Looking at the liter of water in front of them, they sighed.
Even with all their efforts, the water they got can only afford them a few sips.
“Don’t be too sad; this is only our first day,” Lily comforted.
Returning to the orphanage with the container of water, they saw other children looking at them with hope.
“Can we share the water?~” Serene said as he held Lily’s hand pitifully.
“Of course, we will share the water,” Lily smiled.
They couldn’t bear to see these children die in front of their eyes either.
Furthermore, earlier when they are gathering material and information, these children also help.
They were also pretty clever, not asking any questions.
Liam also assessed them earlier seeing that they had no problem with their behavior.
“Thank you, sister, you’re so good~”
“Hmm, come, call the others, and let them have a sip of water.”
Soon, the children at the orphanage finally had a taste of water after a few days.
Tasting the sweet water, they felt content.
Although they were still hungry, it was bearable.
That night, these kids slept comfortably, thinking of a brighter future.
As for the brothers and sisters, they could hardly sleep that night.
The hunger, and their weak aching body, especially the thought that they would need to stay here for a long time weighed them heavily.
What they didn’t know was that their situation was already quite good.
The other examinees, on the other hand barely hung on or had already quit.
There were also lucky and skilled ones who were able to secure water.
Some ruthless examinees even drank the blood of humans to survive.
Just the first day revealed the cruelty of the test.
…
The next day, they were greeted by the scorching sun, feeling their parched throats.
“Huh~”
“When will this end?” Max complained as he slowly got up.
His body still ached from overexerting himself the previous night.𝑂𝓋𝗅xt.𝔠𝓞
“Don’t dawdle; we still have a lot to do,” Liam also got up.
Although his body also ached, his expression remained the same.
Even Nathan, already got up earlier to scout around.
There was only Max who complained, like a spoiled child.
“Oh~”
“What do we do now, Brother?”
“Find food and a place to stay.”
“So we’re heading south?”
“That’s right.”
Soon, they woke up one after another.
After knowing they were going to leave for the South, they began to pack all the useful things in the orphanage.
With the help of a large group of manpower, they did this in just a few minutes.
Seeing that there was still a lot of time, they created a decent carriage using the dismantled pieces of the orphanage.
Unfortunately, it was a little small, not enough for all of them to fit.
After placing the useful items, there are only 1 to 5-year-old children that can fit in the carriage.
“Is that all?” Liam asked as he tallied all their belongings.
“This should be enough,” the others also nodded as they double-checked.
“Then we only need a destination.”
“Neo, it’s your turn,” Liam said, rousing Neo from his sleep.
Since yesterday, Neo has been fast asleep, conserving energy.
When awake, Neo reviewed all the information they found.
From the basic geography to the place’s political structure, Neo didn’t pass by anything he could get a hold of.
They were also lucky that there was an abandoned library in the town where they were.
Reading all of this, Neo just needed to flip the books as they were imprinted in his mind.
“I’ve already calculated it. Southwest, 160 kilometers, there should be a place to stay there,” Neo muttered as he went back to sleep.
Neo was a divinator.
Neo had chosen this profession because it was the most leisurely one.
A divinator is a bit different from a seer.
A seer can directly see the future, but one can’t control what one will see.
A divinator, on the other hand, predicts what will usually happen in the future using all the available information.
Furthermore, a Divinator can work even in the absence of mana.
After compiling all the information they had.
Neo calculated the place where they could find hints of vegetation and thriving animals,
The place also needed to be close and somewhat hidden so that others couldn’t find it.
After finishing their preparations, they rested and waited for the next day.
They also refilled the water container with another liter of water.
If they weren’t pressed for time and lacking materials, they might have even created a launcher.
Unfortunately, they still needed to eat, or they would die of hunger.
…
The next day,
They began to march after ensuring that they hadn’t left anything behind.
Other refugees who were also marching looked at them cuiriously.
Looking at their juvenile faces and a group of children, they stood out from the group of refugees.
“Where did these kids come from?”
“They should be from an orphanage.”
“Hey, it’s quite pitiful. I don’t know if they could survive.”
“You should worry about yourself first.”
“It’s just this damn famine!”
“Hey, look at their carriage; it seems convenient to use,” a man noticed, as two children pulled the cart effortlessly.
“Maybe the previous people from the town forgot about it.”
“Oh~,” the man said, but his eyes didn’t leave the mobile cart, filled with greed.
As they marched, the man managed to persuade two others to help him steal the mobile cart.
Doing it himself was not feasible.
Although the other side was only a group of children, they had more in number.
“Such a convenient thing, how can it be left to children…”
…
At night, after walking 15-20 kilometers, the brother and sister rested.
They scouted the place, and set up a makeshift tent, as Nathan took the others to patrol and watch for potential threats.
As for eating, they can only resist their hunger until they find food.
Their location was already to the point that no hint of greenery could be found.
From the bark of the trees to the grass, they were all dried out.
Otherwise, they can take it out and process it to have something to fill their stomach.
…
Around the bonfire, the group reminisced as they looked at the fire.
“This exam is not easy,” Lyla complained as she rubbed her blistered feet.
“My legs are so sore, especially my smell. I can’t take this any longer,” Ella, who was originally a spoiled princess, nearly teared up.
“No, you don’t smell bad,” Max comforted as he massaged Ella’s legs.
“Hmph, you only say that because you’re smellier!” Ella teased but smiled regardless.
“Yes, yes…” Max just nodded and continued his task.
“But by the way, Liam, what’s your plan after finding food and stuff?” Amara asked as she poked his side.
“Make the group stronger and survive,” Liam said simply.
Making the group stronger meant enhancing their equipment to better use their skill set.
After all, they couldn’t survive a century if they did all the physical labor.
Medicine was also necessary; surviving a century was nearly impossible without maintenance.
In their current state, full of malnutrition and physical exertion, living 60 years was already an achievement.
As for survival, Liam predicted that the famine would last for centuries, so they needed to be prepared.
“Serene, sing us a song to cheer everybody up,” Lily requested.
Serene was a life ballad, who could influence others with her voice.
Although without magic, it wasn’t as effective, it was still better than nothing.
“Alright!” Serene acquiesced happily.
…
As they relaxed by the bonfire, three men slowly crept up to their camp.
What these three men didn’t know was that behind them was Nathan, who was as silent as the night.
Being a shadow assassin, Nathan was in charge of the vigil.
Nathan had already seen these three people during the day had bad intentions.
He didn’t want to cause a commotion during daylight, so he planned to deal with them at night.
Little did he know that they would deliver themselves to his doorstep.
Thud*
Jumping behind the three, two of his feet precisely hit the head of two men, rendering them unconscious.
His other hand clenched into a fist, sending the third man the same way.
His remaining hand acted like a support, allowing him to land softly on the ground.
All of this happened in an instant, that they didn’t even make a sound.
“Clean these people up,” Nathan instructed Sam and Luke, who had just arrived at the scene.
“Right away, brother.”
“Hmm,” Nathan nodded, continuing his patrol.
Nothing could harm his brothers and sisters while he was on watch.
…
While the group rested, most of the examinees were eliminated.
Not finding water for two days became a death sentence, removing them from the trial.
There were also many who passed by doing anything they could.
Although many of them couldn’t stomach drinking human flesh, they had no problem stealing water.
Many examinees even managed to join larger groups with complete supplies.
With their knowledge and skills subduing some nobles and wealthy merchants was easy.
The night continued until dawn began to replace it.