"Seems like you're finally awake"
Arc awoke in a transport vehicle to a man who looked to be in his mid twenties with blond hair, a scruffy undershave and a salesman's smile.
His memory was still a little hazy from just waking up but it was slowly updating. He remembered himself and all the dropouts entering a transport vehicle en-route to the orphanage and were asked to drink something, probably sleeping pills.
He could also remember the tears down Amy's face as she held both himself and Katie tightly, begging them not to leave.
He could recall the farewells from the younger children as well as the scorn and laughter from the older ones who bid good riddance to the talentless faliures. Then there was the indifference from his twin brother as he was getting deported.
"To think he never left my side when we were kids. Well, I guess once he got strong enough to defend himself, he had no more use for me"
Arc thought to himself. Ash Stollen who was once a timid boy grew stronger, cooler, more talented, more handsome and even taller than him. Ash became everything he wanted to be and left him as an example of what not to.
Arc cleared those thoughts from his mind—in spite of how his brother saw him, he still cared for Ash. He turned to look at Katie but.... something was off. Infact, there was something off about all the other dropouts.
It was the utter look of terror on their faces
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Oh....you missed my explanation since you were asleep. Well then, I guess I'm going to have to say it again....."
His salesman smile was constant as he continued
".....the story about the orphanage is a lie made up by the brass to keep you trainees in line. Truth is, you're all going to die"
Arc sat there dazed, it took a few seconds for those words to sink in. His mind was filled with several ambiguous questions as he managed to let out a short—
"H-Huh?"
"We're actually headed to Alpine forest, located in one of the worlds cleared by government hunters and sold to the cradle for use"
He pointed at Arc
"We're going to let you faliures roam free in the forest where you'll be eaten by beasts and die. Sounds fun, right?"
Arc jumped from his seat in a rage with his fist tightened to punch the man, he couldn't forgive someone who made light of human lives.
However, he was frozen midway— he couldn't move out of fear due to the immense aura exuding from that man
"I am a Master Class 3 Warrior, boy. Did you really think you'll awaken some kind of power to beat me just because you're angry? Fool"
"W-Why?! Why do you people kill dropouts?"
"You're all products of the cradle and have been trained in it's halls. We can't risk having you faliures leaking sensitive information about us"
"We would neve—"
"There are several people who would—faliures mad about getting axed and trying to seek petty revenge. You're a liability as long as you're alive which is why you must die for the sake of justice"
"You bastard, you're saying you killed my friends—Andy, Dean, Craig, Haruka, Wei-Ling, Daniel, Michelle, Daichi, Sugu....."
He kept on calling the names of his companions and seniors who were deported before him. People who he shared strong bonds with and wondered what they were doing every morning he got out of bed.
"The world's unfair, kid. Deal with it. Besides, it's not like we're complete monsters. You can think of this as a trial of sorts"
"A trial?"
"If you manage to make it out of the forest alive, the cradle might have some use for you. We'll train you to become spies or assassins for the cradle, it's the only way you can survive"
Arc regained his composure and was able to move again. He looked at the man dead in the eyes
"You won't take back your promise, no matter what?"
"What do you mean?"
"If all five of us make it out alive, you won't pull something else to try and thin the herd?"
"Hahaha, Ofcourse not, I swear"
"Alright then, I guess we'll all see you on the other side—"
"—That's impossible and you know it! We're going to die!!!"
Katie finally spoke, holding her head with despair.
"We're going to run a farm together, aren't we? Don't worry, I promise we'll make it out alive"
Arc sat back down with the determination to survive. He had promised Amy they'll meet again someday and Katie that they'll start a farm together.
Arc Stollen had never once broken a promise to a girl in his life, and now he had made one more— that they will all survive.
The dropouts were dropped off with their luggage deep within the forest with despair consuming their hearts. They all knew it was impossible to survive— well, everyone except Arc.
"Alright guys, let's start with introductions. I'm Ash Stollen, to make it out of this alive, we need to work together—"
"What sorta nonsense are you spewing? This place is crawling with beasts reaching up to tier 12 and you're a loser who can't even use any class!"
Honoka retorted. This resonated with the other three, filling them with even more despair.
"The goal here isn't defeating beasts, it's to survive. We can evade, trap or trick them, we don't have to face them in a head on battle. Our chances might be low but they are not zero, and as long as there's life, there's hope."
He stretched out his hand
"What do you say? I may be a failure with ygg but I know a lot about beasts including their preferences, behavior and weakspots. Let's survive together!"
"I-I'm Honoka Ishigami, class, mage. I can only use weak fire and freezing spells"
She replied, grabbing onto his hand. She wanted to believe in the idealism of the boy before her, in hope.
"I'm Niel Strange, mage. I can create any type of liquid. Also, I can use wind slash"
"I'm Carl White, warrior. I have super enhanced strength on my right arm, aside from that, I'm just like you"
"And I'm a tamer who can only control tier 18 or lower birds, but you already know that"
The team had assembled with Arc at it's core and they all had one goal— survival.
Arc had Katie survey the area with some birds before executing a game plan.
"Did you find them?"
"Yes. A pack of silverwolves down the hill thirty clicks out and poison-fanged coyotes fifteen"
Arc couldn't help but smile at his good fortune.
