SWNOVELXO Chapter 76 - Collecting Leather (2)
Chapter 76. Collecting Leather (2)
January 20th, Morning.
A small backpack was slung over Yuri’s shoulder as he exited the shop inside the circular arena.
His expression wasn’t particularly pleasant.
‘Sigh… Such unnecessary spending. It’s making me feel sick.’
He had ended up using over 10,000 points in an unexpected place.
It was the most he had spent since becoming an official cadet.
But Yuri’s displeasure wasn’t solely due to the unnecessary expenditure. Something seemed to bother him, causing his brows to furrow.
‘Why does this feel so unsettling?’
The previous day, Yuri had tried to get some information about the upcoming integrated quest from Theresia.
However…
[“This is all I can tell you. The first integrated quest for first-years is about collecting leather.”]
Theresia only revealed that much and refused to disclose anything further.
She kept hesitating.
Her behavior, as if she was unusually reluctant to leak information, seemed strange.
When Yuri commented that this information alone wasn’t worth 10,000 points, she finally added…
[“I know you can fend for yourself, but it’s better to prepare plenty of rations—enough for ten days.”]
… this additional piece of information.
Following her advice, Yuri had spent over 10,000 points, plus a little extra, to buy ten days’ worth of rations and a backpack.
Even after that, Yuri tried to extract more information, but Theresia quickly fled back to her quarters.
Her inexplicable reaction left Yuri feeling strangely uneasy.
‘Collecting leather…’
Based on the name alone, he guessed it was a quest to hunt some animals and gather their leather.
In addition, the extra information from Theresia about preparing ten days’ worth of rations, even if he could fend for himself, hinted at a few possibilities.
‘The quest is likely to last for ten days.’
Moreover, the schedule would be tight enough that he wouldn’t be able to gather his own food.
That must be why Theresia advised him to purchase ten days’ worth of rations.
‘Perhaps they’ll lock us up somewhere, like in the Forest of Beginnings.’
It was a plausible thought.
And secondly, this was the most important point.
‘If this quest lasts for ten days… it means the quest will directly impact the end-of-month evaluation.’
In other words, this quest would determine the outcome of the January evaluation since there wouldn’t be time to earn points through other quests if they were stuck in this one for ten days.
With this in mind, Yuri left the circular arena.
But then he halted, startled by the scene before him.
This hadn’t been the situation when he entered the arena.
‘Wha- What is this?’
The 50th batch of cadets had gathered as the assembly time approached.
However, upon seeing them, Yuri struggled to find the right words to describe the sight.
‘What do I even call this?’
A horde of defeated soldiers?
Refugees?
After a long pause, he finally found a fitting expression.
“Ah! It’s a plague-ridden beggar’s den.”
The scene before him was so dire that Yuri was compelled to describe it as such.
People lay sprawled about like corpses, their faces sunken and gaunt.
Their hair was matted with grease, and their clothes were filthy and tattered.
‘So that’s why Dragon’s Cradle favors black clothing… There’s a deeper meaning to it.’
It seemed Dragon’s Cradle’s intent might have been to distribute black clothing since they’d end up dirty anyway.
Yuri slowly walked through the plague-ridden beggar’s den.
‘What on earth have they been doing to end up in this state?’
He listened to the voices around him.
“I… I’m done for… I abandoned my humanity long ago… I couldn’t resist my hunger and… I ate a bug…”
“It’s freezing, someone light a fire, I feel like my ears are going to fall off…”
“I’m so sleepy…”
“No! Don’t sleep! If you sleep here, you’re done for!”
“I ate a rat the wrong way, and I’ve been vomiting and having diarrhea for three days.”
From all around came pitiful stories and groans.
Just as Yuri was about to block out the disturbing sounds, he caught another conversation.
“Damn it! A day’s worth of rations costs 1,000 points! It takes a whole day just to complete a low-grade quest! How are we supposed to survive?”
“Ah, so you tried it too?”
“Of course, I had to. I need to survive.”
“Did you succeed?”
“The difficulty wasn’t too high, so I managed.”
