"Well, this was out of my expectations," Luca narrowed his eyes, scanning his surroundings. Right now, he was in the middle of a never-ending green carpet.

It didn't matter if he looked left or right, east or south. The view was the same; tall, sturdy trees, an abundance of meandering creepers blocking his way, and dense foliage covering the skies in their eagerness to devour every single ray of light. The world was painted in moist, saturated colors, beaming with vitality. While the air was humid and heavy with the scent of rotting plants. This was the visage of a tropical jungle.

"Damn, and I am just an ordinary pharmacist. Born and raised in the middle of a city located in the mid-latitudes!" Luca thought, his eyelids constantly twitching. Yet, despite his frustration and inner tantrums, he persistently examined the flora. "If I ever get out of this shit, I have to remember to thank my botany teacher...Well, only if I am reborn as something that can talk. And if I still remember him. And if--"

[Welcome to the Third Major Arcana Challenge - Five Days Jungle Adventure.

This is a Game of Decisions.

All game rules are equal to laws, and violators will be judged as guilty. The punishment is Path Failure]

The typical voice didn't make him wait for long, sounding in his ears and interrupting his words. The combination of the fertile greenery and such an introduction making him feel like a specimen showcased inside a vivarium.

[The rules of the game are as follow:

[1]. There are a total of 14 challengers, and all players are divided into two teams of seven players each. The teams are labeled as blue and yellow.

[2]. The game time is 5 full days calculated from the moment the challengers enter the Jungle. One full day in the Rainforest is 24 hours, half of which is daytime and the other half is night.

[3]. During the game, the challengers' needs for nutrients and water will be enhanced. Prolonged periods of starvation and dehydration will lead to exhaustion. A period of 48 hours without nutrients or 24 hours without liquids will lead to the player's death. Every player needs to sleep at least 3 hours per day, or they will enter a state of delirium. In such a state, all combat and cognitive capabilities of the player will sharply decline. To recover, the player needs to sleep for 5 hours straight.

[4]. During the game, new functions will be unlocked in the challenger's Tarot:

1) Minimap Tracker. By activating the Tracker, the players can observe the location of all living challengers once every 5 hours.

2) Minimap Scout. By activating the Scout, the players will be able to mark dangerous and prosperous locations. The player setting the mark can choose to share it with everyone or be the only one to view this information.

Note! Tap the card twice to activate the functions.

[5]. All flora and fauna in the Jungle will be indifferent or hostile toward the challengers.

[6]. To clear this game, make a decision - Thrive or Smother?

1) Thrive - Survive in the Jungle for full five days.

All challengers who are still alive after 5 days will automatically receive Mother Nature's Embrace, acquiring the Arcana of Fertility and Dependence and returning to their personal space.

2) Smother - Annihilate the opponent's team.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

All challengers from the victorious team, who participate in the smothering of the weeds and survive, will immediately receive Mother Nature's Embrace, acquiring the Arcana and returning to their personal space in 1 hour.

The Empress anticipates your thrilling escapade.]

Concluding the presentation of the rules, the voice disappeared, bringing forth the usual sounds of birds and insects. However, the sounds of nature seemed like tranquility in comparison to the hearts of the players.

"This is the first game that directly encourages killing..." a barely perceptible voice escaped from Luca's clenched lips.

Either The Magician's Election or The Priestess's Dream, none of them encouraged killing. At least not as brazenly as The Empress.

The first challenge was mainly a mind game. Although the really clever people could see through this illusion, how many challengers could actually do so? And yet, the third challenge directly spat in their faces - Make your choice!

"This is the Path of Life." There was resolution in Luca's eyes. If he really had to fight against other people so that he could live, then he would do so. The previous trials already tested and quenched his resolve. Albeit indirectly, after the election, his hands were already covered in blood. And the dream taught him what he truly yearned for. He had discarded the deceptive heaven and jumped straight into hell so that he could see the end. If he had to, he could kill.

