NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32
<32 - Why Mosquito Repellent is a Major Concern>
I tried to win points with candy from the main character, Irene, but my comrades ruined it.
“Ugh. Such a good opportunity wasted.”
I was disappointed with Isabel and Son Ohchun, but after hearing Jezel’s explanation, I understood.
“If you eat candy and don’t brush your teeth, your teeth will rot. It’s hard to eat outside, right?”
“Ah! I’ve eaten a ton!”
“I was actually thinking about when to give you a toothbrush. Here, this is an extra toothbrush I prepared for later.”
Taking care of dental health as well, Jezel is the best!
“While we’re at it, let’s reapply the mosquito repellent spray.”
“Okay~”
“But why do you dislike mosquitoes so much? Is it because they itch when they bite?”
Perhaps her habit of sharing her hatred for mosquitoes was evident as Jezel curiously asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough!”
*
The time to inform us of the importance of mosquito repellent was approaching.
Specifically, it was at the last fork in the road leading to the destination of the Second Gate.
[Shortcut (Paid, No Mosquitoes, Immediate Access)]
[Shortcut (Free, Many Mosquitoes, A Little Delay)]
[Return Path (Free, Few Mosquitoes, Long Delay)]
Examiner Minerva.
She spoke to the examinees who had followed her this far.
“Thanks for the long journey!”
“Wow! Is this the finish line?”
“No. I just wanted to say you did a good job.”
“???”
“The main examiner will go ahead first. Follow whichever path you want.”
Beeep.
Minerva stepped onto the magic circle alone.
With a sound of [10 points deducted.], she whooshed away with space travel.
The examinees who thought they would reach the finish line just by following the examiner felt thoroughly betrayed.
“Is this real? For real? Like seriously?”
“She just leaves like that?”
“Hey, you nasty jerk! Trash!”
“Haha. Ha ha ha.”
“Wait, do we actually need points here?”
The shocked and confused examinees were either panicking or venting their anger, unable to do much else.
At that moment, bark fell from the tree positioned at the center of the crossroads.
“Mom! What a surprise!”
“Eh? A light?”
“That’s not a tree, is it?”
The Intersection Shop disguised as a tree.
The instructor wearing a green hat popped her head out.
“If you’ve got points, I’ll sell you mosquito repellent! It might be a small amount, but it’s better than itching to death if you get bitten!”
“What about mosquito repellent spray?”
“Huh? If I sell that, I can’t sell mosquito repellent. Obviously not. Are you dumb? Hahaha.”
“……”
The examinees’ fists trembled in anger.
Both the examiner and the instructor were annoying!
“Hm? Can’t we just use that magic circle over there?”
“True. Everyone has over 60 points, after all.”
With the minimum passing score of 50 points and an additional cost of 10 points to travel, as long as they exceed 60 points, they wouldn’t have to risk taking the longer return path or navigate through mosquitoes in the shortcut.
“What’s just a few mosquitoes! Let’s just take the shortcut.”
“Right. We’re examinees aiming for the greatest academy in the world!”
Some examinees confidently headed towards the shortcut.
Within less than 10 minutes, the dirt-covered examinees returned with eyes wide open as if they had witnessed hell.
“I-is that hell? That’s gotta be hell!”
“There were… thousands of mosquitoes!!”
“I’m gonna die. If we go in there, we’ll bleed out to death!!”
“Oh my goodness!”
“How could such a horrific place exist!”
The sheer number of mosquitoes surpassed what was seen in the previous 4th auxiliary task’s mosquito swamp.
“So, they disliked mosquitoes because they knew being bitten would keep them from passing through here?”
“No, look over there.”
Returning from a point-hunting spree was Trigger-Happy Pirate Girl Jigoku.
She stepped onto the magic circle with a relaxed grin.
“If you hate mosquitoes, just use the magic circle, right? Hehe. Are they all stupid?”
Confidently, Jigoku pulled out a ticket clock next to the mana board.
What welcomed her wasn’t the blue effect indicating space travel.
[Detected Mosquito Toxin.]
[You cannot use the space travel magic circle.]
“!!”
The vile conditions that forced the examinees to use their points!
“That brat was that ruder redhead, huh? Hahaha, it’s fun to watch her embarrass herself.”
Jigoku’s face turned beet red from humiliation.
“Son Ohchun. Your laughing is too loud.”
“Haha! How can I not laugh at that?”
Jigoku, who looked ready to pull out a revolver at any moment, noticed me beside Son Ohchun and swallowed the fury rising to her head.
“Monkey brat. Let’s have a proper match later in a place with no kids.”
“Looking forward to the sea.”
