Tuesday was quite sunny. It was almost warm as well, but not quite warm enough. As soon as I got to school, however, it started raining. I darted inside with everyone else as soon as I was off the bus. Ty flicked me, as usual, and headed off to his own locker with a wave.

“Dude, why put up with that?” some guy from my class asked me.

“It's no big deal.” I shrugged as I made my way to my locker.

“Everyone's waiting for the day you two finish that fight you started in gym class, you know.”

“Heh.”

“No cares given, huh?”

“It's water under the bridge, now.”

“Well you did get that quarterback expelled for us, so some of us give you a pass on resuming that fight with Tyler.” the other guy shrugged.

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Sure.” he nodded back, and headed off to his own locker as I reached mine. Rachel arrived moments later, and the two of us smiled in greeting.

“Don't forget club today,” she told me.

“Like I'd forget!” I said with a grin.

“True!” she nodded in reply.

“Aren't you usually here before me lately?” I suddenly wondered.

“Hmm? Oh, we got caught in a bit of traffic this morning.”

“Busy morning, huh?”

“Seems like it,” she returned. When we had collected our books and put everything unneeded away, we headed on inside for class.

Once more, the morning passed unusually quickly, slowing down briefly for lunch. Then afternoon classes went by at a steadier pace. All of our teachers were starting to stress reviews and studying. There was only about four weeks left before our month-long winter break, after all. I wasn't as worried as I might have been; I had plenty of help studying, and it was probably going to stick at least long enough for me to pass a test on stuff. We were then released for the day, and headed to our club room for our more official meeting.

“Okay, so, next weekend, we got cleared for a visitation to Ninety-five Seven's Radio Station.” Andrea said to start us off. “We've got the van, Mrs. Liang, and Mrs. Brown. And it looks like all of you can get there, yes?”

“Yep!” Rachel nodded.

“That works,” I said.

“I won't work until the afternoon, so as long as it's morning we're good.” Ellie said.

“Oh definitely. Nine to eleven-thirty.” Andrea replied.

“Sweet!”

“I can go for sure.” Mary said.

“It would be strange if I did not show up for this one since my mother is going!” Anhe remarked, and we laughed.

“Great! So that takes care of our first trip; let's plot out another one for early March or so, okay?” our club president told us.

“Right,” I nodded back.

“Oh def.” Ellie agreed.

“Se-con-dly...” Andrea then said, “I'm nominating Rachel to succeed me as club president when I graduate.”

“Huh? Oh...” Rachel returned, considering the words for a brief moment. “I guess I don't have any problem doing so.”

“You should do it--” I started to say, and then turned quickly to Andrea. “Wait, you'll be around for another year, won't you?”

“Hmm... I will, but I'll only be here half the day most of the time.” she smiled back.

“Same.” Ellie nodded.

“Huh?!”

“Aw!!”

“Why!?” Anhe, myself, and Rachel exclaimed at nearly the same time.

“I'm doing college prep next year for my afternoon electives.” Andrea smiled back at us.

“Oh...” I returned a bit glumly.

“And Barnum said he has high hopes for me. I plan to run up the ladder a bit there, maybe do some performing or MC-ing before I give it up; but I probably won't for a while.” Ellie told us. “So I'll be doing a practical elective, more or less.”

It was this moment that suddenly and rudely reminded of how swift and fleeting my youth was actually going to be. Life wasn't going to be an eternal adventure. Well, not in the gamer's sense, anyway. Maybe some different kind of adventure would present itself, a new challenge open its doors to invite us in, but right now...

“Right now... it feels like all I can do to hold on to these moments,” I whispered softly, a sad smile crossing my face. The girls, Ellie included, looked misty-eyed when they caught the words.

“Gwaw...!” Ellie said as she sniffled a bit. “Sometimes you say the most precious things, you little dork.”

“Thanks... you bigger dork.” I quickly retorted, a cheesy grin on my face. The others burst out laughing, and Ellie herself gave me a grin.

“I walked into that. Not even gonna point you for it.” she said to me.

