Chapter 87 A Sudden Weather Change!

As the night drew nearer, Nathan and the others arrived at their shelter. Nathan was amazed by the structure his companions had constructed out of an old, dead tree. It had been transformed into a safe and comfortable refuge, with a small, cozy room that could be used for sleeping and other activities.

"Incredible," Nathan exclaimed, admiring their work. "This looks amazing!"

"Isn't it great, Nathan-san?" Muramoto beamed with delight. "Yudan-san even put a special alchemical sealant on the exterior to make it more resistant to the natural elements."

Nathan studied the shelter with curiosity before nodding in approval.

They gathered around the fire, chatting animatedly and watching the flames dance as sparks flew up into the night sky. Yudan had seasoned and cooked a bear that Nathan had killed, and the smell of it roasting over the fire was enough to make anyone's mouth water.

Linda stared hungrily into the fire, her eyes widening as she caught sight of the cooking meat. "Woahhh...." she murmured before turning to Yudan with a cheerful smile. "I'll help you eat this," she offered.

Muramoto chuckled at her enthusiasm. "You're really hungry, huh?"

Linda shook her head, not taking her eyes off the meat as her cheeks flushed. She wanted to engrave every detail into her memory. Yudan lowered the flame of the fire, then carefully divided the grilled meat and handed it to everyone, including Nathan, who was watching intently.

"You need to relax a bit, Linda," Yudan said softly, recognizing Linda's nervousness.

Linda gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I'm alright... I just can't contain my excitement anymore!"

Nathan inhaled the tantalizing aroma emanating from the piece of grilled meat Yudan had given him, and the rumble of hunger that swelled in his stomach was impossible to ignore. Taking small bites, he experienced a level of gratification he had never felt before. Unable to contain his hunger, Nathan soon resorted to taking large bites, savoring the succulent texture of the tender morsels.

"Yudan-san...." Muramoto said, his mouth still full of the delicious monster meat. He paused to swallow, then continued, his eyes wide in admiration. "How can you make this monster meat so tasty? It's amazing!"

"Oh!." Yudan replied. "Have you heard about using alchemy to cook monster meat?"

"No, I haven't. What do you mean?" Muramoto replied, eager to learn more about the culinary technique.

"Well, it's a way of using alchemy to enhance the flavor of monster meat. You can do it by adding herbs and spices to the meat before cooking it."

Muramoto looked confused.

Yudan explained further, "Herbs are essential when it comes to cooking. I'm well-versed in alchemy, so I know how to utilize the properties of various herbs to make the perfect dish. For example, if someone asks for something 'spicy' or 'sweet,' I can mix different herbs to create the desired taste. In this case, I'll be using Rosemary Sage to tenderize the meat and bring out its flavor. Then, I'll add Ashwinder Root to give it a smoky taste, and Oregano Spice to add a kick. All these herbs and my alchemy knowledge will turn this monster meat into a delicious dish!"

Muramoto's eyes lit up in understanding. "So that's how you do it?" he asked.

Yudan smiled. "Yep! Alchemy is a powerful tool when it comes to cooking. With the right herbs and spices, you can make any dish tastier and more enjoyable!"

"Oh wow!" Muramoto exclaimed again in amazement. He picked another piece of meat from his plate and slowly took a bite, chewing thoughtfully on his choice as he continued watching Yudan prepare his own meal. "That's so cool... Yudan-san...."

Meriel gave a light chuckle as she watched Yudan and Muramoto converse. Then, her gaze shifted to Nathan, who looked to be savoring his meal.

"No need to give Muramoto the full story, Yudan," Linda chuckled. "His brain isn't big enough to take it all in."

"Oops." Yudan nodded with a smile before returning his attention back to preparing the food.

Nathan wiped some sweat from his forehead as he finished eating.

"What's wrong?" Muramoto asked, noticing the dark look that had crossed Nathan's face.

Nathan paused and stared at Muramoto.

"The things we can do in this pocket dimension have been incredible. We're now able to cook our meals using alchemy and even learn how to use it in combat!" Nathan answered, grinning widely in appreciation. "I never imagined that such a thing would become possible!"

"That was amazing!" Meriel agreed. "You really know how to make it taste good, Yudan...!" She smiled happily as she ate more of the meat but then quickly stopped when she saw the grim expression on Nathan's face.

