SWNOVELXO Chapter 118 - New Record(2)
Chapter 118. New Record(2)
Around noon on February 27th.
The end-of-February evaluations were fast approaching.
Most of the cadets had already completed their points registration.
Likewise, Arin and Poppy had finished registering their points and were heading back to their sanctuary.
But their “sanctuary” was nothing more than two huts placed in a wide area surrounded by tall wooden pillars.
However, for Arin and Poppy, who had been living outdoors for a long time, even this was a precious space.
As soon as they arrived at their sanctuary, Arin stretched with a long sigh.
“Ugh, going out is exhausting… Home is the best!”
Arin had been tirelessly wielding a pickaxe at Yuri’s command.
During her rare free time, she stayed in her hut, living lazily as if she were one with it.
She was so lethargic that she holed up in the hut, barely eating, and only snacking on dry rations.
If she hadn’t needed to register her points by today, she might have enjoyed a few more days of this indolent life.
But after several days of seclusion, feeling revitalized, Arin looked towards the crack and called out to Poppy.
“Poppy.”
“Hungry?”
“He still hasn’t come back today?”
Nod, nod—
Poppy, fully aware of who Arin was referring to, nodded his head.
Arin’s fine eyebrows furrowed in response.
“…What on earth is he doing out there?”
Since obtaining her leave, Arin had barely seen Yuri’s face.
Of course, it was partly because Arin had secluded herself, but the main reason was that Yuri hadn’t returned to their shelter.
‘For the first few days, he came back to sleep…’
But at some point, Yuri stopped returning altogether.
It had been several days now.
Naturally, Arin’s lips pouted.
“He promised to build us a home, but now he’s run off and hasn’t even come back?”
Of course, she didn’t dislike the hut they were using now, but what she had really wanted from Yuri was a house in a high place.
He’d promised to build it… no, he’d coaxed her into building it together, making her work hard, only to abandon her now.
This fact had twisted Arin’s mood for one reason.
The second reason she was so upset…
“What about our meals!”
Without Yuri, all they had been eating were tasteless rations.
‘At first, it was nice to have some peace and quiet without his nagging…’
But that only lasted a few days.
After eating rations for a few days, her taste buds, which had been restored thanks to Yuri’s cooking, began to protest, demanding something delicious.
Even now, just thinking about the food Yuri had made was enough to make her mouth water.
“…I’m hungry.”
Poppy, apparently feeling the same way, wiped away a small trickle of drool.
Seeing this, Arin cautiously suggested.
“Should we… go look for him?”
“Hungry?”
“Not just to ask him to cook… but also to check if he registered his points? We never know, maybe he forgot?”
“Hungry!”
Poppy nodded at Arin’s excuse, though it was clear that she was too embarrassed to admit that she wanted to find him just for food.
But there was one problem with finding Yuri right away.
“But where should we start looking for Yuri?”
“…Hungry.”
They had no idea where Yuri might be.
But just then, someone appeared with the answer they needed.
Tap—!
Theresia emerged from the crack, her emerald hair fluttering.
Seeing her, Arin and Poppy ran over.
“Theresia, senpaiiii!”
“Huuungry!”
Theresia seemed a little startled by the two running towards her out of nowhere.
But she didn’t turn them away, perhaps because she had become somewhat familiar with them over the past month.
“…What?”
“Do you know where Yuri is? You went out with him last time, and he hasn’t come back since, right?”
Theresia gave a small nod in response.
“I know.”
“Then, could you take us to him?”
“To that place?”
Originally, Theresia had left her quarters to register her points.
But upon hearing Arin’s request, she hesitated slightly.
‘Is Yuri doing well?’
As soon as she heard Arin’s request, Yuri’s face flashed in Theresia’s mind.
Since she had taken him to the quest grounds, she hadn’t checked in on his progress, so she didn’t know what his score was now.
‘Did he surpass my record?’
But then Theresia shook her head.
‘Breaking through the mechanism quest isn’t just about speed. High scores don’t come easily.’
She was sure that Yuri would surpass her score eventually, but it wouldn’t be easy for even him to do so in such a short time.
‘It took me five months to reach 198 points, but that was because of my body’s tendency to hit walls often.’
If she were to start over with her current skills, it would take her two or three months to reach 198 points.
Given that, Theresia estimated that it would take Yuri about a month to surpass 198 points, considering his current level.
‘He got 188 points on his first attempt… so by now, he might be in the top five.’
Thinking this, Theresia grew more curious about Yuri’s actual rank.
She checked the position of the rising sun.
‘There’s still plenty of time. I can stop by there before heading back.’
As long as the end-of-month evaluation points were registered before midnight, she still had more than 10 hours to spare.
With that in mind, Theresia gestured lightly.
“Follow me.”
At her approval, Arin and Poppy’s faces lit up.
* * *
Theresia, who had been a veteran of the mechanism breakthrough quest before Yuri, explained things to the new recruits as they walked through the forest, just as she had done with Yuri.
Arin and Poppy listened intently, their eyes wide with curiosity.
“There’s a place like that?”
“Huuungry?”
“So Yuri’s been breaking quests there all this time?”
“Huuungry?”
Theresia nodded silently in response to their questions.
She figured she could explain further once they reached their destination.
Just as they were about to exit the forest path—
Boom—!
A sudden explosion stopped them in their tracks.
Arin frowned slightly at the echoing sound that still lingered in her ears.
“Is that mechanism breakthrough quest… supposed to be this loud?”
“…Not really.”
Theresia shook her head slightly and quickened her pace.
