Rocko appeared before James on the bed. His eyes were downcast, but his shoulders were square. Rocko was made from a block of stone, and it was difficult for him to slump.

"I can't say it enough," Rocko started, "I'm sorry."

"Do you even know what you are sorry for?" James asked.

"That you were put in that position."

James didn't move, "Why did that bother me?"

Rocko blinked, "What?"

James explained, "If you are sorry for doing something, then you must know what you are sorry for doing. You should be able to explain to me why you are sorry."

Rocko thought about that. Truthfully, he expected an apology to be enough. "You are angry because we arranged a fight without telling you."

James nodded once, "And why would that bother me."

Rocko shrugged, "I am not sure, honestly."

James grimaced, "Then I can't accept your apology."

Rocko flinched, "Why not!"

James frowned, "Because if you don't understand what you did wrong, then you are doomed to do it again. And if you do it again, you are not sorry."

"Then tell me what I did wrong, and I won't do that again," Rocko shouted, exasperated.

"I could," James conceded, "But I don't think that will convey the understanding of why what you did was wrong."

"I am confused, "Rocko sighed.

"Okay," James tried again. "You understand that setting me up made me upset."

Rocko nodded, "Yes."

"Do you understand why it made me upset?" James asked.

"Because we didn't tell you in advance," Rocko stated. Or guessed. It could have been both.

"Even if you told me in advance, I would still be upset. Do you know why?" James asked again.

"It is not because you are afraid of a fight. So it must be some other reason. But no, I don't know why you would be upset." Rocko admitted.

"That fight would have been to the death. Mine or his. You and your friends decided to end someone's life for no other reason than to teach me how to fight a Champion." James explained.

"Your upset at the value we put on the other Champion's life?" Rocko asked.

"No. I am upset at the value you put on mine!" James growled.

Rocko took an involuntary step back.

"Your group decided to push me into a life or death struggle with no warning against an unknown enemy to give me experience in fighting Champions. You did not consider anything to do with me or how I would feel about it. You assumed that I would be grateful to have the chance to kill someone simply because they are a Champion."

"Why would you feel bad for eliminating a Champion. It would be one less Champion you need to fight at the end," Rocko asked.

"Because I don't like killing people, Rocko, believe it or not. I do it because I need to, not because I want to. I do it to prevent bad people from doing bad things. Was this Champion a bad person? Was he about to do bad things?" James asked.

"That is a rather naïve point of view," Rocko countered. "When you fight a war, you have an enemy, and that enemy must die, or you will die instead. You can't tell me that you have never killed innocents or civilians in your work."

James sighed, "I have killed people who would be considered collateral damage to get at a specific target. We made efforts to ensure that casualties were minimal, but yes, sometimes a civilian was killed when bullets were flying. But that doesn't mean I enjoyed it or didn't strive to improve so that it didn't happen again."

Rocko shook his head, "I can't see how this is the same. If he is not an enemy today, he will be one tomorrow. Why allow him to get stronger when you have the chance to take him out now."

"You can use the same argument on a child. They may grow up as an enemy in the future, but they are not one now. Killing them now is murder. Arranging a deliberate confrontation where one person is killed by the other: is murder." James emphasized.

Rocko sighed, "James, all Champions are the enemy. They work for the gods, who are our enemy. We can only target the gods by removing their Champions."

James nodded, "I am glad you brought up that point, Rocko. I don't remember signing up for your war. I got drafted because of the Amulet I cashed in that allowed me to recreate my Avatar, and you saw it as a chance to create something to use against the gods. You and your group decided to help me because you thought I could topple the Challenge. I am not entirely sure what the reason was, but you never asked me to be a part of your plan. You just ensnared me."

Rocko held up a hand, "Woah. You knew what we were planning on doing from the start. The group made their intentions known from the beginning that we were doing this to achieve freedom from the gods. We didn't course you. You did this freely."

"I didn't resist the chance to have a better chance to survive, but I didn't agree to be your unthinking weapon that kills whoever it is pointed at," James corrected.

Rocko frowned, "So, what? Are you backing out now? I thought you wanted to put an end to these Challenges as well."

