Sorry this is a day late. I meant to update Sunday but I got distracted on art and writing that short story I've been telling you guys about. It's really long so it will probably go in it's own separate book instead of my Oneshot book.

Anyways enjoy, I think you guys will like this. ;)

~~~~~

GAME OVER

Chapter 14 [A Hero]

~~~~~

Over the next few days Adam has been sparring with Tyler whenever Tyler wasn't working. He even had a chance to spar with Barney and Jin, of course they both kicked his butt. Jin was nicer about it, but Barney tended to go overboard with gloating. He was silly like that.

"Ahem," Adam looked up at Tyler, "You're losing focus again."

"Sorry."

"Have you talked to Alesa lately?"

Adam fumbled speaking, "W-well no, not yet. I didn't know what to say...."

"Just say hi, it's really simple."

"But-"

"Seriously, just type in two letters. H. I. It's simple."

Adam opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Tyler once more, "You know what. You need better sword fighting practice. I say let's take you out into the field!"

"Huh?" Tyler grabbed Adam by his arm and dragged him around. Adam spotted Ty and gulped as Tyler stopped right in front of him.

"Tyler," was all that Ty said.

"Hey there Ty! Any patrol missions free? I need a small team plus this kiddo here. He's shaping up real nice, but he needs some experience."

"Sooul needs an increase in patrols. I'll send you two and small team over for 3 nights while I improve the patrolling schedule to Sooul. You think the Human is strong enough to handle 3 nights?"

Tyler held up a thumbs up, "More than ready. So who are we taking?"

Adam zoned out as Ty and Tyler spoke about all the details. This was it! He was going to a town and he was going to kick some mob ass! He could finally prove he was more than some weak Human.

"Ready to go kiddo?"

"Yep!" Adam pumped his fist in the air. This was going to be awesome!

"Alright, follow me, we need to inform the other Players of their duty. Not to mention get you a better weapon that a wooden one. If all goes well you can officially be promoted to a stone sword!"

"Awesome!"

~~~~~

Now in the car that Adam rode in there was obviously Tyler, driving. Then there was a Year 2 Player whose name he didn't really know how to pronounce and neither did anyone else so they just called him O. And Adam didn't know why it was O, Tyler told him that the guy's name neither began nor ended with an O. The other Player in the car was Barney, Adam felt a little relieved to know he knew someone else other than Tyler on this mission.

Despite all his previous excitement, he was still antsy about this mission. He was nervous to mess up or get in the way, but he was also so very excited about getting to fight out in the field.

"Adams, hows are yous feelings?"

"Well, pretty good I think. I mean like, I feel great, amazing! I'm so excited, but I'm also nervous and anxious all in one. It's like this package all bundled up together, do you know what I mean?" Adam spoke.

"Uhhhs, yeahs?" Barney questioned himself.

"Alright you three! Namely Adam, since this is your first time. We'll be arriving in Sooul in about 10 minutes. O and Barney please set up our camp just outside the town borders. Adam I want you to help me carry our supplies. We need to work fast before night falls."

"Understood."

"Oks!"

"Uh...Right! Yes! Definitely!"

Tyler grinned, "Good!"

~~~~~

"So~ Tyler," Adam grunted as he carried in his arms a large duffle bag, "What kind of mobs are there again?"

Tyler sighed, "Are you sure you went to school? Even humans know this stuff to avoid them."

"Well yeah! But that isn't what I mean. I'm not supposed to avoid, I'm supposed to go Pow! And you know fight them."

"Ok then. There are four mobs you will likely encounter tonight. The zombie, the skeleton, the spider, and the creeper. You remember at least how they all attack, correct?"

"Yeah, zombies are slow but they bite and scratch, skeletons shoot, spiders bite, and creepers explode."

"Good, now with zombies, they are one of the easiest mobs to fight. It's easy to avoid their attacks, and they are slow, but don't let them swarm you. However that can be said about any mob, really.

"Skeletons don't move much except to get better shots. Never try running straight for them, always move in an unpredictable pattern. The simplest is just zig-zagging. Though it's harder to avoid arrows the closer you get, so always have your sword ready in your defense.

"Spiders will often jump when the attack. Keep your sword in between you and the spider, you don't want those fangs nipping at you. Try to keep away from walls, spiders are very good climbers and will often use that as leverage.

"Lastly, creepers. You don't hear them very well, and they camouflage pretty well depending on the environment. Should you encounter one, always hit and run. Don't ever stay too close for too long. If you see one start to flicker and light up, back the nether away quickly. Try not to let them explode, it'll cause damage to the village. And we are trying to protect it.

