“Where to start?”

“Pff, if you could see yourselves.” He giggles, looking at us like a grandpa admiring his grandchildren around the Christmas tree.

“I don’t know if it’s because of the flames' reflection, but your eyes are shining like pearls, eager for answers. So, what do you want to know?” He asks, adding another log to the firepit.

“Hmm... How did you...” I begin, but Mike interrupts me, louder and bursting into the conversation.

“Why do you have the gun?”

He raises his eyebrows. “Of course, I was waiting for this one first. I worked as a security guard back home. But I'm retired now.”

“Retired? How old are you?” Astrid asks curiously, stepping into the conversation.

“Guess.”

“Something over forty?” She guesses carefully.

“Hahaha, cough, cough,” he laughs. “I may take that as a compliment.”

“So then, is it fifty?” I try to be more serious. He looks good, built sturdy with smooth skin. His hair is just starting to show signs of gray, but not significantly. As he leans over the fire, I notice his neck—that’s the spot. His weathered skin tells me he’s close to fifty or more.

“Good, good.” He smiles widely, revealing perfect teeth, and claps his hands.

I bet those teeth are veneers. Too perfect, with no gaps or imperfections.

“Well, add another ten, and you’re finally close,” he says with a grin.

“No way,” Astrid says, briefly checking him out.

I even forgot what I wanted to ask. All I know is that now it’s my turn. “Where are you from?”

“Guess.” He responds, gracing us with another smile.

“Based on your native English and accent, I’d say North America. Am I right?” I ask.

“Canada. But you three are definitely Europeans.”

“Yep, Northern Europe,” Mike confirms, then spits out another bold question.

“Do you wear a bulletproof vest?”

Harald smiles again, unbuttons his sleeves, and takes off his jacket, revealing a modern black bulletproof vest. He removes it with ease.

“Phew. Finally, it’s time to release the burden.”

“Are any of you interested in one?” He offers it to Astrid first. She stretches her arm over the firepit and grabs the vest.

“Ugh.” It almost falls into the fire. Mike quickly stands up and helps her. They pull the vest towards them, trying to lift it up and down a few times. The skinny girl can barely hold it steady.

“Thank you, but it’s too heavy for me. Mike?” She turns to him.

“I’m considering it, but it might slow me down. I bet for Markus this would be a piece of cake, right?”

I prepare to grab the vest and automatically channel my strength. It flows from my core, thinning my body and moving straight to my arms. I try to limit it to avoid scaring anyone by suddenly swelling my arms. Before I even touch the vest, I already know I want it. I lift it a few times with ease.

“Whoa,” Mike says.

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I look directly into Harald's eyes. “Are you sure? What will you have then?”

“I have another two,” he replies swiftly.

“Thank you, Mr. Nilsson,” I say, clumsily putting it on.

“Just call me Harald, everyone. Deal?”

“Sure, Harald,” Mike answers.

“Still, Markus the strong one, take good care of it, okay? It cost me a life,” he adds with a wide smile. We are stunned for a moment. I frown.

“What?” Mike leans forward. “Did you take it from your own dead body?”

“Yes. I believe none of you have died yet,” he replies.

“To be honest, I died once, but I don’t remember it. Astrid and Markus went through more pain. From what they told me, I was blown up by some crippled old guy in a shack who was supposed to be a merchant. Markus here could tell you about his death, but I bet he doesn’t want to.”

I look at the ground worriedly and start speaking very briefly. “I got crushed by a giant statue or troll or whatever it was. It was called the Old Traveler. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Of course.” Harald nods.

“I died twice. But you already know that. It was almost painless. I was in full-body shock and gone in the blink of an eye. At least the fridge is full, right?” he adds with an optimistic smile.

“But straight to the point, because I see you’re confused. Your remains will stay intact unless some animals feast on them, or you stumble upon them in some state of decomposition. I’d rather avoid that, so I chose to bury them. Everything you have with you, you’ll be reborn with. That’s all I’ve observed so far.”

“Mike now has two sabres, so we found out the hard way after he was pulverized,” I note.

“So you have your gun multiple times now too? Behold the duplication glitch,” Mike says, eyes shining, without thinking twice.

“With the cost of a life?” Astrid says, her expression screaming, “Are you serious?”

Mike immediately realizes his mistake. To change the subject, Astrid asks another question.

“Have you met anyone besides us?”

“No. Only strange creatures and animals.” He looks up at the top of the tower, thinking.

“Well, there was someone... it was very strange. I saw a humanoid staring in my direction once. Before I even got my scope, it was gone. It was too far away, on the opposite side of the crater. I believe my mind was playing tricks on me. It couldn’t be...”

He stops, gazing up, and I see his eyes change. Nobody dares to ask more about it.

“Mr. Nilsson, you seem well-prepared for survival. How is that possible?” I ask.

“Harald only, please. I’ll tell you more when I’m comfortable.”

“You mentioned the crater,” Mike says.

“Yes, I’m surprised you didn’t see it from the top of the tower,” Harald replies.

“What?” Mike frowns and looks at the door, realizing it’s too dark to run up and check. He won’t see anything now.

I recall the room in the tower, but I don’t remember seeing anything unusual from the windows. But it was misty in the distance.

“It’s bigger in diameter than the meadow you came from back there,” Harald says, pointing his thumb in the direction.

“Is it deep?” Mike asks.

“Boy, it’s the deepest hole mankind has ever discovered on Earth—a pure nightmare for anyone with chasmophobia. I didn’t dare to approach the edge.”

Mike and Astrid stare, their mouths open. I imagine the size of the arena we fought in before, and now picture it being so deep that it’s pitch black. I start to shiver.

“What about the creatures? How did you get those levels?” Mike continues.

“I got ambushed by giant bugs in the desert. I wasted some ammo on those bastards until I found a strategy. One shot to stun it, then stab it with a combat dagger.”

Mike seems ready to ask the next question, but Harald continues.

“Later, when the desert merged with a forest, I encountered wolves. Those bastards had six legs. Some of them gave me a tough time. I camped on top of the tree crowns for... good Lord, almost a week until I killed them all.”

“The more points I spent, the stronger my will to survive became. When my body wanted to give up, I invested in strength. When I felt uncomfortable, endurance helped. Willpower brightened my spirit and mood. And agility kept me sharp now and then. I slept on branches and always stayed alert. What was more concerning was that the wolves never stopped coming. I believe the more I killed, the stronger ones arrived.”

I stare in disbelief, feeling bad for judging him about his choice of skill investment. After a quiet pause, I ask my last question.

“Do you keep any logs of the areas, like a map or something?”

“No, but I think that’s a good idea,” Harald agrees.

I take the opportunity to offer my help.

“You know, I had this idea of making a list of creatures and enemies we encounter, with detailed descriptions, maybe even sketches. And the same for the areas.”

The couple nods in agreement, and so does Harald.

My idea of surveying this strange world becomes a reality. Excited, I open my inventory and pull out the empty scrolls I took from the tower. Next, I grab a piece of coal from the fire pit. Harald stops my hand.

“Here.” He opens a small pocket on his chest and hands me a pen.

I roll out the first scroll and switch on the pen.

“Stop! Markus!” Astrid yells, grabbing my hand.

"The scroll isn’t empty."