Goddamnit, he should have never opened that door.

“And… and… I don’t know if I can keep up. Liam and Mary, Arturo… Even Elijah seems to be getting used to it but… But I don’t want to do this. Eugh…” She sniveled on his shirt, and for a moment he was glad to have worn the soft satin cloth, else her nose would have been rubbed raw. “I want to act like everything’s fine but… I didn’t actually realize that this would be real…” He patted her back consolingly as she sobbed into his chest, looking up at the ceiling while thinking of what he should do.

It was as he expected, she just wanted to unload her fears and worries to someone, preferably someone who wouldn’t judge her. He had no idea how she came to the realization that he wouldn’t care, but it didn’t matter. Not right now, at least. He ran a hand down her hair, wondering just how far he should take advantage. “Yeah, everything really went down the drain, huh? Don’t worry, they won’t force you to do anything you don’t want… I’m sure there will be times where every one of us will say no to something, at some point.”

She looked up at him, the tears in her eyes leaving a stain on his shirt. “You… You don’t want to do this either, right? I saw you when we were talking to the king… the princess. You thought we were being used… slaves, right?” She was shivering now, no longer looking at him more than she was looking straight through him. He could feel her heartbeat in her fragile body through his hand on her back, beating like a wild rabbit who had just been captured by its prey.

He couldn’t help but find that beating attractive.

How did it feel, he wondered, to be so genuinely sad? Anger and annoyance were a few of the emotions he could still feel to any noticeable effect, so these kinds of extremes always attracted him. As he lined the small of her back, he remembered about the one other… feisty, feeling he was able to have, occasionally. And right now, he was fighting it, knowing it would get in the way of his attempts to revitalize the girl’s spirit.

He pushed her away, gently by the shoulders in order to get a good look at her. She seemed confused, probably because she expected this to go down a bit more romantically. He just put on his best smile, the one he’d used on his friend’s parents all the time, cocky and full of confidence. “Go back to the girl’s, ask them how they feel about this situation. I know you came to me because we aren’t close, but…” Her flinch to his words made him finally sure that it was true.

The air around them became thick, as he looked at her for real this time. She was small, not in size, exactly, but in mentality. Abby felt much bigger, even when she was a full head shorter. “If you talk to Mary, someone who you trust… It makes the words much more meaningful, you know?” She nodded, the light in her eyes regaining their usual glimmer once more, even as she rubbed away the glistening tears.

“Y-yeah… I was just scared that they didn’t see it that way. If they don’t… what do I do?” He fought to keep the grin on his face as he shook her playfully. Ah, it was always these wishy-washy questions that irked him. The answer was already obvious, wasn’t it? She just wanted to hear it from his mouth. “Then you come back to me. You come back and complain about the little things, and I’ll complain too. If everyone else turns out to be bred for war for some fucking reason… Then we still got each other, ok?”

He made it seem playfull, so she wouldn’t look too far into his words. The last thing he needed was to get romantically involved with the girl Arturo fancied. He just needed to give her a quick mood boost and that was it…

That was it.

Her laugh reverberated across the room, snarky and short, in a way that was completely different from her image. The kind of laugh you heard from some countryside girl with freckles and a sunhat. He was reminded of her southern origins. She immediately put a hand over her mouth before she finished, her eyes looking mortified. “A-ah! I didn’t… I mean, that was…” The way she was insecure about it, the unexpectedness from this seemingly perfect girl having an adorably imperfect laugh. Her flustered face and her relief when he chuckled along nearing his face towards hers…

It was always the insignificant things that made people fall in love.

He couldn’t feel it however, he just felt his body burning with carnal desire. It also wouldn’t do to have her infatuated with him, either. This would break apart in a couple months at most, and it would lead to the dissolve of the entire team. Especially since Charlotte didn’t seem like the type of girl to fall out of love so easily. He let go of her shoulders, standing up to stretch before going for another shirt. “Well? Go and ask… I’m sure the two girls won’t shun you immediately, at least. Hell, ask the princess as well, I’m sure she knows what it truly means to sacrifice.”

He felt her eyes as he pulled the shirt off, showing his back muscles and the smooth, pale skin he’d spent every day carefully taking care of. Beauty wasn’t everything in a world judged by social values, but it sure did make some things easier.

And he liked taking the easy path.

Showing off this body was a bit petty of him, wanting to show her what she was missing, what she could never get. It was just a way to make himself feel better, knowing that she was off limits to him as well. At least, she was off limits if he wanted any chance of this friend group surviving. He could still look nice in front of her, at least, so he did so, closing his eyes as he felt her eyes run across his back, his chest. It wasn’t until she realized he was staring back that she jumped up from the bed, her face tinged red.

“Um! I’ll go talk to them now! I’ll tell you what happens when I come back!” She attempted to scurry out the door, but used her left hand to open it, and slammed face first into the door. She mewled in pain, before rushing out. He knew she had a stronger constitution now, so he wasn’t worried enough to go after her. He picked a button up shirt this time, a red one that fitted his body a bit too perfectly to be a coincidence, same as the first shirt.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

They must have been preparing this, probably the moment they were summoned, the moment they were sent to fight.

He didn’t know whether to feel flattered for the detailed help, or completely terrified. His paranoia would do little to help him at the moment, however, so he instead focused on the only other thing he still had control over. His puppets.

The class information reappeared before him, and he focused on the small page at its side. His goblins… What were they up to? He remembered simply leaving them beside the dungeon, too caught up in the princess’ turmoil to consider their well-being. Maybe he should have asked them to follow? He should probably ask the guards about it, since he needed to train them if he wanted them to be of any use to him.