Snatches of conversation about people earning points through quests reached his ears.
‘So some people have already attempted quests.’
For the past few days, Yuri had prioritized establishing his hideout above all else, focusing solely on that.
As a result, he hadn’t even thought about taking on quests.
‘Now that the hideout is somewhat secure, it’s time to start earning points in earnest.’
And the beginning of that would be this integrated quest.
With that thought, Yuri glanced at the clock tower.
8:50 AM.
There were about ten minutes left before the Black Sword Corps would appear.
At that moment, he felt a light tap on his shoulder.
Tap, tap.
Yuri already knew about the presence of the giant approaching him.
He greeted lightly.
“Long time no see.”
But to his surprise, Poppy turned his gaze away sharply.
“……?”
Yuri tilted his head, confused by the unexpected reaction.
‘What the? Why is he acting like he didn’t see me after touching me?’
And what’s with that face?
It looked like he was trying to say, ‘I’m upset.’
As Yuri tried to grasp what was going on, another voice suddenly interjected.
“He’s sulking.”
“Sulking?”
Yuri turned around at the familiar voice.
Soon, Arin stood beside Poppy, linking her arms with his.
“Yeah, our Poppy is upset with you. How could you go over ten days without meeting us even once? You were avoiding us, weren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“…Seriously, were you really avoiding us?”
“Yeah.”
“Ugh, anyway, so now Poppy is upset! And now I’m upset too! Right?”
Arin lightly tapped Poppy’s side.
Poppy nodded his head eagerly.
Yuri’s eyes narrowed in a slightly sleepy manner.
“Ah, I see. You’re sulking.”
He simply said that and turned his head away.
“……”
Poppy and Arin were left flustered by his cold response.
Arin and Poppy huddled close, whispering quietly.
“It seems our pity-inducing strategy has failed.”
“I’m hungry.”
“He’s colder than we thought. Usually, by now, anyone would feel sorry for us and at least ask why we’ve been looking for them.”
“I’m hungry…”
…I can hear everything, you know.
Yuri sighed inwardly.
‘Sigh…’
Honestly, he was curious.
Why had they been looking for him so persistently?
However…
‘The moment I ask, I’ll end up getting too involved.’
That’s why he didn’t ask.
No, he deliberately didn’t ask.
“Hungry?”
“Another approach? I’ll think of something.”
Maybe the time spent together over the past few days had paid off?
Now, Poppy no longer seemed wary of Arin.
While the two, who had become closer, were whispering, the clock struck 9:00 AM.
At that exact moment, the Black Sword Corps appeared, right on time.
Thud, thud.
Ten members of the Black Sword Corps.
Leading them was the glasses-wearing man who had harshly criticized the 50th batch last time.
As they appeared, the cadets, who had been sprawled out, began to pull themselves together.
And then…
Thud.
“Attention, everyone.”
His low voice, infused with mana, resonated heavily throughout the area.
As the entire 50th batch turned their attention to him, the man with glasses nodded slightly.
Then, the Black Sword Corps members behind him began to move, distributing something to the cadets of the 50th batch.
“That will be the proof that you belong to the 50th batch for the next five years. If you lose it, you’ll have to buy a new one with points, so keep it safe.”
The item being handed out by the Black Sword Corps was none other than an epaulet.
Yuri’s eyes gleamed slightly as he received his.
‘The 50th batch has red ones.’
The 49th batch had yellow, the 48th had green, the 47th had blue, and the 46th had white.
The 45th batch probably had red, and when they graduated, that color was passed down to the 50th batch.
As the entire 50th batch received their epaulets, the next phase began immediately, with no time to catch their breath.
“We’re moving now. Anyone who can’t keep up will be left behind. Stay close.”
With that, the Black Sword Corps began to walk quickly.
The cadets, who had been about to attach their epaulets to their shoulders, were startled and quickly chased after them.
After walking for a short while…
“We’re picking up the pace.”
The Black Sword Corps started to jog slowly.
The speed gradually increased until it reached the level of a full sprint for an average person.
They continued running at that speed for a full hour.
