Gruesome Mount Forest, 2 PM
Chase glanced at his roommate, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, which instantly made his classmate uneasy. The forest around them seemed to hold its breath, as if it too sensed the brewing mischief between the two.
"I'll help you, but only if you give me half of your goblin ears," Chase proposed, his words carrying an air of cunning and a hint of playfulness. The idea of acquiring more goblin ears in exchange for assistance was a clever strategy, but it also highlighted the harsh realities of survival they were facing.
The classmate, clearly taken aback, protested forcefully, "What do you mean? That's cheating!" If he give half of his ear hw won't be able to pass the test.
Chase chuckled, his laughter echoing through the eerie woods like the cackle of a sinister spirit. "Classmate, Miss Freya never said we had to acquire our gear directly from the goblins. And you know nothing in this world comes for free," he said with a serious tone.
Suddenly, Chase's classmate realized what he meant. "I can't give up my goblin ear; it's the only one I have. I'll fail the test!" the roommate exclaimed in distress.
"Well, I gave you a chance. If you die, you'll fail the test anyway, an I still will collect more ear than I asked for" Chase replied nonchalantly, turning around and starting to walk away. His footsteps were as silent as shadows, as he navigated the forest floor with grace.
Confusion filled Ava's mind as she watched Chase's actions. 'What is Chase doing?' she wondered, her thoughts as tangled as the undergrowth they walked through.
"Ya, Sa," their mocking voices seemed to blend with the rustling leaves, tormenting the distressed classmate.
"Wait! I'll give them to you. Just please, help me!" the classmate pleaded desperately, his voice echoing through the forest like a forlorn echo.
After Chase had walked about eight steps, he heard his roommate's desperate cry behind him, the sound tugging at his conscience like a persistent ghost.
"So, you finally came to your senses," Chase remarked, turning around, his eyes gleaming like moonlit orbs in the darkness, as this was always his plan to put pressure on his classmate.
"Yes, yes! Now, please, help me!" his classmate pleaded again, his words stumbling over each other like leaves caught in a gust of wind.
Chase swiftly swung his spear in his hand and hurled it at the goblins.
"Thump!"
The spear soared through the air, impaling two goblins and lodging itself into a nearby tree. The remaining goblins, now aware of Chase's presence, turned to face him, charging forward. At the same time, Ava leaped into action, landing her axe into one goblin's head. She swiftly withdrew her weapon and struck another goblin, beheading it with a single swing.
As Chase closed in, he deftly dodged a goblin's sword and delivered a powerful kick to its head, sending it crashing to the ground. Dodging another goblin's attack, he landed a swift kick to its side, throwing it off balance. Seizing the opportunity, Chase grabbed the other goblin's sword and plunged it into its head.
Meanwhile, Ava emerged from behind and swiftly dispatched two goblins, slamming her axe into their heads. Chase blocked the sword strike from the last remaining goblin and swiftly retaliated, thrusting his spear into its head.
Chase discarded the rusty sword, observing the lifeless goblins around him. "Wow, you guys are really strong," the classmate exclaimed in awe.
"Ava, collect all the ears," Chase instructed her, striding towards his classmate.
"Now, for my reward," he demanded.
"Alright, here," the classmate replied, retrieving five goblin ears from his sack and handing them to Chase, the gruesome trophies exchanged like a sinister barter.
"Well, I'm going. You should hurry and get that wound healed," Chase said.
After Ava finished cutting off the goblins' ears, she approached Chase, and together they continued their journey further into the forest.
"You know, that was a smart idea, how to collect more ears," Ava commented.
"Thanks. And here," Chase responded, handing Ava the five goblin ears. In return, she gave him seven.
"You deserve the extra since it was your idea, and you got most of the kills," she explained.
"Thanks. We'll gather more in the future. There are still two days left," Chase replied, as they continued their trek, conversing and searching for more goblins.
Walking through the forest Three other classmates walking ahead, accompanied by a blue eagle knight, heading in the same direction Chase and Ava came from.
"Hurry, one of our classmates needs help nearby," cried out a worried voice among the group of students. Their easy hunt turned into a harrowing encounter with danger.
