Cosmic Ruler

Chapter 76 Survival I

"We still have food, so why do we need to hunt?" a student asked Jake.

Jake looked at him and then at the others, and explained, "It's better to hunt on a full stomach rather than starve."

The students nodded in understanding, realizing the wisdom in Jake's words. They quickly finished their meal and prepared to head out for the hunt.

"Alright, let's make sure to gather enough food to last us," Jake said, rallying the group.

They ventured into the forest, each pair working together to track down prey. Some used their abilities to enhance their senses, while others relied on more traditional methods of hunting. Despite the initial nervousness, the group soon found themselves working efficiently as a team.

As they moved deeper into the forest, the students encountered various creatures, some of which they had never seen before. They remained cautious, knowing that not all the inhabitants of the forest would be friendly.

After several hours of hunting, the group managed to gather a substantial amount of food. They returned to their makeshift camp, where they found the rest of the students waiting eagerly.

"We're back!" one of the hunters called out, holding up their catch triumphantly.

"good, now lest preserve it" Jake said and showed them how to do it, he drained all the blood from the crystal horn deer he caught and then cleansed it and after processing the meat in suitable pieces he wrapped them in leaves and smoked them.

"Doing this will prevent them from getting spoiled" Jake said and then one student wearing glasses timidly raised his hand.

"what is it Brian?" Jake asked.

"W-why don't we use magic to preserve the meat?" Brain said which was hopping in everyone's mind as they saw Jake use primitive method of food preservation.

"It simple, that is not waste our Core energy" Jake said

"We have to use our core energy to preserve it for every 10 minutes"

"it will cause a lot of wastage of energy and think what if at that time a predator appears?" Jake said and everyone gulped and start working as Jake did with Crystal horn deer.

Jake nodded seeing this and thought 'I should thank Dad and Master Tom for this'

Jake remembered that time when they went to camp with Tom and his father, at that time both Master Tom and his father told them lot of tricks on how to preserve as much as Core Energy.

Over the next few days, they continued to explore the forest, hunting and gathering supplies while also setting up traps and defenses around their camp. Jake's leadership kept them focused and organized, ensuring their safety and survival in the unfamiliar wilderness.

As they adapted to their new environment, the students grew stronger and more confident. They faced each challenge with determination and resourcefulness, knowing that they could rely on each other and their captain, Jake, to guide them through any hardship.

And soon a week passed with out any trouble or it was calm before the storm.

As Jake and his team were preparing food, a announcement was heard.

{I hope all of you are doing fine, well at least the ones who aren't eliminated}

'It seems some students are already eliminated' Jake thought hearing him.

{Now that one week have passed we should move on to next stage}

The teacher said and then Jake and all the students on the Island faced a massive earthquake, all the buildings and huts Jake and his team had built were destroyed.

After 5 minutes the earth Quake subsided and teacher voice sounded once again.

{The Earthquake means a lot of Ruins have appeared on this Island, now all of you have to go and secure a item from that Ruin}

{After one week the students with no Ruin will be eliminated}

{The Ruin Items also have grades, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum}

{And each of this items can save different number of students}

{Like Bronze can save 1, Silver for 2, Gold for 3 and Platinum for 5}

{So, best of luck, yours one week time start now!}

After the announcement was finish Jake called for meeting.

Everyone sat around the bonfire and discussed...

The group listened intently as Jake laid out the plan. They understood the importance of securing the Ruin items and the potential consequences of failing to do so.

"Alright, so here's the plan," Jake began, addressing the group. "I'll go alone to maximize our chances of securing an item. The rest of you will split into groups of ten, with each group carefully considering their composition for optimal efficiency."

The students nodded in agreement, acknowledging the soundness of Jake's strategy.

"We need to move quickly and decisively," Jake continued. "Remember, our goal is to secure as many Ruin items as possible to ensure our survival in the next stage of the competition."

"A next stage?" a student asked.

"Yes, the next stage. It seems the stages are divided into one week each, First week was Adaptation and now this week is Weapon Gathering, most likely next week is war" a beautiful girl explained.

Jake nodded, agreeing with her reasoning, and said, "That's why I will move alone to gather as much Gold and Platinum as I could."

Others nodded, and then team formation started.

As the teams formed, Jake observed the students strategizing and organizing themselves according to their strengths and abilities. He could sense the hunger for victory in their eyes, which was normal for Academy students.

"Remember, communication is key," Jake reminded them as they finalized their teams. "Stay in contact and be ready to adapt to any situation that arises."

Jake taught them the signal flare, which was supposed to be used if any danger arose.

With their teams set, they made their final preparations before setting off on their mission to secure the Ruin items.

Jake was the last one to leave the camp. While leaving, he thought, "I hope at least half of them return."

Jake jumped high in the air and located the locations of the Ruins. There were as many as twenty just in the jungle.

"Weird, why is it so simple?" Jake mumbled. Then, once again jumping in the air, he scanned the forest with Akashic Eyes and found several hidden Ruins.

"Why are those hidden?" Jake raided a visible ruin first. It was a simple puzzle-solving one, and the reward he got was a bronze-grade item, an E-rank dagger.

Jake then went to a hidden ruin and entered inside. It was hidden by a formation that could only be activated if one pressed the hidden keys around it. Jake located them easily and then, destroying them with simple magic missiles, he broke the formation and the path to the Ruin was opened.

Jake looked at the signboard at the entrance and read it.

"So, this hidden one has Gold and above items, but their difficulties are also hard," Jake mumbled and then entered inside. It was a long corridor. Jake used Akashic insight and found this long corridor was laid with traps, and he also found someone watching him.

'Is he a teacher?' Jake thought and decided to move. He first bombarded the whole corridor with his lightning and broke all the traps.

Then he calmly walked, also observing the guy who was watching him and saw he left after Jake destroyed all the traps. 'He might be here to rescue students,' Jake thought and continued. After passing more than three puzzles, he arrived at what seemed like a final boss room.

Jake stepped inside and saw a D-rank Lavaliz, a reptile who lived in lava and had the same molten core too.

But Jake also found many more Lavaliz hidden, but their ranks were different. 'So, that guy released a Lavaliz of my rank,' Jake nodded and killed the Lavaliz easily, obtaining a Gold Item,

D + Molten Sword, a sword made from the core and scales of Lavaliz.

'It seems the rewards depend on the monsters guarding it,' Jake nodded and then, after taking the core and blood of the Lavaliz, he left.

After Jake left, the supervisor in charge of this Ruin appeared and mumbled, 'As expected from a special student.'

Lavaliz blood has the special property of being hot even after 24 hours of death, so Jake taking the Lavaliz blood carefully meant he knows the use of it.

The supervisor then looked at his watch and sent the file of Jake raiding this Ruin back to the Academy. "This Ruin is done now," he mumbled and left after destroying the Ruin. He also took the Lavaliz with him and reached another Ruin, an empty one, and activated it.

"Three more times and I am free," he looked at the number of Lavaliz and laid while waiting for the next student to raid this new ruin.

And the same was happening in all dangerous ruins, where there was even a 1% chance of student death, there was a supervisor there to prevent it from happening.