The fall hadn't killed them.
Unfortunately.
Kade lay still for a moment, listening. Leaves shifted overhead. Something—someone—was sobbing nearby.Another thud. Then a scream.
He forced himself upright, biting back a groan as pain flared in his side. The trees had broken their fall just enough to keep most of them breathing. Most.
His ribs throbbed. He pulled up his shirt—saw the bruise had bloomed into something deep, ugly.
"Perfect. Just what I needed."
The forest smelled wrong. Wet and green and too alive. Vines curled along the ground like veins. Roots clawed upward, half-exposed, hungry.
Kade let out a slow breath, eyes scanning the shadows.No instructions. No welcome message. No—
A sharp pulse hit the inside of his skull.
Like someone had flipped a switch in his brain.
A system message blinked in his mind:
Welcome to Zone One – The Verdant Maw
Active Players: 139
Game One: Ongoing
Objective: Eliminate until only 100 remain.
Note: Greater rewards will be granted for higher efficiency.
Kade sighed.
"So. Murder fast, win big. Got it."
A scream cut through the underbrush. Close. Female. Desperate.
He crouched, moving silently through ferns, eyes alert. Another message pulsed into view—this one a floating, transparent panel, hanging mid-air like a cruel scoreboard:
KILL RANKING – LIVE FEED
1st Place: Sera (player-#035) – 3 Kills
2nd Place: Donovan (player-#088) – 2 Kills
3rd Place: Euthymia (player-#055) – 2 Kills
Sera. Not someone he'd seen up close. But three kills already? Girl was busy.
"Didn't take long for people to start enjoying themselves."
Movement ahead. He slipped behind a tree, slow and careful.
Two figures.
A boy. Broad shoulders. Bloody hands.
A girl. Writhing on the ground. His hands were wrapped around her neck, pressing hard, his expression calm—almost fascinated. Her face purpled.
"Charming," Kade muttered. "Real knight-in-shining-psychopathy."
The boy's skin shimmered faintly, hardening like stone.
Recognition hit him.
"Oh. You."
The iron-skin kid from earlier—the idiot who showed off during the ability announcement. Still an idiot. Just more lethal now.
Kade didn't intervene. Not his business. Not his problem.
He slipped past quietly.
More sounds—running, rustling, panting.
Others were scattering. Hunting. Hiding.
He saw two boys ambush a crying kid with a sharpened branch. One scream. Then silence.
"No loyalty. No alliances. Just hunger."
A figure ran past him—limping, bleeding. A girl. Thin, short, wild-eyed.
She crashed through the brush, staggered, turned—and saw him.
"Help!" she shouted, voice cracking. "... Kade!"
He didn't move when she called his name.
Not at first.
I'd be an idiot to help everyone who screams.But then— Did she just say my name?
Kade blinked once. Her face wasn't familiar. Neither was her voice. Nothing about her rang any kind of bell.
And still—
She was running toward him, limping, desperate, blood streaked across her temple."Kade!" she gasped. "Please—he's coming—I didn't know where else—!"
He tilted his head.
I've never seen her before in my life.So how the hell…
A grin crawled across his face. Slow. Sharp.
"Could it be…?"
He didn't wait for her to catch her breath. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into motion, veering off the path, ducking beneath low branches. She stumbled once but kept pace. Behind them, the crashing grew fainter.Strong. But dumb. And slow.
Once the sound was gone, Kade stopped. The girl leaned against a tree, heaving air. Her eyes still wide, but focused on him now.
She was young. Maybe sixteen. Brown hair, tied back in a blood-matted braid. Her jacket was expensive—wrong brand for the slums. Nails manicured. Skin pale. Rich girl.
Perfect.
"You knew my name," he said, panting slightly. "How?"
She hesitated, then said, "I… I can see names. Above people's heads. Like—like a label. Yours was the only one around, so I thought—"
"Smart," Kade said, with something that almost resembled warmth. "Good thing you ran into me and not one of those psychos."
Inwardly, he noted:She can't see stats or abilities. Only names.Otherwise she'd be running from me, too.
He smiled again. Almost convincing.
"I'm Kade," he said. "And you are…?"
"Viola."
Viola.A name to go with the trembling hands and wide eyes.
"Well, Viola," he said, voice lighter, "I guess we're teammates now. Survival buddies."
She gave a weak laugh. "Do you… do you have an ability?"
"Yeah." He looked thoughtful. "Cleverness."
Her brows furrowed. "That's… not very specific."
"It means I think fast. Pick the best course of action." He gave her a wink. "Not flashy, but effective."
He was lying. Obviously.
But she didn't question it.She looked at him like he was a lifeline.Like he had saved her.
Perfect.
"Then, clever Kade," she said, her voice steadier, "how do we deal with him?"
She pointed.
Through the trees, maybe twenty meters away, Donovan stood. Cracking his knuckles. Jaw clenched. Blood still wet on his arms.
Iron-skin. Fast enough to chase, strong enough to crush. Dumb enough to charge.
Kade squinted at the girl beside him. Viola. Expensive clothes. Sheathed blade at her hip.
"You got a weapon?" he asked.
She hesitated, then nodded. "Forged steel. Reinforced. From… a family smith."
Even better.
He reached out. "Let me borrow it."
Another moment of pause. Then she handed it over.
Kade held the dagger. Balanced. Sharp.This'll do.
"Listen," he said. "We only get one shot at this. I'll draw him out. You flank from behind. Aim for the ankle—disable his movement. If that works, I finish it."
Viola swallowed, but nodded.
"You ready?"
"…Ready."
Kade stepped into the open. Donovan saw him instantly.
"Hey, rock-face," Kade called. "You still mad about that neck girl?"
Donovan didn't speak.
He ran.
Full charge. Straight at him.
Predictable.
Kade waited—just long enough to make it look real—then turned and ran toward the boulder he'd marked earlier. As he passed it, he heard the rush of footsteps from the side.
A blade cut through the air.
A scream. Not Kade's.
Donovan stumbled—hard. His leg buckled. He hit the ground with a bone-cracking thud, howling.
The girl stood behind him, dagger red to the hilt.
"Did it!" she gasped.
Kade walked up slowly. Donovan was trying to crawl. Blood leaking from the stump where his foot used to be.
"You made two mistakes, Donovan," Kade said softly. "First—thinking I was alone. Second—turning your back."
He raised the dagger.Donovan looked up just in time to see it come down.
One strike.
Then silence.
Viola leaned against a tree, chest rising and falling. "I… I can't believe that worked."
Kade didn't answer right away.
She smiled at him. Trusting. Grateful. AlmostAnd he smiled back.Slow. Gentle.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
GLUTTONY – Target locked: Sera (player-#035)
Emotional resonance: low-grade
Extraction efficiency: reduced
"I'm really glad I found you," she said.
Kade stepped closer. The blade still in his hand.
"So am I."
Then he cut her throat.
Clean. Precise.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Gluttony activated.
Absorbing emotional residue.
+1 Kill – Reward pending.
Kade didn't look away.Didn't blink.
Just waited.
And as the warmth rushed in—
He smiled for real.
"Viola…
That wasn't her name.
Could it be…? A grin twisted his face.
No matter.
She'd lied.
But so had I."
KILL RANKING – LIVE FEED
1st Place: Euthymia (player-#055) – 5 Kills
2nd Place: Nor (player-#023) – 3 Kills
3rd Place: Kade (player-#001) – 2 Kills
Active Players: 128