"Was that helpful?" Tyler looked at Adam.

"Yes!" Adam and Tyler dropped off the supplies they carried at Barney and O's feet. Those two had just finished putting up two tents, each for two people.

"Alright, you 3 will stay here to finish unpacking. The sun hasn't set yet, so I need to find the lord of this town to inform them of our plans and requirements. I'll be back before the sun's last lights, and when I am we will split into two patrol groups. O and Adam, Barney and me. Each group will take half of the town. I'll be back to explain more, so for now just ready yourselves."

"Yes sirs!"

"Understood."

"R-Right!"

With that Tyler took his leave.

Adam rummaged through one of the large duffle bags before pulling out a can, "Ooo, we have canned beans, this sounds yummy." He placed the can down and rummaged more. O and Barney unpacked sleeping bags, placing 2 in each tent.

"This feels so surreal, man I'm excited!" Adam pulled out a deck of cards, "Hey guys! Look, wanna play a game while we wait for Tyler to get back?"

"No, we have to unpack."

"Oh. Right, sorry, I forgot. Hey O, why do you let people call you O?" Adam pulled out a box, rectangular in size.

"That's just the first thing people say when I introduce myself."

"Oh, ok--hey I found the torches! How do you light one?" Adam opened up the rectangular box to reveal wooden sticks with fuel soaked cloths wrapped at the top.

"Ooos, gives one heres," Barney snatched a torch from Adam's hand. He sat down and stuck the torch firmly in the ground, Adam watched Barney as two stones appeared in his hands. He slashed them against each other several times until the sparks caught the cloth and lit the torch on fire. The stones in Barney's hands disappeared.

"Wow, that never gets old. Sometimes I get really envious of Players, or OPs, pretty much any rank not Human or below."

"Whys?" Barney asked as he handed the torch back to Adam. Adam graciously took it over to the fire pit that O was quietly setting up.

"Because people like me don't have inventories. We carry everything by hand or bags, or anything like that. But for people like you or Tyler, or Seto, you guys don't have to worry as long as you have the space."

"I guess that's trues, buts it isn'ts all that specials."

Adam waited for O to finish setting up the fire pit before tilting the torch to the logs and watching them smoke and burn.

"Name one good thing that a Human rank can do that a higher rank can't do better."

"Uhs, uhs, wells..." Barney's eyes shifted around as he tried to think.

"Exactly! Players and OPs just have the advantage in everything. That's why I wish I was like you Barney. People always think I'm so stupid for wishing for this kind of life, well I don't want to sit around in some town and rely on others for protection," Adam sighed and plopped down on a log by the fire pit.

"Maybe other Human ranks are ok with that. But me... I've never felt like I've belonged, not here at least. I want to be out there, I want to protect someone. I've grown up always hearing the stories of all the Players and the OPs and the Exceptions that stopped swarms of mobs, and I...I just want to be one of them. You know what I mean? I get tired of people telling me it's stupid, or I'm foolish, or that my head is always in the clouds. I get tired of being told I'll never get anywhere the way I am."

Adam felt unbelievably better after that. He hadn't realized he was holding back so much emotion. He watched the night sky and saw the stars twinkle, and felt like that vast sky held more for him. And that by being here and being different, he would see a whole other world.

