Erzebet, the summoning genius of the Necromancer School, had originally come here with the purpose of leading the corpse spiders to retrieve the Nusslack corpse.
Meanwhile, Simon stepped onto the teleportation magic circle and was transported to another location.
The place he arrived at was near Hongpeng's hut.
"Simon!" Kamibarez greeted him with a bright smile.
She had been worried about Simon being late and had been glancing towards the magic circle.
"Sorry. I'm late, right?" She rushed over, scanning Simon with a concerned look.
"Did something happen with the instructor?"
Simon quickly thought on his feet.
He could have brushed it off as nothing, but if Dick and Meilin asked him the same question later, it could become a hassle.
It seemed better to attach a reasonably realistic reason here.
"Actually, on my way back, I remembered the Nusslack corpses. I brought a few back for undead research."
"Oh, I see! As expected from a summoning major!" Kamibarez seemed to believe him without suspicion.
At that moment, Meilin shouted from a distance, her face flushed with anger.
"What are you guys doing? Stop playing around and help out quickly!"
"Yes~"
"Got it."
Everyone was busy preparing to start a fire.
Dick was laying straw on the ground and stacking firewood.
Meilin was struggling to move the firewood she had brought from behind the hut.
"Dick! Where should I put this... Whoa!" As she walked while looking ahead, she suddenly stumbled and lost her balance.
"Are you okay?" Simon dashed over like lightning and caught the firewood.
"I'll move this."
He then lifted the firewood Meilin was struggling with and placed it on his shoulder.
"You help with something else."
"Uh...? Oh. Thanks."
Meilin, feeling embarrassed, scratched her head and turned away.
Simon set the firewood down near Dick.
It seemed like they would need more firewood than expected, so he went back to the back of the hut.
'Oh no.' All the cut firewood was gone.
However, there was an axe and a log nearby.
Simon grabbed a thick piece of firewood, set it on the log, and raised the axe.
Crack! The firewood split easily in half. 'Good, good.
My old skills are still there.' As Simon felt a sense of pride while chopping, he noticed Kamibarez watching him intently from the side.
She quickly picked up a new piece of firewood and ran over to place it on the log.
"I'll help!"
"Uh, thanks. It's dangerous, so stay back."
Kamibarez stepped back, and Simon raised the axe again.
This time, with a loud crack, the firewood split in two.
She clapped her hands.
"You do it really well! Do you do this often?"
"Yeah. Before coming to Kizen, this was one of my main tasks."
Simon wiped the sweat from his forehead as he spoke.
While Kamibarez brought over the next piece of wood, Simon looked at the cut surface of the firewood. 'It didn't split cleanly.' Maybe he had put in more effort because someone was watching.
As Simon forced a smile, Kamibarez placed a new piece of wood and quickly stepped back, her eyes shining with anticipation.
"Is it really that fun just chopping firewood?"
"Yes!" With Kamibarez's help, they chopped enough firewood and carried it towards the campfire.
"Wow, we made quite a pile!" Simon marveled at the high stack of firewood.
Dick chuckled and pointed at the Nusslack corpse.
"The Nusslack we caught is so big, we had to do this much."
"That's true."
Simon also helped with starting the fire.
He laid down straw, dry leaves, and twigs on the ground, stacking the firewood in a pyramid shape on top.
Once he lit the tinder below and fanned it, the flames gradually spread to the firewood above.
"That's amazing."
Meilin squatted nearby, resting her face in her hands.
"Do you really have to stack the firewood like this?"
"There's no rule that says you have to, but this is the most common way."
Simon slowly explained the principles of the campfire as he lit it.
Dick, who was fanning the flames beside him, chuckled.
"Doesn't the fire user know how to start a campfire?"
"Ah, be quiet. Is the fire I use the same as this one?"
"Your personality is fiery, though."
"Then your mouth is like firewood. If I split it in half and throw it in the campfire, it would burn well."
"Oh, that's brutal."
As Simon waited, listening to Dick and Meilin bickering as usual, the fire quickly stabilized.
He brought over appropriately sized stones and arranged them in a circle near the campfire.
Now it looked somewhat decent.
"Is everyone here?" At the sound of a voice from behind, everyone jumped to their feet.
"Professor Hongpeng!"
"Hello!" She was carrying various tools on her back, barefoot, and holding a bucket with a few fish inside.
"Oh! You made a good fire. Shall we start cooking right away?"
"Yes!" The survival class began immediately.
She placed the Nusslack corpse that Simon and the others had brought onto a wooden cutting board.
"Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, but the disassembly process is almost the same, so take note."
Her hands moved swiftly.
She skinned the fur, cut open the belly to remove the entrails, and drained the blood.
Kamibarez, unable to bear the sight of the entrails, covered her eyes.
"They say monster meat often has a foul smell, right? The stench comes from the decay of the meat and blood, so it's best to complete the disassembly as quickly as possible. Now, let's remove the front legs and the tendons. Like this!"