“Hahh... anyway.” Andrea said, wiping her eyes as the laughter subsided. “So that's it for official business; let's do our study thing and get home.”

“Agreed.” Mary smiled. “How's the math, Sean?” she asked me, and I softly jerked back.

“Ahh...”

“Hopeless as ever.” Andrea shook her head, a smile twitching on her lips.

“Come on, bring it out.” Mary said as she moved closer, and I brought out that terrifying stack of unholy demonic scrawl that the teachers called math homework. For the rest of our time at school, I had this hellish ledger translated to me by a noble priestess who kindly explained its senseless and fear-inspiring markings.

After that grueling drill, we went our mostly separate ways home, and I went to do some stuff around the house as per usual before dinner. I was then called inside for the meal in question, implored not to go back out on account of a sudden frost that was coming our way, and then all too gleefully headed upstairs to don the Dream Machine for the night.

No one else was on yet, so I wandered the streets a bit. Almost mechanically, I made my way to that side of the district where Lysandra's secret spa-spot was located. I stopped at an intersection a couple of blocks away from it, suddenly feeling that mysterious presence again.

“Myanihia, I take it?” I said to the silence.

“You're getting better.” they said to me.

“I hope so,” I replied, turning around to face the faceless figure.

“You used it.”

“I did.”

“Now you see more, don't you? More possibilities, more combos.”

“Not quite yet, but I'm sure I'll get there.”

“You will.” they nodded to me. “As I said, Lysandra challenged me. I accepted.”

“You've got a talent for blunt small-talk.”

“I know. It was... always like this.”

“I know there's a good chance you won't tell me, but... why is she so angry?” I asked them. They stood there for a moment, and came closer.

“A secret... for you.” they said. “Lysandra... is my twin.” they--she?--told me.

“… Huh?”

“Technically.”

“Th-there's nothing technical about biology, even I know that much!” I returned.

“She is also my half-sibling.” they continued. I stopped, and my eyes widened a bit.

“W-whoa...”

“I... don't care. She... and I... we never saw each other. We were always apart. I found out by accident. Our mother's files. Then I met her... Lysandra. I knew it was her. She always... said unkind things... about our mother. But... her existence... her very existence... was proof of our mother's kindness.”

“S-so... Lysandra's dad...” I gulped.

“Is not my father.” they shook their head.

“Shouldn't you be more angry?” I wondered.

“As I said, I don't care. But I was tired of hearing her... say those things. After the beta-test, when our guild dissolved, I sent her a message, in real life, to tell her, to make her apologize, or at least stop.”

“And that set her off.”

“She has... every right, for her anger. I can't help her. I won't help her. But I will push her to those who can.”

“She's crying out for help, for family... and her own sibling is pushing her off to someone in a video game... sounds to me like you do have issues.” I said darkly. They stepped closer. I could see the eyes gleaming coldly underneath the mask.

“You... shouldn't have said that.” they told me.

“Come back and say that after your next four opponents.”

“Then... the final round, I'll see you there.”

“That's a promise.” I nearly growled.

“A promise.” they nodded in affirmation.

“I will beat you. And when I do... I hope you'll take some time to reflect on your part in hurting your sister.” I said, turning away to head elsewhere.

“Maybe. If you can, in fact, win.” the other said. I didn't need to turn around to know that Myanihia had now walked away as well.

***

The next person I ran into was Lysandra herself. She waved at me, a subtle smile on her face, which quickly changed to surprise as I ran towards her, almost jumping into her arms. After a brief moment, she hugged me back, stroking my hair.

“What's up?” she asked me.

“Don't go through with it.” I softly pleaded.

“What's this now?” she smirked back. “Worried that I'll get sliced and diced by that third-place knifer?”

“They told me.”

“Heh?”

“Myanihia told me.” I repeated, and I felt her tense up.

“What did they tell you?”

“The same thing they told you.”

