Tomorrow morning they were all woken up by Vlad beating on their door and screaming “IT’S MORPHIN TIME” as loud as a siren. They quickly assembled in the dining room downstairs. After eating some bread and drinking some milk immediately they headed towards the park they had trained yesterday. A few minutes for small talk was allowed and soon they were lessoned by Natalia and Vlad on how to wield specific types of weapons. Then the sparring session began.

Thompson continuously struck at Bold with his blade. Bold managed to block his blows and retreated. He was not sure if he was lucky enough to be still standing or Thompson was just going easy on him.

“Is that all you got, boy? Defending and retreating?”

“I guess so” said Bold timidly.

“Too bad. Then I’ll just have to try and wake you up”

This time Thompson’s strike managed to stab his chest. Bold cried in agony but his opponent showed no mercy and hit his abdomen. And the third strike sent Bold’s sword flying into the air. With no choice left Bold used his secret technique of running away.

“Oh no, you don’t!” cried Thompson.  

Even his secret technique proved pathetic. He was slow and sluggish as a cow and Thompson caught up to him easily and stabbed his back.

“Aweee”

Bold fell on the ground with his chest but Thompson committed a fatality by kicking his butt.

“Shit, that hurts”

“And it would have hurt like hell if this was not a bloody video game. Now get up”

“Screw you. You’re just gonna kick my ass again”

“Will kick your ass more if you’re down”

Thompson kicked him in his ribs and Bold yelled helplessly.

“The enemies we may encounter in that dungeon are cruel and wile. They will eat you alive if you don’t get your pathetic ass up”.

“I said no!” whined Bold.  

“Lazy chubby fool!” 

Thompson kicked his ribs again. Bold tried to hold his agonized cry out of pride but it was no use.

“Hey, stop it. Don’t you think this is a little too much?” said Vlad as he came towards them.

“No, I don’t think so. As far as my eyes can see, I think you’re going a little too far with this” yelled out Thompson.  

“Huh?”

Thompson was frowning and yelling.

“Look at this weakling. His body is like a pig’s and his legs are like twigs. Can’t handle a weapon and his spell seemed pathetic the other day too”

“Hey, don’t judge a book by its cover. He might become a great support if we teach him the necessary things” said Vlad.  

“Listen to me, Vlad. I don’t know if you’re just optimistic or horribly evil. This boy might not even survive if he goes to the dungeon with us”

“I’m 24 you know. I’m not the boy that you speak you of” said Bold with frustration.  

“That makes it more pathetic you man-child. Even Emma there could probably beat you up” 

“Shut up”

Enraged, Bold got up to his feet and balled his hand to a fist. He turned around to charge at Thompson but someone caught him by the arm. It was Mikhail. He gave Bold a cold look and slowly shook his head. The seldom encountered seriousness on his face was enough to restrain Bold.

“You can get mad all you want. But your frustration won’t save you from reality”

Thompson’s words stabbed into his chest sharply. Bold could not bear the mockery and went past everyone headed towards the exit of the park.

“W-where are you going?” asked Vlad. 

“Wherever I want. I don’t wanna hang out with you assholes”

Bold quickly jogged out of the park. He did not have plans to survive the wave or any plan at all. But all he knew was that he had to go away. Go away as far as possible from this hellish place. Someplace, somewhere that he was not bothered.

He reached an inn, ordered a room, threw himself in on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The silence, the darkness, now no one would hate him or blame him. He was all alone, away from the chains of others. But sleeping was impossible, it was noon and regardless of being beaten by Thompson, he had restless energy in his reservoir.

Damn, did I do the right thing?
Of course, you didn’t, you idiot. You have nothing to do besides waiting for death. Beating the dungeon quest was your path to strength.

Why am I such a mess? Did I run away from there just to feel guilty? Too bad that there aren’t any movies or video games to play in this world.

Ahh, fuck those shitty games. Those are the reasons that I am weak. 

He rolled on the bed as if trying to throw away the nonsensical thoughts that had gathered in his head. The place was now utterly quiet and peaceful. But soon enough even this peace seemed bothersome. Yes, he hated it. He hated this feeling all his life. When he was all alone in one of the rooms of a tall apartment in America he would occasionally sit around and do nothing, like this. He couldn’t stare at the PC 24/7 anyway.

For some reason, those moments felt like true hell. Sometimes thoughts would occupy his brain and he would go on a tangent of imaginative adventure until his brain physically felt like it couldn’t take it. But sometimes everything would become so quiet, that he almost felt his life and body was slowly vanishing. Almost as if he is dying.
 
