[Ratatusk, Lv. 1 | HP: 26%]

  Grace watched as the ratatusk's health continued to dwindle, its squeals growing weaker with each passing second.

  A whispered rumble rippled through the entire lobby as the monster's bloated stomach began to wriggle and stretch unnaturally.

  Then came a thud.

  Followed by a quiet squish as a piece of bone pierced through its distended stomach. Another shard emerged, then another.

  And another, until an entire arm tore through the creature's flesh. The arm pushed the ratatusk's tissue apart with desperate force.

  Like some grotesque parody of birth, Adam crawled out from the ruptured flesh.

  Grace stared in disbelief. Adam was utterly transformed, his usual gentleness gone, replaced by something primal as his palms violently slammed against the floor.

  Once again, the brutal nature of his abilities struck her with terrifying clarity.

  But then, a single whisper escaped Adam's lips that shattered her fear.

  "H...help..." Adam rasped, "Please... help me."

  In that moment, she saw only a child.

  "Adam!" Without hesitation, Grace abandoned the counter and rushed forward to pull him free.

  [Ratatusk, Lv. 1 | HP: 3%]

  She cast one final glance at the dying creature before gripping Adam's hand firmly. The sickening sound of flesh tearing apart filled the air, followed by a wet plop.

  "Oh, god!" Grace's horrified gasp echoed when she realized Adam was still completely missing his lower body.

  "I'm... I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She averted her eyes while continuing to pull him away, not stopping until they were safely behind the counter with Samantha.

  "Grace, don't look!" she warned her daughter, but the warning came too late—Samantha had already witnessed everything.

  Samantha briefly covered her eyes before dropping her hands to stare at Adam.

  "What... what happened to mister!?" She rushed toward him, but Grace quickly intercepted her.

  "It's... it's okay. Mister will recover, okay? And mister has a name. Adam. Adam."

  "Stop... stop fighting, mister. Please, stop fighting already." Tears streamed down Samantha's face as she looked at Adam, who was struggling to maintain a stoic expression for the little girl's sake. "You... you don't need to protect mommy and me. We'll... we will also fight. Mommy!"

  "You're right, sweetie. You're right..." Grace clutched Adam's hand tightly. "We'll... we're going to fight next time."

  A small wheeze escaped Adam's throat as he looked at Grace. Inside, everything burned, an endless torture coursing through his body. The pain was excruciating.

  Yet somehow, as he focused on the warmth of Grace's hand, the agony began to recede.

  There was only her warmth and their voices, promising him everything would be okay.

  How... comfortable.

  "I think..." Adam whispered, "I think I'll close my eyes for a bit."

  "No, Adam! Don't... don't do that!" Grace immediately tightened her grip on his hand. "You can't... you can't fall asleep."

  "I... won't die," Adam coughed as the flesh of his lower body squelched and crawled, attempting to regenerate on its own.

  "You might also not wake up," Grace shook her head desperately. "I can't carry you and Sam together."

  Samantha tore free from her mother's grasp and rushed to Adam, throwing her small arms around him as he lay on the floor.

  "I'll... I'll carry you, mister! I'll carry you!" she whimpered, her voice trembling with determination.

  "Ha..." A long breath escaped Adam's lips as he looked at Grace, who returned an awkward smile. The chuckle that followed was strained, but soon Grace found herself laughing fully.

  She covered her face, sniffling and wiping away tears before they could properly form. How could she not laugh at the absurdity? Her daughter was hugging a man whose entire lower body was missing, completely drenched in blood.

  "I..." she whispered, "I've been... trying to shield Samantha from all the violence of the Game. But... I think that's wrong. Even... even if we survive this Game, what about the next one? What if she was summoned and I wasn't?"

  "Mommy..." Samantha whimpered.

  "She'd be left all alone," Grace bit her lip. "She needs to grow stronger. We all need to grow stronger. Next time, Adam... we'll really help you... we'll help you... kill."

