Day V: The Clearing

The familiar light hit me as I stood in the dream-like space, staring at the Sphere.

It pulsed faintly five times.

[500 Points]

I exhaled, thinking back to yesterday's fights. I was getting better. The stats were working. I flexed my hands experimentally. My wrists were fine now, as were my fingers. The wound on my shoulder still ached, but it wasn't open anymore.

I focused on my legs.

[5400 Points]

That's all it would take to fix both.

But what if I only healed my injured knee?

[1000 Points]

I felt stupid for not checking sooner. Still, it was good to know.

I spent 200 points on an Essential Meal, then left the rest untouched. If I couldn't kill goblins today, I needed enough to buy food tomorrow.

The dream-like state faded.

Morning arrived with rays of golden sunlight streaming through the towering trees. The forest was unsettling in its perfection—every tree the same towering height, every trunk eerily straight. No undergrowth, no wildlife. Just the rustling of leaves in the breeze and the quiet shuffling of people stirring awake.

Carl was already up, stretching his shoulders. "Let's go, everyone. The faster we move, the better for all of us."

People groaned as they rose from the hard, uncomfortable ground. The exhaustion was clear in their eyes, but we couldn't afford to linger. I walked at the back, since I slowed everyone down with my limp.

I walked with my sword in hand since I have no holder for it, and followed the others as they fell into step. Samuel walked beside me, hands behind his head. 

I had this feeling that William was frustrated with my slow pace, since he shot me glares when they had to stop for me to catch up.

"You know, I could carry your stuff," Samuel said with a smirk. "Then maybe you'd keep up."

"Get your own sword."

Samuel chuckled beside me, the ever-present smirk playing on his lips. "I already have a sword," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

"With that limp and all, I'd hate for you to slow us down." he followed up.

I rolled my eyes and kept moving, focusing on the path ahead. The forest around us was eerily silent, the only sound being the shuffling of weary feet.

"I already look like a hero." He gestured to himself. "All I need now is the superhuman strength to match."

I ignored him, but he kept talking.

"I figured it out last night," he continued. "How I'm gonna spend my points. First, I get my stats high enough to be strong, fast, all that good stuff. And then—bam! I'm basically a superhero."

"That's your plan?"

"Damn right it is."

I sighed. "And then what?"

He hesitated.

I glanced at him. He was suddenly quieter, eyes focused on the ground.

"…I need to get back," he said.

"To camp?"

"No. Earth."

I didn't respond.

He let out a humorless chuckle. "I had a date planned."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Melissa," he said. "Four years, man. Four damn years of being her 'friend.' Then finally, finally, she says yes. And the next thing I know? I woke up in this hellhole."

A few people glanced at us but quickly looked away, focused on their own exhaustion.

"You think we can go back?" Samuel asked.

I didn't answer immediately.

"…No," I finally said.

"Yeah." He exhaled. "I figured."

Up ahead, Carl slowed down behind everyone else, to get back at us. "You two good?"

Samuel straightened up immediately. "Yeah, yeah. Just motivating my guy over here that he doesn't smell bad with all the blood on him." he proceeded to put his arm around my shoulder like we are some childhood pals. I shrugged him off, annoyed.

Carl nodded but didn't pry. "We'll be picking up the pace soon."

Groans came from some of the others—especially the newcomers, who weren't used to this much walking. The girls muttered among themselves, likely cursing Carl for making them march without rest.

Samuel let out a dramatic sigh. "Great. Just what I needed."

Carl smirked slightly and moved on, leaving us alone again.

Samuel watched him go, then muttered, "I don't like how he just assumed I was struggling. I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much."

I shook my head. "Sure."

We kept walking.

It was a three hour walk before we finally reached what would become our little civilization. The forest made a sudden clearing, with perfect green grass spanning 100 meters in both length and width. It was a perfect square. Too perfect to be natural.

In the center were one boulder. There was water around it in what looked like a small pond. Water flowed in from underneath the boulder. The boulder was twice my height, so it was really imposing up close.

Here is a perfect view of the mountain, south of the clearing. It was a lone single mountain, with one peak.

What actually caught my eyes first, were a bunch of people standing at the small pond. I guess there were around 40 people. As we came closer, I could see some looked really dreaded. I would later find out that some haven't eaten since they got here from Earth.

