Chris had no energy left. He forced his eyes open, but the brightness stung. Everything was pure white.

  'Is this the afterlife?'

  He tried to look around, but his vision was still blurry; if he couldn’t see, at least he could feel. The surface beneath him was soft, cloudlike, yet the steel frame gave it away. A bed. A very comfortable one.

  On his right: a blank white wall. On his left: three blurry shapes. Two of them looked alike, short and square. Chairs, probably. However, the third one was taller and oddly shaped.

  'A person?'

  “Are you the Grim Reaper? Have you come for my soul?”

  Whoever was, was awoken by his voice. The figure stood up and came towards him.

  “Did you have a good night's sleep?”

  The voice sounded familiar, but he wasn’t sure whose voice it was. Then the figure got close enough for him to distinguish it; it was Alek.

  'Now I’m sure that I’m dead.'

  “Looks like I followed you in the afterlife. I didn’t think that I’d see you so quickly, Alek.”

  “What are you talking about? This is not the afterlife; neither of us is dead. Though once you read your attributions, you might wish you were.”

  “How? I saw your head rolling on the ground.” Chris frowned.

  “I can answer your question, Chris Sully.”

  Abugan appeared behind Alek, silent until he chose to reveal himself. Neither Chris nor the vigilant wolf had sensed his presence.

  “To avoid wasting assets, we devised a solution. We already had access to all the recruits’ souls. So, we placed them in a simulation. Pain is real. Death is not.”

  “So… nothing that happened was real?”

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  “You tell me. Did it look real? Did it feel real?”

  “It did.”

  “Then what makes it unreal? The only difference was that it wasn’t your physical body.”

  'I just woke up. I don’t have the brainpower to think about this existential crap. Better not say that out loud, unless I want to get fried.'

  “Thank you for your explanation. Then, the ogre who interrupted your speech is still alive?”

  “That impudent creature? No. I had his soul erased. Keep in mind to never interrupt me. My task here is finished.” With that, Abugan vanished soundlessly.

  Now that Abugan was gone, they could finally relax, silently vowing never to cross him.

  “Did you see Arwenwel?” Chris asked. “The elf from HR?”

  “So that’s her name, she stood all these days near your bed, waiting for you to wake up.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “Half a month. They thought you wouldn’t wake up, as you pushed yourself so much that your soul was damaged. I heard that they used a lot of resources to keep it stable long enough to begin healing itself. You’ll be paying off that debt for a long time. I pity you.”

  'Great. Before, I had no job. Now I’ve got a job and a mountain of debt.'

  The door creaked open. Chris moved his head just in time to see his new visitor; it was his mentor and savior, Arwenwel.

  “Looks like your friend finished her work for today. I’ll let you two alone to talk.” Alek squeezed his tall body out the door.

  “You finally wake up. I thought that you’d be asleep forever.” She hurried to his side to hug him. “Promise me that you’ll never be this reckless again.”

  “You can let me go, I’ll promise. I wouldn’t have to fight like that if you’d told me that I wouldn’t lose my life.”

  “I couldn’t tell you, it was against regulation, and you wouldn’t have tried so hard if you knew the truth. Let me stay like this for a little bit.”

  They both remained silent as Arwenwel was hugging Chris. Suddenly, she let go of him and pulled a chair next to his bed.

  “Tell me what happened in the last clash; that damned dust obscured it.”

  “I got lucky; I would have lost if Alek hadn’t gone berserk. When he lunged with his good arm, I dodged, but nearly collapsed; I was out of strength. He tried to finish me, but his balance was off, still not used to the missing arm. I steadied myself, used the last of my strength, and struck. You saw the rest.”

  “How did you manage to push through all that pain? You claimed to be an ordinary man, and my training alone could never account for what you did.”

  “Your training kept me alive long enough, but the rest was because of my ability, ‘I’m the player’. I don’t know everything that it can do, as many of its abilities are still sealed.”

  “Your seal will be lifted at the awakening ceremony. If you have already gotten stronger with it sealed, I wonder how much stronger you will get. Prepare yourself, word of your awakening will spread quickly.”

  'Perfect. I just woke up, and I already have to get back to work.'