Where am I? I can't see. I try to open my eyes but they don't respond. My right eye sends waves of pain through my body. "Give me one reason, I should spare you."
My body jerks forward and I'm awake. My wounds have settled a bit but my right eye still won't open. Or at least, I'm afraid to open it. I want to move but I can't. The pain that was blocked out by adrenaline is now flooding me with agony. The pain is so severe I start getting a headache.
I look up into the sky, only to see the leaves of countless trees blotting out most of the sun. I've never had a wound this bad. I've been poisoned, bitten, nearly frozen, but this is new for me. The cut on my side had me sweating in my sleep. I'm just going to have to wait here until either my wounds recover or someone helps me. Though, in these circumstances, I doubt anyone would help me.
Hours pass of me staring at wood. In times like these, you really notice your surroundings. The texture of the bark is different to where I'm from. The texture looks like it's painted on by a child. The streaks give flavor to the brown wood and the roots stick out of the ground covered with bark as well. The ground is littered with brown leaves, and the sky is blanketed with green ones. Beetles crawl around plentifully, and black ants make nests inside the trees.
Even when I'm in this type of pain, It's interesting to see what's going on around me. A spider's patience as it weaves webs and lies in wait for its prey. A praying mantis's ferocity as it hunts the beetles that hide under leaves.
A large tarantula approaches the praying mantis and a fight is imminent. The tarantula is so large in comparison to the mantis, it's clear who's the prey and who's the predator.
I've read that after laying eggs a mantis typically dies. Not only that, but mantis will eat almost anything, even each other. It reminds me of the way we humans will step on one another's dreams for power.
When they're hatched there are about 300, but they often kill each other as soon as they're hatched. The bug takes 4 months to reach adulthood, how could it survive until then when it's so small? There are predators everywhere. Birds, spiders, and whatever else is larger than them.
I watch the fight with pity readying myself to see a dead mantis. It's clearly weaker, it has fewer limbs, it's not poisonous, it has no chance. The spider immediately attacks, boasting its confidence. The mantis doesn't move, staying light on its feet. As soon as the spider almost bites into it, the mantis pounces, in a flash, its spiked arms are wrapping the spider's head. It renders the spider immobile and it starts eating it alive.
Has nature always been this cruel? Has the line between death and life always been so thin? I'm sure I knew this before but of course it has been. It was foolish to think I was invincible just because I trained.
Even despite the obvious power gap between the mantis and the spider, the mantis defeated it with one move. Though it took a bit longer for it to finish the job. It reminds me of the girl with a pickaxe who ended her enemies with one move. It continues eating it until it's satisfied then hides inside a hole in a tree.
Can I… really be like that? Defeat enemies twice as strong as me with one blow, then use that as fuel to become stronger? A snake begins to slither into the tree, it's not a massive snake, but it's far larger than the mantis.
My eyes are drawn to the scene. How will the mantis escape? I've seen how it deals with a stronger opponent, but how will it deal with an opponent who's impossible to defeat? In an instant, the mantis grabs the snake's neck with its arms and hangs upside down. It uses the roof of the hole as footing. The snake begins to struggle and whips around violently, each whip of the snake capable of severely injuring the mantis. Even so, it doesn't let go and begins the process of eating it alive. The snake isn't immobile and keeps struggling but I can tell the bites are piercing its throat.
After a minute, the snake's futile motions cease and the mantis has secured victory. Its neck is cut open by the mantis's teeth. If I was the mantis, I would've tried to run from the snake. Despite it being a predator and much faster I thought that was the only way. But this mantis, A bug one hundred times less intelligent than me made a better decision in the heat of the moment.
Is it instinct? Luck? Or simply confidence. Regardless, it defeated the snake with the one part of it that could pierce its scales. As long as an opponent is able to be touched, touch them. As long as an opponent is able to be killed, they will be killed. That is the way of the mantis. It does not run from a fight that is impossible to run from, instead, it risks its life in order to kill its opponent. If the snake had hit it just once with one of those mindless flails of its body the mantis would've been defeated. I can't let myself be shown up by a mantis, can I? We were both raised by the wilderness, we both understand the way of the wild. I hesitated to kill? I nearly died. That's simply the way it is. I'll never hesitate again. If an opponent is killable I will try my best to defeat them, I'll utilize strategy, skill, and force to get the job done. If it can be done, it will be done. I'll make the mantis's philosophy my own.
I feel myself falling asleep and let it happen, eager to recover. When my eye opens, I see a sight I never would have imagined.
The mantis is dead, in its stead lies countless tiny mantis who feast upon the spider and snake. They don't have to fight each other because of the ferocity of their mother. So in the end she fought them despite being pregnant. I look down at the wound on my side. Compared to being pregnant this is nothing, right? I stand up, and my wound doesn't reaggravate. My body has done a great job recovering. It's time for me to move on then.
I hear the ear-piercing sound of the announcement that first greeted me upon arriving in this world. The voice is as annoying as always.
"Sorry everyone, I forgot about yall. Regardless, the vast majority of you are dead now so we will move on to the next phase!"
The ground below me begins to fade. As if everything around me was just a mirage it disappears and gives way to a new place. If the last place I was in was natural, this place would be the opposite.
