"It wasn't my fault," Arron said, covered in the green goo.

  The girl beside him, Mira, crossed her arms, her usual smirk in place. "Oh… really?"

  Hunter couldn't stop smiling. Even though it was seasonal, he loved attending the carnival with his friends. He looked at them, his smile dropping. Their faces were blurred, shifting like reflections on rippling water. Hunter's laughter caught in his throat. The air was thick now, pressing against his ears. His friends were right there, but suddenly, they felt miles away.

  Another man to Hunter's right pointed to the maze. "We should try to go through there. They have four entrances but one exit, so it's perfect."

  Arron looked happy for any diversion from his gooeyness, saying, "Let's do it. The first one out has to pay for dinner!"

  Mira pumped her fist. "Oh, you're on,"

  Hunter slowly made his way to the entrance. He didn't want to leave his friend's side, but his feet were moving for him. Hunter tried to call out, but the air got stuck in his chest, which built up every time he tried.

  They all made it to their entrances, and Mira counted them down 3…2…1

  Hunter felt untethered, as if his body had left him behind. He watched himself race forward, but his mind lagged, trapped in place. He knew a lot of people stayed to the left wall, but that was why he always stayed to the right.

  Hunter watched himself dash through the maze, hitting a few dead ends but coming to the end rather quickly. He watched himself look around to see if anyone else was there, but he was the only one.

  Hunter's body turned around and put its hands on its hips. A wide smile spread across its lips, looking arrogant. He knew what he was about to say: "You never expected my a-maze-ing skills." Hunter's body laughed to itself at the bad pun and turned its eyes back to the maze.

  Hunter felt pulled back to his body and got a front-row seat as people rushed past him. He just stood there and watched as if time had been put on fast forward. Finally, the number of people slowed until none more came. He felt his heart drop along with his arms. "Where are they?"

  Hunter didn't understand. "How are they doing? Do they need help? What was going on?" he felt his heart pound in his chest in rhythm to every second that crawled by. Hunter's eye caught something. A man in a carnival suit walked up to him, but he wouldn't look away from the maze.

  The man removed his straw hat and said, "Sir, you must leave. The park is closing."

  Hunter stammered. The words came out muddied and slow as if he had only just learned to speak again. He said, "N-No…My friends are still in there."

  "No," the man said, voice hollow. "They didn't leave you, Hunter."

  Hunter felt his stomach twist. Looking at him for the first time, he asked, "Did they leave me?"

  The man looked down, gripping his hat. "You left them."

  His breath came in shallow gasps. His hands trembled as he pushed the sweat-soaked sheets away. "These dreams are getting worse." He thought. "I wonder how they are doing?"

  Mira had taught him ways to calm down in his other world, which he disregarded at the time. Now Hunter looked down at his trembling hands and sat up. He breathed in a long breath, held it for ten seconds, and let it out for five, repeating the sequence until he felt his mind settle.

  Hunter walked down the hall. Derick had rented an apartment while working on his license, and Hunter was taking courses in the meantime.

  The apartment was pretty nice. Hunter had his own room with a bed, desk, and bathroom. His room was across the hall from Derick's, the hall leading to the living room.

  Hunter smelled the familiar yeast smell of fresh-baked goods and walked to the dining room. The dining room was connected to the kitchen, with only an island separating them. Three loaves of fresh bread sat on the island.

  Derick was only a foot taller than the counters, so he stood on a stool while cooking. Hunter chuckled at the sight.

  "Oh, Hunter, you're awake," Derick said, turning around. I made some fresh bread for us for lunches, and I'm almost done with breakfast if you want to sit down."

  Hunter sat down, and Derick brought the food only a few moments later. A plate with yellow fluffy eggs was sitting in front of him. Strips of meat, almost like bacon but thicker, were also there.

  Hunter thanked the man and dug in. A few minutes in, Derick said, "I signed you up for a course on adventuring today; they have them almost every day."

  Hunter nodded, "What are these courses like?"

  Derick chewed, then drank some water before responding, "There will be a large emphasis on learning how to use weapons. They will also help you learn which weapon is for you."

  Hunter nodded and finished his meal.

  On his way to the course, Hunter was thinking back to his conversations with Derick; Derick had talked to him about his failed use of his skill Amplify while fighting and had said it was probably intended for close combat.

  Hunter still found it odd that the skill hurt him, but in their testing later, they had discovered his skill only worked on weapons with a blade so far; Derick had categorized his skill as good, but not if he wanted to use that damn crossbow.

  The course took place in a building that wasn't in a folded reality. Instead, pillars lined the outside of an open structure, and the floor was matted.

  He walked up to the entrance, where a man stood. He had a nice tan like a perfect marshmallow, long brown hair, and soft features.

  The man said, "Welcome. My name is George. I'm one of the instructors here. What is your name so I can verify that you're in the right class?"

