Insomniac Player

The goblin’s body wasn’t impressive. Up close, it looked even uglier.

Its green skin was covered in dirt and old scars, while its crude leather armour smelled like something had died inside it weeks ago.

Damien crouched beside the corpse anyway.

The rescued teenager watched him with wide eyes, his name was Mark.

"...What are you doing?" Asked Mark.

"Looting," Damien answered in a muffled voice

The 18-year-old teenager blinked. "...You’re robbing the dead goblin!?"

Damien looked up. "It tried to rob me of my life."

"No, I mean,our weapons are better. Why do you need goblin’s weapon?" The boy uttered..

Damien ignored him; explaining things made his head ache.

He searched the goblin methodically.... one rough leather pouch, three smooth stones, a chipped bone knife.

A strip of dried meat that Damien immediately decided belonged exactly where it was, not in his mouth.

The second goblin carried another stone knife, a length of rope made from twisted vines, and a ragged fur cloak.

Damien took everything except the meat.

John raised an eyebrow. "Leaving the food?"

"I don’t trust anything that smells aggressive."

"...Food can smell aggressive?"

"Sniff on it; this one can declare war."

John nodded seriously. "No, thank you. I respect your decision."

The rescued teen stared at the strange pair.

One calmly looting monsters, the other discussing hostile food.

Had he accidentally found the two weirdest people in the Tutorial?

"...Thank you," he repeated.

Damien stood. "No problem."

Then he immediately looked away from the boy and toward the forest. "We’re leaving."

John adjusted his mace. "Cave hunting?"

Damien nodded. "Cave hunting."

---

They continued deeper into the woods.

This time, the rescued teenager quietly followed behind them.

Damien noticed almost immediately. "You’re following us?"

The boy rubbed the back of his neck. "I don’t really have any better idea."

"That’s true." John laughed. "Congratulations, you’ve accidentally joined us."

The boy smiled in relief. "I have?"

"I don’t know." John shrugged. "It sounds official, though."

Damien sighed. "I haven’t even agreed."

"Too late, we have a member now." John winked at the boy.

"...That’s not how groups work."

"It is as if I say it confidently."

◇◇◇

As they walked, Damien slowed his pace.

He wasn’t looking ahead; he was looking sideways. Then behind, then upward.

John noticed. "You lost something?"

"I’m watching."

"For what?"

"Everything."

The giant frowned. "That sounds exhausting."

"It is."

One advantage of never sleeping. Damien had become painfully observant.

Years of staring at stars until sunrise had trained his brain to notice the smallest changes.

A clock ticking, neighbours arguing, streetlights flickering, patterns.

His insomnia had stolen his sleep; it had accidentally sharpened his attention.

"There." He pointed toward several broken branches. "Goblins."

John squinted. "You can tell?"

"They’re fresh; they broke from something short. Humans don’t usually snap branches at knee height."

"...I would’ve guessed squirrels."

"You’d lose."

Another ten minutes passed.

Suddenly, Damien stopped. "Look at this." He pointed.

John looked up. A rocky hill rose from the forest floor.

Near its base sat a narrow opening hidden behind thick bushes. "A cave?"

"A good one," Damien added.

John carefully stepped inside. It was dark, cold, and dry. Most importantly... it was empty.

"No monsters." Damien smiled. "Perfect."

John looked around. "...Looks tiny."

"It is, only 15 people can fit inside."

"...Then why perfect?"

"One entrance."

John stopped and then slowly grinned. "Oh... If something attacks... It can only come from one direction."

John hugged his mace. "And I happen to specialise in one direction."

"Exactly." Damien chuckled.

For the first time since entering the Tutorial, Damien finally felt safe enough to breathe.

"First priority." Damien clapped once. "Shelter."

John looked around. "Already done."

Damien looked at the top group members. "Second is water!"

The trio left the cave and searched the area until they found a narrow stream just a minute away.