"However, it isn't time yet." If one wanted to survive this Jungle, the smothering pathway was not the correct answer.

"Of course, I doubt everyone will think so," Luca straightened his back and activated the Tracker. First, he had to experiment with the new tools and regroup with the other members of his team. Before understanding the dangers of this Jungle, it was wiser to be part of a group. Humans were herd creatures. In the absence of individuals of superior quality, people often chose to rely on numbers.

Tapping it twice, the metallic card in Luca's hand blinked, and the darkness on the backside slowly receded. It was replaced by a simple map of the surrounding terrain. His own position was marked with a yellow exclamation mark. While both friends and foes were visualized with question marks in yellow and blue, respectively. At the upper right corner of the map, a blinking red number counted down by the second, starting from 600.

"I can use the Tracker for 10 minutes every 5 hours... However, isn't this map too simple? Besides the position of the other players and the directions, there is nothing of use." As there was barely any valuable information, 10 minutes were more than enough, and Luca was not in a hurry. At the same time, his position was quite desolate from the others, giving him the chance to do what he was best at - wait and observe.

Nine and a half minutes later, he closed the map and tried unsuccessfully to activate it again, "It really is only once every 5 hours." Apparently, it didn't matter if he took a single glimpse or stared for full ten minutes. Once the Tracker was activated and deactivated, it couldn't be opened again for the next five hours.

Stretching his slightly stiff shoulders, Luca started to proceed slowly and cautiously. These ten minutes of lurking brought him some gains. His first objective was to observe the movements of the players and predict their routes. Walking blindly like a headless fly toward the minute position of a moving target was not only stupid but dangerous as well. His speculation and second objective, unfortunately, were proven correct too.

In these mere 10 minutes, one of his teammates died.

According to the rules, the Tracker could locate only the living. Then what did it mean if a player's mark suddenly disappeared?

"Now, I know one of the possibly dangerous locations and the general movement of both teams. And most importantly that this Jungle is not as simple as it appears to be."

Yes, for a death to occur less than 10 minutes into the game meant only one thing; This place was extremely dangerous!

The following week would definitely be a thrilling adventure; One The Empress craved for.

...

Luca moved with the pace of a snail toward the gathering spot of the yellow team. However, his discouraging progress wasn't only a result of his cautious character.

"Fuck, if only I had a better weapon than this," he murmured as he slashed with a kitchen knife at a vine. The dense forest was making every single step pure torture. Pulling at his clothes, scratching his skin, entangling between his feet, and slipping him down. The whole forest was like a silent beast gnawing at his endurance and waiting for him to fall down from exhaustion. Then perhaps in mere hours, his corps would rot from the high temperatures and humidity, becoming fertilizer for the body of the monster, hidden deep underground.

"Not, Going, To visit, A forest, Ever, Again," with his final muffled roar, the vine split apart, opening a tiny path for him to proceed through. His whole body was aching from the exercise. And his jaw wasn't any better thanks to gritting his teeth in the past 4 hours.

"How treacherous!" Luca's voice quivered as he took a second to regain his breath. A few drops of sweat dripping down from his hair and falling on the lens of a pair of circular glasses. Observer's Dignity, the spectacles he gained after clearing The High Priestess's challenge.

With the enhancement of his perception and the ability to see in the dark, Luca successfully evaded most of the numerous dangers hidden between the foliage. Unlike Disney's claim, the real king of the Jungle wasn't a lion or any other big carnivore; It was the silent lurkers - poisonous insects, amphibians, and snakes!

In the past 4 hours and 13 minutes, he had escaped at least 5 very suspicious-looking snakes, 7 frogs, and a bunch of bugs he couldn't name or remember.

"But I can't evade transmissive diseases..." Luca's expression relaxed, but his heart became heavier. He had no means to hide from the mosquitos. And these creatures were not less deadly than any respectable snake in this Rainforest.