When Wyatt awoke, the fire had burned down to glowing embers, and the first rays of the sun dyed the horizon a deep crimson. He yawned as he sat up and looked around the camp with bleary eyes. Most of the pain had disappeared while he slept, and when he tested his arm, he found that it was almost completely healed.

There was still a minor ache where he’d broken his forearm, but at least the nanites had done their job in healing him.

He rose to his feet and spotted someone leaning against a tree. At the sight of him, the figure waved, and he recognized the burly form of Augie. The others must have stood watch during the night while he blissfully slept.

Wyatt walked over to Augie. “Did you get any sleep?”

“I got a few hours,” Augie replied. “And that’s more than I usually get back on Ceres. Plus, I don’t have a hangover for once.” He guffawed at that and then turned his attention back to the forest. “There’s a lot of movement out there at night, and most of it sounds pretty unpleasant.”

“I can only imagine what they’ve dreamed up for us to face,” Wyatt said, shuddering at the thought of some of the creatures he’d seen in the highlights. “How’s your daughter holding up?”

Augie’s features tightened. “She’s not the same girl she was before all this happened. Something has changed, and not in a good way.” He sighed. “Once we get out of here, I’ll find a way to get my little girl back.”

“I think we have a real shot of getting out of here together,” Wyatt said. “All we need to do is find a neutral town to buy some skills, and then we can start grinding some levels.”

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Augie cracked his knuckles. “It’s been too long since I had a good dust up.”

Wyatt grinned. “Is that why you took the astral monk class?”

“What’s better than being able to punch someone in the face really hard?” Augie said. “I tried out a few of the moves after you left yesterday, and I almost knocked down a tree. Barely hurt, too.”

“That does sound pretty impressive.”

“Not as impressive as being able to find food,” Augie grabbed his belly and shook it. “I’ve already had to tighten my belt twice since we arrived. I’d gladly trade my fists for some of your skills. My grumbling belly is probably going to attract all the monsters if I don’t find something to eat soon.”

“Let me see if I can do something about that.”

Wyatt returned to the remains of the fire and started to feed small twigs into it. Once he’d rekindled the fires, he added some larger branches. With the fire going again, he turned to the rabbits laid out nearby.

He took a sliver of sharp stone and began to cut through the fur. It was surprisingly easy to skin the rabbit, and only a few minutes later, he had finished butchering it. He cut off the prime pieces of meat and then placed them on sticks over the edge of the fire. Within moments, the delicious smell of roasting meat filled the campsite.

As if summoned by the smell, Saeko and Mabel appeared from the mouth of the cave. They walked over to the fire and sat down wordlessly, both watching the sizzling cuts of meat.

“It should be ready pretty soon,” Wyatt said. “Afterward, I’ll see if I can find some fruit and other food nearby.”

“I’ve never had meat before,” Saeko said, staring intently at the rabbit. “Is it as good as people say?”

“You’ve never had meat?” Wyatt raised his brow. “How is that even possible?”

“I think we had it for my dad’s birthday when I was young, but I don’t really remember it,” Saeko replied wistfully. “But all through my adult life, all we had the money for was recycled protein bars. Even the vat grown meat was too expensive for us.”

“This isn’t as good as a steak,” Wyatt said. “But it should still be pretty tasty. Maybe once we find a town to buy supplies, I can buy some salt and spices to make a proper meal.”

Augie appeared at the fire, also drawn in by the delicious aroma. “It’s been way too long since I’ve had a good chunk of meat. This is going to be great. Now if I could just find a place to get a good pint of ale, I’d be set.”

As the meat finished cooking, Wyatt handed out the various pieces to everyone. He took his last and resolved to eat slowly in order to savour it. But after the first bite, any trace of will-power vanished, and he tore into the meat ravenously. As he ate, warm juices ran down his chin, and when he was done, he sat back with a pleasantly full belly.

I recommend finding additional sources of nourishment, Lars said. If you consume too much rabbit, it is possible to starve to death through a lack of fat.

Wyatt ignored the voice, unable to speak privately to his companion at the moment. If he started talking to himself regularly in front of the others, they might start to ask some uncomfortable questions he didn’t have the answer to.

Or they might just think I’m insane.

Once they’d all finished eating, the group sat in contented silence for a while.

Finally, Saeko spoke up. “What’s the plan for today? It’s clear we’re way behind all the others. I think we should try to take out a monster this morning. Preferably something smaller than a land whale.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Augie said. “I’d like to gain a few levels myself. I’m afraid those monsters out there will only get tougher as the days go by, and I’d hate to fall behind.”

Wyatt nodded. “I’ll spend some time crafting weapons for everyone this morning, and then we’ll head out to see what we can find.”