“Hahh...” she sighed wearily. “And now you're trying to talk me out of fighting them, huh? For what? So you can trample my feelings and be a hero who saves the gloomy loner?” she said, letting go of me to look me in the eyes. “I want this. You wanted your fight with Tyman, right? You had your own reasons, your own passions, didn't you? Then, don't you dare tell me to bottle mine up!” she said to me angrily.

I felt like crying, but I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a deep breath, thinking about it again. She was right. She was absolutely right. I had no business telling her to not fight Myanihia, even if her reasons for fighting them were a bit more shady than my wanting to settle a fight with Ty.

“I'm sorry... I really am... this is too much... it's too much, and I know you're upset, but now so am I!” I told her, my voice cracking. Her eyes started to swell with tears also, and she bit her lip.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me.” Lysandra replied, her voice trembling. “I have to do this... I have to. Let me do what I need to do, for my own sake, and then you can comfort me if I fail... or celebrate my win.” she said to me with a sad smile.

“Lys--” I started, but then she kissed me on the lips, and then walked away. “… sandra...” I muttered, dazed. I then quickly looked around, hoping no one had seen that. “… I'll tell Ariana what happened. It's not like I asked to be kissed...” I reflected, heading back to our rooms to wait for the others.

Ariana looked extremely grumpy when I told her about the exchange, but she did forgive me for letting my guard down. She kissed me twice then, and hugged me tightly.

“As long as you don't purposefully invite it.”

“N-not a chance!” I returned, hugging her just as tightly.

“And as long as I'm the better kisser.” she added.

“Always.” I agreed. She squeezed me a bit, and then let go to look at me with a smile.

“I guess she's really upset, though, huh?” Ari then said with a more serious look.

“Seems like it.”

“That's still no reason to go stealing a kiss from someone else's SO.”she said grumpily.

“T-tell her that!” I softly retorted, and she kissed me again.

“I will!” she grinned.

Girls. I've pretended to be one all this time, but I really just don't get them in the end, do I? I thought to myself as a smile returned to my face as well.

“Thank you... for being honest about it. And... next time she tries to do that...” Ari said with a twinkle in her eyes.

“I'll try to be more alert so I can swerve.” I replied to her with a soft grin. She kissed me again, and then the others started logging in.

“All right! Where to?” Lizzy said enthusiastically.

“Ehh... wanna just stay here?” I suggested.

“I don't have a problem with that.” the other shrugged. “Until the tournament starts up again, anyway.”

“Oh, sure, until then.” I nodded back.

“Tired of torturing yourself with delicious restaurants we can only wish for in real life?” Maryn said with a smirk.

“I was out walking a lot earlier, just want to stay in for a while.” I returned. I felt Ariana squeeze my hand.

“We'll find something simple and bring it back here, then.” Healina then said, and I nodded back to her as she and Belle left with Lizzy. Ari and I sat down on a sofa, and Maryn stretched herself out in a chair while Anhe curled up in another. Our staff-wielder brought up today's tourney schedule, looking over the names.

“Hmm... Mad Dog is fighting another werewolf today...” she said. Maryn shivered.

“Angelfire's up again too... against that Tobias character,” I saw.

“One of the most deadly mages against someone who solo-tanked a world boss, huh?” Maryn remarked, recovering herself from her shivers.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“And Belle went up against Rayna... or maybe Rayna challenged her.” Ariana said as she caught the name of our new guildie on the display.

“Hmm... and there is Lana, next to Sun WuKong.” Anhe said, looking over towards me with a faint grin.

“H-heh? What's that look for?” I wondered.

“No-thing. Just wondering if you have ever considered what it would be like to fight someone who is possibly better than me at what I do.” Anhe told me.

“Ahh--!” I started, suddenly wondering that myself. “Wait, you're excellent at what you do! And you're saying that person is better?” I then asked her.

“Hmm... I mean, he seems like an older person. Not too old; maybe like thirties or forties. But his martial arts expertise is incredible.” she said in reply. I frowned slightly as I pondered her words.

