Shin observed the green, blue, and red portals before him briefly before his eyes scanned the colosseum stands as droves of spectators began leaving for the day.
The Display of Survival took a heavy toll on the players, and the spectators were uninterested for the most part, and only the most serious fans watched with the recruiting guilds.
He turned his head, staring at the imperial box, and locked eyes with Empress Titania before he stared at the red portal and stepped through it.
The young man sighed as he landed in a dense forest in the perfect dark. Not even a glimpse of the moon could be seen.
He looked around momentarily, attempting to adjust his eyes to the darkness as best they could. He raised his hands, staring at them, barely able to see them before his face.
Shin pulled the small flare gun from the pouch strapped to a belt around his chest. He inspected it briefly before returning it.
In the corner of his vision, a system window reflected the timer, paused at 24 hours, pending the arrival of every player.
His vision adjusted more, and he could see roughly three meters around himself. He began moving through the trees, switching his greatsword out for a pair of daggers.
He silently crept through the forest, his eyes darting around him constantly as he searched for a place to set up a temporary base.
Shin spun on his heel, entering a defensive stance as he raised his daggers before him, hearing a twig snapping nearby.
Suddenly, a series of red fireworks exploded above the trees, briefly illuminating the forest, indicating the beginning of the Display of Survival.
Shin's eyes darted around him as he searched for the culprit who broke the twig as the timer in the corner of his vision began counting down.
Suddenly, a series of windows appeared before his face.
[Main Quest - Display of Survival]
[Survive for 24 hours!]
[Task: 0/24. Each hour will award the player 5 points.]
[Reward: None]
[Secret Quest - Monopoly]
[Defeat all players in the assessment and obtain all of their points]
[Task: 0/19]
[Reward: Psyker Skillbook]
'Secret Quest..?' Shin confusedly thought as he stared at the window, having never heard of this quest being included when an arrow flew past his head.
"Shit!" He cursed, lamenting how close the arrow traveled past his face as he crouched down and launched forward toward the direction from where the arrow flew.
He stopped next to a tree, kneeling down as he nudged a broken twig with the tip of his dagger as he looked around, gritting his teeth.
He stood, looking around, when he faintly heard the bowstring drawback, and another arrow flew toward him.
Shin crouched down, narrowingly avoiding the attack as he once again rushed toward the position of his ambusher.
Another arrow flew toward him, but he deflected it with his dagger, throwing it at his foe hiding in the darkness.
"Urk!" A voice cried out as Shin darted toward it, jumping up as he twisted the dagger in his hands as he came down, and plunged it into the chest of the man on the ground.
He grabbed the hilt of the other dagger and twisted both, ending the archer's life as his body exploded into shimmering blue pixels.
He stood up and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as he sighed, looking around as the secret quest updated.
"Only twenty people entered the hard portal, I guess…" Shin muttered, dismissing the update window as he cautiously walked through the forest.
He sighed as his stomach grumbled, prompting him to check his vitals.
[Health: 3,540/5,900]
[Mana: 640/800]
[Stamina: 2,925/2,925]
[Hunger: 20/100]
[Thirst: 27/100]
[Exhaustion: 80/100]
Unlike typical MMORPGs, where players could essentially ignore the biological needs of eating, drinking, and sleeping, SGO fully embraced them.
Hunger, Thirst, and Exhaustion were tied into the Health, Mana, and Stamina attributes, and when each was neglected, they would decrease the maximum amount of that attribute.
When Hunger, Thirst, or Exhaustion decreased below 50%, the players' maximum Health, Mana, or Stamina would temporarily reduce by 20%, below 25% would decrease them by 40%, and when reaching 0%, would constantly drop until the player ate, drank, or slept depending on their needs.
Shin sighed, rubbing his stomach as he looked around for sustenance. He quickly scaled the tree beside him, climbing to the top as he looked out over the forest.
He spotted a few campfires scattered through the trees and shook his head, smirking, "Idiots, why don't you just shout and tell everyone where you are…"
He sighed before locating a small brook running through the forest and quickly arrived at the edge of the water, kneeling as he cupped a drink, repeating this process until his thirst was 100/100.
He submerged his hand entirely into the brook, pulling it out and clicking his tongue as it wasn't deep enough to fish.
He switched his daggers for his bow, pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back, and nocked it on the bowstring as he looked around, searching for the indistinguishable sounds of woodland creatures.
"SWISH!"
He heard an arrow released from a bow and quickly knelt as the arrow soared over his head; he narrowed his eyes, pulling the bowstring back, searching.
'Of course! There had to be a douche…' He silently lamented at the camper hiding as he waited for players to come to satisfy their thirst.
Another arrow was released, flying toward him as he turned toward the origin of the sound and released his own arrow as the two collided midair.
Shin quickly reloaded his bow with a fresh arrow, quickly releasing it while darting forward. He ducked behind a large rock.
He reached down, grabbed a handful of small stones, and threw them into the creek before he dashed in the opposite direction, leaping across the creek and hiding behind a downed tree.
He grabbed another arrow, resting the feathers against the string, and slightly drew it back as he peeked out from behind the log.
*BANG!*