The Perfect Knight and the Illusionist (BL)
Chapter 35: Lost

Chapter 35: Lost

MARIUS

I didn’t expect that we’d be tasked with something ’challenging’ so early in the semester. Not that I was afraid of it, but it was a sign that the Academy had no intention of hand-holding us through the initial phase. According to Dimitri, who showed no reservation in expressing his love for Kick-Ball and talking about his tournament adventures, there were two types of coaches. Ones who did an endless repetition of small drills, and ones who believed every exercise should be some form of a real match, just scaled down. The Academy certainly belonged in the second category.

And now, we found ourselves in a rather uncomfortable situation of being lost in the mountains. Each group, made up of six students, was tasked to ’survive’ on a mountain for three days and two nights. We were given no food and no resources, except the weapons of our choice. Everything else was to be sourced from nature.

My group was a good mix of students with different abilities, consisting of me, Beatrice, Dimitri, Dorian, Isabelle, and... Skylark. I remembered Falken’s order that I should protect Skylark, so it was a good thing that the boy was in my group. With Dorian, I had a concern that he would not work as a team, and that concern turned out to be true as he disappeared from our group within the first hour of the survival challenge. Dimitri picked an axe as his weapon of choice, which was a useful decision as he could hack through the thick vegetation we had to go through. Beatrice and Isabelle were yet to have a chance to make their contributions, but I felt confident we had two of the best magic users in the class.

In theory, we were a good team, and we were supposed to have no problem at all in the wilderness, prepared for any eventuality.

Yet, we found ourselves lost—or more like trapped—in the woods, going around in a circle and finding ourselves back at the same spot we thought we had just passed an hour ago.

What was going on...?

"This is the third time we have passed this rock," Beatrice observed.

"Really?" Dimitri asked, oblivious.

"Beatrice is right. I remember this rock. It’s got an odd shape. And that tree over there too. The white flower growing where the branches join is in the exact same place," Isabelle concurred.

"I can’t believe you guys can notice these things," Dimitri said, shrugging.

"I quite like it...," then Skylark said.

"Eh?" Dimitri and Isabelle said at the same time, confused.

"It looks like a big sea turtle I once saw when I went to the sea with my family and friends..."

"Heh, I’d never seen a sea turtle before," Dimitri, coming from the mountainous region of the North, remarked.

All the while, I was trying to figure out how this was possible.

"Should we try to split up and see if both groups end up here?"

Beatrice suggested. In principle, it was not a bad idea, but there was a danger in this plan.

"Beatrice, that’s not a good gamble. At best it confirms we are ’trapped’ somehow, which doesn’t help the situation. At worst, we end up split up as a group and can’t find each other again," I said.

"True...," Beatrice caught on.

"If... we can’t get out of here—why don’t we just stay here then? We only need to ’survive,’ right? We don’t have to explore creepy places or anything...," Skylark chimed in.

We all gave it a thought, and although I personally did not have a good feeling about staying in a place we didn’t fully understand, the rest of the group seemed to agree.

"I agree. There is no point wasting our energy. We’d be better off collecting food, building a shelter, and securing water instead of looking for a place that may not be any better than here," Isabelle said.

"I don’t feel too comfortable here, to be honest. There are no animals here, as if this place is uninhabitable," Beatrice observed.

Right at that moment, a trio of squirrels appeared from under the sea-turtle rock, looked at us for a moment, then ran toward a tree and climbed up, disappearing into a small opening in the trunk.

"I guess that solves that concern," Dimitri said.

What is the right way to lead a team? Act on my instinct and pull them through together? Or should I do what everyone agrees on?

"I... really like it here. It’s got this sea-turtle rock...," Leo said, sheepishly.

"Hah! If a country boy—no offense!—says this place feels safe, I guess it is!" Dimitri said, laughing.

It made sense.

Our mission was to survive, and my mission was to protect Skylark. Perhaps staying in a place where he felt comfortable was better than leading him through unknown dangers and risks.

"Fine. We shall stay here for the night. Dimitri and I can take turns staying awake to guard the place at night. If anything happens overnight, we can look for a new place tomorrow," I finally agreed.

"Good, then let’s look for water," Beatrice suggested.

"How about food? I don’t really want to eat the squirrels...," Isabelle said.

"No! We can’t eat the squirrels!"

Skylark was really against the idea.

"We could probably grab their nuts," Dimitri said, then added, "that didn’t come out right."

"No stealing the squirrels’ nuts!" Skylark objected again.

"I could go hunting. There must be some rabbits in the area, or ideally, something bigger like a deer," I suggested as an alternative.

"Sounds like a plan," Isabelle agreed with me.

"OK, let’s get to work then," I concluded.

"Huh? What about me? And Leo?" Dimitri asked.

"You stay here and protect Skylark," I told Dimitri. This was the safest option.

"What, from the squirrels?" Dimitri asked.

"Or any other danger that might show up," I said, trying to convince him.

"Nah, you did that last time too. I want in on some action, mate. Why don’t YOU stay with Leo this time, Marius?" Dimitri asked, recalling the last time we were attacked in the carriage.

"I... want to do something too," Skylark said.

"Why don’t you two build a shelter then? That’s also very important," Isabelle suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds fun!" Skylark said.

I didn’t think it was the best use of my abilities, but I... decided to agree.

"Let’s do that, then," I said.

Then we split up. Dimitri went alone to look for something to hunt, and Isabelle and Beatrice went to find a source of water. I was now left alone with Skylark, who asked me,

"Have you ever built a shelter before?"

"No," I said, feeling inadequate.

This really wasn’t my strength.