"Yeah, about fifteen goblins attacked us," chimed in another classmate, his voice trembling with fear. The group had never faced so much goblins before.
"Look, there he is!" exclaimed one of the classmates, pointing towards a fallen figure a short distance away. As they rushed to the scene, they were met with a shocking sight the injured student lay amidst the lifeless bodies of goblins Chase and Ava had successfully fought off.
"What happened to the goblins?" asked one of the puzzled classmates, trying to make sense of the situation.
"Chase and Ava saved me," revealed the injured classmate, his voice weak but filled with gratitude.
"What? They took down all these goblins?" another classmate exclaimed, his disbelief evident.
"Cough! Cough!" The injured classmate interrupted, drawing everyone's attention back to his condition.
"You should really see them. They're incredibly strong," the injured classmate urged the knight who had just arrived, encouraging him to witness the extraordinary prowess of Chase and Ava.
However, the knight seemed captivated by the scene of the defeated goblins and how Chase and Ava had worked together to accomplish such a feat.
"Let's help you up. We should hurry and get you healed," the knight offered, extending a helpful hand to the injured classmate. With their immediate concern being the injured student, they set aside their curiosity about Chase and Ava's abilities for the moment.
3 PM
As Chase and Ava continued their venture deeper into the forest, their thoughts were consumed by their personal hunting of ears, and they seemed less concerned about the fate of their classmates. The day was coming to an end.
"It's getting late. We should find a place to rest for the night," Ava suggested.
"Yeah, we should hurry," Chase agreed.
Their journey had left them hungry, and Ava's stomach grumbled audibly, causing her to blush with embarrassment.
"And we should also find something to eat," Chase added with a smile.
For the next two hours, they scoured the forest for a suitable spot to spend the night. Surprisingly, despite the ominous name "Gruesome Mount," they encountered only a few goblins and managed to catch two rabbits for their dinner.
"Look, there's a tent, and there's a campfire," Ava exclaimed excitedly.
"Shh, be quiet," Chase hushed her.
He gently grabbed Ava's hand and led her discreetly to the side of a tree, where he pointed out eight goblins heading towards the campsite. Some goblins carried rusty swords, while others wielded new steel ones.
"What should we do? There are so many of them," Ava asked in a hushed voice.
Chase pondered for a moment while observing the goblins, who were dropping their weapons and cheering. It seemed like they were celebrating something.
"Let's wait until it gets darker before we attack," Chase decided.
An hour later, as the sky darkened and night fell, some of the goblins began to doze off, worn out from their earlier celebration. The forest was now cloaked in darkness, providing Chase and Ava with an opportunity to execute their plan.
Now was their chance, but the question remained: how should they approach the goblins without alerting them? Chase whispered to Ava, seeking her input.
"While we were waiting, I came up with a plan. You go to the left side, and I'll go to the right. We'll attack them silently," Ava suggested.
"Alright," Chase agreed, appreciating her quick thinking.
Chase and Ava split up, stealthily positioning themselves on opposite sides of the group of goblins. Their eyes met across the distance, and at that moment, they communicated silently, understanding each other's intent without the need for words. Nodding in agreement, they readied themselves for the coordinated strike.
Ava swiftly beheaded a goblin, while Chase thrust his spear into another goblin's head. The remaining goblins remained oblivious to their comrades' demise. Chase and Ava eliminated two more goblins in swift succession.
As Chase removed his spear from the goblin's head, he noticed a goblin sneaking up behind Ava. In a split-second decision, he aimed his spear at the goblin, propelling it through the campfire and into the other goblin, effectively dispatching both enemies and lodging the spear into a nearby tree.
The loud thud caught the attention of the remaining goblins, who woke up and charged toward Chase and Ava.
"Ra, Ta!"
"La, Ba!"
Ava, alerted by Chase's actions, turned to face the approaching goblins. She skillfully evaded a goblin's sword strike, dodging the downward swing and countering with a powerful swing of her axe, decapitating the goblin. She swiftly retrieved her axe and, with fluid motions, swung it again, slicing through another goblin's neck.
