SWNOVELXO Chapter 65 - Neighbor (1)
Chapter 65: Neighbor (1)
A stark white crack appeared in the consciousness shrouded in darkness.
Crack-.
A sliver of light seeped through the small crack, stirring Yuri’s deeply slumbering mind.
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped, almost as if he were whining, reluctant to wake up.
With that, Yuri’s long eyelashes trembled slightly.
Finally, after a long time, Yuri’s closed eyes began to open slowly.
As his thoughts gradually started to flow, the first of his senses to react was his sense of smell.
‘…Cigarette smoke?’
The sharp smell was unmistakably the smoke of a burning cigarette.
As he wrinkled his nose, a gruff voice reached his ears.
“If you’re awake, stop lying around and get up, will you?”
Startled by the familiar voice, Yuri opened his eyes.
‘Huh? Where is this?!’
Surprised by the unfamiliar ceiling, Yuri quickly sat up.
“Ow, ow, ow… or not?”
He expected intense pain throughout his body and even let out a preemptive groan, but to his surprise, there was no pain.
That wasn’t the only thing.
“…Why do I feel so refreshed?”
After pushing his body so hard, how could he not be in pain?
It didn’t make any sense.
By now, he should have been struggling to breathe, wheezing and groaning in pain.
But instead, his body felt not just refreshed, but extremely refreshed.
Even the mana core that had been completely depleted was now fully charged.
It was as if he had eaten something nourishing and then slept soundly for days.
As if responding to his thoughts, the voice came again.
“If a corpse slept that long, it’d be slick with oil.”
Yuri quickly turned his head toward the source of the voice.
His eyes widened in surprise.
“Huh? Coco Ah…”
“Shhh!”
“…Miss?”
“Miss? Are you trying to start a fight?”
“A-ah, miss?”
“Calling me ‘miss’ at my age is just ridiculous.”
“…Coco.”
“That’s better.”
It was the black woman with a lit cigarette in her mouth—none other than Coco, the shopkeeper he had met not long ago.
The only difference was that this time she was wearing a white coat meant for medical use.
Puzzled, Yuri tilted his head and asked.
“…Did your shop go out of business?”
“I save a dying man, and suddenly my shop’s gone under? Why would you think that?”
“Then, what are you doing here?”
“What do you think? I’m working a side job.”
“…You have a lot of jobs, don’t you?”
“In a short-staffed organization, one person has to do the work of many.”
Cough.
Coco, crossing her legs, exhaled smoke with an annoyed expression.
Yuri frowned at this.
“Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to smoke in front of a patient?”
“Patient? Where do you see a patient?”
“Well, obviously…”
Yuri paused mid-sentence.
He then rotated his shoulders.
“Hmm…”
His shoulders moved more smoothly than usual.
Not stopping there, he got off the bed and twisted his waist.
Still unsatisfied, Yuri jumped on the spot.
Bounce-bounce.
“What the…”
His body felt so light that it was almost disconcerting.
Seeing this, Coco lit a new cigarette with a look that said, I told you so.
“I told you there’s no patient.”
“…There isn’t. But seriously, what’s going on? I feel way too good.”
“Consider yourself lucky. You probably consumed at least a few million points’ worth of resources while you were out.”
“Huh?”
“The commander gave special orders. Said to take good care of our promising new recruit who caught the Sword Master’s eye.”
“……”
“Normally, we’d just slap on some basic medicine and call it a day, but you left such an impression that I decided to take extra care of you. After all, medicine works best when administered by an expert.”
“…Didn’t you say this was a side job earlier?”
“It’s a side job, but I never said I lacked expertise. Besides, your body feels great, doesn’t it?”
“It really does, thank you.”
“No need for thanks.”
With that, Coco stood up and took off her coat.
“Alright, back to my main job. Now, let’s start the basic training for Cadet Yuri Holland of the 50th class.”
“…Huh?”
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Isn’t your main job being the shopkeeper?”
“That’s also a side job. My main job is being a slave for the Black Sword Corps, who has no choice but to do what the higher-ups say. Here I am, at my age, having to babysit some greenhorns. Tsk.”
Cough.
The smoke from the cigarette she exhaled was thick with frustration and resentment.
“Oh… I see.”
“If you understand, sit down, will you? I want to finish this up quickly and go home.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Feeling intimidated by the strange atmosphere, Yuri quickly knelt on the bed.
Coco then gave Yuri some brief information about life in the Cradle.
“First, the silver coins provided in the Cradle are called points… You’ve already used them once, so let’s move on.”
Coco waved her hand dismissively and continued.
“Second, there will be a monthly evaluation at the end of each month. The evaluation is based on who can collect the most points. If you don’t want to get kicked out, work hard on gathering points.”
“Yes.”
“And lastly, this is the last bit of help we’ll be giving you first-year cadets. From now on, you’ll have to fend for yourselves.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It was information so simple that it was almost laughable.
Of course, Yuri wasn’t surprised since he already knew the Cradle would operate like this, so he just nodded casually.
Coco’s eyes flashed with curiosity.
“You’re not surprised? Most of the others turned pale as corpses when they heard this.”
“Well, it’s not really that shocking, you know.”
Yuri shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.
Then, as if realizing something, his expression suddenly stiffened, and he raised his hand.
“Um… Can I ask a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“You said the others turned pale as corpses when they heard this… Does that mean they’ve already been told?”
“That’s right.”
“Why?”
“Because you were the only one who slept for five whole days while everyone else woke up.”
“Fi… Five days? I slept for five days?”
“Yep. And for the record, you were the last one to wake up among the 50th class.”
Yuri’s face scrunched up at her words.
