7/1 - Holy Lands - morning

I run past trees that are clumped next to each other, their roots sticking out of the ground, connecting to one another like a spiderweb. A small, furry creature zooms past them with little issue, meanwhile, I’m struggling to catch up with it.

"Get back here, you furry-eared breakfast!"

Chasing it in a straight line isn't gonna cut it. I need to cut it off. Picking up in speed, I take a path that isn’t as crazy. Okay, I’m starting to catch up!

"Heh, you're mine, you tasty-"

A hard thump comes from my head crashing against a tree. The top of my head feels sore and it hurts like a bitch!

"Shit, that hurts, that hurts!" Wait, where is that rabbit-looking thing!? Nowhere to be seen, great, that's another one I couldn’t catch. I let out a sigh. Might as well head back for today. I can’t seem to catch a single one of these.

Today, Marie asked Richard, Nunnalé, and me to come out here to hunt for some grub. So far, I got nothing, they were either bigger than I can handle, or too damn fast. I’m done with busting my ass for nothing. As I’m walking back to the camp, I see Marie pointing her bow at an animal. She’s just staring down her prey with an arrow ready to go. After a while, she just let go of the bowstring. The arrow hits its mark, dead on the forehead.

"Nice!" Right when she was heading to the animal, she noticed me. "Proxy, how many did you get?"

I was hoping she wouldn’t ask.

"None, small animals too fast, bigger ones are strong as hell."

"That’s why I said to use a bow. They're too fast and strong for normal people to catch with their hands."

"I thought I could do it, ya know? But then I tried catching them or fighting them, but it didn’t work out. Plus, it’s super hard to use a bow!”

"What's so hard about using a bow? I have been able to use one since I was a kid."

Wow, way to flex.

"Good for you, but I had to buy my food as a kid, so don't mind me if I’m not a super hunter. Just let me cook instead, that's my real strong suit."

My cooking skills are what being a master swordsman is to a samurai. Going to a supermarket and buying stuff was a drag, but was something I could do without any problems. However, running around and trying to get animals is harder than it seems.

"I guess you're right. Still, though, at least get one animal down," Marie instructed. "Over here." She had spotted another one coming over to us. She handed me her bow.

“Do I have to?”

"It's easy, I’ll show you.” She forces the bow into my hand as she positions me to shoot it. “Just have your eye follow the arrow, use your dominant hand to pull the arrow back on the string, and keep your stance firm." I use my right hand to draw the bow. "You see the arrow under your eye?"

"Yeah."

"Good, now just have the point trained on the animal..."

I do my best to align the point between my eye and that deer-looking thing… Now! The arrow flies off the string, trained for the animal. It hits its mark, all 10s’ on the board! That is what I would like to say if I hadn’t missed. Our food ran away after seeing an arrow 3 feet away from it.

"Man...you suck," Marie flat out says.

"Yeah...I got that.”

Oh man, this is totally uncool. I’m never gonna live this down.

Marie‌ is laughing her ass off. "I mean, you really suck at this.”

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

“No, no! It’s just…you remind me of my brother, that’s all.”

“Brother? Didn’t you mention him before?”

“Yeah, guess I did.”

“Is he ass with a bow as well?”

“You bet. Nearly got himself killed with one. After that, I never…”

She goes dead quiet, her eyes downcast coupled with a pained expression spreading across her face.

“Uh, are you okay?”

“Yeah… It’s nothing.”

Something tells me that’s not the case. Anyone else would just roll with it, but that ain’t my style.

“Come on, something is obviously wrong. What is it?”

“Nothing, really. I’m just tired, yeah, that’s it.”

“Bullshit. Is it about your brother?”

“N-no!”

It is

“Ya know, I’ve never seen it. Where is he?”

“It’s… Nothing, really…” Pressing her isn’t gonna help, I can tell. If she wants to keep it to herself, then let her. “...Proxy, if Richard was somewhere, a place that was holding captive and it seemed impossible to save him, would you still try to save him?”

“Course I would, even if it’s impossible. He’s my best buddy.” On the other hand, I wouldn’t give them the chance to take him! “But what’s the deal with that question?”

“No reason. I was just curious. Knew you would answer like that. When I say I wish I could share the idea, I really mean it, but…” She scratches the back of her head. She then lets out an aggravated groan. “Forget it, just forget it! We’re gonna go back to camp! First, let’s find Richard and that adorable girl!”

“You mean Nunnalé?”

