There was an idea of Irtis making attack magic devices or scrolls for them.

“They’ll be confiscated during the body search.”

It was a valid point.

Prodia, who was in distress, sent telepathy to Irtis.

[Irtis, what if the remaining three people also communicate with telepathy in the hunting grounds?]

Then, if they encountered a dangerous situation, Irtis could appear in front of them.

But there was a problem.

Irtis could only communicate telepathically with one person at a time.

That meant he had to disconnect from Prodia.

Moreover, there was one more reason Prodia couldn’t tell.

‘Then they will find out that we exchange secret conversations.’

She hated that more than anything.

So, Irtis circled around like this.

[It’s a shame, but I can only do this with one person.] [Then choose one of them and establish a new connection…] [No, I can only do it with you.]

Prodia was shocked by his words.
“Well then, it means you can’t communicate telepathically with anyone else for the rest of your life.”

What should I do with this wizard without a proper solution?

“If you do something so important with me, what will you do later if you marry the princess?”

“…Anyway, if we get farther apart, we won’t hear each other.”

That’s true, but Prodia couldn’t hide a deep sigh at Irtis’s speed.

There was nothing she could do.

For now, the only option was to proceed with training with survival as the goal.

Prodia concluded the discussion about the competition for now.

But there was still one more thing to confirm.

“Who were the participants who stood at the front row with you during the special performance at the opening ceremony?”

Only these four men were supposed to stand at the front row as choreographers’ privileges.

But not only did the stage change to a pyramid shape, but about ten men were also placed on top of it.

It was way different from the original agreement made by the royal family.

Thanks to that, Leke found a talent, but in the end, Prodia gained nothing as the contract fell through.

“Among those ten, there seems to be Ed’s competitor.”

“Yes, he is the Lord’s son.”

To have the skill to be included in the top ten.

So, that’s why Ed acknowledged him as a competitor and raised the stakes.

“What about the other participants?”

“I investigated, but I couldn’t find anything special.”

According to Ed’s investigation, there were a few participants from different races and humans.

It was not surprising that different races were included.

Their physical abilities were far superior to humans.

Rather, what was surprising was that there were human participants among them.

But Ed’s explanation relieved Prodia’s curiosity.

“They were originally well-known for their dancing skills. However, their other abilities were nothing special.”

Well, they were only evaluated for their dancing skills for this special performance.

So, there was nothing to worry about.

Having concluded the conversation, Prodia immediately started the training.

First, Irtis and Sharak took the lead in teaching the other two men how to hunt beasts.

But the main focus of the training was still on escape and survival.

Prodia took charge of teaching that aspect entirely.

Interestingly, this was also related to her previous life.

She had been a planning producer for a nationwide audition program.

And during that time, the program she was in charge of was ‘Survival in the Jungle.’

Moreover, at that time, she was the youngest and most inexperienced, so I ended up taking care of all kinds of tasks in the jungle.

‘I didn’t know that it would be helpful like this…?’

Indeed, it seemed like the one who gave me this chance didn’t just bring me here for no reason.

I need to watch more to figure out what he wants from me.
Meanwhile, the four men found it difficult to understand why Prodia was so focused on survival training.

After all, everything could be solved with Irtis’s magic.

However, Prodia had a different perspective.

“We need to prepare for situations where we can’t use magic.”

This was because she felt that the royal family wouldn’t leave this competition so easily.

So, everything that could be done had to be prepared.

First, Prodia taught them how to start a fire without matches.

“Now, if you rub the wood like this to generate friction….”

Watching her diligently with soot on her face, the four men couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

What kind of life had she lived so far to know such knowledge as a noblewoman?

Especially, Luka shed tears.

“Sister, how much did you suffer… Let’s get married. I’ll make sure not a single spark touches your hands for the rest of your life.”

“Don’t talk nonsense and quickly try to light the fire.”

Thus, training on basic combat and survival continued.

But Prodia knew that this alone was not enough.

So, she prepared one final special lecture.

“We need to be prepared for the time when you four will be separated.”

She unfolded the map of the royal hunting grounds.

A dense forest, a giant lake, meadows, and rocky mountains.

All these elements intertwined into a strange space.

Among them, Prodia pointed to a large cedar tree in the center.

“If, by any chance, you get separated, meet here without fail.”

The tree was so large that it had a separate notation on the map.

Prodia then explained how to determine directions.

“Basically, you can look at the stars, but if it’s daytime….”

Prodia taught them how to observe moss, the position of the sun, and shadows.

As the explanations continued, the four men were simply astonished.

For a noblewoman, it was too raw survival information.

They heard that the power balance had shifted after Duke Baekjak fell, but they never expected it to be this much.

It was heartbreaking, almost tearing at the heart.

So, everyone made a promise.

After this competition, they would definitely propose to Prodia.

They wouldn’t let her suffer anymore.

Of course, except for one person, Irtis.

‘After winning the competition, I’ll give all the prize money to Prodia.’

He couldn’t bear to see her starving.

And finally, the day of the competition arrived.

The gathering place was not the royal hunting grounds but once again the circular arena.

They probably wanted to hide the fact that they had to go to the hunting grounds until just before the competition started.

The arena was filled with thousands of participants, making it noisy and bustling.

Soon after, a competition official ascended the stage.
“Congratulations to all of you who passed the preliminary round. Now, let me explain the next competition.”

At the same time, a giant image appeared on the screen behind the stage.

It was the map of the royal hunting grounds that Prodia and the participants had seen together.

“…!”

The participants made a buzzing sound of surprise.

Some had expressions of fear, possibly realizing that they might have to engage in hunting.

The official spoke again.

“This competition is a treasure hunt. The duration is approximately three days. We hope you find as many treasures as possible and return. However, the most important thing is…”

The official added with a serious expression.

“During this competition, each of you must survive without dying.”