It didn't take long for them all to stand with attention and stare at us. I first thought it was because of Carl or my appearance full of blood. But then I noticed their eyes. They all were staring straight at my sword and shield. I was carrying both in my hands.

A woman stepped forward, along with another man. They looked more nourished than the rest.

"Where did you find the sword?" She said with a rather stern face.

"Greet them first, Rebecca," The guy next to her said.

I already felt like leaving, but the idea of drinking the water made me stay. I was thirsty and missed the feeling of water. Lucky me, Carl talked for me like some attorney.

"Calm down. We can discuss this in a moment. There is news about where he found those."

The woman named Rebecca backed down. She looked a bit like a certain vice president of America that ran for presidency.

"No fair! We all deserve to know!" A random nobody from the pond interjected, and the people slowly made a crowd around us. I immediately felt threatened there. Their eyes looked desperate, as if I held something that would fix their problems.

Carl nudged me, to talk.

"I already told Carl everything. So you can ask him questions afterwards. But if you move north for a day, and then go East, there are bigger groups of goblins. I ran into five. One had a bow, two had clubs, and one had this sword and shield."

They all immediately started talking over each other, like news reporters wanting me to answer their questions. It was overwhelming, and I was scared. They all started to come closer while shouting. Someone from the side moved in, with their hands stretched towards my sword.

I swiped my sword at him in warning, and kept it horisontal towards him. Adrenaline was already fueling me, and I didn't feel strained that much to keep the sword up in this way.

Everyone stopped in their tracks. Still speaking, but not as loud. Rebecca and the guy next to her tried to calm people down. Carl too tried at my side. I could see Samuel doing the same in the small circle.

"Everyone back off!" I heard from behind, and a group of three practically tore people from the circle and threw them outwards. Everyone moved away when they saw them. I could see fear in their eyes.

The guy at the front was middle aged. He was tall and strong, like some elite bodybuilder. His brown eyes that matched his hair swept over me and my weapons, and he was quick to catch on.

"You all think you can steal his sword and somehow fix your cowardice?!"

He screamed, and everyone was silent. Some even tried to avoid his eyes as he scanned the crowd.

"Fuck off then!" The guy next to him shouted, and everyone scooted away towards the pond.

"I'm Travis." He held out his hand, never breaking eye contact with me. I could feel Rebecca and Carl becoming uncomfortable next to me.

I just felt like I was seen for the first time. I never had someone come to my rescue like this when I was avoiding some assholes during high school.

"Jack" I shook his hand, and he held it longer than I thought he would. 

He immediately looked at Carl and then Rebecca.

"You're supposed to keep people calm while we're away and looking for others."

Rebecca narrowed her eyes at him. 

"It doesn't really look like you brought anyone. Found no one?"

He ignored her and looked at me.

"Don't let anyone give you trouble. When did you wake up?"

I looked at him, a bit perplexed.

"About 5 days ago."

He was surprised.

"You look like someone who came here sooner. Rebecca and I came here 15 days ago, and found this clearing 10 days ago. We have been finding people like us since day 1 all around the clearing. Everyone simply appears out of nowhere when we leave an area."

This new information intrigued me, and I wanted to talk more about what he found out this far.

"What have you seen about this place thus far? Any leads as to where we are, or where to escape?"

He smirked at my question.

"No. I wanted to scout the mountain and climb it, to figure out where we are, but everyone thought it was better to clear and scan the forest for newcomers."

"Don't lie asshole. Goblins appeared at the clearing almost every morning. You cleared shit" Rabecca interjected with a loud whisper.

"Shut your trap." He doesn't even look at her, but at Carl.

"It appears that the goblins reappear in the same groups after a day or so in the same areas. So, we would have to kill them almost everyday just to keep our baggage intact." He obviously referred to the group of survivors behind him.

"I suggest we assemble a team to go where Jack found the groups with better weapons. Our chances of survival will sky-rocket and people here could kill goblins easier to get their daily food." Carl gave a suggestion.

"We need to train the people instead of splitting up from them. He said that the weapons are more than a day of travel away," Rebecca protested, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"I'm with Carl on this one." Travis said and his buddy next to him nodded in affirmation. They all looked at me like I am the deciding voter.

