Full moon reappeared in the sky. It had been hiding behind the clouds for quite a while from the sights underneath. People were fighting and killing each other for no other reason than because they could. The moon hated that and because of it denied them its light which sadly changed nothing. No one had even wavered for half a second.

But now it had calmed down and the moon went out from its hiding again. Where the fighting had transpired only a single person stood, breathing heavily. He dragged himself to a field of Laughels and within their cover fell down like a dead man.

Ace felt like his muscles were made of lead; burning and hot. His breath came in ragged gasps trying to fill his lungs with oxygen to pass it further on. But it helped none to relieve the strain he felt everywhere.

[Fear of the Hungry] was a great ability only until it wore off. Then it left one a shadow of oneself; drained and exhausted.

The kid lay there feeling like he was dying but knowing better. Time was all he needed to get back on his feet. The bad part? He needed lots of it.

"Hello, traveler" an ancient voice said. It was strong once but now sounded weathered and hollow.

"Hi" Ace muttered, rolling over to see who was talking to him. His eyes were met by a see through creature that was black with talons instead of hands and a shapeless face with two glowing yellow orbs for eyes. Where legs were supposed to be a tail resided, two feet above ground. The thing was a true ghost.

"I'm a curse that was plaguing this town, your kind has killed, and couldn't avenge."

"A- Silver Wing" Ace answered, wishing his stamina would return faster but to no avail. It was intent on flashing red and staying like that.

"You do not need to fear me" 'As if I do' Ace thought, rolling his eyes. "I've come to pay my gratitude for doing what I was incapable of" the creature said sadly.

"No problem" Ace said, trying to sit up and failing. No energy still. "Anyway, why did you want to avenge this place if you were haunting it? Shouldn't you be ecstatic everyone got killed?"

"Not at all" the ghost answered. "To appease me, townsfolk brought me food, herbs and kids to keep me company. We were all living in synchrony until those damned mercenaries came and killed my people while I watched and couldn't do a thing."

"Then the people feared you for nothing? You tricked them into believing in your strength?"

"I was unstoppable ages ago but time passes and the summoning magic that keeps me here has weakened severely. Talking and making myself solid for ten minutes is now the extent of my power. It's pathetic really." There was disgust in the ghost's voice.

"Then what are you going to do till you disappear for real?" Ace asked, finally managing to sit up. It took a lot of effort but now he could put food in his mouth which would increase his stamina regeneration speed.

"Watch this place crumble to ruins. It's been my home for so long and I prefer to die here" the ghost said, looking around with warm eyes. "It might bring back bad memories of what I couldn't prevent but this is my place."

"Suit yourself" Ace answered taking out his cane and standing up. He felt like an old man but sitting and doing nothing just didn't feel right to him. His group might start looking where he had disappeared soon too.

This meant he had to get to the mirror and return. Creating suspicion was the last thing on his list with Nein around.

"Hey, where are you going? I didn't reward you yet!" the ghost said, floating before Ace. The kid's ears perked up at the word reward and he looked expectantly at the creature before him. "I don't have much but I hope this will suffice."

That said he picked something from a bit further away and brought it for Ace to look at. It was a stack of thin books.

"I have collected them through my life and planned to take to my grave but now I see how stupid it was. I hope you can make better use of them."

Ace took notice of the golden spines and took them with reverence. He had just been randomly given six mid-grade skill books. One was rare and would usually cost a fortune so what could be gotten for six was beyond words. 'Is that what you get for being at the right place at the right time? It would be quite a hard quest if you think of all the little things that had to match up for it to work out this way. All citizens had to be killed while the ghost was around but already too weak to protect them yet strong enough to survive himself, then the killers had to decide to stay around and then another group or person to come and wipe them out and only then did the ghost would present a reward.'

"Thank you" Ace said. "I'll make sure that they reach the right hands." He didn't expect that all the skills would fit him, but those that didn't he could use to make his party feel indebted to him.

"Be well then" the ghost said and after bowing slightly floated away, merging with the still dark atmosphere. The night was letting up but there was an hour or so before sun would fully rise and shower the world in its light.

Ace pocketed the books and decided to first return to his place. Three hours had passed and [Mirror Walk] was available for use once again. He would check the skills once he knew everything was fine and nothing went terribly wrong.

He walked around for a bit before finding the right house and then went to the second floor to find the mirror. It stood looking the same and Ace murmured the incantation and stepped in. The part where he passed through glass was eerie but nothing close to what was it like to see yourself being pushed out of water by an invisible force and then walked on it to the shore. He chuckled remembering those holy tales about people being able to walk on water by god's help. Was he an oracle now too?

He stepped on the ground and decided to take a normal swim. He deactivated all the skills he could and after taking his clothes off jumped in. The water was once again cool and refreshing so he stayed in for a while, exploring the lake's flora.

When he decided to leave he found out, that the clothes he had been dirtied by all the fighting and he didn't feel like putting them on. That left him to put on either his lord's clothes or tie a cloth around himself and pretend it was fine.

The second choice was only for worst occasions so he took out his black pants, dark shirt, matching cloak and a top hat. It was a terrible wear for fighting so he decided he was going to be a real scout for once and avoid unnecessary conflict.

His cane was going to make sounds as it hit the ground so he went to the cave holding it in his hand as if it was a spear.

It took him a few hours to find the place he had seen his party last but now the place was empty without any traces of them ever being here before. This was a disheartening revelation but Ace didn't give up hope. They had to be somewhere around.

