Reborn as God: The strongest system

Esdras did not worry about food or water, other than the official resources, he had food and waterskins in his storage ring. If things fell flat he still had water magic which could create real water.

Since this was still the first day, catching Sam and his buddies wasn't going to work, so he would give them time to regroup. It would leave a bad taste if some of them got away with it.

But it felt good.

It had been a while since he got his hands on some EXP, thankfully things worked out better than he thought. He could kill monsters to his heart's content to pass the time.

This place was going to be great. He could feel it.

Meanwhile, while Esdras was strolling calmly, the other apprentices were facing a life-and-death crisis.

Throughout the day Esdras understood just how ridiculous this test was for regular apprentices. The monsters in here were simply too powerful for them.

On the first day alone, he faced giant spiders that built their nests in holes throughout the place. After that he fought against tentacle monsters that had sharp razor-like teeth at the end of their tentacles, they were called land krakens.

These krakens were cunning and ferocious, they gathered in packs and used ambushes to gain the upper hand. Esdras had no idea that they had reached this level.

And if that wasn't enough, the apprentices still had to think about food and water, they also had to watch their backs for other apprentices. It was a test that only the truly powerful and lucky would pass.

[+ 420 EXP]

He had made an awesome harvest by nightfall but he was too excited so he didn't settle down or set up any camp. However, he was not that concerned, and he was happy to make some EXP after such a long time.

If he was in a dungeon then he could have made much more, that knowledge dampened his joy. Comparison was really the worst.

So he decided to hunt once more because he heard a suspicious noise, which he suspected originated from a nearby monster. He decided to act upon his suspicion before settling down for the night.

Following the noise, he accidentally stumbled upon a campfire set up by four apprentices, who were huddled around the fire and looking exhausted. There were some blood stains on their robes, and they had weapons with them.

They only had sleeping bags lined around the fire without making any tents. They probably did not want to set up any tents because it would leave them open for attacks by monsters.

Esdras did not want any trouble, he did not know them, so he did not have to make any trouble for them either so he decided to leave and go elsewhere.

"Who are you?" one of them asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

Esdras stopped in his tracks as he heard the voice calling out to him. He turned around to see Aaron, the leader of the group, gesturing for him to come back to the campfire.

For a moment, Esdras hesitated. He knew that he could not fully trust anyone in this test of life and death, and the fact that the four apprentices were armed and on guard made him even warier.

Esdras decides to approach the campfire cautiously. The four apprentices watched him carefully, their hands on their weapons.

"I'm Esdras," he said, his voice calm and steady. "I'm an apprentice like you." That wasn't exactly true but it wasn't necessarily wrong either.

The others looked at each other, seemingly unsure of whether to trust him. Esdras could sense their fear and suspicion, and he knew that he needed to be careful.

"Are you alone?" another one asked.

"For now," Esdras said honestly, "I was hunting in the swamp and stumbled upon your camp."

"Do you want to join us for the night? There's fire, not much else but that to be honest."

"Thanks for the offer," Esdras says, "but I think I'll be okay on my own. I don't want to intrude. As you know this is the Rite and I don't want to create unnecessary tension, so it's better for us to part ways. Good luck."

Aaron smiled warmly, but Esdras caught a glint of something sinister in his eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked. "We could use an extra hand. And it's safer to stick together, don't you think?"

Esdras hesitated for a moment.

"This Rite is not a death match between us fellow apprentices. Some people just assume that we have to kill each other for no reason, we must unite and fight together. Wouldn't we profit if we combine our strengths and pass?"

Another one of the apprentices chimed in as well, "even if we don't agree on many things, it shouldn't stop us from working towards a common goal. Survival."

"All right," Esdras nodded finally, "I'll stay for a little while."

The others seemed to relax a bit at this, and one of them gestured for him to sit down by the fire. Esdras cautiously took a seat, looking relieved but still on guard toward the others.

As they sat around the fire, the other apprentices introduced themselves.

There was Aaron, a quiet and reserved apprentice who seemed to be the leader of the group; Lily, a fierce and determined young woman with a sharp tongue; Marcus, a burly and muscular apprentice who looked like he could take on any monster with ease; and finally, Ethan, a wiry and agile apprentice with a mischievous glint in his eye.

As they talked, Esdras began to realize that these apprentices were not like the others he had encountered. They were not out for blood or trying to kill each other; instead, they had formed an alliance, pooling their skills and resources to increase their chances of survival.

They shared their rations with each other and worked together to set up traps and keep watch for monsters.

Esdras was impressed by their resourcefulness and resilience. He realized that, in a situation like this, having allies was crucial for normal apprentices. He just hoped they wouldn't try anything stupid.

As Esdras settled in by the fire, he began to relax. The other apprentices seemed friendly and welcoming, and they shared their rations with him.

However, as the night wore on, he began to feel uneasy. He noticed that the other apprentices were watching him closely, their eyes never leaving him. He could sense that something was off, but he could not quite put his finger on it.

As the night passed slowly, the apprentices took turns keeping watch while the others rested. Esdras volunteered to take the first watch, as he wanted to prove his worth to the group.

As he sat by the fire, scanning the surrounding area for any signs of danger, he thought about lending these guys a hand tomorrow as thanks for taking him in. Although he didn't need the help it wasn't bad to accept it.

However, while he was pretending to sleep he heard a troubling noise as he was yanked out of his sleeping bed and tied with a rope. He still didn't open his eyes and his breathing was uniform.

"Foolish bastard, this one is," Aaron said in a sad tone. "He should have gone away, good guys don't end up well in this world."

"Hehe if he wasn't so foolish we wouldn't have gotten our hands on his food and water." Lily laughed with evil intent.

"What to do with him?" Marcus, the one who tied him with the rope, asked innocently, he was still the closest to Esdras and kept himself that way. Probably to make sure Esdras didn't make any sudden moves.

"… just throw him out," Aaron said with a frown, "we have what we want, let him fend for himself."

"No way, we should get rid of him. Now." Ethan refuted. Esdras could tell he was the furthest from him, probably rummaging through his stuff.

"We don't need to kill him! He's no threat to us." Aaron snapped.

"Now, he isn't but what if he teams up with a couple of his friends and comes after us later? We can't take that chance."

" Aaron, you're the leader, give the call," Marcus said with confidence as if he wasn't going to bother himself with thinking about it and instead leave it to someone else. Obviously, he wasn't good with decisions and he knew it.

Aaron was still hesitating.

"What do you reckon will happen to him when we throw him out without his food and water he will just die out there more painfully. If we kill him now, we will spare him that fate. We're actually doing him a favor." Lily added.

"A dumb guy like him would get killed later on anyway," Ethan said as he nodded.

Now everyone remained silent, waiting for Aaron's decision. Esdras waited together with them as well. He was curious about what decision Aaron will make after all.

"… we let him go. Who knows he might find some shelter or food later on. And if he comes after us we will just get rid of him then." Aaron finally spoke with conviction and confidence.

"Sigh. You're still a hopeless fool." Ethan shook his head but didn't object.

The other two also had amused expressions as if they had also predicted that Aaron would make this decision. They seemed to be used to each other.

"Guys, no matter what we can't become like the rest of them. We do what we must, but not any more than that. I'm sure we can do it together."

Aaron started giving a speech that seemed to inspire the rest of them. However, they were suddenly interrupted.

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt or anything. I mean clearly, you guys have other things going on."

Esdras had an awkward expression as he scratched his head with his free hand casually.