Victoria looks at me, her eyes going wide as a number of conflicting emotions flit across her face.

Then, she decides on her answer: "You haven't changed your phone number, right? I'm a bit of a veteran, so we could play a round or two together. I happen to have time this afternoon, so how about then? I could give you a few tips."

Now, Victoria was actually a bit of a gamer girl, so there was the chance that there actually was a game like that. But I doubt that it shouldn't cause her to show so many strong emotions.

Sure, it might be that she was just that happy that we would be playing games after so long. But it had been her who stopped playing games more than a year ago shortly after starting university. So I doubt that as well.

Maybe that was when she got recruited? Playing games where you do almost nothing but killing monsters, doesn't sound as fun anymore if you do the same in real life all the time.

"Oh? Vix and Alex playing games again? How long has it been? What kind of game is it?", Veronica asks.

"Not something you would want to play. Anyway, sounds good to me.", I answer.

Now, I wouldn't have asked like this if I had run the risk to have to explain the, non-existent, game to my sister. Sure, she could waste away her entire day playing games if she had the time to spare, but she was the kind of person who would waste hours playing Tetris. Put an RPG into her hands and she would be clueless.

We had tried to teach her a few times way back, but she was so bad that I was suspecting that she was doing that on purpose.

"You know, it's a shame that you two can't do anything but playing games if I'm not with you. I always thought you would look good together."

"Me and that sieve for brains? How did you get that Idea?", Victoria complains.

"Well, I always wanted to be best friends with my brother's wife when he marries. And didn't you have him sign that document way back then?"

Document? What... Right, that document.

"Right, right. As the first member, I think I have the right to know how it looks on the harem building front, Victoria.", I tease her.

'That document', was a self-written marriage form, that also doubled as the equivalent of a slave contract. The following week, was quite unforgettable, and not in a good way.

"How about you stop asking stupid questions and start massaging my feet?"

Yes, back then I had become uncomfortably familiar with the girl's body. I also discovered my talent for giving massages, though it also ruined the fun of it.

"No thanks, mistress.", I answer her.

At least she has the decency to blush a little at that. Seriously, who teaches a child that kind of stuff?

"Well, if you really want to know. I had a few prospects, but none of them were pushovers. Right, have you found a girlfriend yet?"

Tsk. Saying that I didn't because I never put effort into finding one would make me look like a sore loser, wouldn't it? It may be the truth, but I still lost, didn't I?

"Nope, was too busy. Anyway, I'm gonna take care of the last two boxes."

With those words, I leave the room. There was still stuff to do.

A few steps out of the front door, my phone vibrates.

A message from a number I didn't know, but I could guess from its content: 'Wait for me at the train station once we are done here. We need to talk.'

I quickly saved Victoria's number on my phone, I have a feeling that I'm going to need it from now on.

Two hours later, it was late in the afternoon and I was waiting at the train station. I had already sent Victoria a message when I got here, to give her a good excuse to leave as well.

Almost fifteen minutes later, the girl walks up to me and says: "Do you know any places close to here where no one can see us?"

"Well, there is that small forest. I have been training there.", I answer.

"Right, that place sounds good.", she acknowledges.

Several train stations and a few minutes walk in silence later, we finally stand in the middle of the forest, our surroundings already turning dark.

"You know, I have been hoping that Veronica could become a recruit. I guess you are the second-best option.", Victoria finally says.

"Hm? What do you mean with that?"

"It won't be long until the second gate falls. They are trying to hide it, but I still noticed. When it happened, I wanted Veronica to be safe. Anyway, that's not something you need to know about now.

Hmm, it's Saturday, so today is your last fight, right?"

"Well, yes. But is it okay to talk about this?"

"Because you are still a recruit? Don't worry. As a recruit, you couldn't talk about it with others even if you tried. But soldiers are all excepted from the restrictions.", she reassures me.

"In that case, I have one important question. What happens if I don't win in the tournament?"

"Worried about the elimination? Don't worry, you will just forget this ever happened. You will lose some memories, but nothing dangerous will happen.

Tell me, how do you stand in the tournament?"

"Well, one loss, one tie, and four wins."

"That's pretty damn good. Even if you lose the next fight you should at least get second place. But how the hell did you manage to tie? That's like, one in a million."

"I used this.", I said, pulling out the Desert Eagle from my Pocket dimension. "And my opponent had some kind of damage reflection. At least I think. It ended pretty damn quickly."

"Did you just... That's a subspace, isn't it?", Victoria asked surprised.

"It's called Pocket Dimension. But, yeah, I guess? Why are you asking?"

"Hmm... That's your Overskill, right? In that case, I might be able to help you a bit more than I thought.", Vicky finally answeres.