After another hour's search brought him no closer to finding anyone he got annoyed. 'Where could they possibly be hiding?' he wondered, wanting to message them but being unable. It was a very annoying rule that only guild chat worked in dungeons. If only they were in his guild...

Then his eyes brightened. One of them was.

He quickly opened the guild members menu and in the search field wrote in Nein's name. Then he clicked on his name and opened a chat.

"Where are you?" he asked without any pre-emptive talking.

"Busy" the guy growled and Ace could hear hissing sounds surrounding him. They were clearly too close to the mage.

The kid would have rushed off to help if he only had the slightest idea where to. Sadly his informant was too busy fighting for his life to be of use.

Seeing that this was going nowhere, Ace activated [Mystic Eyes], [Echo], [All Ears] and poured more mana or so he imagined doing into [Instincts of a Predator]. With all these skills on, he started running around without any care. If he noticed a solo creature he'd kill it instantly and go on to try and pick up any sound or sight or feeling where a group of players might be hiding/fighting for their lives.

Sad thing was his stamina was terrible. He had to rest every twenty or so minutes to restore it! And all that time he continued to hear sounds of fighting from Nein's end. He was continuously muttering spells and cursing in between.

Maybe two hours or seven rests later Ace picked something up with his Instincts. It was over a hundred creatures in one place. He went there instantly, hidden under [Shadow Veil] and with [Echo]'s help saw a bunch of players at the front. They were surviving only because they were in a narrow alcove so three snakemen at most could attack them but this position had one fatal flaw. The players had no way out once their stamina ran out.

It reminded Ace of one of their earlier adventures and he looked upwards but it was empty of any natural made weapons.

And while he was thinking of any way to help, a loud bang echoed followed by a crack on the western wall. It was hit from the outside a few more times before a giant broke through and entered breaking the ceiling that was too low for him.

It rained down on the snakemen but most evaded the falling debris by backing out of the cave. Players had no such luck. They were buried under the rocks in their alcove.

Giant dug them out, they were hidden in an iron box, and picking them up left the place. Snakemen scattered to return to their patrols in threes and fours as if nothing strange had happened. Ace wouldn't have agreed to that assessment so he followed after the giant.

He brought the cage to a huge tunnel full of prison cells and threw them right inside one. His team was taking their sweet time getting out of the spell so Ace decided to look around. Most of the cages were empty. Well, of living beings.

That is besides two cages. One contained his group while the other had six people with varying expressions of disgruntlement. There were three females among them, two males and one beast person whose gender Ace didn't dare to guess. He was brown furred with paws for hands and cat like ears. His face was almost furless but was light brown of color, nose a black triangle. Eyes were slanted and vivid green.

Ace had never seen such a specimen before.

Then his friends decided to make themselves known. The iron cube was dispelled and they sat on the ground with puzzled expressions. Hawk was first to notice the iron bars keeping them in and tried their strength. They held.

"Don't even think about it" a male from another group spoke up. He was in his early twenties and wore a simple monk's cloth. "These bars are not only made of material as strong as diamond but also enchanted against magic inside. You're stuck here with us."

"What is this place?" Aurora asked, carefully, looking around. The tunnel was lighted by two large torches held around ten meters in the air that were nowhere near enough to light the place. Ceiling was so high it was a dark abyss and the ground was in constant shadow. It was hard to make out the faces of her own teammates.

Ace watched her eyes reflecting a bit of humans' natural fear of the dark and smiled. It was so good to not be limited by such limitations. If only he could turn off those shiny threads surrounding people, it would be perfect. He had thought Aurora's white was too bright but it had nothing on the monk guy's. Looking at him was like looking at the sun; eye straining and totally not worth going blind over.

"Giants' dungeon" a grey robed female replied in a friendly tone. "We were happily killing turtle people when one giant appeared picked us up as if we were flies and threw us in here."

"That's strange, we were fighting snakemen" Aurora said, trying to make out who she was talking to but without success. Everything was in too deep of a shadow. "Anyway, I'm Aurora. Nice to meet you" she said pushing her hand through the iron bars that separated their cells.

The female shook her hand with a smile. "Lana, a priestess." Then she pointed at each member and introduced him, only Ace was able to follow her. "Lancelot is our hero fighter. He's always there to aid anyone in need. The axeman beside him is Kalin. His quick temper is legendary but don't worry. He doesn't bite. Most of the time. This red hair here is June, she's a sorcerer with love for earth magic and the brunette is Viola, a dancer. You should see her moves if we ever get out! You'll be stunned along with the monsters!"

"Lana" the brunette said, punching her teammate light to shut up her up.

"Oh, and she's very shy!" the priestess laughed, ignoring her friend. "Our last guy is Mio and he's a dual wielder! There isn't anyone who can match his speed!"

"Lovely" Aurora said, nodding where she imagined the girl being and went to represent her group. "I'm a priestess as you. Here beside me is Hawk. He's an archer that no target has escaped yet. Next to him is Monthu, a fearsome scytheman that you shouldn't anger but he's a good guy once you get to know him. The little boy on his lap is Paradox. He's our adorable elementalist that is capable of more than most people ever believe possible. This girl here is Rowena, a druididess. If you can think of a creature, she can become it!" Rowena glared at Aurora for saying such a blatant lie but this was showing off your group so she didn't argue. "The gloomy looking guy is Nein. He's a secret even to us but I can say that his buffs make you twice as strong and it makes you let him have his way as long as he keeps them up!" The girl then turned to the last person present. "Our last member is Worglan Harbert who's a native of this land. He's giving us a hand till one of our members can fulfil his request."

