Insomniac Player

Damien had always disliked attention; attention led to conversations, conversations led to expectations, and expectations were exhausting.

Unfortunately, standing beside the only cave that wasn’t currently occupied by monsters tended to attract both attention and people.

It started with four, then six, and soon the group had grown to eight.

By sunset, eleven Players had somehow found their way to the rocky hill.

Damien wasn’t entirely sure how. "Are we glowing?" he muttered.

John looked around. "I don’t think so."

"Then why does everyone keep finding us?"

John shrugged. "Maybe you’ve got one of those trustworthy faces."

Damien deadpanned. "I haven’t slept properly in years; I look like a haunted potato."

John considered that. "A trustworthy haunted potato."

Damien sighed. There was no winning arguments against John.

The newest arrivals looked even worse than the first.

A middle-aged office worker clutched a broken spear with trembling hands.

A university student had blood soaking through a bandage wrapped around her thigh.

One woman hadn’t stopped shaking since she’d entered the cave.

One seventy years old grandpa, who chose poleaxe as his weapon. Everyone was afraid.

Shoulders hunched, eyes darted to the shadows outside. No one stood tall anymore; even the bravest clung to the cave wall, silent and pale.

Turns out, courage doesn’t last long when goblins are trying to remove your kneecaps.

John greeted everyone with a cheerful wave. "Welcome! We’ve got water and walls."

Damien glanced at the pile of rocks. "Technically."

Just before dusk, the next pair arrived.

One wore an Indian cricket jersey.

The other had a Pakistani flag chain around his neck.

Both looked around twenty. The taller one smiled first. "I’m Imran Ali."

He pointed toward himself, then toward his companion. "And this is Rahul Modi."

Rahul gave a small nod. "Nice cave."

John beamed. "Thank you, I helped make this cave liveable."

Damien looked between them. "You’re friends?"

Imran laughed. "Best friends."

John looked confused. "But..."

He pointed first at Rahul. "India." Then at Imran. "Pakistan."

Rahul and Imran exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter.

Rahul shook his head. "The goblins haven’t asked for our passports yet."

Imran grinned. "If they do, we’ll argue after surviving."

The cave chuckled. Ever since they entered the tutorial, the atmosphere had lightened.

Damien found himself smiling. "Good, keep that attitude."

Rahul raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"

Damien replied. "The surviving first. The arguing later."

Rahul nodded seriously. "Sensible priorities."

As darkness approached, Damien finally stood. "Everyone."

The conversations stopped; he hadn’t raised his voice.

He simply sounded like someone who expected to be heard.

Oddly enough, people listened. He picked up a stick, then knelt on the cave floor to sketch a plan they could follow.

Using the dirt as a map, he drew a rough circle. "This is us."

Another circle. "Goblin patrol."

He made another one. "Second goblin patrol."

Soon the ground resembled a child’s terrible drawing.

John tilted his head. "...Looks like noodles."

Damien ignored him. "Goblins don’t wander randomly; they patrol."

He drew arrows. "They repeat routes, they repeat timings, and they repeat mistakes. That’s what we use."

Rahul frowned. "How do you know?"

Damien nodded "I watched and observed them."

"For how long?" Asked Imran.

Damien turned his head towards him. "Several hours."

The cave became silent.

Imran scratched his beard. "We’ve been running around for several hours; I never thought to study them."

Damien shrugged. "Running never solved my problems; my legs are weak."

John coughed loudly. "It definitely solved the goblins’ problems."

A few nervous laughs escaped. Even Damien smiled; John was best to ease the tense situation.

He continued drawing. "Wolves."

He marked larger circles farther away. "They don’t patrol; they hunt. They’ll circle before attacking, and they test first."

The injured university student frowned. "How do you know?"

"I nearly became their lunch." Damien continued. "They’re also patient. If one disappears... assume others are nearby."

Nobody interrupted now. Every sentence Damien spoke sounded less like theory and more like experience bought with fear.

He finally placed the stick down. "My priorities."

He wrote them one beneath another.

Shelter

Water

Weapons

Food

Experience

Rahul blinked. "...Experience is last? It should be first."

Several Players nodded. Damien shook his head. "No, if you’re dead... You stop earning experience and lose whatever remaining you have.."

Quietness lingered in the cave.

"That’s difficult to argue with." Imran quietly added, "My grandfather used to say... a living coward plants more crops than a dead hero."

The office worker hesitated before speaking. "So... what now?"

Damien looked toward the cave entrance. "We survive tonight. Tomorrow... we stop fighting the forest; we make the forest fight for us."

Several people exchanged confused looks.

John, however, smiled so widely his moustache practically lifted. "Oh. I know that look."

Damien blinked. "What look?"

"The one you get before making me do manual labour."

Damien smirked, "...You’re digging holes tomorrow."

John pointed accusingly. "I knew it! I’ve been manipulated!"

"You haven’t even heard why."

"I don’t need reasons. I can feel the shovel in my future."

The cave erupted into genuine laughter.

Even the frightened woman who hadn’t spoken all afternoon quietly covered her mouth and giggled.

For one fleeting moment, the fear lifted. Perhaps the fact that they could not die gave them space to chuckle as if death were real. No jokes would have brought a smile; on the contrary, that would have created anger and mess.

People needed only hope to move forward, and Damien’s plan gave them that hope.

Outside, a wolf howled somewhere beyond the trees.

The laughter faded as the reality returned.

Damien stood and looked toward the darkness beyond the cave.

The forest wasn’t sleeping; neither was he.

And somewhere out there, the goblins were preparing for another day.

Only this time, they weren’t the only ones with a plan.