  After Hunter told him his name, the man checked a list and smiled, saying, "All good. Please leave your boots with me. You may sit wherever you like. We will be starting soon."

  Hunter removed his footwear and walked in, taking a look around. The building was the size of a gym. Fifteen people were already sitting down on the cushy ground, each sitting next to the other.

  Examining the room, Hunter noticed one person out of place. It was the person with a lot of tattoos from yesterday. With a joking grin, he walked up to her and said, "Hi, Indy, I haven't seen you in forever."

  Indy looked up from where she was sitting, confused. "Didn't I see you yesterday? Is that a long time for you?"

  Hunter chuckled at his own joke and shook his head. "Ignore that. Is anyone sitting here?"

  Indy shook her head, and he started sitting down, but she stopped him by saying, "If you sit next to me, you will have a difficult time talking to others."

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Hunter froze, looking at her in confusion. There wasn't anything off-putting about her. She had a lot of tattoos, but in his world, all his friends had at least one, and Arron, well, he liked tattoos a little too much. "Why?" he asked.

  Indy shrugged, "I used to be a mercenary; I'm trying to become an adventurer now for… cleaner work."

  Looking at her confused was enough for her to continue her explanation. "I'm a mercenary," she said, emphasizing the last word.

  "Ok, and I'm a," he thought momentarily. "Person… why does it matter?"

  Indy looked at him just as confused. "Both the adventurer's guild and the mercenary guild get quests. Sometimes, they both get the same quest. Usually, only one person can take a quest, but both guilds are rivals, so they don't communicate." She sighed, taking a few breaths.

  Hunter wondered how a lousy system could exist, such as that, and asked. "Does that mean both guilds could have people taking the same quest?"

  She just shrugged. "Yup, they like to call it competition, but we all know they love undercutting each other."

  A new instructor walked up in front of the crowd, and everyone quieted down. Hunter sat down and looked at who their instructor was.

  The instructor was as short as Derick, except for a key difference. This man had hair. His long brown hair, akin to a Viking, matched his long beard. If he had been a foot smaller, Hunter would have thought a dwarf walked in.

  "Ahem, I see we have new faces, so I will introduce myself." He spoke in a deep voice. "My name is Jerry. I am an Adventurer and have been asked to lead the next few courses on monsters. Do you have any questions before we start?"

  "Good," he said, grinning. Jerry pulled out a tablet with a picture of the Porolf he had fought. "Does anyone know what this is?"

  A few people yelled out that it was a Porolf, but Jerry shook his head. "Look closer. If you want to be adventurers, you should at least know this much."

  Indy leaned toward him, whispering, "These people are young, so they have never seen it before, but that is a contract for fighting monsters."

  Jerry raised his eyebrows, saying, "Correct, Indy. I have high hopes for you to become an adventurer."

  Indy leaned back to her spot, mumbling something about tier 1s

  "Contracts are not the only way you can earn money for fighting monsters," Jerry said, regaining everyone's attention. "You can go out and just fight whatever you like. The only difference is that you can gain extra rewards by completing contracts for the guild and take on more strategic quests if you want."

  Grinning, Jerry turned and started walking. " That is all the technical jargon for now; follow me, " he said, walking down a flight of stairs.

  Hunter followed them downwards below ground. Floating white lights lit up the staircase. When he reached the bottom, it opened into a large room. This room had a few large mats laid out and tables of weapons next to them.

  Jerry turned around and said, "You will use the guild's weapons today. I understand that some of you may be able to purchase much better ones, but this exercise isn't about winning but how you win and fight."

  Walking up to each of them, Jerry started handing out bracelets. "These will protect you from weak attacks; even so, try to fight as if your life were on the line."

  He approached Hunter and looked at his bracelet. "It looks like you already have one," he said, then turned to Indy. Would you like one?" She shook her head, so he walked back to the front.

  "You see," Jerry said, turning back around. "I believe in learning by doing, so… what I'll have you do is fight monsters."

  The first of the three large mats started glowing a blue-amber glow

  Everyone got up and walked over; it was beautiful as the colors swirled. Then, the colors fully merged and dissipated, with a Porolf now standing in the middle.

  Hunter could hear his heartbeat in his ears as he watched the beast look around and stare at him as if he were its next meal.

  A few others took a few steps back from the mats, but Jerry laughed a few times to himself. "I love that part."

  Jerry pointed to Indy, saying. "How about you go first?"

  This broke Hunter from his trance, and he watched Indy almost nonchalantly walk toward the monster.

  Indy walked onto the first mat, the monster not caring that she existed until she took the last step onto the mat. When she did, the Porolf immediately growled and started pacing back and forth.

  Indy stood still. Hunter realized she had never grabbed a weapon. Everyone was far from the boundaries, so Hunter took a step closer. He kept a mental grip on his dagger stashed in his inventory, just in case.