"A native? That's amazing! How did you manage to earn so much of his trust that he even comes with you?" Lana asked in an exited tone. It was unusual for NPCs to leave their place unless they were soldiers or mercenaries and were bought.

"Uhm... You'll have to ask him that yourself when he comes." Aurora suggested with a shrug. Now that she thought of it, wasn't Worglan supposed to follow them only to the city?

"So you have more people?" June asked in disbelief with raised eyebrows. They were unseen, but the tone passed through.

"One more" Aurora said laughing uncomfortably. Their group was strangely large by normal standards and it could be interpreted in many ways.

That moment Nein decided to check on Ace who had called him previously at the wrong time. "Where are you?" he asked. "Can you reach him?" Aurora asked surprised. "We're in the same guild so yeah." the guy answered waiting for a reply.

"Here" Ace answered dropping his veil. "You seem to have gotten into quite a position while I was away."

"You left us!" Rowena said accusingly to the dark. He might have dropped his magic, but black clothes worked just as well to hide his presence. The girl felt like she was talking to a ghost; the kid's eyes glowed wide and that was all she could see.

"Again" Hawk added.

"Hey, I got separated!" Ace defended. "How was I supposed to get to you through fifteen and then fifty or so snakemen?"

"By waiting around?" Hawk asked but Monthu just waved him off. "If there's waiting involved, I wouldn't trust him to stay put for five minutes without wandering off. I just would like to know where have you been all this time?"

"I hunted scouts and separated groups to kill snekemen one by one so they couldn't launch another attack on you and then I went out into a beautiful green field with a crystal clear lake with cool water and after swimming took a nap. Then I went to look what was taking you so long and here I am" Ace explained with a yawn. In truth he hadn't slep at all and now wouldn't have minded closing his eyes for a bit.

"You've seen the Field of Nara and swam in Glu's lake?" Lancelot asked, pushing his face to the iron bars and grabbing air to get a hold on him.

The kid blinked at him, pulled his hand away and took a step back resting on his cane. "Maybe. There were no signs to tell me what the place was called."

"Was there an orange leafed plant inside the lake?"

"Dozens of them" he answered, watching their reactions with interest. They all looked at each other with relief and then focused their eyes on him. "Lead us to there" they said in unison.

Ace chuckled. "I think there's one problem."

"What? You don't remember the path?"

"Aren't you in a prison?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow.

Their shoulders drooped and the monk punched one of the iron bars, the axeman cursed. Ace ignored them and came closer to his friends' cage to take a better look at it. It had no lock but there was no way Ace could open the door that was ten times his size. It might have been only three meters wide but more than ten tall. However, the iron bars were made to hold in humans and the empty space between them let only a hand through.

"Any plan of how I should get you out?" he asked, thinking up of no good ones himself. A giant was needed to be able to move such a heavy door.

No one answered so Ace took out some random pieces of cloth and put them on the ground so he could sit down. It was his last pair of clothes and the best ones at that. [Flare] came out from under his cloak where it had been hiding while he was sneaking.

Ace took out his prize from the last exploration; six greed inducing golden books and put them on his crossed legs.

The other team's eyes almost popped up when they saw his treasure. "Where did you get them?" "How so many?" "It's a fortune!" They shouted one after another and Ace ignored all of them. From his team only Rowena had the same reaction, Nein had it too but he kept his cool while others weren't surprised in the least. They had seen him get a personal army of more than one thousand players. Nothing could surprise them again. He loved them for that.

The first book was called *Five Deathly Steps* and reserved for chaotic fighter classes. Ace put it at the side as unusable.

Second was *Prayer* meant for clerics. Went to the same pile

Third *Bloodthirst* meant for chaotic melee.

Fourth showed up to be named *Hawk's Eye* and made for marksmen.

Fifth *Grave's calling* for priests and the sixth *Mana Pulse* for everyone besides Celestial race.

Ace put the books aside and reached for more only to find out there was none. Then he looked at the two piles beside him of which one was meant for him while the other for useless ones. The second one contained six glistening golden books while the first was an empty place.

"Really?" Ace asked in disbelief, glaring at the pile. Not a single skill was meant to be learnt by mages or rogues. Well, one for mages but it was about mana and because of it his race was prohibited to learn it. "Useless piece of..." he muttered under his breath angrily punching the pile of books and they fell on the dirty floor.

"What are you doing?" June asked in outrage, her red hair flying around her. "Those are rare skill books!"

"Worthless waste of paper" Ace answered her, collecting the things.

"Are you mad?" she asked him in outrage but then suddenly smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you."

Ace eyed her warily but didn't say anything. 'What is she planning?'

"You know if you give those stupid books to me, I can give you something more interesting. What do you say?" she asked him with an eye blinding smile.

Ace took the books in his hands and came closer to their cage. He had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Ace don't!" Aurora shouted out from her place, coming to hold onto the iron bars. "She wants to cheat you!"

"No, I don't!" the woman defended indignantly. "I have good items in my bag that would make his play time so much easier!"

"She's trying to scam you! Don't listen to her!"

"I don't! I re-"

Ace tilted his head and turned to face Aurora with a slight smile. "Did you really think I'd fall for such a simple trick?" His eyes were alight with laugher.

A lot of memories passed through Aurora's eyes as she remembered all the lies, trickery and deceit that particular I stood for. She shook her head and embarrassed sat down.