Augie scowled. “I’m tired of sitting around. What more do we need than these fists?”

“Well, isn’t it nice that you have a useful class?” Saeko said, sarcasm dripping from her words. “But the rest of us could use something to fight those nightmares out there.”

“Fair enough.” Augie pointed at the nearby forest. “I’m going to go practice my skills for a bit. Want to watch me, Mabel?” Once his daughter had nodded, they both disappeared into the forest, leaving Wyatt alone with Saeko.

“He’s a roughneck through and through,” Saeko said. “I knew a lot of men like him back on Ganymede. All they do is work, get into fistfights, and drink.”

“He seems like a pretty decent guy,” Wyatt replied, picking up some stones. “And he should be handy in a fight.”

“I wasn’t implying there was anything wrong with him,” Saeko said. “But we need to be careful. He’s probably going to run into a fight without thinking.” She looked at Wyatt and then giggled. “Sort of like you do, now that I think about it.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I don’t go running into fights,” he said, frowning. “They just sort of happen.”

“Oh right,” Saeko nodded sagely. “You definitely didn’t charge off and attack a three-story tall whale with a stick. Right before you ran headlong into an entire horde of man-eating orcs.”

“I see your point,” he grumbled. “But in my defence, I was trying to hide from the orcs. It turns out they have a pretty good sense of smell.”

Saeko smiled at him but said nothing.

He continued to grumble under his breath as he started to knap a knife for her. After several failed attempts, he finally created a stone blade about 30 centimetres long with a wooden handle. The weapon looked incredibly primitive, but at least it would be better than using her bare hands.

Next, he crafted several arrows for himself. This time, the entire process went by much faster, and within half an hour, he had a dozen arrows ready to use. He wanted to make more, but he’d exhausted the supplies he’d gathered.

When he finished, he’d raised his Ancient Crafting Skill to Rank 3, which probably impacted the speed he was able to create weapons.

He spent the next hour making a stone club for Mabel, and several more knifes for Saeko. After his sword had broken so easily, he wanted her to have several backups. Finally, he created a stone axe for himself.

As he finished working, Augie wandered back to the fire, his knuckles scraped up and bloody. When Wyatt raised his eyebrow, he only laughed. “Trust me, the tree looks worse.”

Wyatt shrugged before handing the club to Augie. “This is for your daughter. Oh, and did she try out her abilities?”

“I think she has the same class as the woman we saw fighting those hairy tentacle things. Don’t ask me how she can use magic, but lightning shoots out from her fingertips. It’s pretty cool, to be honest.”

“It’s the nanites in the air,” Wyatt replied without thinking. “They’re able to manipulate the static electricity in the surrounding environment. It might look like magic, but it’s science.”

Augie gave him a strange look. “You know an awful lot about those little robots.”

Wyatt felt concerned there might be some follow-up questions, but the big man only smiled. “Guess it’s a good thing you’re on my team.”

Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief. Going forward, he’d have to remember to conceal his knowledge from the other contestants. There weren’t too many nanite experts out there—and if they figured out how he knew so much, he’d be in trouble. Some of the contestants might even try to kill him.

He placed his arrows aside and then kicked some dirt over the fire. As he stood, he thrust his stone axe through his belt. He handed the stone daggers he’d craft to Saeko before he picked up his bow and arrows. He felt much more confident heading out to face whatever dwelled in the wilderness today.

Saeko shielded her eyes from the sun as she surveyed the surrounding land. “Which direction should we go?”

Wyatt paused as he considered her question. He really hadn’t thought that far ahead and had only planned on clearing out the forest around their camp. But then the memory of the nearby lake came to him. Access to a lake might provide significant benefits, including fish for their meals. Maybe they should sweep that area for monsters first.

“I saw a lake from on top of the ridge,” Wyatt said. “That might be a good starting location. Plus, there are a lot of edible plants that grow in the water.”

“The lake it is,” Augie said, clapping his hands together. “Maybe I’ll even do a bit a skinny dipping.”

Mabel groaned and shook her head. “Dad…”

“Relax. I’m kidding,” Augie chuckled and tugged on his moustache. “I promise I won’t embarrass you in front of the whole solar system.”

Wyatt watched Augie walk off, surprised at the man’s resilience. Most people were terrified of being stuck inside the Dissident Trials, but it barely seemed to bother the big man. The dwarf planet miners were a tough lot and not much phased them. Then again, Augie might be hiding his worry from his daughter.

The more he considered it, the more he thought the second explanation made more sense. When he’d spoken to Augie alone earlier, he’d seemed concerned about his daughter. But the moment Mabel came around, he reverted to his carefree manner. He was probably doing his best to keep his daughters’ spirits up.

“Any chance you can make a paint brush?” Saeko asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“A paint brush?” he asked, surprised at the question. “Why would you want that?”