Sure, I was a martial arts kid, and so was Anhe. But there's always, always a bigger fish. And I was a bit of a third-rate martial arts student at best, when compared to actual pros. This Sun WuKong person was sounding like one of those pros to me now. D-did I goof? Ah-heh-heh-heh... I thought to myself with a wry grin. No wonder he thrashed all of those Tigers, then... ugh, I haven't even gotten half of the targets I was after, and now it may be my turn to get thrashed... my brain continued as a discontented look came to my face.

“Hmm... I will tell you one other thing I know about them for sure. I watched them in the early player-held tournaments, and they can use up to seven auras at once if they want,” Anhe then told me. I looked up at her with a mixed expression of surprise and shock, blinking a couple times before I responded.

“Isn't that... overpowered?” I asked.

“That does sound overpowered.” Ariana agreed.

“There is some sort of drawback or limitation to it, but I agree.” Anhe told us. “Still, now that he is over two-hundred in levels, he may have found some sort of balance to using seven at once.” she continued.

“Wh-what kind of monster did I challenge...?” I suddenly wondered. Anhe grinned.

“Someone who plays as the Monkey King.” she simply replied.

***

We spent a little bit more time together in the room when the others came back with pre-tourney snacks, and then we moved to the arena. Here, Belle and I split from the others to head for the contestant's waiting room while they went to get front row seats again.

“So did you challenge Rayna or did she do the honors?” I asked the pixie-girl on my shoulder.

“Oh, she did. I was gonna pick Tobias, but Angelfire had already challenged him, I guess. Then her challenge came up, and I found it a bit irresistible!” she said with a chipper grin.

“Nice,” I nodded back.

“She won't get me so easily; and that other character better not stomp you down too quick either!”

“H-heh? You're expecting defeat?” I said with a nervous laugh.

“Hmm... for me, maybe. But I won't make it easy, and maybe I'll surprise myself!”

“I hope so.”

“Aw, thanks, hon.” Belle replied.

I wandered towards the seats we had become accustomed to in this room, and then a new face appeared before me. They were a Han player, definitely male, wearing a set of splendid cloth armor embroidered with whimsical and fantastical patterns, a unique and subtly dangerous-looking staff in their hands, with their facial hair styled to look like a... monkey. He reached out his hand, a big grin on his face. I took the hand, and he gave me a firm handshake.

“Sun WuKong, I take it.” I said to him.

“Lana Windstrider. That was an excellent fight yesterday, but I will not go down as easy!” he said, a strong Hong Kong accent in his voice.

“I wouldn't have it otherwise from someone playing the Monkey King,” I said with a smile of my own.

“Then I shall see you in the ring! Best wishes, young lady.” he said, bowing, and I bowed as well. He then headed off to stand near the displays, watching the pre-tournament music performance.

“What do you know, he seems like a fun person!” Belle said.

“He does,” I agreed.

After another twenty minutes, during which Angelfire came to sit with us until the matches started up, the commentators appeared to kick things off again. The crowds cheered just as enthusiastically as ever, and the fourth rounds began.

Angelfire was one of the first contestants on stage today, facing against the indomitable Tobias. Sure enough, the tank who could boast that he had solo-tanked world bosses was a tough fight for Angelfire, whose DPS had skyrocketed since we had fought her in the Aldholt. But she had also become wily and cautious throughout her fights in the tournament, and was able to fend off Tobias' attacks and even negate his minor reflective damage with a reflective curse of her own.

“Flaming Retribution, huh,” Belle remarked as we watched.

“Hmm! I give her a three to one chance of beating him.” Sun WuKong said, suddenly there beside us.

“She's surprised us a couple times this week, I'd bet she'll do it again.” I said.

“Ahh! That poison sword, yes. I was betting she would expire right as she swung down; ha-ha-ha! I lost three-hundred gold that day,” our companion told us.

“Oopsies!” Belle grinned, and he grinned back.

“Not to worry! I bet on Lana yesterday and made it back double.” he said, and Belle quietly guffawed while I affected a wry smile.

“Nice.” I replied.

“Ohh! There we go!” he then said excitedly.

