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Volume 15, Chapter 2: Intro - Simple, Single-Minded Silence

The heavy rain lasted until just about the break of dawn, casting a large shadow of anxiety over the students.

However, by 6:00 AM, the rainclouds had vanished as if they’d never existed in the first place, painting the sky with the same clear blue as the days before. That being said, the forest’s canopy was so thick that it completely blocked out the sunlight in certain places, leaving behind a muddy forest floor that would take a while to dry up.

“I’ll have to address the food shortage sooner rather than later…”

I was gradually starting to run out of energy, unable to maintain the daily caloric intake necessary for a high school student. As I had never undergone intentional starvation training before, this was my first time experiencing what it was like to have an empty stomach for such an extended period of time.

While it’d be possible to stay active as long as I kept myself hydrated, that wouldn’t exactly be the best routine to fall into. My immune system would take a hit and leave me susceptible to illness and disease. I guess it wouldn’t be impossible to hunt for wild animals or insects, but it shouldn’t have to come to that unless I had no other option.

You could buy food back at the starting area if you still had provision points left over, but that wasn’t an effective long-term solution, nor was it available to me.

In other words, my only real option to get more food was to get it from Tasks, either by placing high in the ones that awarded it, or by getting it for free from the ones that had it as a participation prize.

However, the Tasks that provided food would only continue to get more and more competitive from now on.

“I’m all packed and ready to go.”

Having finished tidying up the makeshift campsite, Nanase approached me with her backpack strapped to her back.

“Amasawa’s most likely just going to head to the next designated area, right?”

“Based on the number of points we’ve earned, I’d say that’s a safe bet. So if it’s all the same to you, may I continue to accompany you until we reach this first designated area?”

I silently nodded in response. Since we were both going to the same place, there was no reason for us to separate from each other just yet.

Shortly after we began walking, Nanase spoke up.

“Amasawa-san was following us as of the evening of the sixth day or the morning of the seventh, right?”

“Without putting too much thought into it, it’s probably safe to assume that she approached us using a GPS Search on the morning of the seventh.”

Since there was no way for us to see the search history, there was no concrete proof that Amasawa had used the GPS Search at all. However, if it was clear that the group’s score had decreased at some point over the course of the seventh day, then we could at least be sure that someone from the group had used it.

Amasawa’s group wasn’t a part of the top nor bottom ten at the time though, so as a member of the group, only Nanase would’ve been privy to that information.

“Naturally, I’ve referenced this with the data on my tablet already, but… as far as I recall, our score didn’t go down whatsoever yesterday.”

In short, if Nanase’s memory was to be trusted, then Amasawa hadn’t used the GPS Search.

“Although it’s unknown where on the island Amasawa-san was that morning, you and I were traveling quite fast at the time. It wouldn’t have been very easy for her to catch up to us unless she was already somewhere nearby, right?”

“That’s probably why she came up with a clever plan to help close the distance.”

Unlike the two of us, who were carrying around heavy backpacks and gear, Amasawa had been traveling light.

As a result, even if she had started out a fair distance away, she was more than capable of closing the gap between us.

“I’m guessing she used a trick of some sort to find out my exact location.”

“Are you saying that Amasawa-san had somebody else disclose where you were, Ayanokōji-senpai?”

“Possibly.”

As it stood now, it was hard to be absolutely certain as to what method she had used.