Ruler's Trials

Chapter 3

Karel spent several hours walking through the forest. When he would come across a glade, he stayed in the tree line, which saved his life several times. Andams were more than zealous in trying to make him their lunch. On his way, he encountered only dead, robbed opponents. There was no sign of the backpacks. At one point, he even climbed the tallest tree in the area, which gave him a view of the ocean. The sea looked calm, but a piece of hand floating on the surface quickly convinced him that he had made a good decision by deciding to skip that flag.

The day was not hot, but after hours of walking, he was increasingly thirsty. According to the map, a small lake was in front of him. There was also a flag on the other side of the lake. The only problem was that it was located in a swamp area.

Having reached the end of the forest, in front of him was a small valley with a blue-green lake. At first it was a peaceful moment, but then he noticed traces of blood. It's too dangerous to go out into the open.

Karel followed the line, moving in the direction of the blood trail, which at one point stopped, and the tall bushes were lying down in some places. The bodies are probably there.

So far he had no luck with the backpacks from the deceased, they all were gone by the time he encountered their owners. Maybe in this case their backpacks are still with them.

He dropped to his knees and started crawling towards the bushes. Two contestants were dead with no bullet marks on their bodies. After looking around and making sure that no one would shoot him, he straightened up and started to make his way further.

A well-known face laid before him, Savar was unconscious, with an arm in a funny position and bleeding in several places. He would not have recognized him if he had not been well acquainted with his stature. He was covered in dirt, grime and blood.

He looked around again in case there were more attackers. A little further away laid Seven, in a similar state to Savar. Unlike Savar, who was a tolerable nobleman, this character was a total narcissist, always putting others down. Karel knelt down next to him and cut his throat with one stroke of his hand. One less problem. He picked up four backpacks and placed them next to Savar. What now?

Since they met a month ago, the relationship with Savar has been complex, sometimes warm, sometimes cold, from attacks one day to invitations for drinks the next. On the other hand, Savar could be a good ally if they decide to reach two flags together. However, he was in pretty bad shape and even with advanced healing, which he surely had, he could still be a burden slowing Karel down.

Savar groaned, breaking into consciousness. Fuck everything.

Karel knelt down and opened his backpack in search of a first aid kit and began treating his injuries. His painful moans were abruptly interrupted by the setting of his broken arm. Savar threw himself at the attacker who was ripping his arm, crushing him under his huge mass.

"Fatty, get off me!", a familiar voice demanded from below Savar. Confused, Savar rolled back onto his back.

"Karel, what are you doing here?"

"It appears that I'm being an idiot for trying to help you. Your arm is broken, stay still. Not a word."

The tension in Savar eased as he watched Karel. His gentle features reflected concentration as he inspected the larger wounds along Savar's body. Not for the first time, Savar's fingers twitched with the desire to touch him. Biting his tongue, Savar looked away and turned his attention to his blood nanobots who were already busily repairing the damage.

"Ok, the bad news is that you're probably going to need a few more hours before you can get back on your feet."

"What, no good news?"

"Well, the number of competitors dropped by 22. So, 53 of us left."

"How do you know that?"

"The SOS device also has a counter."

"I definitely have to invest in intelligence after the Trials," Savar laughed softly, "Look, you don't have to stay with me, the goal is to catch the flag."

"True, but you're the muscle and I'm the brain. What are you going to do without me?"

"Keep lying in the mud."

A small smile flickered on Karel's face, "You're right. But besides that, I want to see what's hiding in the swamp."

Savar looked up to the sky, thinking about the possible strategy and his next words, "Meaning, let others try and we collect the spoils?"

"There is hope for you."

Karel turned to the backpacks and started rummaging through them. Each backpack had its own contents.

"Savar, which one is yours?"

Savar pointed to the backpack full of food.

"Um, everyone got a map and first aid kit, but the rest is different. For example, I have a backpack full of useful things, and you got a lot of food. I can manage without some of the things, and you can easily catch your lunch."

"They gave us what we don't really need?"

Karel nodded, "Maybe the point of this task is teamwork?"

"There might be truth in it. Five people will have to work closely together after the Trials, and one of them will become the Ruler."

Karel looked around, the landscape around them looked calm, but that could change at any moment. He did not find a pistol or a rifle in any of the backpacks, but he assumed that was also possible. Who knows, maybe the 75th competitor got just such an advantage.

"I don't like that we're here, we should get away from the corpses and hide in the forest. Dusk is not that far, we need to prepare for the night.", Karel looked towards Savar, "Can you do it?"

"Get to the forest? Yes, with your help."

Karel frowned, "I definitely need to work on my strength when I get back... Ok, you get ready to walk, and I'll finish checking this backpack."

The backpack was disappointingly empty, he found only a folder with the map that looked like it hadn't even been opened. Hmm, probably the contents of the bag are in the jacket of one of the corpses.

"Where are you going?", Savar looked at him blankly, it looked as if Karel intended to leave him after all.

"The bag is empty, whatever there was is now on one of them. I'm going to check."

At Seven's body, Karel found a small black box, without looking further he put it in his pocket and returned to Savar, "Ready?"

"Let's go while we're still alone."