"What?" June asked, unsure of what had transpired before her eyes.

"Nothing" Ace answered, throwing all six books in Aurora's lap.

"We don't need them" Monthu said instantly, giving Ace a cold look. "Then sell them or give to her" he said pointing to June and her group. "My bag was heavy and I opened up some space now. I won't be taking them back."

He then took a few steps away before turning his head back for a moment. "I'm going to look for a way to get you out but don't expect miracles. This place is vast and giants are hardly going to have a chat with me when I'm ant sized to them." Then he took off, leaving fuming Monthu behind.

"Wow! There are two spells for clerics!" Aurora said in wonder, looking over the covers. "Two for fighters, one archer and one mage. It fits us perfectly!"

"We don't need charity from him" Monthu grumbled.

"Then give them to me! I'll put them to good use!" June said instantly. Those books were shining before her eyes, close yet out of reach and she wanted them desperately. What amazing spells could they have hiding in their depths?

"June, they belong to them" Lancelot said, glaring at his teammate. "We're not thieves or swindlers."

"But..." the girl wanted to say, watching the lights dancing on the covers. "Those are almost highest level skill books that players can learn and they don't need them!"

"There's a difference between not needing them and knowing you don't deserve them. The former was for the kid while the latter is for the warrior. He's an honorable person."

Monthu looked strangely at the philosophical monk but didn't say anything. He then returned his eyes to the books and the question of what to do with them. The kid was clearly not accepting back but how could they just take everything he threw their way. They didn't need his charity to survive and grow stronger.

"Isn't this his way of saying sorry?" Aurora suddenly asked. "He did something similar before too."

"But he never said sorry for leaving" refuted her Hawk.

"Then maybe it's for letting him return each time?"

"Isn't he the one that's stuck to us like a leech and wouldn't be shaken off even if we wanted to?"

Aurora gave Hawk a chilling look. "You really think we couldn't have left him behind in all this time? At any point we could have deleted him from out friend lists and when he was off left in a random direction. How would he have stopped us? Or would he have even tried to? To achieve his goals he might do anything, but I feel like he has more pride in himself than all of us combined. Every time he got ridiculed, he faced it with a smile and a laugh but later on made the person pay double the price of what he did."

"Have you been analyzing him from the moment we met him?" Hawk asked her, looking at her strangely.

"Nah, I'm just trying to write a paper about children psychology and his case seemed like a good starting point."

"You're crazy. I wish you luck if he ever finds out" Hawk said, looking around and then getting away from Aurora. The girl glanced at the tunnel but seeing nothing didn't calm her fear at all. Why did she had to open her mouth?

Monthu hadn't been listening to their conversation so he gave them questioning looks but after they shook their heads, he returned to the case of six golden skill books.

***

It took Ace a good hour to reach a change of scenery. Wide stone staircase winded upwards and he had no other choice but to use it.

However, it was meant for giants so every step was Ace's height. To get up he either had to use wines or his jump which took forever because he didn't have lots of mana. His regeneration was extreme but since he wasted no time for incantations it wasn't good enough. A break every ten minutes was a must.

When he finally got up, another long corridor opened up before his eyes. He groaned inwardly and started moving. It was impossibly boring but he pressed forward with a certain belief something interesting was at the end. It had to be or else why create such a tiresome place?

He heard soft steps coming his way and pushed himself against the wall for it to pass.

It didn't.

Ace felt someone stop nearby and start sniffing the air.

Then it rushed at the kid.

Ace felt when he had become the target and ducked to let the animal fly over him. He unsheathed two daggers and turned in a fighting position.

And pocketed his weapons.

"Hound..." he said with a sigh, watching as a donkey galloped towards him with a bright eyed expression. "What in the world are you doing here?"

The creature stopped right before ramming into Ace and licked his face. The kid glared at him, cleaning his face off, and dispelled the illusion. A black dog the size of a small horse reared its head in joy, seeing himself normal again, tendrils of fire and shadows moving and shifting in his mane.

"Did Skele send you?" Ace inquired, getting on the animal. It snorted which raised more questions than gave answers.

The travel continued much more smoothly now. Hound galloped, carrying Ace forward and upward if a staircase came into view. Twice they met giants walking down the corridor but none paid attention to the little beings at their feet.

This made Ace relax and he fell asleep, sitting comfortably on the creature of nightmares.

Way too soon Hound nudged him with his head, waking him up. The kid looked around to see why he was woken up and saw that there was no more place where to go. The animal had taken him to a giant hall by giants' standards where a throne made of stone stood. The only reason Ace called that simplistic chair that was because it was on a dais and a giant with a crown made of stone sat on it. He wore clothes made of wood, adorned with stones. Not jewels.

There were other hill sized people in the room too. They were standing by the walls watching the kid and his creature with curious eyes, wearing the same unusual clothes.

Ace slowly turned around to see the king's eyes on him too. He was tapping his index finger on the seat.

'What did I get myself into this time?' he wondered, not sure of how was he to act now. How was he even allowed this far without being questioned or something?

"May I sp-" he started softly but was instantly cut off.

"Speak louder, boy!" the giants' kings voice boomed. It took all Ace's willpower not to flinch or cover his ears. "I can't hear you out and pass judgment if you murmur under your nose!"

'Judgment?' Ace asked himself with a bad feeling. How had he slept through everything important?

"Before I start talking, I'd like to find out whether I've come to the right place. May you be as kind as to tell me the name of this place and with whose presence have I been graced today?" Ace asked, shouting his lungs out and fishing for information at the same time.