  The words felt foreign in her mouth, and she was already regretting them as she finished speaking. But they needed to be said.

  "We... have to survive, no matter what." Grace nodded, more to herself than to anyone else.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Adam looked at her, then at Samantha, before nodding and simply saying, "Okay."

  Silence fell over the trio. When Adam's eyes began to flutter closed, Grace quickly patted his cheek to rouse him.

  "Adam, you didn't survive this long just to get burned by the Administrator," Grace whispered. She moved to pull Samantha away, but the girl had already fallen asleep again, nestled against Adam.

  Grace stared at the two for a moment before lying beside them, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. Adam slowly turned his head toward her, and she mirrored his movement.

  Their faces were once again only inches apart.

  Grace smiled, but Adam only glanced at her lips before meeting her gaze.

  "You're really strong, Grace," he whispered.

  "We're only alive because of you," Grace chuckled softly, glancing at Samantha's back and placing a gentle hand on it. "And I have no choice but to be strong because I have a reason to be."

  She turned her body fully to face Adam, her breaths stuttering with fear.

  "I am not going to die here, Adam. Neither is my daughter. And neither are you."

  "I'm... really sleepy," Adam whispered, and Grace quickly placed her hand on his cheek, wiping his face clean.

  "How... do you even take it, Adam?" Grace spoke rapidly, desperate to keep him awake. "How do you... endure so much pain? Did you just... learn to ignore it? Like... those monks I watched on TV. God, the new episode of my show is tonight. Do you watch TV, Adam?"

  "I... don't."

  "Hmm?"

  "It's... not like how they say..." Adam whispered, his voice fading. "You don't get used to the pain. And you can't learn to ignore it. It hurts, it hurts every time."

  "Oh..."

  "You never get numb to it, and it really only grows worse. The only real choice you have... is how you react to it."

  "I'm... so sorry."

  "I thought you said we shouldn't say anymore sorries?"

  "That..." Grace looked at Adam and paused. Seeing his completely blank face struggling to remain stoic, she couldn't help but laugh. "Do... have you ever tried smiling, Adam? It's like this."

  Grace gently touched Adam's lips, forming them into a smile. Her laughter grew at how awkward he looked. She leaned closer, trying to stifle her amusement while her finger remained on his lips.

  Without warning or reason, she leaned even closer and pressed her lips against his.

  She breathed hard, nearly inhaling whatever blood remained on his face. She pulled back briefly to look into his eyes, then kissed him again.

  Adam remained frozen, completely unsure how to react.

  Well, this is...new?

  Even the voice inside his head was speechless.

  After what felt like an eternity, Grace finally pulled away, completely flustered and red with what she had just done.

  She looked into Adam's eyes and whispered, "I'm... not going to apologize. I'm just... going to make an excuse." She turned to stare at the ceiling again. "It's... just that we're in this situation and I... I guess the movies were right. In situations like this, my emotions are... I can't control them. I... always thought they were bullshit."

  Adam remained still for several moments before finally touching his lips.

  "It's... okay," he whispered. "I liked it. Does... this mean we're friends, Grace?"

  "W...what? Well, I... uhm. Adam, kissing means more than that."

  "More?" Adam's eyes darted about in confusion. After a moment, he turned to face Grace again and said, "But Samantha's father—"

  "Oh God, no. I... I wouldn't kiss you if her dad was still in the picture. God, no. I'm not a...slut and-anyway. Your scars...why don't they heal? And there are...so many."

  Grace quickly diverted the conversation as her fingers brushed the scars that completely covered Adam's upper body and arms.

  "Oh?" Adam slightly glanced at his chest, "I...think I remember her saying I already had these scars before they found me. And...oh. My legs are back."

  "Huh?"

  Grace watched as Adam slowly rose, careful not to disturb Samantha.

  She looked at his legs—fully recovered, with his toes even moving. Then she noticed something else—he was completely naked.

