It was a week later and their time outside reduced to 40 minutes, the setting up of their shelter included, that the impossibility of their situation finally settled down.

With that new speed, it would take them 50 days instead of 25 days to complete the floor, and it would only get worse the deeper they went. But even more: though they had been stocking up rations from the tutorial resting area and rarely using them, favoring the floor resources over the bland rations, they knew it would become a problem before they reached their destination.

All in all, they had a month's worth of barely touched food rations. And they still had several days' worth of meat from the fourth ring, as well as two weeks' worth of bird white meat from the fifth and sixth floor. And that was it. 6 weeks worth of food. And if they failed, they would be left stranded and starving with no hope to resupply because the sixth floor would also be ten days away, without food.

And so, they could only keep pushing for two weeks before they had to make a choice: take the gamble and risk everything. Or turn back and resupply to get better prepared.

But the 140 days of food they would need to make a second attempt in safe conditions. That was a truly unrealistic amount. And so they started discussing it right now. Cause they only a 42 days worth of food and would still have 32 days worth of food left of the 140 needed if they gave it up right now to give it a second try later.

And this time around, Sophia was for giving up now to try a better day:

"We were clearly underprepared for this." She observed, feeling defeated. "Fortunately, no one got sick. And we got even decently good at this. But our food supplies were absolutely not enough for this frozen wasteland."

"I agree." Paolo approved, "We may think we can push through and start rationing. But we were obviously not pessimistic enough. We are speaking of 140 days of food, based on the current condition we are experiencing, but we should prepare for 205 days of food, based on the worst-case scenario instead. Can we even get and store and transport that amount of food?"

Nope. They did not have the means to carry 24 times their body weight in food, even in zero gravity. Even now, they were only making it because their 42 days worth of food consisted of an entire month of light, easy-to-transport dried food. For only 12 days' worth of frozen preserved meat, against about 22 days' worth when they first started. And at the time, their backpack had already been full to the brim, always prudent as ever.

But here they were talking of tripling or quadrupling that amount. Something that was impossible without special gear, like a couple of sleds, they would have to build from scratch, on top of gathering that ludicrous amount of food, and knowing that the cold might be worsening while they were gone preparing.

But there was no way they could make it through.

"So it's either choose to turn back now, or choose to turn back in two weeks, when it would become suicidal not to do so?" Michel summarized "We have always been playing safe so no argument from me. Our lives are precious. So I'm all for a strategic retreat."

Then Moana and Lono quietly nodded their agreement, which Prince imitated, minus his terminal incapability of staying quiet:

"Leaving that hellhole and getting back to hunting birds to give of boost to the team's supplies? Hell yeah. I'm going to kill you hundreds of birds What are we waiting for?"

And so it was decided. After pushing for ten days, so finally admitted failure and started making their way back. To hopefully better prepare and try their luck again another day.

★☆★

The return trip had been harder, especially for Prince, because of the wind.

And the proud tressym had even willing stopped flying for four days while fighting against the cold wind before he resumed flying as normal when the cold had receded enough to allow him to do so.

But in the end, and despite the harsher conditions, they had made it in eight days instead of ten, simply because they had the training and renewed enthusiasm to push harder.

"We made it!" Sophia shouted as a warcry.

And everyone responded to it, though a few laughs and funny and sarcastic comments had been mixed in. The sentiment was shared. And fought they were like mutts running with their tails between their legs after a major defeat, it still felt like a small victory over this murderous ring, who had tried and failed to claim their lives.

And now, they had to make their way back to the fourth ring junction point to gather the wood they needed as crafting material while starting to gather the mammoth amount of 24 times their body mass in food. And then, they would have to find ways to dry and/or preserve as much of that food as possible, before even discussing the logistics of securing and transporting their precious cargo over two rings and a half, before they could even think of challenging the the seventh ring again.

Even with gravity out of the equation, it was going to be no small task.

And so they slowly made their way back while Prince was already enthusiastically preying on the birds like a hawk, coming back with his trophy and going back for more.

By the end of the day he had slaughtered over twenty birds and showed no sign of tiring.

"So what do you think, Miirik?" The tressym asked, obviously wanting to be praised.

At this rate, they would get a hundred a twenty so bird carcass by the end of this ring. And would probably double that amount for the next ring before they got back to the fourth one. In a sense, that was impressive. But on the other end, they were about one kilogram of dried meat they could produce from each carcass which would only count for 3 of the 24 body mass in food they needed.

But it was still a really good start.

"You did good." Sophia confirmed before immediately tempering, "But now, we are going to spend the next two hours processing that food so it won't go to waste. Any more than this and I would be afraid about lacking the time and means to keep up."

