Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 134

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 134
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The outdoor survival test required us to endure four days in the mountains with our team, stripped of provisions, water, and comfort—nothing but our bare selves. And it wasn’t merely about surviving; the instructors and teaching assistants would launch surprise attacks without warning.
‘It’s practically a real combat drill. At least they’re being merciful for our first exam—we’re not actually fighting real monsters, just the instructors attacking us.’
Holding the test in spring, when neither cold nor heat posed a threat, seemed considerate as well. Apparently, the beads attached to our academy badges would also track our positions.
‘They’re training us, not actually trying to put us in mortal danger.’
Of course, the test itself was rigorous—fail to repel an attack properly and you’re disqualified; fail to secure food or water, or sustain injuries requiring rescue, and that’s also disqualification.
Any form of failure counts as a failing grade, and three accumulated failures mean expulsion.
‘I can’t fail the first exam. The Crown Princess’s reputation is at stake!’
The moment I heard the test format, I’d begun studying in advance—how to distinguish poisonous plants from edible ones, methods for finding clean water, techniques for sleeping outdoors.
‘Of course, if I used the Eight Pillar Order, surviving for days would be trivial…’
But that would defeat the purpose of the test, so I’d decided against it. I’d committed to training earnestly.
‘Though why won’t they reveal how teams are formed? Keeping it secret until the day itself?’
Privately, I’d hoped to be grouped with the Crown Prince, but such fortune never materialized.
The 29th day of the third month, Year 16 of Seo-gwang.
In the misty, pale dawn, halfway up an unnamed mountain on the outskirts of Wun City.
I removed the blindfold I’d worn the entire journey here with the instructor, and finally surveyed my teammates.
“Ah, ah, hello. Let’s, let’s work well together.”
Je-gal Pyo, the pitiful Plum Blossom Class representative, forcing an awkward smile while trembling miserably.
“…Sigh.”
Yun Ra-sa, exhaling an irritated breath as she regarded us like we were dead weight.
“Um… Gasp, hello, Your Highness!”
“Your Highness?”
“Well, no matter that we’re all students together, I can’t bring myself to speak casually to the Crown Princess. You saved my life and my sister’s, after all…”
Yi Yeon-jo, who two years ago hadn’t seemed so distant, now appeared to have matured somewhat, regarding me with deference.
So the four of us formed one team.
“Still, speak freely. It’s the Seongsul Academy’s rule—while wearing the academy badge, external status and age are irrelevant.”
“R, right, just as the ancestors of old became Kim Satgat the moment they donned their hats—transcending gender, age, and status to become equals—so too do Seongsul Academy students become simply fellow students the moment they wear the academy badge. It’s, it’s, tradition.”
“Tradition? We’re the first cohort here.”
Yun Ra-sa scoffed at Je-gal Pyo’s passionate speech, then lifted her chin defiantly.
“The idea that we’re all equal is a delusion. Not because of status, but because of differences in ability and experience.”
Yun Ra-sa’s feline eyes, tilted sharply upward, swept coldly across us. The girl twisted her lips.
“I’ve endured horrors you sheltered children couldn’t even imagine. I’ll easily pass this pathetic test, so from now on, do exactly as I say.”
I had no idea what her story was, but hearing a twelve-year-old lecture me on experience when I was 212 years old struck me as rather amusing.
‘She’s just a child, really.’
I could now somewhat understand the sentiment Seok-ran had when she’d giggled, calling me a baby princess no matter what I said.
‘She was affiliated with Baekui-bang, knows the director, and seems to have a rough past—she probably thinks she’s some worldly adult.’
While I was inclined to simply dismiss her as a child, Yi Yeon-jo responded with sudden emotion.
“Horrors? I’ve faced death myself. Don’t presume we lived sheltered lives just because you know nothing about us.”
“Ha, faced death? A young master from a noble house… Did you fall into the water on a pleasure boat or something?”
“You…!”
Yi Yeon-jo clenched his teeth at Yun Ra-sa’s scornful laugh. Je-gal Pyo’s face fell as he wedged himself between them.
“W-wait, wait, let’s not fight… Why are you two already trying to pick a fight…?”
Really, they start fighting the moment the blindfolds come off. These hot-blooded youngsters.
‘To be precise, Yun Ra-sa started it.’
I’m fine since I’m refreshed, but if she keeps that attitude up, I worry the others will grow distant from her.
‘Never mind. For now…’
While Yun Ra-sa and Yi Yeon-jo growled at each other and Je-gal Pyo stammered nervously, I quietly channeled divine power and opened my Celestial Eye. Then I searched through the surrounding qi and found something cold and damp.
‘…Found it! The essence of water! We should head that way.’
This trial wasn’t about escaping—it was about enduring for three days. Therefore, our first priority was establishing a safe base camp, and for drinking water and hygiene, it would be best if that base was near water.
I pointed in the direction where the water essence grew stronger and opened my mouth.
“There seems to be water over that way. Let’s head there first, and you two can finish fighting if you want.”
“F-finish fighting? That’s not… I mean…”
“Water? How do you know there’s water there?”
