- POV Dominic -

Horrifying. There was no other way he could describe what happened today. It started as a promising day of the awaited summer camp. Dominic’s team members were doing their own chores, leaving Dominic to prepare for the incoming horde of children in room 12. Little did he know he that he wouldn’t see them alive ever again.

After what seemed like about twenty minutes of fetching random items, his vision took a sudden halt. Just a second later he was in some kind of weird white space. For a moment he reckoned that he accidentally put the last of his magic mushrooms in his sandwich, but that thought soon vanished when a notification popped up.

The system had arrived, and it was telling him to survive. If he were on shrooms, he’d normally feel dreamy, like he knew he wasn’t looking at normal reality. But this time he was definitely looking at the real world. And this new world wasn’t coupled with a mixture of dizziness and nausea. He felt perfectly fine.

Like any normal human being would do, he started panicking. He didn’t get any response, so he started asking questions to whatever brought him here. And to his astonishment, it answered. Sometimes, at least.

The ‘system’ as it called itself, told him about his status and how he had to grow strong. It beckoned him and promised him he could achieve anything if he just got stronger. He asked for some extra hints, but the system didn’t respond.

Thereafter, a flying armory hurled towards him. He had to pick a weapon. He had no experience in combat, so he chose what he thought was the safest for a beginner. He chose the sword and shield. He considered dropping the shield and going for a larger sword, but eventually opted for this combination. A decision that would later save his life.

After what seemed like ages, but according to the system was under ten minutes, he returned with his sword and shield in hand. He took a good look at his weapons. That settled it, this situation was real. But how? And more importantly, why did this happen?

Dominic’s confusion was interrupted by screams in the hallways. Room 12, his base of operations, was quite centralized in the monastery with a lot of rooms nearby.

Few could hear the screams as clearly as he could at that moment. He heard shouting and screaming coming from the neighboring room.

Any thoughts that this was some effect of a magi mushroom instantly evaporated. Dominic hurried out of room 12, off to room 11. What he saw horrified him.

He arrived just in time to witness Rufus’s neck sliced open by an oversized wolf’s claw. Rufus’s group mates were already on the floor, dead. Right before the finishing blow, Rufus made eye contact with Dominic, almost urging Dominic to run away. He wanted to throw up, but his body wouldn’t let him. He stiffened and just watched as the wolf started munching on its meal.

He wanted to retreat. The wolf hadn’t noticed him yet, and if there was a good moment to flee, it would be now. But he couldn’t. He just stood there as his friends were eaten by the wolf, while not moving a muscle.

The wolf, seemingly losing interest in its meal, turned around and finally noticed him. It was curious. It didn’t notice him, but one look at Dominic revealed to the wolf that this was prey. Not a predator. And it was right.

The wolf leisurely walked to Dominic, before it jumped. Even when the wolf jumped at him, he still wouldn’t move. His eyes were fixated on the wolf’s fangs. He just looked at death approaching, staying completely still. Almost like he was a bystander to his own death.

At the last moment, somebody pushed his body to the side.

Mr. Everstein pushed him out of the wolf’s reach and started battling the wolf. What would seem like an unfair fight for the pastor, turned into a quick death for the wolf.

Mr. Everstein sidestepped the wolf’s advance and sliced at the wolf’s neck. It didn’t pierce, but after a second time, he managed to finish it off. This time, his sword was glowing. It was something he had never seen before.

You would think that facing certain death and subsequently being saved from it would invigorate him. But it didn’t.

He just felt insignificant. He wasn’t strong. He was weak. And if someone stronger than him decided to end his life, there’s nothing he could do.

Mr. Everstein was different. He almost felt Alien to Dominic. Mr. Everstein had jumped in without hesitation and managed to kill the wolf after just a few exchanges. He immediately adapted to the situation and decided to end the wolf’s life. That was his right. He was the complete opposite of Dominic…

Mr. Everstein grabbed him by the shoulders.

‘’Dominic, are you alright?!’’

Dominic, still dazed, slowly nodded.

‘’Dominic, I need you to listen to me. There’s no time. I’m going to search for Kara and Nathan. Their room is all the way in the back, so they’ll have the hardest time escaping. I need you to rally up as many people as you can and escape, okay?’’

