Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

A full party

“You’ve gotta be kidding us,” Zach chirped up, giving Madeline the side eye. “I’d rather jump off a cliff than play in a party led by you.”

“You’re the ones who asked us to join you,” Madeline responded sharply.

“Not me! That was totally Aaron’s idea. I’d have been happy to add you to my list of kills.”

“That’s enough,” Aaron said, breaking up the quarrel. “God damn, can we just stop arguing about everything?” He looked at Madeline and asked, “Why do you wanna lead?”

“Because I still don’t trust you guys. There’s no telling whether you’re just trying to use us as meat shields.”

“I get it that you’re protective of your little sister, but if you keep being so suspicious all the time, we will stand zero chance against the T-Rex. We are not playing on separate teams anymore. We are in this together now.”

Madeline knew she was being needlessly suspicious, but she wasn’t doing it for herself. She just wasn’t ready to put her sister in danger. Her call to lead the team was not because she would be able to provide any tactical advantage, but because she could keep her sister out of harm’s way.

“I think we can trust them, sis. They could’ve eliminated us twice by now, if they really wanted,” Isabella said.

“You’re just too innocent, Izzy.”

“No, I’m not!” Isabella frowned. “You’re just being too stubborn and grumpy!”

Madeline looked at her sister and then slowly shifted her eyes to Aaron. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “What’s the problem if I lead?”

“You’re way too attached to your sister. That’s the problem,” Aaron answered. Madeline was about to speak up, but Aaron interrupted her. “I have the Pack Hunter adaptation. If I am the party leader, then we will get a +25% damage bonus for every party member. That stacks up to 75% with a full party of 4. And trust me, we’re gonna need all the buffs we can get to defeat the T-Rex.”

 After a good bit of discussion, Madeline finally gave in and agreed to let Aaron lead the team. Aaron knew things were about to get very messy with such hot-heads in the team. Both Zach and Madeline were extremely short-tempered and they hated each others’ guts. Isabella seemed like the only other dependable person on the team. Despite being just 16 years old, she had a level head on her shoulder and was super friendly as well. She had already put all their past differences behind and was happy to be a part of a new team.

Aaron got to work quickly, preparing the items he needed for the battle ahead. Zach made a list of all the scrolls he had in his inventory right now and gave it to him. Each of the team members created separate save files at the camp fire, before gathering around it for further discussion.

“So, what do we name our team?” Isabella chirped excitedly.

Seeing the thrill in her eyes, reminded Aaron of the first time he had played an MMORPG. Despite being trapped inside this game, she was neither scared nor worried. In fact, she seemed to be having the best time of her life.

Zach, too, couldn’t force himself to stay mad at the duo after listening to Isabella’s endless childlike questions.

“Looks like someone is having a good time,” Zach chuckled.

“That’s what we all should be doing,” Aaron added. “We may not be playing on a screen anymore, but it’s still a damn exciting game. Not many people get a chance to go on such an adventure.”

“I’d rather be at home,” Madeline said. “This isn’t a game anymore. This is our reality now. We can’t play for fun, because we are trapped here against our will. If we die and the re-spawn mechanic fails, it will lead to permanent brain damage. We will never be able to wake up in the real world. This isn’t an adventure, it’s a death sport.”

“You must be fun at parties,” Zach muttered under his breath.

Aaron created a special recipe by using the bonfire and handed each of them a skewer full of lightly roasted, seasoned meat. “We need to relax and take a breather. Stressing out before a big fight is not the best way to go.”

“I’m guessing you have a plan?” Madeline questioned, turning to him, the meat still untouched on her skewer.

Aaron took a bite of his newly crafted recipe, before replying. “You really must try this, it tastes just like duck.”

When they had all eaten their fill, Aaron began explaining his strategy. Having a full party gave them a fair chance at taking down the T-Rex, but there was a long way to go. Formation meant everything in a boss fight. Now that they had a tank and a consistent damage dealer, Aaron and Zach could play around them.

Aaron assigned Isabella the role of a tank, giving her the responsibility for soaking hits for the team and protecting Zach. Madeline was best suited for close quarters combat, since she was a berserker, but getting too close to a massive carnivorous dinosaur was unadvisable. So, instead, he asked her to make use of her Aeromancer skills to deal damage from a safe distance. Zach had the job of providing support to the frontline players and summoning his minions to keep the T-Rex occupied.

When all the discussions were over, they all took turns buying essential supplies from the Mystery Shop. It was almost midnight now. There was nothing more they could do. Thus, they decided to hit the beds and fast forward time by 8 hours.

Since time worked a lot differently in this world, when Aaron and the others woke up the next morning, they felt they had actually slept for 8 hours at a stretch, despite having fast-forwarded the night.

The T-Rex was still there on the map, which was a good sign. It meant the other two players from Merlin Alliance hadn’t engaged it. With a full party of 4, Aaron had just the bare minimum required to try and take down the last Zone Guardian. However, before they could face the dinosaur, they had to make sure they were well-prepared. They had all the items and weapons they needed, but there was one major problem. The previous duels had completely ruined Aaron and Madeline’s armour sets. Madeline’s plate armour was chalk full of holes and deformed in several places, while Aaron’s clothes lay in tatters.

In this desperate hour of need, Aaron turned to Isabella. She was the only one who could craft gear.

“It’s time to put your crafting skills to use again.”

“With pleasure,” Isabella smiled.

Aaron and Madeline emptied out the animal hides from their inventory and handed them to Isabella.

“I think you can make two full sets of cured leather armour with that,” Aaron said.

Isabella pulled out a potion from her inventory and replied, “I think I can make something far better. Just wait and watch!”