The walls and floor glow with neon patterns and a deep black gives it contrast. The announcer speaks again, "Last round was just to get rid of the people who don't belong here. This stage will be the hardest for some of you and the easiest for others. It's been designed to be a fair fight between two teams, it ends when the last person from a specific team is dead. Good luck everyone! Hopefully, there isn't only one person on each team left at the end of this!"
I clench my teeth upon hearing this. If the teams are equally matched then logically if it's a ten v ten either we will all die fighting each other, or one person will live on one team being injured.
The only way to win is by improving, but I've become weaker than when I first got here. I look across from me. The opponent team has fifteen people. None of them have weapons and they all look well built. I look around me for my team.
"What. No, It can't be." There's… only one other person. Fair teams huh, I laugh, feeling the insanity taking hold of me. I really am resented by death, aren't I. As if to taunt me, weapons appear out of thin air, but only on the opponent's side. They all smile, satisfied with what they were given. I see spears, swords, bows, guns! It's hopeless…
"Hey, what's your name?" I turn to my teammate. It's been years since someone's asked me my name.
"My name is Bane."
"Well, Bane, my name's Ryan. It may look hopeless to you, but this fight is actually fair."
I stare at him confused.
"This type of test really is my weakness, fifteen people would be easy, but since some of them have guns I might actually get scratched. I can tell you are wounded just by looking at your tense expression and the sweat on your face. Not to mention the peculiar color of your shirt.
"Wait, you mean you can defeat all these people?" "Of course, though it appears that the announcer at least thought we were evenly matched."
the announcer speaks again. "Now, fight! Whenever the last person dies a door will open to move on to the next phase!"
My ear ruptures at the sound of the gunfire. I look to my right for Ryan but he's gone. I whip my head back around and he's already fighting them at close range.
If I had to describe his technique, I would describe it as perfection. Each punch is sent in a way that will cause maximum damage, and he dodges with elegance. He uses bodies as shields to the gunfire and dodges blades like they're child's play.
Is this what it means… To survive in this place!? To keep taking risks where one wrong move means death? I've already seen two exceptional individuals and what hurts the most is that I'm not one of them.
One of the guns points at me. I take a deep breath and get ready to dodge it. It's impossible to truly dodge a bullet, all you can do is move before they shoot it.
I dive forward onto the ground and the sound of a bullet tells me I dodged it.
Based on what I've observed from watching Ryan fight it will take approximately 1.75 seconds to reload and shoot the gun again. In that window of time, I lunge towards the gun wielder and give her an uppercut. I pull the gun from her grasp and shoot her mid-air.
I turn away to see three people surrounding me at all sides slashing their weapons with experienced precision.
I can't dodge this, I'll die. I clench my teeth and brace for impact, If a mantis can defeat a snake, then I can defeat them! Instead of moving forward I put my arms at my side and try to make myself smaller. Their attacks were anticipating movement from me, so I receive only three shallow cuts instead of a deep one.
One of them is close to my wound and I grit my teeth in pain. It will be impossible to fight all three of them properly with this useless eye, but I'll try anyway. I have to bear the pain!
I punch the one on my left with all my force and it knocks him backward. In an instant, I duck the next two blows, then counter with a kick on the chin. I grab the ground and spin kick the third person. I shoot the one I kicked first at an unmissable range. I reload and repeat for the next two, backing away to avoid a counterattack and replicating the form of the one who initially shot at me.
Four people. I've killed four people for the sake of my own survival. It's over now. I look to my right to see eleven people knocked out by one person.
He has a few minor cuts but that's all. He stares at me with an astonished look. "You're injured and yet you still managed to defeat them? I guess you're the one who improved considering we got out of this situation nearly unscathed.
I feel a relapse and my wound starts bleeding again. I moved too much. My shirt starts soaking my blood again, and what can't be soaked drips down my pants. "Hey, lean on my shoulder I'll take you out of here."
Upon saying this, he starts shooting the 11 who are knocked out in the head with an apathetic look on his face.
My vision begins to get blurry, and the neon colors blind me from seeing what's in front of me. Too much blood loss. It looks like there's a limit to my body's capabilities. I lean on Ryan and limp into the opening door. With each test, I walk away with new injuries. I wonder if I can survive this. I might really die.
The announcer's voice interrupts my thoughts. "Since all of you have finished, it's time for the third and final test. After completing this one you may go back to the world you were in before. Survive for two years in this world. In which, power will bede award to those who kill. The strength of your soul can give you magic powers which will become very valuable upon leaving this place. The two main ways to obtain these powers are by killing others and by feeling intense emotions. In this phase, it would be good to make allies since your enemies definitely will. Good luck surviving and good luck getting stronger, farewell."
The door opens and reveals a city. Or, more so a large town. There are no skyscrapers or even 2 story buildings. Below my feet, there is dirt that stretched on for meters until reaching a concrete floor that belongs to the town.
Upon leaving and glancing back I notice that we were inside some sort of mountain with doors that blend into it perfectly, making it appear like a natural mountain. It looks like the time for me to get stronger has started. And the true test of my ability to survive is about to start.