A Team?

Arora and Shade sat quietly under a large tree that was partially hidden by a few bushes. They were patiently waiting for the night to pass by. Since they were now in a town, the wiser thing to do was to rent a place to stay for the night. Unfortunately, the game did not provide them with nearly enough money to do so.

To make things worse, the two could not let their guard down, so sleeping was not an option. Normally, a game would make towns into safe zones where players could take it easy and relax from the stress of monsters. However, that was not the case in Survival Zer0. Monsters lurked in the towns at night time which made it extremely unsafe to be outside. The only safe place was inside of a house or apartment.

Arora looked up at Shade who was slouched against the tree, carving a wooden knife with a sharp wolf fang that he had received as a drop from earlier. She wondered if he was getting tired given how late it was.

"Shade, you can sleep when you're ready. I don't mind keeping watch for a while. I'm not very tired right now..." Explained Arora timidly.

"I'll be fine. I'm not very tired either. Besides, I don't like the idea of trusting my life to some girl I met three hours ago."

Arora sighed. After spending three hours with Shade, she had become accustomed to his trust issues and candid personality. However, she felt comfortable around him and wouldn't mind sticking by his side until they beat the game. He had even helped to calm her down from the earlier shock of what the old man had told them. She needed to gain his trust if she hoped to keep Shade with her.

"So, how's the weapon coming along..?" Asked Arora, turning her attention to the wooden knife in Shade's hand.

"Not bad actually. However, it seems that crafting items in the game is the same as crafting them in real life. I'm not an experienced crafter so I won't be able to do much aside from making wooden weapons. We'll have to gather some money and purchase weapons later on."

Arora was worried. She wished she could do something to help. Over the time they had been together, Shade had done the majority of tasks. He knew how to keep calm and was rational when it came to decision-making. To top it off, he was even smart and had little experience in crafting. She was afraid that Shade would toss her aside if she didn't find a way to be of some use soon.

Shade had even managed to find out more information on how the game was played. He now knew how to properly access his inventory and how to find other gaming options. All he had to do was touch the empty space before him and a menu would pop up.

"Arora!" Suddenly called Shade in a whispered shout.

"Huh? What is it..?"

"Stay quiet and listen!"

As Arora went silent, the sound of footsteps immediately came into play. This made her extremely worried. Was it a monster? If it was anything bigger than the wolf they had fought, there was no way they would escape unscathed.

Shade then got to his feet and readied his knife as he waited for the footsteps to come closer. Just then, coming from out of the bushes was a 16-year-old boy with bleached blonde hair and dark blue eyes.

However, despite it not being a monster, Shade quickly took action. He immediately got behind the stranger and braced the wooden knife against his throat.

"Wow..! Wow..! Wow!!!" Quickly exclaimed the stranger, throwing his hands in the air.

"Thank goodness! It's just a person..!" Said Arora with a sigh of relief.

"Yes, I'm just a person! So can you please not kill me? I wasn't planning on dying tonight!"

"Who are you?" Asked Shade carefully.

"My name is Tristan! I've been looking for the two of you for some time now!"

Shade narrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't understand why anyone would be looking for them. He hadn't spoken with anyone apart from Arora since he entered the game.

"Why were you looking for us?"

"I'll answer you but first, can you please move the knife away from my throat? I promise that I'm just here to talk!"

Reluctantly, Shade did as Tristan asked and moved the knife away from his throat. However, if he tried to harm them, Shade was prepared to take action.

"Thank you..." Tristan sighed with a breath of relief. "I've been looking for both of you so that I could join your team."

"Wait, join our team..?" Queried Arora.

"Yes, that's why I was looking for you..."

"Okay, but why us?" Asked Shade suspiciously.

"Back when that old man appeared before all of us explaining the game details, most people went into a panic. However, I noticed that you managed to remain calm and even maintained that composure. Even now, you're as cool as a cucumber. I want to join someone's team who can keep a level head like that! People like you are hard to come by and you usually make the best decisions! Please, let me join your team!"

Shade did not respond immediately. He understood what Tristan meant. Those who could keep a level head were able to think clearly even in the toughest of situations. It was no surprise that others would want to team up with him.

"Fine, I understand what you're getting at. However, I refuse your request," he replied calmly.

"What?! Come on, please! We're inside of a death game! We need teams if we're to survive!"

"And while I agree with you, that's not what I meant. I mean that we don't have a team."

"Wait, you and the girl aren't a team..?"