Angelfire had wreathed herself in flames, sword included, and was now driving Tobias around the ring with a flurry of strikes and lunges, punctuating several strikes with a minor flame spell that, when stacked enough, began overcoming his considerable fire-resistance to lower his health. The warrior who had calmly and steadily defeated his opponents to get this far now seemed to be getting antsy.

“Well this is a new one. I've watched vids of this guy staring down the dragon world boss way up in Ragnarheim, and he was as cool as a sleeping cat. This has got to be the first time anyone's seen him get close to panicking.” Belle said, and Sun WuKong nodded.

“This is true.” he said.

“Angelfire's gonna get a new nickname after this tournament if she wins this fight, I bet. They'll call her 'Tank-Breaker'.” I said, and Belle giggled as WuKong smiled.

“She has broken a lot of tanks to get to this fight!” the pixie girl agreed.

At that moment, Tobias decided to abandon his shield to try and keep up with her speed and damage. It was a costly mistake. Instead of balancing the fight, he revved her up to the point where he couldn't re-equip his shield even if he wanted to, her strikes came so fast at him. Meanwhile, her fire DoTs had done their work, and he now had a strong debuff on him that put his fire resistance in the negative. She made short work of him after that, raising her sword in triumph when he went up in pixel shards. The crowds went wild, and the stage was cleared for another fight.

“Wow.” was all I could think to say.

“Hah, totally.” Belle agreed, and then we heard the twinkling sound. “Ah! That's me. See you in the stadium, hon.” she told me, and was then teleported away.

“Another fight to keep an eye on.” WuKong nodded wisely.

“True,” I said in agreement.

A few moments later, Belle and Rayna were on a stage together, the Mumban assassin looking both delicate and deadly as she locked eyes with the deceptively fragile Sky Belle. A third person then stood nearby us, but not too close. It was Lysandra.

“H-hey...” I said.

“H-hi.” she returned. “S-so... I'm... sorry... about earlier. About, you know...” she said shyly.

“Ah... ahh... n-no... it's... I mean... we're good.” I replied.

“I-is Ari...?”

“Sh-she might have some words... later...”

“Yeah... r-really, though... sorry.” the werewolf girl said.

“M-me too.”

“Match is starting! Let us watch with all eyes!” Sun WuKong said, holding up his hand in a silent prayer.

Rayna tried to open up with an attack from Shadow World, but Belle's pixie brilliance exposed her, and she swiftly evaded the attack to begin placing ailments and debuffs on Rayna. These had a barely noticeable effect on the number one assassin in Harmonia, who gently smiled as she pulled out a small crossbow, nearly pistol-size, and fired a couple bolts. Belle quickly evaded them, but I could tell that she was a bit spooked.

Then the brave little pixie began using more direct attacks, mostly minor health drains and summons for magical beasts. Rayna calmly dealt with them, but her diverted attention allowed Belle to enact one of her more dangerous debuffs, a skill I had learned was called Dryad's Lullaby, which placed a sleep-effect on the target while draining their health at a moderate pace.

“Ohh!” WuKong exclaimed.

Then Rayna unexpectedly broke the status effect, and Belle stared in shock. It was all the assassin needed. She gently snatched Belle from the air, and kissed her on the lips. But this was no ordinary kiss. It was one of her special skills that I had seen earlier in the preliminaries. The target of the kiss had their poison-resistance set to zero. Rayna then poked Belle firmly with her dagger, and the little pixie's health began heading down steadily to zero.

“C-come on, Belle!” I said, though I knew she couldn't hear me.

“There is also a paralysis from that kiss.” WuKong said grimly.

“Huh?!” I turned to him.

“Ahh... still, she did better than most. Brave little pixie girl, I applaud your effort!” he said with a solemn but tender smile, once again raising his hand in a prayer.

I turned back to the screen. Belle was now disintegrating. I felt my heart sink. Now I'm really the only one of our guild left in this tournament, I thought to myself sadly. I then heard a twinkling sound again. It was me, and Sun WuKong also. Lysandra looked over at me as I began to disappear into a teleport. Was it me, or did she look like she was about to cry?