‘Damn it, I slept for five days?!’
No wonder his body felt ridiculously refreshed!
If he’d slept for five days, even a dying man would wake up full of energy!
On a normal day, it wouldn’t have mattered if he slept for five days or even a month.
But the problem was that while he slept, the other cadets of the 50th class had already scattered and started moving.
‘I knew I should’ve secured a base in advance!’
Yuri, who had arrived at the mainland earlier than most, had planned to secure a base ahead of time, but all his plans were derailed when he encountered that perverted bastard.
Thud-.
As Yuri jumped up from his spot, Coco gave him a smirk.
“Oh, by the way, your regular weekly assembly for the first-year cadets is at 9 AM every Monday.”
“…What day is it today?”
“Sunday.”
“……”
At Coco’s reply, Yuri glanced out the window.
The sun was high in the sky.
In other words, there was less than a day left until the regular assembly.
There was no time to waste.
His physical condition was already at its best.
He could move immediately.
“Damn it! I’m off!”
“Okay, take care.”
With those words, Yuri dashed out the door.
Not long after, Coco could see Yuri running hard through the window.
Coco pulled out a new cigarette and lit it.
‘He’s interesting.’
While she had stayed close to Yuri over the past few days to care for him, her other reason was to observe him.
‘That kid’s skill level is between an unofficial Grade 1 and an official Level 1.’
He was already close to an official Level 1, so with just a small push, he could reach that level.
But that was all.
From what she had observed, there wasn’t anything particularly unusual about him beyond that.
‘How did he manage to take fifteen steps?’
Unofficial Grade 1.
That wasn’t a particularly high level among the cadets.
In the Cradle, there were plenty of kids who were already at the official Level 1 or higher.
But for someone at just an unofficial Grade 1 to take fifteen steps?
That was impossible.
Among the 50th class, those with similar skill levels to Yuri had only managed to take three or four steps before collapsing.
‘Of course, even at the same level, there can be a wide gap in skill depending on the person…’
But with Yuri, the gap was even more pronounced.
A kid who couldn’t even handle a strong sword, the symbol of an official Level 1, was doing something that even those at official Level 1 couldn’t achieve. It was impossible not to be intrigued.
‘He’s quite an amusing kid.’
Through the thick smoke of her cigarette, Coco’s eyes sparkled with interest as she watched Yuri disappear into the forest.
Yuri ran through the forest, scouting for a suitable place to use as a hideout.
The criteria remained the same as before:
It should be easy to defend against external intrusions.
It should be close to the central area.
It should have a secluded training space.
He quickly checked various spots while keeping these three conditions in mind, but each time, his face twisted in frustration.
‘Damn it, I’m really late.’
Even last time, the places he liked were already occupied by the 49th class.
And now, the newly inducted cadets of the 50th class had started taking over the remaining decent spots one by one.
‘Wow, when did these guys suddenly get so picky? They used to just dig holes in the Forest of Beginnings and live there.’
It seemed that the month spent in the Forest of Beginnings hadn’t been a wasted experience for them.
Or maybe, knowing that they had to live here for the next two years, they were doing their best to secure a base.
This change put Yuri, who had set out five days later than the others, at a significant disadvantage.
Every place he went that seemed somewhat suitable was already occupied.
Especially since this 50th class had an unprecedentedly large number of successful candidates.
With 299 cadets, excluding Yuri, all entering at once, it was only natural that the already limited number of good spots had dwindled even further.
‘…Is this my karma?’
Yuri, who was responsible for making sure 299 cadets survived from the 50th class, couldn’t help but blame himself.
After circling around for quite a while.
Yuri, who had lowered his standards to find a base, shook his head when he saw that even the cave behind the waterfall, which he had deemed substandard, was occupied.
‘This isn’t going to work.’
It seemed he had no choice but to lower his standards further, settle somewhere for now, and then move to a better place later.
Just as he made that decision.
‘Ah!’
A place flashed through Yuri’s mind.
‘The crack where I met that perverted playboy!’
It wasn’t far from the central area.
It was securely hidden from the outside.
And the cave inside the crack was surprisingly spacious.
‘Since it was big enough to exchange blows with that pervert… it should be good enough for training too.’
That was the only place that met all the conditions.
However, one thing still bothered him.
‘What if that place is the pervert’s lair?’
Although the third-year cadets resided in the western area, there was no guarantee that all third-year cadets lived there.
Some of them might be living outside their designated area.
‘Well, even if it is… I should at least check it out.’
Whether it was the pervert’s lair or not, he needed to meet that pervert eventually to complete their “deal.”
So, Yuri turned and headed in that direction.
A short while later.
“Hmm…”
Upon arriving at the crack, Yuri bent over to peer inside.
Since it was still daylight, it was much easier to see inside compared to last time.
‘…Is it empty?’
Unlike before, there was no light leaking out.
Of course, it was possible that, after the previous mistake, the entrance of the cave had been properly sealed to prevent any light from escaping.
‘I’ll only know for sure if I go in.’
After glancing around briefly, Yuri unhesitatingly ventured inside.
Tap-.
Yuri descended into the crack using the same method as before.
As the silence of the crack enveloped him, Yuri felt a glimmer of anticipation.
‘If that cave is empty…’
There would be no need to wander around the forest looking for a hideout anymore.
After all, there was no better place than this.
Hoping that the cave would be empty, Yuri quickly descended into the crack.
Since he couldn’t sense any presence, his anticipation grew even stronger.
Tap-.
But just as he reached the entrance where he had previously exchanged blows with that perverted playboy…
What greeted Yuri this time was…
Whoosh-.
…a silvery flash filled with deadly intent.