Grand forest - morning

I was taken down from the webbing after striking the nerves of the fur weirdo. We were standing in another part of the forest that wasn't too far away from where Nunnalé is. The fur weirdo was stretching his legs and arms.

"Better warm up, cause I ain't going easy on ya," he warned me.

"Thanks, but I'm fine. Besides, I'm not going easy either!"

I didn't want to waste any time on this loser, so I just went in for the attack. I don't need to really fight him, I just need a good chance to escape. So as it seemed like I was going for a hit, it was me going off to the side and making a break for it.

"Don't you dare run from me!"

He chased after me, nearly catching up with me. I stopped in front of him and threw a fist. However, he bent backward and grabbed my jacket. He dragged me down to the ground with him. We rolled in a wheel until he threw me back on my back.

"Thought you could get away huh? Too bad, you ain't getting away from me until I turn you black and blue."

He was charging at me. When he came close I threw a straight jab, but he jumped and moved over my head with his hands on my arm.

"What the hell!?"

Grabbing a hold of my shirt, he moved his leg towards my face. His knee hit me in the face, adding to that, he kicked me when he got back onto the ground. The attack knocked me a ways back.

"Gah!"

"What's the matter? Thought I was all brute strength? In that case, I'll let me in on a secret. To beat the fiercest monster, you have to be able to outmaneuver them, or else they'll just destroy you."

He took the time to flex off his agility by break dancing.

"What do ya think, scared now?"

I made another break for it while he was showing off. Dumbass thought I'd stick around to see him gloat about his flexibility?

"Hey, get back here!"

Immediately he chased after me, his reaction speed and his base speed is incredible. I needed to take advantage of it somehow. My mind went through all the moves that I know of, and in no time at all, I was able to find one. "HYAP!"

"What!?"

I pushed my back against the enemy's chest. His momentum was going to play to my advantage since with it I was going to flip him over my back. With as much of my strength, I slammed him to the ground, his back making a loud thumping sound. Without wasting any time, I smashed my fist against his stomach. He spat out saliva when I went in again with my other fist. He rolled himself away and got up with his hand on his stomach.

"Damn, that was actually pretty good," he complimented.

"Damn straight, now just stay down already."

"Why don't you want to fight me? Before, you were excited, but now you're rushing? What's the big deal?"

"I just needed you to cut me down, I didn't care to fight you. My friend was poisoned by your pet, so I don't have time to fight you."

"Oh, sucks for him, he's probably dead by now."

The way he nonchalantly said that pissed me off to the point where I wanted this guy's head crushed between both my foot and the ground.

"Gettin' angry? Then why don't you blow off some steam!"

He sprinted towards me with his arms spread out. He swiped his arms when he was close, blood came out of my forearm when I blocked it. His nails are sharp as hell just like the old man's. His sharp nails came flying back at me, ripping the air in front of me. I wanted to break away from his attack but he was making no openings for me to run away. There was gonna be no way for me to be able to get away from him unless I knock him down somehow. In which case, I'm gonna have to get a bit more serious. When he came in with a stabbing gesture, I grabbed his arm and dragged his body forward towards my elbow while I drove it to him.

"You little- UGH!"

I punched upward below his chin. I then kicked the side of his head while hitting the side of his head with my left fist. This dazed him, he wasn't able to tell left from right. His headache would only get worse since I continued to assault his head. There were no openings, I was going to keep him locked down with this barrage of attacks. When he tried to counter-attack with his razor nails I just redirected the attack and continued with my assault.

"HA!"

The last strike was with my left hand, smashing against his face. It sent him flying, crashing down on his back.

"Had enough yet," I asked as I was panting heavily.

"That wasn't bad at all," he replied in between his coughing.

A bird flew down to him, there was a letter attached to it. Fur weirdo unfolded it.

"Unfortunately, I can't fight for much longer. I'm being summoned back to the main base, but don't worry, we'll fight again. And as long as I have this I'll make sure of it."