"You are in the palace of Heaventai before king Horaron the Third! He will decide whether you'll be killed by giving you to our pets, getting picked off by the mountain birds or will fight a death match against a blood troll! You may plead your case now!" a smaller giant from the king's right announced in a bored tone, but shouting none the less. Ace would have found that peculiar if not the fact he was being sentenced to death and he just had to decide what kind of it'll be.

"I would like to ask of my crime and what rules have I broken?" Ace asked, looking for a way out but seeing none. He was still within the mountain which meant there were no windows and the only doorway was blocked by two buffy guards. They wore heavy armor that made them look twice the size and held evilly glinting weapons. With speed of the Hound he might get through them, but there was no way for him to open the doors by himself.

"You're charged with indecency!" king's right hand man screamed with a chilling look Ace's way. "You've violated our code of honor to never wear human like clothes or pretend to be like them. For that you're to be executed tonight!"

"Uhm..." Ace muttered unintelligibly trying to come to terms with his crime of being human. He debated whether he should reveal that little detail or not.

"Any words to explain yourself, sinner?"

"Can I plead innocence?" Ace asked without any real hope, but not letting it show on his face. "What if I say it's all a misunderstanding?"

A wave of disagreement washed over the surrounding people. They whispered angrily, pointing fingers at him.

"You dare say I wrongly condemned you?" the king asked in a roar, standing up. Ace lowered his head to a normal position. There was no need to keep it straining upwards if he couldn't see the giant's face through his large stomach.

"I did not mean that!" Ace shouted out but his voice was drowned in the chaos started by the king's actions. Onlookers started hitting the ground in a steady rhythm, adding a beat with their hands and boisterous voices. The sound was so loud Ace was forced to turn off [All Ears] and cover his ears. Even then he was afraid they weren't going to take it and he'll turn deaf.

When the sound reached maximum volume, a gong sounded calming the crowd for a heartbeat. And then they started it all again.

But there was a difference. When previously one could discern a single steady beat created by a hundred or so living instruments, this time it wasn't pre-arranged. The giants were crazy and wild, full of some primal joy hitting one another, walls and screaming their lungs out. It was as if they were possessed by the spirit of chaos. Every single one.

Just as he determined that, Ace was grabbed by a giant hand and encased within it.

***

"Do you think he can really achieve something?" Lana, a priestess asked the other group. Hours had passed without any change and she was losing hope.

"He's our only chance" Aurora answered, shrugging. She believed they had a pretty decent chance with Ace being the one free. If she or Par had escaped, it would have been a death sentence to everyone. She had doubt Rowena or Worglan could do much either.

"But he's a kid" June said with a sigh. "He's got nothing inside his head."

"You're wrong!" Par said in a raised voice, quick to defend his friend. "Ace is one of the smartest people I've met!"

"You haven't met many then" June laughed without malice.

"June" Lancelot said, chastising his companion, then turned to the kid. "She didn't want to make fun of you, child. We're just all a bit on edge having spent here awhile." He sounded tired.

"She should apologize" Par said, crossing his hands.

"She should" Lancelot agreed with a laugh. "June?"

There was some grumbling from the shadows before a female voice spoke up. "I'm sorry for telling the truth."

"June!"

"Well, but that's truth! He's saying that the other kid is smart which is pure stupidity since you've seen how he looked and acted! Stop with that goody act and just admit it!"

Lancelot frowned at his companion. "I thought I made it clear for you when I let you in that you'll have to control your mouth and learn to keep it closed when you have nothing but insults to say. The other kid may have looked like a spoiled brat and acted like one but what do you know of him? Is that true or pretended? Is that all he's capable of? How many times have I told you not to judge the book by its cover?"

The girl, June, stayed quiet after that but didn't apologize. She felt she was in the right and wasn't going to lie to get on her group leader's good side. He wouldn't like it either.

"So how long have you been staying here?" Aurora asked, changing the conversation.

"A week or so" Lancelot answered.

Aurora gasped. "That long in a cage? Wasn't there a way out?"

"Your coming was the first time we've seen living beings after being thrown in here. We were almost ready to reveal this place to other players if only to finally get out" Lana said with a sigh. "We hoped you're going to help us out but you were as unlucky as us to get caught. It's a shame, really."

"Don't count Ace out yet" Aurora said with a yawn, resting her head on Hawk's shoulder. "He's much more than meets the eye."

"Such confidence in him" Talin, the axeman, said with a sneer. "Is he really worth it?"

To everyone's surprise answered the previously quietly sitting Nein. "I'd feel safer with him defending my back than you. That is if he ever agreed to it."

"Did I miss something?" Monthu asked with a raised eyebrow. "If I remember his words correctly, you're here to spy on him."

"Spy on the kid?" Lana asked in outrage. "That's just wrong!"

Nein ignored her and answered Monthu, looking him in the eyes. "I haven't seen anyone like him before. He has a heart of gold while not a semblance of conscience and his skills show it. I wouldn't want facing him myself because one way or another he'll trick me into losing."

Monthu chuckled, followed by Hawk and Aurora. "That's one good description" he agreed.

"Thanks" muttered Nein with a wry smile. "It would be much easier if it would also satisfy Perry."

"Why did she send you here for real?" Aurora asked softly, doubting he would answer.

"The same reason Rowena is here and I had heard a rumor there's an earth mage looking for your group for exactly the same thing" Nein said, cryptically.

