Insomniac Player

The horn echoed a second time.

BWOOOOOOOM!

It rolled through the forest like deafening thunder, shaking leaves from the trees.

Every conversation stopped, and the group members flinched; their hearts felt heavier.

John slowly lowered his mace. "...Please tell me that’s just a really enthusiastic cow."

Damien didn’t answer; he had no time for jokes. His eyes remained fixed on the forest.

That horn... it wasn’t random; it was a command.

Damien glanced at Rahul and Imran, both light on their feet. "You two, with me." He shot a look at John, whose heavy boots already scuffed the dirt. "Hold the cave."

He specifically chose Rahul and Imran to accompany him into the forest because their athleticism and speed made them better suited for quick movement through the terrain. In contrast, John remained behind, as his slower pace and heavier build were less advantageous for this task.

Two kilometres away... A lone goblin patrol immediately stopped walking.

Without hesitation, every goblin turned toward the direction of the horn.

Another patrol did the same; every single goblin who heard the horn turned towards it.

Within minutes, goblins all across the forest abandoned whatever they were doing.

No more wandering, no more random patrols. They were gathering.

Watching the strange procession from behind a bush, Damien quietly whispered, "That’s bad."

Rahul swallowed. "They’re... obeying someone."

Imran’s face grew serious. "So they have leaders now; weren’t they supposed to be stupid?"

Damien slowly shook his head. "It’s news to me too; they have a commander."

A commander could organise enemies, and organised enemies were infinitely more dangerous.

The group hurried back inside the cave. Nobody joked this time.

The atmosphere had changed.

John finally broke the silence. "What’s the plan?"

Damien crouched beside the dirt map he’d drawn the previous day.

He erased nearly all of it with one sweep of his hand.

Rahul spoke with a gloomy face "You spent hours making that."

"It isn’t useful anymore." Damien looked toward the forest.

"The enemy changed. If they change, so do we."

John nodded. "I understood that."

And along with him, everyone gave a nod of approval.

Damien redrew the map. This time, the patrol routes were fewer, but thicker. "They’ve merged."

Imran leaned closer. "Instead of groups of three... they’re moving in groups of eight."

Rahul’s eyes widened. "They’re not searching to hunt anymore; their movement is slow and cautious."

Damien nodded. "They’ve stopped thinking of us as prey anymore; we are now hunters to them, a problem."

Nobody liked those words,

The office worker raised his hand timidly; he was one of the weak-willed in the group. "Maybe... we should leave this cave.

Several people nodded immediately; it sounded reasonable.

Run and hide somewhere else, start over.

Damien quietly considered the idea, then shook his head. "No, if you guys are willing to go, I won’t stop you."

John looked surprised. "I thought you would like the idea of running away."

"I do, when it improves our odds." He pointed toward the forest. "They know this area; we don’t. If we abandon the cave... we lose every advantage we’ve built."

The office worker lowered his head. "...Right."

John grinned at the men. "Our leader has standards; I’ll stay by his side."

"I’m not a leader." Damien refuted

"You’ve spent two days teaching us tactical retreat; who else does that if not a leader"

"Anyone who loves his life" Damien answered and turned towards others. "Everyone listen."

The cave became silent. "If you hear the horn... nobody leaves alone. If you see goblins... don’t chase."

"If you’re tired... say it. I repeat again, don’t act tough unless you want your limbs torn and cut by goblins."

The words settled heavily over the cave. Nobody argued anymore.

The rest of the morning passed preparing.

More stakes, more water and more sharpened spears.

John reinforced the cave entrance with another massive boulder.

Damien watched him struggle. "...Need help?"

John looked offended. "I’ll have you know... I’ve almost moved it."

"It hasn’t moved."

The boulder was bigger than the others.

John gave it another push "It’s thinking about moving."

Rahul walked over and teased. "Maybe it’s shy."

Imran immediately joined in. "We should encourage it."

The four of them pushed together; the boulder rolled barely half a meter.

John wiped sweat from his forehead. "There."

Damien looked at the tiny distance. "...Magnificent."

As evening approached, Damien climbed onto the rocky hill above the cave.