Saeko shrugged, and her cheeks turned pink. “I used to paint as a hobby back home. I did a lot of wall carvings for some extra credits on the side, too. You know, scratching landscapes into the metal walls of habitat modules. And since there’s so little I can do here, I have way too much downtime. And when I’m not busy, I start to worry. So, if you could make me a paintbrush…” She trailed off and looked at him hopefully.

“I don’t think that should be a problem,” Wyatt said. “I still have the pelts from the rabbits, and there should be pigments in the soil.”

“In the dirt?” Saeko repeated, sounding surprised. “I was going to use charcoal from the fire.”

“I think you can find ochre in the soil,” he replied, furrowing his brow. “Though, once again, I have no idea how I know that.”

“Maybe I could do some cave paintings.” She laughed. “I bet those would make the highlight reels for sure, and maybe even land me a sponsor.”

Wyatt smiled and then stopped as a new text flashed in his visions. The others stopped abruptly around him, signalling they had received the same text.

New Quest: Advance to Stage 2 of the Dissident Trials

In order to advance to the next stage, you can’t just hide in a cave and ignore the majestic world created for you by the beneficent Outer Sol Conglomerate (OSC). No, you’re going to have to get your hands dirty and improve the viewership ratings through gore and mayhem.

Scattered throughout each area are four powerful bosses with unique mechanics that you must defeat. Once they have been vanquished, a final boss will appear with a key to advance to the next stage. If you don’t find and defeat the boss before the timer expires, then you will be eliminated.

And remember, everyone is rooting for your successful reconditioning, contestant.

Time remaining: 6 days, 12 hours.

Augie scratched his head. “Well, shit.”

“That’s bullshit,” Saeko chimed in. “The bosses were always optional in the deathmatches.”

Wyatt contemplated the new wrinkle in the games. Not only would they have to defeat four powerful creatures, but they would also have to face a final boss. And after witnessing the massacres that took place in previous Dissident Trials when groups tried to take on bosses, he was under no illusion about how difficult it would be.

“This changes nothing,” Wyatt said, after a moment. “We knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but if we stick together, we can complete this quest long before the timer expires.”

“Well said.” Augie punched his palm. “After I gain a few more levels, I bet they’ll go down easy. Just like this one guy from the outer belt I took down. He must have been seven feet tall, but he folded like a cheap chair after talking crap about Ceres.”

Saeko gave a wan smile. “I doubt it will be easy, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get back to my brother.”

“Now let’s go check out that lake—” Wyatt was interrupted by the sound of a crying child. They all exchanged glances. He hefted his bow and crept toward the noise. For all he knew, it could be a trap. It would be just like the OSC to craft a monster to lure in contestants in to their doom with the fake sound of a child crying.

As they neared the source of the wailing in the forest, Wyatt motioned for the others to get behind cover. He nocked an arrow and inched forward, his skills helping him to remain silent and unseen. After a few paces, he spotted a young girl, no more than seven or eight. She had a dirt-streaked face, blond hair sticking out in every direction, and clasped a worn doll to her chest.

Did the bastards put more children into this Dissident Trials? His blood boiled at the thought, and he stood up to reveal himself to the child.

At the sight of him, she raced over and flung her arms around him. “Please save me from the orcs, mister.”

The mention of orcs made him push the girl away gently, and he scanned the forest. “Where are they?” he whispered urgently. “Are they nearby?”

“They’ve been chasing me since they attacked my village,” the girl sniffled. Her face was streaked with tears and judging by the muddy and torn condition of her clothing, she’d been running through the forest. “I-I can’t find my parents.”

Wyatt heard the rustle of leaves as Saeko emerged from the bushes and walked over to them. She knelt and offered the girl her hand.

“They attacked your village?” Wyatt frowned. “What do you mean?”

The girl pointed towards the area where they had first landed. “I live over there. Will you help me find my parents?”

Wyatt's jaw dropped open as he realized this girl was an NPC. “She’s not real,” he said gruffly. “And I have a sinking feeling I know what type of quest she wants us to complete.”

“What are you talking about?” Saeko covered the girl’s ears. “Of course she’s real.”

“She’s an NPC, and if she’s offering an escort quest, I want no part of it. They’re notoriously difficult to complete.” To confirm his suspicions, a new text flashed in his vision.

New Quest: Escort Alea Back to Her Parents

She’s slow, wanders off a lot, and draws unwanted attention to you. But you need to escort her back to her parents. Sure, she might walk obliviously into groups of monsters, and draw every orc within 30 kilometres to your position with her crying, but you wouldn’t leave a girl alone in the forest? Would you?

Damn, it is an escort quest, Wyatt thought to himself. I hate escort quests.