Pant, pant.
The cadets were already exhausted from trying to adjust to Dragon’s Cradle, and their stamina was significantly drained.
Those with weaker endurance began to breathe heavily, eventually pouring sweat like rain.
Finally, the running stopped.
The Black Sword Corps had led the 50th batch to a fenced area somewhere in the northern district.
The fence was made of wooden posts about 2 meters high.
Standing at the entrance to the enclosed area, the man with glasses shouted.
“Welcome to the Forest of Beasts.”
Someone grumbled, “Another forest? Last time it was the Forest of Beginnings, and now it’s the Forest of Beasts? What a lack of creativity.”
The man with glasses glared at the ‘pouting black-haired cadet’ before continuing.
“I’ll explain this only once, and I won’t be taking any questions.”
With that, the 50th batch focused intently.
In the silence, the man’s voice echoed through the space.
“This year’s integrated quest will take place inside this boundary for a total of ten days. The name of the quest is Collecting Leather.”
He pointed to the wooden fence behind him.
“The content of the quest, as the name suggests, is to capture the beasts within this fence and collect their leather. There are five types of animals: rabbits, deer, wolves, bears, and tigers. Naturally, the points awarded for each type of leather vary.”
The man with glasses listed the points for each type of leather.
1,000 points for a single rabbit hide.
5,000 points for a single deer hide.
50,000 points for a single wolf hide.
500,000 points for a single bear hide.
And a whopping 5,000,000 points for a single tiger hide.
The eyes of the 50th batch lit up at this news.
‘1,000 points for a single rabbit hide?!’
‘5,000,000 for a tiger hide? Just one tiger hide could buy 5,000 days’ worth of rations!’
‘Even catching a bear would be more than enough!’
They had earned 1,000 points from a low-grade quest that took an entire day, but here, catching just one rabbit would net them the same amount.
For those who knew how stingy the points from regular quests were, this quest was like rain in a drought.
‘I’ll make at least 100,000… no, 200,000 points from this quest!’
‘Just one tiger!’
The 50th batch’s eyes were burning with determination.
And then, a voice poured more fuel on that fire.
“At the end of the quest, the three individuals with the most leather—meaning the highest total points—will receive additional rewards: 30% more for third place, 50% more for second place, and a 100% increase for first place.”
“……?!”
In other words, if you came in first place, you would take home double the points you earned.
“This is an individual quest, but cooperation is allowed. However, leaving the boundary will result in disqualification.”
With that, the man with glasses checked his watch.
“It’s currently 10:16 AM on January 20th. The quest will end at 10:16 AM on January 29th.”
He stepped aside from the entrance and spoke.
“Begin.”
At his command, the 50th batch hesitated for a moment, looking around, before they all started running simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Yuri stood at the very back, stroking his chin.
‘The Forest of Beasts, huh…’
Honestly, these guys really lack creativity.
Can’t they come up with better names? Why does everything have to be called some kind of forest? The entire area is full of forests anyway.
Grumbling inwardly, Yuri examined the fence.
‘No matter how I think about it, something’s off.’
The wooden posts were spaced wide enough that a slender person could easily slip through.
And they were tied together with a simple rope.
It was too flimsy, too poorly constructed.
‘This fence wouldn’t stop a rabbit, let alone a tiger.’
It was clear that the fence wasn’t meant to prevent anything from entering or leaving; it was merely a boundary marker.
But from what the Black Sword Corps said, it sounded like there were beasts inside.
‘Theresia definitely told me to prepare rations. But if there are beasts, there shouldn’t be any need for rations. What’s going on? Something’s definitely off…’
He still couldn’t quite figure it out.
‘Well, I guess I’ll find out once I’m inside.’
Even if the rations turned out to be unnecessary, he could save them for later.
And if he did need them, it would be good to have them.
It seemed that he was the only one who had prepared rations.
With his thoughts in order, Yuri stepped inside the fence.
With Yuri being the last to enter, the entire 50th batch stepped into the Forest of Beasts.
Creak—Boom!
The entrance to the Forest of Beasts closed behind them.