  Indy started glowing, her right arm glowing a light red and her legs a pine green.

  The monster finally stopped pacing and leapt toward her. She sidestepped to her left.

  The monster flew by her by inches, hitting its maw first into an invisible wall.

  Indy's arm glowed brighter for a second as she slammed it into the back of the monster.

  The Porolf made a yelping sound as a crack echoed in the room. Indy jumped backward close to another invisible wall, and her arm stopped glowing.

  The monster howled, its fur standing on end.

  Indy tried to move but found her feet were stuck in place.

  The monster hobbled at first but then dashed at her.

  A bright red erupted from Indy's arm, and she punched at the charging monster.

  The monster opened its maw, inviting her hand.

  Her punch connected with the beast's snout; the Porolf tried to stop, but its momentum kept coming. Indy's fist made bone-splintering sounds as it crushed the monster's skull.

  Hunter felt his stomach turn as the beast was torn in two, but his mind warred with his stomach as he envied that kind of power that he needed to trek his own path.

  The Porolf turned transparent for only a fraction of a second before black cracks appeared, spouting dark smoke that settled on the ground.

  Everyone was silent as the beast slowly evaporated. Indy's glow faded, and she walked back over to them, shaking her fist to remove some black smoke that was still stuck to it.

  Waiting for her to walk past him, Jerry said, "Excellent job, Indy! That was exceptional fighting. For those of you who don't have the skill or power to kill it outright, you will have to focus on getting into the monster's blind spots and hitting its weak point."

  Jerry pulled out his tablet again and tapped on it a few times before swiping off the screen with his finger. In the air, almost like a projector, a model of the Porolf appeared. This model had different colors for each limb.

  Jerry pointed to the Porolf's stomach. "The stomach is the weakest point for many monsters, so it is red. We can also see that the back of the head and its limbs are yellow, indicating weak points."

  Jerry turned back to everyone and asked. "So, what do weak points usually do?"

  A man a few rows up said. "They can incapacitate a monster."

  "Correct," Jerry said. "It can make it harder or impossible for the monster to move, depending on what kind of weak point you attack. This is why it is important to know what you are fighting before you fight it. Now, who is next?"

  The man who had answered earlier got up and walked over to the equipment. He picked up a three-foot short sword, held it in his right hand, and swung it a few times as he walked onto the mat.

  Jerry tapped on his tablet, and the blue amber glow reappeared.

  Hunter watched closely again, feeling adrenaline coursing through his veins.

  The monster and the man started pacing in a circle.

  The man took a step inward, cutting the space between them.

  The Porolf stopped.

  It dashed toward him.

  The man dodged to his left, swinging the sword at the monster's head.

  Leaping out of the way, the monster growled.

  Then the beast howled, its fur standing on end.

  Trying to move, the man realized he was stuck.

  Fear etched his face.

  The beast ran sideways, getting behind his left side.

  Thinking quick, the man swapped his weapon to his left hand.

  The Porolf lunged.

  The man slashed at the beast.

  He missed by inches, and the monster's jaw closed around his leg.

  A flash of blue energy erupted from the man, throwing the monster back and against the invisible wall.

  Everyone and everything was silent for a few daunting seconds, and then the man's ragged breaths came in short gasps.

  "Enough," Jerry said calmly. That's enough for now. You did well thinking fast, so nice job."

  The man slumped to his hands and knees, sweat glistening off his skin. He pushed himself up, walked back over to them, and sat down.

  Jerry tapped on his tablet again, and a new screen popped up in front of everyone. "What you can see here are the known skills of this monster. You can see it has the ability to stick you in place for five seconds. This doesn't seem like much, but in battle, every second counts.

  Now, how can you overcome that if you're stuck in place?"

  Indy was the first to answer this time, saying, "You could carry sound or light pulses to confuse the monster until you are no longer stuck."

  "Great answer." Jerry said, "Anyone else?"

  Another person blurted out. "You could counterattack."

  Jerry nodded, then waited a few moments before saying, "Remember, you aren't the only one aware of how long the ability lasts. The monster is also keenly aware, and even if you blind it, the beast may try to attack anyway."

  Hunter was up next. He looked back at the mat he would be fighting on. It was only thirty feet by thirty feet. He felt his heart race. It was now his turn to pick a weapon.

  One weapon on a table caught his eye. It was what looked like a short mace. It was only about a foot and a half long. The top had angled triangles that curved sharply to a point every few inches around the shaft.

  Excited, he picked it up and swung it a few times. It was heavy, but the shortness helped.

  Hunter squinted as he tried to activate his skill. He thought, "Amplify," but no pain came.

  He sighed in relief as he looked down at the mace. Each of the sharp points now had a light blue glow, extending past the metal as if each sharp point extended an inch larger than they were.

  Hunter walked onto the mat.

  He held his breath as blue and amber engulfed his vision. He swallowed as fear sent shivers down his spine.