[Task #1 : Find the 4 keys to open the gate leading to the exit, located in the safe zone (0/4). 89 days left.]

The blinding rays of the morning sun filled my vision as I strained my eyelids open, yet the system’s reminder of my numbered days stayed perfectly readable.

Frankly, last night’s sleep was a mess. I constantly woke up from random noises and movements from below, despite the drowsiness forcing me asleep right after. However, I was surprised that I woke up considerably refreshed, even with all the disturbances during the night.

Stretching, I got my blood flowing, then looked around.

The darkness of the night that once shrouded the view of my surroundings gave way to the gentle glimmer from the morning sun, allowing me to see the environment in its glorious detail. While the forestry was sparser in this part of the forest, there were still enough trees to mask whoever it was wandering beneath them.

A few meters away, I spotted a pack of the 3 low-level wolves yesterday hunting down another creature that looked like a deer. It has almost all the features the deers in the earth had, and I’d mistake it as one if it wasn’t because of its shimmering, golden hooves.

[lvl 2. Grasslands deer]

The wolves formed the same formation as the one they used against me, circling the helpless deer in a controlled formation. With no way out, the deer lowered its head, pointing its antlers at the nearest wolf, hoping to deter their attacks. Its efforts were futile, however, as the wolves hunted it down in mere seconds.

No magic from the wolves this time?

I recalled the possibility that only wolves higher than level 5 could use that magic attack and descended from the tree I sat on.

The wolves were still biting off pieces of the deer’s body when I sneaked toward them. I found a bush and hid behind it, calculating my moves and actions necessary to take 3 of them down as I eyed their numbers vigilantly.

Once I was ready, I took a small rock beside me and hurled it toward the hungry wolves. It made a small cracking sound when it bounced off the ground, resulting in all the wolves’ heads snapping towards the source of the noise.

Using the opening, I charged toward the nearest wolf, stabbing its head before it could process what was going on.

[You killed lvl 2. Greenhorn wolf]

The other wolves stumbled as they got up, barking as they sprinted towards me. Amidst their attack, I paused, noticing something amiss since I began this fight...

They’re a lot slower than before. Compared to the wolves I fought before, these packs of beasts were way less threatening. Their tells and mannerisms were significantly more obvious, and their tactics were just too simple for me to even worry about.

A few seconds later, both wolves were swiftly taken care of.

[You killed lvl 1. Greenhorn wolf]

[You killed lvl 2. Greenhorn wolf]

No level-ups this time. Well… They’re barely a threat, so I guess I don’t deserve any.

I pondered about carving their meat as a source of food for later, but then I realized I never felt hungry or thirsty since the first time I set my foot in this place. Sure, I drank the water from the river, but it was out of the need to calm my senses rather than quenching my thirst.

Do we even need to eat anymore?

I pushed that thought aside and headed to the spot where the other group of survivors had camped last night.

Stolen story; please report.

Treading the ground while I observed my surroundings with a keen eye, I found the journey there to be a comfortable walk; the lack of threat in this area made it an almost relaxing journey. A few minutes had passed before I found the campsite where they stayed at last night. Not at all surprised to see them gone by the time I arrived.

The campfire’s still warm. A quick scan of the campsite revealed a trail of cut bushes and stomped roots to my right, and I followed that path after finding nothing else of importance.

Then the path splits in two directions. Their trail ended at this spot, so I tossed an imaginary coin in my head and chose one path, which turned out to be the left one. I made a mental note for myself to make a small incision on the trees I’ve passed, just in case I needed to find my way back.

I inspected both pathways, finding traces of people’s steps on the path I was on.

Again, there were traces of cut bushes and footsteps along the ground, and as I slowly got closer, the footsteps became clearer. I heard rustling from the sides of the path as I walked, and upon a further inspection, I witnessed the glare of the wolves watching me with great interest. They bolted away when they found out that I noticed their presence.

I presumed they must’ve sneaked past them, or the wolves were simply uninterested in engaging with them.

Eventually, the path opened up to a massive opening of trees, leading to a big and empty swath of land, hosting a giant gate in the middle. The scene caused me to pause as I was hesitant to proceed further.

That’s the gate? Calling it big is an understatement.

The black gate towered over everything else in its vicinity. I heard the wind whizzing across the empty field, palpable even from a distance. A constant hum was felt in the air from the collision between the wind and the gate. Yet, the gate itself laid dormant, unperturbed.

I crouched behind the closest tree right before the opening, peering into the distance.

Below the gate, a crowd of people were seen hanging about. Some were analyzing the gate, while a few others were conversing and arguing about something, to which none of those conversations were remotely audible.

In the middle of the crowd, a tall, bald man could be seen giving directions to a few other players. He was attempting to build some type of scaffolding made of wood.

I leaned closer in an attempt to figure out his speech. It was futile, however, as the volume of the wind overpowered his speech by a great deal.

I need to remember this location.

Surveying the scene again, I spotted the same group from yesterday. The mage, Julie, was inspecting the gate with the other guys. Her red hair contrasted the greenery of the scene, blowing elegantly in the air. I couldn’t see the facial features that well, but she was pretty decently built, even if her body was hidden under all that office wear.

Amanda was watching from behind, clearly uninterested in whatever they were doing.

Then, the tall bald man approached Julie’s group with a handshake. The group glanced at each other first, before returning his handshake, albeit somewhat hesitantly. They conversed for a few minutes before the tall man introduced Julie’s group to the others.

Amanda was still eyeing everyone’s movements, despite the guys in her group calling her to introduce herself. She shook her head and headed back, right towards where I hid.

I moved from my position while watching Amanda’s movement. From a glance, there was a clear intent to turn this spot into some type of base of operations. It made sense to me; This was the perfect spot because of the lower relative levels of the enemies in this area and its proximity to our primary goal.

Circling around the opening, I roughly counted the number of people gathered here. Discounting Julie’s group, there were at least 80 people of different backgrounds and equipment, give or take. I have no clue about the actual number of people that were teleported into this sector, but there was no way that there were only less than a hundred of us left.

Satisfied with my observations, I sneaked my way out of the clearing, away from everyone’s sight. It took me a few minutes before I made it back to the split path I came from. I trod the other path this time.

The other path led to another pack of low-level wolves.

I ignored them since killing them was a waste of my time, treading the terrain cautiously to not alert them. After a few more minutes of walking, the forest grew thick and wild, which meant that I was now deeper in the forest.

The creatures I found here should be of a higher level, but I was confident I could take them on.

Climbing the nearest tree, I scanned around the area, hoping to find points of interest.

My interest was piqued when I saw some sort of hill a few hundred feet away, deeper into the forest. The color of the hill was similar the ground below it, meaning that someone, or more likely, something, built it from the ground up.

Biting my lips, I approached the anomaly. The silence of the forest grew with each step that I take, compounding the uncertainty stilled inside of my heart. There were no wolves around here, despite the density of the trees before the short cliff.

The short cliff turned out to be some kind of cave opening. Straining my eyes, I attempted to peer through the darkness to see what was inside.

It’s so dark. How am I supposed to see anything in here?

The cave opening itself was small. A quick estimate showed that it would most likely fit 2 of me if 2 people went in at the same time. The entrance looked fairly normal, and I sensed nothing amiss from out here.

But I knew that the system had a few things up its sleeves. There was no way that this was as simple as it looked.

Tip-toeing towards the opening, I gulped, anxious about any sudden movements or threats. I was about 2 feet away from the cave when a system message appeared.

[Cave of the Maddened Ant Queen]