Insomniac Player

30 Hours passed and morning of second day came, it brought optimism and solace with it.

Damien hated mornings; that wasn’t new.

For years, mornings had been nothing more than proof that another sleepless night had passed.

Ironically, the Tutorial had improved one thing. He no longer had to pretend he wasn’t tired; everyone looked equally miserable.

The System’s artificial sun looked real. Maybe it was a real sun; none of them knew.

It crept over the horizon, painting the forest in pale gold. Dew clung to the leaves, capturing and refracting the morning light in tiny, glistening droplets. A faint mist lingered between the tree trunks, and the cool, earthy scent of damp soil and foliage filled the air, making the woods appear peaceful.

It was a lie; somewhere beyond the trees, a goblin screamed, and his fellows answered.

John stretched until his back cracked loudly enough to startle several birds. "Morning!"

Damien looked at him. "You sound disturbingly cheerful."

"I slept like a baby," John said as he yawned, his words barely understandable.

"You also snore like one." Damien had to remind him.

John retorted. "I do not."

The rescued office worker raised a hesitant hand. "...You do."

Rahul nodded. "You sounded like a goblin wrestling a wolf."

Imran folded his arms. "I was worried the cave would collapse."

John looked genuinely betrayed. "I thought we were friends."

"We are," Rahul replied. "That’s why we’re telling you."

Laughter spread through the cave.

For a few seconds, the monsters outside didn’t seem so terrifying.

Once everyone had eaten a few mouthfuls of dried monster rations, none of which Damien trusted enough to enjoy, the group gathered around him.

John noticed first. "They’re waiting."

"For what?" Damien asked.

John tapped his shoulder. "You."

Damien looked around; eleven pairs of eyes were fixed on him. "...Why?"

The injured office worker answered honestly. "Because you’re the only one with a plan."

Damien sighed. "That’s a terrible qualification."

"You gathered us and have found us a shelter." Rahul said. "That’s actually impressive."

John slapped Damien on the back hard enough to nearly knock him over. "See? Leadership."

"I didn’t apply," Damien said as he growled in pain.

"No one ever does; you are our accidental leader."

Damien took a deep breath before picking up another stick and drawing in the dirt. "We’re not hunting monsters today."

John raised an eyebrow; others wanted some explanations too.

"We’re hunting stupidity," Damien added.

"Please, explain," Rahul asked.

Damien drew a rectangle. "This... is a pit."

John stared. "...Ground."

"A hole in the ground." Damien corrected.

"We dig here." He marked several narrow paths leading toward the cave.

"Goblins already use these routes. If we cover the pit with branches and leaves... they’ll fall."

Rahul scratched his chin. "That’s... will that work?"

Damien looked at him. "They’re terribly stupid; they are just vicious monsters. Think of them as wild animals."

Everyone nodded.

The entire group split into teams. John, Rahul and Imran received the simplest assignment. "Dig."

John grinned. "Now we’re talking."

Within seconds, he buried the shovel into the earth.

THUNK!

Dirt flew everywhere.

Rahul barely avoided taking a clump to the face. "...A little warning?"

John looked confused. "I thought the dirt was warning enough."

Imran laughed. "I’ve never seen someone attack the ground before."

"The ground is at fault," John said as he hit the shovel in the ground again.

Rahul sighed. "I don’t think it did anything."

"It looked at me funny."

Even Damien couldn’t help smiling. John possessed an incredible gift; he could argue with absolutely anything, including dirt.

Meanwhile, Damien led another group into the forest.

They weren’t searching for monsters; they were searching for materials.

Straight branches, sharp stones, flexible vines.

Every few minutes Damien stopped to examine the ground.

Broken twigs, fresh footprints, scratches on tree bark.

The others eventually noticed.

Mark frowned. "You really see all that?"

Damien shrugged. "I’ve had a lot of free nights."

Mark looked puzzled. "What does insomnia have to do with tracking?"

"When you spend years unable to sleep, you either learn to notice things to pass the time... or go insane."

By noon, three pitfalls had been completed. None were particularly deep; they didn’t need to be.

The sharpened wooden stakes and stolen weapons of goblins resting at the bottom did the difficult part.

The frightened teenage girl swallowed nervously.

"...Isn’t this..." She searched for the right word. "...Cruel?"

Damien looked toward the forest. "So are goblins."

Nobody argued; survival had a way of changing people’s opinions.

Next came the tripwires, thin vines stretched ankle-high between trees.

Nearly invisible beneath the bushes. John walked straight into the first one.

THUD!

The giant hit the ground hard enough to shake nearby leaves.

Everyone looked at him silently, then he raised his head and slapped the dust away from his clothes. "I’m testing it."

Rahul burst into laughter. "You walked into your own trap!"

John violently shook his head. "I was making sure it worked."

Imran nodded seriously. "It definitely works."

John climbed back to his feet with as much dignity as a six-foot-four, red-haired giant covered in leaves could manage.

"Excellent, quality assurance completed."

Damien couldn’t help but laugh; John was an annoying babbling neighbourhood uncle a day ago, and now he became far more interesting.

"You know... I couldn’t have asked for a better demonstration."

John looked proud. "Happy to help."

By late afternoon, the traps were ready. The forest became quiet once again, too quiet.

Damien crouched behind a bush overlooking the nearest pitfall.

Everyone else remained hidden. Nobody spoke, nobody moved.

Minutes passed, and rustling noises were heard.

Three goblins wandered along the narrow trail, arguing in their harsh, guttural language.

The first stepped confidently onto the camouflaged leaves.

The ground disappeared beneath it; a piercing scream echoed through the trees.

THUNK!

The sharpened stakes found their mark. The second goblin froze; the third looked around in complete confusion.

Before either could react, John exploded from behind a tree. "GOOD AFTERNOON!"

*BOOM*

One goblin flew several meters through the air.

Rahul’s spear struck the last one in the shoulder.

Imran followed immediately, driving his axe into its neck.

Both Rahul and Imran managed to keep the basic weapons they received from the system; half of twenty players lost their basic weapons as they died too many times.

Within seconds, it was over. No injuries, no desperate struggle and no exhausting battle.

Only noiseless, painless and effortless victory. The group stared at the pit, then at Damien.

The office worker spoke first. "That... was ridiculously easy."

Damien shook his head. "No, it was prepared."

He looked around at everyone. "Remember this: never fight fairly. If a fight is fair... you’ve already made a mistake."

The group silently nodded; they understood.

Somewhere deeper within the forest. Unseen crimson eyes watched the aftermath. Watching, learning and waiting.

The forest had begun adapting, and before long, it would answer Damien’s traps with hunters of its own.