A few moments later, I was on the stage with Sun WuKong. The commentators were gushing over the fight about to begin between us, speculating on who would win and coming to the conclusion that it could go either way, Lumpstein going so far as to say I might lose on account of a lack of fighting spirit, now that my guildmates had all lost their matches.

“I wouldn't go that far, but I see your point,” Forseti remarked. The countdown reached zero, and the crowds cheered. WuKong smiled at me, and I then straightened up.

“Sensei!” I said in a loud voice, and he looked at me with surprise. I then bowed, as it was customary in unarmed martial arts schools to do before a match, and without missing a beat he smiled back broadly, bowing as well. I then adopted a fighting posture with my daggers, and he took out his staff, adopting his on stance, staff at the ready.

“Oooohh, here we go!” Athena said with interest.

“You can already feel a change in the air,” Ricklelopes remarked. “What kind of event are we going to see now?”

“Hsst! There they go!” Lumpstein said as the two of us charged at the same time, WuKong swinging his staff down from the right.

I twirled around to my left, trying to graze his arm, but he countered me immediately, and I was quickly on the defensive. With a series of shouts my opponent activated four auras. Speed, Regeneration, Dexterity, Agility, I quickly noted. I was no expert, but I had quested with Anhe enough to know at least the more basic ones. WuKong came after me again, but this time I set off a few skills of my own, giving him a run for his money by blustering with my daggers while I mused upon my situation.

Wait, I get it; four basic auras and three advanced ones, or maybe two advanced ones and a divine aura. Something along those lines is the balance he has to maintain to use seven, if he chooses to use seven, I bet, I quickly thought. With this hypothesis in mind, I started into my Shadow's Dance to try and gain an opening, but in the middle of it he managed to interrupt me. He swung in a perfect arc to try and hit my head, but I back-flipped away just in time. He then activated a fifth aura.

“Ho-ho! I heard that he could use more than four, but no one's pushed him to it in this tournament yet until now!” Lumpstein remarked.

“That's Celestial Radiance. It negates the bonuses of certain Shadow skills.” Athena said.

Is that so? Well, then, negate this! I grinned back as I switched to my bow, activating Shadow Speed and going for a run-and-gun attack this time. WuKong watched me with a smile of admiration, calmly deflecting every arrow that came his way, and when I was finally out of Shadow Speed he activated a sixth aura.

“Ooh, Monkey God's Blessing!” Wandreada said with awe.

“Oop! A seventh!” Ricklelopes said.

“Hrrm, hrrm!” the Dwarf GM nodded.

“Heaven's Fury.” Athena calmly said.

“Now she's definitely out.” Lumpstein shrugged.

Tch--!! I'll show you, you grumpy, undersized Saint Nick!

Sun WuKong stood at the ready, the jolly smile on his face never wavering. I had to smile back. There was no hate, no anger in this fight. It was skill against skill. A master against a novice. But, also, it was the fight of a warrior-monk... against an assassin.

“Shadow's Caress.” I said, activating a skill I hadn't shown off yet.

This one was similar to Shadow World, except it couldn't be negated by his Celestial Radiance -- I was pretty sure. His face, at least, showed surprise when he lost track of me. Even the commentators stood up in surprise. WuKong quickly adopted a defensive stance, grinning mightily. Then I dropped a smoke-bomb, this one tinged with lotus and nightshade, to numb him up a bit if I could. I saw him stiffen up.

“Tell me one thing, sensei!” I called from the shadows. “Who did you bet on for this round?” I asked, and he relaxed a bit, laughing heartily.

“I bet on both of us! At two different brokers!” he declared with a beaming grin.

“Then here I come!” I said, rushing towards him, using the trick I had used on Ironsides. However, this time it did not take my opponent down in one strike. But it did cancel out his higher auras and knock him down to half-health.

“Oh-ho!! She might have a chance, provided he can't get those auras up again!” Lumpstein then remarked.

Make up your mind.

“That's what the smoke-bomb was for.” Wandreada explained. “He's standing strong, but he's got to be disoriented enough from whatever was in it so that he can't focus to get the higher auras going again.”

