I Refuse the Tragic Ending

”I don’t see any signs of magical beasts,” Mira said as he glanced around.

”Exactly,” Kael smiled.

Darius looked toward the forest behind them.

”But there were beasts everywhere on the way here,” he said.

”I told you. They don’t approach this area,” Kael replied confidently.

Elias frowned.

”You’re telling me these pillars are responsible?”

”Most likely,” Kael glanced at him.

In the game, it had only been stated that the stone formation contained an inexplicable aura that warded off wild beasts away from the area.

Kael walked between two of the pillars. The others followed.

’So this is what it actually looks like in reality?’ Kael thought.

The difference between the game and reality was far more striking than he had expected.

In the game, this place had been nothing more than a convenient safe point on a map. Players could walk into the area, recover their health, gather water, and continue their journey without ever thinking about why it was safe. But standing here now, Kael was seeing far more than a visual image displayed on a monitor.

The clearing was much larger than he remembered. The trees weren’t identical copies standing neatly around the perimeter. Some were twisted, some unusually tall, while others leaned toward the clearing as though they had been growing there for decades.

Even the ground wasn’t perfectly flat. There were small slopes, exposed roots, patches of moss, and stones partially buried beneath the soil.

Kael could feel the air against his skin. The game had shown this place as peaceful. Reality made him understand why. There was a subtle absence of danger here. The forest itself wasn’t silent. Birds occasionally called from the branches, insects buzzed somewhere in the undergrowth, and the wind moved gently through the leaves. Yet there were no signs of magical beasts. No distant growls and rustling caused by something large moving through the undergrowth.

Kael crouched and touched the ground. The soil was dry enough to build a camp without worrying about sudden mud, while the surrounding trees provided enough cover to prevent them from being easily spotted from a distance.

And there was something else. Kael heard it before he saw it.

He raised his head.

”By the way, listen closely.”

Whoosh~

”What?” Elias asked, raising an eyebrow.

”Did you hear a rushing sound?” Kael asked.

”Oh. What is that?” Elias asked.

”A river. There’s a river over there.”

Kael pointed toward the trees.

Mira’s eyes brightened.

”Yes. Definitely. That’s the sound of a river.”

Having a reliable source of water was always a huge advantage during a wilderness examination.

”Well, that settles it.”

Elias dropped his backpack onto the ground and immediately sat beside it. Darius also removed his bag, but instead of resting, he looked around the clearing.

”I’ll inspect the area first.”

Kael nodded.

Elias looked at Darius in disbelief.

”Aren’t you tired?”

”A little. But I want to make sure the place is truly as safe as Grayford said.”

Elias stretched his legs before leaning against his backpack.

”Well, he’s weird sometimes, but he can be trusted.”

”...”

Kael glanced at him.

He wondered exactly what Elias considered weird about him. He decided to remain quiet and turned his gaze toward Mira.

Darius walked around the perimeter while Mira also lowered herself onto the ground. Judging by her exhausted expression, Kael suspected she was probably the most tired among them.

He walked over and handed her a bottle of water.

”Mira, drink this.”

She looked at him.

Her eyes shifted toward the bottle in his hand, and her cheeks turned slightly red before she hesitantly accepted it.

”T-Thank you.”

Mira uncapped the bottle and drank several mouthfuls. After wiping her mouth, she looked back at Kael.

”Just focus on resting for now,” he said. ”I’ll handle the chores this time.”

”Eh? Wait. Let me hel—”

”You’re the only healer in the group.”

Kael gave her a faint smile.

”We need you to be in top condition at all times.”

Mira hesitated.

But his reasoning was difficult to argue against. Still, another thought suddenly entered her mind. Kael was the son of a duke. A young master who had probably grown up surrounded by servants. Did someone like him actually know how to do chores?

Especially cooking?

Mira looked at him skeptically.

”But do you know how to cook?”

Kael grinned.

”Of course.”

”Really?”

”Really.”

Elias suddenly raised a hand.

”Don’t worry, Mira. If Kael messes up, we can always have boiled eggs and bread for dinner.”

Mira’s expression immediately became concerned.

”Eh? Aren’t we supposed to avoid wasting our food? We still have several days left.”

”Exactly,” Elias said.

”Then why did you say that?”

”Because I’m preparing for the worst.”

”That doesn’t sound reassuring.”

Kael chuckled.

Elias had somehow made Mira even more worried.

Kael tapped his chest confidently. ”Don’t worry. Cooking is one of the few talents I can actually be proud of.”

Seeing his confidence, Mira finally nodded hesitantly.

”Alright.”

”Qiu.”

Quinn suddenly jumped from Kael’s shoulder and landed beside Mira. The white spider curled up next to her as if it had also decided that resting was more important than anything else.

