I couldn't fool myself. I wasn't resting. I was moping. There was no going back to sleep with the constant buzz of aching wounds and an overactive mind that wouldn't shut up.

The subdued rustling of Alice waking and walking out was the nail in my coffin. I admitted to myself that I was pathetic and moved on to more productive ventures.

I took stock of my gains.

[Name: Zeke]

[Sponsors: M-2955, C210141, *Redacted*]

[Points: 4810 (Free Perk*)]

[Traits: Clear Mind, Cursed Copy, Compulsive Curser]

[Items Thermos (Empty), Needle, Plastic Tubing (Dirty), MRE x4, Torch, Shank (Crude), Rucksack...]

[Expand ->]

I didn't need a rundown of all the minutia, like the empty water bottle or the small pebbles I was lugging around. My points were respectable. I was probably in the top ten due to the unexpected landfall. Not to mention the free perk.

Perks were handy in the sense that they modified your traits. For example, I'd probably be able to purchase the perk [Eidetic Memory] to enhance my [Clear Mind] trait. With the way sponsors gouged contestants, it'd probably cost between 10,000 - 30,000 points.

Which made the Free Perk a nice landfall.

Not a Chaos Crystal, but handy all the same.

"Son of a bitch that hurts."

I wasn't as wounded as I should have been, but it still fucking hurt. I needed to find my shirt. Did I still have a shirt? Gods, I was thirsty.

The tent flap opened.

I froze.

Alice froze.

Her entire face flushed like a rising thermostat. Then she bolted.

She was surprisingly nimble. It seems like she's the shy type.

Shrugging to myself, I grabbed my pack with my uninjured hand and ducked out of the tent.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Looking around, I didn't see anyone. I thought they might have all left with Asteria, but Alice's presence told me the situation was different. It was a shame. Alice seemed like good people. She should have gone with Asteria.

Turning to my left, I traversed the minimal distance to the pool of water and dunked my head in. I drank mouthfuls until I had trouble breathing. Coming up for air, I rubbed my hand over my head and reveled as all the water simply slid away.

The wonders of having no hair to dry.

I filled both my empty water bottle and my thermos, making sure to clean them out enough to remove the scent of gunpowder and booze. I'd need to find more of both. My plan of luring dwarves with the promise of drink and poisoning them went down the drain when...

Well. It probably wouldn't have worked anyway. Dwarven poison resistance or something.

The sound of footsteps drew my attention to a slight bend in the wall. I thought the cavern was entirely open, but it seems there was a small nook of privacy after all.

Zoey walked out into the open. I followed the curve of her black yoga pants upwards to the unzippered hoodie. Distracted by her smartphone, her sashaying walk revealed the only article of clothing underneath the maroon hoodie was a simple black bra.

She tapped away on her phone a few times, seemingly oblivious.

That soon ended.

Our eyes met, and her face scrunched into a snarl.

"Perv."

I wasn't the one who walked out into the open half-naked.

Oh. Wait.

She zipped up her jacket without much hurry and made to march away without giving me a second glance. I stopped her.

"Zoey."

"Don't use my name so casually. We're not friends."

"Did the others leave? Or are they back there?"

She looked back to where she came from and scowled harder.

"That's where the privy spawned. God damn peeping-tom aliens. I can feel their eyes on me."

She started ranting to herself, but I tried to steer the conversation since she was at least responding verbally.

"Can I see your phone?"

"Fuck off. Use your own."

"It's gone."

"Too bad, eh? Lose your precious porn stash?"

"Just... Let me see it for a second."

"No! Get lost. There's no internet anyway. All your favorite sites are down."

"Do you think all men are perverts or something?"

"Nope. Just you. Asteria confided in me that you tried to ask for sexual favors. Then I told everyone else. Too bad, even little innocent Alice now knows you are just a murdering bastard, hungry to stick his dick in something. Count yourself lucky you woke up at all."

Fuck. She was really getting on my nerves. There's no way Asteria told anyone of such a humiliating thing. That meant Zoey must have eavesdropped on at least some of the conversation and spread gossip out of spite.

I wasn't in the mood for this.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Stop. I'm warning you! I'll scream bloody murder so loud- My phone! Give it back. That's mine! Give. It. Back."

I held her at bay with one hand. Her short arms whiffed when she tried to hit me. She tried kicking, but my legs were in perfect order to dodge. The best she could manage was thumping on my arm helplessly as I went through her phone.

I closed out of the picture gallery, laughing to myself at her hypocrisy. She screeched louder, trying to bite my hand.

That made me smile.

Navigating deep into the settings, I found what I was looking for, took a mental screenshot, turned on two redundant settings, and tossed the phone back to the pitiful Zoey.

She ran away with her tail between her legs, shouting obscenities and Canadian slang that I didn't understand, swearing that I'd "rue the day."