Why didn't she mention the presence of another person here?
That question arose in Ethan's mind now. But he saw the pale face of the man who appeared to be around his age in front of him. There was something that made him fearful, so it was enough to make him cautious as well.
Ethan approached the man. "What's going on?"
"Ssstt!" the man put his finger in front of his lips. "You must lower your voice. The monsters will hear it."
'Okay. So there are really monsters here.' Ethan made a mental note to himself.
"Follow me."
Ethan decided to follow the man. They walked slowly as there was only moonlight as illumination.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a place under the bush. The man pointed to a tent built in the middle of an opening.
"That's where the rest of us stay for the night. Come on." The man gestured for Ethan to follow him.
Ethan followed with a still confused mind. Why suddenly were there people here? He didn't know anything about the Trial, and Jane didn't tell him anything about it either.
Could there really be another Invited with him in this Trial? But then he looked up, at the dark sky and the moon that he suspected was an illusion from this Tower. He had heard stories about it.
'Are these people just illusions? Or are they real? The most important thing is, are they here to help me or to lead me astray?'
Ethan was brought into their community. A small group with three more people sitting around an extinguished firepit.
He sat with them. Looking at them all with a wary gaze, trying to find any signs that could tell him about their identity.
"Who is this?" a young woman around his age asked with a clear frown on her face.
"This is the new guy I found. Just like us, he is lost, and he could be great help for us."
A moment later, they all introduced themselves. It didn't take long for Ethan to be accepted into this group because they said more people meant more chance to survive.
The group members were Jack - the one who had found Ethan - Charles, Tanner, and Amelie. And now Ethan was among them.
According to their explanation, they had been in this forest for two days. They explained about various monsters and strange creatures they had encountered in this forest.
Ethan gulped. He had prepared himself, but it turned out that what was here was more terrifying.
There are monsters in forms like those in fantasy stories. Lions with white manes, black panthers with glowing eyes that could trap a person in hypnosis, birds without feathers that were so fierce. All sorts of terrible things were in this forest.
This group initially consisted of ten people. Most of them had died in various circumstances.
"Are you good with a bow and dagger?" Charles asked.
"I'm pretty good with it," Ethan replied.
Charles nodded. "Good. You'll need it."
Ethan looked at them in turn. 'I still don't know if they're real or just an illusion. But if they intend to help me in this Trial, I'll accept their help.'
Even so, he wouldn't risk his life to save them. The most important thing is his own life. He has to get out of this Trial no matter what happens.
At this moment, Ethan hoped they were just illusions of this Tower. So he wouldn't have to deal with guilt if he had to let them die later.
"What are we actually supposed to do here?" Ethan finally asked.
"There is a treasure we have to obtain inside this forest. That treasure will give us a power that can help us survive in the Tower," Jack said. Even though a worried expression still clearly reflected on his face, somehow he sounded excited when talking about the treasure.
"Wait, you also want to climb the Tower?" Ethan was surprised.
"Of course! Why do you think we're here?" Amelie replied.
Ethan looked at the others. They were looking at him as if Ethan had just said the strangest thing they had ever heard.
"Oh. Right," Ethan said. 'So they are not illusions.'
After being silent for a few moments, Charles started the conversation again.
"Get ready. It's almost time."
Jack, Tanner, and Amelie nodded. Ethan looked at them in surprise. "Get ready for what?"
"We're going to kill the monster guarding the entrance to the treasure."
Jack, Charles, Tanner, and Amelie geared up again. It turns out they already had armor made from scales of monsters stitched together. They all had swords. There were guns, but no ammunition.
Ethan sighed helplessly. He regretted not asking for guns earlier. He thought there were no such weapons.
"Are you sure we're going to confront it now?" Ethan asked uncertainly.
"We've been observing that monster for a few days and know its pattern. We've also set up some traps," Charles said.
"Don't worry. You just have to follow our instructions," Tanner added with a smile.
Ethan just nodded. A few days... But he didn't see any food around their camp. Another thing he had to consider.
Ethan followed them through the forest with only the moonlight for illumination. Fortunately, they could move through it easily.
Suddenly, they stopped.
"There." Jack whispered to him, pointing.
Ethan followed his finger and saw a Dragon... Wait, what? A Dragon?!
Ethan blinked his eyes several times, hoping that what he saw wasn't what he thought and that it might just be because of the dim light.
But what he saw didn't change. In front of them, he saw a creature that looked like a lizard with a length of five meters, shiny black scales, rows of sharp teeth.
It stood on two legs with claws. Its arms merged with its wings, which also ended with sharp curved claws.
"Is that a Dragon?" Ethan asked full of disbelief.
"Actually, it's a Wyvern," Jack corrected him.
"Is it breathing fire?" Ethan asked.
"Yes," Jack nodded.
"Then how do we defeat it?"
"Just like we said before. We've prepared traps."
Ethan still stared at the mythical creature in front of his eyes. How quickly his reality had changed. Yesterday he was just lifting material for building a new apartment building, suddenly now he was going to kill a Wyvern.
Ethan sighed, accepting his fate. 'I guess this is my reality now.'
"How do we start it?" Ethan asked.
"Before, one of us would lure it from close range. Now, since you're here, you'll shoot the Wyvern and lure it into the trap," Charles explained their plan.
It was actually a simple plan. They had planted a dozen spikes under a hole covered with leaves. They would lure the Wyvern there, and it would bleed to death. That was the main trap; the other traps would bring it down if it flew away.
Somehow, Ethan felt like something would go wrong. But he pushed the thought aside, focusing on the task at hand.
Ethan crept closer to the Wyvern, which was currently devouring another monster. Then he nocked his steel arrow on his bow.
He aimed directly at the monster's eyes. It was very difficult in this dim environment. But he was trained enough.
*SWISH!*
The arrow whistled through the air, luckily embedding itself in the Wyvern's eye a moment later.
The Wyvern let out a pained roar. Torrents of fire spewed from its mouth as it shook its head, searching for someone who dared to shoot its eyes.
Then Ethan stood up, deliberately making himself visible.
The Wyvern's remaining eye found him, and it began charging at him. Ethan dashed toward the trap.
*WOOOSSSHHH!*
A wave of heat swept over his back. Ethan began to doubt if this would work.
~~~