John immediately knelt and drank. "It’s really water. I’m relieved."

"You thought it’d become juice?" Damien joked.

"I’ve stopped assuming anything," John said, sounding serious.

Damien looked at the water and asked John. "How do we store water?"

"Wait, you guys didn’t get your pouches?" the teenager asked, holding up a battered canvas bag. "Everyone starts with one in this tutorial, didn’t you check your inventory?"

Damien exchanged a baffled glance with John. "No. I thought... never mind." He checked the inventory and there were three new things, a pouch, a shovel and rope. These three showed that the tutorial was only about survival and cunning.

Combining everyone pouches, there were only three. Not many, but enough.

"Third, more weapons." Said Damien.

John proudly lifted his mace. "I’m ahead."

"You are, but for how long? We don’t know if we would lose weapons as death penalties."

And... we will need them for traps as well."

Damien pointed toward several fallen branches.

"We’ll need straight sticks, sharp stones, vines."

John frowned. "...You planning to build a house?"

"No, spears."

"...Ah." The giant happily wandered off collecting branches thicker than Damien’s arm.

Meanwhile, Damien searched for thinner ones.

A sharpened stick wouldn’t kill a goblin easily. But it might slow one down. Sometimes... that was enough.

Nearly 2 hours later, the cave looked different.

Bundles of branches rested against one wall, stones had been sorted by size, and water sat safely inside leather pouches.

John proudly rolled several waist-high rocks toward the entrance. "What’re those for?"

"Emergency barricade," Damien answered as he inspected the rocks.

John huffed. "...I like emergency barricades."

John admired his work. "You know... I’ve always wanted to build a wall."

"...Really?"

"No. But now I have."

Damien sometimes forgot that John loved talking.

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the forest.

The trio froze.

Another one, closer this time.

Branches rustled violently. A woman burst into the clearing, blood covering one sleeve.

Four goblins chased after her. John instinctively stepped forward.

Damien grabbed his arm. "Wait."

"...Again?"

"Again."

They hid behind the bushes.

The woman sprinted past the cave; the goblins followed.

"Now." Damien signalled.

John exploded from hiding.

BOOM!

The lead goblin smashed into pulp by his mace; Damien lunged from the side.

This time... he didn’t hesitate.

His dagger drove into the goblin’s neck before quickly retreating.

The third turned, only to trip over the corpse of its companion.

John crushed its head with a swing.

The fourth goblin ran away.

"...Should we chase it?" John asked.

"No." Damien shook his head. "Golden Rule Number One. If one goblin leaves... don’t chase him and volunteer to meet ten more."

John nodded slowly. "... That’s actually smart."

The rescued woman collapsed against a tree. "...Thank you..."

Damien simply offered her water. "No speeches, drink."

As she did, the teenage boy named Mark sat beside her and Damien, and John went out for more water.

When they returned, Mark suddenly spoke. "Damien, I told her about your plan, she liked it."

Damien looked at him. "And why did you tell her?"

"Because..." He scratched his cheek. "You actually have a very nice plan, it can save people from tormenting torture."

The woman looked around the cave, then at the supplies and at Damien. "...Can I stay?"

Damien closed his eyes.

His original plan had involved exactly two people.

Himself and John. Now there were four.

John leaned close and whispered, "I think we’re collecting humans."

"We’re not collecting humans."

"...Adopting?"

"They’re adults."

"...Recruiting?"

Damien sighed. "...Fine."

He looked toward the newcomers. "You stay. But... everyone works. No freeloaders."

Both nodded immediately.

John smiled. "Congratulations, you’ve survived the interview."

Damien rubbed his temples. "...When did I become the HR Manager?"

John laughed. "Probably around the time you started sounding like one."

Outside, the forest remained filled with screams.

Inside the tiny cave, four frightened strangers began organising supplies together.

Unconsciously, Damien initiated a development within the group whose significance would only become apparent later.

Trust.