[The results for the first day of the challenge are in!]

A notification suddenly appears in front of everyone.

[1. Wanderers]

[2. Elite Hunters]

[3. The Kings]

[4. Mystic Order]

[5. Anime Fans]

[6. The Shadow Warriors]

[ .. ]

[Your party is ranked 45th out of 70, with a total of 1087 survivors.]

[Every day, ten parties scoring the lowest will be eliminated from the challenge.]

[Only the top ten parties that have achieved the highest scores will proceed to the next round.]

Nathan read the message, then looked at his party members.

"Woah... What is this?" Linda asked, astonished. "How did our party end up in 45th place? And what's the score they used even?"

Yudan frowned as he studied the display. "It says we should be in the top ten." He rubbed his chin.

Linda gritted her teeth as she glanced around at her comrades and muttered, "We need to accomplish more than just survival. I'm curious how this score is calculated. Does it include defeating other parties? I think we should start hunting monsters and humans in this place tomorrow." She said, her expression changing from a faint smile to a sweet one as she turned to Nathan. "What do you think, Oppa?"

Nathan shook his head. "These rules are practically pushing us into a battle royale against each other."

"Nathan-san," Muramoto interjected. "I was getting so caught up in other stuff that I forgot this device has a feature that allows us to merge with other parties. I think they're trying to tell us something by doing this?"

Nathan furrowed his brows, staring at the notification. His mind began racing frantically. "Merge with another party..."

"I mean..." Muramoto continued. "Wouldn't this challenge be very easy to do, because everyone can join into one party, and, voila, the challenge is done?"

"Hmm... That's true!" Yudan murmured, nodding thoughtfully before continuing. "This might actually make things easier for people who want to avoid combat. But, I don't think it will be easy to unite such a large number of people into one party. Once it is done, we will face further challenges that will require us to select the people we really need out of the group."

"No matter what we decide, the selection process will still take place." Nathan said. "What do you think, guys?"

Everyone was silent. The air seemed heavy and thick around them.

Yudan broke the silence, saying, "Nathan, I'm behind you no matter what decision you make. Anything you need, I'll do it."

Muramoto and the others nodded in agreement.

Linda then chirped in, "Don't worry, Oppa! Just tell us what to do, especially me. I'm so eager to finally get into a fight, I haven't had one since being locked up in the prison. Haha!"

"We are ranked 45th, which I think is a very low rank," Nathan said. "So, we will stick with our original plan: gathering everything we might need to survive. With Yudan's knowledge, we can do that easily. Plus, we can also hunt monsters...."

At this point, Nathan remembered Geen, who had been attacked and was likely recovering in the spirit world. "Geen..." he muttered under his breath.

"Nathan," Yudan began, lifting his hand as he spoke. "I hate to say this, but I can't help but think that Geen was targeted at weakening our team. Its skills are so advanced, it would have made us unstoppable if we'd kept it. I'm suspecting that the organizers did this to make sure the competition was more even. Does that make sense to you?"

"After I met Marco," Muramoto responded, "you are only the second person I've encountered who had a theory as wild as this one."

"Marco?" Yudan uttered in a questioning tone.

Nathan gave a satisfied smile and nodded. "That's good. It's a reminder that we need to be extra cautious. So, we'll stick with the original plan: Yudan, Linda and Muramoto will form one team and focus on gathering resources, while hunting any monsters they come across. I'll be with Meriel and my golems, and our focus will be monster hunting. Does anyone have any objections to this?" He glanced around, awaiting a response.

Muramoto and the rest nodded in agreement when suddenly they felt the night temperature around them drop drastically.

Nathan looked down and saw his skin was covered with a thin layer of ice. The sound of the forest was heightened, accompanied by the trees reaching high into the sky as if they were all raging together. A strong wind blew across the land, extinguishing the fire that was in front of them.

The wet layer on the ground quickly became ice, and the snow started to come down heavily.

"Wow, what a sudden change in the weather!" Muramoto exclaimed in surprise.

"It looks like most of the CEHA participants are from the 7th Nation, so they're likely used to living in tropical climates," Yudan stated. "That means this test should be pretty straightforward. We'd better get to shelter, because this storm is only going to get worse."