Once the disassembly lesson was over, they finally had chunks of meat ready to be grilled.
Hongpeng smiled brightly.
"This is how you do it. Easy, right?"
"......."
"......."
Meilin and Kamibarez nodded with forced smiles.
"Alright, next!" This time, she demonstrated how to disassemble fish.
This was much easier work.
"Wherever you go, there are rivers and fish, right? Fishing is also a great way to get food."
Hongpeng knocked off the fish's head, quickly scaled it, and removed the entrails before washing it in water.
With her hands, the fish was soon ready to be grilled.
"Now, let's grill it."
"Bringing out the grill!" Dick brought over a grill and secured it over the campfire, while Hongpeng placed the Nusslack meat on top.
The meat began to sizzle, and juices started dripping down.
"That's amazing. Once you prepare it like this, it looks just like pork."
"It looks delicious!" While grilling the meat, Hongpeng brought out several spice jars and sprinkled them on top.
"I think this amount of spices is allowed to bring in."
As she sprinkled a mix of pepper and seeds over the meat, a fragrant aroma spread all around.
"And monster meat might inevitably have parasites or pathogens. It's important to cook it thoroughly over a strong fire."
"Yes!" After a while, once the meat was fully cooked, it was transferred to a plate.
Dick rolled over a barrel of wine, and Kamibarez brought over the dishes, completing all the preparations.
"Cheers!" In the end, it turned into an outdoor barbecue party disguised as a survival class.
Everyone ate, drank, and enjoyed themselves in a lively atmosphere.
"This is really delicious!" Kamibarez exclaimed with a blissful expression, cupping her cheeks.
Dick nodded in agreement.
"Wow, this is unbelievable. How does such a disgusting creature taste so good?"
"Hey! Can you not remind me of that while I'm eating?" Meilin rolled her eyes and scolded him.
"Ah, Simon!" Hongpeng looked at Simon.
"Where did Instructor Bread go? I told him to taste the meat since he helped with the teleportation."
"Ah...."
Simon felt a jolt but forced a smile as he replied.
"I suggested he join us, but he said he was feeling unwell and would head back first."
"Well, there's nothing we can do about that."
The day grew darker, and the drinking party became more lively.
The campfire was so large that it felt like a campfire gathering.
Most importantly, since the same members were present as last time, it didn't take long to adapt.
Today, even Kamibarez, who was afraid of alcohol, was drinking happily.
"Ah, this is nice~" Dick swayed his head, exuding the smell of wine.
Although he liked drinking, he wasn't very good at it.
"Dick, are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to go take a leak."
Dick suddenly stood up and walked away unsteadily, his steps shaky as if he were quite drunk.
He then stopped near some bushes and started fumbling with his pants.
Seeing this, Meilin gasped and shouted, "Eww! Ugh! You crazy idiot! Go do that far away!"
A moment later, a loud and unmistakable sound echoed.
Horrified, Meilin quickly covered her ears and turned her head away.
"Ugh! Seriously... commoners really... have no sense of decency!"
As she yelled, Simon and Hongpeng laughed.
Just then, someone leaned against Simon's arm with a soft thud.
"... Kamibarez?" The tipsy Kamibarez, her cheeks flushed, had fallen asleep against Simon's arm.
"Uuuh... Simon..."
"Professor, I'll take her to the hut to sleep."
"Yeah, do that."
Hongpeng raised her cup.
"Then let's toast with Meilin the scholar!"
"Pro, Professor, you seem to be drinking a bit too much today..."
"Me too! I'll toast too!" Dick rushed over.
Meilin screamed and ran away.
"Ah! You crazy idiot! Zip up your pants!"
As Simon laughed and tried to stand up, Kamibarez suddenly tugged at his clothes.
"Kamibarez?"
"...... Don't leave me behind..."
"I'm not leaving you."
Simon said gently as he lifted her lightly.
She nestled into his arms, rubbing her face against his chest.
"Hey, hey. Simon."
Meilin opened her eyes drowsily.
"If you do anything weird to our Kamibarez, I'll really kill you."
"...... What are you talking about?"
"Quickly put her to bed and come out!" Simon carried Kamibarez into Hongpeng's hut.
She was completely unaware and had fallen asleep.
As he gently laid her on the bed, she curled up comfortably as if she had been waiting for this moment.
"Goodnight, Kamibarez."
Simon stroked her head and covered her with a blanket.
Just as he turned to leave, he felt a sudden tug at the back of his shirt.
Incredibly strong, he was pulled back onto the bed, and Kamibarez opened her mouth wide.
"......!" At that moment, Kamibarez seemed like a completely different person.
The pressure emanating from her made Simon's face turn pale.
Every cell in his body warned him of danger.