Both figuratively and literally, if I might add... Oh, am I interrupting again? Sorry, I get caught up with telling stories sometimes. Carry on.

~~~~~

"Alright, hope you weren't waiting long. I've just finished talking with the lord of this town, he's assured us that all citizens will be in their homes by now. The sun is setting so let's get ready," Tyler returned, "Oo, lovely job setting up."

Adam watched O, Barney, and Tyler have swords in their hands, stone for Barney, and iron for O and Tyler; a second sword appeared in Tyler's hands.

Adam felt his chest bubble up as a stone sword was placed in his more than ready hands. The weight unbalanced Adam and he nearly dropped it, but he steadied himself, "Alright, remember your pairs?" Tyler waited for them to nod, "Good, O and Adam will cover the east side of town, Barney will come with me to the west. Make sure to keep your eyes and ears out for any mobs."

The group nodded and Tyler added one last thing, "Alright! Sunrise meet back here!"

They nodded. Adam and O left the group. O carried a torch in his hand and his sword in his other, and only a few feet back trailed Adam. His hands wrapped tight around the leather handle of his sword. He glanced left and right and left again as an over anxious way of watching his surroundings. The streets of the town he walked were relatively quiet, most homes still had their lights on. Since it was early evening it was understandable. Adam glanced up at one house, he noticed a child watching him with curiosity.

The child's round eyes followed him and Adam straightened up and tried to walk with a bit more elegance. He smiled and waved but nearly dropped his sword, to which he saw the child giggle. Adam sighed to himself and carried on walking.

"Hey O, when do mobs spawn?"

"Eventually."

"Ok..." Adam heaved a sigh, the night was so quiet. How long had it been? Like 5 hours? That was an exaggeration, it's only been about 10 minutes, but it felt longer to Adam.

Adam heard the sound of hissing, he perked up in interest and noticed a spider sitting on one of the rooftops, "O! Look--"

"Shhhh, people are trying to relax," O looked back and gave Adam a stern look.

Adam shrunk under his eyes, "Sorry."

The spider noticed the approaching pair and hissed. Adam gasped as it launched over the rooftops down towards O, "L-Look o--" O's sword batted the arachnid away slicing two of it's limbs off.

Adam stood a little shocked, an arrow whistled by his face. Adam jumped and looked around, a skeleton had spawned just several feet behind him underneath the shadow casted by one building.

Adam furrowed his brow, he remembered what Tyler had said. Adam charged, but not straight forward. He moved left then right then left, he repeated this pattern as he moved closer. His breath caught in his throat the moment another arrow was launched, it narrowly missed his leg.

He swung with a deft shout, the bow was smacked out of the skeleton's bony fingers, and Adam hacked at the clanking mob. One swing hit to the fibula cracked the bone, before he swung for the hyoid. The skeleton's head flew off from the impact and rolled along the ground. The bones crumpled into a heap before crumbling into dust and letting the breeze carry it away.

Adam looked curiously at familiar, odd glowing orbs. These were experience, like the stuff that Seto sometimes had him deliver bottles of. He gasped as they floated to him and were sucked into his amulet.

"Neat," he grinned before he whirled around, O handled a horde of spiders and zombies. Three zombies escaped O's onslaught of attack and grumbled towards a citizen's home. Pushing off with his feet he surged towards the growling trio.

He used his momentum to slam his sword into one zombie pushing all three away from the home. He leapt back only to find the hairy form of a spider attach itself to his back. Adam crashed to the ground, he hissed as fangs bit into his shoulder. His hands reached wildly for his sword but met only air, so he twisted around and slammed his fist into the spider's face. It scrambled away in hissing fits.

In an attempt to regain his foot he leaped to his feet, his sword had slid about a couple feet away, but the trio of zombies were in between him and his weapon.

His shoulder ached, but he gritted his teeth, but this was his chance! This was his moment! A chance for something more than a quiet, peaceful life.

He kicked one zombie in the gut and landed a punch to the left side of that zombie's face. His mind blurred together, all he could hear was his breathing and the sound of his opponent. His thoughts on his fears and his desires vanished. His concern for his partner O faded. He was in the now, in this moment as adrenaline coursed through his body and flowed to every inch of his being.

He slammed another punch to the second zombie, his fingers grasped its shredded clothes and swung it into the first. The third zombie had found its way behind Adam, its inhuman grasp clenched around Adam's bitten shoulder.

Adam bit his tongue to stop himself from yelling out. He whirled around grabbing the zombie's arm and shoved it into the wall of the nearest building. It groaned and Adam heard the squishing of rotten flesh. When his fingers separated from the arm they came back sticky and slimy. He shook his hand in disgust.

The first two zombies regained themselves and grabbed at Adam's arms. He twisted and yanked and pulled, but their strength was unbelievable. The spider that had scurried away made its way back. Adam gasped as it leaped towards him, he lowered his head. The spider's form knocked one zombie off, which allowed him all that he needed to free himself from the other zombie. He dove for his unexposed sword.

