There was no path forward but through the corpse trees. As the trees marked the territory of The Follower, the level fourteen monster of terrarium three, there was nothing they could do but stay on top of the hill, a good while away from the monster’s territory.

  So, the team remained on top of the hill, not daring to descend it. It was a tactical decision.

  “I’ve got good sight lines here!” Bena said, clearly thrilled. Bena’s skill worked better when she could see further. Her skill only ‘increased perception’, according to her, so increasing her range of sight by climbing a hill made her skill more effective.

  Despite the benefits, Viviana didn’t like it. It felt too easy. She wanted more kills, because that’d certainly increase her final ranking.

  Even so she had to acquiesce. If they wanted to kill other teams, they’d have to find them first, and what better place to look for them than at the highest point around?

  So here they were, doing nothing. Viviana got bored of resting, having fully recovered her mana by this point. She decided to experiment with [dash], but for some reason every time she activated it she fell on her face.

  Bena would report on their surroundings approximately every two minutes. She couldn’t keep the ability up forever, but brief flashes of increased perception allowed her to get a relative idea of what was happening.

  Eventually she spotted a group of sky grazers. Thomas had described them as herbivorous monsters that didn’t pose much of a threat. With nothing else to do, Viviana and Lucian went to kill them. The system didn’t even grant experience, given how easy the monsters were to kill, but at least they had something to eat.

  Thomas went to cut some wood to cook the meat. Bena kept watch, occasionally turning on and off her scout skill to briefly scan their surroundings. Lucian went with Thomas, but with the secondary mission of collecting some more sap.

  Soon, they had enough sap for each member, including Lucian, to shift twice. Then, they all grouped up together to eat and discuss plans, watching as the sun in the terrarium dome.

  “How long do you guys think orientation will last?” asked Lucian.

  Viviana shrugged. Various other non-committal answers came from the rest of the group.

  “...I’d think not long. It’s already been a day, and I don’t imagine it lasting any longer,” answered Viviana.

  Bena grabbed another piece of sky grazer, the succulent meat causing fat drops to fall into the fire. “I’m having fun! This is delicious! Let’s stay forever!”

  Thomas frowned, not at all pleased with the idea. “...typically orientation lasts one or two days, but sometimes it can go up to a week. It’s all up to the students running it… but our proctor seemed impatient…”

  Lucian nodded. “If it does go to a week, we’ll need water. The combat jumpsuits they gave us recycle enough water for a couple days at most, but we’ll have to restock at least once if it goes for a week. It’ll be wise to conserve water until we can find it.”

  “We should sleep, then,” said Viviana. “Shifts of night watches.”

  They discussed among themselves for a bit, and a rotation of night watches was created. Viviana unfortunately got the middle shift, but it was fine. She imagined she was more used to it than the others.

  “Wake up!”

  At Bena’s whisper-shout, Viviana immediately bolted awake, hand already on her sword’s hilt. “What’s the situation?”

  “There’s a team in the distance! They didn’t notice us! But they’re coming!”

  Viviana nodded. “Good work. Let’s wake the others.”

  Bena’s sleepy eyes brighted up a little. Together, they shook Lucian and Thomas awake and filled them in.

  Bena explained some more. According to her, she was super confident in her perception range because of the hill she was on and how bright the night was in the terrarium. She was confident that the other team didn’t spot them.

  Of course, she explained all this with a lot of whisper-shouting, in that strange way of talking of hers where every sentence seemed to end in exclamation.

  Some more talking narrowed down the team to be a little to the right of the hill, or the east side of the circular terrarium. They were moving at a light job’s pace. “And they keep on looking behind themselves! Like something's gonna get them!” Bena added.

  Vivana, Lucian, and Thomas exchanged glances. That something was probably The Follower. They had somehow escaped.

  Whatever the case, the unaware enemy team had two flags and three members. If they could kill them all cleanly, it’d be a huge point bonus.

  They formulated a simple plan– creep close and ambush them.

  Lucian suggested using Viviana’s [lightning trap], and luring them to their position. Viviana would’ve liked to as well, but her [dash] experimentation along with her brief sleep made her mana reserves lower than she would have liked.

  So down the hill they crept, getting closer and closer to their unsuspecting prey. Tense moments passed. Viviana prowled a little further ahead, confident in her stealth. Bena suspected they didn’t have a scout, because they didn’t notice anything at all. She got closer and closer, and soon she could make out details. A group of two girls and a guy, all with nervous dispositions. They were looking for something– something that shook them to the core.

  They didn’t notice as Viviana’s team rushed forward. Viviana sprang out of the glowing blue grass. Her blade punched through an unsuspecting girl’s throat. Blood gurgled in her throat as she died.

  [You have slain a level 1 Soulbound.]

  [+3 exp]

  The others reacted quickly. Viviana turned to help out her team. At that exact moment, Thomas stepped forward with an attack of his own. Yet he was parried instantly, a rapid counterblow snaking itself through his guard.

