One day, Frank would see his older sister again. He would take her out of the ghetto, put her in a mansion, and let her live an easier life after all the struggle and strife she’d suffered to raise him in a parentless home. One day, they would reunite, and she wouldn’t have to go on thinking Frank had disappeared and died in a ditch somewhere alone and afraid. But until that day, he would have to keep fighting and fighting.

Fighting himself to stay strong since the day they’d kidnapped him, threw him into a secret facility out in a desert, and attempted to break him to see if he was worth keeping. Fighting to not make friends, to see himself rise to the top of the program, to keep his wits razor sharp, to convince the instructors to trust him and find him superior, to earn his right to go global and compete against all the other teenage agents around the world. Frank had fought against the broken ribs, ripped nails, sleepless nights, and countless attempts from his peers to undermine, backstab, assassinate, and yank him down from the top.

Now he was fighting on two fronts at the last leg of the Toyreveler Dungeon. He was fighting to help Jay win an impossible battle, and he was fighting to keep from selecting the Yes option for them to leave the dungeon automatically.

How could anyone understand the burden Frank carried on his shoulders? They could leave this behind, succeed on their crawl, be welcomed as heroes, secure his spot as the twelfth Champion for as long as he lived, and get an extra step closer to seeing his older sister again after so, so long.

But there was something about Jay that made Frank hurt. Like he was seeing a version of himself that could’ve been a fun-loving, hopeful, reckless kid, putting his all into doing what was right without the proper training or guidance.

And Frank’s wall between himself and the others wasn’t as firm as it should’ve been. For hours since they met, Frank had waited for them to backstab him, to do something to take him down, but they’d shown him they were just kids. Exceptional, unusual, but kids nonetheless. Kids willing to save a little toy girl who was slowly dying. Kids who had convinced a toy, a dungeon monster meant to invade the world and should be despised and destroyed, to risk her entire future for the crawlers. If Frank’s big sister were here, she would love the freaking hell out of that. She was a spirited nerd; that spirit was precious and worth protecting.

Frank put the option to auto-leave the dungeon to the back of his mind even though it stayed within reach. He refastened his grip on his greatsword after using [Power Parry] smartly to deflect one of many arms swinging at him. He knew he needed to deflect only one arm to step past the multitude and get within the dungeon master’s reach.

A [Surging Strike] pushed Frank to swing the sword with speed, power, and gusto that carved nicely into the boss’s belly. Dark ooze bubbled out with a rotten smell. The Toyreveler lunged away, fleeing from Frank again after many of these little clashes.

But Frank was getting better at tracking down the Toyreveler. He breathed correctly, timing it with his movements to regulate his Stamina. He dodged when he could. Then he used [Power Parry] when necessary, sacrificing a mix of Stamina and Mana, or he’d risk a glancing hit to get in another strike of his own.

Either he sliced the belly, or he hacked into a limb. If he were going after the limb, he’d target the same one repeatedly until he severed it, reducing the monster’s maneuverability and many-armed attack factor.

This was Frank’s way. It was efficient. It was patient. It was the attempt of a Rank 1 [Fighter] facing a Rank 2 Boss of unknown level.

Then he’d look up and see Jay do the opposite. The borderline psychotic [Freak] twirled through the air in the direction he pointed gravity at for him to fall. Then he took physics, bent it over the knee, and swatted its behind as he dodged around the Toyrevelers strikes.

He threw himself directly into danger and extracted himself from the danger with no real plan or understandable rhyme and reason. Then he somehow whirled himself into an advantageous position where he landed one of his more magical but ridiculous Skills in the form of a double-stomp kick. He’d done that three times so far, but he barely escaped with his life each time he backed off.

Jay was daring and selfless in ways that Frank couldn’t be. The number one agent calculated everything, even if he wasn’t as smart as Mike. Frank had extensive training, long sessions of study and drill, and a willingness to sacrifice more than others to be his best. That had stamped its mark on Frank where he could make snap judgments faster than some people could blink.

The added Attributes and magic Skills only made him better.

But there were these brief questionable moments where Frank wondered if he was doing enough and if he should try to take more risks. He wondered if he should stand his ground more and strike two times rather than once. He wondered if he should use his most powerful Skill regardless of the cost and having the right window where it would be most effective.

Then Frank crushed that near slip in losing discipline.

He was not Jay.

He was Frank Stronghold. He colored within the lines. He schooled himself on learning every inch of the box, making himself better within the confines where he was the master of his space rather than a victim.

It was okay to stay tight and focused. It was okay to land the little hits between Jay’s big plays. It was okay if he couldn’t be the marvelous hero Jay showed to be constantly. That road led to madness and near-certain death anyway.

Frank worked in the background diligently. Because it would all be worth it when–

The Toyreveler exploded when Frank hacked off another limb.

Everything went dark for Frank.