Strongest Nova: Path of Vengeance

Chapter 275: Yellow and Blue

"Your arm is gone, but we might be able to get your liver to heal if we get something," the woman said. "I’ll see if I can find some herbs to at least lessen the pain."

"Thank you," Stanley said, genuinely. The woman had given him a thorough check-up right there and gave him her diagnosis

"Sigh, that arm is definitely gone though. I think the only option is amputation at this point," the woman said.

"Do you need it to be done right now?" the young girl said, bringing out her dagger from behind her back.

"Not here," the woman said angrily. "The wound would get easily infected. We don’t even have any first aid kit here."

"If you want a first aid kid, you might find one over at the center grass," the short man said.

"We’re not going to the center grass," the tall man said. "That’s where every strong fighter gathers for a chance at weapons or food. Going there is suicide."

The other two reluctantly nodded.

"Isn’t the game supposed to end with just one victor in the end?" Stanley asked.

"Yes," the tall man said. "But it’s better to stay alive until the end, isn’t it? That way the strong ones can take out themselves. And who knows, they might also get wounded in the process."

"And we just... don’t attack each other? Will that work?" Stanley asked.

"It has to work," the short man said. "Ah, you guys didn’t join the game how everyone else does, so you might not know this, but there are people betting on who wins and who loses here. All of this is partially for the entertainment of those fuckers with too much money for their sanity."

"They enjoy watching people kill each other," the young girl said. "What we do will most likely be another point of enjoyment for them. As long as the entertainment remains, we will too."

"I still say we need to go to the center," Stanley said. "I’m not part of whatever this game is. I want out, and with something coming in from the center, something must go out from there as well."

The group of 3 looked at him with wide eyes. "You’re mad," the girl said. "We’re trying to think outside the box, and you want to break the box itself."

"You’ll just die," the short man said. "You might be angry, but you should get rid of those thoughts. Anyway, we should leave this place."

The other two nodded.

"Let’s go back to our camping spot," the tall man said. "Where are your stuff?"

"Mine is close by," the woman stood up and started walking.

"Mine is... like 4 hours away from here, near the river down the cliff," Stanley said.

"What? Why would you leave your stuff so far away?" the girl asked.

"It’s close by if you think about it," Stanley said. "I’ll make it back there before the sun goes down. It’s only a problem because I now have to leave with you."

"What do we do?" the girl asked.

"By the way," Stanley cut in. "I noticed that none of us gave our names. Is there a reason?"

"Names can be dangerous in such a place," the short man said. "Who knows what someone can do with your name? You have to remain vigilant."

Stanley was taken aback. Could someone use your name against you?

"So what do I call you?" Stanley asked.

"I’m Red," the girl said.

"I’m Green," the short man said.

"I’m White," the tall man said. "What colors do you want for yourself?"

"Yellow is fine with me," the woman said.

"What’s remaining? Blue? Blue works for me," Stanley said.

"Alright then, since Blue doesn’t have his stuff, I think the proper thing to do is to go with him for tonight, and we can all return to our camp tomorrow with him," the tall man said. "This wounded, he wouldn’t last through the night if someone attacked him."

Everyone gave a collected nod.

Stanley nodded as well. He took one last lay of the land, looking through the geography to capture it all in his mind. The center, he would have to go there sooner rather than later, but for now, he needed to protect at least one innocent person on this island.

He walked off with them.

The woman had stashed her items close by so they quickly got to it and left for the other’s campsite.

"Did you get a meal box too?" Stanley asked her.

"Yes," the woman said as she looked back at the group. "I think everyone does. I got a matchbox and water bottle too."

"Right, bottle," Stanley said. "What is that thing inside it? That golden ball."

"I think it’s a metal ball that can store a lot of heat, which releases it slowly," she said. "You heat it until it is red hot and it’s supposed to kill the bacteria inside your water. I don’t know how well it works, but it’s still something."

"Oh," Stanley said. "I’ve just been drinking straight from the river up."

"That’s... I won’t say it’s bad, but since you now have a better way, maybe don’t do that," she said.

Stanley nodded.

They talked for a while longer, and Stanley learned a bit more about the situation of the island from the other 3. They arrived at their campsite which turned out to be rather a wide opening underneath a large tree whose roots made a ceiling.

That was a perfect place to camp, but unfortunately, they had to leave this place to get Stanley’s items.

"Red, bless Yellow’s stamina. She might not be able to keep up otherwise," the tall man said.

The girl nodded and pulled out a small wooden object, nearly circular with sharp cuts. She threw it to the ground and only then did Stanley realize that it was a makeshift dice.

A number appeared on the dice, 18.

"Ooh, nice!" the girl said. 18 out of 24. You’re lucky, Yellow," she said and kept the dice.

"What did she do?" the older woman asked, surprised.

"It’s her power," the tall man replied. "She added to your stamina, so you won’t be so easily tired getting down from the mountain."

"Oh... okay," the woman said, not asking much more.

"She helped her recover stamina?" Stanley asked.

"No, she gave her an extra amount on top of what she already had," the tall man explained. "You could consider it a recovery if she was tired, but she’s not so it will become clear soon enough that it wasn’t a recovery."

"Oh," Stanley said. "Can she do for all of us?"

"Nope," the girl said. "My powers go on cooldown when I use them. The highest it can go down for is 4 hours. Since I got 18 earlier with a 24-sided die, it’s down for 3 more hours."

"Ah, so you don’t have any major requirement for using but you have to deal with it afterward," Stanley said.

"Yes," the girl said. "Right, Yellow. What are your requirements to use your powers?"

"Hmm? What?" the woman asked.

"Requirement," the girl said. "Since I helped you, I was hoping to get something back."

"Like...?" the woman asked.

The girl gave a sheepish grin. "Can you make me some candy?"