A verdant field populated by panicked participants and lined on both sides by dense trees greeted them as they emerged from the doorway. Fear replaced the bubbly excitement that once filled people, many wide eyed and quivering, moments away from total breakdown. Stress had already shattered the threshold of the weaker willed among them, other participants curled up into themselves.

It was safe to say none of them believed this to be a game anymore.

Sam twisted around only to find no shining doorway. Or any sign of that chamber they’d been in for that matter.

「Quest Completed: The Culling」

「Description: Congratulations on your survival. More trials await. Steel yourself and fight on.」

「Reward: Basic survival gear」

A blinding light appeared at Sam’s feet, dying down to reveal a thick brown bag with an variety of things attached to it. A quick look around revealed that to be the case for others in the field, their eyes scanning something in front of them. That all but confirmed they saw the same windows.

「Quest: Survival of the Fittest」

「Description: After a hard-fought battle for survival, you’ve found yourself stranded on an island. All manner of beasts lurk just out of sight, ready to rip apart the reckless and unprepared, but there are also relics hidden within dungeons scattered across this landmass, all capable of boosting your meager abilities. Bolster your defenses and hide or risk it all by venturing into the unknown. The choice is yours.」

「Objectives: Survive」

‘Out of one death trap and into another.’ Sam thought with a humorless chuckle. He’d spent a small portion of his childhood on the streets and perhaps some of that experience might help here, but he didn’t know the first thing about surviving in the wilderness. Luck got him through the chamber. It’d take more than that to rough it for god knows how long.

A quick look around told him it wasn’t a unique sentiment. The few who retained some composure after that abrupt slaughter looked crestfallen, as if their deaths were a sure thing.

The black-haired woman beside him remained unperturbed, already on a knee and sifting through her respective pack.

He followed her example.

A tent, sleeping bag, filled canteen, basic medical supplies, a box of sealed rations, and a sharp knife. All self explanatory in their uses. The main surprise came in the form of the sheathed longsword that had been jutting out from the bag. If the window spoke true and there were beasts on this island, he supposed it was natural for a weapon like this to be considered survival gear. A gun would’ve given him a hell of a lot more confidence though.

Would he be able to make one using that energy or aura as the windows named it? Sam filed that question for later. Who knew if he could even control the warm power flowing within him.

The raven-haired woman pulled out a pair of sheathed short swords and clipped their leather straps around her torso, the handles of the weapons peaking over her shoulders.

Sam raised a brow and studied the packs of others. Bows, spears, shields. There were a different set of weapons for each. Was the weapon given randomly or based on certain conditions?

With all these weapons, teamwork could boost their chances of survival in the coming days immensely. Though, after what they just went through, he doubted it’d be easy to wrangle everyone together. He still couldn’t get the bloody scene out of his head, doing his best to ignore the queasiness that accompanied it.

It'd take a skilled leader to bring these people together. That leader wasn’t him.

“Your name.” The woman suddenly said, gaze now on him. The flat monotone matched her stony amber eyes perfectly.

“Sam.” He answered after a moment’s pause. Luckily his voice didn’t waver. He was scared of her, yes, but the otherworldly strength and skills at her disposal could save his life again if they were on good terms. Using someone left a bad taste in his mouth; however, circumstances called for compromise. “You?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Mai.”

Despite everything an almost comfortable silence fell between them. He wasn’t the talkative sort and it appeared she fell into the same category as him. Maybe that’d make it all the easier to get on her good side.

“Is that all you have to say for yourself, you bastard?!”

In a different part of the field, a few survivors were arguing amongst themselves, their voices steadily growing louder.

“What the hell else was I suppose to do? Jump in the way and get myself killed?”

“You ran without trying to do anything! Because of you Sofia-“

“She froze up and got herself killed. Its not like you did anything other than scream so don’t try and pin that shit on me.”

“I-“

A sharp scream tore across the open field.

Wolves, with fur as dark as the night sky and red eyes that glowed with predatory intent, stalked out from the nearby forest line. Their faint growls induced a contagious fear. Some went rigid and wide eyed. Others fled for the opposite forest line, a few foolish enough to forget theirs packs and weapons.

Sam pulled the longsword free of its sheath, his arms shaky and heart racing. If hidden monsters didn’t tear those who scattered apart, the elements or starvation would do the job. He had to stand his ground and, if things worked out, stick close to-

Mai shot past everyone, short swords drawn.

