NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: Idol Safekeeping Association
With only a limited number of bullets, the two didn’t waste too much in test shots. After a little bit of practicing, Shaelyn planned to take Lamont to search for a place to pass the night.
Frankly speaking, no amount of practice would be more effective than experiencing a real battle once. Regardless of how much they practiced, they still wouldn’t be able to react to a sudden change of event, and there were plenty of those in this game, which were also a lot more unpredictable than on real battlefields.
It didn’t matter how accurate one’s aim was in this instance. After all, in this kind of forest terrain, most of their encounters would be in close quarters. Additionally, their gun’s shooting range was only up to ten meters. It’d be acceptable if they could at least hit the target, there would be no need to pursue perfect shots.
The two only walked for a short distance before a system message suddenly popped up in every player’s vision.
【Notice: The Idol Safekeeping Association has arrived on the island. They are preparing to attack anyone on this island who they deemed to be the participants of this reality show. Please respond appropriately.】
【Notice: The Idol Safekeeping Association has found the supplies on this island and is working on securing said supplies.】
【Reward Duty Commenced: You’ll earn 100 GP for each member of the association you killed.】
Almost at the same time, a sound akin to a broadcast resounded throughout the whole island.
“Down with masculinity!! Idols rule!!”1
Killing intent could be felt in the voice of the woman who just spoke.
That ought to be a member of the Idol Safekeeping Association.
Hearing that, Lamont unconsciously lifted his gun and surveyed the area while in high alert.
However, Shaelyn wasn’t that worried about it, “Relax, even if it’s a game and all, they still need to follow the basic law. Since the association has just arrived on the island, they still have quite a distance from us.”
Although this was an island, it had a really large surface area. Moreover, judging by their position on the radar, they should be in the heart of the island, so they were quite safe for the time being.2
As for the second notice, what that meant was that if the players wanted to procure more supplies, it would be exponentially harder than getting the first batch. Actually… the “first batch” wasn’t exactly the right term, the more appropriate words for it would be the supplies that were closest to the players. If the players didn’t foresee this and get their hands on the supplies before then, they would be facing a hell of a start.3
Having come to a realization, Lamont put away his gun, “Hey, since we get 100 GP per kill… should we try ambushing them?”
“No need, they’ll come to find us eventually,” Shaelyn shook her head and glanced at the time. “With three times the speed, it’ll be dark before long, so we should find a safe place to stay before dusk.”
The player’s body condition followed the same flow of time as the instance. In other words, they would also feel hungry and sleepy three times as quickly. The game would treat all these conditions that’d affect the player’s action as a debuff.
Although the game didn’t display the HP bar, these debuffs would have a huge influence on the players. Moreover, their effects were much more pronounced than in reality.
Such as now, for example, it was just about to hit evening and Lamont was already feeling a little famished even though there wasn’t any indication of the debuff yet.
“… Shouldn’t it be fine without resting for the night?” Lamont pondered for a moment and proposed. “Staying up all night isn’t anything too hard, and knowing that there are enemies out there, we probably wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly anyway. So why not take this chance and sneak into their camp to do a night raid? Who knows, maybe we can even get unexpected rewards.”
He paused for a while then supplemented as if he had just thought of something, “Besides, this is a game. Even if you don’t sleep for a night, it shouldn’t affect your skin or anything…”
Shaelyn: “……”
She almost lost her cool again.
How… can this guy be so stupid?
The last part could totally be omitted alright? I wasn’t even thinking of such things to begin with and he just had to mention it. It is fortunate that I don’t really care about those kinds of things, but if he really said that to a girl who cared a lot about beauty, the consequences would be dire!
That’s a forbidden topic, you doofus!
Besides, even if this is just a game, it would be fatal to view it as so!
‘Who am I, where am I, I don’t care, I just know that I have to start a massacre.’ Those are the types of players who often died first, you know?! Use your brain a little and think, you idiot!
Even though she was cursing at him so much in her mind, it didn’t show on the surface and she just smiled at him instead. She reined in her anger and pulled Lamont’s hand to explain, “Don’t forget that we are participating in a survival in the wilderness reality show. Our enemies aren’t just the Idol Safekeeping Association. The beasts on this island can also pose a threat to us.”
Lamont was taken aback, “Ah… sorry, I forgot about that point.”
“It’s nothing,” Shaelyn pulled his hand and swung it back and forth, “Just take your time and learn slowly, nobody starts out as a big shot. You just need to accumulate more experience one step at a time.”
Lamont could feel his heart melting.
Even though she was a pampered young lady, she still knows how to empathize with people…
Or maybe because… he was the target of her affection?
As he came to that conclusion, a burst of fighting spirit welled up in his heart.
It seemed like he would need to work hard in order to meet her expectations.
But survival in the wilderness huh… Now that he thought about it, he did watch a few of such related shows. Now, what did the people in those shows do again?
“Hm? Isn’t that a cave?” Shaelyn’s voice pulled Lamont back from his thoughts.
Turning back to look at the nearby cliff, there seemed to be a cave over there.
“Let’s go take a look, it might be a nice spot to spend the night,” Shaelyn pulled out her pistol and led the way.
Lamont also pulled out his gun and followed after her, “Be careful… maybe I should be the one walking in front so I can better protect you in case something happens.”
Shaelyn turned her head to glance at him, then she smiled and made a go-ahead gesture, “Very good, Mr. Hero, go~!”
Tsk, he’s so dull in other areas, and yet he doesn’t need someone to teach him how to act heroically in front of girls.
However, didn’t he know that his action was actually detrimental in reality? The girls would just treat him as a handyman and nothing more…
At best, he would only receive the “good guy” status.
He was still young… and stupid.
Looking at him rushing headlong into the cave excitedly, Shaelyn supplemented in her heart.
Mayhap Lamont had yet to have any dark experience due to his current environment. Therefore, the current Lamont could still be described with one word, naive. Even as rational as he was, he could only ponder over the question within his realm of understanding, and this kind of Lamont was too easy for her to toy with in the palm of her hands.
From his earlier reaction, Shaelyn could tell he already considered her a girlfriend-to-be, or maybe even a wife-to-be. If he didn’t feel it was possible for him to connect with the girl, he wouldn’t have spent an ounce of effort to impress her. Once he started to act, he would think it was time for him to showcase his manliness.
In fact, Shaelyn4 had done the same plenty of times in the past… she would say the same line to other girls, but it was a pity those acts of folly never bore fruit.
Now that she was looking at that very same act from a third-person perspective, she even thought he was so simple that it was a little cute.
However… if this guy was to really meet a scheming b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲, he wouldn’t even know how he was being played with. One only needed to express goodwill and offer him a few material benefits, and they would have hooked a good half of him without any difficulties.
Shaelyn helplessly heaved a sigh.
She suddenly felt that it was a very difficult task to watch over this guy.
……If there’s a chance in the future, maybe I can give him some advice.
- Lio: An association that transforms males into traps?
- Lio: However, depending on the amount of forces, you can get surrounded quite easily.
- Lio: Kind of like playing a game without the starter equipment.
- Silva: Was confused when author writes Lamont, but is in fact the past Lamont, so I’ll use Shaelyn instead.
Lio: Agreed, it could get really confusing.