“Two hundred and forty hours?”

Meiling squinted at me.

“Yeah.”

“I-Ib…ex…sh—did you just say ten days!?” she sputtered, leaning forward with her eyes wide.

“That’s right. Two hundred and forty hours. In other words, ten whole days inside a dungeon—eating, sleeping, and surviving…”

“You think I asked because I didn’t know how long ten days is!?”

Her face flushed crimson.

“What? Don’t you like killing monsters? You even used to nag us about when we’d go to the dungeon again. You’ll have all the fun you want if we stay there for ten days straight.”

“There’s a limit, you know! You two, say something!”

She turned desperately to the others.

“Uh, um, well…”

“Hmm.”

Lumina’s eyes darted back and forth between us in a panic, while Seo Yui lowered her gaze in thought before speaking.

“Yein… ten days might be a bit much. If we were commuting between the dungeon and the dorm, fine, but staying inside the dungeon nonstop…”

“Exactly! And to survive ten days in there, we’d need supplies like food and water. It’s not like inventories can hold those. Are you saying all four of us should carry giant bags?” Meiling glared at me.

“No. Bringing in outside food or water is forbidden. Of course we’ll forage inside. The only things we can carry in are our inventories and gear.”

At that, all three faces froze.

“W-wait, Yein. What do you mean… ‘forage’?” Lumina asked, her voice trembling.

“Oh, right. I forgot to explain.” I scratched the back of my head.

“Survival inside the dungeon is always part of HAUT. The length is the same—ten days. I figured we might as well train for it while leveling up.”

“…You’re serious? The HAUT exam really has a ten-day dungeon survival task?” Meiling asked.

I nodded.

“Then we have no choice but to practice,” Seo Yui said firmly, while Lumina and Meiling both visibly paled.

“But Yein.”

“Yes, Senior?”

“You said we’d get food and water in the dungeon. But can we really? Monsters turn to ash when they die. You can’t exactly eat them.”

“M-monsters!? Are you insane!?” Meiling shrieked.

“Ugh…” Lumina staggered as though her legs had gone weak.

“There are dungeons where you can, and some where you can’t. Remember the Archipelago Dungeon we visited? Both food and water are available there. In Seawater Cavern, you can find water, insects, moss, mushrooms. But in a dungeon like Magongham, food is completely impossible to obtain.”

“People can’t eat bugs and moss!” Meiling exploded.

“When you’re staring death in the face, you don’t have the luxury of being picky,” I said flatly.

Meiling’s lips trembled, but in the end, she bit down on them without replying.

“The survival assignment always takes place in a dungeon where food is obtainable. And you can quit midway if necessary. No one dies. Of course, if you quit early, you can forget about ranking high.”

I turned toward Seo Yui.

“I want to aim for the top ranks, if we’re going,” she said.

“I feel the same. What about you two?”

I looked at Meiling and Lumina.

“I-I’ll… do it,” Lumina stammered, trembling. “Let’s… all reach the top ranks… together.”

Her voice had no confidence or energy at all. But at least she didn’t say no. That was just like Lumina.

Then I turned to Meiling.

She stood with arms crossed, staring at the ground. Finally, she sighed.

“…Fine. But start tomorrow. I need to mentally prepare.”

“Don’t worry so much. It’s not just insects and moss. If we’re lucky, we might catch fish or game and have a barbecue feast. There are even fruits we can pick.”

Meiling’s face brightened—

“Though… only if you don’t think too hard about the fact that none of those look or taste like anything from Earth.”

—and darkened again.

The next day, after their so-called “mental preparation,” we set out.

For survival training, I chose the open-type dungeon: Bottle Gourd Island.

Unlike the Archipelago Dungeon, this one was vast, with zones instead of floors. The monsters grew stronger the deeper you went, closer to the island’s two inner cores.

In fact, HAUT’s survival assignment had always been conducted here. At least, back when I played Latesai, I never saw them use another dungeon.

‘During the exam, everyone—including supervisors—enters at once, competing not just for survival but in a range of sub-tasks. Reproducing all of that is impossible. And if we practiced jointly with others, we’d just expose our full capabilities. No, it’s best if we train alone.’

“Alright, let me give you the basics.”

I crouched and drew a diagram in the sand with a rock.

“As the name suggests, the island is shaped like a bottle gourd. Weak monsters roam the outer rim. The deeper you go toward the centers of the two circles, the stronger the monsters get.”

The three leaned over my sketch.

“Food and water can only be obtained inside. To forage or hunt, we’ll have to fight our way past strong monsters. Survival here forces combat.”

“I see.” Seo Yui nodded.

“So in the real exam, points with resources become contested grounds, right?”

Oh? She grasped it instantly.

“Exactly. Capturing resource points early is advantageous. But since this is training, we’ll just focus on survival and monster-hunting.”

I straightened.

“Let’s move in toward the interior.”

I pointed deeper into the jungle. Lumina stiffened. Meiling scowled.

But now that we’d entered, retreat was no longer an option.

I led the way, the others following reluctantly.

The 240-hour survival had begun.

Meanwhile—

In front of Gwangcheon Academy’s gates, a woman stood with tension etched on her face.

She wore a bright-colored suit, her bob-cut hair framing her round cheeks. Her eyes stayed fixed on the main building beyond the outdoor training ground.