He held up my Goggles. WHAT!?

"The hell, what are you doing with those?"

"I'm taking them as a sort of memento for next time."

"Like there will be. Give them back!"

I went after him, moving as fast as I could to get him in one strike. Not only did he block it but he judo threw me to the ground and hit me in the gut. It was quick and painful, making spit out the saliva in my mouth. The bastard just copied me! I got back up but he beat my ass the moment I tried to do something. To top it off, he tripped me up and punched me in the face, slamming me to the ground. My face sore as all hell and my stomach was hurting like crazy.

"I only allowed you to hit me as many times as you did to gauge you. Not bad, but not the best. You'll have to step up your game the next time we meet, or else you'll never get these back."

He pocketed them and ran off with them, jumping down from the platform we're on.

"Wait, you bastard. Get back here with those! Those are. . ."

I got up to run after him but after hearing the loud hissing sound I remembered that we haven't gotten the blood yet. One half of my mind wanted to go after that son of a bitch who took my goggles, but the other half knew that it had to go get that blood.

"Gaaah. God damn it!"

I stopped chasing after the fur coat dude and went back to the spider. Jumping back to where Nunnalé was. She was still fighting the spider. It was trying to slash her with its poisoned claws. Not wanting it to hit her, I jumped down on top of its back. The landing was a bit harsh when I did the sore part of my body. However, I swallowed the pain and just focused on how to help Nunnalé. The spider was moving around too much where it became a bit hard to hold on. Luckily, there was a gap in the metal back that I can hang on to.

"Wait, why is there a gap?"

On closer inspection, there was a thin layer of webbing connecting the metal to the spider's back. Maybe if I could fit my fingers in the gap I could rip it off. With that in mind, I tried to pry off the metal but it was no use, the webbing was strong Luckily, I was able to make a small opening. I couldn't punch it since my fist was bigger than the gap. Things like swords were the only things that could fit through, and I didn't bring one. The spider charged for Nunnalé with its back facing towards her. She pointed her sword forward, readying herself to take on the attack. Wait, that's it!

"Nunnalé, wait, stab--"

It was too late, she was about to strike against the shell, the impact knocked me right off. I stumbled upon landing, hitting my head on a tree.

"God damn it, that hurts!"

"Are you okay," Nunnalé asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, more importantly, there's a gap in the middle of the spider's back. You can use your sword to pierce it."

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah, all we need to do is just stab it and we can get some blood and kill this thing."

"It has too much momentum for me to successfully stab it."

She was right, if that thing were to ram her while she tried to stab it, she would get seriously hurt. Then I'll have to stop it when she goes for it.

"Nunnalé, when it charges again with its back, you'll get a chance to stab it."

"How do you know," she asked.

"Cause I'm gonna stop it."

The spider was ready to lunge at us again. When it was coming at us, I ran in front of Nunnalé and stood my ground. My arms were put up towards it, flexed to maximum efficiency. When it hit my arms they instantly broke.

"GAAAH!" The right arm was broken and the left was not as broken but it wasn't in any good condition either. Even if my arms were broken, I still used my back to try and stop its movement.

"COME ON DAMNIT, STOP!"

With all my energy, I let out a roar and used all that I got to stop this thing. Eventually, the monster stopped, still in the same position for tackling. This was our chance to win.

"Kill it now!"

Immediately, Nunnalé stabbed the monster in the gap. She went up and down the middle of the spider's back. Blood came gushing out like a faucet. I quickly got the bottle out from my pocket and filled it up with blood from the spider.

"We did it. . .we got the blood," I said, panting from the pain and exhaustion that my body is going through.

"Are you okay, Proxy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just forget about me, we need to deliver the blood."

"Yes, we wasted enough time here."

We hurried out of the small area with the spider and out to the forest. My body was hurting so badly, my arms felt like shit, my legs were turning to jelly. It was getting to the part where I couldn't move anymore.

"Ah!"

I collapsed to the ground from the pain.