“Damn it”.

He hated that feeling, he would do whatever it takes to forget this feeling. But was it right to forget that in the first place?  Would he be here, in this death game if he never rejected this feeling and strived for a much more meaningful life? But what the fuck was a meaningful life anyway?
Running after money, fame and power like crazy? Was that really a meaning?

Of course, the answer would be no. But staying like this…he couldn’t afford it again. Just to wither away in silence. In a small room which he considered to be a shelter, but in reality, a cage. 

“I don’t wanna waste away”.

He sprang off the bed and ran towards the door at top speed. 

------

“Take this”

When Emma finished typing the codes, a yellow sphere emerged from her wrist. She ordered the orb to dash forward with the movement of her index finger. Her target was, of course, Vlad.

“Lightning surge”

Following Vlad’s cry, a blue aura emerged from the handle of his sword and reached its tip, enhancing the blade’s defensive and offensive capabilities. The orb lunged at him but Vlad was fast enough to strike it with his electric sword. The clash created a shockwave strong enough to push away both the sphere and Vlad from one another. When Vlad barely got a decent footing, the orb charged again.

Vlad could only block the blow with the back of his sword this time. The clash threw him into the air and he fell on his back. But when the orb closed in to finish the job, Thompson came from beside them and slashed the orb with his blazing sword. This time the orb simply got thrown away in the opposite direction. Vlad got to his feet and yelled:

“Look out”

Thompson had previously injured Mei with his attack and came to aid Vlad. But now it proved that he had underestimated her as she charged at them while riding her trusty blue deer. Mei typed on her wristboard and a grey figure appeared in her hand.

“Oh no, you don’t” said Thompson.

Mei threw the figure at their opponents but Thompson yelled “Serpent's strike”. The burning snake emerged from his sword, sprang towards the figure and destroyed it right before it reached the ground.
Mei pulled a dagger out of her bag and steered her deer right at them.

“Swap” yelled Vlad.

Understanding the meaning of the word Thompson switched positions with Vlad.

“Crazy current”

Just as she raised the dagger to strike, Vlad’s palm emitted a blue light and suddenly lightning currents swirled out of it. Both Mei and her deer screamed in agony as electricity spread across their bodies. The deer disappeared into thin air and Mei fell to the ground with her face.
 
“Sis” yelled Emma.

She gritted her teeth and ragefully moved her index finger.

“Swap” yelled Thompson.

Vlad turned around and managed to hit the orb away just in time while Thompson lifted the agonized Mei to her feet. But his intentions were far from innocent.

“Alright. I’ve got your sister as a hostage. Give up or I’m going to make her suffer” cried out Thompson. 

“What?” yelled Mei but Thompson brought his sword to her chin to prove that the matter was more serious than she had thought.

“That’s not fair. You can’t do that in a friendly spar” said Emma. 

“This is a truthful training session. So, I cannot allow myself to go easy on you” said Thompson. 

Just as he threw a nasty grin towards Emma, Mei screamed.

“What?” said Vlad from beside them.

“He’s touching my chest and groping me”

“N-no” yelled Thompson. 

“Is that true?” said Amanda who was quietly observing their battle up to now.

“Truly shameful if it’s true” added Mikhail.

“Didn’t think you were such an opportunist” said Vlad.

“I’m innocent. This is libel. I only grope women if they want me to grope them. The only woman I aggressively groped was my sister” cried out Thompson. 

“Dude, that’s creepy” laughed Mikhail.

“She was my big sister and she deserved it”

Even during all this commotion, Thompson’s ears were like an animal’s. When a slight sound of steel was heard he quickly stopped his yammering, spun around and swung his sword. Just in time to defend himself from Mei’s dagger. She barely managed to hold her weapon in hand when the two metals clashed.

“Ha! you think you could fool a proud swordsman with petty tricks such as this? Think again, girl”

Just as he raised his sword to deal a decisive blow, he heard the scream of a man in the distance. Or a battle cry to be more specific. It was a man on a horse who was holding a sword in one hand and gripping the rope halter in another. And soon it became clear that the man was none other than Bold. Who despite inhabiting the same body had an animalistic rage written on his face.

“THOMPSON”

Everyone was simply observing him at first but when it became clear that the horse was charging towards them at top speed, they all scattered to make way. But Thompson did not move. Instead, he grinned and raised his sword.

Within a moment the horse dashed past him and Bold swung his sword as hard as he could. Thompson was skillful enough to block the blow but the impact made him wobble and take a few steps backward. The horseman rushed away but he only left Thompson with boiled blood and excitement.