Duke, Kai, and Mike stood frozen, their minds blank, unable to process the horror that had just unfolded before their eyes. Their breathing was uneven, shallow, as if their lungs had forgotten how to function properly. From deeper within the forest, more screams erupted—overlapping, frantic, raw. It sounded as though the entire woodland was howling in agony.
Before they could regain their senses…
Slash!
A small dark figure burst from the bushes. A goblin with bloodshot red eyes lunged from the side, its claws reaching straight for Mike's throat.
Duke: Watch out!
Mike stumbled backward instinctively.
Mike: AHH!
Duke reacted without thinking. He drew his arrow, fingers shaking but precise, he quickly stabbed the arrow through that little devil body. The arrow sliced through the meat and buried itself deep into the goblin's chest.
The creature let out a guttural screech, its jaw snapping wildly before it collapsed face-first onto the forest floor.
Duke: Run!
They didn't hesitate.
They ran.
Branches whipped against their faces. Leaves crunched underfoot. Their hearts pounded violently in their ears. Panic drowned out coherent thought.
Duke glanced back once..
And what he saw sent ice through his veins.
The goblin's corpse wasn't simply lying still.
From its body, a faint cloud of fine, dust-like particles began to rise. It looked almost like pollen drifting upward, glowing dimly with a sickly pale light above the fresh blood pooling beneath it.
Duke muttered under his breath
…What the hell is that…
Kai, running ahead, turned briefly.
Kai: What is it?!
Duke shook his head quickly.
Duke: Nothing! Just keep running!
Three of them keep running, on the way they can hear the screams become more and more louder, even witnessed some student being killed and ripped a part but they close their and just keep running forward.
They didn't stop until their lungs burned.
Eventually, they spotted a small cave carved into a rocky cliffside—just large enough to hide inside.
They rushed in.
Inside the cave, the air was damp and cool. The light from outside barely reached the back wall. They collapsed against the stone, gasping for breath, sweat chilling on their skin.
Suddenly, Mike exploded.
Mike: WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!
His voice cracked.
Kai lowered his head, gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Kai: …i have no idea.
Duke: Maybe this is that witch mean after all
Mike: What you saying?
Duke swallowed.
Duke: I saying that this isn't a test, it a selection.
Kai: A selection? For what?
Duke: No clues but….it look like it
Mike's face drained of color.
Mike: So… what do we do now?
Kai opened his mouth..
Then closed it.
His thoughts were a mess. Images of blood. Screams. The severed head near his feet.
Kai: I… I don't know.
Duke's expression hardened.
Duke: Something is seriously wrong here.
Mike snapped, tension spilling over.
Mike: Then say it! Stop talking in half sentences!
Duke inhaled slowly.
Duke: What did the witch say? That we should kill as many goblins as possible, right?
Kai nodded faintly.
Kai: Yeah… something like that.
Duke continued:
Duke: But did you see anyone monitoring us? Any instructors? Any recording devices? Anything tracking how many goblins each person kills?
Mike blinked.
Mike: …Now that you mention it. If that's true, we could just lie.
Duke nodded.
Duke: Exactly. Which means the real goal isn't the number of goblins killed.
He paused.
Duke: It's the number of students left alive at the end.
The cave felt colder.
Mike's voice dropped.
Mike: Then… the top priority is..
Duke: Survival.
Then suddenly a small shadow jumped out of the dark
Kai: Get back!
A goblin try to attack duke from behind but luckily kai reaction was fast enough, kai swinging his sword to the goblin before it blade have a chance to touch duke throat.
Duke: What the fuck!?
Kai:that was close….are you ok?
Duke body shaking but he still try to calm himself down: yeah….i…im fine…
A colorful dust slowly releasing from the goblin dead body
Mike: uh…guys? What the heck is that?
Both duke and kai look back at the body to see the thing happen in front of them eyes.
Duke: It like before….
Kai looked up.
Kai: What?
Duke's voice grew heavy.
Duke: When I looked back… the goblin I killed when we were running, it also released something. Like glowing pollen.
Mike's eyes widened.
Mike: And what does this do?
Duke swallowed
Duke: i don't know but….I think there is a reason why she told us to burn the bodies….
He clenched his fist.
Duke: doesn't matter what this dust is….we're have to burn the corpse before it spread.
Mike took a step back, horror dawning.
Mike: what if…even one corpse isn't burned…
Duke: I don't know…but things wouldn't be better for three of us.
Kai ground his teeth.
Kai: That damn witch…
Duke shook his head.
Duke: Being angry won't help, We have to survive the next three days. That's the only objective.
Kai looked toward the cave entrance. The forest outside seemed darker now.
Kai: But how?
Duke fell silent for a moment.
Duke: I don't know yet.
He forced a crooked smile and extended his trembling hand.
Duke: Damn it… I haven't even had a girlfriend yet. And now I'm betting my life with you idiots.
Kai let out a dry laugh and placed his hand on top of Duke's.
Kai: Like you're the only unlucky one.
Mike rolled his eyes—but he placed his hand on the pile as well.
Mike: Shut up, both of you. You're giving me goosebumps.
Three shaking hands stacked together in the dim cave.
Duke: we have to live no matter what
Kai: Yeah.
Mike: We're not dying here.
In that dark, damp cave…
In a forest soaked with blood…
Three boys who had been thrown into hell made their first real decision in this situation .
They would have to survive at or cost .
Duke: let burn this body first….