Chapter 79 – Sleeping Outdoors

“Team 46, eliminated.”

The cold mechanical voice of the broadcast concluded its announcement. The bald Divine Child, eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth, was sent out of the Secret Realm with a choked whimper, unable to form words.

Teresa glanced at the tally displayed on her token. She had taken out three full teams, plus one Cole—making for a total of thirteen eliminations.

That number was already high enough to draw serious attention. Even those who usually ignored the elimination announcements had probably grown sick of hearing her name by now.

According to tournament rules, six hours into the match, the team with the highest kill count would be marked on the large map. Teresa’s team wasn’t the top killer—someone else had surpassed her.

A red circle on the central map marked a bold number: Team 45.

That was Astrid’s team.

Their current elimination count stood at a staggering 32—they had completely wiped out eight teams.

A ridiculous number of kills. But if it was Astrid, that actually made perfect sense. Her team of four had flawless composition and had torn through the field like an unstoppable force, suffering zero casualties.

Even with their position revealed on the map, no one dared mess with them. Only a fool who had given up on their ranking would challenge Astrid’s team.

Still, Teresa could track their position to determine whether they had already secured the Crown Jewel.

As of now, they were very close to it, but their markers didn’t fully overlap. So the Crown Jewel hadn’t yet been claimed.

Just as Teresa was about to move on after checking her remaining Divine Authority, her steps halted. Her gaze shifted to a wooden bow lying abandoned nearby.

It was Endy’s bow, left behind after his elimination. His body was gone—but not his equipment.

Teresa thought for a moment, then picked up the wooden bow and slung it over her back. She also looted their supply pouches.

[Sanctuary of Sacred Wood] wasn’t a Domain that could stay active just by carrying a bow. If her bow got destroyed, the Domain would enter a lengthy cooldown period of five hours, requiring time to regenerate. During that time, even with another bow in hand, the Domain would be considered damaged, retaining only minimal resistance properties.

So Teresa brought this second bow as a backup—just in case. It was a long fight ahead, and she couldn’t afford to be unprepared.

Still, she felt a little conflicted. In those isekai stories from her previous life, there was always that thing called a “spatial ring”—no matter how much loot you had, you could just toss it in.

But on the Kaleburn Continent, space and time were highly sophisticated fields. Only magic-users deeply specialized in spatial magic—or Divine Princesses whose Divine Authority was tied to space—could manage them.

Storage items were exceptionally rare, to the point where even black market auctions rarely had them.

No exaggeration: when compared to high-tier enchanted items like that, gold coins were practically scrap metal.

So if she wanted to carry another bow, she had no choice but to haul it herself.

She was already carrying plenty. Tiny glass bottles filled with white potions hung from her slender, unblemished waist. Short, round bottles of red potion clung to her back. Long-necked gray potions were strapped to her thighs, nestled inside her white stockings. A yellow cylinder potion dangled off the outer side of her smooth, curvy thighs. A blue potion with a frosty sheen hung below her hips.

At this point, even Teresa thought her legs looked like a Christmas tree.

All the alchemical potions were strapped to her body. She had worried at first about the vials breaking during combat, but it turned out she needn’t have.

Alchemy had advanced to a point where the pioneers had long accounted for such issues. At the very least, every potion she had pulled from the Golden Chalice Gacha or earned from daily sign-ins had undergone special reinforcement—as long as the safety seal remained intact, the bottles wouldn’t break.

For such an important tournament, Teresa had brought her entire stockpile: gacha-drawn, daily-rewarded—anything she could strap on, she had strapped on.

With bow in hand and bare feet wrapped in white silk, the platinum-blonde elf girl pressed on against the wind and sand.

As expected, the further north she went, the more desolate the terrain became. Not a trace of greenery remained.

A forestless fated zone came with pros and cons. Astrid, being an elf too, benefitted from forest terrain just as much as Teresa did. In a barren zone like this, both their powers would be diminished.

From here on out, she couldn’t afford to jump into every fight. She’d avoid conflict when she could.

Divine Authority management was also crucial. If she kept seeking out battles, she’d eventually burn through her remaining power. Running out of Divine Authority during a final confrontation would be a very awkward way to lose.

Victory required tactics, not just brute force.

As she advanced, the full view of the canyon revealed itself. The ridges were tinted red by the sinking sun nestled between the mountains.

Night had fallen.

After a full day of hiking and several encounters, even a Divine Princess was nearing her limit.

With both stamina and focus almost depleted, Teresa gazed at the now-shadowed peaks and decided to find a place to rest for the night. Though she doubted it would be a peaceful one.

Most teams were also worn out after a full day of battles—mentally and physically. They would likely let their guard down at night. But a few teams had conserved their strength during the day, lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike when others were tired.

These “rat teams” specialized in cleaning up the weakened, and couldn’t be underestimated.

So Teresa didn’t intend to rest inside the mountains. Instead, she found a small concealed spot and set up a makeshift camp right there.

“Camp” might be generous—really, it was just a tattered blanket. Not even a fire.

She made her bed under a small dirt mound, completely alone.

Sitting cross-legged on the worn-out blanket, Teresa nibbled on jerky. Her platinum-silver hair was gathered in her arms—at a distance, she looked like a squirrel chewing on its tail.

Expressionless, she chewed the cold, woody meat. Her tender cheeks puffed slightly with each bite. As she gnawed on the jerky, her cherry lips parted for a muffled complaint:

“…Disgusting.”

The jerky tasted like wood chips, though she’d never eaten wood chips before.

On top of that, elves naturally had an aversion to meat. No matter how well-prepared, it always had that particular gamey stench. Still, it wasn’t inedible.

She had found the jerky in Bolton’s pack. With no money to stock up on food, Teresa had to scavenge what she could from her fallen foes.

Twisting open a water flask stolen from Irene, she took a sip.

Thanks to the supplies looted from her enemies, she hadn’t yet fainted from hunger inside the Secret Realm.

“I’ve eaten. Thank you all for the meal.”

Even though the food and drink were stolen, Teresa still felt a little guilty. So once she finished, she straightened the flask and her food, clasped her hands in a prayer-like pose, closed her eyes, and offered her thanks.

After that, she took out a silk kerchief and lightly wiped the corners of her mouth.

Crude as the meal was, Teresa somehow managed to turn it into an elegant banquet-style experience.

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