  "Ah! Wait here!" Grace jumped up, glancing briefly at the ratatusk before rushing toward the trashed furniture in the lobby. Spotting a table cloth, she snatched it and hurried back.

  Adam gently handed Samantha to Grace and quickly wrapped the cloth around himself.

  "We... need to get you some real clothes," Grace sighed, but Adam shook his head.

  "It's fine," he said, eyeing the headless corpse in the middle of the lobby—his corpse. "I think I can still use my old clothes for now. I need to retrieve the armor too."

  "Should... we go? Or do you need to rest more?" Grace asked.

  "We... should go," Adam sighed as he started walking. "I don't really want to be warned by the Administrators."

  "The Administrators..." Grace gently woke Samantha and set her on her feet, following Adam. "Do you think they're watching us right now? And if they are... that means they know about you? What... you can do?"

  "Hmm..." Adam crouched beside his corpse and began undressing it. "If they are watching, then I hope they're at least having a good time. That's how they grant points, right?"

  "I... is it?" Grace narrowed her eyes, glancing around the lobby as she heard something. "Did... you hear that?"

  "Hear what?" Adam continued dressing himself. "Maybe someone's trying to enter the—"

  Before he could finish, Grace screamed.

  "Oh no, Adam!" She pointed at the ratatusk. Adam hastily pulled on his boots and looked at the monster, still lying lifeless on the ground.

  He was about to ask what was wrong when he noticed the ratatusk's health display.

  [Ratatusk, Lv. 1 | HP: 3%]

  The Game had several rules and laws—some obvious and well-documented, others unspoken.

  Grace had just remembered a rule physically written in numerous textbooks. She felt stupid for forgetting.

  It was a rule that even Adam, with his limited knowledge of the Game, knew.

  Dome monsters, if left alone and not attacked for exactly ten minutes, would begin recovering health and return to their nest.

  [Ratatusk, Lv. 1 | HP: 30%]

  Adam abandoned everything else—he hadn't even finished putting on his boots—and rushed toward the monster. He snatched a piece of wood from the floor and roared.

  Grace grabbed the nearest object and hurled it at the ratatusk, trying to stop its recovery.

  She missed.

  [Ratatusk, Lv. 1 | HP: 60%]

  "That's not fair at all!" Adam, who had recovered from having his entire head crushed to pulp, leaped into the air and drove his stake directly into the ratatusk's eye.

  Since the monster was still in its recovery phase, it couldn't dodge.

  [Ratatusk, Lv. 1 | HP: 57%]

  Adam exhaled in relief watching the health decrease, but didn't pause as he continued stabbing its eyes, driving the stake deeper.

  "Just…please, just die!" Adam roared, raising the stake again.

  The ratatusk finally responded, slapping him away before he could strike.

  Adam rolled violently across the ground again, but this time, recovered quickly—kneeling on the floor, a silent screech as his boot, knee, and stake scraped across it.

  His eyes never left the ratatusk.

  "Adam!"

  He glanced toward Grace's voice to see a sword flying his way. He quickly dropped the wooden stake and rushed to catch the blade, losing two fingers in the process—but he didn't flinch as he gripped the handle with his other hand and charged back toward the confused monster.

  He gritted his teeth, extending the sword to his side as he ran with all his might.

  “Huh?” But as he leaped to meet the monster head-on, the glass he'd tried to break earlier finally shattered.

  But not from him, nor the ratatusk.

  Through it emerged a familiar figure with a Red Name hovering above his head, wearing a tattered formal suit.

  A Hero on their team who wasted no time—he rushed the ratatusk, slamming his shoulder into it, causing a loud boom to erupt, and sending it flying several meters across the floor.

  Adam landed clumsily beside the Hero, their eyes locking.

  He should have felt relief, but couldn't.

  [Bjorn, the Silent Brawler.]

  Not when the Hero he was staring at was the same one working with Dr. Aniston.