Meanwhile, Chase deftly sidestepped a goblin's attack, delivering a powerful kick to its head, sending it crashing to the ground. Dodging another goblin's sword, he landed a swift kick to its side, throwing it off balance. Seizing the opportunity, Chase grabbed the goblin's sword and plunged it into its head.
As Ava dispatched two more goblins with well-placed axe strikes, Chase parried the final goblin's sword and swiftly retaliated, thrusting his spear into its head.
Looked over to Ava, finishing her last goblin.
"Are you okay?" Chase asked, concern evident in his voice as he checked on Ava after their successful battle with the goblins.
"Yeah, I'm good. Thank you for saving me," Ava replied, her tone filled with genuine gratitude for Chase's saving her.
Chase walked over to his spear in the tree and retrieved it, glancing around at the lifeless goblins strewn across the area.
"Let's move the dead goblins aside, cut off their ears, and clean up the tent," he suggested.
"Okay," Ava agreed.
For the next ten minutes, Chase and Ava worked together to clean up the mess, collecting the goblins' ears and tidying the campsite.
Once they finished cleaning, Chase and Ava settled on a log near the crackling campfire. Ava skinned the rabbit impaled the dead rabbit on a stick and began roasting it.
After thirty minutes had passed, the rabbit was fully cooked, and they began to eat.
"This is pretty good," Chase remarked happily, enjoying the meal Ava had prepared.
"Hmm," Ava acknowledged modestly.
"You really cooked this well," he continued, smiling warmly at her.
"Thanks," she replied, appreciating Chase's compliment.
Chase's focus was solely on enjoying the meal, and she inadvertently expressed her thoughts aloud.
"I hope you can cook more delicious food in the future."
Twenty minutes later, Ava finished her meal, and Chase had just about finished his.
"I'll take the first watch. You can sleep for the next couple of hours. I'll wake you up when I'm feeling tired," Chase said.
"Okay," Ava replied, entering the tent and lying down, while Chase sat on a log near the campfire, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.
Three hours passed, and Chase managed to stay awake, tending to the campfire and scanning the area, yet he hadn't spotted anyone despite the campfire acting as a signal.
'Hopefully, There won't be any attacks tonight' Chase thought.
"I'm awake now. You can go to sleep," Ava's voice broke through Chase's thoughts.
Chase turned to look at her.
"Alright, wake me up if anything happens," he instructed before settling down to sleep. Ava took a seat on the log near the campfire.
An hour later, a gust of cold wind rustled the tent while Chase slept, and he woke to the sound of Ava breathing heavily. He peered outside the tent and saw her trembling.
"Ava, come inside, you're cold," Chase called out.
"No... I'm fine," Ava responded, her voice shaking.
Chase reached out, grabbed Ava, and pulled her into the tent.
"No, you're not. Look at you, you're shaking," Chase insisted.
He lay down, and Ema followed suit, facing away from each other.
Another gust of cold wind rattled the tent, and after a few moments, Chase could still hear Ava's heavy breathing.
"Chase, can you hold me? I need to warm up," Ava requested, her face turning red.
"Yeah, I can," Chase agreed.
He turned around and slid his right arm under Ava's head, his left arm encircling her waist, holding her close.
"Thank you," Ava said happily.
"Don't talk, just warm up," Chase advised.
After a few minutes, Ema began to feel warmer, and they both eventually fell asleep.
"Howl!"
"Howl!"
"Howl!"
However, their peaceful slumber was interrupted by distant howling wolves had emerged in the night. Suddenly, a pained cry of a wolf and a roar echoed through the forest, causing Chase to wake abruptly.
"Wee!"
"Arhh!"
Chase jolted awake upon hearing the pained cry of a wolf and a thunderous roar.
He shook Ava, trying to rouse her from her half-asleep state.
"Ava, wake up," Chase whispered urgently.
"Hmm?" Ava groggily responded, her eyes fluttering open.
"What's..." she started to say, but Chase quickly covered her mouth with his hand.
Ava's eyes opened wide, watching Chase wondering why Chase suddenly blocked her mouth.
"There's something outside," he whispered into her ear.
Ava's eyes widened more in alarm, and she nodded in understanding.
Chase released his hold on her, and together they cautiously exited the tent.