The realm possessed no mirrors or water sources that could reflect his appearance. His only way of confirming his badassery was by checking the inventory's status screen, where besides a diagram of his different body parts, he could see the silhouette of clothes and weapons. It was enough reassurance.

Tanuki found the short sword intimidating but was confused about its material. He had seen wooden toy swords before, but never one meant to be used for combat.

It was sharper than expected, though not as much as another made from iron. Its strength relied heavily on the tip of the blade, ending in a pointy stab. Yes, the weapon could make cuts, but not deep. Rather when plunged into the opponent’s body, it would cause some serious damage.

He was not too keen about that. In his mind, he danced around with the blade, drawing large circles through the air that cut opponents like butter. With the recontextualization, that daydream changed into occasional dive-ins to mutilate his opponent before drawing back immediately.

Thinking about it a bit more made him realize his sin. Not once did he consider training with the weapon before using it in a real fight.

The sword felt good to the touch. It was a bit too heavy, but with a little muscle training, he could get used to that. He swung it a few times. Another good thing about this mix-match of classes was that the gloves from the Staffbearer class helped him keep a firm grasp on the blade. He knew otherwise the sweating of his palms would cause it to slip out of his hands.

For the remainder of the afternoon, Tanuki practised swordplay and manoeuvring. His imaginary opponent became real in the form of a thick tree trunk. He would hit it with the weapon fifty times before swapping to the other hand. He would repeat this until his arms felt sore, then swap out for his staff and practice aiming the acid. Those projectiles were shot into the void instead of the tree because Tanuki feared he might accidentally cause a fire if not careful enough. Finally, he would practice his dashes and somersaults, the latter of which he feared might break his neck, so he only did two. Then the cycle would repeat itself.

Time passed and the sun was on its way to set. Edgar finished work for the day and left to report to Tanuki. By the time he got to the top of the hill, he could hear the occasional echoes of wood clattering. He walked by the Gaia Core and next to the boy reeking from sweat. He could barely keep standing from exhaustion, something that Edgar could very much relate to.

He watched a few more hits, then snapped him out of his mantra.

“Hmmm. I take it you’re not trying to cut that tree with your sword.”

Tanuki laughed, “Just a few more swings and it will fall.”

“Hmmm. Believable.”

The sword finally slipped out of his hand. He did not go after it but basked in the excuse to finally stop. He dropped to his knees, panting. A large grin sat upon his cheeks.

“I practised so much, I threw up twice.”

“Quite the achievement.”

“If I keep practising every day, I will get stronger. Then one day, when the time comes, I’ll be strong enough to prove myself.”

Edgar raised an eyebrow. “Prove yourself to whom?”

Tanuki remained silent. He thought about it, then shook his head.

“Forget it.”

“No, I won’t. Now look at me and answer me, boy! Whom are you trying to prove yourself to?”

“I don’t know. Maybe others?”

“Who are those others? Excuse me if I’m wrong, but it’s only the two of us on this island.”

“Ah, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant others as in, well, maybe all other people. Like the ones I will meet. In the future. I don’t want them to think I’m pathetic.”

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Tanuki laughed and turned to finally see Edgar’s face. He flinched when their eyes met. Edgar’s eyes burnt with a strong emotion. It was something akin to anger, but not directed at him.

Tanuki opened his mouth, but he did not know what to say.

“Listen to me, boy.” Edgar threw his gear to the ground, tools clattering. “There is nobody in this entire world you need to impress. Not even yourself. You should be able to live the most mundane life without feeling guilty. Nobody can possess the right to look down on you for that.”

He stood closer to Tanuki, and though there was only so much distance between them, he still towered over him. The emotion in his eyes burnt bright.

“Burn this into the deepest parts of your mind so it may never fade, there is no noble mission carved into your face. You live to eat, sleep, shit, and die. If anyone, and I do mean anyone tries to preach otherwise, they do not have your best interest in heart, but see you as a mere tool for their exploits.”

Tanuki was panting but no longer only due to the exercise. He was scared. Despite knowing Edgar would not hurt him, he still felt shameful over something he could not fully grasp. Had Edgar hit him at that moment, he would not have retaliated, nor defended himself.

