The constant training had fucked with Rick’s sleep all week. He’d awakened each day, eaten a quick breakfast, kissed his wife on his way out the door, and hauled ass to Hector’s basement simulation room.

Alex pushed him in every new session, piling concepts and techniques—one atop the other—so persistently he barely kept up. He ate, slept, and dreamt Ruckus Online.

“No,” his shapely trainer said. “No, no, no! When you’re going against a Wild One, you can’t rely on the same strategies you use against normal enemies. We’ve been through this.”

Rick shook his head while he waited for the respawn disorientation to dissipate. He’d been knocked flat and sent back to the starting cave. The Wild Ones she mentioned were animal fighters—totally unrealistic—and they’d given him no end of trouble. “I tried using Cock-Punch—”

“I saw, man—I saw it all. How the fuck are you going to use Cock-Punch on a twelve foot, bipedal lungfish?” She pushed his shoulder so he’d look at her. “Look at me. Do fish have balls?”

“I—”

“They do not. Why on earth would you use—”

“Enough!” He blinked. “Are we fuckin’ married or something?”

She smiled. “Your match with Sonny—”

“I know—I know!” he snarled. “But I’m feeling overloaded.”

She grasped him by both shoulders. “Rick. Listen to me. You’re good. If we’d have started a year ago—hell, if we’d have started six months ago—I’d be priming you for professional events right now. Shit, you’d probably already be too good for me to help you. But there isn’t a lot of time.” She looked at him with a concerned expression. “I’m not trying to be all stick and no carrot.” She sighed. “I don’t see natural ability like this every day, and so I’m—”

“I know, I know,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. Probably better if we don’t get too close, anyway.”

Her look was incredulous. “What? Why?”

“My wife is—”

“Wait, what?” Alex’s mouth was agape. “You’re married?” She laughed. “My god, you really keep your cards close to your chest.”

He sighed. “She tries to play it off like she doesn’t care, but I told her my trainer was a woman, and she’s… I dunno, man.”

It was worse than that, though. She’d needed the sleeping pills more frequently, and he’d grown increasingly concerned. He’d caught her looking at him longingly, as if he was leaving for a trip or something. He’d tried to reassure her, and she played it off like she was okay with his new job. Still, something gnawed at him.

Alex nodded. “That explains it. The last two days, you’re head hasn’t been in the game as much. I thought it was exhaustion or something—the simulated sleep sometimes messes with new players.”

“Oh man, has it ever. I wasn’t gonna say anything.”

She nodded. “I can’t do anything about your wife, but y’know Hector’s got these pills that might help you sleep.”

He grunted. “He gave me some for Kris—that’s my wife’s name.”

She appeared thoughtful. “You’re a good guy, aren’t you?”

Rick shifted from one foot to the other and back again. “Uh…”

“You don’t have to say it. You’re a good guy.”

Rick held her gaze a moment, then walked from the cave and looked back. “I’m gonna get to the center one of these times.”

She followed , seeming content to let him lead again. The Wild Ones were his biggest challenge, one he’d have to overcome to have a chance against Sonny.

But did he want to have a chance? He was making more money now, but the conversation a week ago in Hector’s office hadn’t disappeared from his consciousness. The specter of implied danger hung over the whole event. Could he allow himself to be responsible—directly or not—for someone else’s death? Were Sonny’s handlers really going to kill him, or were Hector and Manuel exaggerating? If he asked, would they just redirect him again?

The extra money had made a difference, and Kristina-Anne had created increasingly elaborate meals. She’d also gotten some new clothes, including lingerie, though they still hadn’t re-consummated their relationship since…

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The sight of an enemy in the distance pulled him from his daydreaming. He rolled his eyes. It was a Wild One, because of course it was.

Rick took a deep breath, then walked as fast as he could without losing stamina until he was within striking range. He’d gotten good at stamina management because he’d had to. It was the single most limiting stat he had to contend with.

The animal enemy wasn’t a lungfish this time, though whether or not it had balls was a different question entirely. He no longer had Cock-Punch, since he’d lost all his boosts and abilities when he lost against the lungfish.. Good old-fashioned skill would have to do for this encounter.

This time, the Wild One was a bear. Bears have balls—the male ones, anyway. He frowned as he approached. How random were his encounters, truly? Did Alex have her thumb on the scale, sending him Wild Ones until he learned to overcome them?

