The tension in the clearing was thick, but it quickly broke as a few familiar faces from the other groups spotted their classmates. Shouts erupted, voices filled with a mix of relief and disbelief.
"Harry? Tim? You guys made it!" Sam, one of Harry's classmates, called out as he stumbled forward. His clothes were torn, and his face was smudged with dirt, but he managed a shaky grin.
Harry waved lazily, his knife dangling from his hand. "Yeah, still breathing. For now."
Sam wasn't alone.
Several other classmates from the other groups hurried over, their expressions a mix of exhaustion and relief.
"Oh my God, it's really you guys!" one girl exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes.
"What happened to you?" Harry asked, his tone casual as always, though his sharp gaze darted between the familiar faces.
"We… we were running," Sam said, glancing nervously back toward the forest. "Those monsters were… scary."
Before Harry could press for details, his attention was drawn back to the center of the clearing where three figures stood out from the rest of the group.
Harry sighed inwardly, watching as the three figures began to speak, their tones serious and formal, almost like NPCs in a game.
"Well, this should be interesting," Harry muttered under his breath. Tim, standing beside him, gave a half-hearted chuckle, clearly too exhausted to share Harry's humor.
The burly man was the first to speak, his voice booming across the clearing. "Kyle," he said, introducing himself with a slight nod toward the other two. "We were running from… something. Big, scary, and dangerous."
The spiky-haired woman tilted her head, her sharp eyes narrowing. "Jess," she said curtly. "My group was chased by monkey-like monsters. Bigger ones. They climbed through the trees, fast and smart. We barely got away."
The wiry man adjusted his grip on his spear, his expression grim. "Darrow," he said, his voice calm but tired. "Flying goblinlike monsters. They are called Grimlings, I think. They'd dive at us from above, picking people off. We're lucky we survived."
Harry's brow furrowed as he listened.
He glanced at Sam, who nodded in confirmation. "It's true," Sam said quietly. "Miss Jess saved most of us."
Harry muttered to himself, "Flying goblins, killer monkeys, and those giant nightmares… is this a survival trial or some twisted zoo?"
Tim elbowed him lightly. "You're making jokes again."
"What else am I supposed to do? Cry?" Harry shot back, but there was no real bite to his tone.
The three leaders continued their discussion, their voices overlapping as they debated their next move.
Harry only half-listened, instead focusing on the other familiar faces around him. He noticed Megan, a classmate from Darrow's group, standing off to the side. "Megan!" he called, waving her over.
She hurried to his side, her face pale but relieved to see him. "Harry," she breathed. "You… you made it."
"Barely," he replied, his tone light. "Grimlings, huh? That sounds fun."
She shuddered. "It wasn't. They were relentless."
Before Harry could ask more, Jess's sharp voice cut through the chatter. "Alright, listen up! We don't have time to stand around swapping stories. The monsters are still out there, and we need to move."
Darrow nodded. "The fourth direction is our only option. The other three are blocked by those things."
Kyle hefted his club, his expression grim. "Then let's move."
Jess turned to the crowd. "Stick together. We'll take a break once we're far enough away. Keep your weapons ready, and don't wander off."
The group began to shuffle into motion, their initial hesitation fading as the leaders took charge. Harry fell in step with Tim, his gaze flicking back toward the forest.
"Do you think they'll follow us?" Tim asked nervously.
Harry didn't answer right away. His grip on his knife tightened as he thought about the glowing red eyes and the crashing trees. "Let's just hope they're too busy smashing trees to notice us."
They moved quickly, the forest blurring around them as they pushed forward. The sounds of their footsteps and heavy breathing filled the air, but Harry couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them.
After what felt like an eternity, Jess finally called for a stop. The group collapsed onto the forest floor, their exhaustion evident.
People pulled out their rations, the sound of wrappers crinkling and water bottles unscrewing breaking the tense silence.
Harry leaned against a tree, his legs aching but his mind still racing.
"This… is going to be a long day," he muttered to himself.
Tim flopped down beside him, panting heavily. "So," he said between breaths, "do you have a plan?"
Harry glanced over at the leaders, who were huddled together again, presumably plotting their next move. "No idea," he said honestly. "But I'm guessing it involves more running."
Tim groaned. "Urgh... Just what I needed."
Harry allowed himself a small smile, though it quickly faded as his eyes drifted back to the forest.
Whatever was out there, it wasn't going to give them much time to rest.
So, he decided to use it as efficiently as possible.
'First, let's recall those system messages...'
Harry has received a few messages, aside from the first two.
They told him about his stamina running low, his health decreasing slightly and his willpower and wisdom increasing by 1.
"If there are stats... then..."
As a fantasy lover, he knew there must be a status window as well. The problem was finding the right way to open it - as it was often different in games and webnovels. From [Status Open] to even [Open Sesame].
Tim glanced over, raising an eyebrow. "What are you mumbling about?"
"Nothing important," Harry said quickly, waving him off. "Just… thinking."
Tim shrugged and returned to gulping down his water, leaving Harry to his thoughts. He stared at the ground, wracking his brain for how to trigger whatever system interface was lurking just out of reach.
"Let's start with the basics," he murmured. "Show Status. Open Stats. Display Info."
Nothing happened.
He frowned, tilting his head. "Stats Display. Personal Info. Character Sheet."
Still nothing.
Harry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe it's voice-activated? Or… do I have to think it? Okay, let's try… [Show Status]."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, faintly, there was a flicker in the air before him. A translucent interface shimmered into existence, jagged and cracked like fractured glass, its edges pulsing faintly with a dim, ominous blue light.
[***** Status: Personal Fragment]
Harry blinked, stunned. "Whoa… that actually worked?"
Tim, noticing the look on Harry's face, leaned over. "What worked?"
Harry ignored him, focusing on the display before him. The fractured interface was unlike any status window he'd seen in games or novels. The background seemed to shimmer faintly, and each word was etched in sleek, angular text that seemed to hum with quiet power.
_ _ _ _ _
[ Personal Fragment ]
Name: Harry
Health: 88% (Condition: Minor fatigue and soreness)
Stamina: 64% (Condition: Tired)
Core Attributes:
• Willpower: 9
• Wisdom: 11
End Points: 5
_ _ _ _ _
Harry tilted his head, studying the numbers. "Well, it's not much, but it's a start." His gaze lingered on the title, 'Personal Fragment.' "Fancy. I like it."
'And, from what it shows, I am pretty sure I need to get messages about other attributes and stuff for them to be shown on the status.'
'I guess this is self-discovery type system.'