"Can we first figure out a way to fix my leg? The Sphere is asking me 1500 points. We could reach the mentioned area faster that way." 

There was simply no way that I was letting go of this opportunity.

"Yes"

"No"

Both Travis and Rabecca answered, and Rabecca quickly followed up.

"We cannot afford for him to take 10 goblins, when most here struggle to even kill one without our help. We need the manpower to feed them."

Travis rolled his eyes at her. 

"Let's go Jack. I know a spot." Travis smirked and walked past me. I followed and so did Travis's buddy and Carl. I looked behind me, and I saw Samuel nodding to me from between others at the pond. Everyone was obviously listening to our conversation. 

"I'm Marcus by the way" The guy put his arm around me. He was the buddy of Travis who helped with scaring the others away.

He had a large mouth, which gave way to a large smile. He looked Asian but spoke fluid English. He was nice.

"Me and my brother found each other here on our second day. Could you imagine the chances of that even happening? He and others are out at the mountain side looking for more people." He walked with his hands in his baggy pants. He had black hair and black eyes. He looked like a true protagonist in a way.

We talked and I mostly talked about my experiences after waking up at the mountain. I also mentioned the cave and everyone was surprised. Carl and Travis didn't talk to each other, only reacted to me and Marcus.

It wasn't even a few hours when we reached what looked like an eroded, dried river between the forest trees. The curves of the river path was just too perfect, further giving me the feeling that it was never a river, and that this eroded bedding was fake. 

The width of the dried-out river was about 10 meters. Standing in it made us 1 meter deeper than the ground on the sides. The empty river went towards the mountain in front of us, and the river bedding also became deeper.

"Stand in the middle and wait here."

Travis said and started jogging up the dried river. After a hundred meters, he disappeared behind the river curve where the bedding was a little taller than us.

"That guy is insane."

Marcus gossiped with wide eyes. I looked at him, while he and Carl stood beside me in the middle. Marcus continued,

"This is where we all ran for our lives a few days ago. There are a few groups at the sides of the river as you travel up." 

"With Jack here and his shield, he can serve as the vanguard," Carl said with confidence that I didn't have.

"Guys, I have a fucked leg. Don't you want the shield?" I said to them both, eyes fixed on the river in front of us.

Carl hesitated but took the shield and stood in front of me. 

Marcus bent down, scooping up fist-sized rocks from the ground.

"Let Jack kill them, while we slow them down and break the charge." Carl said to Marcus. 

It wasn't even that long before Travis came back from the corner, full sprint. He was really fast for a middle aged man. He reached us, out of breath, hands on his knees. Stood behind us.

"They're coming, about 20 of them."

Sweat fell off his face like it was raining. He was completely spent, and I was impressed that he didn't collapse on the ground.

I heard them before I saw them. Loud screams like little devils and beasts. Greenskins came around the corner, and they all ran full speed towards us. They had no coordination, no plan, no tactic, just running in straight lines behind the other towards us. 

As they came closer, I considered running away. My whole body froze, and my instincts told me to tug tail and escape while I could. 

"Steady"

Marcus said, goblins being 80 meters away.

"Steady"

Travis stood in front of me, with rocks in his hands, readying a throw. Goblins only 50 meters away.

"Throw" reached my ears from Marcus before rocks collided against the goblins, about 30 meters from us.

Then they both threw a second volley.

The goblins in front tripped and fell over each other, because Travis and Marcus were somehow able to hit the goblin's legs with the rocks. The second volley was just for good measure to slow the group down. Most of the goblins stood behind their buds on the ground and were slow to climb over them without falling since the ground was full of rocks.

"Charge!" Marcus and Carl ran out in front. I just stood there, completely frozen. Travis also didn't move, because he was still out of steam while I was just a coward.

I grunted and gritted my teeth, running forward. I was a few steps behind the other two, but I quickly made it only seconds after they reached the goblins.

Carl and Marcus ran over the ones on the ground. Marcus took one of their clubs from the ground and started thrusting to push the goblins back. I was behind them, stabbing the ones on the ground. 

Soon, I moved between them. The goblins had already recovered from their own stampede and started attacking. Marcus and Carl blocked and parried, while I thrusted out between them for a killing blow. We were slowly getting surrounded.