‘Dammit.’ Sam swore mentally. On second thought, banking on her would lead him to an early grave.

A handful of the sizable pack engaged the woman while the rest broke off, rushing the rest of them.

“Use your weapons!” Sam shouted. A mistake on his part.

A pair of wolves, easily big enough to stand above his waistline, targeted him, leaping with spit filled snarls. He threw himself out of the way and hurried back to his feet. They circled him, headed in opposite directions. His eyes flicked between them before he took a breath, and rushed one.

The wolf jumped over his wide slash and pounced. Sam forced his sword into its stomach moments before its fang filled maw snapped closed around his head, he and the limp beast tumbling across the grass.

The other sprinted over and pinned him beneath its weight. Sword still lodged in the distant corpse of the first wolf, Sam tried to keep the snarling beast at bay only for the razor sharp teeth to snap close around his left forearm. The bite sunk deep, agonizing pain taking hold as the wolf shook its head vigorously as if to dislodge the entire arm from its socket.

The warmth within grew into a blaze and dulled the pain. It roared with anger, eager to retaliate. He need only let it.

The wolf collapsed.

Sam pulled his arm free of the fangs and crawled out from beneath the body, clutching his new bloody row of wounds. An arrow was lodged in the neck of the beast.

Two people gathered around him defensively. The first: a tall burly man, with a steel lined wooden shield and the second: a short girl with a bow in hand and a quiver of arrows at her waist.

“Can you still fight?” The man with the shield questioned.

Subtle orange flames crawled over Sam’s wounds, not quite closing the deep bite marks but stemming the blood loss. At the same time, the heat within dimmed and a odd sense of what could almost be described as exhaustion took hold. Sam had a feeling that mysterious energy wouldn’t make another appearance anytime soon.

He gave the man a nod and dislodged his blade from the first wolf, joining them.

These two were far more heroic than him.

They didn’t stay in one place just trying to survive but instead raced across the field trying to protect others. Between the three of them, such efforts proved surprisingly effective.

The man’s build wasn’t just for show. He’d pin wolves down with that shield, allowing Sam to dispatch them with quick stabs. The arrows from the small girl put a swift end to any attempts to route them, most hitting vital areas while the rest slowed down the beasts down. The two seemed use to the sight of blood and the girl adept with a bow.

The battle was a long bloody ordeal.

By the end of it a gory mix of butchered wolves and ripped apart humans spoiled the once beautiful field. Another horrid scene and it hadn’t even been a day.

Sam dropped to his butt and looked away from the sight, focusing on his faintly bleeding wound. He’d survived the battle but an infection could easily take him in the coming days if he didn’t attend to it quickly.

“Sasha, could you handle this for him?” The burly guy, shield now on his back, waved over the girl with the bow.

“Y-Yes!” The girl hurried over with one of the packs rewarded to them, pulling out a collection of medical supplies. “Would you please hold out your arm?”

He did as asked, wincing as she began cleaning and stitching the row of bite marks.

“Thanks for all the help.” Sam said.

“No need to thank us. If it weren’t for you and that insane woman-“ The big guy pointed out the distant Mai who dispatched most of the wolves alone and with such ease that the rest of them might as well have been flailing babies. “-we might’ve ended up like the others. He warned us that things would be brutal but this is…” He trailed off then shook his head and smiled widely. “I’m Ivan and this is my sister Sasha.”

The relation was obvious now that he had a second to get a proper look at the two. Their builds might be complete opposites, Ivan a complete giant, while Sasha stood shorter than nearly everyone here, but they shared the same sandy blonde hair and sky blue eyes.

“Sam.” He said through another wince.

“So, Sam, were you some kind of solider or something back in your world?”

“College student.”

“Really? You’re either have balls of steel or might be your own brand of insane.”

“This whole situation is insane.”

“Fair enough, my friend.” Ivan chuckled and gave a rough pat to Sam’s already aching shoulder. “How does that one saying go? Fight fire with fire? Maybe insanity is just what we need to survive this mess.”

Sam grunted and looked back out at what remained of the survivors. Had so few people escaped that chamber? With just barely over two dozen of them accounted for and less than half of that free of injury could they really survive the coming days?

Only time would tell.