Slapping another mosquito that left behind a tiny bloody trail over his skin, Luca chuckled drily, "If this continues, I won't survive the next week. And even if I do, the subsequent challenge will be my end."

He was currently in an environment without medication and hospitals, and these tiny beasts were carriers of countless diseases such as Malaria and Dengue. Getting down with a fever here was equal to becoming easy prey for both carnivores and challengers. Even if, on the off chance he managed to pass this trial, it was questionable what will happen to him in his personal space. Will he need to rely on his self-healing to slowly recover? Will he have the time to do so?

If his prediction was accurate, he would need an hour or two more before meeting his other companions. In the meantime, he had to think of a solution to deal with this threat.

Slowly moving in his designated direction, Luca's eyes non-stop examined the ground and the trees, "There must be something...Think Luca, think! A natural repellent. How do mosquitos find their prey? Scent...I need something to cover my scent, anything that mosquitos hate...Rosemary, Lavender, Catnip...But, none of these can be found in this environment!"

Hacking down another thick vine, he stopped to wipe his face with his shirt. It had long become soggy with his bodily perspiration. It was the same for the rest of his clothing. Especially so for the dark-green hoodie, he had put on before entering this trial. The only reason Luca still stubbornly refused to strip it down was its color! It could barely help him blend with his surroundings.

Taking a deep sight, Luca reevaluated his situation. Right now, he had other problems than just the mosquitos. The high temperatures and humidity in the air were sucking him dry. He was already thirsty and could feel the first symptoms of dehydration. In less than 20 hours, he would surely die as declared by the rules. Yet there was no sign of rain coming soon.

"Wasn't it supposed to rain every day in the Jungle?! I want to complain to NatGeoWild" Luca looked helplessly at his wet shirt. Was he supposed to squeeze it and drink it?

"No, the sweat contains large amounts of salt. If I drink this directly, it won't be beneficial at all...Well...I could try to gather the liquid and filtrate it by evaporation and condensation. But then it would be easier to just drink the natural dew formed on the greenery. No, it is highly likely it contains parasites and germs. I will need to boil it down. Or just--" His rambling was suddenly interrupted as he caught something from the corner of his eyes. It was a tree with a height of around 10m. Between its leaves, there were numerous clustered green and red flower buds.

"Syzygium aromaticum!" excitement colored Luca's voice as he identified this verdure. This was a clove tree! It could be considered a breakthrough for his first goal - the mosquitos.

This tree's full height was approximately ten meters, but its first branches were around two meters over the ground. Careful not to be blinded by his uplifted mood and stumble upon a snake, Luca slowly neared its trunk.

As soon as he approached, a weak but pleasant fragrance drifted toward his nose. Previously the damp, heavy air rich with the stench of soil and rot had prevented him from catching this whiff.

"Can I climb this?" he wondered, studying the trunk and its crown. When he was a young boy, he had climbed a few trees, but they were not as tall or moist as this one.

In this kind of rainforest, where the dense tops were obscuring the skies, the always-evaporating rainwater concentrated in the air, raising the humidity to its maximum. Once this oversaturated moisture touched the colder surface of the vegetation, it would immediately precipitate into water droplets. Only for the cycle to begin once again.

The result was this...Luca's hand glided over the bark lubricated by the liquid as he gradually frowned, "It is way too slick...But do I have any other options?"

In this world, most medicines were natural products or based on such products. Plants, animals, fungi, and germs; Humans were ravenous creatures, when it came to utilizing the resources around them. And Luca's major required him to delve deep exactly into this field. Therefore after some heavy contemplation, he came up with two answers, "Lemon eucalyptus and Vetiver grass." However, he soon shook his head in disappointment. The Lemon eucalyptus was even taller and probably just as slick. And finding the grass was a matter of luck. He had no time to waste anymore. With a deep sigh, his eyes returning to the plant in front of him. "This Clove is still my best chance."

...

30 minutes later

"Here you are, my dear mosquito nemesis!" in Luca's abraded hands, there were a few handfuls of bright red flowers. It took him more than half an hour and a bunch of painful abrasions and rips on his clothes to finally reach them. 

For a second, Luca was about to wholeheartedly send his gratitude to Mother Nature. However, on second thought, if it wasn't for this same Nature, he wouldn't be in this situation. This made him wisely shut up and continued picking the flowers.

These red-colored buds were the ones ready for harvest. They could be ground down to extract clove oil! Not only was this oil good to battle insects, it even had some medical properties. The eugenol it contained could be used as a painkiller, and the Clove itself had some nutrients like manganese and vitamins K and C.

"It was worth it!" a loud sound disturbed the Jungle's tranquility as Luca fell down from the tree...

...

"Still, it was worth it," he grumbled, massaging his lower back while passing between trees and shrubs.

After this event, perhaps because of his good mood, the rest of the journey seemed both smoother and bountiful. Not long after the Clove tree incident, Luca found a temporary water source in the form of succulent vines that would produce water when cut. After determining that this liquid wasn't harmful by a prick test and ingesting a small amount as an experiment, he had filled his stomach and a 1l bottle before continuing forward.

This bottle was taken out from his Tarot.

Sometime ago, while resting in his personal space, he conducted thorough research and found out that one of the card's functions was similar to limited storage space.

Luca couldn't stuff inside items over a certain size and weight. Nor could he take food and water from his apartment to bring in a game. Aside from his game rewards, he could bring only some miscellaneous items like kitchen knives, utensils, and bottles. His pillow and blanket couldn't be stuffed inside either, to his disappointment. But at least he answered one of his questions. This was how Ivan managed to pull a knife out of thin air in the first trial.