"Are you okay," Nunnalé rushed over to me.

"No problem, but my body is feeling sluggish."

"We don't have time to waste."

"You don't have to tell me! I know that."

Looking at this objectively, my body is completely trashed right now, mainly my arms and legs. At this rate, I'll just keep dropping, and we don't have much more time before the poison kills Richard. There was only one thing to do. I gave the vial to Nunnalé.

"Here, take this and go."

"The blood?"

"We don't have time to worry about me. You have to go and give Selena the blood."

She took a second to look at the vial in my hand, then at me.

"I understand, I shall take the blood to my master," she calmly stated without shifting her facial expression.

"Hurry up, please Nunnalé. You can't let him die," I told her while wincing from the pain.

"I won't allow it," she determinedly said.

She was about to go speeding off but stopped because a noise was approaching us. It was hastily arriving towards us, becoming louder with every second. It sounded like an engine...

"Is that my. . ."

The thing came into view, it was my bike, it was driving itself towards us. It stopped in front of Nunnalé.

"This vehicle is yours, how did it come here on its own?"

"It's a long story, but that doesn't matter right now, get on."

I climbed on top of the bike and Nunnalé got on as a passenger. My hand was a bit numb but I was sure I could drive with just one hand.

"Hang on to that blood, I won't be stopping for anything."

Without wasting any time, I drove off out of the forest. In a mere minute, we were out of the forest. There were bandits outside of the forest, they were just as surprised to see us as we were to see them. It didn't matter, we just needed to get through them. I maneuvered around them and went past them. There was a wooden barrier placed in our way. It looked more than reinforced to deal with a bike. At this speed, we were probably going to crash and burn if we hit that thing. We couldn't go to the sides since there was no room to. Any other option is not coming to mind except...

"Screw it, might as well. Yo, Road burner, I'll let you do whatever you want, just get us home alive!"

Our speed spiked out of the blue. When we hit the barrier, we went soaring through it. I was holding onto the handle as best as I could with what little energy my left hand could use. The landing wasn't smooth either, this bike made sure of that.

"Damn, that was too rough!"

This is why I didn't allow the bike to drive itself before. I didn't want to rely on the bike doing its own thing since it was likely to get us killed before we even reached the lair, but now we had no choice. I just hope this doesn't get the blood destroyed.

"Nunnalé, you okay."

"Do not worry about me, worry about the blood."

"I'm worried about the blood and you. If anything were to happen to you, Richard would be sad."

Along the road down, I noticed that big rocks were coming down on us.

"Dodge, burner!"

Road burner was able to dodge most of the rocks falling on us, but one was about to find its mark by hitting Nunnalé's head. Noticing this, I blocked it from hitting her. However, this, in turn, had it break open my head. The pain was beyond belief, more so than a broken arm. I felt as if my mind was going blank for a second, but I pulled together before I went out cold.

"Proxy, are you-"

"Yeah, never better, just hold onto that blood and keep your head down. It seems that this ride is going to get rough..."

There were more bandits with more traps on the road, ready to kill us. But despite that, I wasn't going to allow that to stop us from delivering that blood; I wasn't going to let my best friend down. I swear on my life! With all this adrenaline in my body, I puffed up my chest and when it felt right, I let out a battle cry. "RAAAHHHH!"

Ruins camp, morning

Marie was looking through a pair of binoculars. She was searching for Proxy's bike in the further reaches of the land. She was practically praying they would be back by now.

"Marie, are they back yet?"

Alexander came out of the camp for a status report.

"No, they're not back yet. They should be back by now."

She kept gazing at areas she already checked.

"How's Richard," she asked, taking her eyes out of the binoculars.

"Not good, it seems that he doesn' t have much time left. At this rate. . .he'll."

"He's so young, why does someone so young have to die like this?"

Alex couldn't tell her why. To be poisoned and to have the life drained out of you is a cruel death, but for this to happen to a kid who's barely lived his life is more than cruel.