It took the farmer a moment to realize Tanuki was on the verge of tears. Despite going through a few fights, he was still but a boy. Due to his high status, he forgot that.

Edgar sighed and rubbed his temples.

“Hmmm. Guess I went a little overboard. Just heed my words boy, they are a valuable lesson.”

Tanuki got up from the ground and adjusted himself. He was still trembling but pushed through.

“Why did you tell me this?” he asked.

“Hmmm. I don’t know.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“It’s not a nice thing to accuse others of such an act. But yes, I lied. I said it because I wanted to.”

“Why?”

“Reasons, my Liege. Some best left undiscussed.”

Tanuki grew frustrated. “Tell me——”

As he would have said it, bells rang out. They echoed thrice through the fields down to the void.

White light lit up the side of their faces as a portal opened at the end of the dirt road. They slowly turned towards it.

“What’s that?” Edgar asked with fear in his voice. Tanuki did not answer.

Edgar poked him on the shoulder and continued, “Hey! What is that?!”

Tanuki thought for a second, then his eyes lit up.

“Oh, that must be the third wave.”

“The what?” Edgar panicked, “I shouldn’t be here, I got the get out of here!”

“Don’t worry, this wave is empty. I already killed the boss.”

The portal remained, spinning. Tanuki approached it from a safe distance. Though hesitant at first, Edgar followed. The boy reached into his pocket and searched around for a small rock. He offered it to the farmer.

“Why are you giving me this?” he asked.

“I had beef with the thing that would’ve showed up tonight. This is the last I’ll probably ever see of her, so I wanted to have my petty revenge.”

He gave Edgar the stone and pointed at the portal.

“The one to hit the portal wins!”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Don’t worry. She’s dead and so are her minions. There is nothing beyond that gate.”

Edgar slightly patted the stone, then caught it again. It had a good shape. He might actually have a chance at this.

“My line of work doesn’t involve throwing stuff. I don’t think I can land it.”

“Aw, come on! Have a little confidence. Either way, the portal is closing soon, so if you don’t do it now, we’ll never know whether you would have hit it.”

“Hmmm,” Edgar measured the rock.

He pulled back his right hand, raised one of his legs like a constipated baseball player and spun his arm. After the third spin, he let go of the rock and cast it into the air. It flew in a straight line, straight to the right of the portal.

Tanuki laughed, and Edgar simply shrugged with a smile.

“Hmmm. The portal moved.”

“Let me try,” Tanuki hopped to his place.

His arm was still sore from all the practice. Still, he focused, and when he felt confident in the throw, he cast the stone like an amateur discus thrower. To everyone’s surprise, the rock did fly in a promising line that ultimately blossomed into a hit when it flew straight through the portal.

The two erupted in celebration and laughing which completely drowned out the rumble from the other side of the portal. The white mass shook terribly, and Tanuki noticed it a second too late when the colour changed. Something appeared on the other side not human in shape. The voice it made was an earth-shattering bellow that immediately turned the two of them into frozen statues.

A loud thump rang out from the other side and the portal shook. Again, something tried to pass through and bumped into the barrier holding back undocumented invaders. It let out another incredible howl before the portal’s time was up and it suddenly closed.

Silence and darkness returned to the realm, only made comfortable by the bright moonlight.

They stood there, still unmoving. After a while, a smile crept its way up Tanuki’s face and he erupted into laughter.

Edgar still could not move. His eyes were watered with tears of fear. His gaze did not move when he asked, “What? Why are you laughing? What was that?”

He laughed even harder, turning Edgar’s fear into fury. He grabbed Tanuki by his torn cape and pulled him closer.

“What? Answer me, damn it! What was that thing?!”

Tanuki wiped a tear out of his eyes and laughed out his answer.

“I don’t know!”

Edgar let go of him, his voice ringing in his ears. He looked at his hands, shaking from terror. The more he looked at it, the more his face curled, and it curled into a spiralling laugh, intertwining with his until their shared cacophony filled the night.

Thus, the third day came to an end.