"It's dangerous being alone in this trial. Don't you know?"

I turned my head. Slowly.

A group of four people stood behind me. Their ragged clothing and dirt-covered bodies made it clear they had been through a lot. The guy who spoke first caught my eye - clearly a mix of elf and human, not unlike me. Despite his disheveled appearance, he looked down at me with a cocky smirk.

"Not if you know what you're doing." I said while trying to get up. I failed miserably.

"And you know what you're doing huh?", he raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. Always have been. Some would say I'm a professional."

They didn't believe me, I could see it on their faces.

A girl stepped forward. She looked similarly rugged, but she was also very pretty. A redeeming quality in my eyes.

"So we were going to use that thing behind you. You mind?", she pointed at the dispenser.

"Go for it. I just lie here while you do it. Not because I can't move, you understand. Its just a nice place to lie down."

"Uh, sure", she made her way over to the machine ignoring me.

"So you're sure that you are good on your own?", the guy from before started speaking again. "Because if you don't we got our camp down there", he pointed in the direction of the lake. "if you want you could join us, get some food in. We got a few points from that event." He smirked at that.

i thought carefully about his proposal. On the one hand, going with them now would be a risk. Trusting strangers usually wasn't something I do. However if they had bad intentions they already had ample opportunity of killing me. My strenght was slowly coming back to me, but the poison had done a number on me. I certainly wasn't in the condition to put up a fight.

Additionally, going with them could mean a chance to share knowledge.

But what really sealed the deal was the thought of food. The crackers had sustained me for a while, but I was starting to feel weak and hungry. Now that they were gone, it would only get worse.

"I appreciate the offer. Just take your time spending your points and I'm good to go.", I smiled weakly.

Alf elf guy gave me the thumbs up. "Good to hear. I'm Micheal by the way". He pointed at the pretty girl from earlier, "Thats Bianca. And the big guy over there is Jonas. Our resident babarian."

Presumably Jonas laughed, "I thought you'd be more grateful for me saving your magical ass earlier."

He was indeed a big guy. Not a spartan though, I noted. Less bodybuilder, more strongman. Lot more mass, but I had no doubt about his strenght. I was wondering if he would be able to keep up that level off mass, with how little food there was.

The half elf, Micheal grinned. "Well and our last team member is Veronica over there." He pointed to a small girl, half hidden behind Jonas.

"She's a bit paranoid from an earlier incident she had. But trust me, she's great. Jonas likes to say I'm the magical ass of the group, but compared to her I'm just a fumbling kid. The stuff she does is crazy, trust me."

The girl visibly perked up at the praise. "It's just because I've been here for longer."

"Yep, for a few days", Michael rolled his eyes.

I observed their little group. They seemed nice, for lack of a better term. Back in my old life, I had a reputation for being quite the asshole - or so I'd been told. But I knew that I needed to be on my best behavior now. These people were my best chance at finally understanding what was happening here , and I couldn't afford to alienate them.

They're the friend group you always wanted to be part of.

A quiet voice in my head, said unprompted. I told it to shut up.

Finally I noticed that they were all looking at me. Waiting for me to introduce myself. "Oh yeah, I'm Alex. Used to go to college before all this shit happened. Glad to meet you".

I glanced over how I'd dropped out. None of their business.

"Glad to have convinced you to join us for a bit, Alex.", Michael said with a smirk. We shook hands.

We made some more smalltalk, until Bianca, the pretty girl, finished up with the machine. They took turns exchanging their points, for all sorts of stuff. Bianca for example got some sort of rapier. A weapon designed for speed and precision. It gleamed in the sun, and looked pretty sharp.

Jonas opted for some knuckledusters, designed for pure brute force. Considering his build it probably made sense.

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Michael decided to forgo weapons entirely, in favor of a bunch of food. He said his magic would be enough. I was a bit sceptical. Naturally food was important, but it made me wonder if he was underestimating the dangers of the game just a touch. On the other hand though, this were the advantages of a group. They could share what they got for their points. Very much unlike me who needed everything they had, and had very few points left to get it.

