Scratching an incredibly sore ass, Caution hopped off the horse-drawn cart. Despite every inch of his body begging to be scratched and the bumpy journey to the city of Lissos, he was buzzing with anticipation.

For the first time in the newfound world, he felt like he was actually making progress. He felt like he was taking the initiative and moving forward in a way he hadn’t before.

“Thank you, my good man,” he said to the driver, handing him a few silver coins.

“My back is killing me,” Yolga complained for the third time.

“I need to learn teleportation magic,” Lilly reminded herself.

Though nothing stood out visually with most of the area covered in typical medieval architecture, the city of Lissos was bursting with life. Children ran across the streets, giggling and pushing at each other while merchants yelled at the top of their lungs.

“Get your Rune shields!” one merchant bellowed in front of his stall. “Heavy as fuck but perfect for defensive adventurers!”

“Wizards, get your earth, fire and water staffs here!” Another merchant shouted. “Only 2500 gold coins! You won’t see a bloody offer like this again!”

“Tomatoes! Get your tomatoes, ladies and gents! Juicy tomatoes!”

Caution swiftly weaved through the sea of humans and periodically turned around to make sure his siblings were still behind him. Eventually, he stood in a short line inside an equipment store for adventurers.

“Get me a two-handed sword,” Yolga whispered. He made a motion with both arms, slicing down with an imaginary weapon.

“Foolish as always,” Lilly said. “Like you could carry that. Big brother, get me the fire staff, please. It’s a must-have. We both know what I’m capable of.”

“Yeah, capable of being a talentless bi— ow!”

Lilly kicked Yolga in the shin.

“No can do,” Caution said. “As father recommended, you’re both getting the starter adventurer sword. Besides, we don’t have much money.”

“I see,” Lilly replied, eyes narrowed. “But I’m sure we have enough to buy the perfect weapon for you.”

Caution scratched his neck, then his forehead. "Of course. I'm the older brother."

"Next." The shopkeeper bellowed. "How can I help you, young ones?"

"Hello there," Caution said, ignoring the twins staring into his soul from behind. "Can we have two starter adventurer swords and the gauntlets of your cheapest armour set?"

The shopkeeper gave a quizzical look. "You only want the gauntlets? For better protection, I suggest--"

"Just the gauntlets," Caution interrupted. He smiled slightly.

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The adventure school resided in a huge castle at the northeast of the city. Impossible to miss, it was a popular landmark and yet still incredibly unremarkable. At least to Caution. When it came to the environment, he generally didn’t pay attention to the specifics unless it was necessary to know for strategic advantage in battle. For him, the scenery never seemed to be beautiful or ugly.

They stood in a long line leading to the entrance and eventually reached the front of a queue for a bored-looking, old man to ask them typical admin questions such as their name, city of origin and age. Then they were ushered into a large hall packed with aspiring adventurers for the Adventurer Examination test, a short assessment testing magical and physical ability.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The three siblings stood in a circle.

“I’m nervous,” Yolga said, hands buried in his trouser pockets. “I know we’ve practised a ton but are we really ready?”

Lilly nodded twice. “Of course we are. We’ve read and applied all the fundamental magic books from our father's study, and we’ve been practising physical combat every day. We need to have confidence! Right, big brother?”

“Exactly," Caution said. He smiled as he jabbed with his slightly oversized, uncomfortable, rusty gauntlets. "It’s perfectly normal to be nervous. Just remember what you've learnt and you’ll be fine.”

Yolga frowned. “You’re being awfully nice today. It’s weird.”

“Yeah,” Lilly agreed. “Usually you’re all like…” She slightly lowered the pitch of her voice and attempted to imitate him. “I don’t have time for all this child’s play. I need to train. I need to punch the air until my arms fall off.”

It was an inaccurate impression but Yolga still cackled hysterically.

