"THIS IS MY SPOT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Nandita said as she glared at Dilek.
"HUH? YOUR SPOT? HOW COME YOU CLAIMED IT, YOU FEUDALIST PIG?"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" She looked at Dilek as he stopped for a second, and thought, 'That's right, I need to act saintly to gain their trust.'
"Actually, I am here to help you. You see, I'm a healer," his eyes sparkling as he forced a smile that looked saintly.
"What are you doing?" she asked, when suddenly a huge roar—
"HRAHHHHHHHH!" The troll was looking right down as it swung its fist on the ground.
"AH SHIT!" Dilek and Nandita jumped up as the boulder they were hiding behind got crushed, and they started running forward.
"IT'S YOUR FAULT, JACKASS! WHY DID YOU FOLLOW ME?"
"WHO THE HELL IS FOLLOWING YOU, HUH?" Dilek shouted as he ran forward. In his sight, he saw Marcus running slowly but steadily.
"MARCUSSS, BUDDY, HELP MEEEEEE!" Dilek was waving his hand. Marcus looked behind at Dilek and Nandita and then the troll that was behind him.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOINGGGGG?!"
The two of them caught up to Marcus as Nandita looked at him. "Have you been running all this while? How come you are so slow?"
"SLOW?! I'M KEEPING UP MY PACE! I HAVE BARELY UNLEASHED THIS BREATHING STYLE TOLD TO ME BY MY FATHER WHEN I WAS YOUNG! IF I STOP NOW MY LEGS WILL GIVE UP, I NEED TO KEEP UP THIS PACE!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, FATTY??? YOU ARE TOO SLOW ANYWAYS, I WON'T BE HEARING YOU AT ALL!" Nandita shouted as she ran ahead.
"HOW RUDE! YOU FATPHOBIC FEUDALIST! MARCUS DESERVES ALL THE LOVE HE DESERVES!" Dilek shouted as he ran past Marcus.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!!! WHY ARE YOU LEAVING ME?! DIDN'T YOU SAY I DESERVED LOVE?!?!" Marcus shouted as Dilek and Nandita sped past him.
"You really are a scum," Nandita said as Dilek caught up to her. "Leaving your friend behind like that right after you confessed your love for him."
"I DIDN'T CONFESS ANYTHING! Also yes, I said he deserves all the love he deserves. Sadly, that love doesn't come from me at all," Marcus shouted as he ran. While running he saw an old man sitting on the floor ahead of him.
Dilek stopped, still in jogging motion. "OLD MAN, DON'T YOU SEE THAT TROLL CHARGING TOWARDS US?!"
The man looked at the troll charging behind them—mainly behind Marcus—as he sighed. "I'm too old for this… Don't you see it? Look at me. I have a hunched back… I have wrinkles, my bones hurt as well. So… young man, will you carry me?"
The old man smiled as he looked up, closing his eyes. As he slowly opened them, he saw Dilek already far away with Marcus and Nandita.
"HEY, WHAT THE HELL?! CAN'T YOU SEE AN OLD MAN HERE?!"
"GRAHGHHWHAHHHHHGG!" The troll gurgled as the old man stood up with his hunched back and started running at full speed, slowly passing Marcus and catching up to Dilek and Nandita.
"HOW THE HELL IS AN OLD MAN FASTER THAN ME?????" Marcus shouted as he ran.
The old man shouted at the top of his lungs, "LISTEN UP, YOU LITTLE FREAKS! YOU RUN ON THE RIGHT, I RUN ON THE LEFT, THE TROLL WILL CHASE ME!"
"OH, THAT'S GENIUS! THANKS FOR YOUR SACRIFICE, OLD MAN!" Dilek shouted as Marcus, Nandita, and he turned right, and the old man turned left.
Dilek smiled as he turned back—
"HRWAHHHHHHHH!" The troll was still chasing them.
"HOWWWW?! WHYYYY?! WHY IS IT STILL CHASING US?!"
"That old man… he was a genius." Nandita smiled with a tear dripping from her face. "He turned left, and told us three to turn right. It's kind of like how alligators go for the bigger number.
3 > 1.
See that?"
"I DON'T SEE SYMBOLS APPEARING OUT OF NOWHERE, BUT I GET THE GIST," Marcus shouted. "BUT STILL GUYS, LET ME CATCH UP!"
"SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE, MARCUS!" Dilek shouted.
