Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Everyone seemed way too frightened, even considering that it was all part of the mission.

Doubts were starting to creep in about whether this was really just a group mission, and it was becoming blatantly clear that some were thinking it might be better to just give up, since the situation felt so dire.

However, clues about the survivor were gradually accumulating.

The survivor attacked the camp at night, and they had multiple camps scattered throughout the island. It seemed they ate their meals at their camp, but it was impossible to tell which camp they would be at any given time.

The survivor appeared to be a cannibal.

It was uncertain whether there was only one survivor, or if there were several.

By now, everyone had realized that capturing the survivor was the specific condition for the mission.

Capturing whoever was on the island was the quickest way to complete the mission, but it also posed considerable risk.

After finishing dinner, the group prepared for bed, unable to hide their apprehension.

“The alarm system has been set up.”

Harriet had installed a magic alarm system around our camp that would go off if anyone besides us approached. That was the best safety measure we could take for now.

Everyone entered their own makeshift shelters, soaked in a feeling of unease.

Erhi would stay up all night to keep watch.

***

Beep, beep, beep!

The blaring of the alarm threw the camp into chaos.

“What’s happening?!”

Those who came to their senses quickly crawled out of the shelter. Cliffman, Ellen and I were the first ones to react.

The alarm had sounded, but by the time we realized it, it was too late.

—Aaah! Help meeee!

—Aah!

We could hear two screams echoing from within the darkness of the forest. The others emerged from their shelters as well. They seemed to know that something had happened, as they were all stricken with fear.

“Wha... What do we do?”

Harriet’s face was pale with fright.

Both of the appointed watchmen had been kidnapped.

“It looks like Erhi and Adelia have been captured...”

Both Erhi, who was on permanent watch, and Adelia, who was presumably on duty at this time, had disappeared.

“If they’ve taken two, they’ll definitely be slower. If we follow them now, we might be able to catch them,” Cliffman suggested.

Vertus nodded quietly in agreement.

“That may be possible, but...”

Everyone stared into the dark jungle, which had become even more forbidding. It seemed like they were finding it hard to take the first step in.

Could we really go into that pitch-black darkness and capture the attacker? It was clear that we wouldn’t be able to distinguish anything clearly, and the likelihood of us encountering danger was high.

“I can use light magic.”

Adelia had been kidnapped right before our eyes, and Harriet stepped forward, as if to somehow overcome her fear.

Vertus looked at Harriet and nodded.

“Good. Then let’s leave right now.”

Ellen and Cliffman, who were the most skilled at combat, armed themselves with machetes, while Vertus, Riana, and I each took a javelin.

“It might be even more dangerous to stay in camp. If we’re going to go, all of us need to move together,” said Vertus. “Grab everything you can, down to the smallest knife.”

Everyone nodded.

If we played our cards right, we could end the mission that night.

“Rescue the two kidnapped classmates and leave this dreaded deserted island.”

This moment seemed to offer an unparalleled opportunity.

***

In the middle of the night, the jungle was bone-chillingly dark.

Rustle... Rustle...

Harriet led the way, summoned a sphere of light to illuminate our path, with Ellen and Cliffman flanking her as guards.

Vertus and Connor Lint were in the center, while Riana, Heinrich, and I took up the rear. Heinrich also lit a piece of wood, creating a torch to maintain the fire and illuminate our rear. Both the front and rear of our group could offer light to guide the way.

“There are footprints left behind.”

“Where? Show me.”

The rain had stopped, enabling Ellen to spot the intruder’s footprints. Vertus narrowed his eyes at the sight of the footprints.

“They’re not well-defined... but it’s clear the attacker is large.”

Judging by the size of the footprints, the intruder was definitely a large individual. That seemed to make sense, considering they had managed to flee with two kids, either being carried or slung over the shoulder.

“How did they make it across?” Vertus asked.

The state of the ravine, and the water flowing through it, was such that jumping across was out of the question. If we stepped into it, we would be swept away in an instant.

Yet, it seemed clear that the attackers had crossed it.

“Look, over there... Can’t we use this?”

Connor Lint set down the bundle of rope he had been carrying over his shoulder.

“Oh right, we have this. Good job bringing it.”

Following Vertus’s instructions to bring whatever we could, Connor Lint had brought the rope along. Honestly, it seemed unlikely that Connor would be of much help, and he’d been brought along only because it wouldn’t be sensible to leave him at camp. Unexpectedly, however, the rope he had turned out to be useful in this situation.

“We could tie this to a tree on this side, and fix it to the opposite bank in order to make it across.”

Naturally, such an idea occurred to everybody.

“But how do we take it to the other side?”

The fact remained that we needed to transport one end of the rope to the other side. Vertus looked at Ellen.

“Ellen, can you jump across?”

“No.”

Ellen’s response merely confirmed Vertus’s belief that it was absurd to leap across such a distance.

We needed to cross, but there was no way to get the rope over to the other side.

‘No, that’s not entirely true. There is a way.’

“If we tie a stone to the end of the rope and throw it across, that could get it to the other side,” I said.

Vertus nodded.

“We could do that, but that only gets the rope across. It won’t be tied to a tree or anything. In the end, someone has to cross over to tie it—”

Vertus clamped up mid-sentence as realization dawned on him.

It wasn’t just Vertus. Everyone looked silently at Connor Lint.

There was one person who could make it across.

Someone whose body was capable of making the crossing.

“Hey... you guys... W-Why me? Why do I...?”

Vertus laid a hand on Connor Lint’s shoulder.

“We believe in you, Lint.”

Connor Lint lacked the guts to refuse that kind of insistence.

***

The operation proceeded smoothly, with the female students all averting their gazes from the ravine as Connor Lint used Teleportation to cross to the other side of the ravine naked. Cliffman tied a stone to the rope and threw it across, and Connor Lint hurriedly tied it to a nearby tree.

Then, I crossed the ravine on the taut rope and handed the clothes I was holding to the guy on the other side.

“W-What kind of ridiculous situation is this...?”

“At least you are contributing,” I said.

Connor Lint turned red with embarrassment. “I didn’t sign up for this!” he shouted.

Nevertheless, Connor Lint’s abilities had turned out to be quite useful during this mission. Once dignity was set aside, no one was as exceptionally gifted as him.

“Hey, guys! It’s okay to cross now!”

A fierce torrent roared through the deep ravine below, and all of us had to make it across, relying on just one rope. Naturally, those who weren’t gifted in combat talents hesitated, and their hesitation was obvious to all.

Harriet, in particular, was pale as a ghost, trembling as if she believed there was absolutely no way she could do this.

Ellen was the next to cross after me, and Cliffman followed after her.

As Cliffman made his way to the midpoint, clinging fiercely to the rope, Ellen, Connor Lint, and I saw something...

Something that was approaching from behind the group...

“Wh... what... What is that...?” Connor Lint murmured, his face turning ashen.

“Run!” Ellen screamed.

“What are you guys doing? Run away, you fools!” I shouted.

Only when my yelling joined Ellen’s did the others look behind them.

In the darkness, something was approaching the remaining kids. Something with glowing, blood-red eyes.

A survivor on the uninhabited island...

Vertus stared blankly at the approaching behemoth, murmuring to himself in disbelief, “The survivor is not... human...?”

It was not a human...

“Krowwwwwwr!”

A greenish face with crimson eyes.

“Aaaah!”

The kids scattered in panic and began to flee at the appearance of an orc.