The moment his fingers grasped its hilt he rolled and stopped facing his enemies. He yelled using his sword to cut through one zombie, it growled and crumbled into dust. His sword then pierced the abdomen of another zombie, it too dissipated into dust. More dropped orbs of experience were sucked into his amulet. They made such nice jingling sounds as they were collected.

Adam put some distance between himself and the last spider and zombie, his eyes scanned his surroundings. A wandering skeleton about 7 meters away, and nearly 4 more zombies in the same direction. On the other hand a creeper was to his far right heading towards a child--Adam's eyes widened. There was a child!

How did a child get out here?! Tyler had assured him that all citizens would be staying in their homes by now. Adam was ready to race to the kid's rescue but the annoying zombie and spider duo stopped him. He plunged his sword through the spider's head before tearing his sword away and slashing at the zombie. Adam's vision was clouded by the billowing dust from both kills. Adam heard the experience being received with small jingles and tinkles.

"Hey!" Adam coughed and waved the dust away; O looked up, "There's a kid! That creeper!" Adam pointed.

O was far closer and that creeper continued to quietly sneak up on that child. That child was huddled against the wall of a building, the child looked fearful and ready to cry.

O noticed the kid and muttered a curse too far for Adam to hear, "I can't get there! I'm too busy with these guys!" O battled a large overwhelming swarm of monsters.

Shit! Adam ran, "Hey kid, this way, hurry!" The child looked up to him, and Adam beckoned him to run towards him as he made his way to the kid. The kid scrambled towards Adam and the creeper changed it's course to follow the kid. As the kid ran for him, Adam leapt over the child and swung his sword. He nicked the creeper's side.

Shit! He landed on the ground kicking up dirt and gravel as he did, the creeper began to flicker. Adam doubled back and scooped the kid up who stopped running the moment Adam had jumped over him. With enough distance between him and the creeper he high-tailed it out of there, "What do I do with this kid?!"

"Get him too the church, you can leave the kid there! I'll do my best to help!" O replied.

O kicked and slashed through mobs and chased after Adam as he ran through the streets. He sheathed his sword as he ran, man he wished he had an inventory. It would be so much easier with one. The child gripped onto Adam's shirt as Adam shielded the kid from the terrors around him.

As he ran mobs everywhere were attracted to them. He needed to ignore them; he was sure O could handle them.

He dodged zombies and ran around creepers. He took the street to his left and looked for the familiar tall spire of a church. He spotted one only several meters away. Adam felt his legs burn and his arms ached, he was breathing so heavily he could hardly keep going. Adam heard O shout and he skidded to a stop. O was backed up with mobs, "Keep going! Get that child in there!"

Adam hesitated, "Go!"

Adam turned away, the child whimpered in his arms, "Shhh, it's ok kid, I'll keep you safe."

Man, what an awful way to begin his first field mission.

Adam was feets away from the church steps, Adam cried out as his feet tripped and he fell. He held the child tighter. He slammed down on the gravel ground and felt the skin tear from his elbows and felt the sting of unprotected flesh. An arrow hit the ground to the right of his face.

"Come on, so close!" He muttered to himself before pushing off the ground. He ran up the steps two at a time. The child sat on one of his arms as he pounded the door of the church, "Open up! I have a child with me! Open up!"

Adam cried out, an arrow pierced his leg and he slumped down. He didn't stop pounding on the door. He had the child between him and the door making sure the child was protected.

By now the child was crying and it took everything Adam had to hold back his tears, warm blood trickled down his leg.

"Open up!" Why wasn't anyone responding! Adam looked down at the sobbing child, "Shhh, don't cry. I got you, it'll be ok--" Adam choked back his words when the tip of another arrow embedded itself in his back, followed by two more. If he tried to fight those skeleton's now, there would be no one protecting this child.

He had to hold on. No matter the pain. No matter how Adam felt his brain grow foggy. No matter how much he wanted to cry. He couldn't; this is what he wanted. This is what he wanted to do. He wanted to protect, he wanted to defend. He was willing to live only to die for someone else's life. Like a hero, like his heroes.

This was what he ached to be.

A hero.

Adam coughed, blood splattered the church door as 3 more arrows buried themselves in his back. His fingers gripped the child even tighter, his eyes gazed weakly at the kid. The kid's sobs were nothing more than quiet, gurgling cries now, "Shhh...it'll...it'll be ok. Please don't cry, I'll protect you..."

Adam heard O shouting, he turned his head ever so slightly to see O smash through and slice the attacking skeletons. At this moment the door to the church opened and Adam, with the child in his arms, fell through onto the tiled floor. Adam's head hit the tiled floor and his eyes closed. A shuddering breath escaped his lips.

He only dreamed of being a hero.

~~~~~

Wow, talk about some action!

Anyways, before I ask for theories, I just want to thank all you guys for loving this book as much as you guys do. And all the participation you guys do as you try to theorize and solve mysteries. I promise you guys will get more material to work with as the book continues, and soon we'll get into the nitty gritty of things.

Now I will ask for theories XD. So, any theories?

Also, happy new years!