SURVIVAL 3: LEVEL 1 STAGE 1 – NEINUKO

Under the full moon and cold night, questions that were hard for me to answer continued to haunt my mind.

"But I also don't know my classmate very well. All I know is that we're in the same class and we're not that close. We don’t talk much and barely know him. But what's more upsetting when he didn’t even know himself," the bubble girl she said.

We tend to know others who are not closely related to us but not the ones we are the closest to.

"Hello. Um... can I join you?" the modest girl with a twin brother asked us. She brought some fruit and handed it to us. She wears a white blouse, a green ribbon with stripes, a green skirt with stripes, and black shoes for her school uniform.

“Of course! The more the merrier!" the bubbly girl replied happily.

This vibe made me feel at ease.

Everyone was surprised when another boy—out of breath, ran towards us.

"Oh, what happened to your patrol?" my bubbly friend asked.

"G-Get out of here. The monster is chasing us!" The boy pushed us to run away. "Let's get out of here. Run!"

"Come on!" my two new friends called me, so I immediately ran as well. We just ran and followed the boy.

It is dark, with only the moon as our source of light. After the race, we rested first. It looks like the monster couldn't catch up with us.

The three of us ate the mangoes that had fallen under a mango tree. The two continued talking.

I fell asleep completely. I may not be physically worn out, but my mental state is draining me.

Where am I? Is this a school?

The happy faces of the people. There are students, teachers, and parents everywhere. I saw my classmates. They were laughing while I was confused. Someone pulled my hand. We went to a place filled with trees, plants, and flowers. He hugged me and said words that confused me.

"Wake up! The monster is chasing us!" Someone is shaking my shoulder.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes.

"Let's go!" I got up and I pulled by the two of them.

"Hurry up!"

"Rawrrr!"

"What's going on?" I questioned the two as we ran.

"Ahhh!" I shrieked out in fear.

The monster was only about ten meters away from us. I can see that one and a half a human tall and three humans wide is its size. Its head is a combination of dog and cat. It uses its long four legs to run fast. It growled. From the light coming from the moon, I could see how deadly its fangs can be. Its color is brown, black. Something caught my eye again. Its fangs are colored... red?

We are hereby the river. We had nowhere else to go.

"Leader, what are we going to do?!" asked someone.

"There's no other choice," the leader with eyeglasses replied glaring and staring at the monster seriously.

"We'll fight that," replied the chubby leader and he pulled out a stick with a sharp end.

"What?!" we chorused.

"Boys!" the leaders called them. They immediately came out from hiding behind the trees.

The boys blocked us as if to protect us away from the monster. I saw my classmate. He stared at the monster while holding the stick tightly in his left hand. So, he is left-handed.

Strange, there is something wrong with our situation. Is this really what the hologram means about the Tri-Games? I don’t know what kind of game Tri-Games are, but I feel like we’re playing a survival game right now. 24 vs 1.

"Yuck!" A girl is disgusted by what we witnessed next.

“*buuwarlkkk*”

It also made me feel sick of what I saw. In the stomach of the monster, big worms are moving inside its stomach. There was so much of it that it was embossed on its belly.

"Everyone, don't let your guard down!" A reminder to us by our leader with eyeglasses. "Go!" they signaled.

The boys immediately pierced the monster’s whole body with sharp wooden sticks, so the monster cried out in pain.

"Rwaaah!"

"One more!" commands the chubby leader.

The boys gradually attack the monster using their sticks. As we continue to struggle, I'm thinking of the odds again. There is something wrong here.

First, why is the river too shallow?

Secondly, when the Tri-Games start, it's unfair to the players because we don't have a weapon against the monster, regardless of fighting 24 vs 1. The monster attacks a human being so we can still lose. We weren’t aware of when and where specifically will the game start.

Third, with the size of this forest, is it just a coincidence that we encountered the monster? If yes, why only tonight? We’ve been here since early morning—also, the time here seems to be running too fast compared to Earth. Did the monster mean to show up at night because it targets us from the very beginning? And since it is at night, it has a better chance of winning. Or maybe because it's hiding something?

There are only ten boys here. I saw something dark red on the monster's fang, it was probably blood. If my suspicion is correct, the two missing boys are injured or worse, dead.

The monster is still standing and groaning. The boys managed to pierce its body once, but there was barely any blood coming out of it.

"What the?!" panicked a boy as we witnessed that the monster one can cure itself rapidly.

Why don't you attack us? Are you being vigilant, or do you also have a weakness?

"Leader, what now?"
"There's nothing we can do!"
“Let’s run back.”

After a few minutes of deep thought… I hope this will work.

"Whaaa! 'Don't! Take me down!" a tanned boy shouted as the monster lifted him, gaping. This is bad!

*splash*

"Ahhh!" The monster wriggled and released the boy. We helped him get up and we ran away from the monster.

"Urraaawwwrrr!" the monster cries in pain.

We saw the monster moan in pain. Its body gradually decomposes until it is completely reduced to ashes that are strewn with sand and blown away by the wind.

"W-What happened?" questioned someone.

I sighed because the boy who was nearly eaten was now safe.

"W-Why?" I mumbled because their looks were frightening.

The two leaders approached me. "What happened? How did you end the monster?" the leader with eyeglasses asked.

"Well, first, I wondered why we were attacked tonight. Second, the monster looked like a hybrid of a dog and a cat. Third, it had worms in its stomach. Fourth, why didn't it attack us all when we got close to the river?”

“And then?” the bubbly girl persistently queried.

“The answer is that the monster is afraid of water and salt. Animals are more vigilant at night compared to humans, this secures a probable win for the monster. Its face is a combination of dog and cat. Aren't most dogs and cats afraid of water? We managed to pierce its body through its stomach. The stomach with worms in it dies when you pour salt on it. There’s a possibility that it might not die completely but the effect is painful. The proof of that was why it didn't attack us right away when we were near the river because it was afraid of it.” I gazed into the river.

“Actually, this river water is too salty, confirming it is very dense, so we were able to stay afloat even if it was too shallow, with a depth of a little higher than our knees. And because the monster was afraid of water and salt, I splashed its wounded stomach with worms inside with salt water from the river."

I made them confused earlier when I threw water on the monster’s stomach using an empty coconut shell lying on the ground I just got somewhere. Gladly, there were nearby coconut trees near the river.

“Aha!” a blonde funny boy exclaimed. “That’s why when I went there with a wounded ankle, it hurt like hell!”

But the mystery does not end here. I looked out at the quiet river behind us. The mystery is why the river is too shallow and why our clothes and hair have become waterproof before.

The leaders tapped me on the shoulder and smiled. The others also thanked me.

I did not expect my classmate to approach me. He stood right next to me and brought his mouth close to my ear.

"Well done," he whispered with a subtle smile then walked away.

That made me smile.

"Hurry up, three of you! Don’t get lost with the group!" the chubby leader shouted, so we immediately ran.

I stopped when I was about to leave the mysterious river. I took a fairly large rock and threw it into the river.

*tchg*

I wasn't too surprised by what I heard.

***

It's now morning. Fresh air feels good. Others are still asleep. I immediately ran to the river barefoot. When I arrived, I was shocked and amazed at what I saw. 

"Hey"

I gasped when I heard a boy's voice. I turned around and my classmate called me.