"SLOW AND STEADY DOESN'T WIN A CHASE SEQUENCE, YOU JACKASS!" Marcus shouted back.
'Wait… that's right, this is the moment I need to get hurt myself trying to protect them. And then, moved by my actions, they will fight themselves and they will trust me in whatever I do. Like they say, brothers born from blood suck each other's sweats…'
"WHATEVER YOU ARE THINKING DEFINITELY ISN'T CORRECT!" Nandita shouted. "DON'T DO WHATEVER YOU ARE THINKING!"
Dilek stopped. He looked down on the ground as Marcus passed him. Nandita stopped to turn around, and so did Marcus, as Dilek filled his eyes with tears.
"My friends… I'll sacrifice myself. Go ahead, I'll fight it."
Dilek turned to the troll as he stared at it.
"GRAHAWAHHHAHHHHH!" The troll shouted, charging at Dilek.
"It's alright, guys… I'm alright," Dilek said, smiling.
"YOUR LEGS ARE SHAKING!" Nandita shouted.
Dilek turned to the troll as he spread his arms. "Don't hurt my friends!"
The troll slammed its fist towards Dilek as he thought, 'That's it, just a little blood and I'm good. They will be so moved, I ain't even lying.'
SLAMMM—
The troll missed as he hit the ground beside Dilek, and just because of the pressure from the punch on the ground, Dilek flew across as rubble flew everywhere. He fell on the hard ground and curled up.
'FUCK, IT HURTS… BUT THAT'S IT! THEY MUST BE SO MOVED BY ME, RIGHT?!?!' Dilek turned to look over as he saw Nandita and Marcus just running forward blindly.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WHAT WAS THE SACRIFICE PLAY FOR?!?!"
"Hey, should we check up on him?" Marcus asked.
Nandita said, "He sacrificed himself for us. Let's not let it be in vain, right? BESIDES, I told him it's a bad idea."
"He is a healer…" Marcus said. "But I suppose we can find another one."
"He is a what?" Nandita stopped as Marcus stopped as well.
"A healer," Marcus said, pointing at his leg wound that had been closed up. There was a huge wound that had been patched up by skin, and it looked brand new.
Nandita looked down at his legs and then back up at his face.
---
'Ah, is this it?' Dilek thought as the troll screamed and slammed its fists towards him. 'This time he won't miss, I think. Ah man, it was a good life…'
Dilek smiled, when suddenly—BOOM! A huge blast, as Dilek opened his eyes. He saw Marcus tanking the hit, holding the troll's punch just barely as he struggled.
"KEEP BUFFING ME, GODDAMMIT!" Marcus shouted towards Nandita. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU CLAPPING LIKE A BEGGAR?!?!" His nerves twitched as he saw Nandita clapping.
"GIVE ME A BREAK! I ONLY HAVE A BUFF SPELL THAT BOOSTS MORALES BY +0.01 FOR EVERY CLAP I DO! I'M ONLY HOPING IT STACKS!"
Dilek looked at Marcus, still sitting on the ground. "You feeling high in spirits?"
"GET OUT OF THERE! WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGG?!" Marcus shouted as the troll screamed and he tried to keep holding on.
Just then, a man in a cloak jumped, dagger in his arm, and beheaded the troll in a single swift motion. He landed gracefully. His black hair and red eyes shone in the sun, his luscious hair seemed as if woven with silk . He sighed as he looked down at the troll. The dagger disappeared in the air like a shadow.
"HOLY SHIT! A MAIN CHARACTER!" Dilek shouted as the man turned to him. Seeing Dilek on the ground, small-haired and small-framed, just sitting there, the man clicked his tongue and left.
"Did he just look at me like I'm some side character?" Dilek looked blankly as he was filled with rage. "WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS?! I HAVE AN OVERPOWERED CLASS! WHAT DOES HE HAVE, HUH?!?!"
Nandita came towards Dilek and Marcus, who was on his knees. She said, "Can't blame him. You look like you came out of the military."
"Military?! My mom forced me to cut my lustrous hair! I had better hair than that protagonist wannabe, you get that?!"
"Hey, uhhh… guys? The barrier… it's finally gone…"
The three looked up at the sky as the barrier was gone, replaced by a magic circle in the sky circulating really fast.
"Woah, that's cool. How come there is a magic symbol in the sky though?" Dilek asked.
"Don't ask me, I'm looking at the same thing," Nandita replied, staring up.
In a flash, light came down on Earth, covering everything at once.