Mr. Everstein put a rusted key in his hand and closed it.

‘’You know where the backdoor is, right?’’

Dominic nodded again, without saying a word. Mr. Everstein seemed to notice Dominic wasn’t in the right state of mind, as he left a moment of silence.

‘’I know it hurts, Dominic,’’ Mr. Everstein said as he put his hand on Dominic’s chest. ‘’In here, I know it does.’’

‘’But you can do this. No, you have to do this!’’

There was no more time to be lost as Mr. Everstein sprinted down the corridor after patting him on the back and giving him one last meaningful look.

Dominic was left in the opening of room 12, watching Mr. Everstein rushing to his children. He didn’t realize it at the time, but he would later regret not thanking Mr. Everstein then and there. He clenched the fist with the key in it.

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He released the tension from his muscles and took a comfortable stance. He somehow felt a lot more relaxed. The goosebumps left and it was like he could see clearly again. Mr. Everstein entrusted him with a task, and he would carry it out.

If he didn’t do it, who would? Did they have the key? Did they have the means to escape without it? Mr. Everstein gave him this key for a reason. He had to save the others.

Dominic proceeded to check up on the rooms close by. In most rooms, people were hiding behind furniture with their weapons raised. They lowered their weapons when they Dominic. After a short explanation, they joined Dominic in the escape plan.

He kept gathering survivors and, together with the group, dispatched a few of the wolves. With their greater numbers, they could defeat a lone wolf.

He didn’t know what it was, but his body felt good. Strong, even. And as he leveled up, it only got stronger.

Who was he kidding? He knew what it was. Mr. Everstein had shown him what it meant to survive. Mr. Everstein made him realize what he had to do to validate his existence.

He was a little bit surprised. He expected more wolves to hunt them, but most wolves seemed in a hurry to go deeper into the monastery. They were probably going to where Mr. Everstein was, giving them an easier escape path.

He must be in an intense battle right now as he heard batches of wolf cries and howls. From the looks of things, he was winning.

Dominic internally thanked Mr. Everstein a second time and swiftly arrived at the back door with a group of about fifteen people. He opened the door and the group sprinted outside.

He spotted a small cemetery bordering the forest that surrounded the monastery. He silently vowed to give the fallen a proper burial once they come back.

When the group passed the cemetery, he spotted a pack of wolves. It didn’t look like these wolves were going to enter the monastery. It was like they were on guarding duty, or maybe even resting. The wolves definitely looked larger than the ones assaulting them in the monastery. Compared to the wolves inside, these wolves looked elite.

He hoped they could continue their escape without getting spotted, but those were naive hopes. The wolves quickly spotted them and started chasing them. It was mayhem.

They had no chance in a chase against wolves. Some people fell, with others trying to help them up. Others fell and were left behind.

Two people were already killed when he motioned for the others to group up. The wolves would catch up soon anyway, and it would be better to stay together. Some didn’t make it and were jumped by wolves. The majority of the wolves passed the people that fell behind and surrounded Dominic and his squad.

Dominic spotted a distinct brown wolf. Under the leadership of this brown wolf, the wolves surrounded the group. Dominic looked at it and stiffened up. This wolf gave the impression of complete superiority. Like there was nothing he could do to triumph over it. It was the predator, and he was the prey.

Dominic shook his head and quickly escaped from this state of mind. Mr. Everstein wasn’t here right now to save them. If he didn’t do anything like last time, he would die. Simple as that.

The group got more and more injuries as the group of wolves systematically harassed them. The wolves didn’t fully commit and didn’t leave any openings. They would only attack occasionally, only if they wouldn’t get hit afterward. All while circling around the group, like some kind of twisted dance. They were too calculating.

Dominic was wracking his brain to come up with a solution, but he couldn’t find any. He directed the group to circle their shields around in protection, but that only gave them some extra time. If this kept up they would just die a meaningless death. But, then he appeared.

A man with an oversized blue arm launched a sneak attack on the brown wolf. The wolf partly dodged the attack but was still left injured. The other wolves jumped on the man, enraged he wounded their leader. This was their chance.

