"Keep doing that," Samantha muttered. "And I'm not going to wait for sex, Nathan. I'm going to turn around and put you in me."

Nathan chuckled, squeezing her nipple one last time before pulling his hand away from it, then kissed her neck before rising and stretching. He pulled his pants back on, then fixed his belt before looking over at Samantha as she sat up and smiled at him.

"How long were you doing that for?" She asked, noticing that he wasn't pulling anything else on. In fact, his clothes weren't even there. "Where are the rest of your clothes?"

"Clothing Box," he answered. "Will put on after the duel."

Samantha nodded, and he told her that he was going to do some preparations for the duel, then left.

Twenty minutes later, each of the other twenty-three students who had completed the Challenge so far were in the Dome as William entered.

Nathan was sitting in the center of the court, a pair of wooden training swords sitting on the floor in front of him. Taking note that Nathan was wearing just a pair of pants, William stripped to his and sent his clothes into his Clothing Box.

"Training swords?" William asked as Nathan picked them up and tossed one to him.

"Samantha said it's your specialty," Nathan stated. "No bonuses, no extra powers with these. Just us and our Skills."

It made the fight more fair between them, to use the same weapon. William wasn't sure what Nathan's specialty was, but he favored martial arts, so unless he was hiding his real specialty, then William had the advantage with the sword.

At exactly eight, the pair of them received a message.

Duel Start!

"Charge!"

William shot forward, his sword passing through where Nathan had stood moments before. The other warrior had stepped to the side at the last moment, easily evading the speed-fueled Skill. William pivoted and swung his sword around, only to have it deflected.

Every attack William made, Nathan deflected, barely moving from where he was on the occasion he did move. Nathan never made a move to attack, only blocked or avoided being struck. After thirty minutes of that, William was exhausted, soaked in sweat, and breathing heavy.

Nathan watched the other boy. He had good style and technique, but just wasn't good enough, even with his own specialty. Quite a bit of talent, though.

William moved forward, faltering a moment as his exhaustion began to beat at him, and in that moment, Nathan struck.

Target Health -3!

45 Endurance, 450 Health, 150 Strikes at full-force before factoring in whatever his regeneration is.

Nathan knew he could be off a little on his estimates, but if he was right, then that was how many strikes he would need in order to remove William's Health. He had no doubt the warrior had likely used some Health Potions to bring himself back up to full for the duel, if possible.

As William corrected himself, he found Nathan's sword striking again and again, and did his best to defend against the sudden onslaught of attacks. At first, he managed to block all but every fourth attack, then all but every third, then all but every second, then finally, none.

"Zero," Nathan stated as he slashed the wooden sword at William's chest, the blade sliding across the other boy's chest.

Duel End! Victor: Nathan Hunter.

"Zero?" William gasped, dropping to the ground and sitting, doing his best to calm his breathing. "You knew I hit zero?"

"45 Endurance."

"How did you know how much Endurance I had?" William asked.

"You can tell how much Strength I have," Nathan stated. "Say it aloud, and you will regret it."

"But how-oh."

"Yeah."

Nathan dismissed his message.

Steal Stats 0/5 Strength Endurance Speed Magic Mana

Nathan focused on Magic and selected it five times, then confirmed his selection.

+5 Magic! Target -5 Magic!

"Wait," William frowned. "How did you do that? You didn't use the vocal triggers."

"Skill," Nathan stated, bending down and picking up William's training sword.

He then made his way to the training room and put the swords away, then made his way to the showers to wash off his sweat. William was already in them, scrubbing down, and Nathan took a nearby shower.

"How long have you been fighting?"

"Since I was eight," William looked over at Nathan, who was pumping shampoo into his hands. "You?"

"Three."

"You're pretty good."

"I've had several private tutors," Nathan stated. "Trained often, before this thing started."

"Same," William nodded. "I don't have a chance with Samantha, do I?"

Nathan went silent at that, scrubbing the shampoo into his hair, then rinsed it out and pumped some conditioner into his hands and started scrubbing that into his hair.

"We talked last night," Nathan stated.

"And?"

"Do you shave your pubes?"

