The forest in front of the three friends loomed over them. The twin suns were high on the horizon. There were no signs of beasts that could be seen through the thick trees just yet. The three youths didn't know what they were supposed to do when they came across them to begin with. They were not given any information at this point except what was written on the game's box that this place resembled.
Chad had his bow strung, an arrow notched, ready to shoot if a beast decided to show itself. Mike was tense, scanning their surroundings. He glanced over at Drake.
"So, Drake…You're the gamer. Do you know what we're supposed to do?"
Drake walked in the center of the group with his friends flanking each side of him. Thinking about the answer he needed to give his friend, he took in a shaky breath as he scanned the area for danger. In all his games, there was danger everywhere, and it could show itself at any moment.
"I'm surprised we don't have a system. If this is really like a game, we should have one. Of course, we may have one already, but there's just nothing to show. I know that all games have an objective. We know from the game's box that this place resembles; we have to fight magical beasts and find hidden quests. I think that we just need to wander around until we discover how to actually do that. The only thing I DO know for a fact is that we need to find weapons as soon as possible. If all my other games are anything to go by, we are sitting ducks without them. Usually, you have to fight beasts or other enemies, and they drop stuff like weapons, coins, crystals, and even potions. I'm not sure if that applies since this isn't actually a game. Well, it might be, but we are physically here, so… I really don't know. Anyway, because of what I know about games, I'm hoping we can obtain weapons sooner rather than later."
Chad finally spoke up. "So, you're saying we really know nothing and that we have to assume it's like a game only in real life, correct?"
Drake nodded, his eyes still scanning the forest. "There's another problem."
"Oh?" Mike stated. His voice was sarcastic. "We don't seem to be short on problems. Which problem are you referring to?'
Drake wiped the hair out of his eyes. "Well, if this situation is according to the setup of the actual game, I am the main character. The two of you are player-created characters. After I set up my own character, I had to create a cohort. When I attempted to play, I couldn't control the cohort. When I moved, the two cohort characters followed. Even the box expressed to 'grow the power of your cohort.' I might have to be the one who levels you up. I'm not even sure if this place will let you do it yourself. We won't really know anything until we start quests, find loot, and fight beasts."
Chad gritted his teeth. He held his bow so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. "Shouldn't we be finding a way home? Pretty much all games can be paused. Can we leave and come back more prepared? Better yet, not come back at all?"
Drake sighed. "This seems too real. I think we have to complete quests to get home. There is even a chance that we have to finish the game to get back. I'm still not convinced this is a game. It's like one, but it might not actually be one. This whole situation is confusing. I don't know what to do, to be honest."
As they continued, Drake looked up ahead, his emerald green eyes narrowed as he found a pair of glowing yellow eyes visible in the trees. Something was watching them. Drake paused, seeing the glowing yellow orbs. "Chad, you're the only one with a weapon at the moment. I know you're a good shot. Do you see those eyes up ahead? I believe we found our first magical beast. If it charges at us, shoot to kill. Remember, we also need to retrieve any arrows you shoot. We don't want to run out."
Hearing Drake's words, Mike froze, then scanned the thick forest to find what Drake was seeing. He found them immediately. It was menacing yellow eyes that stared back at them.
The creature was moving forward slowly, getting closer. Its glowing yellow eyes were fixed on them.
"Chad, can Mike and I have one of your arrows. We need something we can use as a weapon."
Without taking his eyes off the beast, Chad pulled two arrows out of his quiver and handed them to Drake. Drake slowly passed one of them to Mike, who took it without hesitation. None of the youths took their eyes off the approaching beast.
The three boys froze in place, no longer moving forward, letting the beast come to them. It wasn't out of the trees yet. Drake quickly looked around them, making sure that the beast in front of them was the only one. If it were like a game, this could be an ambush. In an ambush in the game, while the player focuses on one attacker, the rest attack from other locations. Considering there was only one weapon, Drake was relieved when he didn't see any more.
The beast stalked toward them slowly. Its eyes were low to the ground, indicating its head was low, and a soft growl came from its maw. The menacing, glowing yellow eyes were focused, narrowed on Drake, completely ignoring the other two boys. There was yellow saliva that glowed brightly through the darkness as it dripped to the ground with each step. The beast continued to stalk forward.
The fact that the beast was focused only on him wasn't surprising to Drake since he would be considered the main character in the game. In all the games he had, any attacks were focused more on the main player of the game, and not the support. Since his two friends were considered support according to the game he set up, he was the main target.
As it stalked out of the trees, the beast became visible. It looked like a small wolf with long fangs. The tail looked more like a rat's. Its thick fur was dark brown with specks of yellow running through it, giving it an iridescent glow. Bright yellow saliva was dripping out of the wolf beast's mouth, dripping from sharp fangs. Its paws had short claws that tore through the dirt as it picked up its pace, going for an attack.
Drake held the arrow tightly in his fist, his knuckles turning white. The point was facing up to defend himself.
Chad shot his first arrow and quickly notched a second. The first arrow soared through the air, hitting the beast in the neck. The beast's thick fur stopped it from going too deep. It slowed the beast down, but only a little.
Leaping up, the wolf dove toward Drake, who rolled to the side out of its path. Chad shot a second arrow, hitting it in the side. The beast leaped up, following Drake's path, shooting forward, this time landing on Drake, who was too slow to move out of the way. He shoved his arrow up into the wolf beast's throat as hard as he could, then yanked it sideways, slicing the throat open. Black blood pouring to the ground. Drake had one hand grasping the beast's closest front paw, trying to keep from being shredded. Everything about the beast felt real. Too real.
With Chad's arrows and Drake's aim for the wolf beast's throat, it fell to the ground, not getting back up. Bursting into particles of light, the wolf vanished, leaving nothing behind.
A soft voice whispered through Drake's mind.
{You have killed a level one beast; you have received a skill.}
{Skill: Level one fireball received}
{Mana stat obtained}
{Mana +1}
Drake stood in silence and waited for the voice to say more, but nothing came. He was expecting experience points or something similar, but it said nothing. It appeared to be the bare minimum.
Bending down, he picked up the arrows that fell to the ground after the beast disappeared. Handing the arrows back to Chad, keeping the one he was given for himself, he smiled.
"It seems that I have a system. It said that I killed a level one beast, and I received a skill. It's level one fireball…oh, and I received one mana point."
"Didn't Chad kill it? He shot all those arrows."
Drake stood there thinking. "There is only one way to find out. Even if the next beast goes for me, which I believe it will. One of you has to be the one to kill it. I will try to stay away from it. The system should say if you killed it. I think it's the only way to test how all this works. I actually think that I made the killing blow. I shoved the arrow in its throat and used it to slice it open. I could be wrong. We need to test it, though. I also need to test my new skill."
Nodding in agreement, they continued toward the forest, scanning for more danger.