Gobby was already more in tune with his body than even Jack, so no problem there. He recalled the way they danced around them during fights, less like they were fighting and more like they were toying with their food. Even when it was obviously their loss… they still danced, still chortled and shrieked. It wasn’t instinct that drove them, then. The walls of the dungeons controlled their strings, forcing them to fight even when they didn’t want to.

Or maybe they had no mind to make that choice in the first place.

He wanted to experiment, but even if the two creatures were in front of him, it’d be far too little of a sample size to do anything worth doing. He really didn’t want to resort to killing them yet, at least, not until he had a larger amount of creatures. He could still try little things, though. As he went out to speak to the guards, his mind revolved with dozens of ideas, ways to push those two goblins to the limit.

Maybe he’d actually have fun.

___________________________________________________________

Jack was never one to laugh at the misfortune of others. It would mean earning their ire, and consequently, earning them as an obstacle. Because of it, he’d never allowed himself the satisfaction of physically showing amusement or derision. Despite that, he couldn’t help but chuckle as the unnamed goblin fell face first onto the ground. He watched with a sadistic grin on his face as they stood back up, ready to take an order. Gobby was already finished with the order, looking directly at him with no emotion.

And yet, even with their lack of emotion, he could almost feel their helplessness in the situation. “Jump, and then turn around four times before kneeling… Do that until I tell you to stop.” Once again,the two began, Gobby performing flawlessly while the unnamed one struggled to keep up. They both looked adorable, especially now that he put a mask and different clothes on them, courtesy of the princess’ caretakers. They’d even been hosed down by the guards, per his request, so they no longer had the telltale smell of sweat and blood.

All in all, they looked like children.

Precious, stupid children.

He watched Gobby jump three feet in the air, with a grace that could only be considered inhumane. His mask was that of a fox-like creature, with orange hair and painted whiskers, which fit him quite well. That along with his dark blue clothes gave him a somewhat mystical look, especially considering how short they were. The unnamed one was given the mask of a wolf, along with a pair of red, matching clothes. He couldn’t help but enjoy the stark difference between the wolf’s menacing features, mixed terribly with the dopy movements of the goblin.

He chuckled again as the goblin fell to the ground, having to hold a hand over his mouth to keep himself from completely losing it.

All the amusement drained out of him as he heard footsteps behind him. “Wow, first time I’ve ever seen you laugh, man.” The moment went as soon as it came, and he turned to the voice with a calm, gentle demeanor. He knew that voice, and it was the second to last person he wanted to talk to at the moment. Cursing the girl, who had not had the courtesy to lock his door before she left, he tried to retain his normal persona, all the while looking at the most dangerous person in the group.

Liam.

Putting on a wobbly smile, Jack stood from the bed. “Ah, the last person I wanted to see me like this… Goddamnit.” The joke seemed to lift his friend’s mood, showing him that he meant no ill will. Good, if Liam wanted to fight then there’d be little ways for Jack to put up a fight. The scary individual known with the insanely strong class chuckled, raising his arms in mock surrender. “Come on, dude… I won’t tell anyone, I promise. What’s with your buddies, by the way? You made ‘em look like little performers.”

Jack looked back at his two little dress-up goblins, each still trying their best to complete his unaccomplishable task. “That’s enough, you two. I have company.” Just as he said that, the two collapsed, trembling on the floor. It seemed having them jump and spin for an hour straight was a bit too much for them. Liam’s eyes shook a bit when he saw their state, so Jack unconsciously stood in front of them, blocking his view.

“Did you need anything? I was told everyone had their own rooms, or do you just want to partner up with me, like old times?” He smiled as he saw the color drain from their face, remembering when the boy’s parents had gotten after him, refusing him his allowance for three months straight after they found out he had crashed his motorcycle into a building. He was forced to live with Liam for a bit, since he couldn’t afford food or water. Liam scoffed, punching Jack in the shoulder.

“You know that wasn’t my fault. How was I supposed to know my parents would get angry?” Liam muttered, looking embarrassed over such a thing being brought up. He didn’t listen to the words, focusing on the strength of the punch. “Hah, watch it Liam, your punch could smash me like a watermelon right now, you know?”

Even though it was light, he was unable to provide any sort of resistance to it, as if someone had slowly backed their truck into him. That was right, Liam had ‘leveled’ three times, whatever that had meant. Did it mean they were three times stronger than before? Would that mean Jack would grow strong as long as he killed as well? He just didn’t understand, especially the way his friends had likened this all to a game. It took him a moment before he realized that he had no reason not to ask.

“Hey, Liam… I wanted to know about… you know, levelli-”

The moment to ask was immediately interrupted by the door hitting the wall, a girl with a beaming smile coming in. Charlotte, of course it had to be Charlotte of all people. “Jack! You were right! I didn’t think Abby would be so upfront with… with every- …Ah, Hello.” She seemed embarrassed, wiping her eyes that were glistening with tears since before she opened the door. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company. I’ll… I’ll come back later.” Jack wanted to strangle the girl, who seemed dead set on being a nuisance to him.

Instead, he walked over to her and patted her on the back, before turning her around and pushing her forward so she was nearer to Liam. “It’s ok, Charlotte. I was about to tell Liam the same thing. I was getting cold feet, but I think I can do it now that you’re here.” Her eyes widened in surprise, but his gentle smile was enough to console her into staying. He needed help, just as she had once needed help, and she would provide that for him, or feel guilty otherwise. Liam’s eyebrows furrowed, looking at the two with some sort of suspicion. It seemed he didn’t like the current situation. It wouldn’t stop Jack, though.

People hated being outnumbered, and they’d do anything to be in the majority, that was something he’d learned long ago. Turning a spoiled opportunity into a golden door. “Hey, Liam… We were wondering, are you really okay with all this?”