Simple, Single-Minded Silence
1
“It looks like this is where we part ways, Senpai. At least for now.”
Once we had both earned a one-point Arrival Bonus for crossing the boundary into area E3, Nanase finally broke the ice.
“How do you plan on joining up with Amasawa and Hōsen?”
The GPS Search was an excellent tool for finding out where other people were located, but it was hardly cut out for facilitating a get-together.
That was a job far more suited to a tool capable of direct interpersonal communication, such as a walkie-talkie.
“I can’t imagine that I’d cross paths with them by aimlessly wandering around the island, but it’s not like I can waste a bunch of points searching for them either. With that being the case, I’ll start out by using the point I just got and try my best to chase after their GPS signals. If I can’t find them after that, I guess I’ll just travel to the next designated area.”
This meant that she was probably going with a minimalist approach, searching for Amasawa and Hōsen during whatever downtime she had between areas.
I thought about asking her to share Amasawa’s location with me before she left, but since she hadn’t even started with the search yet, I decided to simply let it slide.
“I think it’ll take a first-year student like me to poke around and find out what other first-years are up to. If I catch wind that something bad is going down, I’ll come running and let you know, Ayanokōji-senpai.”
While Nanase was brimming with enthusiasm, I was afraid that she’d end up lost, aimlessly going around in circles.
“Just don’t overdo it.”
With a respectful nod of the head and her tablet in hand, Nanase set off.
It’d be nice if she could meet up with them soon, but that would all depend on how the other two behaved moving forward.
If they were consistently touring the designated areas, it’d be over and done with fairly quickly, but knowing those two, it wouldn’t be surprising if the both of them ended up moving erratically instead.
After watching Nanase’s figure disappear into the depths of the forest, I took out my tablet.
I was finally back on my own again, and with it, I could officially get started with the second half of the exam.
“No Tasks nearby, huh?”
There was one about 400 meters away from here, but it had already opened up registration more than twenty minutes ago, which would turn into thirty-five minutes given that it would take me fifteen or so just to get there. Furthermore, only five groups would be able to participate.
Ultimately, I decided that going after this Task wouldn’t be very practical, so I opted to take a break instead. I’d sit back and wait for the next designated area to be announced so that, by the time my strength was fully recovered, I’d be ready to get up and take action.
When the clock struck 9:00 AM, I picked up my tablet and readied myself for what was to come.
Whether I’d make a beeline for the designated area or head for a Task instead, it all depended on where the next area unveiled itself.
I quickly checked my tablet, only to find out that it was the random designation for the day.
The area in question was area E6, three areas to the south of here, which wasn’t actually all that far away, considering the fact that it had been randomly designated.
I started walking immediately but kept my eyes glued to my tablet as I did.
After inspecting each of the Tasks that had also appeared at the turn of the hour, I decided on my course of action.
In order to earn as many points as possible in the time I had left today, I needed to be efficient.
To that end, it was crucial that I did everything in my power to discount the influence of luck.