"I want to scold Proxy for going behind our backs and doing something so stupid and dangerous that he got his own friend poisoned! But now. . .I don't know if he's still alive."

Marie was visibly disturbed by everything that is happening. She was furious with Proxy, she wanted to smack him over the head for getting Richard hurt. But, she didn't want him to die either; she was hoping that he would come driving from the distance with Nunnalé and the blood in hand, but her gut told her it wouldn't happen. She lost hope that they would come back.

"Hm, something is coming from the distance."

She took another look through her binoculars from Alex's outburst. Something was kicking up a lot of dust. When it came into view she was able to see what it was. It was Proxy, who seemed to be yelling something.

"RICHARD!"

His shouts could be heard as he was driving towards the camp with Nunnalé behind him.

"Alex, they're okay, they're okay!"

He wasn't behind her, he was running over to them. She followed suit. Proxy had rode up to them until his bike hit a bump and he and Nunnalé rolled all over the floor as a result.

"Proxy, you're hurt, you need to get medical attention," Alex urgently recommended.

"Forget about me, just get her and this to Selena!"

He handed Alexander the blood. It was safeguarded tightly by Nunnalé and Proxy during their escape. However, this had caused Proxy to rack up many wounds. Alexander - however concerned - understood that Proxy was putting his life under the for Richards' and Nunnalés'.

"Okay, Marie, get Nunnalé and Proxy, I'll take the blood."

"Right."

Alexander ran with all his might to make every second count. Marie got to work by picking up Nunnalé first. She took a good look at Proxy and examined his whole body. He was badly bruised everywhere on his body, he was bleeding from his head and his arms seemed to be broken. There was no way to deny that these wounds came from the effort to save his friend. She wanted to think he was just a jerk kid who didn't care about anyone else, but that simply wasn't true. The wounds on his body told a story, a story of a boy who risked life and limb to get the antidote to someone he cared about, whether he lived or died, so not wanting to leave him to bleed on the ground, she lifted him to her back, carrying him and Nunnalé

"Proxy. . .You're getting the lecture of a lifetime."

Ruin's camp - afternoon

Proxy was sitting by himself, completely healed from his head, all the way to his legs. While he was healed, his body still ached from the pain. Selena approached him while he was eating.

"Proxy, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, all my wounds are healed and I'm feeling pretty good. Though, the places the wounds were still hurt."

"That pain will go away shortly, just get a good night's rest and you'll be fine."

"Thanks, I'll do just that."

His hands were fidgeting themselves around. He was still worried about Richard even though he got the medicine. He was still asleep, but Selena did say he would need some rest to recover from the poison.

"Proxy, it's as I said, you are not ready to take this world on."

"This again?"

"You are far too weak to fight in this world, and don't try to rebuttal, I think today is more than enough to consist as evidence towards my claim," Selena stated.

"So what would you want me to do?"

"I'm not in the position to make you do anything, I can only tell you the heart of the matter and hope that you make the right decision."

She turned her back on him.

"I suggest you think long and hard about your future, like it or not, it can and will have an effect on other people; whether it is good or bad. I do hope you consider this." With that, she was going to teleport but Proxy spoke up before she left.

“Yes, what is. . .”

I got down on all fours and put my head to the ground.

“Thank you for saving him. . .I was overwhelmed. I was weak!"

Proxy repeated these words, “I was weak” to himself, thinking of them as if they were the only words he knew. They were simple and clear, noting to misinterpret them. Those simple words made him angry, angrier than he has ever felt. Proxy never sought power since he had already thought highly of his fighting prowess. But now that he is looking back on what happened today he realizes the power gap between him, Wildcard, and that monster, This drives Proxy mad. This was further evident with the fact that he took Proxy's goggles. Not only did he take something precious from him, but it also said he was able to walk all over him like he was nothing. Proxy then balled up his fist.

“. . .Being on the ground doesn’t suit you, rise to it!”