The view stretched across much of the surrounding forest.

What he saw made his stomach tighten.

Smoke- not one column but several.

Campfires. Goblin campfires. Yesterday they had been scattered. Tonight... they formed a rough circle.

Around something, he narrowed his eyes. Figures moved between the flames, larger figures.

Much larger than ordinary goblins, one silhouette stood nearly as tall as himself.

Even at this distance... it carried itself differently. Straight and confident, like a king.

Damien slowly crouched behind a rock. "A Chief."

He didn’t know how; he simply knew. That wasn’t another goblin; that was the one giving orders.

Back at the cave, John noticed Damien’s unusually serious expression. "...Bad?"

Damien nodded. "Worse than wolves."

Everyone fell silent.

"The goblins have a chief."

The frightened teenage girl whispered, "What does that mean?"

Damien answered honestly. "We’ll be fighting an organised army of goblins."

Everyone was afraid, they hastened the preparations and dug more pits

Damien had a feeling... Day Three would decide far more than whether they passed the Tutorial.

He opened his Profile.

---

➤[Player: Damien]

➤[Level: 3

Experience: 25 / 300

Class: N/A

Titles: N/A

Strength: 10

Endurance: 10

Intelligence: 20

Stamina: 10

Agility: 10

Speed: 11

Dexterity: 10

Mana: 10]

➤[Available Stat Points: 3]

---

He pondered where to use the three points. He wanted to raise his physical stats, but he didn’t.

Intelligence had saved his life so far, so he spent all 3 points on it.

Intelligence: 20 → 23

His mind felt refreshed, and the tension eased at once.

◇◇◇

Midday arrived with another horn.

BWOOOOOOOM!

This time, everyone was aleart, including John. "Stop with those horns already. Ahh, I’m hungry."

Damien stood. "Shall I serve you brunch, Lord John Jones?"

John looked horrified. "That’s rude."

Damien paid no heed and said harshly. "Get ready, we have no time."

The group gathered around Damien. No one questioned why.

By now... following Damien had become a habit.

He sat on the ground and drew one final map. "The Chief knows we’re here."

Nobody interrupted. "He may have known exactly where we are. But still, he will assume that we may have relocated."

Imran folded his arms. "So he’ll search."

Damien nodded. "No, he’ll sweep."

He drew a wide line through the forest. "Goblins advance, wolves flush, stronger monsters finish."

The cave became silent.

John rested his mace on his shoulder. "And what’s the plan?"

Damien smiled. "We will cheat."

◇◇◇

Everyone received an assignment.

John was assigned to the frontline as usual.

"If anything reaches the cave... hit it."

John saluted dramatically. "Aye aye, Commander."

Rahul: Reserve spears. Support anyone who gets surrounded.

Imran: Watch the flanks. Call out patrol movements.

Mark: carry water.

The teenage girl: bandages.

The office worker: healing herbs.

The old grandpa: just stay alive

Nobody complained, nobody asked for a safer job.

There wasn’t one.

Damien climbed the rocky hill one final time.

The forest stretched endlessly before him. There, he saw movement.

Hundreds of tiny green figures emerged between the trees.

Hundreds of tiny green figures emerged between the trees, walking in rows like a military unit.

Behind them came wolves, stepping stealthly, keeping pace.

The Chief had combined them.

Damien slowly exhaled. "...I was right."

His stomach sank; sometimes being right wasn’t satisfying; it was terrifying.

The horn sounded again.

Every goblin stopped. Then, the Chief stepped forward.

Even from hundreds of meters away, he stood out.

Nearly tall as Damien, broad shoulders. Dark green skin covered in old scars.

Heavy iron armour stolen from countless victims.

A massive cleaver rested across one shoulder.

Unlike every other goblin Damien had seen, the Chief wasn’t screaming.

He wasn’t raging; he simply watched like a hunter.

Then, the Chief slowly raised the cleaver. The entire goblin army roared as one; the sound rolled across the forest like an avalanche.

John quietly swallowed when he heard the roar. "That’s... a lot of goblins."

Rahul looked pale and started reciting the Hanuman Chalisa.

Imran forced a smile; no words came.