"We've been calling it The Trials –" Isaac began his story.
He started the moment Olive returned with the rest of the team, just after we settled in the grass and sat around the fire. It's strange. How predictable people are or maybe, how hard it is to break old habits.
It was decided without any outside acknowledgment. Nobody decided to head towards the fire, it was just where we ended up. And we didn't have to sit at all, but Sherry plopped her ass on the ground first and then the dominoes started falling.
According to Isaac, he was a part of group one or – the first group of people to be transported to this jungle. He arrived here three months ago in the dojo, just like the girls had. He wore a school uniform, a white shirt and red bowtie, and he too had to slay the vile green beasts to escape the dojo.
His group consisted of only men and, like us, were all privileged to the Status window and a new realm of Abilities and skills to aid in their journey. Unlike us, half of the men were practically ecstatic upon arrival – thanking the gods for their reincarnation, their isekai, their main character arc, but their dreams quickly turned to nightmares.
Although many of them were familiar with the situation, having read hundreds of webnovels detailing these exact scenarios, they simply didn't possess the grit to survive.
"Don't get me wrong," Isaac said, "some of them had what it took and made it through the beginning and they've become the pillar of our operation."
But even then, most weren't cut out to be suddenly tossed into the wilderness, forced to fight to the death against creatures they never seriously considered encountering because it had always been make believe.
Nobody could blame the young boys for dying recklessly. They were passionate and hopeful, unfortunately it was to a fault.
Once Isaac's group calmed down and assessed the situation, after having digested and understood everything from the webnovel leeches, the group of men left the dojo in search of a way out.
First, they marched in one direction. Days passed and then weeks. Isaac's team spent a month walking in the same direction and, after a month, they encountered nothing but more dangerous and more treacherous monsters.
Barely surviving the journey, Isaac's team, now half the members they had at the start, returned to the dojo. It was the only place they had encountered that could be considered safe to rest. To resupply. To try again.
To their surprise, however, when they arrived the dojo was not without company! Group two had appeared!
The first group of women!
With more members added to the team, and after two weeks of training and stabilization, Isaac and his team left the dojo once more. They traveled in the opposite direction this time, but only for two weeks as they had spent two weeks training the girls and they wanted to be at the dojo on the first of the third month.
Like the first time, Isaac found nothing after two weeks and returned to the dojo. Fortunately, he returned a day before the first and was able to witness the summoning of the third group: a group of guys.
Repeating the previous cycle, Isaac set off once more with new found strength and comradery. If before they traveled east and west, then this time Isaac descended south. Thankfully, on their third attempt, traveling south unveiled something new: an ancient pyramid!
Isaac and his team prepared greatly for this raid. They constructed a camp outside its perimeter, gathered food and tinder, prepared extra tools and arrows. They did everything within their power to ensure a successful exploration.
And in the beginning, the subjugation went well. Contrary to what one would expect, upon entering the pyramid, instead of traveling up via stairs, Isaac and his group descended beneath the dirt. They descended staircase after staircase, floor after floor, each possessed with their own set of unique hurdles.
They arrived at the bottom and, erected before them, a behemoth gate stood in their way. Constructed of carefully handled black stone, the two doors towered above the group of small humans. Isaac approached the doors and placed his palms upon them. He pushed against them, trying his earnest to enter the final room, but to no avail.
"In the center of the doors –" He said, "there is a hollowed out space, a large crater where a ginormous jewel can fit. I think we have to find the key to open the doors and I think that diamond shaped space is the key."
"So we're group number four," Olive cut in.
"Precisely." Isaac agreed.
"Well you're late –" Olive complained, "half of us are already dead."
Isaac flashed a tired smile, "We lost track of time in the pyramid. It won't happen again."
Isaac didn't apologize, but he expressed his empathy. He looked down at the ground, a grimace fighting back the smile he forced himself to wear.
"Now that you're all caught up, why don't we head to the pyramid. We've made it quite cozy, I must admit!" Isaac smiled again, although this one was sincere. From the bottom of his heart he just wanted to help people, that's something I could believe.
The journey to the pyramid was surprisingly lax. All of Isaac's women were equipped with bows and arrows while the men carried some variation of melee; sword and shield, mace, ax, I saw them all. With them around, the Goblins were snipped in the bud before they could even catch aflame. It was a one-sided massacre.