“If Her Highness says there is, then there is. She’s the one who found people in a monster’s den—finding water should be easy for her.”
The others reacted in turn. I simply started walking ahead without further comment. If they didn’t want to scatter, they’d follow on their own.
“Hey! How did you know?!”
Yun Ra-sa didn’t follow and shouted after me. Yi Yeon-jo quickly trailed behind me, while Je-gal Pyo stood frozen, glancing back and forth between the stationary Yun Ra-sa and me moving ahead, before hesitantly following.
“Damn it! Hell!”
As I continued walking, I heard curses from behind, and a dark shadow suddenly flew through the air, landing directly in front of me.
Yun Ra-sa had leaped up with weightless grace, kicked off a tree trunk, and caught up to me in a single bound using the recoil.
‘That’s almost acrobatic.’
I’d noticed it even during classes, but her movements were remarkably nimble for someone supposedly struggling with martial arts. The black martial robes cinched tightly beneath her outer jacket suggested she’d trained in techniques emphasizing speed and lightness.
“What gives you the nerve to act like this when you can’t even keep up with self-defense lessons?”
Yun Ra-sa glared at me with an angry expression, then spun around and planted herself in front of me.
“Which way?”
“Huh?”
“Which direction are we going?! I’ll humor your recklessness for now, so just tell me the direction!”
“You want to take the lead?”
“I can’t let some frail spectacled sorcerer or some sheltered young master from a great house lead the way. Damn it, if anyone’s getting hurt, it’ll be me.”
Yun Ra-sa drew a short blade from her waist and began cutting and clearing the hanging vines and branches ahead. The girl, who had carved out a walkable path through the tangled undergrowth in an instant, turned back with an irritated expression.
“So which way are we going? Don’t just charge ahead recklessly—explain it with words.”
Her language was rough and her attitude prickly, but she didn’t seem like someone with a fundamentally bad nature. I suppressed a smile and pointed in the direction the qi was flowing.
“This way.”
“Hell.”
“Looks like we need to push through here.”
“Sigh.”
“Just keep going straight from here. We’re almost there.”
“Damn it.”
Every time I spoke, she grumbled with her mouth, but her body moved steadily as she continued clearing the path. I decided that from now on, Yun Ra-sa’s curses and sighs could be interpreted as “okay” or “understood.”
“How disrespectful to His Majesty….”
Yi Yeon-jo seemed thoroughly displeased with Yun Ra-sa.
Soon, the sound of water trickling beyond the undergrowth reached our ears. As Yun Ra-sa, leading the way, slashed through the drooping brush with her short sword, a small valley came into view.
“…There really is water here?”
Yun Ra-sa muttered in disbelief, and Yi Yeon-jo responded with a scoff.
“The Crown Princess said there would be, so there will be.”
Je-gal Pyo’s eyes gleamed behind his spectacles as he turned his head toward me.
“A-a-amazing! C-could I ask what p-principle you used to find it?”
“I just followed the water qi.”
“F-from this d-distance? Your spiritual s-sensitivity is incredibly sharp….”
“It’s thanks to divine power….”
I was about to brush it off vaguely when Bae So-wol’s words from the entrance ceremony suddenly came to mind.
“Second. What your companions are capable of.”
For the next four days, we’d be together defending against the instructors’ attacks, so I should be clear about what I could do, shouldn’t I?
‘Of course, I can’t tell them everything, but as a human shaman Se-ru-hwa, there are things I can share….’
“…When I’m possessed, I can see the flow of spiritual energy around me with my eyes. That’s how I found the water qi so easily.”
“Y-you’re p-possessed right now? S-since when?”
“Since I removed the blindfold?”
“A-a-amazing, you can enter possession so easily? I thought shamanic possession was something that might not even work even after performing the mudang dance and conducting rituals, but you do it so effortlessly… how is that possible? Is the divine being continuously watching over you? No wonder you ranked first in our class assignment. H-hey, could I ask a few more things? I’ve been curious about you for a while now…!”
Je-gal Pyo, brimming with excitement, spoke without stammering and even pulled out a notebook.
He’d chosen medicine as a minor like me, so I saw him often during classes. Despite his timid and quiet nature, he was a boy who stood out in many ways. He was genuinely passionate about fields that interested him—the kind who needed to understand the principles behind everything to feel satisfied. He often asked so many questions that he’d leave instructors flustered. Though quite shy by nature, when curiosity took hold, he seemed blind to everything else.
‘If I start answering, there’ll be no end to it, so I need to cut this off here.’
“Sorry, let’s finish this conversation later. Right now, we need to find a place nearby where we can stay.”
“A-ah, r-right. We’re in the m-middle of an exam… s-sorry….”
“Crown Princess! There seems to be a cave over here!”
Yi Yeon-jo, who’d apparently explored the area around the valley, waved his hand and shouted from a distance. Yun Ra-sa, who’d been standing beside us with her arms crossed and a sullen expression, glanced at Yi Yeon-jo and suddenly looked startled.
“Crazy bastard! That’s not a cave!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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