The day had finally arrived.

The first exam of the end of semester—the Group Survival exam.

I walked into the exam area with Maya, Iris, Lucas, Ella, and Rose.

Yup.

The hero’s party, plus me, the Extra!

Hooray!

Around us, other students were talking quietly, forming last-moment groups, making last-minute plans, while some were just trying to get their heads in the game.

We stood in front of a large open field, the setting sun casting long shadows across the ground.

A few instructors were already gathered, including the one leading this exam—Instructor Zeva.

The bitchy instructor… ahem.

Zeva stood at the front, her posture straight, with her arms crossed and her gaze sweeping across all of us.

“Alright, listen up!” Instructor Zeva’s voice cut through the murmurs of the students.

“This isn’t just some simple test. It’s a week-long survival challenge. You’ll be dropped off on a remote island, far from civilization. The goal is simple—survive for a week. Work together. Use your wits, your skills, and your resourcefulness.”

I glanced at my group.

Maya was already adjusting her equipment, her expression serious even though she was quite the airhead.

Iris was quietly taking notes, and Lucas had that usual confident grin on his face, like he didn’t think there was anything he couldn’t handle.

Ella and Rose stood off to the side; Rose was cautiously checking all her equipment while Ella stood with a calm face, sharpening her sword.

I wasn’t worried about them.

Then, Zeva continued:

“There will be no outside help. You’re on your own. The only thing you’re allowed to bring are the supplies I’ll provide you, and your personal gear. No magic-based assistance or aura use, no pets or servants—nothing that could give you an unfair advantage.”

‘…I can’t use magic? Fuck.’

I was already crying inside.

“Fair advantage?” Maya muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

“It’s survival, not a game of fairness.”

‘Pff…’

I almost laughed at her words, but kept my focus on Zeva.

This is one of the exams after all.

“You’ll be scored on various things,” Zeva continued.

“Your ability to find and purify water, create shelter, hunt or forage for food, and more. You’ll need to keep track of your resources. If you run out, there’s no getting more. There will also be challenges along the way—some that will test your mental fortitude, and others that will test your ability to work as a group. You’re not here to be a hero; you’re here to work together.”

Hearing her words, I unconsciously looked at Lucas, who also happened to meet my gaze.

“No hero, huh?”

I mouthed the words to him which made his smile twitch slightly.

“And if you fail… Well, let’s just say, the consequences will be unpleasant.” She didn’t need to elaborate.

We all understood what that meant.

There were no second chances in this test.

This was essentially an exam that could result in a satisfactory grade or have your score recorded as zero.

If you gave up, you’d be given zero marks directly.

I let out a small sigh.

Survival on an island, huh?

I wasn’t completely clueless.

I had some knowledge about island survival—things like building a basic shelter using natural resources and hunting animals for food wouldn’t be a problem.

But the real challenge for me?

Keeping the food from spoiling and purifying drinking water.

I have no idea how to do that.

Originally, I thought I could just melt my ice magic to get fresh water, but after hearing that we wouldn’t be able to use magic… well, that completely messed up my plans.

Still, I wasn’t too worried.

Among the six of us, someone had to know how to purify water or at least have some knowledge about food preservation.

That was the benefit of working as a team.

I adjusted my bag and took a deep breath.

“Now… calling from the first to the last registered group, please enter the teleportation gate! Your mana will be temporarily sealed and will only activate in emergency situations detected by the island’s surveillance!”

An announcement rang across the field, and soon after, Zeva’s voice followed.

“Good luck to every group!”

One by one, the groups were called. Students stepped forward, disappearing into the teleportation gate as their names were listed off.

If I remembered correctly, we were the seventh group.

“The Seventh Group, step forward!” Zeva’s sharp voice rang out.

Lucas was the first to move, stepping forward and the rest of us followed right behind him.

The teleportation gate shimmered with a bright blue glow as we stepped through it.

Fwooop!

The sensation was disorienting but brief.

A rush of energy passed over me, and then—

The world around us changed.

The moment I opened my eyes, I was met with a scene straight out of a survival movie.

The sky stretched wide and open above us, a bright blue expanse with the sun hanging high, its rays beaming down mercilessly.

A salty breeze brushed against my face, carrying the scent of the ocean.

Beneath our feet, golden sand stretched out toward the waves that crashed gently against the shore.

The water was a stunning turquoise, clear enough to see the coral and small fish swimming below.

Behind us was a thick, dense jungle filled with towering palm trees, vines hanging lazily from branches, and the distant sounds of birds and rustling leaves.

Some of the trees were heavy with coconuts, a lucky break for us.

“Alright, everyone!” Lucas clapped his hands together, grinning.

“Let’s get to work!”

And just like that, our survival week had officially begun.

Lucas didn’t waste any time.

He quickly turned to face the rest of us, his expression growing a little more serious.

“Alright… first things first, we need to divide the work. Everyone needs to have a role, or we won’t last long out here.” He crossed his arms, glancing around.

“The three main things we need to take care of are water, shelter, and food. There are six of us, so we can split into three teams—two people for each task.”