"Listen everyone. Silverwolves and Poison-fanged coyotes are fierce competitors, they fight each other every time they meet. What's more, Silverwolves have insane tracking abilities and value their pack, if one is killed, they'll all track down and hunt it's killer till they are dead"
"Then why the hell are you smiling? We're going to get killed!" Honoka retorted
He laid out the plan for them to execute
"First, Katie will pinpoint the silverwolves exact location with a bird. Honoka and Neil, work together to create an ice pike for Carl to throw. The target, a single wolf. Once it's injured or dead, the rest of the pack will pick up our location and come this way. They'll run into the coyotes on the way and stop to fight. That'll be our cue, we'll all slide down the hill with an ice slide from Honoka and Neil will create a large amount of oil to douze the area of that battle, then we set it on fire"
They carried out the plan without a hitch and the two packs burnt in the fire.
"Beasts tend to avoid unnecessary danger like a forest fire—They'll flee from the area creating a straight path to our short term goal. We'll run through the fire with freezing spells to reach the marsh wasteland in the east. Tier 20 and 21 monsters stay at unfavorable habitats to avoid strong predators. We'll be able to hunt for dinner there and camp for the night, then re-strategize in the morning to get out of here"
They arrived at dusk where they hunted a couple rabbits and Ash made beef stew. They filled their bellies and slept under the night sky hopeful for tomorrow.
"*pant pant pant"
The dropouts could taste the saltiness of the sweat dripping down their faces, the feeling of their legs about to give out, the fear of being chased by a tier 14 mud scorpion and the hope of freedom ahead.
It's been four days since they were dropped in the forest and under Arc's leadership, they managed to survive so far. They were finally at the home stretch— a ropebridge after which was a habitat for just tier 18-21 beasts. Once they get through there, freedom awaits.
"Ack"
Katie fell before reaching the bridge with the mud scorpion right behind her. She accepted that was her limit and she was going to die here
"Guess this is it for me"
*STIIIINGGGGG
"A-Arc?"
She opened her eyes and saw herself in the arms of Arc Stollen. He ran back and carried her, getting grazed by the stinger in the process.
Arc ran with all his might through the bridge with his fellow dropouts and made it to the other side. They cut the bridge and the scorpion fell into the gorge.
"Phew, that was close.... we're almost home!!!"
They cheered in unison. Ash turned back to face Katie
"Our dream of a farm is close at han—"
*Keetchaw
Huh? He felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down and saw blood—a knife sticking out of his side and the hand holding it.
Arc realized he had been stabbed. His assailant, Katie Byron.
"K-Katie, Why?"
"I'm sorry, Arc"
He turned to look at Honoka and Neil who both unleashed a fire spell and wind cutter on him. He couldn't dodge and took it head on.
"You're a good person, Arc. Which is why it pains us to this"
Carl said picking him up and throwing him down into the gorge. He watched his fellow dropouts look away as he fell into the abyss, confused about why they chose to kill him.
***************
****************
Four Days Ago
Before Arc woke up in the transport vehicle
"S-So you're saying unless we survive in that forest, we're going to die, Mr—"
"Craig. Just call me Craig."
The bad news filled the four dropouts with despair as Craig moved him lips once again
"At least, that's how it is normally"
"...."
"This time around, even if you escape, I'll kill you all myself"
"W-What? Why?!"
Katie couldn't believe her ears. Their final thread of hope was gone
"Orders from the top. However, there is only one scenario where I won't have to kill you all. I'll do it myself but I don't want that on my conscience"
"What is it?!"
"You will only survive if Arc Stollen isn't among the survivors...in other words"
He gazed at them with the eyes of a tiger
"Make sure Arc Stollen doesn't survive in Alpine forest!"
*****************
******************
Present
Arc got out to the shore a little banged up but alive— lucky for him, there was a small river at the bottom of the abyss which saved him.
He was still confused about why his comrades just tried to kill him, however, he had bigger problems at the moment— the mud scorpion which fell earlier was before him and recognized him as prey.
Arc pulled out the knife stuck in his hide and the one he was carrying, prepared to go down fighting.
The scorpion charged him.... and was killed with a single strike? Naturally, it's killer wasn't Arc but something lurking in the abyss.
"No way....this is..."
A twelve foot tall wolf with black fur and white trails appeared from the darkness like it materialized from thin air. Arc knew exactly what it was and despair filled his thoughts.
"I-It's a Shadowwolf.....a tier 9 disaster class beast!"
Arc knew he was dead right then and there... before he could even blink, he was swiped into the wall by the tier 9. The single impact robbed all the the power in his body.
He got up and stood there, frozen. The tier 9 and everything else was frozen, like time had stopped. Arc could still move though, he was frozen in place because of something else—the dangerous, ominous aura he sensed behind him that made the shadowwolf seem like an infant.
He knew in his gut that if he turned around, he could die.
"Are you giving up? just like that?"
It was a woman's voice behind him— a soft, alluring, seductive voice.
"What about your promise? And all your efforts? Don't you want revenge for your friends who died? Revenge against the friends who betrayed you? Answer me, Arc Stollen!"
"Ofcourse I do! And I don't want to die! But those are all just empty wishes... I can't escape, I'm going to die"
She moved closer and whispered in his ear
"Do you want power?"
"Ofcourse, I do. I want power to defeat this beast, to be stronger than everybody else!"
The ominous aura disappeared as her alluring voice uttered something Arc couldn't have possibly imagined.
"Well then, I will give you that power, my dear husband"
He turned to look at her— her unparalleled beauty, her long hair, darker than the blackest night, her ruby red eyes that seemed to draw him in, her lips which tasted like raspberries as she kissed him with her tongue dancing around in his.
The kiss was brief but felt like an eternity, and then he heard a voice in his head.
[Contract Sealed: Connected To The Overlord System ]