In addition to observing the teamwork and ruthlessness Isaac's team possessed, I was also privy to witness a few more magical Abilities! Isaac, himself, a possessor of something extraordinary!
On a few occasions now, I've noticed Isaac's blades glow light blue. After illuminating brighter and brighter, they eventually reach an apex threshold; once achieved, Isaac is able to swing his swords and a sword-shaped beam of energy, similar in color to the glow, bursts forward. The sky blue curved energy flies forward at the speed of a bullet and razes the Goblins to pieces, slicing them apart like tofu!
Furthermore, the ability travels through the Goblins. Due to this, all Isaac has to do is run around a bit and group the Goblins together and with just a single swing, collateral next to collateral next to collateral.
It was incredible to watch.
Besides Isaacs', a few more Abilities caught my eye.
One girl is capable of planting her finger in the ground and, after holding it there for a few moments, a plant immediately sprouts into existence. The plant resembles a tulip, a flower with a sphere-like arrangement of petals at the top. Instead of disk flowers, however, a pond of refreshing liquid fills the cup of firm petals.
Plucking the mug of petals from the plant, you're instantly rewarded with a delicious beverage and an eye-appealing cup, but what's even more impressive is that depending on the color of the petals, the liquid is imbued with different effects!
For example, red petals replenish your vitals – granting increased blood flow, cell production, it was essentially a mini health potion. The blue petals enhanced Mana regeneration, yellow petals satiated your body's need for vitamins and nutrients, purple calmed the mind.
It was an incredible support Ability and the girl was treasured within the group, herself standing in the center, protected the most out of everyone.
Another member that piqued my interest was a thin and lanky man who stood beside flower girl. He doesn't participate in combat, at least from what I've seen, but he is constantly throwing rocks into the forest.
In fact, the dude has one hell of an arm! The rocks he's lobbing into the air are soaring through the trees, cutting far deeper into the jungle than I could hope to see. Curious, I approached the man.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Hm?"
"The rocks –" I pointed to the satchel of stones tied to his belt, "why are you chucking rocks into the jungle?"
"Fuck me." The man said under his breath, his accent British, his voice deep and scratchy, likely from years of smoking, "Don't you think it's rude to ask for another's Ability?"
"No." I shook my head, "Why? Is it?"
He shook his head and scoffed, "I can see through the rocks." He stated very matter-of-factly.
"What?"
"I give my senses to objects! I see what the rock sees. I hear what the rock hears. It ain't all that complicated!" He leaned into me, his breath somehow smelled of smoke, a feat I would have thought to be impossible out here.
So an offensive Ability, a supportive Ability, and a scouting Ability.
Lucky bastard!
And all I got in my team was fucking |Glow|!
I left the rock man's side and returned next to Olive. We've sort of established this unspoken thing where she's my Summoner and I'm her summon so I try to stand next to her. Again, not sure if it's a common sense thing or the mere fact that I'm a summon influencing my habits.
But either way, does it really matter?
After multiple days of travel we arrived at the pyramid. First and foremost, it looks nothing like the pyramids in Egypt. This pyramid was constructed entirely of black stone and at its peak, instead of a simple point, a giant crystal hovered above.
The monstrous jewel was red in color and as it hovered above the pyramid it slowly spun around, pushed by the gentle breeze that passed through the jungle. Within the jewel's center, a light surfaced and faded, in rhythm, like a beating heart. Sparks of electricity bolted from the light source, kissing the edges of the crystal every so often.
Pushing into the clear, I saw wooden huts and towers constructed in front of the pyramids entrance. I saw men and women moving around the camp, some carrying baskets of fruit atop their heads, others running with bundles of wood towards bigger, beefier men who immediately began to chop it.
For a moment, I found myself lost in a daze, trapped in the repetitive cycle of Isaac's camp. They were like a well-oiled machine. Every person was moving with intention. Each member assigned a role no less important than their companion beside them.
To be honest, it was a scary level of cooperation.
These people just traveled across, presumably, worlds. They encountered and slayed feral beasts, had to come to terms with the existence of magic and the harrowing possibility of never seeing their loved ones again. These people should have been broken; or at least more dysfunctional than this.
Another ability? I pondered.
"Welcome to your new home," Isaac said solemnly, if it were up to him, not a single other person would be transported to this nightmare.