“Yeah, her. She’s so cute, I just wanna squish her cheeks and…”

Yeah, this is kinda embarrassing, but at least she sorta perked up, even if she’s acting weird…

Titan's axe - afternoon

In the end, I didn't cook the big bear thing, but the smaller animals that got brought back to camp.

Recently, the little girl that Richard hangs with from time to time is helping me with cooking. Her speech is still broken, barely being able to do full sentences. She's pretty handy when I need something like spices or a tool.

Speaking of, these tools are pretty good and these spices do come in small containers. Marie must buy these somewhere and I want to know where? I made enough for a big group...

Wandering around the camp and eating, I spot Marie sitting on the couch at the front of the entrance. She nagged me about the couch after I had Nunnalé put it there again. She’s looking zoned out. There’s a plate with food on her lap. The food is untouched. I can’t let my cooking go to waste, it’s unacceptable.

"Hey, you gonna eat that?" I ask her.

"Huh." She snaps out of her daze.

"You gonna eat that or can I? I’d hate it if my fabulous cooking went to waste."

"Sure… I'm not hungry."

"Then don't mind if I do." Yes, sir! More food for myself, and it’s still hot. Sweet. "So, what’s going on? Bird watching?"

“Nothing… I’m just thinking, that’s all.”

“Don’t think too hard about whatever you’re thinking about. Makes things complicated.”

“Yeah, thanks…”

Geez, I can’t do small or awkward conversations. Though something is bothering her, she’s probably not gonna tell me. Well, whatever it is, I’m sure she’ll be fine. Hopefully.

Titan's axe, Mid-night

I was having the best dream ever until I was woken up by footsteps. My eyes are doing their best to adjust to the night. Waking up at night is such a pain in the ass. Though they’re a bit blurry, I see a pair moving past the entrance. I get off the couch as quickly as I can. Grabbing my stone sword from under the couch, I follow the mystery duo.

It’s still too dark for me to see them, but I can tell they’re messing with Marie’s bike. So we got robbers, huh? Well, I don’t know how this world deals with robbers, but I’m gonna show you how we NewPort boys do it.

I edge closer to where the two were. Hm, that’s odd. I only see one of them messing with her bike, but there’s only one now?

Coming in clutch, my sense goes off.

I point my sword at them. "Who are you!”

"Hold your horses! It's me! Can’t you see me?"

My eyes finally adjust to the darkness, allowing me to see who I’m talking to. Marie stands in front of me, pissed off, for some reason.

"Marie? Why are you guys sneaking around?”

"That’s none of your business, but I can ask you the same thing."

"Thought we were being robbed. So again, what are you guys doing?”

“We just need to go get something,” Marie answers, vague‌.

"Why can't it wait till tomorrow?"

"It just can't! So stop asking questions."

She looks desperate, and a lot cagier than usual. I could just go back to sleep and think nothing of this, but if it is a big deal, then it’s gonna bug me. Man, what a drag.

"Screw it, I’m tagging along.”

"Wha– No, you’re staying here!" Marie rejects my proposal.

“Why can't I go with you guys?"

"Because this is a very personal matter."

Sure is hard-headed when she wants to be.

I tucked my hands into my pockets and walked away. "Fine, I guess I'll just go back to sleep and forget I was even here..." Yeah right, I’m gonna follow them to wherever they’re going. Even if they’re on a bike, I should be able to follow the tracks they’ll leave.

"She's planning to free her brother from prison," Ovan suddenly explains.

"Hey what are you-"

"You will need help if you want to free your brother. Plus, he was going to follow us, weren't you, Proxy.”

Am I really that predictable? I’m losing my touch.

"Yeah...I might have been thinking about tailing you two. On a fine night like this, why wouldn’t I?"

He puffs out a chuckle. "A fine night indeed.”

"But..."

Marie was speechless, trying her best to get a word in edge wise.

She ends her stammering by face-palming herself. "Fine, Proxy, you're coming with us right now. Get on the bike!"

“On it.”

The bike blended in with the night, making it hard to find if you don’t know where to look. I jump into the sidecar of the bike. The seat feels nice as hell. Marie gets on the bike as the driver and Ovan as a passenger.

“This isn’t a game, so you better not screw around, Proxy!”

Now she’s really pissed. Ovan mentioned her brother being in prison. Maybe that’s why she asked me that weird question. No wonder she looks depressed sometimes. Can’t say I know how it feels, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad.

“Don’t worry, this ain’t a joke.”

Holy Lands - midnight

We’ve been riding for about an hour on uneven dirt roads and grass plains, but after a while, the ground got a lot smoother to drive on, making the rest of the trip nice and easy. Reaching a forest, we parked the bike inside, covering it with leaves and stuff like that. We continued on foot until we hit the edge of the forest.

