Chapter 99

Shall we go down for now?

Ecdysis cautiously expressed her opinion. It was his first remark since they had been given two days rations, and all that came out was Uncle Brick.

The brick that Elpheira claimed was dog food was a sticky, slippery, bizarrely squishy and foul-smelling object.

Does anyone know the name of this mountain or at least the geography around here?

.

Everyone fell silent at Oscars question. None of the foreigners from various countries, who were not even from Krasilov, could be expected to know the geography of this rural mountain.

Oscar narrowed his eyes and said, Then just descending blindly will be difficult. If you get lost on the mountain at night, the problem becomes serious. At least, you should move while reading the direction when the sun is up.

Do humans have trouble seeing and feeling in the dark?

Yes?

Since we fell on the way up the mountain, why not just go down the same way?

The mountain isnt a ladder, what kind of?

Elves are naturally children of the forest. Humans should be prepared to be amazed when they see us.

Elpheira chuckled confidently and stood up. She shook off her clothes and looked down at the sitting students.

At that moment, Isabelle furrowed her brows and said, Wait a minute. Elpheira, everyone. Isnt something strange?

Huh?

Do you remember what uncle said when I told him, Ill just go back the other way? He said, That could also be a way. Remember?

He did?

That sounds like, If you can, give it a try. Am I the only one who thinks this?

Isabelle looked at the dark forest.

Look. He deliberately erased the path and even brought a horse. Even though its obvious he wont send us off, he said, Give it a try if you can. Isnt this a trap?

Isnt that too speculative? Whats the point of Uncle setting a trap?

Ive never successfully predicted the meaning of what uncle does.

At Isabelles words, Ecdysis and Elpheira nodded unknowingly.

Thats true.

So blindly going down could also be some absurd training planned by uncle.

Training?

The uncle probably thinks theres nothing else to do but training if he brings us to the middle of the forest.

Except for Elpheiras disgruntled expression, everyone seemed to somewhat understand.

Really out of the blue, suddenly starting training that nobody asked for. So what kind of training is it exactly?

Considering uncles style, this is definitely an ambush.

An ambush?

Yeah. If its similar to the training we usually do, then its likely. So if we try to find the way and descend the mountain, someone will definitely ambush us.

Isabelle drew the hesitant students attention and took the lead in continuing the conversation.

Oscar nodded silently, deep in thought.

Yeah, just looking at her like that, its like that confident little girl from the palace days is still here.

Did we even have a reason to receive this kind of lesson in the first place?

Uncle must have thought so. Since he used to be friends with a party of heroes, maybe he thought we seemed a bit lacking

As he set Ecdysis down and turned his gaze, he saw exactly what she described: branches perfect for splints piled up high.

And even traces of swept leaves nearby.

It was a trap set in anticipation of people picking up splints. Oscar let out a bemused laugh and looked away.

Attached to the tree trunk where the trap was connected was a small note.

-There are no straight lines in nature.

Whats this now?

Oscar tore open the note and examined it before taking a step forward.

With a sharp snap, the sound of the rope breaking, the rope suddenly wound around his ankle.

Aaaah!!

Mr. Oscar!!

***

Oscar, caught in a trap despite reading the field survival rules. Minus 1 point.

Ecdysis. If something essential appears without any warning signs, one should be suspicious. Minus 1 point.

Elpheira. Despite suggesting to make a camp, shes resting in the carriage. Lack of teamwork, minus 3 points.

And.

*

Can we eat this?

Im hungry, but I never want to eat Uncles dog food. First, I need to secure some ingredients.

Since I cant just hunt in the forest in the middle of the night, it ultimately comes down to gathering.

The problem is, Isabelle has never once engaged in gathering activities in her life. After all, all the children of the hero party members come from noble families.

Especially in Isabelles case, she has never ventured outside the Tylesse palace.

Even if she claims to know about ingredients, she ultimately only relies on familiar, well-prepared items. She boasted of being a good cook, but that didnt necessarily include sourcing and preparing ingredients directly from their origins.

So, for now.

It looks like a mushroom.

Start by securing what looks familiar.

Since its dark and I cant see any fruits, and theres no way to distinguish edible greens in the absence of visible vegetables.

Isnt it common sense to start with mushrooms that seem edible from their appearance?

Smelling it, it seems similar, and even if theres something bad about it, most of the time its fine once cooked.

Isabelle chuckled as she gathered plenty of large mushrooms.

*

Bang!

Ivan glanced over to confirm the hit and lowered his gun. After tucking the smoking gun back into his belt, he took out a notebook.

Isabelle, attempting to consume wild mushrooms. Lack of common sense. Minus 1 point.

Didnt I tell you Id really kill you, Uncle?! I mean it!!

Isabelles voice echoed from afar as she clutched the bullet-riddled mushroom and screamed.

The first night was passing.

Since they probably roughly learned the survival tutorial, it was time to start with sniper detection training.

Read Faloo Novels online at