“Hmm!” Ricklelopes said with interest.

After that, the two of us clashed in melee again. For five minutes more he kept me at bay, the smiles never leaving our faces. I suddenly felt very nostalgic, and the thought came to me that maybe I should take up a martial arts class again. At the end of the five minutes, when I myself was at half-health thanks to his resilience and disciplined moves, I finally managed to get a blade in edgewise, literally, surprising him. The fight ended with a clean stab, no poison, and he smiled up at me as his avatar began disintegrating.

I could not but smile back. The crowds cheered, and I was teleported from the stage. As I reoriented myself and began heading for my friends, Sun WuKong appeared from the other corridor, clapping his hands. I bowed in respect, and he bowed also.

“Well done. I look forward to our next meeting, Lana Windstrider. I hope you will honor me with your friendship.” he said.

“I hope the same, and I hope you'll join us at the after-party later.” I replied.

“How could I refuse such an invitation?” he said cheerily. “Come! Let us go to your friends, and watch the rest of the tournament!”

“Let's do that!” I agreed, and the two of us made our way to where Ariana and the others were.

I was relieved to see that Belle was in good spirits when we found them, the pixie simply commenting that it had gone about as well as she had thought. She and the others greeted Sun WuKong happily, and we sat down to enjoy the rest of the matches. After an hour of amazing fights, the final two combatants for the day came into view on center stage. There before us were the two I now knew as siblings.

Lysandra and Myanihia.

“Ooh... I forgot about this fight,” Lizzy remarked in a somber tone.

“Same,” Healina nodded. “I wonder what she has against them, though?” she wondered. I winced slightly. I hadn't told them that much, yet. It was probably something I should leave unsaid until after this match, at least.

“Sh-she's g-gonna go w-w-werewolf, i-i-isn't she?” Maryn suddenly realized with a shiver.

“Ahh...” I looked over towards her, an apologetic look coming to my face. I then caught a look of sadness on Belle's face. “Belle?” I asked her, but she only shook her head before returning her attention to the scene.

The countdown went to zero, and the fanfare sounded. Neither opponent moved. Then I saw Lysandra's body quivering with rage. She drew out her sword, eyes flashing. Myanihia remained just as motionless as ever. With a scream of rage, Lysandra flew at the silent assassin, who nimbly deflected her blows with their short swords.

“Hmm...” I heard WuKong remark in an almost sad tone. “She cannot win. There is too much anger in her.” he said, and I swallowed a lump in agreement.

Nevertheless, that anger kept Myanihia from making any sort of counterattack for nearly eight minutes of heated dueling. No matter what they tried, it was as if Lysandra was operating at ten times the speed of any normal human being. Could she be one of those people who actually get more focused when they're angry or something? I wondered as I watched. Several times it even seemed like she might overcome her enemy, but Myanihia, for all that they couldn't counterattack, had a solid rotation of defense.

When at the end of that eight minutes they decided to use Shadow Veil to get a brief respite, Lysandra went berserk, thrashing around wildly with her sword while transforming into that apex menace of folklore, the werewolf. Her screams turned into growls and roars, and she swiped with the sword several more times, swinging like someone who had just been blinded until she actually struck Myanihia and forced them out of the shadows.

She then used that same blood curdling howl that Mad Dog had used: the Howl of the Void. As terrifying as it had sounded in Mad Dog's borderline bass tone, it sounded even more frightening in Lysandra's more alto voice. And it was so powerful it felt as if the entire arena was being affected by it. Certainly Maryn was, curled up in a ball next to Healina, who was gently patting her on the back. And it even caused the stoic Myanihia to act in a more disgruntled fashion, the devious assassin struggling with all of their might to resist that howl of doom.

Lysandra howled again, and again, and again, the sound becoming more sinister each time. Myanihia was on their knees, visibly struggling. The eyes of everyone (except Maryn) were fixated on the scene. Then a nagging thought struck me.

Isn't Myanihia a bit... too motionless? Assassins... Shadow Warriors... if you go far up enough into the skill tree, you can create a perfect decoy... a decoy? Lysandra!!

