Night fell over Skull Island like a heavy black shroud. The jungle, which was silent during the day, now screamed with the sounds of nocturnal predators and dying contestants.
In a small clearing surrounded by towering ferns, Team Asura had set up camp.
Or rather, Bo had turned the clearing into a death zone.
"A little more tension on this wire..." Bo mumbled, his tongue sticking out in concentration. He was tying a thin, invisible silk thread between two trees. "And... a pinch of Fire-Ant Powder here... perfect."
Magnus sat by the fire (which was hidden in a pit to avoid light detection), eating a roasted boar leg. He watched Bo with curiosity.
"Tiny man... makes webs... like spider," Magnus grunted.
"It's not a web, big guy," Bo grinned, wiping grease on his pants. "It's a masterpiece. They call me a coward? Fine. But cowards live longer because we know how to make people trip."
Kaelen sat on a tree branch high above, meditating. His Dragon Eyes scanned the perimeter.
"Three targets approaching," Kaelen's voice drifted down softly. "Three hundred meters. East. They are moving fast. Light footsteps. Assassins."
Bo froze. "Assassins? Are they strong?"
"Team Viper," Kaelen identified them by their aura. "Led by Cobra, a Spirit Ocean Level 5 poison user. They wiped out two teams in the last hour."
"Level 5?!" Bo squeaked. "I'm only Body Refining Level 8! I'm basically a snack!"
"Trust your traps, Bo," Kaelen said calmly. "And trust Magnus."
Magnus stood up. He cracked his neck. "I... smash... snake."
...
The Jungle - 100 Meters Away.
Cobra was a man who moved like oil. He wore green leather armor and dual curved daggers. Behind him were his two lieutenants, Fang and Venom.
They were tracking the scent of roasted boar.
"Amateurs," Cobra sneered. "Cooking food in the open? They are begging to be killed."
"It's Team Asura," Fang whispered, checking his compass. "The Masked Guy and the Giant. And that fat useless thief."
"The Giant is trouble," Cobra admitted. "But the fat one is a weak link. We kill the fat one first, distract the Giant, and then I poison the Masked Guy. Easy money."
They moved silently, stepping over roots and leaves without making a sound. They were professionals.
Or so they thought.
Cobra stepped on a patch of moss.
Click.
It wasn't a loud click. It was the sound of a dry twig snapping.
"Stop," Cobra hissed, freezing.
But it was too late.
WHOOSH!
The ground beneath Fang and Venom exploded—not with fire, but with White Sticky Foam.
It was Alchemical Glue, a nasty substance Bo had stolen from the Black Market.
"What the hell?!" Venom screamed as the foam expanded instantly, hardening like cement. It trapped them from the waist down. They were stuck to the jungle floor.
"Ambush!" Cobra shouted, jumping backward to avoid the foam.
He landed on a flat rock.
SNAP.
The rock was a trigger. A hidden mechanism released a bent bamboo tree trunk from the canopy.
The tree trunk swung down like a giant bat. Attached to it was a beehive. A Killer Wasp hive.
THWACK!
The tree trunk slammed into Cobra's chest, launching him ten feet into the air. The hive shattered on impact, releasing hundreds of angry, stinging wasps.
"ARGHHH! MY EYES!" Cobra flailed, swatting at the wasps while trying to regain his balance.
"Now, Magnus!" Kaelen's voice commanded from the shadows.
Magnus charged out of the bushes.
"SNAKE... SQUASH!"
Cobra, still disoriented by the wasps, looked up just in time to see a massive fist descending like a meteor.
BAM!
Magnus punched Cobra into the mud. The impact was so heavy that Cobra bounced.
"My ribs..." Cobra gasped, coughing blood. He tried to stab Magnus's leg with his poison dagger.
Ting.
The dagger broke against Magnus's Titan Skin.
Magnus grabbed Cobra by the ankle and slammed him against a tree. Then again against the ground. Like he was beating a dusty rug.
Meanwhile, Fang and Venom were frantically trying to cut themselves free from the hardened foam.
"Help us, Boss!" Fang screamed.
"Hello, gentlemen," a cheerful voice said.
Bo stepped out from behind a fern. He was holding a small crossbow.
"You called me useless?" Bo aimed at Fang. "That hurt my feelings. I demand an apology."
"Screw you, fatty!" Fang threw a shuriken.
Bo ducked (surprisingly fast). "Wrong answer."
Twang.
Bo fired. The bolt didn't hit Fang's heart. It hit the bag of Paralysis Powder hanging on Fang's belt.
Poof.
A purple cloud engulfed both assassins.
"I... can't... move..." Venom slurred, his eyes rolling back. They slumped over, frozen in the foam statues.
The battle was over in thirty seconds.
Cobra lay in the mud, broken and beaten. Magnus stood over him, breathing heavily.
Kaelen dropped down from the tree. He landed gracefully beside Cobra.
"You..." Cobra wheezed, looking at the mask. "You fight... without honor..."
"Honor is a luxury for the dead," Kaelen said coldly. "Where is your flag?"
Cobra laughed, blood bubbling in his mouth. "You think... a flag matters? The Tournament is rigged... Prince Vane has summoned the Blood Demon... everyone on this island is a sacrifice..."
"Blood Demon?" Kaelen's eyes narrowed.
He placed his hand on Cobra's head.
Soul Search.
Kaelen saw a flash of memory: Prince Vane standing before an ancient altar in the center of the island, sacrificing captured contestants to summon a red, demonic entity.
Kaelen crushed Cobra's consciousness, knocking him out permanently.
"Bo, loot them," Kaelen ordered.
"On it!" Bo happily stripped the assassins of their money, weapons, and even their boots. "Look, Boss! A Space Ring! We hit the jackpot!"
Inside the ring, they found it.
A Golden Flag.
"One flag down," Bo cheered, waving it. "Two more to go!"
"No," Kaelen looked toward the center of the island, where a red beam of light was faintly visible in the sky.
"The rules have changed," Kaelen said grimly. "Prince Vane isn't trying to win the tournament. He is trying to massacre everyone to feed a demon."
"What?" Bo dropped the flag. "A demon? Like, a real demon from hell?"
"A Blood Spirit," Kaelen corrected. "If it fully manifests, it will eat every living soul on this island. Including us."
Magnus growled. "I... hate... demons."
"We need to stop him," Kaelen said. "But first, we need an army."
"Army?" Bo looked around the empty jungle. "It's just us three!"
"No," Kaelen pointed to the east, where the sounds of fighting echoed. "There are forty-seven other teams on this island. They are scared. They are hunted. If we save them... they will follow us."
Kaelen picked up the Golden Flag. He infused it with his Dragon Qi.
The flag glowed brightly, becoming a beacon in the dark night.
"Bo," Kaelen smiled behind his mask. "You wanted to be famous? Tonight, we are going to be the biggest target on the island."
"Why?!" Bo cried.
"Because," Kaelen planted the glowing flag on top of the highest rock. "We are going to draw all the enemies to us. And then... we will crush them all."
System Alert: Void Cauldron - Third Seal reacting to Blood Energy.
The stakes just got higher. The Survival Game had turned into a War.
Author Note: "If you like the story, please vote with Power Stones! It helps me write faster."