The bear stood as soon as Rick got into striking range. That motherfucker is huge! Rick tried to circle the beast, but it tracked him. He wasn’t sure, but it seemed the damned thing smiled at him like a human enemy would. Rick relaxed, then darted in with a hard right hook. He missed as the bear danced out of reach, but the clearing in which they fought was small and hemmed in by dense brush and small trees; there wouldn’t be much space in which to maneuver—for him or the bear.

The hook hadn’t reduced his stamina enough to be a liability when the bear went back to all fours, closing the gap it had created and bringing it’s large head—and teeth—close. Rick dodged its maw, sidestepping away and bringing his elbow down on its neck.

The bear seemed more surprised than hurt by the blow. Rick stepped back out of the way again, but the bear’s claws raked through his training uniform and scratched the skin of his leg. He counted himself lucky that pain was reduced in the simulation. It was enough to make a player think twice about exploits that required taking a lot of hits, but were it accurate, well—no fucking way he’d tangle with a bear unarmed.

The bear came at him on all fours again, mouth first, but instead of evading this time, Rick stepped in with a brutal knee to the animal’s face. The bear damned near bowled him over, its momentum barely checked at all. Rick had to spin quickly out of the way as his lack of balance took him low, forcing him to use his hands to push himself from the ground as the animal lumbered past. It’s thick fur was surprisingly soft, though that was an odd observation to have amid a fight.

“Don’t let him get you on the ground,” Alex called.

“A little busy right now—talk later?” he called back. She was right, though. Without special skills, a take-down would be unrecoverable. His ground game had always been good, but the weight difference between him and the bear was impossible to overcome without massive boosts or trick abilities.

The bear rushed him again and he shimmied away, but this time, he used his remaining stamina to pursue it from behind before it could reposition. Here goes nothing. He leapt, landing with unexpected grace on the bear’s back. It reared, and he grasped its fur tightly, quickly climbing to its broad shoulders, then past, angling to get his arms around the beast’s neck.

How long does it take to choke out a bear? He wrapped his arm around the beast’s broad neck, then locked it with the other arm, applying as much force as he could muster.

The bear tried to reach for him, and Rick levered his legs over its shoulders, then drew them back atop the bear’s massive withers, effectively locking the beast’s front legs out of the fight. It shook ferociously, but Rick put every ounce of concentration into squeezing the life out of the magnificent creature. It dropped and rolled, attempting to crush Rick with its incredible weight. He grunted under the pressure, but he didn’t stop squeezing. Either the bear would crush him, or he’d suffocate the bear, but he wasn’t letting go.

He gritted his teeth and let out a long grunt as the bear scraped him against a large, sharp rock. Undistracted, he put all his attention into contracting his simulation-exaggerated muscles, wishing he’d gotten at least one or two strength boosts before tackling a Wild One.

The bear slowed its frenetic movements, but Rick wouldn’t be fooled. Even when the bear stopped moving, he kept the hold until the body slowly dissolved, giving his burning muscles relief. He stood and brushed off his uniform. Rezzing had made it clean again, but now it was soiled and torn.

“Finally!” Alex yelled. She raised her fist in the air like a fan at a ballgame. “And with no boosts. Not bad.”

He stretched as the bear’s fading body resolved into four boxes: two blue, one orange, and one yellow. He approached the blue boxes, which floated to eye level and transformed into skill icons.

New Skill Acquired!

Strong Like Bear!

Passive Skill: +2 to Strength when grappling.

New Skill Acquired!

Fur, Feather, and Scale

Passive Skill: +2 Strength, +1 Speed, +3 Stamina when fighting Wild Ones.

Next came the orange box, which had already turned into an icon.

Boost Points +3

He allocated two points to stamina and one to strength. The screen read:

Strength: 2

Speed: 1

Stamina: 3

Satisfied, he checked out the yellow box/icon.

Cosmetic Item!

Blue Training Boots: Unrestrictive footwear to protect your feet from sticks and sharp rocks.

Ah, what the hell? “How do I—” The shoes were equipped before he finished the question. “That’s pretty sli—” He glanced in Alex’s direction, but she was no longer there.

The sky spoke to him with Alex’s voice. “I’m in the center. Wild Ones were the only real stumbling blocks you had left. I’ve also enabled the closing ring, so you’ll be under pressure to keep moving toward me. If you make it, your match is against me. Let’s see what you’ve got! Alex out.”

He was alone. “Hmm…” He looked behind him. In the distance, a crackling wall of lightning slowly moved in his direction. “Here comes the storm, huh?”

He shrugged. “Alright, then.”