When they reached the distance where the cliff was visible, Theresia tilted her head in confusion.
‘Nothing seems out of the ordinary?’
Then what could that explosion have been?
Pushing the question aside for now, Theresia led Arin and Poppy to a small building.
“This is where they tally the rankings. That leaderboard over there—”
Theresia’s explanation was suddenly cut short.
“Theresia, senpai?”
“Huuungry?”
At Arin and Poppy’s confused questions, Theresia only muttered in shock.
“No way…”
Her wide-open eyes were fixed on the first place record.
【1st Place / 50th Cadet / Yuri Holland / 200 points (4 seconds)】
The information for first place hadn’t changed since Ivan, Nellie, and Pana had checked it earlier.
The only difference was the time listed after the 200 points.
Theresia’s voice trembled as she repeatedly muttered to herself, trying to deny what she was seeing.
“A perfect score? And… 4 seconds? No, that’s impossible…”
It had been 17 days since she brought Yuri here.
Actually, it hadn’t even been a full 17 days yet.
‘And he’s already achieved a perfect score?!’
Theresia’s eyes, wide with shock, didn’t seem like they would return to normal anytime soon.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
‘Okay, fine. Let’s say he managed a perfect score in 17 days… But still…’
Even if she could accept the 200 points.
How on earth could anyone complete it in… 4 seconds?
Is that even physically possible?
Theresia’s thoughts were in disarray.
Without paying attention to Arin and Poppy’s puzzled looks, she anxiously tapped the table.
Tap, tap—
“Mr. Peter! Peter Lehmann, the battle…”
“…Don’t do that, I’m awake.”
Before Theresia could finish her sentence, Peter groggily opened his eyes.
Theresia leaned forward, almost climbing onto the table, and asked urgently.
“Mr. Peter, is that… Is that score real?”
Peter, fully understanding what had shocked her, nodded his head.
“Of course it’s real. It’s a legitimate score, within the internal regulations.”
“H-how… How is it even possible to record 4 seconds?”
At Theresia’s question, Peter shrugged.
“I’m not sure. I’m curious about that too.”
The previous record of 9 seconds was already astonishing, but the newly set 4-second record was absurd even by Peter’s standards.
Seeing Theresia’s wide-eyed expression, Peter slyly smiled.
“Do you want to see something even more interesting?”
“Huh?”
In response to Theresia’s puzzled reply, Peter touched the wall.
Then, with a swish, the wall turned, revealing the leaderboard for the 7-star mechanism.
Upon seeing it, Theresia’s eyes widened once more.
This time, she was shocked by the name and record at the top of the leaderboard.
【1st Place / 50th Cadet / Yuri Holland
/ 200 points (4 seconds)】
【2nd Place / 48th Cadet / Gunther Ryder / 188 points】
【3rd Place / 49th Cadet / Theresia Winchester / 165 points】
It was a record so overwhelming that it was beyond astonishing; it was almost monstrous.
“My God…”
Though she had now fallen to third place, Theresia had also once survived the 7-star mechanism.
That’s why she knew better than anyone else how close to impossible—no, how utterly impossible—Yuri’s record was.
‘How?’
How could anyone clear a 7-star mechanism in 4 seconds?
How is that even possible?
Just as Theresia was wrestling with this overwhelming curiosity—
Boom!
The explosion they had heard earlier echoed once more.
Arin, who had turned her head towards the source of the sound, blinked.
“Huh? Isn’t that… Isn’t that Yuri?”
“Huuungry.”
Poppy nodded, indicating that he also recognized Yuri.
The origin of the explosion was the green cave.
Yuri had emerged from it.
Seeing the familiar black-haired figure, Theresia murmured as if in a trance.
“…What on earth were you doing?”
With those words, Theresia moved quickly.
She was determined to find out what Yuri had been doing and how he had managed to set such an outrageous record.
* * *
Even with the vibrations coming from behind him, Yuri didn’t care. He crouched in front of the crevice where the score sheet would come out.
Srrk—Thud!
‘Here it is!’
Yuri quickly grabbed the score sheet and opened it, only to be met with disappointment.
“Wow, even after all this, you’re still pretending not to know?”
The score sheet only displayed a single number: 【0】.
It didn’t contain the message Yuri had been hoping for.
“Enduring all this? They’re really stubborn.”
Of course, that was from Yuri’s perspective.
From their perspective, they might think he was the stubborn one, going from cave to cave, breaking all 100 traps just to try and talk.
“Hmm… I’ve already smashed everything I could today.”
Just as Yuri was scratching his cheek—
“What are you doing?”
A voice came from behind, causing Yuri to turn around.
Arin, Poppy, and Theresia.
Seeing this unexpected trio, Yuri tilted his head.
“What’s this? What brings you three here?”
“We were worried about you—whether you were dead or alive, or what you were even doing. So, what have you been up to?”
At Arin’s question, Yuri flashed a sly grin.
“Something scary.”
“…?”
“Something scary, like tormenting the people who insulted me.”
Arin tilted her head in confusion, but Yuri didn’t offer any further explanation.
In the middle of their conversation, Theresia cut in.
“Yuri, you…”
“Yeah?”
“That time… What happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“How on earth did you manage to get 4 seconds…?”
Theresia trailed off, but Yuri clearly understood what she was asking.
He chuckled.
“Oh, that?”
Yuri had thought that after achieving a 9-second record, it would be nearly impossible to reduce the time any further.
But as always, there was a way if you thought outside the box.
“I just had a change of perspective.”
As a result, he realized that the dead-end he thought he had reached wasn’t actually the end.