The taste of victory was blood, a mix of the goblins' and their own. After the last of the energy had been absorbed, a deep exhaustion settled over the team.
They were battered and bruised, but a fierce new energy burned in their eyes. Their confidence was higher, their will stronger.
For the first time since arriving in this nightmare world, they knew they could do more than just survive. They could win.
They found a hidden spot in the rock wall to rest and tend to their wounds. Rina moved between them, her hands glowing with a soft, green light as she mended the worst of the cuts.
The adrenaline was gone, leaving behind the hard reality of their situation, but now it was a reality they felt ready to handle.
Dante leaned back against the cool stone, his mind racing, listing their advantages. They had strength, and they had knowledge.
The answers the Goddess Liora had given them were the foundation of their entire plan. He went over them one by one, a mental checklist for survival.
The Price: Only six people will make it out of this forest alive.
The Path: The forest is split into zones of growing danger, giving them a way to manage risk.
The Power: They get stronger by killing enemies and absorbing their energy.
The Prize: Hidden items are scattered in the forest, and they have a map to some of them.
The Final Trial: A giant Bone Dragon guards the only exit.
The World's Dangers: The forest itself is filled with natural traps like sinkholes and cursed fog.
Room for Growth: Their skills can evolve through intense experiences and hard trials.
The Warning of History: Betrayal is common. A past hero won by killing all the others.
The Unknown Future: The kingdoms they are going to may try to control or enslave them.
They had a plan for survival. Now, they just had to follow it.
As the last of their wounds were healed, a sound cut through the quiet of the woods.
It was a scream.
A human scream, raw with pain and terror, was cut short with a sick, gurgling sound.
The team was on their feet in an instant, their rest forgotten.
"What was that?" Eric asked, his hand gripping his weapon.
"Trouble," Dante said. "Stay sharp. Let's move."
They moved carefully toward the sound, slipping between the giant trees. The smell of fresh blood hit them long before they saw the scene. They looked through the thick bushes into a small clearing and found a slaughter.
The bodies of at least five students were scattered on the ground. In the center of the bloody scene, one of their former classmates was still alive, though just barely. A longsword was pierced clean through his chest, pinning him to the forest floor. His eyes, wide with shock and pain, begged for help as he coughed up blood.
Drip. Drip.
His life was fading with every weak breath.
Standing over him was another group of students. It was a team of ten, all male, all splattered with the blood of their victims. There was no horror in their eyes, no shock. There was only anger, and the cold, smug look of predators.
Dante looked at his own team. Their faces were masks of disbelief and horror. This wasn't a fight against monsters. This was murder. This was the betrayal the Goddess had warned them about, happening right in front of their eyes.
The leader of the other team, a tall, muscular student with a cruel smirk, placed his boot on the dying boy's shoulder. He gripped the handle of his sword.
Shhhlk.
With a wet, tearing sound, he pulled it free. The boy gasped, a final, desperate plea for life. The leader just laughed, raised the bloody sword high, and stabbed down again.
Thunk.
He plunged the blade deep into the student's heart, ending his life with a final, hateful thrust.
A choked scream tore its way from Erica's throat.
It was a sound of pure, unfiltered horror. It was a sound that shattered the silence of the clearing. It was a sound that made every head snap in their direction.
Ten pairs of bloodthirsty eyes, fresh from a slaughter, fixed on them. The leader's smirk widened, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light. The human element had found them.