In view, there’s a huge ass Penitentiary sitting on a piece of land that’s sitting in the middle of a moat. Or at least a deep pit with water at the bottom, and some nasty-looking rocks that would kill someone on impact. Climbing down would be impossible since they would need god-like stamina and the best grip in the world.

"Is that the prison?" I ask, waiting for someone to answer.

"That’s the prison my brother’s in. Blackrock. A prison that holds the worst criminals of the kingdom."

Can’t help but whistle at the sight of it. "Sounds awesome. How do we get in?”

Marie points to a gondola that’s going in between the prison and a docking bay up here.

"We can sneak past if we distract the guards. That's where Ovan comes in. He'll distract most of them while we sneak in one." Pretty basic, but good enough. The only problem though...

“What happens when we get off the gondola? We don’t exactly have guard uniforms.”

“Duh, we’re gonna steal one,” Marie answers.

“Okay, then let’s get going.”

We moved toward the gondolas. 8 guards are on watch, each one covering all sides of the small bay. One guard yawns and another rubs their eyes. Long hours and little pay, huh?

Ovan whistles, catching their attention. A guard comes to check out the noise. We lure him deeper into the woods. Having him right where we want him, I knock him out. But I couldn’t do it fast enough, he yelled out.

"Shit, now we gotta act!"

These clothes are too big for me to fit into. Ovan had left to distract the guards that were coming into the forest. Shit, what are we gonna do? I can’t wear these, so how are we gonna do this…? You know, now that I’m looking at it, these aren’t too big for Marie.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Want a pair of new clothes?”

...

The gondola ride to the prison is pretty slow, but I can't say I’m too jazzed for this thing to reach the end.

"How does the uniform fit?”

Marie stretches parts of the prison uniform. "It's pretty tight around the chest."

"But they do fit, right?"

"I suppose, but it also smells."

"That's the authenticity to make you not stand out."

"Well, I'm taking a shower after this." The gondola is approaching the end of the trip. "Proxy, we're only here for my brother, so do nothing to jeopardize that, got me!?"

"Relax, I won't screw up. Besides, I don’t want the stay here to be permanent."

The gondola stopped.

Marie places a hand on the door. “Ready?”

“As ready as I can be.”

She opens the door, letting in the cool night air. I swallow hard, trying to choke down the nervous feeling in my throat. Right away, we’re greeted by some guards.

"Who is this?" the nearest guard, serious in tone, asks

"A new prisoner," Marie answers, going for a deeper pitch.

"We weren't informed of any new prisoners."

"It was a last-second decision. We had to transport him here from the kingdom."

"For what?"

“Inciting a rebellion," I whispered to Marie.

"For inciting a rebellion," she repeats.

A chuckle leaves my mouth. “Power for the people.”

"Sickening. Fine, send him to processing."

"And where would that be, exactly?"

"Are you kidding? You a new guy?”

Scratching the side of her head, she squints a little. "Um, yes.”

“Man, I hate newbies. Follow me then."

"Thank you."

What a gentleman. Following behind the guard, another one places their hands on Marie’s shoulder.

“Hold it,” he demands.

“Can I help you?”

"Where are his restraints?”

"He was able to break free from them.”.

"A crafty one? Well then, here."

The guard ties a rope around my wrists. They’re digging into my skin. Even a slight tug grinds against my skin.

"Ow, not so tight!"

"Just to make sure you don't try to escape."

"Scared I might pull a Houdini act?"

"What's that...?"

You know, this would be the best time to remember that my references aren't gonna land on these people.

"Okay, take me to prison."

Pushing me along, we follow the guard in front of us into a room. There are baskets filled with clothes and accessories. A guard is sitting in here, watching us enter the room. The dude seems bored out of his mind.

"Okay, take off all your clothes. "

"Whoa, you didn't even take me out to dinner yet."

"Clothes, now!"

"Yikes, it was just a joke. Birch is more lenient than you."

Stripping down to my underwear, I’m given a gray, long-sleeve overall. Fits just about right, though the sleeve for my left leg is longer than the other. Easily fixed by cuffing it at the middle of my shin.

"Goggles, too."

I grabbed his wrist before he could touch it. "They stay on."

It was by instinct, but I hate it when someone I don’t know or I’m not cool with touches my stuff, especially my goggles. Before I could break this poor sap’s arm, I let go of him.

"I see we got a fighter."

"You can say that again. Little bastard nearly broke my wrists."

"Then he'll fit in here just fine. Come on, let’s go.”

