“Ahhhhhhh━!!”

Emily and Ken, who had been caught up in an unusual atmosphere, were startled by the sudden scream of a female student.

As they looked in the direction of the scream, they saw the group that had been chatting happily just moments before, now running away in panic.

"What, what is that?"

In the dim light of the campfire, something was vaguely visible, and Emily murmured her question.

However, Ken did not seem surprised by the scene.

'So, it has finally appeared.'

Ken had been expecting this to happen.

Even though it wasn't clear exactly what the students were running from, Ken knew what it was.

[Giant Kurex]

It was an insect-type monster shaped like a mosquito, about the size of a fist.

“What should we do? K-Ken! We should run too!”

Emily, feeling uneasy in the dangerous atmosphere, clung to Ken's arm and said so.

But Ken shook his head with a smile.

“No, we'll be fine here.”

“Huh? Why?”

“When you burn this firewood, insects can’t approach.”

This was precisely why you shouldn't follow the Strategy Guide during the Monkey Stele event.

The Monkey Stele event involves sending Emily and a certain character adrift on an uninhabited island for a week.

During that time, as they survive together, Emily’s affection level with the specific character increases significantly.

However, there is a trap here, and that is the ‘Strategy Guide.’

At the start of the event, there is a Strategy Guide screen provided only to the users of the Monkey Stele.

It contains information about the island’s ecosystem and survival tips, tempting users to follow the Strategy Guide to increase affection levels!

However, if you follow the Strategy Guide exactly, it can lead to the worst-case scenario: the death of the character you're building a relationship with.

That was the trap of the Strategy Guide.

'That monster was probably attracted by the scent of the Ignition Fruit.'

This incident was of the same type.

The Strategy Guide recommends using the Ignition Fruit, which is easy to use for starting fires in a place without magic.

But it only mentions the ease of starting a fire, without indicating its danger.

“Ahhhhh━! Keeeenn━!”

A female student who had been running away from the insect-type monster ran to Ken in tears.

Then, suddenly.

“W-Whoa!”

“Ken! There's... there's a huge bug!”

“Ugh…”

Ken blushed and was flustered by the crying student's clinginess, while Emily's face twisted in displeasure.

Of course, it was understandable to cling to a reliable guy in such a dire situation.

But Emily was not pleased.

“Calm down, Louis. You're safe here.”

So, Emily grabbed the trembling girl by the arm, pulling her away from Ken.

“Huh? Is it safe here?”

“Yeah. The smoke from the firewood keeps the bugs away.”

Ken, who had been embarrassed when the student clung to him, explained the reason once she stepped back.

'I thought they would use the Ignition Fruit, thank god I brought this firewood instead.'

The firewood Ken brought was difficult to ignite, but once it did, the unusual sap inside the wood transformed into smoke that repelled insects.

Thanks to Ken's campfire, no insects were attracted to his side, despite the commotion with Enzo.

"Hey, guys━! It's safe here! Come this way quickly!"

Louis, the girl who had heard Ken's explanation, waved her hand and called the fleeing students over.

Hearing her voice and confirming the Safe Zone, everyone hurried toward Ken's campfire.

As they gathered and caught their breath, calming down from the panic, Ken educated them about the dangers of the Ignition Fruit.

Though he could have warned them earlier, seeing Enzo so smug made him decide to hold back and watch.

After all, the Giant Qurex wasn't a particularly dangerous monster.

"What the... So that monster was attracted by the fruit?"

"I was genuinely terrified! It perched on my arm and tried to suck my blood!"

"Ugh…"

The students, now calmed after learning the truth about the Ignition Fruit, voiced their complaints.

Enzo groaned softly, lowering his head.

His shoulders trembled with embarrassment.

'Why, why is this happening!'

Unaware of the Strategy Guide's trap, Enzo couldn't comprehend the situation. The accusatory stares from the girls who had been smiling at him just moments before made him feel like he was sitting on needles.

Most of all...

Emily was hugging Ken's arm tightly.

'Damn, damn, damn!'

Seeing Emily's action ignited a fire within Enzo.

'...Emily.'

Ken also felt the flames rising in his chest, as Emily clutched his arm and wouldn't let go.

In her swimsuit, Emily's soft skin and chest were directly touching Ken's arm. However, she didn’t seem to mind at all and wouldn’t let go of his arm.

Just moments ago, it was just the two of them, but now the other female students had gathered around.

‘If only there was just a little more time... I could have said it!’

Emily harbored a different kind of frustration than the other students. At the critical moment, she had been disrupted and couldn’t get the words out.

Moreover, the female students, claiming it was to avoid danger, huddled excitedly around Ken's campfire, mostly focusing on him.

‘This is so annoying…’

Because of this, Emily clung even more tightly to Ken's arm.

The brief commotion passed, and the eventful first night came to an end.

“I wish I could sleep in a bed…”

Feeling stiff from sleeping on the sandy ground, the students stretched their sore bodies the next day and expressed this sentiment.

‘Maybe I should make a tent.’

Observing their reactions, I started planning along those lines.

After all, we have to stay on the island for a week due to this event.

Securing a proper place to sleep in advance will have a positive effect on maintaining long-term energy.

‘Can I use my crafting skills?’

As a test, I selected the 'Barbarian's Axe' from the category and tried using the skill.

‘Quick Crafting.’

━Vooom.

Then, the familiar flow of magic gathered and transformed into an axe in my hand.

It seems that skills can indeed be used.

“Well, characters focused on strategy wouldn't have crafting skills anyway, so there's no reason to block them.”

Developers have blocked magic because it would make island life too easy.

Magic is versatile and highly useful.

However, this doesn't apply to skills.

For instance, Adrian’s Innate Skill is directly tied to magic, so it cannot be used in the first place.

Emily's skill requires a target to seal, so there's no need to block it.

Therefore, it seems they decided to leave skills as they are.

Of course, this is just my speculation.

Bam!

First, I felled a suitable tree in the forest with the axe I crafted to gather materials.

“Ke, Ken? What's with that log?”

After a while, I returned to the beach carrying the chopped log on my shoulder, and everyone stared at me in surprise.

“I thought I’d build a shelter.”

In front of everyone, I began cutting and refining the logs to make materials for the tent.

“Wow, Ken, you’re amazing…”

“Somehow, I got a little excited.”

“You’ve got a lot of skill with your hands.”

The female students who were peeking from the side watched me with admiration.

“I like how his arm muscles look when he swings that hammer.”

“Yeah, doesn’t he look super sexy?”

It was hard to concentrate amidst the chatter from behind as I worked.

I was getting used to it, but the high-pitched voices of the gathered female students still felt noisy.

And similarly—

“Tch.”

Enzo, who was leaning against a nearby tree and looking at me with displeasure, was quite unsettling as well.

‘I feel like I’m putting on a crafting show.’

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