"Sorry if I've been overzealous and put you in trouble," Prince immediately sought forgiveness, though he had done nothing wrong, yet. "I would make sure not to exceed that same number tomorrow."

And so, that's confirmed it. He had still more to give but came to seek praise while not giving his whole. Though in that case, she was grateful he didn't. They would really spend the evening elbow dip into bird entrails, trying to remove and smoke everything that could be preserved for a few weeks.

Needless to say what was on today's menu that night.

★☆★

The trip back to the fourth ring had been uneventful, as Prince kept killing the only local predators for their meat as if it was nothing, scattering the few survivors in fright at the mere sight of their group and its accompanying feline menace.

The tressym was such a successful predator himself that it was almost ridiculously comical. They could not spend an hour outside without him getting them one, or even sometimes two birds within that time. Even compared to a wild regular cat who was basically doing the same thing every day to survive, Prince was killing the game and wasn't even sweating over it.

To Sophia's relief, the progress from the seventh ring was not gone and he was proving more and more of an asset and a compassionate and relatable companion with every passing day. And he was turning into a true tiny hero for the group, as he should always have been.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"Alright everyone, we finally did it!" Sophia shouted. "We are back on the fourth ring. Now let's celebrate because starting tomorrow, we have serious business to deal with. We have seven of the twenty-four body mass worth of food we need for our next expedition of three we got on our way back. We have seventeen more to get."

Pep talk wasn't her thing. But she thought she nailed it this time around.

"If we are celebrating, does that mean we get to eat anything but chicken tonight?" Lono asked hopefully, rubbing his belly.

That was the first time Sophia heard Lono complaining about anything but spiders. And that was an actual good suggestion.

"Yep, start gathering things while we are settling." She ordered around, "We are going to run everything we find by Prince and then hunt and roast some good venison to mark the event."

"What about alcohol?" Michel asked.

"You have some?" She asked back and he nodded. "Then we get to feast for real. But still: indulge with moderation, the tutorial is still as ruthless as ever."

"Then, I'm going to cook appetizers," Moana beamed, already deep in thought with her self-imposed mission.

Paolo kept silent but gave her a double thumbs up. They were not quite in the clear until Prince conjured the shelter and so, he was keeping serious and alert. Because he knew he had to. Despite his new boon, keeping his concentration still took all his willpower. And they were technically back in the jungle.

That got Sophia back on track after that short bubble of normalcy.

"Now, let's find that perfect place to settle and start hunting." She concluded.

★☆★

Partying when your life is constantly at threat was still odd.

But this time around, they needed it. They weren't celebrating someone's accomplishment but their survival as a group. Cause the cold of the seventh ring was at a supremely different level. And unlike the lava and heat of the fourth floor, it seems like the tutorial wasn't feeling like helping this time around.

Because there were no monsters here and the cold itself was the challenge.

A cold they were supposed to survive and yet could not survive for long, regardless of preparation.

And so far, they had survived it. For 18 days.

But what they were now preparing... it was for a 3-month expedition at the very least, and they had enough food for 6, just in case.

So it wasn't a normal celebration, but rather a celebration of the life they had kept and were still about to risk once again. And they had all different hopes and expectations about how long that would take them to get prepared.

But it didn't matter cause that night, they had been partying.

And this time it lasted.

Especially the main feast event which everyone welcomed with open arms after eating nothing but fake chicken for weeks. There was only so much variation they could make around bird meat and they already had tried them all.

So in comparison eating some sort of roasted oversized alien squirrel... It was divine.

It was tastier than rabbit meat but close enough.

Lono and Michel were enjoying their time together while still interacting with the rest of the group. As for the others, they were clearly not huge partygoers and enjoyed it more timidly. There was still nothing going on between Moana and Paolo, but Sophia was now convinced they would click eventually. After all, it wasn't like they had any other options. It wasn't like Moana would date her own brother. It would be gross.

Michel and Sophia supporting the other team were kind of locking away most of the team's romantic options, ensuring that nothing awkward would happen... and that everyone was equally frustrated.

But at least, that did not prevent anyone from having a good time, sharing all sorts of personal things, and cracking jokes.

Moana and her appetizer had been Sophia's discovery for the evening, as the girl not only made them, but proudly shared her recipes and the story behind them. It was cool to see the quite intense girl behave even a tiny bit less seriously and loosen up.

Paolo looked positively radiant and truly earned Michel's nickname of Pretty Boy. He did not even touch a single book of all evening in his awkward attempt to socialize more, which Sophia wholeheartedly supported with a few jokes and questions carefully chosen to make him look good. If anything, she was determined to be the best wingwoman ever.

