I was a fool, an idiot, a moron. How could I be so arrogant? While my body was on autopilot, following Kalistra as we traveled along the road beyond the bridge, my mind was reeling from what had happened before we crossed the bridge. I was simply devastated. If the end result was that Kitel and Copene would part ways with me and Kalistra, were the deaths of those five men truly necessary?

In hindsight, the more prudent action was to pay the toll that was demanded to cross the bridge. If I paid the toll and the men still refused to let us pass, THEN we should fight them. Instead, I intentionally backed Sene's friend into a corner by demanding his sworn oath when we both knew that he couldn't provide it without risking divine retribution. Thus, Tewind had no choice but to order his men to attack us.

When the game itself confirmed, via a pop-up message, that I had acted poorly and took away a small portion of my hard earned reputation and experience, the notification was a stake in my heart. It shattered my self-confidence. Who was I kidding? I was neither a leader nor a champion. I was not the bedrock foundation upon which the kingdom of Merlin could flourish and thrive. The gods wanted me to become something that I wasn't. And it was about time that I start acting like an adult and admit as much.

Suddenly, Kalistra stopped running and yelled out, "ENOUGH!"

Her stoppage was so abrupt that I almost ran into her.

The angry cat girl grabbed a fistful of hair on the back of my head and forced my head lower until our foreheads were actually touching. She stared into my eyes and started her lecture. "Listen to me, Lawrence, and listen good! What happened back there was not your fault! I understand that you feel responsible for the deaths of those humans. I realize that you feel guilty for turning Kewind into an orphan. But you are a nobleman and a member of the Church. You wield tremendous authority over the commoners in the kingdom of Merlin. But with great power comes great responsibility. Many lives hang in the balance for your actions. You have exercised your authority many times already during the duration of your short stay in our world. People have ALREADY died as a result of your actions. But you have also saved many, many more lives in the process. I know that you're upset with how the encounter at the bridge went down. But you have neither the time nor the luxury to regret it right now. We're still a long way from Bristol and we may still face more danger on the road. I need you to focus on the here and now. Can you do that?" she asked.

I tried to lift my head up, but Kalistra refused to let go.

"Well?" she demanded my answer.

I was still too upset to speak. Instead, I nodded.

Satisfied with my (non-verbal) answer, my master finally released me. "Now run!" She stabbed me in my right shoulder with her now patented one-claw-poke.

"-2 Health." Ouch! Not this again! I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth. I started running again on the uneven road. However, my heart was still elsewhere. Because of my lack of attention to the road, I stumbled on a rock and almost fell to the ground.

Instead of lending a hand, the evil minx poked me again in the same spot on my shoulder.

"-2 Health." I dismissed the pop-up.

"Faster!" Kalistra ordered.

As the pain in my shoulder throbbed, I started becoming angry. Angry at the evil minx. Angry at myself for my weakness. Angry at the gaming world. Angry at the gods, especially the overlord who brought me to this miserable world. I wanted to go home! I wanted to go home NOW! "RRROOOAAAHHH!" I released my pent up anger as I started charging like an angry bull.

I never bothered to look back because I knew that Kalistra could easily keep up with me. I didn't know where I was going and quite frankly, I no longer cared. All that mattered to me was the here and now. My anger and my frustration. My regret and my helplessness. I knew that I was wallowing in self-pity and the only way I could move forward was to let it all out. I didn't care anymore.

Every step I took, I pounded my foot on the ground harder. Harder and faster I charged on the open road. The road went up and down, twisted left and right. With a single misstep, I will crash to the ground hard. But I didn't care. I became reckless and ran with abandon, not at all concerned with the way that I was burning up my stamina.

However, something unexpected happened to me—FREEDOM! I was no longer burdened by doubt or guilt. The world suddenly became brighter and less intimidating. I was breathing more easily. I felt stronger and more powerful. As I ran, I stared with longing at the woods, with big strong trees that I could rest under for a nice nap or two. My eyes darted from the road to the woods so often that it felt like they bouncing around like pinballs in a pinball machine at the arcade. Finally, my desire for rest won out and I started to veer off the road. But suddenly, my body became paralyzed; I fell flat on my face and blacked out. The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was Kalistra's voice yelling, "Stupid human!"

#

"Drink," someone implored as a cool liquid entered my mouth.

I could barely move. My eyes refused to open. I tried to swallow the fluid and it took enormous effort to do so. But once the liquid entered my gut, a soothing sensation started spreading throughout my entire body. Feeling returned to my limbs along with the energy to move my body. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that my stamina bar was beginning to refill. Ah! So that was what happened! I ran so hard that I burned up all my stamina! Oh, gosh! I winced at the thought of Kalistra and what she will say about that. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw the cat girl looking down on me. My head was on her lap!

Remembering the cat people's weird customs regarding suitors, I didn't want Kalistra to misunderstand me. Therefore, I tried to get up immediately, but the cat girl forcefully pushed her paw on my chest.

"No, Lawrence, you need to give the Potion of Stamina more time to fill up your stamina. It's not back to 100% yet," she admonished me and held me down with her paw.

"I'm sorry," I apologized sheepishly.

