Jin, along with his friends, was downstairs and had been peering at the dog, Benjamin.

Benjamin looked strangely different from the time Jin last saw it. It had gained a draw-dropping amount of fat since Jin's last encounter with it. It sat down, trying to fit Ashton's shoe in its mouth.

It's eyes remained glassy, and its motions were stagnant and deliberate.

"Benjamin! Get that out of your mouth!" Jin rushed up to it, and yanked the shoe away from it.

"Can you see what we were talking about now? Your fucking dog's eating everything! And inedible things when it doesn't get food!"

Jin touched the dog, and as soon as he had done so, a screen spanned across most of his field of view.

[Effect: Deceptive Delusion]

It was the same screen he saw from the time he had even touched as much as a hair strand on his Grandmother's body. It was now evident to him that both his dog and his grandma were under the lingering effects of his first skill.

'I still can't believe my first skill's this powerful. Is it even a first skill? Whatever it is, it's far too dangerous, and needs to be utilized well.'

'If getting stronger makes the skill stronger as well, is it even safe to continue leveling up?'

'Or would it spell the deaths of all those I care about in my life…'

Ashton gave Jin a quizzical look, "Jin? Why are you staring at it like that?"

Quickly, Jin averted his eyes, "It's nothing…"

Dobby peered at Benjamin, "It's best you do something about your dog, Jin. If it continues to eat just anything it'll surely die…"

'When I was mad about Benjamin's barking, I told it that it was going to eat until it died. Is it stuck in a delusion because of this?'

Dobby shook his head, "I can't believe both your grandma and your dog are sick in some way, Jin."

Jin had not uttered anything in response.

Dobby and Ashton took his lingering silence into account, and looked at him only to see him seething in lament.

Ashton peered at him with ambitious eyes, and balled fists, "I'll do everything in my power to help Benjamin and Miss Pierce recover, Jin!"

Jin looked at him with glassy eyes.

"Me too! I'm not gonna let them die on you!" shouted Dobby, furrowing his brows.

Jin, eyes slit, sighed, "Thanks, guys. You two are truly irreplaceable. The best friends I could ever ask for. On the other hand, I'm just dead weight."

Ashton grimaced, "What do you mean?"

Jin stared at the floor, "I've always been the one to make you guys worry, and feel like shit. Out of all of us, I'm always the one—I've brought so many problems into your lives. And if this keeps up, it's best we don't be friends anymore."

Suddenly, Dobby launched a fist into Jin's arm, "Stop it. Don't you continue talking all that BS!"

"I'm being serious guys. I'm wrecking your lives. You've done so many things for me that I haven't done for you before. I can't stand being weak and hopeless, and I can't stand it when people stick their necks out for me all the time. I know I'm weak, but I still don't like to be reminded that I am."

Dobby furrowed his brows and launched yet another fist into Jin's upper arm, "What did I tell you about that! You're pissing me off the more you talk, Jin!"

"You're angering me too," Ashton faintly furrowed his brows as well.

"Jin," Dobby sighed, "You're talking about all the things we've done for you—and yes, your ass better be thankful. But you're missing something that you always do."

"That's what friends are for, Jin," finished Ashton, smiling softly at Jin.

"Stop stressing about all the things we've done for you, and focus on returning the favor instead." Dobby put a hand on Jin's shoulder; his face wry in worry.

"Tell us what's been on your mind," Ashton put a hand on his shoulder as well, "What are you worried about right now?"

Jin closed his eyes, and placed both his index and thumb fingers atop his eyelids, "The only thing I'm worried about right now is my grandmother. Oh and—Benjamin as well. They're both not healthy, and I need to help them get better."

He exhaled loudly, "Grandma and I are out of cash, so I need to get a job to pay for everything. I think I'll start looking for one tomorrow. For now, what little food the house has just gotta do…."

Suddenly, both Ashton and Dobby looked down at their Wristbands and started tapping on their displays. After doing so, they both put out their hands, patiently waiting for Jin to grip them.

"No way," Jin shook his head, "I'm not taking your—"

Precipitously, Dobby grabbed Jin's hand in an aggressive manner and started shaking it himself. Without hesitation, Ashton did the same thing to Jin's other hand.

When they were finished, Jin looked down at his Wristband and saw the number 'EC 197' on the display.

He immediately shook his head with his lips pressed together in a line, "You guys are truly something else…"

Dobby put his hands in his pockets, "It's just a little sum of money. You're still gonna have to get a job; but it should help pay for some things while you look for one, y'know?"

