Kyoku went through the eleventh and twelfth wagons with relative ease, killing ten Nurses and two more Needlers in the process. The fact that from those two wagons he had gotten 120 XP points was amazing as it stood, but then again, he would've died easily if not for his powers as The Gamer.

It wasn't that hard to fight against many enemies at once thanks to Agility Drift, but there was something that annoyed him to no end. How clunky and unrefined his movements were. In spite of knowing which was the best path to follow and what movement to do instinctually, he couldn't strike the enemy with as much ease as he would like.

'That just goes to show how lacking I still am' - Kyoku thought as he dashed into the next car, killing a Faceless Nurse and rolling under a Needler's slash. - "As soon as I get the chance, I'm learning how to fight"

Kyoku was a bit grateful towards whoever trapped him in the Barrier, since it became a mine to grind XP. In fact, he even felt a bit doubtful about dispelling it -something he didn't even know how to do in the first place-. That was, of course, until he remembered the purpose behind the Barrier. Collecting souls.

Whoever had created it was, undoubtedly, evil. Kyoku didn't consider himself selfless or a good person, but he would help if it didn't bring him any setbacks.

Once he was done with the enemies present in the wagon, Kyoku decided to check his surroundings a bit more attentively. He had noticed how the appearance of the train gradually changed to look more fleshy and gory, rather than just old and bloody. The smell of rot and ammonia was complemented by that of bile, giving him the idea that he was in someone's esophagus. From the handholds that remained in the roof hanged different kinds of knives and even a few butcher cleavers. Kyoku had tried to grab some of these, but gave up when he realized they wouldn't budge no matter what. The final straw came when he used Observe on them and the description of the Barrier popped up, meaning that they were part of it, unlike the seats or handholds.

The fourteenth wagon had six Nurses and two Needlers, taking a lot of work out to defeat without getting hit, something Kyoku was getting better and better at each moment that passed.

"One more wagon and I'll be in the driver's cab" - Kyoku said, taking a few short moments to catch his breath -figuratively, since he didn't actually feel physically agitated or tired-. Looking at his stats, he realized something important. - "Lucky! Next wagon will surely earn me a level up"

Going through the previous wagons, Kyoku had earned himself a total of 322 XP out of the 340 he needed to reach Level 4. Following the pattern he had seen of XP required per level increasing by -approximately- half the previous number, the next Level-up would cost him 510 XP.

Entering the fifteenth and last wagon of the train, Kyoku found himself surrounded by... nothing. There were no Nurses, no Needlers, no monsters whatsoever. Kyoku was about to curse out loud, thinking it was the usual 'safe' room before a boss battle, when the door to the driver's compartment opened. From inside, a single, mangled Needler burst out, as if it had been thrown by something else. Kyoku immediately pierced its head with the Bloody Blade.

Enemy Drops:

- ¥15

- Bloody Blade

- 22 XP

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Kyoku quickly put his SP where he thought them smart. 2 in INT, getting his Mana to 60, one in WIS, raising his Regen from 4.2 per minute to 4.7 and the remaining two in VIT, effectively raising it to 25.

Achievement Unlocked: Hard as stone

Requirements: Have Vitality reach 25 Points

Rewards:

- Adaptation

Unluckily, Kyoku had no way to check what the new Skill did, thanks to the cleaver that came flying his way. From the driver's cab, a hulking figure walked out, having to arch his back to pass through the door. Without wasting a second, Kyoku used Observe on the creature.

Butcher (Boss):

A monster created by '???' with the purpose of harvesting souls. It was sent to eliminate The Gamer.

Level: 10

Class: Abomination

Creator: '???'

STR: 35 VIT: 30

AGI: 10 INT: 5

WIS: 1 CHA: 1

"Well, if that thing hits me, I'm fucked" - Kyoku said dryly, a tone of dread clear in his voice. - "On the other hand... if I get rid of him..."

The thought of all the possible rewards he could get from the Abomination was too enticing to try any other way out of the train. Where a normal person would think that jumping through the window was the better choice, Kyoku could only think about the walking lump of XP and loot in front of him.

Grabbing both the Bloody Blades firmly, Kyoku dashed towards the creature. He could see how the Butcher lifted his massive Cleaver and began to bring it down upon him, so he did the obvious. He sidestepped and, at the same time, he brought both blades to the creature's stomach. Surprisingly, the cut was relatively shallow, when compared to the creatures he had fought previously.

'That's thirty VIT for you' - he thought as he dodge a not-so-heavy horizontal slash. That was when the Butcher grabbed one of the knives hanging from the roof and threw it at Kyoku, who wasn't able to dodge the sudden attack. - "Fuck! That's why they're there!"

*

Unknown to Kyoku, inside of the driver's cab there was a girl, watching as everything unfolded. Her face, impassive and with no apparent sign of caring, was betrayed by the light in her eyes. She knew what was going, who was to blame and why she in particular had been trapped in the train. As such, she had already accepted her death as a reality. That was, of course, until she realized every single monster that spawned in the same damned room she was in completely ignored her presence.