Veronica's choice, on the other hand, was the most practical. She'd exchanged most of her points for medical supplies. A wise choice, no doubt.

When my turn came, I had recovered enough to stand up, so I went to check out the machine again. I touched its cool and smooth surface, and the screen popped up again.

Cautiously I stepped over the wire. I still needed to buy some stuff.

Choose your reward 60 points Sustenance Equipment Medicine

I selected the medicine option again, and once again hundreds of options appeared.

First aid kit (80 points) Simple first aid kid. Has everything you would expect. Please note, this kit is designed for humans and adjacent races.

General purpose Elixir (500 points)

Heals minor wounds, helps with medium to major wounds. Also has a minor effect on most poison and venom. Works upon consumption.

Spider Venom Antidote (100 Points) All purpose antivenom for most lighter types of venomous spiders. Works upon consumption.

General purpose poison antidote (300 points) All purpose poison antidote for light to medium poisoning symptoms. Works upon consumption.

My eyes widened at the sheer variety of items available. From simple, mundane items like bandages to clearly magical stuff, everything was there. It was a veritable treasure trove of supplies, and I could feel my hopes lifting as I scanned through the various items.

But as I looked more closely, I realized that all of the items were much too expensive for my measly 60 points. It was disheartening to see that even the most basic items were out of reach for me. But no matter. The most important thing had been that antivenom. I sighed and decided to explore the other tabs, hoping to find something more affordable.

Unfortunately, the equipment tab was much the same. There were a few items that I could afford, but they looked cheap and unreliable. I knew that I couldn't rely on flimsy gear if I was going to survive this game. I continued to scroll, hoping to find something that might give me an edge, but nothing caught my eye.

I'd saved the most important for last though. Sustenance.

Field rations (10 points) Simple field rations. Will nourish you for a few days, but don't ask whats in inside. We don't know either. Designed for humans and adjacent races consumption.

Dry Crackers (20 points) Cheap crackers designed to keep you alive. Only consume with plenty of water. Designed for humans and adjacent races consumption.

So that was where the killers had them from. Made a lot of sense in hindsight.

I took a deep breath and continued scrolling through the menu. As I suspected, the more appetizing and nutritious food was much too expensive for me. It was tempting to splurge on the delicious-looking meals, but I knew I had to be practical. My priority was survival, not luxury.

After a few minutes of browsing, I settled on the field rations. They looked bland and unappetizing, but they would keep me alive. I added them to my cart six times, hoping it would be enough to sustain me for a while.

"Alright I'm done, we can get going if you guys are ready"

My body had recovered far enough where I was confident in walking.

Michael looked distracted, as he seemed to be taking inventory of what his group had purchased. "Just a second, we'll be ready in a bit."

I gave him a thumbs up, and went over to the others.

"Got anything interesting?", Bianca asked, leaning over to see what I was carrying.

"Nah just some food." I showed her.

"Ugh I know that stuff. We got that too, the first time. Tastes like shit, but a decent bait for the fish."

She laughed and winked at me. "Thats what we ended up using it for. If you want I can show you how, later."

I smiled cautiously. Her upbeat nature caught me off guard. Back home, people certainly had never been as friendly. Not that begrudged them. Lets just say, I wasn't the most fun person to hang out with. Also, after what I'd seen the day I landed here, friendlyness was the last thing I was expecting.

"I'll remember that offer", I said unsure but ever so slightly hopeful.

"You better", she respnded.

Suddenly I remembered something. "I was wondering, how long have you guys been here? You're all talking like this isn't as new to you."

"Ah ya as a solo you wouldn't know. We were all placed here in a period of a few weeks. Our group is actually pretty new too. Except Veronica, none of us have been here for longer than a week. But I'm guessing you're even newer than that?", she looked at me questioningly.

That explained a lot.

I chuckled. "What gave it away? But yeah. I've been here for two or three days. It's been a bit of a blur."

"Just a guess." She smiled knowlingly. "But a good one."

A wanted to ask for further clarification, but Michaels voice reached us just then. He, and the rest of the group seemed ready to move, backpacks loaded up with supplies.

"Alright guys. Time to get going."