James nodded, "I agreed that I would help you end the Challenges. I still don't understand how winning the Challenge will do that, but I am willing to do my best. I also understand that I may have to kill a few Champions to win, but to kill a Champion solely for being a Champion is not right."

Rocko narrowed his eyes at James, "So you want them to have already hurt someone before you are willing to kill them?"

James frowned, "If you were not my guide, would it have been acceptable for Connie's mom, the Watch Commander, to find me and kill me because of the bonus I give her and her community?"

Rocko nodded, "I can understand how you would feel that being her target, but at the end of the day, James, the good Champions don't win."

"Do you have evidence that Ashrel was one of these bad Champions? Can you say with any certainty that he went out of his way to cause harm to non-Champions" James asked.

"I do not, but I can find out if there were any incidents in previous Challenges," Rocko confirmed.

"Then I won't hunt him down and kill him. Not without some proof showing that the is a menace to the non- Champions," James reiterated.

"Then we should let all the Champions have free reign?" Rocko growled.

"Of course not! The truth is, there are probably a hundred other Champions more deserving of being killed than him. They should be the target, not him." James stated.

Rocko smiled, "I am glad you feel that way. The group has a list."

James frowned, "What do you mean the group has a list?"

Rocko continued to smile, "The group has a list of Champions who have committed crimes against non-champions. The ones at the top include rape and murder, all the way down to willful destruction of property and theft."

James paused, "You set me up!"

Rocko shook his head, "Not really. The first time was my mistake. I knew you wouldn't agree to kill someone without reason, but I felt all you needed was a push. For that, I am sorry."

"And now?" James asked.

Rocko smiled, "I was hoping you would argue yourself into this position. Saying that someone has to warrant being a target instead of just being a Champion. Which you did."

Now it was James' turn to narrow his eyes, "Why would you do that? Do you think I should target Champions? Hunt them down and eliminate them?"

Rocko nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, abso-fucking-lutely! They are a scourge to humanity. Their very existence kills hundreds with no recourse. There may be some Champions that don't fall on the list, but some near the top need to be removed. Need to be put down, like the rabid beasts they are!"

James seemed skeptical, "And I am supposed to do this at level 14?"

Rocko paused to collect his thoughts, "Not alone. There are a hundred different ways to kill someone without having to be the one to stick the knife in their throat. You wanted to get the sisters involved on your team and have access to an Assassin's Guild."

James shook his head, "I am not sure I want them to get involved in this shit."

"You need to remember that some Champions are causing a great deal of damage, not just to cities, but to civilian lives. If they continue to go unchecked, more people will die. You are already aware that you need to kill Champions to get ahead. At this point, you have to decide how to achieve that goal. You can let them kill themselves; you can let the civilians kill them for you or hunt them down yourself. Or better yet, some combination of all three."

James thought about Rocko's statement. He wasn't wrong. Not all Champions would make it to the last week. But until then, if he had the choice of taking them out early and saving the lives of untold civilians, could he live with himself if he didn't.

"Why can't your group take them out indirectly as well," James suggested.

Rocko shook his head, "The encounter with Ashrel was a fluke. We had information that was once in a lifetime. We acted on it incorrectly and put you on the spot. For that, I am sorry. I don't think that Ashley is a bad guy, but he is most likely a Champion fighting for his life and hoping to cross the threshold.

James sighed, "So how am I supposed to hunt these guys down and kill them?"

'With a team. It would help if you had a network of people to collect information. You need a team of people to act on that information. And if you can't act on it because they are too tough, then you pass on that information to the right person or kingdom and let them handle it." Rocko scratched his chin, "As a first step, find out where the Champions are. As a second step, set them up to run into another Champion strong enough to kill them or some kingdom ready to battle them. Then, when you are stronger, you move in and fight them if you must."

James nodded, "Just so we are clear. I don't want another situation like today?"

Rocko agreed, "Then, at the end of the day, we will need to collect as much information as possible. To do that, we will require a network that only you can build."

"Why only me?"

"Alter Self, Astral Travel and Conceal Status. Those three things will make you an excellent spymaster," Rocko smirked.

"A spy network," James asked.

Rocko shook his head and grinned wider, "No, James. A Shadow Network."