"Two more have reached the tower"
Those few words scrambled Kay's mind. They had gotten sidetracked and were now guaranteed 4th and 5th place at best. The fire suddenly felt cold and his stomach was squeamish. It was like a couple centipedes were fighting in there, messing up his insides.
But who had finished? Assuming his guess about the moth girl was right, then who? The knight or maybe the cyborg kid? Out of the remaining participants, they seemed the most competent, with armor and weapons at their disposal.
"For those still in the jungle, I have some unfortunate news," said the god.
Kay looked over at Sanson, who continued staring blankly into the distance. It annoyed him that his new companion didn't seem upset by the god's words. He had acted overjoyed when learning that everyone would be capable of magic in the next world, regardless of their placement in the trials. It occurred to Kay that he may not have cared about the results at all; so long as he had magic, his status in life didn't matter.
"There are three of you left, and I've grown tired of this trial. Those remaining have 24 hours to reach the tower. Failure will result in zero points for this trial, with the addition of a demerit in the next round. One has already failed. Hurry to the tower unless you wish to share that person's fate," the transmission ended, peace returning to the forest.
Kay's blood chilled further. The words of the armored warrior replayed in his head.
"Are we allowed to kill our competition?" he had asked the god.
There was no evidence, a million things could have prevented one of them from reaching the tower. Death seemed the likely answer. Granted, it didn't mean that the warrior had been responsible. In the dream atop the tower, some had looked as out of their element as Kay.
The businessman and the vampire lady could have fallen prey to the beasts of the jungle. Unless they had found someone to compensate for their weaknesses as Kay had, it was possible. But the what-if remained at the forefront of his thoughts; murderer was too pressing to ignore. Coy though the god was, he hadn't forbidden it. It was a legitimate strategy: eliminating others meant more points for the perpetrator.
Then there was the imposed time limit. Kay had planned on getting a full night's rest and making steady progression throughout the day, plenty of breaks included. In a couple of days, they would reach the tower, but that was no longer an option.
Overwhelmed at their new predicament and with millions of concerns ricocheting inside his head, he acted decisively.
"Sanson, can you wake me up in two hours?" he asked.
"I can," responded the wizard, the same blank mask plastered across his face.
Kay was beginning to doubt his ability to read Sanson. He was tired for sure, but that didn't seem to be the cause of his new subdued attitude. It looked like when magic wasn't involved, his composure fit his age.
He didn't like how his friend had changed. He was supposed to be the introvert of the group, while Sanson was the zany extrovert. It had been years since Kay had engaged a stranger in full-blown conversation. Finding something to talk about was like pulling teeth for him, though it hadn't been the case with Sanson.
The man was crazy, Kay knew that much from the moment they'd met, but the wizard's insanity had easily closed any distance between the two. It just felt stupid to act awkward and shy around the old man who had almost gotten him killed. He considered asking him if there was something troubling him but decided against it. He never felt like talking about his own feelings, asking someone else for theirs sounded wrong.
"Thanks," Kay said, before drifting back into his dreams.
...
"Kay, wake up."
He felt someone shaking his body awake. His mind once again pulled out of his slumber, Kay rose, Sanson at his side.
"Is it already time to leave?" asked Kay.
The jungle was still shrouded in darkness, only the campfire and a bit of moonlight illuminating their surroundings. He had wanted to leave at daybreak. Between Sanson's fair amount of rest and the two hours he'd allotted himself, it should've been time. Yet, the sun was absent.
"No, it's only been about 45 minutes, but I needed to wake you," said Sanson.
His expression was no longer empty. He spoke frantically, twisting his neck to look behind every few seconds with dilated eyes. Wordlessly, the mage cast a spell on Kay, though it wasn't the silence spell he'd seen before.
He could feel the foreign element, mana, convening in his eyes. Instantly, any traces of sleep vanished from his pupils. They dilated and the campsite came clearly into view. The night vision spell worked well.
"We need to leave this place, now!" Sanson screamed as a whisper.
Gazing into the opposite side of cleaning, where he'd ended the deer's life, a small fire burned, its smoke polluting the clear jungle sky. There was a figure holding a torch about to exit the trees. The night vision spell allowed him to see a bit better than before, noticing the presence that had not yet noticed theirs.
He notched the light from the torch reflecting off several pieces of metal attached to the figure's body. They looked like armor and a sword. The armored man slowly approached, his sword already drawn.