"Alright, let’s go. Oh, by the way, if anything is missing from my jacket or pants pocket, I'll beat your ass.”

“Whatever you say, kid.”

“Stop stalling, let’s go! Newbie, follow me. I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

“Right, understood.”

We head for the entrance of the prison with this “nice” guard. Getting in was easy, but I can tell getting out with Marie and her bro will be the hard part.

Blackrock prison - Midnight

I’m thrown into a room. The floor is stained with dirt, but everything else in here is metal that’s crudely put together. Dried-up blood soaked the dirt, changing its color. Rising from the ground, I dust myself off. Hmm, this place looks like an area based on the decor and it being 15 meters wide, give or take.

Speaking of which, my sense goes off. I hop to the left, ready to kick some ass.

"Damn, how did you know I was here!?"

This is it? The dude looks like a total wimp. Geez, if this is what the prisoners are about, I don’t wanna know what the people in the kingdom are like.

“With your stank, anyone could tell you’re here."

"Really?"

"Yep, and now it's my turn to give a warm welcome!"

My left fist aims for his head. He could try to gut me, but at this distance and my speed, it’s over for him.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please, forgive me!" I stop short of his face. "Sorry, I’m sorry! I didn't really wanna attack you, I was just scared! I didn't know who was going to come in here! Where are we anyway!? Please, I was just so scared of getting beaten to death by a prisoner, so I thought I would jump them and knock them out! Please, forgive me!"

This guy is practically on the verge of tears. His story makes sense, but I’m not gonna fall for it.

"Okay, if your story is true, then I'm sorry in advance."

"Huh?"

My fist smashes into his jaw. Poor guy rolls around on the ground, holding his jaw. Did I just punch a guy for no reason? I sure as hell hope I didn’t…

"You little shit! Why did you do that!?"

"Cram it, I know you’re lying because of what you said. 'I was so scared of getting beaten to death by another prisoner'. Why would you think a prisoner would come in here? For all you know, a guard could've come in here. Plus, you said you don't even know what this place is, so it was easy to pick up on your bullshit. Also, you have a knife."

Sir, moron here glances at his knife, giving an, “oh yeah”. And right on cue, he tries to shank me. His form is awful, thrusting himself forward with the blade. Feels like this dude is moving in slow-mo. Either way, I grab his arm,

"Wow, that was lame."

Honestly, Angelo can do better, and I always knocked him out in one hit. Anyway, I kick his gut, then his chin with an uppercut. He lost his grip on his blade, stumbling around in a daze.

"Ready for an around-the-city trip?”

"Huh?"

Spinning around clockwise, I roundhouse the poor bastard’s head in. His body hits the ground, making a thud sound… Wait, is that it? He’s already out? How disappointing.

"Wow, that was quick."

A voice!? Where is it coming from?

"He beat the rookie crusher on his first try."

A door behind me slides open. Guards, carrying weapons and wearing heavy armor, come into the room.

"Congratulations. You have won your first fight. Please follow me to your cell."

Hell of a way to get a prisoner settled in. Regardless, I start following him to my new home, away from home.

When I looked back, the other guards were picking up the guy I had just beaten. Are they gonna do something bad to him since he lost? Oh well, I won a fight, and that's a good thing in my book.

7/2 - Blackrock - morning

"Hey, wake up, kid. I wanna get something to eat."

God, can’t this guy see I’m catching some z’s?

"What, what!? Can't you see I'm sleeping?”

"Yeah, sorry, but I'm hungry, so if you could come with me, that would be great."

"Are you going to keep bothering me if I don't go with you?"

"Yeah."

Well, shit, I'm awake now, so I might as well get something to eat.

"Alright, fine, lead the way…”

I jump out of bed, landing on my feet. Since last night, I’ve been sleeping on the top bed of this bunk bed. My cell is small but big enough to have a little breathing room. There’s a desk with a bunch of stuff on it. Must be my roomie's stuff.

Exiting the cell, the main part of the prison where the inmates sleep is circular, leading upward with multiple pathways connecting to the pathway going up and down.

Now that I'm not half-asleep anymore, who was this guy? He’s rocking this shifty look. His hair is a mess that you can’t help but look at. One of his sleeves is hanging by his waist.

"Thanks for coming with me, kid," the messy-looking man says.

"Yeah, no prob... Who are you?"

"Oh, right, I didn't introduce myself. Though you kinda ignored me when you came into our cell last night. Anyway, I'm Chip."

Chip? What a weird name. Then again, who am I to talk?

"Okay, Chip, why do you need me to go get food? Scared to go on your own," I teased.