I nodded at his words.

“So, is there anyone who’s good at any of these?”

Almost immediately, both Maya and Iris raised their hands.

“We both know how to purify water!” Maya said with a bright smile.

Iris nodded beside her.

“We’ve studied water filtration methods before, so we should be able to handle it.”

Perfect.

That was one major problem solved.

I let out a small sigh of relief.

“Alright, then you two will be in charge of water gathering and purification,” Lucas confirmed.

“That just leaves shelter construction and food hunting. Anyone want to volunteer?”

No one spoke up right away.

The rest of the group exchanged glances, but no one seemed particularly eager to claim a role.

Seeing the silence drag on, I decided to step forward.

“I don’t mind working on the shelter. I have some basic knowledge about building structures with natural materials.”

Lucas nodded.

“Good, that’s one down. Who wants to team up with Aestrea?”

A moment later, Rose raised her hand.

“I’ll go with him.”

She didn’t seem particularly shy, and had the normal expressionless face that she usually had back in the novel.

“Perfect,” Lucas said.

“That leaves me and Ella to handle food hunting.”

Ella gave a small shrug.

“Sounds good to me.”

With that, we had our roles assigned.

“Alright,” Lucas clapped his hands again.

“Let’s get moving. We need to set up camp before the sun goes down.”

***

Rose and I left the rest of the group behind and walked deeper into the forest.

The sun was still high in the sky, but I could tell we didn’t have much time before evening.

If we didn’t finish the shelter before dark, we’d have to sleep in the open, and that wasn’t something I wanted to experience.

The trees here were thick and tall, perfect for gathering wood.

Their branches swayed gently in the wind, making a soft rustling sound.

I glanced at Rose.

She had the same unreadable expression she always had, her eyes scanning the trees carefully.

“We should find a good spot to chop these down,” I said, gripping my sword.

Rose gave a small nod.

“I’ll gather leaves while you get the wood.”

“Alright.”

Without wasting time, I drew my sword.

I might not have been able to use magic or aura, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t handle things the old-fashioned way.

With a single, strong swing, I slashed through the base of a tree.

CRACK!

The tree groaned before slowly tipping over, crashing onto the forest floor.

The sound echoed around us.

Rose, who had already moved to another tree, barely reacted.

She was carefully climbing one of the smaller trees, reaching for the broad, thick leaves near the top.

“…That was fast,” she commented as she pulled off a bunch of leaves.

I shrugged.

“I mean… we’re awakeners, so this job is quite easy.”

“Still. Cutting down a tree in one swing isn’t something just anyone can do, after all, these trees have some protection enchantment on them.”

“Really?”

I raised an eyebrow.

If there was an enchantment, I should’ve been able to notice quite easily, after all, my mana sensitivity is pretty high.

“Well… it’s a barrier that uses runes instead of mana, so it really is impressive,” she explained, pulling more leaves from the tree.

“I see…”

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Even my predecessor didn’t study runes.

But thinking of them… maybe, I should learn about them and maybe carve them onto a future sword… or even in my body.

I should keep that in mind.

I moved to the next tree and swung my sword again.

CRACK!

The tree fell to the side.

Meanwhile, Rose moved swiftly from one tree to another, her hands quick and efficient as she gathered as many leaves as she could carry.

“How many leaves do we need?” she asked.

“Enough to cover the roof and make it waterproof,” I replied.

“And maybe some extra for bedding.”

Rose nodded and continued working.

I kept chopping trees down, making sure to leave some space between them so we didn’t destroy the whole area.

After I had a decent amount of logs, I started breaking them into smaller pieces, using my sword to carve them into more manageable sizes.

As I worked, I glanced over at Rose.

She was now using some vines to tie the leaves together into bundles, probably to make it easier to carry them back.

“You’ve done this before?” I asked.

“Once or twice,” she replied simply.

“I read a few survival books.”

“Huh. That’s useful.”

“You too,” she said, looking at the wood I had already gathered and how carefully I had cut it into pieces.

“You seem to know what you’re doing.”

I smirked slightly.

“When I was a kid, I loved to watch survival movies, so… I kinda got the hang of it.”

Rose didn’t respond, just kept tying the leaves together.

The wind picked up slightly, rustling the trees around us.

Thud!

It was quiet, aside from the sound of my sword striking wood and the occasional sound as another tree fell.

After a while, Rose walked over, holding several bundles of leaves in her arms.

“I think this is enough for now,” she said.

“Alright,” I nodded.

“Take them back to the others. I’ll keep chopping a bit more.”

She hesitated for a second, then gave a small nod before turning to leave.

As she disappeared through the trees, I let out a small breath and tightened my grip on my sword.

There was still more work to do.

I raised my blade again and swung.

CRACK.

Another tree fell into the ground.

The only reason I was gathering more wood was to make a fireplace.

We also need to create a type of fence to make sure that the wind doesn’t blow away our shelters.

After all, this isn’t a normal world.

There’s a big chance of storms happening.

And I had to be extra careful about it.

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