  Thomas screamed as his sword arm was cut off. His assailant was about to finish him off when Bena jumped in deflecting the follow up strike at the last second.

  Thomas stumbled backwards, holding his stump. Bena deflected blow after blow, but her small stature caused her to be pushed back. She just didn’t have the reach to counter attack.

  Viviana rushed forward to help. Knowing that something terrible would happen if she wasn’t fast enough, she activated [dash]. To her surprise she shot forward an extra two meters, uncontrollably off balance and a little over her target position. Viviana recovered anyways, swinging forward with her sword. She felt her blade cut through sinew and tissue and into bone, but not without punishment.

  Her opponent whirled, slashing out in a last ditch effort to take her out before she died. Viviana winced as the blade slammed into her left arm. She watched as her opponent tried to draw back her sword, trying to attack again. Viviana’s unbalanced stance was unable to block. So she didn’t.

  Viviana wrenched out her blade just as her opponent did the same. Her opponent, wild eyes laser focused, activated a skill. Viviana could feel it building. It was [strike].

  It didn’t matter how strong it was, because Viviana’s sword made its way to its target faster, taking her opponent’s sword arm. Another quick slash ended the fight.

  [You have slain a level 1 soulbound.]

  [+3 exp]

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “I’ll help Lucian,” Viviana told Bena. “Help Thomas.”

  Thomas screamed.

  “Thomas!” Bena yelled, grabbing his arm on the ground and running after him. “I didn’t even notice! What should I do?! I’m not a doctor!”

  “Cut… some grass!” Thomas huffed, mid groan. “And wrap it up!”

  Bena started tending to Thomas, wrapping his severed arm in a makeshift splint, lining up the bones and muscles so soulbound regeneration could do the rest.

  It was a wise choice. Setting severed limbs quickly makes soulbond regeneration much faster. It won’t be long before he’s combat ready… I think.

  Viviana moved to help Lucian, who was locked in a one versus one against his opponent. Lucian was winning. But that’s when Bena shouted again.

  “Something's wrong! Something’s shifting!” Bena shouted.

  The air shimmered in front of them. One silhouette. The Follower?

  Two silhouettes.

  Three.

  It was a full team shifting directly on top of them. Viviana’s mind raced. How? The red side air is toxic. And they couldn’t have just held their breath. Bena’s range is so long that she’d detect them switching back and forth.

  They somehow stayed on the shifted side. They somehow survived the toxic air.

  Viviana recognized the danger of the shift ambush and immediately rushed at the closest shifting figure, stabbing forward with her one good arm.

  It was too slow. The three figures finally shifted into full presence, and her blade was immediately parried by a man of impressive stature. Viviana noticed it; each of the ambushers carried something strange in their mouths. A blue, pulsing object that looked like flesh.

  The hulking figure stared down at her and attacked, bringing a massive sword crashing down towards her head. Viviana activated [dash], barely sidestepping the blow. Even though she dodged, the blade impacted the earth, causing the ground to shake with pressure.

  That was [strike], right? So he should be stunned for a second–

  Viviana’s eyes widened as another blow came crashing down, even faster than the last. She twisted herself barely out of the way.

  She afforded herself a glance to the side. Her teammates weren’t doing any better. Bena was being pushed back again, this time taking more damage as she struggled to protect Thomas.

  Lucian was now fighting two opponents at the same time. He was using light versions of [strike] just to keep up. He’d run out of mana soon.

  We’re in no condition to retreat. We have to leave. But how? If we shift, I imagine they’ll follow. They seem to know more about the red side than us.

  There’s no choice. There’s a delay in shifting, and it can buy us some time. If we don’t we’ll all die here!

  “Everyone, shift! Hold your breath!”

  Viviana immediately consumed the sap on the back of her hand while simultaneously parrying and dodging attacks. She stole a glance around. Bena and Thomas had consumed their sap droplets, causing their bodies to glitch back and forth and reform on the other side. Lucian had taken his.

  Tense seconds passed as Bena and Thomas defended against the ambushers as best they could, the both of them hobbling away from their opponents. Lucian activated [dash] to create space between him and his ambushers. Viviana dodged backwards, parrying lighter blows and barely moving out of heavier ones.

  Viviana felt the shift about to happen, deep within her gut. She gulped down air. And then the world changed.

  Gone was the carnage and bloodshed. Viviana nearly breathed in the air, so surprised at just how different everything was.

  Bright red plains, as far as the eye could see. Short red grass swayed gently in the wind. She looked around for her team and saw Bena and Lucian.

  Viviana kept her breath held as she looked up at a blue sky. She looked closer and saw the blue side. It was like their world was turned upside down. Viviana saw the carnage that unfolded, the blood amidst bodies amidst a sea of blue grass. Their ambushers were standing there, now upside down from their position. All four of them. The team we fought and the team that we ambushed were working together.