"More people to follow his every step?" Monthu asked with a sigh. They had started as a small group intent on simply enjoying the wide world and having fun but once the kid had joined it had all crumbled to pieces. They were constantly getting threatened, separated and followed, all while doing craziest of missions. It wasn't exactly what he had wanted his brother to get accustomed to.

Nein shrugged. "Maybe she won't find you."

"Fat chance" Hawk muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Who's that kid?" June asked suspiciously. "He acted like he cared nothing for being the only one safe, then just gave you six fortune worth skills books and you say everyone is spying on him. Is he some real life prince or something?"

The whole group laughed, even Worglan who had no idea what real life was. But what he knew was that Ace was clearly no noble. He just liked acting the part.

When laughs subsided, Rowena tried to explain it. "He's just... uhm... very good at... making friends who... mhm.. get worried about his wellbeing!"

"And enemies" Nein added. "Half of Perry's group would eagerly relieve him of his life with Perry standing first in line. He didn't make the best impression when we met."

"What happened?" Aurora asked, curiously. "He never told us the whole story, just what he was accused of."

"He told you what he was accused of?" Nein asked surprised. "I would have thought he'd hide it."

"Nah, he told us some time ago. So what happened there to make everyone hate him instantly?"

Nein leaned against the iron bars and with eyes closed and a slight smile on his face started his tale. "We found him healing and took him away since he was part of our guild. Perry had a victim so she brought the kid to him expecting to have won the jackpot. Poor girl didn't know Ace would turn everything against her going as far as taunting her into putting chains on him and bringing him to court. She was furious but his words rang true so we let him off. After some discussion he agreed to come with us but it took him only a minute or two before getting bored and running off. I chased and you know in what mess he had landed us. Nobody liked diving face first into lava so he's become mortal enemy."

"But not yours?"

"I didn't get to taste the lava" Nein answered with a shrug.

"No, you just wasted a scroll that's worth a kingdom or close to" Monthu said with a look that said he didn't buy it.

"But it was an awesome spell" Nein said with a smile on his lips. He could very well remember the power running through his veins when he had casted it, the words, each one shaking his being to the core. It had been an amazing experience, one he would have missed saving the spell for some cataclysm or something and in the process getting bored of those same weak spells. This one had brought his interest back to his class and he was ready to tackle every challenge to be able to cast that kind of spells at will. And for this he was indebted to the kid.

Monthu had to agree to it and nodded. He hadn't seen anything close to it.

"What ar-" Lana started to ask when heavy footsteps reached their ears. They looked at each other in disbelief and to check others had heard it also.

The sound was coming closer but nobody said a word. They were afraid it would scare the thing away and they'll have to stay here forever, locked in their shadowy corners.

A giant came over with a box in his hands. He opened it and put before the opened gates of the cages, first one then the other. "Go" he hollered surprising the humans and like a herd of sheep they all entered. Only when the box closed in and they shook off the shock they noticed what they had done. Talin cursed like an old sailor while others tried to get to the iron barred window and see where they were being taken.

Dark corridors met their eyes as they fell elbowing or kicking each other through the constant shaking and jolting of their new cage.

"Where do you think we're going?" Aurora wheezed out pushing someone off her chest, he was preventing air from reaching her lungs.

"I wish I knew" hissed June as something squashed her hand. "Get off me!"

Someone groaned, trying to move before another jolt threw them all to the other side of the cage. It seemed like not only was the giant in a rush but he was also waving the damn thing, making them fly back forth repeatedly.

"Healing Hand!" Aurora whispered as her health dropped below half. "I'm so never travelling by giant express ever again!"

Someone chuckled and another pressed heavily against her legs as they rolled to the other side. She was so happy this wasn't real life and broken bones could be easily healed with a single spell even if it hurt.

At one point they mostly stopped moving and were left to lick their wounds while their cage swayed softly.

"I think we found a new torture method" Hawk muttered trying to stand up. His body was bruised and battered but not out of commission yet. He walked to the iron barred window or more like hole now that it was at the bottom and looked downwards to see a sight promising even worse things to come. "You don't want to look there" he told others and sat down himself.

Nobody, of course, listened to him and had the joy to see that they were hanging above a cavity that was more than thirty meters deep. At the bottom there was a pool of greenish water and a small field littered with stones of various sizes. Everything was covered by a layer of red.

"What is that?" Aurora asked fearfully, taking a few steps back.

"If I were to guess by all the eyes shining with madness , I'd say it's an arena" Nein said with an emotionless voice, he was looking through another hole, one on the side of their cage. It was smaller, only the size of a palm but you could see clearly giants standing behind a barrier through it.

"Do you think we'll have to fight there?" Rowena asked, a shiver running down her whole body.

"I wouldn't doubt it" Lancelot said with a dark expression. "This will not be easy."

"Oh don't worry, it's not your fight" came a voice from nearby and they all went to anotehr side window. Ace stood there on the ring around which a rope was secured that kept them in the air. The kid was holding onto it and swaying gently with a light smile.

"What are you talking about?" Lancelot asked gruffly.

The kid looked straight ahead. "I've broken some law and am paying my life for it. You're here to watch and learn what happens to traitors then you'll be released so in a way I'll get you out " he said softly in a gentle tone.

"You can't sacrifice yourself for us!" Lancelot said in a cold voice. "I won't accept it! Make them let me fight!"

Ace tilted his head looking back at the cage, curly hair framed his face making him look even younger than his twelve years. "You can't change it. It's been decided and the crowd is eager for my blood. Just look at them" he said motioning all around them.