Just as her sharp fangs were about to head for Simon's neck, she quickly covered her mouth with both hands and leaned her forehead against Simon's shoulder.
"Don't... Simon... umm..."
Then she fell back asleep again.
Simon was so shocked that sweat dripped down his face.
Her expression was so peaceful that he couldn't tell if what had just happened was a drunken hallucination or reality.
'Kamibarez, did you... hold back because of me?'
"Uuuh."
Simon laid her down properly on the bed and covered her with a blanket.
He wasn't sure what was going on, but he felt a strange sense of gratitude.
With a sigh of relief, Simon smiled softly and said, "Goodnight, Kamibarez."
After the midterms ended, a new week began.
"Today, I have an important announcement."
Professor Jane of Class A looked around at the students.
Now familiar with the pattern, the students steeled themselves and waited for her next words.
Jane received a document from the teaching assistant and began to read.
"Yes, in two days, you will be conducting the island survival assessment."
Finally, Kizen had officially announced it.
The Island Survival, or the Island Survival Assessment, was a large-scale program involving all first-year students.
The students buzzed as if a bomb had exploded, but Simon's group, Team 7, exchanged meaningful smiles.
'Ah, how am I going to wait for two days?' Simon, with his arms crossed, had a grin that seemed ready to soar.
"Please take one guidebook per person!" The teaching assistants quickly moved around, distributing the performance evaluation guidebooks to the students.
"I'll explain briefly."
Jane opened the guidebook and spoke.
The students followed suit and opened theirs.
"From Class A to Class N, all 961 first-year students who have survived so far will be teleported to the island."
Jane picked up a piece of chalk and quickly drew a circle on the blackboard, presumed to be the island.
In the center, she marked a triangle, then dotted the outermost area of the island's perimeter.
"You will start from random locations in the outer area of the island. The key rule that underpins this project is simple: survive for four days."
The students nodded with tense expressions.
"However, simply surviving won't adequately assess the students' abilities. This evaluation will have a point system. After all tests are completed, your grades and rankings will depend on the points you hold."
She drew small X marks all over the island.
"You can earn points by hunting the monsters that appear all over the island. From the weakest Level 1 to Level 4 monsters. Depending on the type of monster, you can earn from 1 point to over 20 points."
At that moment, Jamie Victoria raised her hand high.
"I have a question about how the points are tallied."
Jamie blushed and lowered her arm.
Laughter erupted from various corners.
"We will use this equipment."
Jane waved a bracelet.
It had a round, flat body resembling a monster's mouth with a strap attached.
"This is a bio-artifact called a Tongpad. When you bring this artifact close to a dead monster..."
Thud! A long tongue shot out from the mouth-shaped bracelet, causing startled gasps from the students.
The long tongue swept over the practice materials prepared by the teaching assistant before retracting back into the bracelet.
"This artifact will automatically absorb the monster's mana and process it. Then, within 10 seconds, a numerical value will be displayed on the pad in mana language."
Jane pointed to the rising value displayed on the Tongpad.
"So hunting monsters is not optional but essential. Even for meals."
Some students' faces quickly hardened at that statement.
Afterward, Jane explained the usage of the Tongpad in detail.
Besides simply absorbing the mana of hunted monsters to convert it into points, it was also possible to transfer collected points to another person's Tongpad.
"Returning to the rules, combat between Kizen students is, of course, allowed. If you reduce the barrier gauge of an opposing student to zero, that student will be deemed 'dead.' The evaluation will end, and they will be moved to a safe area by the teleporters. At this time, the Tongpad of the student going to the safe area will expel all the mana they had in a lump form."
"......!" In other words, if you capture another student, you could steal all their points and significantly increase your own.
Jane didn't need to explain further; everyone understood that this was the crux of the evaluation.
"And one more important tip."
She pointed to the center of the island with chalk.
"In the very center of the island, there is a mansion built by Kizen. It is an indestructible mansion that cannot be destroyed by any attack. The interior of the mansion is the only area on the island where attacks are prohibited, and if you set foot inside even once..."
She looked around at the students.
"After the exam ends, you will all receive 200 points."
The students' murmurs suddenly grew loud.
"You will start from the outer area of the island, but you must aim to move towards the center. The difference between having been to the mansion even once and not having been is truly significant."
As Simon listened to the explanation, he nodded.
With guaranteed 200 points, he felt he could secure a mid-tier ranking.
"That covers the main points."
She set down the chalk and looked at the students.
"In this survival assessment, your survival skills, combat abilities, adaptability, and improvisation will be comprehensively evaluated when you are dropped into an unfamiliar location. The major rules are clear and not difficult, but there are many tricky details. How you utilize these will determine your skill. Please make sure to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the contents of the guidebook over the next two days."
"Yes!"
"Then, for the remaining time..."
Jane glanced at her wristwatch.
The students' eyes sparkled.
Could it be free time?
"We will have a class from an external instructor."