"I trim them," William looked down at himself. He kept the rest of his body hair-free, but his pubes trimmed. Then, he looked over at Nathan, whose body was smooth and devoid of hair. "You?"

"I'm a blond with good genes," Nathan stated. "Don't have anything to shave. You shave your pits, too?"

"I don't like hairiness."

"Are you bi?"

William didn't answer, returning his gaze to the wall in front of him. It was his boner and his shaving habits that revealed it, wasn't it?

"I take that as a 'yes'," Nathan stated. "Unless you challenge it."

"Are you going to tell people?"

"No," Nathan stated. "It's not like it'd be a problem for anyone. Those who decide to cause a fuss about it while we're in this are the people who'll find themselves abandoned when the fight gets bad. Samantha said that if I was alright with it, she would look at dating both of us. After all, there's a chance we'll never leave here, dying together in the end. Why not take the moment?"

"And you?" William looked over, noting Nathan's lack of an erection before letting out a small sigh, his hope of a three-way relationship destroyed. "Are you okay with me dating her at the same time?"

"As long as you don't have sex with her," Nathan stated. "And don't try to get between us, I won't abandon you when the fight gets bad."

"I can date her because we might all die, but I can't have sex with her, even if she wants it, because we might die?"

"Yes."

Nathan rinsed the shampoo out of his hair, then pumped soap onto his hands and started scrubbing his body.

"You can have sex with Michael, though."

"Michael only fucks girls," William said. "And he's an ass."

"Not as much of one as he was when we started," Nathan stated.

"And how do you know?"

"He thanked me."

William took several moments to process even the thought that Nathan was serious about Michael thanking someone for something.

"…for what?"

"Assistance against a Five-Pointer."

"A what?" William asked.

"G-3."

"Ah," William said. "Wait – why do you call it a Five-Pointer?"

"Because it gives 5 Points. Duh."

William laughed in response, then returned to washing himself.

"Still not gonna have sex with Michael," William said. "He's still an ass, and I'd rather top."

"Rather, but not exclusively?" Nathan asked.

"I'd bottom for the right guy," William admitted. "You're a lot more talkative than I've ever heard you before."

"Thinking about Samantha," Nathan shrugged. "I asked her out four years ago. She rejected me."

"And she changed her mind?"

"She apparently liked me back then," Nathan's hand worked down to his member and began stroking it, bringing it to attention as he thought about Samantha and feeling her body. "I almost went all the way with her last night."

"You did?" William looked over and saw what Nathan was doing, quickly moving his eyes away. "What stopped you?"

"Pretty sure she's a virgin."

"And that bothers you?" William asked.

Nathan continued to slowly stroke himself, not answering. His mind was focusing on the image of Samantha he'd conjured up in his mind.

"Or… you're not," William said. "And you're worried that'll bother her."

"Yeah."

"When?" William asked. "Who? Um. Do you mind if I ask that?"

"No one you know," Nathan answered. "Probably. One's dead – died in the initial wave – the other two were seniors when we were freshmen, so they were out of the school before you started."

"You banged a couple of older chicks."

"Twins."

"You banged a pair of older twin chicks."

"Yeah."

"At the same time?"

"I only have one dick," Nathan said. "And they're only about three years older. I know actual couples with bigger age differences. We were just hookup buddies."

"When was your last time?"

"With the twins or our classmate?"

"Both."

"The classmate, a week before we got thrown into this game," Nathan answered. "The twins, about two days before."

"Any others?"

"A chick who graduated last year," Nathan nodded. "She lives across the street from me. Got some that morning."

"And these were all sex-based relationships?" William asked.

"Yeah."

"Damn," William responded. "You sure were getting some. How did they feel about sharing you with others and just being used for sex?"

"Who says I was the only one sharing?" Nathan asked. "I wasn't the only one some of them slept with. We were all using each other."

"Damn," William let out a long sigh. "I'm still a virgin."

"Most of us were, when this started," Nathan stated.

"How did you convince the twins?" He asked. "I can't imagine they'd have stayed in contact with you after graduating, even if they were classmates."

"We already knew each other when I started high school."

"How?"

"They took turns babysitting me."

"You banged your babysitters."

