The thrill of discovering we had skills had worn off, and now rested something more solemn—the weight of survival.
Darkness had fallen, and the forest was no longer silent.
Creaks of branches. Wolves in the distance. The buzz of unseen insects at night. Our fire was the only light, casting shadows on the tense faces of my classmates.
No one had the courage to say it out loud, but we all felt it. We weren't by ourselves in the woods.
The first real issue developed when people started complaining about hunger.
"Haven't eaten today…," one of the girls complained, rubbing her belly.
"We're in the forest," a buzz-cut man mocked. "Aren't we just supposed to hunt or something?"
Hunting with what?" Rika shot back. "Only a few of us are warriors, and no one is armed."
That put him in his place.
Someone even suggested looking for fruit, but the gatherers had already looked around and returned with almost nothing. The berries they did find were sour or spotty.
I decided to speak out.
"I might be able to help," I ventured.
The others regarded me, some of them doubtful.
"How?"
I rose to my feet and approached the small heap of collected food. I used God's Eye, concentrating on a clump of berries.
Sourberry (Common): Non-toxic, slightly bitter taste, edible.
Rottenfruit (Spoiled): Stomach ache is caused by eating it.
I selected the ones that were safe and discarded the bad ones.
"These are safe to eat," I told them. "Do not touch the others."
A few people grumbled to one another, but eventually, someone picked a berry and hesitantly took a bite.
"It's… sour, but it's okay."
The rest of us followed along, eating cautiously what little we had. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
Rika nodded at me in approval.
I felt a slight sense of relief—but I knew this was only a temporary fix.
We needed real food.
Aside from food, we also had a more pressing problem on our hands.
Water.
Some of the students had tried sipping water from a nearby puddle, but the instant God's Eye informed us that it contained bacteria, I stopped them.
"We need to boil water before drinking it," I mentioned.
The thing? We had fire, but we did not have a suitable container to boil water in.
There was one girl named Haruka who had a crafting skill. She tried to make something out of bark and leaves, but it kept falling apart.
It was clear. Our lack of proper equipment was cutting us out.
Dehydration would get to us before hunger at this rate.
As the evening passed, people became more restless.
Even the strongest ones among us realized—we were not going to last very long if things continued this way.
Tensions mounted.
A student named Shiro, one of the stronger ones, jumped up. "This is not working," he told them. "We are wasting time sitting here."
What do you suggest?" Rika asked, her voice firm but even.
Shiro crossed his arms. "Simple. We don't wait for food and water to just show up. We hunt. We fight. We take what we need."
His words stirred a reaction. Some nodded in agreement, while others seemed uneasy.
"Hunting what?" Rika asked. "We have no idea what's out there.".
"Then we learn," Shiro spat. "Some of us have combat skills. If we're going to get out of this alive, we need to take the risk."
Silence fell.
No one wanted to admit it, but he was right. Sitting around doing nothing wasn't going to accomplish anything.
And charging into the unknown like a fool? No, that was no better either.
I clenched my fists. If only I had a better skill than appraising things.
And then, before Shiro or Rika spoke another word, something cut across the night.
A low, growling howl.
The group froze in place.
A second howl sounded back, nearer. And then—agitation in the trees.
"Something's approaching," one student breathed.
The first survival test… was starting.