, whatever. It’s just a few threads.”

Yoo-ri tore a small piece from the hem of her top and pulled out some threads.

“I can use this as tinder, and for water, there’s a river right next to us… I can do a simple primary purification by digging a hole near the water source and boiling the water. Oh, but I’ll need a container to boil the water in.”

She mumbled to herself as she continued to rub the wood vigorously.

“Even I, who’s used to this kind of thing, am struggling. I wonder how Jin Yuha is doing…”

Suddenly, Jin Yuha came to mind.

While he was a skilled dealer and a reliable party leader, he was unlikely to have knowledge of survival skills like these.

Imagining him wandering around cluelessly made her heart go out to him.

“Sigh, if I don’t take care of him, who will? I should probably go pick up Jin Yuha soon.”

She wondered how surprised he would be if she brought him to the shelter she had made.

A broad smile spread across her face as she imagined his expression.

.

.

.

I had been busy moving throughout the night and was now setting up my base camp in a small cave near the shop.

Of course, it was quite far from the center of the island, but there was no rush to go there as the battles between the cadets wouldn’t start until a week later.

Being a cave that also appeared in the game, I was familiar with the surrounding terrain.

At first, I had been unsure if this was the same place, but when I found a sleeping bear inside, I knew for certain.

This was indeed the same location.

I quietly approached the sleeping bear and thrust my dagger into its throat.
The bear woke up and went berserk, but it was too late as its throat had already been pierced; it posed no threat.

After securing the meat,
I began setting up my base camp.

Chwaak—!

I threw a ball of cloth the size of a basketball, and a large tent automatically unfolded and stood tall.

“As expected, pop-up tents are amazing! Ouch!”

As I raised both arms in praise of the tent, I suddenly felt a stinging sensation on my forearm.

A mosquito the size of my index finger was sucking blood from my arm.
But this wasn’t an ordinary mosquito; it was almost the size of my finger.

“So disgusting!”

Swish-swish!

I shook my arm, and the mosquito flew away.

“Are there mosquitoes here? No, this is crazy…”

Wiiiing—

I looked up, and a swarm of mosquitoes was gathered above the cave.
Due to their size, the flapping of their wings sounded quite threatening.

“If I had been bitten by those bastards while I was sleeping, I would have been sucked dry and turned into a mummy in no time.”

I pulled out a spray bottle from my backpack with a stern expression.

Chiiiik—

Chiiiik—

I sprayed the repellent all around me and the tent, creating a protective barrier.

Wing— Wing— Wing—!

The mosquitoes immediately went into a frenzy and flew out of the cave like black smoke.

“It’s a good thing I brought the insect repellent spray.”

After easily repelling the mosquitoes,
I rummaged through my backpack, pulled out a sleeping bag, and tossed it into the tent.
I also set up a hammock next to it.

“……Hmm, but it is camping, so should I light a fire?”

The thought briefly crossed my mind, but I shook my head.

Eh, why bother?

I could just light a fire when I needed to cook and put it out afterward. I had a fire starter with me.

“Still, my throat is a bit dry.”

I looked around and spotted a pool of stagnant water in a corner of the cave.
It was unclear how long it had been there or how old it was.

“Normally, drinking this water would lead to poisoning.”

In the game, drinking this water resulted in an illness.

But in my case, it didn’t matter.

I pulled out a long, straw-like tube from my backpack, stuck it into the puddle, and gently sucked on it.
Pong-pong, clean water rose from the tube.

Ahh.

“So refreshing, so sweet.”