The Encounter

It had now been a total of two days since the game of Survival Zer0 had started. It was just around sunrise as the group of Tristan, Arora, and Shade left the first town to find Stage 1. Tristan had successfully managed to join the group after providing useful information to Shade.

Among the information provided were details on how to get to the First Stage. Due to this, the group had quickly made getting to the First Stage their main priority after stocking up on a few items with the little money they had.

According to Tristan, each Stage was located within a town. However, to get to each town, players would need to travel a few miles North through rough terrain and harsh conditions flooded with monsters.

Currently, the group was slowly pacing themselves through a massive forest. By paying close attention, Shade discerned that it was the same forest where he had met Arora. It was however much larger than he had initially thought.

"I think it will take us at least another two days to get to the next town. I hope the supplies we have are enough to last us that long..." Murmured Tristan.

"Just make sure you know where you're going. I'm not planning on getting lost out here," warned Shade.

"Man, you still don't trust me, do you..? I told you that the information I have is legit! My special ability is the Locator after all..!"

Shade sighed as he placed his hands in his pockets. According to Tristan, each player was randomly assigned one Class Ability by the game. These abilities heightened a certain sense or skill of that specific player.

Tristan's Class Ability was the Locator. This ability prevented him from getting lost. It also helped him to find special items or pieces of information much easier than the average player.

It was due to this ability that Tristan had managed to gain so much information over such a short period. There were rare NPCs across Survival Zer0 that could give players special information on how the game was played. Tristan had already managed to find two of these NPCs with the aid of his ability.

"I still think we should have waited a little longer before coming out here..." Suddenly confessed Arora.

"No, for now, it's best to get a head start. If we stick around the first town for too long then how will we earn more money to purchase supplies?" Asked Shade.

"But we earn a few silver coins from slaying monsters, right? If we just killed a few monsters then we would be able to earn the money needed for supplies!"

"Arora, you do realize that we've spent the last two nights sleeping outside, right? The money we make from killing monsters isn't nearly enough to cover rent for all three of us. Besides, a few other players who want to get out of this game have already formed their teams and left to participate in the First Stage. It's best that we start sharpening our skills so we don't fall behind."

"Shade's right," interjected Tristan. "The sooner we get an understanding of this game, the better. This game is about survival. If we hope to defeat the other teams out there then we have to gain experience. Besides, according to one of the special NPCs I spoke with, the game gives a special reward to the first one hundred players that arrive in a new town. That would be beneficial to us."

Arora's face dimmed. She knew that Tristan and Shade were right. She just had a very hard time accepting it because she was afraid.

Over the past two days, Shade had been training her in combat as he had promised. Due to this, she had gained wisdom on how to defend herself in a fight. However, that knowledge was mostly limited to monsters. If she were to face another human being in a death match, she was scared that she would hesitate.

"Shade, I'm sorry, but I'm scared..." Began Arora. "I don't know if I can handle being in a deathmatch with-"

"Then drop your stuff and get out of my group," coldly interjected Shade.

Arora immediately came to a halt. Her heart felt as if it had just shattered into a million pieces.

"Dang, Shade... That was harsh..!" Exclaimed Tristan.

"I don't have time for cowards. As the old man told all of us, this is a survival game. If you allow fear to cripple you in a critical moment, you could lose your life. And as I've stated before, I'm not planning on dragging deadweight with me. So it's either you accept what you have to do or get out of my sight."

Arora didn't know what to do. She was determined to follow Shade and beat the game but she couldn't force herself to stop being afraid. It wasn't that easy.

However, before she could say anything else, Shade handed her the wooden knife he had crafted.

"Up ahead is a wolf similar to the one that had attacked you when you just arrived in the game. You have one of two options; Take the knife and kill it or refuse and leave the group."

Arora knew that she only had one valid choice. That was accepting the knife and killing the wolf. She couldn't afford to turn back after coming so far. Not to mention that her main issue was not with killing monsters. It was fighting to take the life of another human being.

Arora then took the knife from Shade and stepped forward to get the attention of the wolf. However, upon approaching the monster, she realized something odd. The wolf's health bar was already in the red zone. Its body was also full of large cuts and its fur was in terrible condition. It was as if it had just escaped a dangerous encounter.

Shade had also failed to realize this until now. Upon seeing the wolf, it was evident that it was not another player who had wounded it. Realizing this, he quickly called out to Arora.

"Arora, stop!"

However, due to not wanting to disappoint Shade, Arora ignored and charged forward towards the wolf.

Her Class Ability was that of the Assassin. This meant that she could display heightened levels of speed and precision. She quickly closed the gap between herself and the wolf before driving the knife into its neck. The wolf yelped as its lifeless body hit the ground with a powerful thud.

Just then, Arora noticed that a large shadow was hovering over her. Anxiety quickly began stifling her as she forced herself to look upwards.

To her horrific surprise, it was a massive wolf the size of a bus. It had black fur and glowing red eyes. Over its head were two sets of health bars with the name, "The Wandering Fang" present underneath.

It then released a powerful roar that shook the surrounding area like an earthquake. Birds were immediately spotted flying away from the area due to the massive beast. It was almost like a scene straight out of a nightmare.

As the massive beast settled itself, the words "Stage One Field Boss" finally appeared over its head.

Arora's face wrinkled with fear as she released a blood-curdling scream. The wolf then immediately went in for the kill with a powerful snap from its jaws. However, Shade jumped in at the last second, delivering a powerful kick to the beast's throat.

As it staggered from the kick, Shade quickly opened his inventory and withdrew a bronze sword. His Class Ability was that of the Sword King. This boosted his physical strength and reaction time exponentially. Due to this, he had invested money into purchasing a sword for combat. This wolf was a perfect opponent for him to test it on.

"Arora, get back now! Go guard Tristan in case more monsters are lurking around here..!" He commanded.

Arora was far too stricken with fear to respond. Instead, she scurried to her feet and moved to the side of Tristan who was understandably not feeling the safest.

"Shade, that thing's a field boss! I'm not so sure that you can take it on by yourself!" Warned Tristan. "It's best we try to make a run for it!"

Shade considered Tristan's proposal. It seemed like the more logical thing to do. However, Shade was worried. The injured wolf that had revealed itself to them earlier concerned him. Assuming that the field boss was the one who had attacked it, there was no doubt in Shade's mind that it could have easily killed the smaller wolf.

It was almost as if the field boss had purposely kept it alive to attract players. Players would most likely attack an injured monster for easy rewards. Once a player attacked the injured monster, the field boss could ambush them. It would make sense if this were the case. In other words, the Beast standing before Shade was extremely intelligent.

Though running seemed like the best option, Shade knew that the information he could acquire from fighting such a monster was hefty. If he could defeat it then he would have more experience on how to deal with other intelligent monsters that he would come across later.

The wolf then released one more deafening roar towards Shade before charging forward baring its teeth.

Finally, Shade then readied his weapon as he prepared to face it in battle.