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Bringing Alice and Lucy along turned out to be a wise move.

"Go! Alice, Lucy, Lumi!"

"…?"

Alice and Lucy stared at me with the most skeptical eyes, as if to say, "Are you for real?"

"Sorry… My mana is running low. I can\'t fight."

Alice instantly responded, "Why are you telling us now, you fool?!"

"It\'s okay, we got this."

"Gaaarghhhh!" The High Elf, now an earthbound decoration, snatched his bow and sprinted to defend the blazing World Tree.

Elves are nature aficionados; they hold the World Tree dearer than their own existence. Capitalizing on this sentiment, my first course of action would be grilling the World Tree before dealing with the elf to harvest his essence. And if you\'re wondering why there\'s an elf and a World Tree in the survival test area… Beats me. That\'s how it was in the original. How would I know?

Pang!

Lumi\'s shield deflected the approaching arrows, Lucy conjured binding magic, and Alice sprinted aggressively toward the elf.

"I\'ll take the lead. Watch my back." Alice pierced through the arrow barrage after signaling the twins to cover her.

The elf, with his gaze cold as ice, rained arrows upon us. The arrows twisted in absurd trajectories and targeted me as I worked on turning the World Tree into a bonfire. He seemed more fixated on me than on Alice, who was advancing with determination.

With Vision Enhancement, I twirled and sidestepped the arrows, all while my mana clung to its last breath. Keeping the blaze alive on the World Tree guzzled down mana like there was no tomorrow, and it was even a struggle to summon Cotton Guard.

"Argghh!"

A breath of relief escaped me as the arrow storm dwindled; credit to Alice, who stuck to the elf like glue while swinging her sword. Meanwhile, Lucy and Lumi had Alice\'s back; they weaved supportive magic from a safe distance.

"Watch out! Roots are coming up from the ground!"

The World Tree\'s roots, manipulated by the High Elf\'s magic, lunged toward Alice. She luckily heeded my warning as she dodged them with remarkable agility.

"Ah! Why are there so many?!"

Lucy and Lumi weren\'t spared either. Despite the onslaught, the situation felt more like attending a root-themed light show. With the World Tree practically reduced to ashes, its root rampage was dwindling.

"Raaargh!" The elf\'s belated scream echoed a desperate awakening, but the ship had sailed. The preemptive strike on the World Tree had set it ablaze long before the battle, reaching a point where the elf struggled to rein it in.

Alice picked up on the elf\'s dire predicament and pressed on with the attack, effectively prolonging the skirmish. Her mastery of the blade as she maintained relentless pressure on the elf while effortlessly severing roots, left me impressed, even from my observation point.

Time\'s on our side.

The elf futilely aimed arrows my way, but Alice swiftly nullified its efforts.

After a prolonged interval, the World Tree succumbed entirely to the flames. Its descent echoed loudly as it relinquished its energy. The roots that had menaced us vanished, leaving the elf standing with bow gripped in hand. He gazed blankly at the remnants of the scorched World Tree.

Waiting for about 10 seconds in that state would trigger the awakening of the distressed elf. And killing the awakened elf would yield its essence, but… there\'s no need prolong the wait.

I neared the elf, which stood dumbfounded by the burning World Tree, and drove Spiral into its abdomen.

"Kakh… Agh… Kraah…!" The elf squirmed, trying to unleash an awakening scream, as my Spiral tore through its body.

"Ugh… Gross…"

Tearing apart a humanoid monster was truly an unpleasant experience. I turned my back after collecting a gleaming bead near the elf\'s heart.

"Hey, girls! It\'s over." I announced our victory with an ear-to-ear grin, but Alice and Lucy weren\'t sharing the joy.

"After burning the tree, it suddenly died…? Is that an elf\'s nature?"

"It doesn\'t feel right…"

"Well done, Hoyeon…!"

Directly confronting the elf seemed to make Alice and Lucy a bit uneasy regarding the elf\'s peculiar behavior. Still, Lumi took my side, which made me happy.

"Thank… ugh…"

An overwhelming heaviness enveloped my head, and the world around me twirled. Mana depletion was imminent, signaling the impending exhaustion. I glanced at the points and sighed in relief – only around 10 survivors remained.

"That… handle it yourselves." I pointed at the elf.

Reading the elf\'s code would give a significant points of 350. Even though there weren\'t many survivors left, we couldn\'t just discard the points. All the students on the mini-map were quite far away, so there shouldn\'t be any danger now.

"Hey, I\'ll take a short nap…" I took out a tent from the subspace pouch, went inside, closed my eyes, and drifted into sleep.

"We\'ll keep watch!"

"H-Hoyeon, are you okay?!"

"…"

"Yes… please…"

I heard Lucy and Lumi\'s worried voices as I slowly fell asleep.

***

"Wake up."

Someone was tapping on my body.

"Ugh…" As I opened my drowsy eyes, Alice was peering down at me.

"You\'re the last. Watch duty."

"Oh…"

There shouldn\'t be any danger anyway… but it\'s better to be sure.

I shook off the drowsiness and got up. Lucy and Lumi were curled up sleeping on either side of me. After tidying up my clothes while admiring the sleeping figures of the twins, I emerged from the tent. Outside, it was already bright daylight.

"Go in and rest. Thanks."

"Yeah." Alice, unable to hide her fatigue, yawned and entered the tent.

It was already past noon. Probably, the three of them took turns doing the camp rotation for a long time to ensure my sleep.