Jezel couldn’t hide her disbelief.
“I’ve heard of cases where patients with wounds from swords or bullets refrain from using space travel magic circles due to fears of worsening injuries, but hearing that you can’t use them because of mosquito toxins is a first for me.”
“So you’re not even aware of the unexpected? If you’re poisoned, the toxin spreads right after space travel. Mosquito toxin is not that dangerous, though.”
This was just a tasting education tailored to the examinees.
It’s not like they were doing it just to be annoying.
“Shall we go then?”
“You all didn’t just see that? If you get bitten by mosquitoes, you can’t travel!”
“Ah, that’s okay. We weren’t bitten.”
If only they had put in a bit more effort to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes.
[10 points deducted.]
[Using the space travel magic circle.]
Conveniently, we arrived at the finish line.
Minerva greeted us with a pleased expression.
“You did great. It must have been hard not to get bitten by mosquitoes in this forest.”
“But we might have bought mosquito repellent.”
“Do you think a ranger wouldn’t smell mosquito repellent? I know you didn’t buy any. Instead, you used the mosquito repellent spray, right?”
Isabel was impressed.
“The examiner was right.”
“Do you think I’m just any examiner? Anyway, congratulations. You’ve all passed.”
“Wow!”
Jezel looked down at the ticket clock, puzzled.
“But why did our points increase?”
[Ticket clock points]
[Oknodie 122 points]
[Jezel 112 points]
[Son Ohchun 112 points]
[Isabel 112 points]
Even though we spent 10 points on space travel, our points increased by 50 each.
Minerva answered with a wry expression.
“It’s a completion reward. In the Second Gate, anyone who arrives at the finish line within the time limit will receive 50 points each.”
“Then what was the auxiliary task for?”
“To buy mosquito repellent?”
“……”
“Just kidding. Relax, examinees. You might not have realized it because your team balance was good, but this Second Gate requires various items such as food, water, and wilderness survival kits.”
The shops that appeared sporadically that required spending points.
Typically, people use some of the points earned through auxiliary tasks there.
Of course, most of them lose points from mosquito repellent to use the last magic circle.
“In long adventures, minor damage from insect bites can be ignored, but eventually, your health could dwindle little by little, or you could collapse from sickness.”
“I think the examinees will feel the importance of insect repellent through this challenge.”
With Minerva’s advice, Jezel, Son Ohchun, and Isabel accepted the lesson, realizing that this person was indeed an examiner.
I had known all along.
Noticing my calm demeanor, Minerva suddenly asked.
“Did Oknodie examinee know?”
“Of course! I’m well-prepared for poisoning!”
My comrades displayed a myriad of complicated feelings.
“Was the genius education effective after all?”
“Wow. Did it really turn out like this?”
“Poison candy training? Maybe this should be introduced to the adventure squad…”
While my comrades were holding a self-reflection meeting, I excused myself to the bathroom.
Only after confirming that no one was around due to
This was a pocket I carried separately from the candy pouch.
Inside were three stat stones.
“Hehe.”
The reason I went through with the auxiliary task, even though I didn’t have to, was exactly for this.
Stat stones are always lacking even when collected little by little!
[Low-grade Stat Stone (Limit of 20)]
[Mid-grade Stat Stone (Limit of 40)]
[Upper-grade Stat Stone (Limit of 60)]
[Advanced Stat Stone (Limit of 80)]
[Top-Grade Stat Stone (Limit of 100)]
Not every stat stone just raises your stats automatically when consumed.
Some stat stones won’t boost any stats past 20, and higher-grade stones are better saved for when the efficiency is better.
“In the beginning, there’s no harm in eating them, but once I have some leeway, I should start saving them!”
For that reason, I saved only those stat stones that were a bit too big to swallow in one go.
This would be my secret stash of stat stones for later consumption.
“Collecting rocks? You seem unexpectedly childish in some areas.”
“?!”
Startled, I quickly closed the pouch and stepped back, meeting the gaze of the instructor in a black hat peering down from the branch above.
Minerva was using her summoned beast to convey her voice through
I never expected she would perfectly track me while deceiving my
It was a chilling experience.
“I’ve seen examinees like you before.”
“There’s someone else who collects stones like me?!”
“…Not you. I meant those who trained against toxins.”
Examiner Minerva spoke through the body of her summoned beast.
“I found out while investigating because there are many similar examinees.”
“On the surface, it seems the Gift Academy supports talented individuals, but in reality, there’s an organization training agents to send to the academy.”
“Oknodie examinee, you think of yourself as a scholarship student supported by the [Wiheomhae Foundation], don’t you? Or am I mistaken?”