As Proxy rose his head Selena was gone. He was by himself, on the ground kneeling. The sensation of failure, shame, and guilty was as strong as ever. Even as Selena was gone he still felt as if he was being judged. Yet, he wasn’t sinking into despair! His rage was another factor that was fueled by his defeat and his inability to protect Richard. It was the only thing keeping him from becoming sorrowful. His thoughts were on getting his revenge against Wildcard.

"I swear, the next time I see him, I'll pound him into the ground! And I'll redeem myself."

His determination was set, the fire was lit, he was now on a quest to crush Wildcard the next time he saw him.

"Proxy, are you okay? You seem intense."

He immediately recognized the voice that spoke to him. Proxy turned his head to see that it was Richard, standing beside him.

"Richard, are you...?"

"I'm fine, I just-"

Cutting him off, Proxy got up to hug him. It was a sudden and awkward moment for a second, but Richard caught on to the situation and just let him be.

"Nice to see you too, Proxy."

Proxy then realized what he was doing and collected himself. He separated himself from Richard, patting him on the shoulder.

"So, buddy, how are you feeling," he asked Richard.

"I'm fine, kind of woozy but I can manage."

"Good, that's good."

There was a painful silence between the both of them, Proxy was the one who allowed this to be. It was then that Richard noticed something was off.

"Hey, what happened to your goggles," Richard asked.

"That. . .Some asshole took them, he beat my ass in the process."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Because I got poisoned, you and Nunnalé had to risk your lives to get me cured, and you lost your goggles in the process; I know how important they are to you."

"It's no big deal, shit like that happens. I’m just glad you’re alright."

But Proxy knew that doesn't really change the fact of how he got hurt.

"It was because I didn't have enough power to protect myself," is what Proxy thought to himself.

"Richard, I. . .I'm so sorry about what happened!"

"Huh?"

"I was the one who got you hurt, you had to save my dumbass, and look what happened to you."

Richard was in awe by Proxy's gesture. He didn't think he would apologize to his face like this. Nonetheless, he knew that Proxy worried about him, and was glad that he was showing it.

"It's okay, the wound healed and I'm okay now. And beyond that, I am glad that you're not hurt, it made it more than worth it to protect you."

"Oh, is that so?"

He felt a bit insulted by what Richard said. He knew he meant it in a non-insulting way, so he tried his best to hide his displeasure.

"W-well, in any case, you don't need to worry about protecting me. Because I'm going to be leveling up my game pretty soon. Just you watch, I, the great Proxy shall become the strongest fighter here! So you don't need to worry about protecting me because I'll be deadly strong."

Richard wanted to tell him that he was being a bit grandiose, but he wasn't going to do that, but instead. . .

"You won’t be the only one. One of the books I read about said that people aren’t set to one attribute. I could potentially use conjurer or illusionist. But there’s something I need to make, and it can only be done with conjurer. I need to grow stronger," Richard announced. "As I am now, I can't do anything useful, and my Source is a far cry from good. That's why I need to get better at healing. If I can't, then this'll keep happening again, and I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me. S-so what I'm saying is I'll do my best too!"

Their determinations are sharpening for different reasons, the two boys are going to march on and become even stronger.

...

“Master Richard.”

Nunnalé approached him with her hands together.

“Hey Nunnalé, how are you?”

“. . .I failed to protect you from harm and I caused an ally to suffer great wounds. I am unworthy to be used by you.”

“Nunnalé, what are you. . .?”

“I shall be taking more precautions toward your safety.”

Nunnalé began walking off by herself.

“Hey, wait, I--”

“If I may ask: can you tell Proxy I am sorry for mistrusting him. I blamed my incompetence on him. Such an act was disgraceful. I shall avoid doing such acts ever again.”

She walked onward by herself. I sensed nothing. Her words didn’t emote sadness but shame. She seemed worried about me, but I didn’t sense anything else besides that. I wanted to tell her I was okay but she was so composed that it scared me. I just can’t with her.

“I don’t understand you, Nunnalé.”