Cursed Villainess' Obsession-Chapter 33

She buried her face into the pillow.

It was dressed in one of Ken’s shirts.

The familiar scent of Ken comforted her as she spent this desolate night in solitude.

‘Is Raphne sleeping well?’

Sitting by the campfire, staring blankly into the flames, Ken's thoughts wandered to Raphne, who was alone.

‘It’s only the first day; she should be fine, right?’

He couldn’t help but worry. Raphne was particularly sensitive to loneliness.

She had insisted on taking one of his shirts before he left. Maybe that would help.

No, he had to stop worrying. It was only the first day. If she struggled now, she wouldn’t last the full five days.

Ken calmed himself and pulled out the fruits of his labor from his pocket dimension.

In his hand lay five badges.

‘It was easier than I thought.’

The Survival Event mainly consisted of one-on-one battles.

Ken’s strategy was simple: whenever he encountered someone, he used Calorie Burn to finish the fight swiftly.

Of course, he had to be cautious of opponents with dangerous skills, especially since he lacked magic abilities.

Luckily, none of today’s opponents had any debilitating skills.

The real issue was food depletion after using Calorie Burn.

While he had stocked his pocket dimension with as much food as he could carry, there was no telling how many more battles lay ahead.

And if he encountered someone with a skill that restricted his movement, that would be a problem.

He had contingency plans, but getting incapacitated and missing the time limit would be foolish.

Still, he had collected five badges today, a decent achievement for the first day of exploration.

Ken pocketed the badges and tossed a few sticks into the fire.

‘The real challenge will be finding people tomorrow…’

Without any tracking skills, Ken would have to wander aimlessly, which could be dangerous.

As he mulled over these concerns, he heard a rustling sound nearby.

‘Who’s there?’

He quickly went on guard, watching the direction of the noise.

Who would be wandering the forest this late?

The forest was pitch black after sundown, nearly impossible to traverse without a torch.

In the game, there was usually a ceasefire during nighttime in the Survival Event.

‘But this is reality…’

Ken had neglected to consider that someone could be moving at night.

He swallowed hard, focusing on the dark bushes.

It could be a beast or a monster.

And then—

“Ta-da! Guided by the light of the fire, Alicia makes her entrance!”

“Alicia?”

Emerging from the bushes with a flashy pose was none other than Alicia.

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“Whoa! W-wait! Senior, I’m not here to fight! I surrender! I surrender!”

Seeing Ken draw his sword, Alicia frantically waved her hands in surrender.

What’s this? No intention of fighting?

Ken hadn’t expected Alicia, but her presence here meant she was participating in the Survival Event.

If she wasn’t here to fight, then why?

“Honestly, Alicia! You can’t just jump out like that!”

A familiar voice followed, and Emily appeared, holding a small light spell in her hand.

“Emily, too?”

“Hey, Ken. Like Alicia said, we’re not here to fight, so please lower your guard.”

It was an unexpected encounter in the dark of night.

“…So, you came over to see who was here?”

Emily and Alicia had been setting up camp nearby when they noticed Ken’s campfire and decided to investigate.

“We figured it would be good to know who’s nearby. And when we realized it was you…”

“We thought it was fate, so I jumped right out!” Alicia exclaimed proudly.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to startle you. We were trying to approach more cautiously,” Emily apologized on Alicia’s behalf.

The two had run into each other earlier in the day and decided to team up.

Apparently, Emily had found Alicia crying after getting lost in the forest.

A team, huh?

The Survival Event was strictly a solo competition in the game.

But in reality, people could cooperate.

If there were three prizes, it made sense to form alliances rather than going it alone.

“I owed Alicia for helping me before. I thought we could be good for each other.”

“Hehe, I’m so happy to have Emily with me! I love you, Emily!”

Alicia clung to Emily’s arm, pouting playfully. Emily, not seeming to mind, patted Alicia’s head affectionately.

They looked like sisters.

They made a good team.

Neither of them was particularly strong in direct combat, but both had skills that could severely debilitate opponents.

Together, they could be quite formidable.

“So, what do you think? Want to join us, Ken?”

“Wait, you mean…”

In the middle of the conversation, Emily made a proposal to Ken.

“The prize goes to the top three, right? With you, we’d have a team of three. Besides, it’s a bit worrying with just the two of us…”

“Wah! Am I not enough for you, Emily? Am I just a plaything to keep you entertained… ow!”

“Stop joking around while we’re talking.”

“Sorry…”

Emily’s suggestion wasn’t bad.

In fact, it was an opportunity.

Ken’s strength came in short bursts, making prolonged solo combat risky.

But with Emily’s binding skills and Alicia’s hypnosis abilities…

‘This could work against Adrian, too…’

Ken thought about the biggest threat in the event as he weighed the benefits of teaming up with Emily and Alicia.

Sensing Ken’s hesitation, Emily added, “I know you’re strong, Ken, and we might seem like dead weight, but… I can offer something in return!”

She pulled out her pocket dimension pouch and showed it to Ken.

“I, uh… I just happened to bring a lot of food. You know, since you need plenty, right?”

She glanced at him nervously.

It seemed Emily had planned on teaming up with Ken even before the event started, using the food as her bargaining chip.

It was a smart move on her part.

“Alright, I see no reason to refuse. Let’s do it, Emily.”

Ken smiled and extended his hand to her.

Emily’s anxious face lit up with a bright smile.

“Yes! Let’s make it through together!”

She eagerly shook his hand.

“Oooh, there’s nothing like a budding love story to watch~.”

“Quiet!” Emily snapped.

“Ow!”

Alicia yelped as Emily flicked her on the forehead.

Now that he was teaming up with Emily, Ken had another thought.

If they could form a team, others might be doing the same.

‘Looks like I’ll need to start considering team strategies…’

And so, what Ken thought would be a quiet first night in the Survival Event turned into a noisy one.

Elsewhere in the darkened forest, in a man-made clearing, several participants lay defeated on the ground.

Only two people remained standing, facing off in silence.

On one side, a chilling cold aura enveloped the area, freezing everything in sight.

On the other, a blazing heat radiated, as if it would melt everything around it.

The two opposing forces each claimed half of the clearing.

Mary Haidia glared fiercely at her opponent.

Standing across from her, smiling leisurely, was Adrian Ferreday.

"For a lady, you're quite rough, Miss Mary."

Mary scoffed.

Most of the participants lying defeated here had fallen to Adrian, not her.

"I didn’t expect to run into you this quickly, Adrian."

Mary had been wary of Adrian from the start.

He wielded fire magic, the opposite of her ice magic, and could cast without an incantation.

While Mary was confident in her abilities, she wasn’t certain she could defeat him.

She had hoped to avoid a fight until the very end, but fate had other plans.

"I mean you no harm," Adrian said with a shrug.

“…What do you mean by that?”

They were in a competition for valuable prizes, after all.

Eventually, someone would collect a large number of badges, and the chase would begin. Those with fewer badges would pursue the leaders to avoid elimination.

Yet, Adrian claimed he didn’t want to fight.

Was he going to run?

It didn’t seem like Adrian’s style to flee without even attempting a fight.

But before Mary could voice her suspicions, Adrian casually waved his hand.

The flames surrounding him coalesced into his palm, resembling a conductor directing an orchestra.

"I’m not interested in the restaurant voucher."

The fire covering half the clearing shrank into a small ball in his hand.

Then, with a smile, Adrian clenched his fist, extinguishing the flames.

"So, Miss Mary. How about we form an alliance?" he asked, his smile as sweet as his offer.