Fixation

Before we left the cabin, I made sure to call upon my hologram to check what level I had reached. The number twenty-five floated in front of me in a large font. I was quite proud of myself.

Though I wasn’t so quick to pat myself on the back. Usually in games level one-hundred was the absolute maximum, so I made sure to check with Ren what the case was with this game in particular.

Before I asked Ren the question, I noticed him cheesing at his own hologram. In front of him lay the number thirty-four. He glanced over at me with a smug smile and laughed as he spoke.

“Hey, level thirty-four. Not bad, eh Taro?”

My face dropped a little. I knew Ren had every right to show off, but I didn’t want him to feel too glorious. “Well, I guess you do deserve to be that high considering how much you have done.”

Ren pulled a strange pose as he pointed his fingers at me, as though he was pretending to shoot me with both hands. I looked to the side in confusion, ignoring this gesture and instead getting to the question I wanted to ask him.

“Anyway, what level is the maximum in this game? I’m worried that if I’m only level twenty-five and the maximum is one-hundred, will I really reach a high enough level to be strong enough for the end?”

“I’ll answer your first one, and that should cover the second as well. The maximum level in this game is fifty-two,” Ren said, showing no added emotion.

I couldn’t tell if he was messing with me.

“Fifty…two?”

“Yes, fifty-two. Do you have a problem with that?”

I paused for a moment, hoping Ren would finally break and inform me he was joking. He didn’t. He simply continued to look at me until I stared for too long, eventually turning around and leaving the room.

I felt my eye twitch slightly as I tried to process this ridiculousness.

This game was stupid…so stupid.

That was the last notable conversation we had before we sifted through the next few missions with ease. Three to be exact.

Like Ren had said before, this game was quite easy, especially if you knew its tricks and secrets.

I also found the game to be highly repetitive. Besides the maze mission, everything pretty much seemed to be fighting…and not much else, these next few fights included. They were merely tests of strength and strategy which weren’t too challenging — especially considering we were always a higher level than was required to win.

As a result, we stopped doubting ourselves, though we never let this confidence strip us of our preparedness. And we never once thought that the rest of the journey was going to be the same.

Ren even let me off of my leash a little bit. During the second mission of the three where we came across, as contradictory as it sounds, giant dwarfs, he greenlit my usage of a Pink Strawberry for the first time.

Something I wondered when I used it was whether Ren could still easily take me down, but, of course, he wasn’t my enemy here.

I had never felt so strong before. My veins bulged from places I had never even thought they could, as my blood rushed through my body and my muscles pulsated with a burning intensity.

The power it gave me was quite addicting, and each moment I was using it thrilling.

I was beginning to enjoy myself somewhat.

However, I never forgot what had happened to Izumi and Junpei. The memory lingered, but instead of haunting me, it twisted into something else — an edge, a driving force. Fear never found its way back into me after that.

I wasn’t scared anymore; I didn’t lack the confidence I once did. I was determined to keep moving forward no matter what came next. Even if those crab-things showed up again, I felt certain I wouldn’t flinch.

I’d tear them down in an instant — without a moment’s hesitation.

“Taro, do you remember what I said earlier?” Ren calmly interrupted my thinking.

Once again I had found myself ignoring Ren for some time because I was lost in my thoughts. At least this time, however, it wasn’t for the wrong reasons.

“What do you mean, Ren?”

“Well, this is the fourth mission since then. So that means it’s the one — you know, where we — you can get your revenge.”

I looked toward the ground as he finished speaking. A cold chill shot through my body as I clenched both of my fists and contained my sprawling anger.

“Yeah. I’m ready to destroy these fools.”

I stuck out my right hand, my fist balled, and I awkwardly looked up at Ren. He oddly glanced at me for a moment, approaching me slowly and then reciprocated by bumping his fist against mine.

“Right. It’ll be just like the other missions. We’ll win.”

I had never done something quite like that with Ren before. It felt quite cool, and although I shivered during it, I knew I…we looked cool doing it.

We carried on walking until the faint glow of a fire broke through the trees. The smell of food drifted towards us, and soon enough we spotted them amidst the many trees that surrounded them.

There they were – the three men who had so heartlessly killed Izumi…and enjoyed themselves while doing it. They hunched around a campfire with a pot suspended above the flames. Scooping out helpings for themselves of something that looked rancid, they laughed together at things I couldn’t quite make out.

The sound of their laughs grated against me. It made me remember what had happened not so long ago. How much I wanted to take revenge and finally put that desire behind me.

My fists tightened, and I felt the urge to storm in and shut them up for good, but I restrained myself. I leaned toward Ren, keeping my voice low.

“What now?”

He didn’t even glance at me, his eyes fixed on them. “We wait. Maybe they’ll fall asleep at some point.”

I frowned. “You really think they will?”

“I’m not sure. But it’s worth a try. If they do, this’ll make everything a whole lot easier.”

So we crouched behind a tree, hidden in the dark, while their laughter carried on.

Only about ten minutes passed, but the consistency of their laughter made it feel like a painful hour at least. I was burning to enact my revenge, but Ren’s hesitance told me that wasn’t exactly going to come easy.

Yet while we waited behind the trees, yearning for them to put down their food and go to sleep, one of them suddenly arose from their log they were using as a seat. He didn’t turn around, nor did he make any further movements with his body.

However, with an irritated tone, he spoke.

“Alright, I’m tired of waiting. You can come out now. I’d rather eat my food without the knowledge that someone is trying to kill me.”