Giants were standing there behind walls with gleaming eyes and following Ace's every move. There was bloodlust in their twisted faces as they waited with quietly anticipation till the dogfight started.

"You're a child! You have to be protected!" Lancelot screamed angrily but Ace just shook his head as something flashed in his eyes. "I'm old enough to be able to choose for myself and anyway I'll just be reborn. You don't need to make such a scene." He laughed softly.

"You can't do that! You're but a kid! Let me protect you!" Lancelot shouted out, grabbing onto the iron bars and shaking them with all his powers. They groaned but held. "I could win and we'd all leave happily!"

"You don't understand" Ace said shaking his head. He turned his azure blue eyes to face the man. "It's not about the winning. Or even fighting. It's about me dying the most gruesome death they could think of."

"You can't mean it!" Aurora whispered brokenly as she came closer. "It would be too cruel."

"Oh, but I do" Ace answered, swaying softly and moving them together. "Even if I win my first battle, they'll keep sending the most brutal of creatures till they overpower me."

"Then I must surely exchange places with you! No child should ever go through that!" Lancelot hissed. "Bring me their leader! I'll change his opinion! Just give me a chance!"

"Look there" Ace said pointing at a faraway place, where a form of a huge silhouette could be seen. "There sits a guy that sentenced me to death. Does it look like he cares to you? He's there drinking wine and enjoying his royal powers while his minions are given a spectacle. That's all there's to this show." He sighed. "I'm nothing but entertainment to their bored minds before they'll be sent back to make more tunnels and overpower more creatures and turn them into their slaves."

"But you're just a child!" Lana said, putting her hand on Lancelot's shoulder. "You're too young to be a part of something like this! Let Lan take over! He's been in such situations before and will find a way out! You have to come inside where it is safe!"

"Please. I want you to be happy without such a nightmare hunting you through your life" Lancelot pleaded with genuine expression of compassion. Ace knew it to be truth from his own experience of pretending and the wet corners of the man's eyes. He really wanted to help the poor unfortunate child being sent into slaughterhouse.

But Ace was none of the above.

"Not everyone deserves their happy ending" he murmured just loud enough for everyone to hear and jumped off.

****

Ear-shattering scream stopped everyone in what they were doing as a black shadow dove towards the center of the arena.

Ace veered to the left so he would hit water and wouldn't have to embrace the unwelcoming earth. After such an inspiring speech of how awesome and selfless he was, he didn't want to end up splattered on the ground like a bug.

He watched as water came closer but didn't close his eyes even for a second. Hands broke the surface and he went deeper in with the force of the fall. Soon his lungs started to scream for air so he rose up and took a mouthful of it before swimming out.

His wet clothes were slowing him down so when he was out, he took off the cloak and pocketed it in his backpack. If he wanted to have a chance at the troll, he had to be as unhindered as possible.

Giants of course had done everything in their power to slimmer down his chances of winning. First he had to jump down which took some ten percent off his hp, then there was water dripping off him that hindered his movements and to top it all off the troll had been kept half-starved and beaten which lowered his intellectual capabilities but increased viciousness and bloodlust. Not a good thing for Ace who had no plan of becoming anyone's meal.

He activated [Excessive Heat] to try and dry his clothes up if the fight took longer and then hid behind a large stone before using [Shadow Veil] and [Silent Steps]. Curses and joyous screams came from above but Ace shut them all off and concentrated on looking from where the troll will come. There were no obvious gates so it had to be a surprise attack.

For all Ace knew the creature was already here, hiding just like him.

But no, iron chains groaned as they passed over gears and a gurgling sound came from the water. Ace activated [Exodus] still standing behind the stone and welcomed those extra health points. You never knew when you might come in need of them.

He sneaked a peak from behind a stone and saw an ugly creature that was more than twice his size. It had hands like branches and face reminding of a boar; stout nose and two sharp fangs going upwards, unable to fit in the mouth. His whole body was lined with blood vessels that were popped out from the skin and stole ones attention with their sickly look. They were the reason this guy's kind were called blood trolls.

It was sniffing the air, little eyes hidden beneath massive wrinkles were taking in its surroundings but not seeing the pray which nose said was near.

Ace didn't expect to be able to hide forever so he circled the creature and jumped on its back with his usual skills besides the ultimate. It wouldn't be a show if he one hit his opponent. His attacks hit their marks and the troll hissed in pain but Ace hadn't counted for the speed it had.

The creature grabbed Ace by his head and threw him at the wall with great force. The kid heard snaps that couldn't mean anything good but he had no time to analyze them. His instincts told him the troll was running his way and he needed to move. Now.

He activated [Shadow Dash] and got out of the way barely on time. The troll punched the wall with enough force to leave a dent.

"Dammit" Ace cursed. That single attack he suffered left him at ten percent health. He needed healing but he didn't really have time to be drinking potions.

"Ice Field" he said pointing at the coming troll and taking out a potion anyway. He couldn't fight while feeling like his whole body was in tatters.

The potion was half done when the creature was running for Ace again. "Wild Vines!" he casted now and finished his drink. It restored around half of his health and he felt like a newly born; full of energy and ready to face anything.

"Come now" he taunted the troll while jumping on a stone to equal their heights somewhat. His opponent rushed at him ready to punch a hole in him, but Ace evaded the fist and sliced at tendons with his daggers. Kris slid lovingly over the flesh and cut it with care.

Ace jumped up to let the other fist pass under him and threw his left dagger at the troll's eye. It was almost embedded more than thrown but however you called it, the blade pierced the eye and its owner screeched in pain.

