D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad-Chapter 1829 - Survival Game Interlude 1

--- Kat ---

Thyme pulled out a large jug of water and… pretended to drink it? Kat was a bit unclear. The water in the jug wasn't going down but Thyme did seem to be drinking it and water was flowing out of the jug. So either Thyme was creating a loop in their neck to recycle the water or the jug contained a much larger amount of water then it appeared. Either way it acted as a break for everyone to just take everything in.

"So, there are still quite a few rules to go over and even more edge cases but, we can all take a break to talk things over before we get stuck into the next round… though… I suppose there is one more thing I can explain to you all," Thyme said as they summoned a stone slab. It had flower designs around the outside that were literally glowing with their colours. The reds glowed red, the blues glowed blue. There was a whole rainbow of colours.

"This here is a 'Major Challenge Stone'. If you find one it will have instructions on how to complete one of the areas major challenge. Some are clearer then others, this one, as you can see reads: 'Find the ingredients for fire resistance potion. Find someone to make the potion. Jump through lava waterfall. Get Prize' which is just an example of the sort of thing you might encounter out in the arena.

"Major challenges will always give you some of the better rewards from a power standpoint but they will never give you any additional time… so it's a trade-off to be aware of. Some of these challenges will give keys and chests, but not all of them. There are also four special challenges, one for each region, that when complete will give you a massive advantage in that section of the island… but there's nothing denoting that they're special at a glance.

"They'll all require some high degree of time investment and as such you may want to simply skip them over or try to steal the prize from someone who did invest the time into doing them. Don't get lost looking in the forest for a specific tree… but don't forget about these either. Maybe you'll just stumble into the answers. Though… don't expect them all to be anywhere near this clear when it comes to the real thing. Anyway, you're all on break for the next… say ten minutes? We've got stuff to go over still and I won't be answering questions just yet. See you all soon,"

Thyme clicked their fingers and as the snap rang out several things happened at once. The first was that a few small bowls of snacks appeared on everyone's tables alongside a jug of water for each person present. Thyme even went so far as to provide food and drink for the various familiars though they got large metal pans instead of jugs and they were all placed on the floor. Lastly, a slightly hazy wall appeared around all the tables and the nearby sounds all cut out.

Kat felt like she had to crack her knuckles or something but settled for grabbing some of the fish shaped crackers for Lily. [You do realise there's no fish in those right?]

*Do you want a fish cracker or not?*

[Ok fine. I'm super curious about how they taste in this form but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.] Kat shrugged and handed over the food. [Oh this is super weird. I have no idea how to describe this taste.]

While Lily was puzzling over that mystery Kat turned to the rest of the team. "So… what's the plan so far? We've only got a bit… but surely you guys have some ideas?"

"It seems that both teamwork and betrayals are being heavily encouraged," said Nixilei. "I'm also interested to know what the word on familiars is. They've been left out so far… but I thought they'd at least be mentioned in passing so I suspect Thyme has something up his sleave for that,"

Kat nodded, "Right… but for now we focus on the teamwork stuff? How… how worth it is it to work with someone from your team even with the drain?"

Nixilei shrugged. "I think the real problem will be finding each other. The faster loss just makes it worse,"

"Personally, I think finding major landmarks to occasionally meet up in might be a better strategy," said Gareth. "We can share resources and information that way… but we haven't had a chance to see those landmarks and we might end up quite far from each other. I wouldn't want to force someone to waste time crossing the island just to meet up somewhere and 'overhunt' the area,"

"Yeah…" agreed Kress. "I'm curious as to how it's all going to work. The time we've got is pretty generous… and the orbs make it seem like they're going to be all over the place. Plus there's that tablet for finishing everything… I honestly bet those get destroyed or lost. So like… do we even go for those? Like what's the plan?"

"Lily thinks the rule changes will be what pushes things along," said Kat on Lily's behalf. "Like, the first few days will be about making alliances, stocking up on orbs if you can, and finding as many secrets as possible before the new rules come into play that shake things up,"

Kress nodded along. "And the pieces?"

"I say we keep them until we get two or three then make a decision," said Gareth. "Though… hmm… the issue is that they're quite large. I'm unsure if they can be stored away in the storage bracelets… Thyme didn't say anything about it… but it would make sense?"

"But you can always 'steal' something from someone you defeat," countered Nixilei. "Thyme might be expecting them to get passed around that way…"

"We can ask about it later," cut in Green. "No need to get too far down that rabbit hole right now. I think what's more important is working out if we want to team up with anyone and how much we should trust them… and for how long,"

"I say we agree to a time limit," said Gareth. "It… makes the alliance more secure, at least at the start. Something like… 'Team up for the first 3 days, then re-negotiate with a 1 day truce afterwards'. That way you can feel secure in the alliance even when it's getting towards the end. At the start it's likely not worth making enemies so it should be a good chance to see who we can work well with,"

"How many people though?" asked Kress.

"Pardon?" asked Gareth.

"Well like… say we find someone to team up with, and then we run into a third or a fourth person… where does it stop? How many people do you think we can safely add to our temporary teams?" asked Kress.

Gareth tapped a finger on the table as he considered the question. Lily however, had a decent idea sending Kat the info to relay. "Three people. Any more than that and it's too easy to build a 'team within a team' so to speak. Keeping the numbers low means betrayal is a risky strategy and as long as you all keep using the orbs regularly the pay-off isn't good enough. Especially when getting knocked out or restrained doesn't actually take you out of the contest,"

Kress nodded. "Yeah that sounds about right. Though… how do we treat like… the extended team they're apart of?"

Gareth shrugged. "Hard to say. I mean… I guess that's something you'd need to just deal with as it comes? Set terms at the beginning, agree not to attack anyone on their team within the truce window unless you get attacked first? Stuff like that?"

Nixilei nodded. "Yes, I think working out a proper agreement is for the best… though I will add that if the squabbling becomes too much then it's best to just walk away. Maybe attack them? Not like… secretly that would be a major problem. Just state clearly an concisely that they crossed a line and you want to fight them over it,"

Green rubbed her chin. "Well… what do we do if we hear people saying that other people betrayed them or whatever. Like, I'm sure spreading the word is the right thing to do but how will we know if they're lying?"

"Just have to go with your gut I guess," said Kress with a shrug. "Maybe try and take them out if they're saying they lost already? Wait! No that IS a good idea. Check how much time they've got left on the bracelets. If it's more than a day then they're probably lying their ass off," freewebnσvel.cѳm

Gareth nodded slowly. "Yes… that… Kress is being a bit crude about it but he's not wrong. Depending on how long ago this betrayal is meant to have happened… if they haven't died yet that makes it a lot less likely. Especially if they were betrayed by multiple people and they're in good condition. Not a hard set rule… but yeah I'd keep it in mind,"