Jin smiled at them; looking right and left to in turn show them both his divided gratitude, "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it."

Dobby furrowed his eyebrows, "You better appreciate it! That money was supposed to go towards GRIM's upcoming deluxe. I might be the only player without it now."

'Then why the hell did you give it to me?'

"I'm really sorry about that. Look," Jin inched his wristband closer to his face, "I can give you your money back…"

"I was just kidding, man. I could always get that deluxe some other time. Unlike your happiness, Jin, the deluxe can always be bought again. Friendship is better than any MMORPG out there."

"Preach it, Dobby," jested Ashton.

Quickly, Dobby tinged in embarrassment, "Shuddap, Ashton."

Jin smiled at him, "Thanks, again. I'm still gonna pay you back twice as much though," he looked at Ashton, "Both of you…"

Dobby facepalmed, "Here we go again…"

"What?"

"How many times are we gonna have to tell you that we don't want you to repay us!"

"Until I die, because I didn't tell you that I was going to stop trying to pay you your money back."

"You're lying!"

"I'm not, I swear. When did I promise you anything?"

"Whatever, man."

"If Tristan was here, he might've dumped a thousand e-coins in your e-bank account, Jin," said Ashton.

Dobby quickly snarled, "Why can't you stop talking about Tristan? He's just a fucking jerk who doesn't gives a shit about us."

Ashton adjusted his glasses, "But he was always good to us."

"Yeah, Tristan was the guy who started our friendship," added Jin; folding his arms.

"He was always good to us. Sure, you, Dobby, had your fights with him, but," Ashton averted his eyes, "He was always good to us…"

"Not anymore," responded Dobby, "The muscle mass he's gained must be getting to his head or something. I have no idea what's wrong with the guy now."

"He's probably going through some hardship that he doesn't want us to know about," Jin walked over to one of the couches and sat on it.

Dobby and Ashton did the same.

"Life's a rollercoaster…" Jin drawled; reclining lazily on the couch.

"You can say that again," Dobby muttered.

"When are you going to explain to us what happened yesterday, Jin?" Ashton looked over at him.

"Yesterday? What are you talking about?"

They then both narrowed their eyes at him.

"Don't pretend to not know what he's talking about!" Dobby hissed.

"Ohh," Jin scratched behind his head, "You're talking about what happened at the bar, aren't you?"

"Explain yourself…"

Jin chuckled, "I uh…kinda got pushed to drink that's all," he gazed up at the ceiling, "I met these really cool people—"

Dobby folded his arms and narrowed his eyes, "And they're all Ability Runners, aren't they?"

Jin looked at him and shook his head, "No-no-no," he grinned, "Not all of them."

"Wait a second," Ashton looked around, "Where's Baron?"

"He said he was going to come back soon. I think he went home," replied Dobby.

Ashton paused, shook his head faintly, and peered at Jin again, "You were saying?"

Jin continued, "I met these cool people. It kinda all this grew on me after Flint helped me out that day…"

"Help you out with what?" Dobby raised a brow.

"A knocked out a damn Orc for me."

"Why? What did it do to you?"

"It pushed me in the road. I could've died that day. After he helped me out, we just spoke to each other for a bit. Then later on, he introduced me to his friends."

Dobby pulled out an ultra thin smartphone, and handed it to Jin.

Simply, Jin took the phone and peered at the screen. What he saw was a picture of himself. What's more, there was lipstick on his lips.

"Caught in 4K, Jin," Dobby shook his head.

Ashton placed a finger in the middle of his lenses, "Explain yourself…"

Jin immediately crimsoned, "Ohh, that's just uh…a kiss from an old lady. You know the lizard woman who lives close to us? That woman kissed me on my lips. Can you believe that?"

They both pressed their lips together in lines, and narrowed their eyes at him. After seeing their 'Not buying it' faces, he quickly paused and turned his head.

"Stop bullshiting us already!" barked Dobby.

"Yeah, we wanna know. We deserve to know…"

"Okay…okay," Jin sighed, "I kissed," he blushed, "a girl. Are you happy now?" He quickly averted his eyes.

Dobby's eyes widened, "Y-you what now?"

"I–"

Suddenly, an area of the space in which they resided started to distort, revealing a dark array of colors that started to take form.

The area kept shifting, and bending, and twirling in a spiraling motion.

In no time, they were looking at what appeared to be a black hole to them. When suddenly, a figure with a callous gait walked out of it and stepped foot into the room they were in.