Marcus was hit pretty badly a few times and stepped back. I shuffled in front of him, almost falling because of my leg, but stabbed a goblin reaching for him. I had to take a scratch to my arm because of it.

Travis soon joined and fought the goblins on the other side of Carl because some punched and scratched him from the side where he couldn't shield.

I don't know how they held out against all the goblins, but I finally killed the last three on my own with them behind me. 

"Fuck" Marcus spat blood and sat on top of a goblin body. He was clearly hit on his chin if you ignore the blood all over his body.

"Please make a better plan next time," I said, trying to breathe. I felt like I was dying from fatigue. My muscles never recovered from all the constant walking and my bad leg made every movement more tiring.

We all sat on the ground. Carl looked a bit better, but was holding his ribs, clearly sore from a club hit. The wooden shield was also destroyed from all the beating. It was made from branches and would've clearly break if you hit it hard and long enough.

Travis just started laughing. We looked at him. We all were full of warm blood, with me covered almost everywhere.

"If we do this again tomorrow, when they respawn or whatever, then it will be easier. You will have your leg, and then we will all have upgrades." 

I wanted to throw him with a rock, but I knew he was right. This is a great way to get a lot of points.

"Tomorrow we go to the new hunting grounds where swords are." Carl said, completely not up for another gamble like this one.

"16 bodies, I counted" Marcus said, with a bloody grin.

"That should be enough, right?" Travis eyed me.

"Definitely" I said. I initially lied to them, because fixing my one leg cost only 1000 and not 1500 points, but there is no way for them to know… I hope. I felt a bit bad for lying to them and being greedy, but I felt I had to in order to catch up to them.

We soon started to head back. I was starving. Marcus couldn't stop talking about food. I guess we all were hungry. Getting those nutrient fill from the Sphere just didn't cut it. Maybe I should buy [Good Nutrition]? Maybe then I would feel less hungry later in the day.

It took us longer to get back, but we did eventually. It was probably two hours before dark. Along the way we swiped the blood mostly off with some plucked bush leaves. I tried to scratch of the dried blood too, but my face was still horrifying.

We saw the same grass clearing, with the boulder in the middle and people all around. Most still stayed at the pond trying to stay far away from the woods.

All four of us just fell to our knees and drank water from the pond. It was sweet, cold, and amazing. I should have gotten sips before we went off to hunt.

"We are sleeping away from the group," Travis said.

He was quickly approached by other people I didn't see before. They were clearly experienced like he was. Marcus also hugged and chatted with someone who looked just like him, clearly his brother.

I just sat at pond, looking around. 

I saw more people than before, much more. I was too exhausted and thirsty to notice when we came back, but now there are more than double the amount of people. Many of them looked terrible, and almost all were scared. Carl was already among them and talking to them. 

That guy is a real hero, something I could never be.

"How was it? Can you finally fix your leg?" A funny guy named Samuel asked me from the side.

I smirked and nodded. 

"All these people were brought here by some strong and fit people like Carl, most of them follow Travis' lead. I also heard you are sleeping with the Travis gang?" He asked me and looked a bit sad.

"I feel safer there" 

He nodded, and didn't look troubled by my response.

"We are all sleeping at the forest tree line - Western side." Some random people from Travis' group called me. He was surrounded by 15 people or so. Clearly, they all bonded by being part of a 'strong hunters' group. I'm just calling them Travis' team from now on.

I picked myself up and my sword, nodded to Samuel, and started walking behind everyone else as they went along with Travis. They all talked to each other, and I actually missed talking with Samuel. I looked up past the tree line and saw the familiar lone mountain peeking up from a distance.

We came to the designated place. The grass was a bit softer here, and people immediately went down to sleep. 

It was weird, the sun wasn't set yet.

"They want to spend their points, especially on a meal to fill the hunger." Travis said, standing next to me. With him so close, I actually noticed a few grey hairs in his short beard.

"You can trust us. We will keep watch, just make sure to fix your leg. You have earned it.

"Thank you" I layed down on my back beneath a tree. I knew if I closed my eyes, I would pass out. I was just so tired every day from the constant walking and fighting.

My eyes closed on their own, even when I tried to keep them open.

The long 5th day ended with 16 goblin kills and 300 points to spare on my Sphere.