"No, we only just met and she wanted to stick by my side. I allowed her to because I believed that she could be of use to me in gaining more information about this game."

Tristan then took a moment to digest what Shade had said. Due to seeing them together, he had assumed that they were already a team. However, he still had another proposal.

"Then I have an idea! Why not create your own team? Me, you, and the girl make three. We just need to find seven other members. You can even be the team leader-"

"I'll stop you right there," interrupted Shade. "I have no intention of creating my own team. That would be naïve."

"What do you mean?"

"Weren't you listening when the old man was talking earlier? He said that team leaders are stuck with the team that they created until the end of the game. If I'm to create a team then I won't be able to join other teams."

"But what's so bad about that..? You can just keep adding members to your team..."

"Man, do I have to explain everything to you? You're as dumb as Arora..." Sighed Shade. "This is a survival game where people are competing against one another to survive. It's good to have a few set people by your side from the start who you can trust. If I can remain flexible then I can infiltrate other teams by temporarily becoming a member.

I can then gain intel for myself and Arora who I know has my back so that we can both survive. On top of that, I'll be able to sabotage that team whenever I'm ready, lessening the overall competition for myself and my group, aka Arora and anyone else that I come to deem trustworthy."

Tristan and Arora's eyes widened with surprise as they understood what Shade was trying to say. By staying as a simple group instead of a team, each group member could infiltrate other teams and gain critical information. This would also make it easier for them to defeat their competition.

"I knew I was right when I decided I wanted to team up with you!" Exclaimed Tristan. "You're smart and you know what you're doing!"

"Well, as I've already stated, we aren't a team. So, you've run into a bit of bad luck."

"That's okay. I don't need to team up with anyone. I like your idea of being flexible a lot more. So, instead, I'd like to join your group!"

Shade then went silent as he analyzed Tristan. He did not seem very combat-oriented which was an issue within itself. Shade was dealing with Arora who was already terrible in combat. If he were to expand the group to three heads then he would need someone who was at least a little combat-oriented.

"I still refuse. If I'm to add a third member to our group then they have to be a fighter. Are you experienced in combat, Tristan?"

"Well, no..."

"Then you have your answer. I already have to cover for Arora if we get into a fight. If I'm to add another that can't hold their own in combat then that's one extra person to protect. It will ruin the balance of the team."

"Then I'll do it!" Suddenly exclaimed Arora with determination. "I'll become a fighter too!"

Shade was shocked to see Arora come forward. She was normally timid when it came to any aspect of the game. Seeing her declare that she wanted to be a fighter was unexpected.

However, the truth was that Arora was flushed due to hearing Shade's earlier words. He had directly included her as a group member that he could trust. Upon hearing this, Arora knew that she had to find a role to play within the group. If not, then there was no doubt in her mind that Shade would eventually toss her out for being useless to him.

"Are you sure? Do you think that you can handle combat?" Shade asked Arora carefully.

"Well, currently, I'm sure that I wouldn't be of much use in a fight... But even so, I still want to try! If it's not asking too much then I'd appreciate it if you can teach me!"

"And what makes you think that I'm good enough to teach you anything in the first place?"

"Back in the forest, I saw how well you dodged the wolf's attacks..! You managed to avoid every attack while you analyzed every detail about the wolf at the same time. It takes skill to do that!"

Shade did not mention it but he acknowledged Arora's observations. If she was as observant as he deemed her then it would be no chore in teaching her how to fight.

"Fine. I was initially waiting to gain information on how healers worked in this game so that I could make you into one. However, since you seem so determined to be a fighter then I don't mind making you my support."

Arora was both thrilled and nervous at the same time. She was happy that Shade had accepted her request but she wasn't certain how well she would be able to perform in combat.

"Then does that mean that I can join your group..?" Hurriedly asked Tristan.

"Not so fast," answered Shade. "First, I need to know how you'll be useful. I'm not interested in dead weight."

Tristan then braced himself as he prepared to explain his role in the game.

"The game is still new and there isn't much information on it. But that's why I'm planning on becoming one of the first Info Brokers."

"An Info Broker?"

"Yes, I've already gained a decent amount of information on how this game is played. In fact, I've gained so much that we should be able to make it to the first stage of the game with minimal problems starting as early as sunrise. If you allow me to join your group then I promise to tell you everything I know!"

Shade then went silent as he looked into the eyes of Tristan. Little did Tristan know that if he turned out to be lying, then it would be the last lie he ever told.