"So you did it…"

You bet we wiped the floor with that level 12 troll. No biggie.

He looks at me and at Tess.

"Fucking hell, Nathaniel," he sighs and waves his hands around. "Do you have any idea how dumb that was?"

Dumb? Please! Only slightly dangerous.

"You could've fucking died!"

No worries! If it looked too dangerous, I'd run and bring him straight to our camp... wait, what?

"I expected something like that from him, but even you, Tess?"

Huh?

Should I feel insulted?

"You're putting all of our lives in danger, Nathaniel. Can you imagine how hard it would be if we lost both of you? Or if you didn't kill him and lured him back?"

Oh, so it's like that.

It's not my problem, though?

Right, Tess?

I look at her and she seems to be ashamed, just a little bit, really a tiny bit.

Lately, Hadwin has been more and more stressed as he deals with all of this. A lot of people just rely on him and let him lead them, and that puts a lot of pressure on him. Sophie creating her own group during all of that probably doesn't brighten his mood either.

Well, that's something he decided to do, so suck it up.

As I try to pass by him, he steps in my way.

Uh?

Even people around us seem to be surprised and start whispering among themselves.

"Hadwin, I don't think it's a good idea…" Tess starts, but I filter out her voice and look at the man in front of me.

I look into his eyes, and he seems pretty serious, just staring into mine.

So that's how it is.

Feel free to try.

I enter [Focus] and then let a bit of my mana flow through my body.

Try it if you dare…

Then his fist hits me right in the face, and I stagger backward.

Huh?

Focus is gone, and so is the mana flowing through my veins.

He hits my face again, and I see blood. My blood.

What?

I try to collect mana and enter the [Focus], but I am unable to do so.

This time he grabs my shoulders and kicks my stomach with his knee.

His kick is tough; air escapes my lungs and a sharp, searing pain radiates through my abdomen. My muscles tense involuntarily, and for a moment, it feels as though my insides are being crushed. Gasping for breath, I struggle to regain my composure.

I barely block his second kick and duck under his swing. His physical stats, like strength and dexterity, are higher, and without mana strengthening myself, I am slower and weaker than him.

Slowly catching my breath and relaxing my mind, even without the skill, I continue to observe his movements.

I read his swing and block his fist with my hand, using his hit to send me moving backward so I can collect myself a bit more.

My face hurts, my stomach hurts, and I am unable to collect any mana.

Is it his skill?

I read his movements, keeping my eyes on the center of his body and watching every movement. His shoulders, his legs, his waist.

I dodge another kick and swing. He is much quicker than me, but I start to move even before he is halfway through his attack.

Then I counter in the middle of his attack and hit his neck. That forces him backward while he makes a choking noise. By a reflex, his hand goes up to cover his neck, and he blinks.

That gives me the opportunity to move closer, and I kick his knee. He staggers backward.

That's it?

I feint a hit at his neck with my fist. He moves his hand to block it, but I strike with my other hand.

That's all you can do?

I hit his belly, and he staggers back once more as I kick his knee again.

He grimaces from pain, and I hit his face with my fist, right into his left eye.

I feel his skill turn off, and I know that I can use my skills again.

But I don't do so.

I attack him without using mana, with only the strength of my body.

Step closer and bury my knee into his stomach, he bends over and I quickly hit the bottom of his chin.

He is faster, he is stronger, but his attacks are telegraphed and easy to dodge.

Another quick hit at his chin, and he staggers, feeling lightheaded as the hit is meant to shake an opponent's brain inside the skull.

Two hits at his neck, and he makes a louder choking noise. I kick at his crotch; he tries to block it with his leg but is too shaken to do it in time.

While he is falling to his knees, I twist my body, pull more strength into it, and give him as strong a punch as I can, right into the side of his face.

He falls down, unmoving and I stare at him, and others around us too, no one jumping in to help either of us.

After a while, he looks at me and, weirdly, there is a smile on his face.

What's so funny, old man?

You got beaten, and I didn't even use mana, so what's so funny about that!?

WHAT IS SO FUNNY?!

"Hehe…" there is some blood on his teeth.

"You know it too, right?" he laughs again, "I could have killed you if I really wanted to."

"..."

"Hehe, you were ready for me, expecting an attack, but I still managed to land a few solid hits." He lies on the ground, gazing at the sky. "Wow, that was satisfying. I've wanted to smack you in the face for ages." He takes a moment. "You little punk," he adds.

"..."

My silence makes him laugh even longer. "Finally, I can see some emotion on your face," he looks straight at me, "You always look so uninterested, bored, even when fighting, but now… you look so angry."

I look around, and most of the people avoid my gaze. Lily and a few others look scared. When I look back, I see Tess standing close to me. Her face is hard to read, but she seems ready to move. Not to help me, just to stop me if I decide to finish off Hadwin.

"You know, lately you've become too confident, Nathaniel, too fearless. You enjoy fighting too much; you risk a lot. Not only your life but also the lives of people around you." He looks straight into my eyes. "You are not undefeatable. You could have easily died today, and you can die to something else if you continue being so careless." With that, he stops, probably not having more to say.

I look at Tess; she doesn't avoid my gaze but doesn't say anything, and that's enough for me.

I leave before I hurt someone.

I enter the forest and slowly, slowly, calm myself down.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Repeat.

I don't use [Focus]. I disable it as much as I can and think.

And think.

And think more.

After calming down, I come to realize that both of us might be right. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

Sure, I can be more careful; actually, I need to be more careful and not blindly rely on my skills, as he showed me so nicely.

Damn that jerk, I'm sure he enjoyed hitting my face.

On the other side, I can't just stop hunting and give up on becoming stronger. Sure, there is some risk, but something tells me that this 1st floor of Hell tutorial is just the beginning. If I take it slowly and comfortably level up while being super careful might not make me grow fast enough to survive the entire five years.

I will hunt, I will risk, I will enjoy the challenges, and I will continue using focus to get rid of some useless emotions, as it's all for my survival.

As for Hadwin and his lesson? My thanks will be that I won't beat him senseless and will dial it down a bit. He is right about me being cocky and showed it off in a beautiful way.

So thank you and fuck you.

As for which of us is right?

Only time will show.