Lono and Michel were doing their own things after drinking way too much alcohol, dancing to a nonexistent tune like they were really at a party, daring each other to show their best moves. Whenever they were not taking a 'break' to speak with them, that's it.

And Prince? Let's say he loved the food. But he also tried the tiniest amount of alcohol which turned out to be a disastrous idea. And now, he was living up the party too, by eating like an ogre, babbling insane things, and flying erratically in what could pass for an approximation of dancing. At least, Lono and Michel were encouraging the poor tressym to burn his alcohol on the 'dance floor', which was simply an emptied half of the common room, after pushing the table and chairs on the far side.

As for her... let's say she wasn't a party animal. At some point in her life, she had to choose between gymnastics and everything else. And at that point, she had chosen to give up everything for gymnastics, to be in peak condition at all times, and simply be the best at what she loved the most. And then, she had her accident and for a long time, she did not feel like celebrating anymore. Her life at that time was in a dark place, her dreams shattered, and then... she kind of deluded herself into thinking that material success would make her happy instead: earning her bread, getting her own house, and founding a family.

But the thing was and she realized it now: she had been pursuing an idealized image of things instead of the real things. And it was more about expectations and the commonly accepted image of success than the actual package of career-minded slash parenthood mixed together that had her interested in it, to begin with.

She would probably have been truly unhappy with whatever work-life she would have committed to. And would probably have made a truly miserable parent. Cause it seemed like the life she was currently living. She was getting into it deeper than her peers. It was as if things were finally clicking in place.

And as unhealthy as it was. She did like exploring and challenging herself. It was the reason she had loved gymnastics so much. The reason she now loved acrobatic and speed archery so much. And the reason she loved magic too, although not as much as Paolo did. It was hard to love and embrace her bloodline when it was working against her so much.

But those were errant thoughts that had no place in a party. And so she shook it off and got back into it.

★☆★

The target was one mighty beast. About 130 kilograms, or so they estimated.

That herbivore's monster was a tree hopper, just like all the animals living there. But it had the musculature and horns to successfully intimidate most predators into leaving them alone. And they were a curious mix of the squirrel build that max most common here, and an actual mighty deer, king of the forest. There was indeed some sort of majesty to the weird animal.

Unfortunately for it, Sophia was determined to introduce the poor animal to the wonderful world of archery and bring it down with only two clear shots before bringing an end to its misery.

Cause they needed the meat and it happened to have a good chunk of it.

It was just one more victim to fulfill their dreadful objectives.

At the shelter, they already had converted an entire room into a cold room to keep up all that meat, and reinforcing it with prestidigitation they would reapply every hour to keep everything in pristine condition.

But even like this. Five freaking tons of food was no small amount.

And yet, that was supposedly what they needed to survive the cold for that long, all six of them. They had started to preserve all that meat too with smoking and salting. But it turned out they clearly did not have enough salt, by a ridiculous margin. Who knew that salting food was such a wasteful process?

Her arrow had flew true and straight to the deer-like creature's chest which started thrashing. But it was already dead. It just didn't know it. And a second arrow went adding a second nail to its coffin. And then, she kept stalking and waiting for the right moment to end the poor animal's suffering as it was rapidly losing blood.

And then, she dashed with her blade and stroked the heart, erasing whatever life was remaining in the creature's life.

"Thanks for the meat. It would truly be appreciated. Now rest in peace. And if you belonged to the system: I wish you better luck next time." She told the dead animal before pulling its floating carcass back to the shelter.

"That's quite the catch," Lono commented whistling. "Still, any good news for group hunting?"

"I haven't found a herd yet," Sophia admitted sheepishly. "Now that the traps are all set, I'm going to push further tomorrow. That will be on you and Michel to check on the traps, starting tomorrow."

"Don't get carried away and have too much fun on your own," Lono taunted her.

It was now an open secret that she was weird like that and did enjoy her time hunting, still relying on her weavesinging for her stealth and safety. But at some point, her humming had become such a second nature that she would do it even when she clearly did not need it, like in the presence of others at the shelter.

But so far, no one had complained about her humming, or her occasional accidental magic, causing her to disappear from them, only to reappear at the same place seconds later and startle them. It wasn't like she was doing it on purpose.

Her brain had just come to associate safety with weavesinging. Which conversely made her want to weavesing even when she was perfectly safe and in no need of it.

"Trust me, I would always be careful," She stated before adding her prize to the cold room.

And now, it was time for the gruesome task of dismantling the beast.

Thankfully, Moana had been rather enthusiastic about getting dissection practice. And in that regard, she had contributed more than anyone else combined.

Still, though they were all doing their own things, it was good to be working as a team.

As doing all of this alone seemed like an impossible task.