“Lysandra!!” I cried as I jumped out of my seat. “It's a trick!! That's not--!!” I practically screamed, but then the real Myanihia suddenly reappeared, using that ultimate combo trick to take down Lysandra in one hit. Her avatar disintegrated with a wild howl of defiance, and then once more Myanihia stood victorious in the arena. I felt the energy drain out of me, and sank to my knees. Ariana and WuKong knelt down with me at once, the former imploring the latter to help her as I began shaking. Someone, probably the Monkey King, picked me up, and we left the arena for the day.

***

“You okay?” Ariana asked me as I sipped on tea several minutes later at a small cafe. I slowly nodded, and she laid her head on my shoulder. The others, including our new friend, were at another table next to us.

“Hm, hm, the mark of a true friend, if not a warrior. To be more concerned with another rather than themselves.” WuKong nodded with admiration.

“Thanks for carrying her here,” Healina said to him. “And after she beat you in the arena, too!”

“Ahh! But I was honored to be beaten by so clever a fighter! It is the least I could do for a young one with such promise.” he replied. At that moment, someone else arrived at the cafe. It was Lysandra.

I stood up as she came in, looking at her with concern. Her eyes looked lifeless, and her movements were unsteady. She came towards me without seeing me, falling to her knees once before me as she clutched my tunic with her hands, silent tears falling to the floor as she convulsed with sobbing. I knelt down with her as Ariana came over to join us, my partner and I gently cradling her as she wept, her fighting spirit all but broken.

When she had recovered, she looked up at us, trying to say words that she just couldn't get out. But I knew what she wanted to say. I looked at Ari, and she nodded. I then pulled up a panel, and invited Lysandra to join our guild. It wasn't about the bet in that moment. It was about telling her that she never had to be alone anymore. I smiled at Lysandra, as did Ari, and the werewolf girl swallowed, took in a deep breath, and accepted. The other girls joined us on the floor as Sun WuKong looked on with a smile, silently applauding our friendship.

Later, we joined in the after-party celebrations at one of the bigger taverns nearby. Sun fit right in with the rest of us, laughing more, drinking more, and eating the most as we partied it up. Two people stayed by my side the whole night. One was Ariana, who kept hold of my arm on account of the other person, Lysandra, who was still trying to deal with the shock she had received from her duel. Belle came over at one point to sit near her, striking up a conversation that eventually loosened the other girl up enough so that she could smile. I smiled over at Ari, who nodded happily.

“Let's take good care of all our friends, as long as we can.” she said to me.

“Definitely.” I agreed, reaching over to kiss her. She smiled, and laid her head on my shoulder.

As the night wound down, an exotically pretty woman arrived. It was Rayna. The entrancing Mumban assassin strode towards me with a smile, brown eyes glinting merrily. She was wearing a blue sari for her evening attire, and there was a necklace of Hindi design on her neck. Actually Hindi, I mean, and not just an in-game parallel.

“Lana.” she said to me in a calm, soothing voice.

“Rayna.” I replied, and she opened a panel. A notification then came my way.

Rayna has challenged you for your fifth match; do you accept?

I looked back to her, the other girl smiling like a cat that had just caught a mouse. I then pressed the accept button, and her smile grew brighter. She then stepped closer, reaching a hand over to touch my cheek.

“Let me show you, mera pyaar, how to truly be a female assassin in this world,” she said in a seductive tone, and then withdrew her hand, heading back the way she came to exit just as mysteriously as she had entered.

“Well at least she didn't kiss you.” Ariana quipped.

“S-sorry...!” Lysandra said to her in reply.

“Hahh...” I sighed. Then Ariana walked over to Lysandra, cupped her face, and kissed her on the lips.

“There!” Ari said after the kiss was over. “Now we're even.” she grinned, and returned to my side, Lysandra blushing and myself gazing at my partner with a nonplussed look in my eyes.

“Hah, youth.” Belle sighed, and with that the party resumed with a chorus of laughter.