But the kid was too close. He wasn't able to escape the back hand attack and flew a few meters. Yet Ace was prepared for that and rolled away to lessen the damage done. His health lowered by twenty percent, leaving him at a third but it was worth it. Now if only he could take care of the other eye too...

Red missiles flew his way and Ace was hit full force. He shook his head trying to understand what happened and why his health was flashing red when another volley came. He used [Shadow Dash] to reposition himself which also saved his life.

It wasn't looking good.

He rushed, crouching behind a stone to take a breath and maybe, just maybe restore some health. The troll was wary of him so he wasn't going to rush face first again which gave Ace some time. He gulped down a potion right before sharp red shards flew at him from another direction and he had to roll away to dodge them.

To his dismay they started coming faster and faster making him show how fleet of foot he really was. The troll was keeping him at distance throwing those strange red things and Ace didn't even have time to figure out how he did it. The kid's whole mind was filled with twists and turns that would keep him alive for a second more.

The attacks kept coming and Ace kept on dodging left and right. All until his eyes fell on his stamina bar and he saw it nearing the end.

He had to do something crazy.

***

"He's going to die!" Lana cried, tears running down her cheeks unashamedly. "There's no way he can withstand the Blood Darts!"

"I knew I had to be there!" Lancelot hissed, hitting the wall as if that was going to help the situation in any way.

"You couldn't" Aurora said for the hundredth time, watching as Ace rolled away from one volley, barely stopping himself from getting into another. He was small and covered in blood while his opponent stood tall and proud with his teeth shining miles away. He was going to win and he knew it. The crowd knew it too, showed by their loud cheers. Hell, even all of them knew Ace was a dead man walking and no matter how swift he was, he was going to tire out soon enough.

"I should have done something!" Lancelot threw again. "He's just going to be killed there!"

"He knew where he was going, he even said it so himself" Nein said rolling his eyes. He was least caring about the outcome right along Worglan. They were sitting like old friends and discussing the fight without any emotional attachment to either of the fighters. In their opinion the best should win.

"Cold hearted beast! How can you just sit and watch?" Lana asked him with a glare.

"If I can't do anything but watch, I might as well enjoy the spectacle" he said without a hint of remorse in his voice. "Look, he's preparing for something!"

Worglan nodded with a puzzled expression. "I'd say he's circling to get closer if that wasn't a suicide mission."

"I have to agree on it" Nein murmured, lowering his head closer to the hole in their cage around which they all sat. "Wasn't it the right eye he stabbed? Why is he giving his opponent full view of himself?"

"He's tired!" Lana said. "I doubt he can even think straight!" Five pairs of eyes looked at her incredulously before shaking their heads and returning to watch the duel.

"You think he'll use his jump now?"

"Should. Else he's getting skewered and loses his chance" Hawk said, joining the two commentators.

Nein nodded, agreeing to the conclusion. "Skip to the left, right, right and n- What?" the three screamed out as Ace instead of jumping on his opponent decided to encase him in grass and hide behind a stone, drinking couple of potions.

"That's a stupid move" Worglan said, shaking his head.

"Absolutely, those drinks don't restore energy. Soon he'll fall over from exhaustion."

"He had one chance..." Hawk said with a sigh, shifting his eyes to see sad faced Aurora looking at the fight with one eye and Par hiding in Monthu's hands. The kid wasn't looking at all but neither was he crying.

"Well, we all make mistakes" murmured Rowena half lying, half sitting by the hole. She looked displeased by the sight at the arena but nothing more.

Lancelot punched the wall again and their whole cage shook. "Stop it or we'll all fall in!" Nein hissed at him. That made the guy's eyes lit up. "You know we'll all die right?" "We could..." "We could crash and turn into beautiful wisps of grey smoke. That's all we could do so shut up, stop putting us in danger and watch the last moments of the kid's brave fight."

The fact that he'd be the fault of thirteen deaths calmed Lancelot down instantly and he returned to his position by the window at the arena. Giants were screaming and cheering in obnoxious voices while the kid was fighting for his life. It made Lancelot feel sick. He had trained endlessly to become strong and be able to protect the weak but here he was once again being shielded by a newcomer to life. Protected by a child. He felt weak and pathetic.

What was all his training worth if he could do nothing but watch as a little kid sacrificed himself for the sake of others? It was a noble cause but children should be playing games and enjoying their lives instead of worrying about saving those they cared about. It was a game but too realistic not to scar children. What were they doing here anyway? It was too cruel and vicious for them.

His eyes landed to see the troll lying on the ground and the kid on his back stabbing his neck repeatedly. His curved dagger was glistening red but it was getting plunged in again and again. At first the troll tried to stand up, straining against the grass holding his limbs to the ground, but soon the fight left him, his body lying limp in his own blood.

The kid stabbed him a few more times before noticing the change and standing up. He raised his weapon to the crowd that had fallen silent at the sudden turn of events and smiled. Lancelot was sure of it even if he was all the way up high here.

Then he released a breath he didn't knew he had been holding. The kid had won! Everything was going to be okay!

"He did it..." Nein said in disbelief.

"That was something amazing…" Hawk said as Aurora jumped to hug Lana and Rowena. They all exchanged exited smiles. "Ace won! He won!" they screamed, letting the tension out and high fiving each other.

A glint of metal caught Lancelot's eye as he was turning to his team.

He lowered his head just in time to see Ace fall over the dead troll and turn into white mist.