Together with the blue-armed man, they managed to pincer the brown wolf. The brown wolf put up a last-ditch effort and hit the man with what looked like a red claw. It reminded him of John’s sword that glowed after rescuing him. It had to be strong.

Fortunately, the man managed to finish the wolf off. The other wolves ran off as they realized their leader got killed.

The blue arm left a deep impression on Dominic. John’s glowing sword skill greatly surprised him, but this blue arm was on a whole other level. If this was the potential of this ‘system’ on the first day, how strong could they become?

He checked up on some of his group members before he walked to the blue-armed man. That’s when he noticed, it was Benjamin Neilson.

The famous Benjamin Neilson, the son of Miss Neilson. Everyone knew who he was and had some kind of opinion of him. He didn’t care about any of that. All he knew was that he didn’t hesitate to jump in and save them. He was strong. And he wanted to become strong as well.

He looked at Benjamin and noticed his blue arm was missing. Instead, he expected a normal arm to be there, but he missed that one as well. He assumed it had been amputated.

He didn’t know much about Benjamin Neilson, but if he was missing a limb, he’d have definitely heard someone gossip about it. That means he lost his arm today. But how is he still alive after losing his arm? He decided not to mention it, he’ll find out later on.

He noticed Rolo had also arrived when they abruptly went back and picked up Kara and Nathan. He thought he’d feel relieved when seeing them alive, but noticed he only felt worried.

‘Didn’t Mr. Everstein save them? Where is he?’ he thought.

He was too afraid to ask. If Mr. Everstein wasn’t with them, where was he? Was he still fighting? Or did something happen to him? He to leave those questions for later. The first thing on the agenda was surviving with the group, as he promised to Mr. Everstein.

He quickly noticed Benjamin, Nathan, and Rolo all had skills. Is this what the system meant by getting stronger? If it did, he would gladly acquire skills and get stronger. After finding a safe place he had to ask them how they earned their skills.

The group supposedly took a route to a summerhouse of some rich guy. Nathan said so, and he knows this forest best. But after walking over a mile, he said it wasn’t there anymore. He didn’t know why, but he trusted that Nathan was right. This was just another subject they had to discuss.

Afterward, he and Rolo volunteered to search for a hiding spot. That’s when Rolo told him what happened. About how Christine and Patrick died after the first wolf attacked. How they went to Mr. Everstein’s office and how the pastor saved them. And lastly, how Mr. Everstein died.

Dominic hunched over with tears falling down his face and Rolo comforting him.

Mr. Everstein had succeeded in accomplishing what he set out to do. He had saved Kara, Nathan, and Benjamin. He was sure he had no regrets. The duo resumed their search after Dominic wiped the moisture off of his face.

They found an appropriate resting place and gathered the group to rest. After applying some bandages from this weird shop on those that were injured, most went to sleep. And if they didn’t they at least lie down.

Dominic faced the sky with opened eyes. He couldn’t sleep. His mind was still thinking of Mr. Everstein and everything he had done up to his sacrifice.

Once in a while, he sneaked a peek at Kara. Fortunately, it looked like she was going to be okay, as Nathan didn’t seem all too worried. And he had a healing skill, so he should know.

Dominic was about to stand up and start discussing things when he overheard a conversation between Nathan and Benjamin. Benjamin told Nathan he wanted to leave, and if he didn’t, he’d die. Unlike the Nathan he was familiar with, Nathan briskly accepted it and beckoned him to leave.

Dominic wanted to stop Benjamin then and there. What would happen to the group if he left? No one else was as strong as him. And if they encountered another pack of wolves, they would be in a dire situation yet again. For a second Dominic felt like there was no survival if Benjamin left.

Dominic rebuked himself for counting himself off like that. This wasn’t like the time he stiffened up. Since then, he had grown to stand his ground against the wolves if need be. He just needed to gain strength, just like Benjamin had.

Dominic watched as Benjamin’s back went through the brush and left. At that moment Dominic set his sights on reaching the power Benjamin had. He wasn’t going to let something like this happen to him and his loved ones ever again.

Dominic stood up and walked to Nathan.

‘’Let’s talk.’’