Her superior’s voice echoed in her mind:

“That boy is the key to reaching the craftsman behind the rare equipment shown at Platinum Wings. Do whatever it takes to bring that craftsman over to our side. That’s the only way we’ll beat Crystal Huntermall. At the very least, dig up information about the mystery craftsman! Understood?”

“…Hoo.”

Her body stiffened. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

An Ji-yeong, Sales Division 2, Item Business Department, Forward Corporation.

For six years she had endured all the dirt and humiliation Forward demanded of her. She knew this mission would determine whether she earned her long-awaited promotion.

Forward was planning a new Hunter-item marketplace to rival Crystal Huntermall.

In research on demonic materials, they prided themselves on being ahead of Crystal.

But when people thought of rare equipment, Hunters immediately thought of Crystal Huntermall, not Forward.

First-mover advantage.

That was what Forward had lost—and that loss had doomed them.

In a desperate attempt to catch up, Forward had been working behind the scenes, trying to take over parts of the Hunter Market distribution network and aggressively recruiting craftsmen.

Now the launch of Forward’s brand-new Hunter-exclusive shopping mall had finally been set in motion.

At that very moment, however, a rumor had begun shaking the Hunter community.

A genius craftsman—like a newborn supernova—had appeared in Seoul.

Not only could this craftsman produce dozens of rare items in a single week, but the quality was so high that no other craftsman could hope to match it.

The Item Business Department at Forward immediately launched an investigation.

The rumor proved true.

Where most craftsmen targeted wealthy Hunters, creating gear for the mid-to-high levels, this one instead focused on equipment for young trainees.

And he delivered exclusively to a single store—Platinum Wings.

But soon it became known that Platinum Wings was owned by the second daughter of Crystal’s CEO. That revelation had left Forward with nothing but bitter regret, forcing them to abandon their investigation.

Then, something no one had expected happened.

An item suspected to have been crafted by this mystery artisan—Weight of Phase Fixation, a tool that allowed Hunters to resume dungeon activity—had been given freely to the Hunter Market by a mere trainee.

That student was none other than the mysterious prodigy of Gwangcheon Academy: Nam Yein.

Hunters who had attended the same gathering confirmed that Nam Yein himself had said he was acquainted with the mystery craftsman.

The flames of interest roared back to life in Forward’s Item Business Department.

If they could use Nam Yein to draw the craftsman over to Forward, it would not only give their new shopping mall the perfect weapon for launch—it would also strike a blow against Crystal.

And so, the burden on An Ji-yeong’s shoulders grew heavier than ever.

“Who are you?”

An Ji-yeong flinched.

A man from the security office had approached her.

“O-oh, hello.”

Turning toward him, she put on a bright smile.

“I’m An Ji-yeong, from Forward Corporation’s Item Business Department.”

“Oh, Forward? Are you here because of the campus store?”

“N-no. I came to see a student.”

“A student? For a visit, then?”

“I suppose you could call it that. I’d like to meet a student named Nam Yein. Could I go inside?”

She’d already learned from Academy staff that Yein was staying in the dorms over the summer break.

“Ah, you’re here for Nam Yein.” The guard nodded, then gave a wry smile.

“Unfortunately, your timing’s off. He’s not in the dorm right now.”

“…What?”

An Ji-yeong blinked, then all but lunged forward.

“Wh-where is he? His family home? Traveling? Could you tell me his destination?”

“Uh… well…”

“Please, I beg you.”

She put on the most pitiful expression she could muster, locking eyes with him.

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, the guard finally answered:

“He went into a dungeon.”

“A… dungeon?”

“Yeah. He said he’d be inside for ten days to prepare for HAUT.”

Ji-yeong felt a heavy thud drop inside her chest.

She needed to finish her mission and report back quickly—but ten days was far too long.

“…Could you at least tell me which dungeon?”

“Just a moment.”

The guard ducked back into the office and returned a few seconds later.

“Bottle Gourd Island Dungeon.”

“Bottle Gourd Island…”

Ji-yeong let out a sigh of relief.

Right. That’s an open-type dungeon. Which means the ten-day period doesn’t matter—he’ll come out at the exact time he went in.

She turned back with a bright smile.

“Do you know when he left?”

“About an hour ago, I think,” the guard said after rolling his eyes upward in thought.

So he should be back soon, once travel time is accounted for.

Deciding to wait inside the campus, she made her way to the dorms.

Two hours later—

“Why isn’t he back yet?”

Seated on a bench outside the boys’ dorm, Ji-yeong muttered in frustration. Sweat poured down her face.

“Eeeeeeek!!”

I grabbed the hem of Meiling’s clothes as she tried to run away.

“I’d rather die than eat that!!”

“That won’t do.” My tone was firm.

“If you starve yourself, I’ll grind it up and force it into your mouth.”

In my hand writhed a plump, milky-white insect. It squirmed with vitality, fat and packed with nutrients.

“See? Seo Yui and Lumina already steeled themselves.”

I gestured behind me.

Seo Yui was watching a row of insects roast to a crisp brown color with sleepy eyes, while Lumina stared blankly into space, holding an empty skewer and chewing mechanically.

“Just give up and try it grilled. You might be surprised—it could taste fine.”

“I said NOOO! I hate bugs!!!”

Tears streamed down Meiling’s face as she wailed.

(End of Chapter)

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