"They're my former babysitters," Nathan laughed. "They weren't babysitting me the first time we hooked up, and hadn't in years. Even though they're in college, they still do some sitting, and sit my cousin. So I had a way to contact them."

Nathan went silent after that, focusing on the way Samantha had felt that morning, picking up speed, his breathing picking up speed as well, until he reached his climax, blasting his load onto the shower wall with a light moan.

"Fuuuuck," Nathan exhaled. "What do I do?"

"Talk with her?" William suggested. "I'm sure she wouldn't care. And hey – maybe she'd be fine letting you sleep with others. Though… I don't think I could handle a relationship here unless I can get some."

"Then don't," Nathan told him, then finished washing up. "And I don't think I would take anyone but Samantha. Not while we're here, anyway."

William nodded, then watched as Nathan left the showers.

Nathan dried off in the locker room, pulled on a fresh outfit, then left, finding Michael standing right outside the locker rooms.

"I'm not sparring with you," Nathan stated. "And the System won't initiate a duel for us, I'm sure."

"I-what?" Michael asked. "I wasn't thinking of trying to provoke the duel, William told us what the punishment for losing was. I wanted to know if you would teach me some swordplay."

"No."

"If you don't teach me," Michael says. "Then I'm going to fall behind in the Challenges, especially if things keep getting harder. If there's a hope of us getting out of here, then we all need to work together and support each other. You're the best swordsman here, beating out even William."

Nathan assessed Michael. It was unlike the jock to ever ask for help if he needed it, and the guy had been an ass for as long as Nathan could remember.

"No," Nathan stated.

"But-"

"Ask William," Nathan jerked a thumb in the direction of the locker room. "He's still showering."

"I doubt he'd do it."

"That's what you get for being an ass," Nathan stated. "Try offering to suck his dick."

That out, Nathan walked past the stunned jock and made his way to the cafeteria, where the other students were busy eating breakfast or chatting about the duel. Nathan grabbed two icing-covered cinnamon rolls and a couple of biscuits, splitting the latter in half and drowning them in sausage gravy. With his breakfast ready, he grabbed two cartons of chocolate milk and two containers of orange juice, then walked over to where Samantha was eating her own breakfast.

Nathan sat beside her and enjoyed his breakfast in silence. As soon as he finished eating, Samantha spoke.

"Are you satisfied, now that you fought for me?"

"…a little."

Samantha laughed at his shy response, noting his cheeks had flushed just a tad.

"Don't worry," she put a hand on his leg and gave it a little rub. "It was enjoyable to watch and kind of sexy, seeing you and William hot and sweaty as you went at it. I bet it would've been even more enjoyable if you two were wrestling."

Nathan punched her arm, receiving another laugh in response.

"Also," she kissed his cheek. "Regarding what we talked about last night – I don't mind if you date others, as long as I'm your first."

"And no sex?"

"Please," she snorted. "You can have sex with whoever you want, but I doubt you'll sleep with any of the other girls here. The only ones I can think of who'd catch your interest probably haven't. The thing with William was your concession. And it was only until we leave here, remember?"

The agreement they'd made was that if all three of them made it out of the game alive, Samantha would be free to sleep with William. Nathan refused to tell her why he didn't want her sleeping with William in the game, though she had a suspicion about it.

"If we leave here," Nathan reminded her.

"Yeah," she said. "If we leave here. Though I really think you just want to take me, first."

Nathan's cheeks flushed again, and Samantha continued to rub his leg, her hand brushing against his crotch.

"I'll wait for you," she whispered into his ear. "But don't wait too long. We really don't know if we're going to die here, and if so, when. And I would rather it be you."

Nathan turned his gaze to his tray and stared at it, fiddling a little bit with his fork, poking at the remains of the thick gravy.

"What is it?" She asked him.

He took several seconds to decide to tell her the thing that made him hesitant with her, hoping she wouldn't be mad, upset, or disappointed.

"You wouldn't be my first."

"Really?" She exclaimed, pulling her head back and staring at him in surprise. "Who? When? How? You?"

Samantha realized that she'd drawn the attention of the others, and stood up, pulling Nathan to his feet, noting his obvious surprise at her exclamation. He clearly hadn't been expecting that as her response.

"Come on," she said. "Let's head to our room. You're giving me all the details."