Kalistra's eyes glowed for a second and she sighed. "I think we have already established that you're a particularly stupid human who can't help but do stupid things. Frankly, if my dojo hadn't pledged its allegiance to you already in your pursuit of the crown, I think we would have sought a wiser candidate to support instead," she said.

I winced at her harsh words. "Then I'm glad that you're stuck with me now," I said tongue-in-cheek.

"I guess I'll have to teach you to stop doing stupid things," my master replied as she petted my head gently. "I consider it part of my responsibility as your teacher." When Kalistra saw that my stamina bar was completely filled she said, "Okay, the Potion of Stamina has finished its work on your body. Time to rise and shine, Lawrence." The evil minx poked my shoulder with a claw.

"-2 Health." The pain immediately forced me to get off her lap.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked me.

I stared at Kalistra with suspicion. Why was she being so nice to me right now? Did she fear that I had turned insane from my guilt? I smacked my cheeks with my palms. "-2 Health." I ignored the pop-up and nodded to her.

"Then start running!" the taskmaster said as she pushed me on the back.

"Yes, master!" I obeyed immediately.

This time, the cat girl ran with me to my right.

I was very surprised because usually one of us was in front of the other. What changed to make Kalistra decide to run next to me? I suspected that she was concerned that I'll do something stupid and get knocked out again. In other words, she was babysitting me. I was unhappy that she felt the need to watch me more closely. But then again, I had shown that I needed closer supervision from my master. Ugh! This was becoming more and more embarrassing! Where was a monster when you need one to draw attention away from my stupidity?

I started wishing for a monster encounter. Heck, I even prayed silently to the gods for their assistance to make this happen. But nope, this leg of our journey proved to be idyllic and monster-free. After a mile or so, I decided to ask, "How long was I out back there?"

"Maybe five minutes or so?" the cat girl smirked.

"Oh, I thought I was out longer than that!" I exclaimed.

"You would have been if I didn't make you drink that stamina potion," Kalistra replied. "Again, I remind you that the potions that you use are coming out of your platinum coin," she said.

"Yes, I know!" I said defensively.

"Is your head clear now?" she asked.

I thought for a moment and realized that it was. "Yes," I answered succinctly.

"Good," she nodded, "because we're about to hit the next village."

I was so startled by the news that I almost tripped over my feet and fell. However, my master was close enough to reach out with her paw and grab my arm. "Thank you," I grinned sheepishly.

Kalistra could only shake her head. She pointed at the guidepost on the side of the road. It was a long piece of wood staked to the ground with two more slabs of wood hammered on it. One piece was pointed straight ahead with the word, "Balmore," written in large black letters. The other piece was pointed eastward with the word, "Heuwdon."

"So which way?" I asked as we stood in front of the guidepost. Our road split at this juncture. I turned my head to the right and saw that the road to Heuwdon started to climb. And in the distance, I saw a fortification on a small hill. I saw many people going through the wide gate and the road seemed to continue onward to parts unknown. The road to Balmore, on the other hand, seemed to drop and I couldn't see the next settlement.

"Balmore," the cat girl answered and started running again.

I ran after her but a minute later she disappeared over the horizon! Afraid of being left behind, I willed my legs to move even faster, burning up some precious stamina in the process. By the time I reached the point where the cat girl disappeared, I saw why: there was a valley! With the strong rays of sunshine peering over the valley, I saw many fields of crops that were rotated between wheat, barley, and rooted vegetables. A river stream ran parallel to the left side of the road, and there were a few wooden bridges that crossed over the stream for easier access to the plots of farmland on the other side of the river.

"Come on, Lawrence!" Kalistra yelled.

I looked down and saw the cat girl waiting for me on the road. It was a steep descent and I took great care in going down the road.

The cat girl rolled her eyes and waited impatiently for me to join her.

As I descended down the steep road, I suddenly had an idea. No, it was more like something was IMPLANTED into my mind. I had no doubt who was the source of the inspiration, but I wholeheartedly agreed. It was a really nice prank to play on the arrogant, evil minx.

When Kalistra saw that I had safely reached the beginning of the valley, she slowly turned and started running again.

NOW! I ran at my top speed and zoomed toward her. As I passed Kalistra, I reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling the surprised cat girl along. Our destination? The river.

My master realized too late what I was planning. By the time she tried to pull her arm away, we were both airborne. SPLASH!

I kept my hand on her arm even after we entered the water. I didn't know if Kalistra could swim and I made sure to pull her up with me.

The angry cat girl drilled her glowing eyes into mine. She spat out a mouthful of water in my direction. "Wait 'til we reach land," Kalistra hissed.

"Kekeke."

My master's ears perked up, and we both looked around for the source of the snicker.

But the mischievous Lord Bane remained invisible, hovering above our heads unbeknownst to us. However, the demigod of Chaos was quite pleased with my execution of his prank. He pointed his claw at me and sent a tiny red ball of divine energy.

When the ball hit me on the back of my head, I received a pop-up notification which read, "+50 Reputation. +100 XP."

Kalistra saw this message and looked at me with askance.

"Lord Bane made me do it," I shrugged helplessly.

The cat girl hissed her disapproval but allowed me to pull her along on the water as we swam back to shore.