  At their feet lay Thomas. Viviana didn’t see what happened, but it was easy to assume he didn’t make it. Viviana clicked her tongue. He carried the flags, so now they had no flags in their possession. She could see the enemy team grabbing the flags off his corpse.

  Yet what could they do from here? It all seemed so far away.

  The right move would be to run and hide. Sure, the enemy somehow had an ability to survive the toxic air of the red side, but shifting took precious few seconds.

  Sure enough, someone voiced her thoughts. Well, made hand signals. They were too afraid to open their mouths lest they breathe in the toxic air.

  Lucian pointed to every member of their group, and then made a finger person, made their legs move, and they pointed away. The message was obvious. We should run.

  Bena shook her head, pointing at Thomas’s body. Viviana contemplated both suggestions.

  Lucian had the logical decision. He had no attachment to Thomas, because he was technically on a different team.

  Running was also the logical decision for Viviana and Bena, too. If they bolted in different directions, surely either her or Bena could make it out in the cover of the night, even in spite of the bioluminescence present in the inverted plains.

  But I don’t want to.

  She didn’t know why, but she felt like she couldn’t leave Thomas behind. Sure, he’d resurrect, and technically wouldn’t be eliminated from the game unless his entire team was killed, but if she ran the enemy team would just kill him over and over until they found Bena and her.

  She would be permanently down a teammate. Although Thomas wasn’t useful in a fight, he had knowledge of the terrarium’s properties. Not to mention the sheer power that numbers had in a fight. If she was going to win this entire thing, and get the highest rank possible, she would need all the teammates she could get.

  If running isn’t an option, what can we do? Think!

  There wasn’t much time. Viviana could see three of the enemy team shifting. The one Lucian originally fought stayed on the other side, opting to hold the flags.

  Lucian’s eyes widened as she watched. He looked ready to run for the hills. Bena looked at Viviana, awaiting further instructions.

  Viviana was running out of breath. How did those three shift? Thomas said you needed sap, but they didn’t use it.

  How did they survive the red side in the first place? How did they counteract the toxic air?

  They had something peculiar in their mouths. A blue, fleshy object. Thomas said that blue hounds could survive on the red side for some time due to a special organ.

  The corpse tree had cut open blue hounds impaled on it.

  It means… They've harvested the organs to breathe through. And somehow, that allowed them to shift without sap.

  Viviana’s eyes widened. She had a plan.

  Only a couple seconds had passed since they began to shift. Viviana strained her mind to the limit, placing down two [lightning trap]s where she thought the enemy was going to appear.

  It wasn’t exact, because shifting wasn’t perfectly precise, but a gamble was good enough.

  The enemy team’s figures were becoming clearer now. It meant they were about to appear. Viviana signaled to Bena and Lucian, motioning to lick the remaining sap on their arms immediately. Lucian and Bena did as instructed, but Bena’s eyes widened when Viviana didn’t do the same. She signaled them back. Bena didn’t seem to understand, but Lucian seemed to.

  Viviana waited. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Four Seconds. Five seconds.

  She licked the sap.

  The enemy team appeared before her, faster than she anticipated. Did the organ speed up shifting somehow?

  Viviana immediately activated both lightning traps, causing her mana strain to nearly knock her out. But she endured.

  One trap completely missed, while another just barely clipped onto an enemy. They screamed and stumbled, surprised at the sudden damage. Ten seconds until shift.

  Viviana took the chance to strike, aiming for the organ in his mouth. A simple flick of the blade cut through it. It was enough, and Viviana aimed for another target. Nine seconds til shift.

  She didn’t care when a sword stabbed into her side. Eight seconds til shift.

  Viviana didn’t spare a glance as one of her opponents rushed towards Bena and Lucian. They fought a retreating battle, holding their breaths all the while. Seven seconds till shift.

  She activated [dash], wrenching the sword impaled in her free from its owner– the man she just cut the organ from. She didn’t even wince as the sword wrenched free from her gut, taking out more flesh with it. She aimed at the giant of a man, his quick reaction time allowing him to parry. A quick swing, riposte, and thrust. Viviana was stabbed again. Her opponent seemed to have caught on. Five seconds to shift.

  In that moment ten seconds had passed for Bena and Lucian. They blinked out of existence on the other side. Viviana was left alone. Their opponent who was just fighting them looked confused. He recovered and rushed to help his teammate against Viviana.

  The giant of a man was smarter than he looked. He was doing everything to prevent his organ from being destroyed. Yet Viviana fought with reckless abandon, throwing everything she had forward. Two seconds to shift.

  Viviana saw an opportunity. She activated [dash]. Straight at the giant’s teammate. He didn’t expect the sudden attack and stumbled back in shock. It was that, or the smile on her face. She had won.

  One second to shift. She whirled, switching opponents again. The [dash] was a feint. Her hands closed around the blue organ the giant carried in his mouth and pulled.

  She shifted.