"Good girls. I\'ve raised my heroines well."

I pulled out the essence of the elf from my pocket.

[Elf\'s Essence]

▶ Grade: High

▶ Essence of mana collected by the High Elf to protect the World Tree.

▶ Increases charm when absorbed and becomes more handsome.

The effect of the Elf\'s Essence is charm increase.

Charm is a stat not even present in the status window. And the part about becoming more handsome might seem useless at first glance, but it changes with the protagonist buff. Basically, charm refers to having a good-looking face. The higher it goes, the more handsome the face becomes. But what if you were already at the pinnacle of handsomeness before your charm increased?

Not just reasonably good-looking, but rather an absurdly unrealistic face that would break if touched. For example… like me. If such a handsome person increases their charm, what happens is that other aspects become more good-looking. First is the body. The shape of the body becomes beautiful and ideal. Second is the internal structure of the body. Blood vessels, mana circuits, organs, etc., all transform efficiently.

"Wait… If Alice consumes this, would it cure her mana deficiency?"

In the original game, it was consumed automatically. Of course, even if it can cure her, I\'m going to eat it anyway. Alice will have to be treated later.

"I should absorb it outside."

This isn\'t a game, I can\'t just consume it during an exam. To absorb it slowly at home after the exam, I put the Elf\'s Essence back into the subspace pouch.

***

[Special Exam Ended. Teleportation to the Academy will commence shortly.]

Sunday night, 10 PM. Finally, the special exam madness is over. While the primary target was the elf\'s essence, I managed to level up my rapport with Alice, yielding some satisfactory results. The grades are not revealed yet, but with a substantial point lead, I\'m likely the front-runner. Alice, on the other hand, appears to be easing up on the grade stress. My guess is she\'s diverting her attention to sorting out her mana deficiency.

"Yes, Sebastian. I need to find a mana masseur…" The moment the exam concluded, Alice fervently engaged in a phone call in one corner of the classroom. The rest of the students were strewn across desks. Those who got eliminated early were apparently stuck in the academy\'s accommodations until the exam wrapped up.

"Haa… It\'s finally over. My dorm bed is officially my new hangout starting now." Lucy, sprawled out, wore an exhaustion-induced expression.

"Are you skipping festival strolls, Lucy?"

"Ugh… Festival sounds fun, but Hoyeon, what about you?"

"Me? Hmm…"

To be honest, I haven\'t really mapped out my festival agenda. I\'m leaning towards kicking back in the dorm to recharge a bit… though there are a handful of people I should catch up with. On another note, I\'ve got a duel with the vice president during the festival. It totally slipped my mind amidst the survival shenanigans. It was set for the festival\'s kickoff… but when\'s that again? And, of course, I need to check in on Liliana. Fingers crossed she\'s been keeping up with her meals.

In came Professor Kim Jinhyuk, our homeroom teacher. The students, who had been lying down like zombies, gradually rose at the sound of his confident footsteps.

"You all seem well. Exams are wrapped up. It\'s getting late, so dorm-dwellers, make your way back. Enjoy the festival starting tomorrow. That\'s all."

He\'s quite casual about handling things.

Of course, since the medical check is done, there shouldn\'t be any issues… but I feel somewhat uneasy. Other students, like zombies, murmured complaints and left the classroom.

"Time for me to catch some rest too… See you later, Lumi."

"Yes! See you during the festival, Hoyeon."

"Got it. I\'ll be in touch."

Lumi provided support to the weary Lucy and departed. Following suit, I headed towards Alice who was engrossed in a call.

"Yeah, I\'ll leave it to you, Sebastian."

It seems her call just ended.

"Alice, good job."

"You too. You were a big help this time."

"Find a good mana masseur… and if you have any questions, feel free to ask anytime."

"Sure."

After saying my goodbyes to Alice, I made my way in the direction of the dorm. The question lingered: when would she make contact? Not right away, I presumed. She\'d probably test out a couple of masseurs first.

The dorm route, at this hour past 10 PM, is shrouded in darkness.

"Wow… I\'ve got a ton of messages."

I\'ll have to take a relaxed look after a quick rest. I just messaged Liliana that I\'m on my way.

"How did her streams go… and did she manage to grab a meal by herself?"

Ding!

Returning to the dorm after a week, everything was as it was. However, strangely, it was quiet, and…

"Haah…! Haah…!"

Squishy sounds and low moans echoed from the room.

"…"

I slowly approached the room and opened the door.

"Haargh…! Ngh…!"

The room looked like a tornado had hit it. Instant food packages lay scattered with torn-open packaging. A coke can, cap ripped off, fizzing out uncontrollably. The bed resembled a soaked sponge, drenched with water. And there she was—a perverted succubus writhing with a tail inserted into her moist entrance.

"Liliana…?"

What on earth is this scene? She\'s… I can\'t tell if she\'s come to her senses.

"Master…"

"Liliana!" I hurried to her as she fought to find her voice and wrapped her in a hug. It wasn\'t about missing meals; she was in the throes of heat.

"I\'m sorry, I never thought… Liliana?"

"Haa… Haa…"

I heard small chuckle from my arms. Feeling something odd, I gently pushed Liliana away and assessed the situation.

"Master… It\'s all because of you…" Liliana, who was trembling, now looked at me with a smile.

Thud!

Sensing an impending fear coursing through my body, something struck my head hard, and I lost consciousness.