"Wake up, boy," a mysterious female voice said. Kaen asked angrily, "What's going on here? WHO are you?" "I am your first incarnation," the woman said. Kaen, bewildered, asked, "What?" In response, the woman said, "Ask your master about meditation if you want strength." Then Kaen began to lose consciousness and woke up in a room. The room was much larger and looked luxurious. When Kaen tried to lie down again, he noticed Elariana sleeping in the same bed with him. Kaen, frightened, fell out of bed, screaming and waking everyone up, except Akira... "What's happening?" Gamble yelled. Rubbing her eyes, Elariana said, "Good morning, darling." Kaen calmed down, got up, dusted himself off, and apologized to everyone for scaring them. Gamble went back to sleep along with the children, but Aki couldn't, sitting by the window, reminiscing about her childhood. "What?! I can't do it?!" a confident voice from the memory said. And another replied, "I bet my bread that you can't." A young Aki with a young voice said, "I bet my first date with me." The boy blushed and said, "Gamble, what should I do?" In response, he got, "You'll need to do it," as young Gamble patted young Akira on the shoulder. Akira stood in front of the boy and said, "Get ready, because the victory is mine," rubbing nose and smiling broadly. Suddenly, Akira woke up. Everyone else was still asleep except for Akira, who was in the bathroom. As he exited, he took a deep breath and shouted, "GET UP, THE SUN IS UP!" Everyone who was sleeping fell out of bed in shock. Approaching Aki, Akira asked, "Do you want to train with us today?" Blushing, Aki replied, "Maybe I'll join." Kaido interrupted, asking, "Will you tell us about your past today?" Scratching her head, Akira replied, "I said I would. I'll tell you by the campfire." Kaido, slightly saddened, went towards Kaen's bed and shook him, saying, "Training. Get up," and went to the kitchen. Kaen rubbed his eyes, yawning, murmured something, then stood up and approached Akira, asking, "Will you teach us meditation today?" Already annoyed, Akira asked, "It's morning. Kids shouldn't ask so many questions; you should play. You have free time; we'll meet here in 7 hours," he said and went to the kitchen. When Kaen got scared, Kaido changed his mind and approached the lying Gamble on the floor. Looking at him, he muttered something, picked him up, and laid him on the bed again to knock him over. Gamble woke up this time and asked, "What time is it?" Aki replied, "Around 9:30," to which Gamble aggressively responded, "Then why wake me up? The gambling den only opens after midnight," and then lay back down, but Akira said, "There are still illegal tables." Gamble immediately got up and said, "I'm getting ready, my dear friend," and Akira and Aki looked at each other, after which Akira said, "He's always been like that." "Since he learned what gambling is," when everyone was ready to go out into town, Akira said, "Maybe I can teach Kaen, Elariana, and Kaido something." Kaen immediately replied with a question, "Can you teach us meditation?" Akira smiled and said, "It'll be easy." "So, are we going to make money while you train?" Gamble asked, and Akira said, "We'll meet no later than morning," closing the door. "Do you know how to get to the 'illegal tables'?" Gamble asked, to which Akira pointed to a bulky man with guards. Gamble and Akira looked at each other, and Akira approached him and immediately said, "I bet three slaves and 200 gold," the rich man smiled and replied, "I'll double it, but instead of slaves, I'll give you old dragon scrolls." Akira and the rich man shook hands and headed towards the abandoned building. Before entering, Akira said, "I won't play with you; he will," pointing at Gamble. Surprised, the rich man said, "It doesn't make a difference," as they entered the building, they reached the door under the destroyed stairs. One of the guards opened it, revealing a descent with music, laughter, screams, and sounds of female moans. Going downstairs, they entered a huge room with tables for various games and bars. Gamble, astonished, said to Akira, "How did you know there's such a great place here?" Akira replied, "I heard rumors, and when you were sleeping, I asked a guy about this place," reaching the bottom of the stairs, the rich man asked, "What does the esteemed Blonde want to play?" Gamble replied, "Call me Gamble, and I'd like to play two games," the rich man asked, "Alright, how do you see it?" Gamble replied with a smile, "Each subsequent game is a doubled stake," Akira tapped Gamble on the head and said, "Sorry, he got carried away. He'll play blackjack," "Alright then, welcome to the table," said the rich man. "I'll go get drinks," said Akira, patting Gamble on the shoulder. Going for drinks, Akira noticed a ring and decided to watch for a while. When the fighters entered the ring, a young girl and a big man, Akira said to herself, "Something's off with this girl," and when the man blinked, lying on the ground, and the girl didn't even make a move, shocked Akira jumped into the ring and yelled to the girl, "How much do I have to do to fight you?" The girl replied, "Find a sponsor," and left the arena. Akira immediately ran to Gamble, who had already won against the rich man. Excitedly, he said, "Betting on fighting now, huh?" Surprised, Gamble asked, "Who did you see?" Akira explained everything to Gamble, and the rich man intervened, "Are you talking about Tyylee? She's my fighter." After a moment of thought, Gamble said with a terrifying smile, "I bet this shield," placing the shield on the table, and Akira added a sword. The rich man said, "10 platinum coins. In 30 minutes, in the ring," finishing his drink and throwing it behind him. Excited, Akira couldn't sit still. When 30 minutes passed and Gamble and the rich man took their places in the VIP section, the doors opened, and Akira and Tyylee came out. "So, you really like to fight," Tyylee said, and Akira replied, warming up, "It's my hobby. I like to fight strong opponents." The girl tried the same trick as with the previous fighter, but Akira dodged, and behind him, a dent in the shape of a fist appeared on the door. "My turn," said Akira, then jumped towards the girl, trying to kick her, but she also dodged. The fight seemed like they were both having fun. When Akira was hit and sent flying, he muttered a spell, "As a servant of the will of lightning, I command you to lend me this power, Step of Zeus," and then appeared behind the girl with lightning speed and delivered a knockout blow. "END OF THE FIGHT, AKIRA WINS!" the referee shouted. Akira extended his hand to help her up, but she, with anger and tears in her eyes, ran away. The rich man said something to his guard, who left. Gamble, worried, said, "The coins. I'm in a hurry." The rich man reluctantly gave the coins, and Gamble quickly went to Akira and whispered, "I don't trust this guy. Follow that girl; I'll be outside." Akira agreed and disappeared, Gamble also disappeared, and the rich man left, going to the dressing room for the fighters. As he entered, he shouted, "HOW COULD YOU LOSE? HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHAT I'LL DO IF YOU LOSE?" The terrified girl couldn't say anything. The rich man took out a knife from his back pocket and slowly approached her, saying, "You've lost twice already. You've disappointed me twice. But now, you'll never disappoint me again." He cornered the girl, saying in her ear, "Unless you do as we agreed." The girl wanted to say something, but their conversation was interrupted by Akira, who burst through the wall and said, "This time, I hit the mark." When the rich man instinctively lunged at him, Akira subdued him with a single kick. He didn't leave his henchmen without a treat either. The girl also instinctively attacked Akira, but he avoided her and tried to calm her down. But without success, when Akira jumped back to the door, he tried to say something but was shocked in the back and lost consciousness.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.