Going around a few more large trees, Luca came into a tiny opened space. And finally, more than six hours into the game, he saw people.

"Who are you?!" A shrill female voice cried out, making all other 4 players stare at him.

"I am from the yellow team," a smile bloomed on his lips, making Luca appear innocent and harmless, "Ah, I was very far away and got lost in this Jungle. If it wasn't for the Tracker, I wouldn't have found you." After a second, he added precariously, "Didn't you guys see me approaching an hour ago?"

"Calm down Annie, this dude should be our last teammate. Check out is hand," a man in his thirties with bushy sideburns and a pair of raven-colored mustache spoke from a few meters away. Around him were two more men and another woman with curly blond hair.

The woman who had just screamed cautiously approached as Luca kindly turned his hand to expose a bright yellow digital clock. After entering this challenge, his timer changed colors and reset to |05:00:00:00| gradually counting down. It both indicated his team and the remaining game time.

"He is clear!" The woman said emotionlessly, gesturing with her eyes for him to follow, "Come, we were just discussing the plan."

"Let's shortly introduce ourselves. My name is Brendon," the mustached man said, brazenly observing the newcomer as Luca approached.

"My name is Lawrence," Luca answered, returning the gaze with a smile.

This man was dressed in casual clothing with a leather jacket on top. A tattoo was peeking from under his shirt, snaking down from his left collarbone. "Must be quite hot in that jacket," was Luca's silent evaluation. His gaze, lingering only for a second before moving away.

Meanwhile, Luca's expression remained calm despite the blatant gawking he was receiving. These acting skills were self-taught for the better part of his life. It first started as a past-time fun when he and Dora were into face-reading games. Later it helped him hide some secrets, elevating the skill to its current level.

Actually, Luca's chilling smile had something to do with his preparations as well. As he said earlier, an hour ago, he used the Tracker for the second time, determining the position of these gathered players. Therefore he was ready for the meeting, and he had decided to appear ordinary and inconspicuous.

This 5-days escapade was not a challenge that a single man could breakthrough. In his long trek, Luca was lucky enough to meet only snakes and insects. And even that was enough to kill him if he wasn't paying attention. On top of that, every challenger was required to sleep for 3 hours daily. If even the daytime didn't let him rest, what about the night, when the danger would surely skyrocket? When and where could he find peace?

Hence the bare minimum for passing the game was a team of two players. And this only applied to the exceptionally smart and powerful. Not every Tom, Dick, or Harry could manage such a feat. For ordinary challengers, the more, the better.

The best way to clear this game was to thrive together.

"But in this game, earning and gaining trust may be the hardest. And most importantly, all of these people have tasted blood in the previous trials," Luca thought as he silently stayed by the side. He didn't trust these teammates, "Let's see where the wind blows to."

"Handsome guy, the name is Nadine," the blond woman's smile was dazzling as she let her eyes slide over Luca's body. "You already met Annie, and these two are Raf and Harry," without giving them a chance to open their mouths, she introduced her companions.

Annie was the cautious short-haired woman in tight-fitting black clothes that was the first to sense Luca's presence. She was looking disgruntedly at him with an overcast expression, slightly sniffing at the air. Raf and Harry, on the other hand, were mediocre at best. Both men looked ordinary, and their good physical condition seemed to be their only redeeming point. Luca's could see a bunch of small cuts all over their bodies. The two men's clothing was ripped and stained with some blood.

"Annie is sharp. She must have sensed the clove oil on me. Raf and Harry seem like capable fighters. They probably met danger but survived. However, they should prefer executing orders over acting on their own accord. The leader is probably Brendon or," Luca smiled back at Nadine, fleetingly showing his white teeth. His facial expression relaxed. "Everyone, nice to meet you."

"So, where were we..." Brendon scratched his sideburns as he casually continued the previous talk.

"How are we going to kill them?" Annie kindly reminded him.

"Ah yes..." he coughed and scanned everyone present. "All of you should have had some unpleasant experiences while traversing the Jungle. You should be well aware that surviving for 5 days is hard, bordering impossible," his mustache trembled slightly, and his eyes shook. Probably, he remembered something repulsive. "It is not like I want to do this either. But, this is our only way out of this challenge. Isn't that why we were given a choice?"

Luca adjusted his glasses with the knuckle of his right index finger. Not a single one of these people had a strong reaction toward the word killing. "Perhaps, only such people would be able to pass the second challenge." The Priestess's challenge looked simple, but it tested the inner strength of the challengers. It was cruel in its simplicity because it didn't give the players a way out. All, who had weak hearts or minds, would fail and perish; Some may not even understand why until their very last moment.

The Magician taught them desire and craftiness, and the Priestess uprooted the last buds of naivety. There was no place for weak-minded people on this Path.

"I agree," Nadine licked her lips. She was the first to express her opinion, and Luca could read a bit of eagerness and anticipation in her tone. After her lead, both Raf and Harry nodded their heads, leaving Annie the only one hesitating. Under the scrutiny of four pairs of eyes, she gulped the last remnants of saliva in her drying mouth before reluctantly nodding. A few hours in this game, and all challengers were already feeling pangs of hunger and symptoms of dehydration. They couldn't procrastinate and had to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Damn, why is everyone in this team so eager to fight! Aren't there any pacifists left?!" Luca silently swore as he opened his mouth, "I do not think this is a wise idea."

His voice hadn't even faded away when all five people stared at him. A few pairs of eyes were clearly beaming with hostility.