When Darius came back, the group began setting up their campsite before the sun completely disappeared beyond the horizon. Kael helped arrange the tents and prepare a small cooking area at the center of the camp. Once everything was ready, Darius told them that there were no signs of anything dangerous.

”The pillars really do seem to keep the beasts away.”

”That’s good,” Kael said.

He looked toward the remaining sunlight filtering through the trees.

Elias raised his head and said, ”It means we can finally have a proper sleep.”

”Before that, let’s have a proper meal,” Kael added.

”A proper meal?”

Kael nodded.

”I told you, I’m cooking tonight.”

Elias looked at him again.

”You really intend to cook?”

”That’s what I said.”

Kael opened one of their supply bags and began taking out the ingredients. There was nothing particularly impressive inside: Some dried meat, a few vegetables, rice, salt, a small amount of cooking oil, and a few basic seasonings.

Elias leaned forward and looked at Kael.

Kael raised an eyebrow.

”What?”

”Nothing,” Elias replied.

”You’re making that face.”

”What face?”

”The face people make when they’re expecting me to fail.”

”I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kael sighed.

”Just watch.”

”No. I’m going to take a nap,” Elias turned around.

As Elias walked away, Mira approached Kael. She was curious and worried at the same time. She had expected Kael to struggle with something as simple as cutting vegetables. Instead, he moved with surprising confidence.

He started by washing the rice and setting it aside. Then he prepared the vegetables, cutting them into relatively even pieces. His movements were quick and practiced.

His knife never hesitated.

Slice.

Slice.

Slice.

The vegetables were sliced perfectly and fell neatly onto the wooden board.

Mira blinked.

”You’re pretty good at that,” he said, slightly amazed.

Kael glanced at her.

”I told you,” he said.

”But that doesn’t prove you can cook, though,” Mira responded.

Kael smiled.

”Fair enough.”

He placed the pan over the fire and added a small amount of oil. The moment the ingredients touched the hot surface, a pleasant aroma began spreading through the campsite.

Elias, who was about to take a nap, immediately turned his head.

”Oh. What was that aroma?”

Darius, who had been checking his sword, also looked toward the fire.

Kael added the vegetables first, allowing them to cook until their natural sweetness began to come out.

Then came the meat.

The sizzling sound immediately grew louder. The smell spread through the clearing. Even Quinn raised its head.

”Qiu?”

Kael stirred the ingredients together before adding salt and a few basic seasonings.

As the rice finished cooking, Kael combined everything in the pan and allowed the ingredients to cook together for another few minutes.

Mira subconsciously leaned closer.

”Hmm. It smells good.”

Kael smiled and focused on what he was doing.

A few minutes later, Kael finally turned off the fire.

”All right. It’s done.”

He divided the food among their bowls. The meal looked simple. There was nothing particularly extravagant about it. Yet the aroma alone had already made everyone hungry. Kael handed a bowl to Mira.

”Here.”

”Thank you.”

He gave one to Darius, then Elias.

Finally, he placed a small portion beside Quinn. The white spider immediately crawled toward it.

”Qiu!”

”Slow down,” Kael said.

Quinn ignored him.

Mira stared at her bowl for a moment. She took a spoon and took a bite. Her expression froze. Kael watched her.

”Well?”

Mira slowly lowered his spoon.

”How did you make this?”

Kael blinked.

”By cooking it?”

”No. I mean how did you make it taste like this?”

Mira quickly took another bite and Elias and Darius took their bite also.

Their eyes widened.

”This is really good!” Darius exclaimed.

Elias chewed silently. Then he looked at Kael.

”You weren’t exaggerating.”

Kael smiled.

”I told you.”

Elias took another bite.

Then another.

”This is ridiculous,” Mira suddenly said.

”What is?”

”You used the same ingredients we’ve been carrying around. And somehow you made them taste completely different.”

Kael shrugged.

”Ingredients aren’t the whole point. How you prepare them matters too.”

Mira nodded slowly as she continued eating.

”I honestly thought you would cook something terrible.”

Kael smiled faintly.

Everyone looked at him.

Kael pointed at the food.

”So? Did my cooking pass the standard? I could only cook simple food with the current ingredients.”

Elias stared at his bowl.

”If this is your definition of simple, I don’t want to know what you consider extravagant.”

”Exactly!” Mira agreed.

And Darius gave a small laugh.

”I suppose we got lucky we have Grayford in our team.”

Elias and Mira nodded their heads, agreeing with Darius.

Even Quinn was happily devouring its portion. Kael looked around the campsite. For the first time since entering the Emerald Forest, everyone seemed genuinely relaxed.

No magical beasts around and no immediate danger. Just a warm fire, a safe campsite, and a decent meal.

Kael leaned back slightly.

’Not bad.’

For a wilderness examination, this wasn’t the worst camping trip he had ever had. Although, judging by how quickly his teammates were finishing their food, Kael suspected he might have to ration his cooking skills more carefully than their actual supplies.