On the one hand, she was glad that they ignored her. But on the other hand, she would've rathered they just ended her -together with her pain-. Quickly and painlessly. Just a simple strike and poof, she would've been no longer.

Alas, they took their bloody time in doing something as simple as ending a defenseless, simple girl. Yes, she could see ghosts. And yes, her mother was a cultist. But neither of those was her fault. Neither of those did she ask for. If someone had asked her, she would've preferred to not be born at all. To not have to go through the pain of seeing her family fall apart because of her mother. To not have to feel so useless when she saw his dad work until collapse to try and pay the debts her mother had left behind.

'And in spite of it all, I hold on to hope' - she thought as she saw the latest monster to appear walk towards the door. - "Another one that ignor... what is that sound?"

That was when she saw him. Head held high, his squarish yet soft features available for everyone -though there was no one- to see. His eyes, big yet not too much, and their vibrant amber irises. His build, not too muscular, but she could see how well-shaped his body was.

Why was he in there? Wasn't she supposed to be the only person on the train? She didn't particularly care about others, but she didn't want innocent people to die as collateral damage because of her. She was about to scream, to ask him to run away. But she was forced to remain silent. Not because of fear, but because of shock.

He, who didn't look any older than she was, not only dodged the creature's attack, but actually proffered one of his own. When she saw the knife thrown by the monster reach him, she winced in pain, closing her own eyes. She heard him curse something about that being the reason for them being there, which she assumed was related to all the blades hanging around in the place.

'He seems... unharmed?' - she wondered, looking at him dodge yet another slash and attack the creature once again, this time on the neck. - 'But who is he? He looks like he knows what is going on but... at the same time doesn't?'

She saw him dodge strike after strike and even parry some of the knives the creature used as projectiles, relishing when he was successful and wincing in pain when he took a hit. She could tell that the way he moved his 'swords' was amateurish, and looking at them more carefully, she realized they were the... 'legs', of the spider-like monster that had spawned earlier. So he had taken those out? Could he be the hope she had been waiting for her entire life?

She had never considered herself emotionally weak. She knew she was fragile, but not weak. And yet, in spite of her pride trying to stop her from doing so, she screamed for help. - "Please help me! I'm here! Help!" - And she understood that, when we truly are at our lowest, we accept help from anyone. Even from someone we don't know.

*

When Kyoku heard the scream for help, he had delivered three hits to the Butcher's neck. He knew that attacking a lot of random places was not going to be very useful, seeing how the creature seemed to have skin and muscles as hard as wood. As such, he came to the conclusion that attacking one single spot repetitively would be for the best.

He had chosen the neck of the Butcher because Dead Aim told him it was the weakest part of the creature and because, logically, it was best to sever its head off.

He really wanted to reach out for that voice. To say he was there, since something about it felt familiar to him. It might've been the desperation deeply ingrained in it. It might've been the fact that it asked for help. But Kyoku was sure it was something even deeper than that. It was the voice of someone who had been robbed of their dreams. It was someone who wished to be free -from everything or from themselves-.

"Don't worry!" - he said reassuringly, his voice taking a tone as comforting as he could muster in his current position. - "When I'm done with this Jason rip-off this'll be over... probably"

The last part said to himself in a whisper, since he really wasn't sure if it would be over or not. But his instincts told that, at least for the moment, it would be.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to even hear if he had received an answer. The Butcher had directed its most accurate slash of the day to his neck, something that forced Kyoku, in his moment of absent-mindedness, to use Hastened Steps for the first time.

Kyoku could clearly see everything around him, but he could still feel the pit in his stomach from the sudden shift in speed. And as suddenly as it came, it disappeared. He regained focus already staring at the creature's nape. He could see the marks of the slashes he had delivered on its neck previously. Two red gashes that were at least a quarter of the way into it.

Taking advantage of the gap formed between his movements and the Butcher's reaction speed, Kyoku drove both his blades into its nape once again. He could see two, bright red 25 damage indicators right above where he hit. Red crits usually meant stronger crits, so that would explain the damage dealt going above the cap of 21 he calculated for the Bloody Blades.

In that one movement, Kyoku saw how his blades pushed all the way through the Butcher's neck, effectively severing its head off. Kyoku saw the hulking Abomination fall to the floor, twitching almost identically to the Faceless Nurses. He didn't rest until he saw the one notification that brought him peace of mind appear.

Enemy Drops:

- ¥200

- Soulreaving Cleaver

- Mist Boots

- 100 XP

Finally, it was over. The Boss monster was killed and he had reached the driver's compartment. The only things left for him to do were checking on the apparent girl that was in there, and get the fuck out of the barrier.

'But I can catch my breath before that, right?' - he though, as he finally realized just how many hits he had taken in that fight. - 'When did my HP drop to 43?'