"Nah, most of the guys here are nice? Unless they wanna fight, or when they want to be nasty. I just need you so I can get some chips. Fighters who win the first time around get to eat for free during their first lunch hour."

"Seriously? Then why don't you just get into a fight and win?"

"That's a hassle. Fighting ain’t my thing.”

Right when we entered the cafe, he points to the serving area. "See how those guys are just getting crap food?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, now look at that." Sitting at the middle table, a dude is eating some fine cuisine. "Damn, that looks good!"

"Yeah, you can only get that if you got money, but if you don't have any, you're gonna have to eat that sewage.”

"So why did I have to fight an hour after I came to this place?"

"In this prison, when a new inmate is brought in, they’re forced to fight one selected prisoner. It gives the prisoners a fair shot at getting CCP. Usually, it's the rookie slayer that gets selected since he's pretty weak. I think he’s like that because he knows those fights are easy grabs for CCP. Though, because of that, he's not exactly popular here, so he keeps to his room. He knows that he's gonna get his ass whooped the moment the guys he's beaten see him."

Makes sense, but why the hell would he fight then?

"Of course, you can pick a fight whenever you want. There are multiple different rings here, so there are probably some fights going on as we speak. We could go see one if you want to, just after we get the chips, of course."

So this prison uses fighting as a means to get currency. Sounds interesting as all hell...

"So, the short and sweet of it is: if you're a fighter, and you win matches, the benefits get better."

"Wow, this place is pretty killer. I think I might fit in here for a bit."

"Yeah, well, that's good and all, but can we get those chips now?"

"Sure, sure."

We got in line for a bag of chips and something to drink for myself. He wanted me to get a bag that had green stripes on them.

"Oh, man, these are the best." Bliss is etched across his face, munching down on those chips. "Want one?"

“Been a while since I had one. Sure.”

I throw one into my mouth. It has a salty flavor to it, too salty. Ugh!

This is nasty! I spit it out. "These aren't that good at all!”

"Are you kidding? These are the best. There's seaweed flavor, vanilla icing, then there’s saltwater flavor. Personally, those first two are okay, but the salt has got to be the best. You just need to get used to it."

There is no way in hell I’m gonna get used to it.

"Hey, you, come here!"

A guard outside the cafe calls me over. Guess I have to do another fight?

"Be careful, kid."

"I'll be fine." I head over to the guard. This guy seems stiff. "What is it?"

"Proxy, it's Marie?" she whispers. "Where were you?”

"I was put in a fighting ring, then put into a cell."

"Fighting ring...?"

"Yeah, this prison has a fighting system. But enough about that, did you find your brother yet?"

"No, but I know he is here. I just don't know where."

"So we have no idea where to start looking?"

"I'll just use the resources I have access to now, I don't know how long it'll take."

I don't want to be here for more than a couple of days. Hell, I have no idea how long we’ll really be here.

"Proxy, look for a man with long blond hair and-"

A ruckus in the cafe interrupts Marie. We rush back into the cafe. There are two guys holding someone down.

"Chip, what's going on?"

"Some guy went up to a fighter and took a slab of meat off his plate. Now, he's about to get his ass kicked for it."

"Yikes, feel bad for the poor bastard."

On one hand, I oughta help, on the other, he kind of deserves it for just eating someone else's food. I mean, there are rules, then there’s etiquette. The guy who was about to get his shit kicked in is being blocked by a rather burly dude who tore off the sleeves of his jumpsuit.

"Fellows, we do not need to do this.” The guy in danger tries to disarm the situation. “I just thought that steak was going to waste. You were playing around with it and it made me ravenous. Furthermore, it smelled succulent, and it was scrumptious."

He’s not doing himself any favors.

“That voice..."

"Is it familiar? Maybe it's your bro?”

"No, it couldn't be that easy. Besides, I didn't see anyone who looked like him. So whoever that is, he's pretty dumb."

The situation is getting worse. Looks like the big guy is getting ready to knock out some of his teeth.

"I hope that steak was good because now you're gonna taste something else," the burly man threatens him.

"Come now, why is it so atrocious? We should be getting along, not trying to harm each other. Let bygones be bygones?"

"Sorry, but we ain't gonna kill you, but you're gonna wish we did."

Lifting his victim, he slams him against the table he was sitting on. The poor sap had long bright blond hair and a bit of a beard on his chin. Blond hair… Nah, it can’t be that easy. After all, Marie said–

"No way... Alexander!"

Shock mixed with joy is fully expressed on her face.

“Who’s that?”

“Alexander… My brother. That’s him!” Huh...? What!