Becoming the Dark Lord

Chapter 566: The Unarmed Survivor

Clark moved through the flooded forest, boots sinking into the soft current with every step. He'd gotten lucky or as lucky as anyone could get here. The moment he neared the Green Bracelet zone, he'd witnessed a massive surge sweep through the entire region. A wall of water had bulldozed everything in its path: crocodiles, trees, debris, even people. All of it dragged along in a single violent rush.

Clark and his partner Simon picked through whatever the water left behind.

"Some of these idiots don't even have yellow bracelets," Clark muttered.

"I saw a few guys up ahead without pants," Simon said, laughing. "Either the wave stripped them clean or they were having a private party before they died."

While Simon searched another patch of wreckage, Clark approached a body.

"Another useless one. Nothing, not even a bracelet," he said, giving the corpse a nudge with his boot.

The man lunged.

Clark tried to shout for Simon, but a hand clamped over his mouth, and with one swift movement everything went black.

***

Luke had taken down the two men looting the bodies in that area. He scavenged what little remained: a pair of boots, a shirt, and a machete. One of the men carried a hatchet, but that wasn't much help.

I lost everything.

Every piece of gear he owned was gone. His bow, knives, canteens, pack, food, quiver swept away by the tsunami. Even his bracelets.

[Bracelets Found: 0/6]

He pried a yellow bracelet from one of the bodies.

[Bracelets Found: 1/6]

I need to find another damn green bracelet.

A sharp, lingering pain stabbed through his ribs; he suspected one was cracked. Luke trudged forward for hours. Every step hurt. He was bleeding from fresh cuts, still aching from his fight with the Father's group and Gabriel Domínguez. But he had to get out of that forest. If the island had created one wave, it could easily create another.

When night came, he hid inside the hollow trunk of a tree. He chewed on whatever fruit he had left. Voices drifted through the forest from time to time, carried by the wind. His head throbbed, the kind of pain that refused to fade.

Mild concussion maybe? One of his ears wasn't hearing anything. That tsunami had come out of nowhere.

After some rest, he forced himself to keep moving through the night. He preferred traveling in darkness now, resting during the day. But for the first time since entering the island, he had no direction. The plan had been to reach the green bracelet zone, but returning there meant risking another encounter with people like the Father's group or someone like Gabriel. In his state, he wouldn't win.

I need potions, equipment, a pack.

He was worse off than on the first day. At least back then he could run without feeling like a blade was lodged inside his ribs.

***

Near dawn, distant torchlight flickered between the trees. A group was on the move.

"Everyone stay close," said a familiar voice.

Zoe. Alongside her were Amelia, George, David, Elijah and more people than before.

"I know we lost some to the wave," Zoe said, "but we'll make do with what we have. We're getting out of this."

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Getting out? In a few months you'll all be dead. Didn't any of you read the damn challenge?

Luke watched them from the shadows. He stayed long enough to pick up bits of information, hunters operating farther west, a Thai group scouting around the bracelet zone. That was all he needed. If people were still in the challenge area, then sooner or later someone would walk out with a green bracelet. And Luke could take it, just like the Father's group had tried to do to him.

***

Luke moved through the flooded forest at dawn, water rising just above his ankles. A cluster of dead crocodiles lay ahead of him.

Black fletching.

One of the beasts had a dark green arrow lodged in its hide. It was the third he'd found so far. None of the other corpses scattered across the swamp had arrows in them.

Whoever killed them retrieved their shots… but left these. Maybe during the tsunami chaos?

He picked up the shaft. The color was off, darker than anything he'd pulled from system chests.

[Olive Arrow (Uncommon)]: A standard arrow carefully reforged by a skilled fletcher, its shaft strengthened and its head tempered for superior balance and resilience. Crafted from dense olive wood, it resists splintering and maintains true flight even under harsh conditions.

Someone with a proper fletcher profession had enchanted a basic arrow. If it weren't broken, he would've kept it.

He'd seen plenty of participants who could launch fireballs, lightning, magical flares that burned straight through armor, even explosive arrows. Meanwhile, he'd been stuck unlocking skills that weren't nearly as destructive.

He opened the leaderboard.

User Rankings! These are the participants with the highest point totals and therefore the greatest chance of winning the challenge!

1st Place: Luke Moon – 6,986,791 IP (Bracelets Found: 1)

2nd Place: Yut Saeten – 6,239,121 IP (Bracelets Found: 2)

3rd Place: Ivor Aaberg – 5,337,478 IP (Bracelets Found: 2)

4th Place: Madison Sullivan – 3,121,444 IP (Bracelets Found: 2)

5th Place:Austin Rawlins – 2,975,481 IP (Bracelets Found: 2)

I'm in first place. And I still have no idea what the hell these points are actually for.

Bracelets mattered more. Against the others at the top, he was behind.

***

When night fell, he hid among the branches of a tall tree. A group of five archers swept through the swamp below, checking the bushes. They moved together, obviously a team. Each wore a stone strapped to their forehead that glowed like a lantern.

They didn't bother being quiet.

Luke crept along the branches, careful not to make noise in the water. Every time they found a corpse, they fired an arrow into it just to be sure. Luke had to stay low, almost flat against the trunk. He removed his boots and went barefoot. The group spread out. When a crocodile surfaced, they shot it before it could even lunge.

"Look at this. A bastard with a broken leg," one of them snickered.

Where?

Luke watched closely. Long-distance vision. That one's dangerous. They fanned out and surrounded a man roughly Luke's age.

"Come on, guys, we're all victims here. I swear I won't try anything, just let me—" An arrow cut his plea short.

"He didn't have anything."

"Must've lost it in the tsunami."

Luke stayed hidden behind a tree as one of them crouched to retrieve the arrow. He flicked a stone far into the brush.

"Sound on my left!" one of them yelled, and all five turned their bows toward the noise.

Luke dropped behind the one farthest back and sliced his throat with a single clean motion.

[You have slain a Human…] *363,843 IP earned*

"Damn it, distraction!" another shouted, but too late. Luke spun, severed his hand, and brought the machete down in one swift strike.

[You have slain a Human…] *281,427 IP earned*

An arrow came at him. Luke deflected it, sending it straight into the archer's chest.

[You have slain a Human…] *127,645 IP earned*

He caught the man's bow as he fell, notched the next arrow, and fired into another target.

[You have slain a Human…] *322,888 IP earned*

The fifth man rushed him. Luke slammed a fist across his face, pulled a knife from the man's belt, and drove it into his chest.

"You bastard…"

[You have slain a Human…] *248,582 IP earned*

Luke examined the bodies.

"Thanks for the bracelet… and the gear."

He pulled a green bracelet from one of their wrists. Stripped the others. Took every item they carried: cloak, boots, pants, shirt. He broke the spare bows and kept the best one.

[Observer's Bow (Common)]: A simple lightwood bow reinforced at the tips, fitted with a small crystal sight near the grip. When aiming through it, the wielder can see beyond normal vision range, making distant figures clearer and subtle movements easier to detect. Favored by scouts, sentries, and patient hunters.

So that's how he saw from a distance. This will be useful.

[Flammable Liquid (Common)]: A small glass flask filled with animal fat refined by an alchemist into a highly combustible substance. Thick and oily, it clings to surfaces when thrown and ignites easily when exposed to flame.

Interesting.

Their bag held five flasks of the stuff.

These guys had been well prepared.