While the twins began to make fun of Caution further, a repetitive beeping sound rang in his ear. Shortly after, a small red marker hovered above one of the examinees who walked towards the front of the hall. Next to the marker was a distance that gradually decreased.

7 metres…

6 metres…

5 metres...

Caution’s heart skipped a beat. He knew what the marker was identifying. Excitement sparked as he immediately took long strides and slipped through the crowd.

The other player of The Half-Dead Game, who appeared to be male, stood in the hall, hands in pockets. Appearance-wise, nothing left a lasting impression. He was about the same height as Caution but with lighter coconut brown skin. His hair was, short, curly and snow-white.

For one decade and a half, Caution had been waiting for this moment. Every waking hour since the day he was born had been spent in preparation. He had trained and trained and trained and now the time had finally come.

He nonchalantly stood next to his target, resting an arm on their shoulder as if they were best pals. “Hello there. It’s an honour to meet you.” The words were cordial and honest yet lacked any warmth.

“What’s up?” the other contestant said cheerfully, turning to look at him. “Oh, right! You’re part of the game too.”

Caution paused, slightly taken aback by the enthusiasm and lack of surprise. Then a thought occurred to him.

What happens now?

It was such an obvious question but for some reason, he hadn’t thought of the answer beforehand.

They were in a public area. Unless he was willing to accept the consequences, he couldn’t just pick a fight in front of everyone. Caution had always assumed he would bump into another player in an openly hostile environment, like a battleground of some sort.

“Nice to meet you, Manny,” the contestant said. “I hope we can get along.”

“How the hell do you know my name?”

“Your profile. I can see your stats and stuff. Wow. Your stamina is so high.”

“You shouldn’t know that,” Caution said “That’s confidential.”

“Not really, friend, but you can hide the stats if you want.”

“We’re supposed to be enemies, not friends.”

“Hey, hey.” The player took a step back and frowned, arms raised. “I don’t want any trouble. Let’s get along. How about I approach you with… caution from now on. Haha. See what I did there? Because… um… hehe.”

Caution stared in surprise. He was speechless.

I don’t want any trouble? Let’s get along?

Everything about the scenario was not how he envisioned. Not only did the player not seem alarmed, they were also not treating him as an opponent. Did the guy not know he was in a death game?

“There you are,” Lilly said cheerfully. Her eyes widened. “Ooh, have you already made a friend? This is weird. You don’t like meeting people.”

Yolga nodded in agreement and looked at the player. “This is weird indeed. He’s quite shy.”

Caution flushed as he quickly pressed an icon hovering by the player. Their profile popped up and he quickly scanned for a name.

“Yolga, Lilly, this is Astel. Astel, these are my two younger siblings. They tend to confuse introversion with reluctance as you can see.”

Astel rubbed the back of his head and laughed. “I see, I see. They seem like a handful.” He held his arm out and shook hands with the both of them. “I was just talking to Caution about how we should try to stick together. Who knows what they could throw at us? Maybe we can help each other pass.”

“That may be wise,” Lilly said.

“I like the sound of that,” Yolga agreed.

“How about we come up with a secret team name?” Astel suggested.

“Yes!” Yolga and Lilly said simultaneously. Within a couple of minutes, they had come up with dozens of team names, all of which were horrible. The twins finally both liked the name “Team Victors.”

“What do you think guys?” Lilly asked.

“It’s perfect,” Astel replied. “Let’s win together guys.”

“Big bro? What do you think?”

Caution could barely mask his frustration, neither smiling nor glaring. He gave a thumbs up and looked at Astel’s profile.

Status

Name: Astel Marley. (Level hidden) (Oliver Mikse)

Class: Archer

Titles: No titles available

Health points: (HP) (hidden)

Mana consumption: (MC) (hidden)

Stats hidden

----------------------------------------

Caution stared at the profile and tutted at the lack of information. Eventually, he noticed something that confused him terribly. He scratched his neck several times.

Wait a minute… There are classes?