WHAT TO DO?

Red stared at the tiny beans on his open palm. She, too, was having the apprehensions that must have been playing inside his mind. "What to do? Should we?"

Bynarr plucked one and popped it into his mouth. He chewed animatedly as Red watched intently. "How is it? Don't die on me!" Her brows knitted together in worry and her eyes squinted as she waited what would happen to Bynarr - if Bynarr's mouth would bubble up or if he would faint or have a seizure. She was so worried and scared that her body trembled voluntarily. Her foot took a step back.

"I won't die easily, fool." He retorted, weighing his own worries and fears down.

"Nothing happened?" Red took a step closer, but shrieked, calling his name when Bynarr seemed to be convulsing until he fell down on the ground. "Bynarr!"

He convulsed some more on the ground and Red could not do anything. At first, she stood there, feet rooted on the ground, but when the situation sank in a few seconds later, she rushed by his side and hovered her hands around him. "Bynarr! Tell me you're alright!"

Her tears were already brimming over her eyes. That was something that only worsened the situation as her eyes became blurry with tears.

"Don't die on me! I don't know what to do so I will call for help, hmm?"

she was ready to run and call for aid when Bynarr grabbed her wrist. He wasn't convulsing anymore. He lied on his back, his grayish orbs staring at her intently. "Did I scare you?"

It was supposed to be just a joke and when realization dawned on Red, her tears that were threatening to fell finally brimmed over. "That was terrible." She sobbed and sobbed while Bynarr propped himself into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you would be this scared. I'm really sorry. Nothing happened to me." He flexed his arms. "See? It's safe. If anything I feel stronger. Why don't you try too?"

"I hate you!"

She stood up, brushed her forearm over her tear-stricken face, and stomped her foot, ready to leave. Bynarr grabbed her wrist and never let go.

"You can't leave until you forgive me."

True enough, no matter how hard she struggled, she could not set herself free from his strong grip. Even when she maneuvered but her efforts were futile against his strength. She could attest that his strength truly improved maybe tenfold.

while her right wrist struggled against his steel grip, she spanked him by his chest with her left hand. "Okay! Okay! I forgive you!" She sniffed, "Just don't do that again. Now, can you please let go of my arm?"

"Sure." He gently released her right wrist. Unbeknownst to her, Bynarr worried that with her struggling and his grip from his new strength, she might break her arm, or at the very least hurt herself from it. "Here." He offered the jelly beans to her. "It's harmless. Proven and tested. Let's spar with its influence. I cannot spar with you in this state."

"Uhm…" Red fidgeted in her feet. Certainly, she did not go to Aempleforth just to die prematurely. She had not met her father yet. She had not secured a future for her Nana yet. She still wanted to see Andrew and Maureen and come back to East Sechoia County. She also wanted to meet her older brother. More importantly, she had to beat Sir Karyk in his own game in two days and learn healing magic from him in the coming days.

She's only seventeen!

She couldn't die this way.

"You won't die," Bynarr answered her apprehensions which were manifested clearly on her face. "I'm a living proof to it."

Red was still full of hesitation but Bynarr was telling the truth. He's alive and stronger than ever. The temptation of having the strength he was enjoying and flaunting was quite alluring to her that it defeated her fears by a slim margin.

She popped the second jelly bean on her mouth and chewed. It tasted sugary sweet with bits of sourness in every bite, like how granules of dried fruit would taste. The texture was like that of a candy which was a bit chewy but some parts broke crisply against the force of her teeth. It's like eating a chewable vitamin pill.

So far, eating it was not too much of a drill. At least she survived that. When she swallowed it, she felt a subtle heat crept inside of her. That was it. Yet, she could sense the improvement in her physical body.

"Hahaha!" She jabbed in the air, then ducked. "This is awesome."

"See? What did I tell you?"

"Maybe it wouldn't have been so dramatic if you did not try to fool me."

She swung her sword left and right and forward, cutting the air in such swiftness with a sharp 'swoosh'.

Like a maniac, she laughed. In her mind, she ran her own analysis of the logic behind the madness. 'I think it works like how energy drinks boost the body back in the realm where I came from. If I am correct, there's a limit to it, and I will feel double or multiple times exhausted afterward. Therefore, I should optimize this state! No time to waste.'

"Hayyahhh!!" She surged through with a surprise attack at Bynarr.

"Oyyy! Hey!" He got too busy dodging her ruthless attacks too soon. She's enjoying it too much in his humble opinion. Nonetheless, he got hit on his head, on his arms and back and legs, fell down on the ground, stumbled, and it went on like that for myriads of times. Red laughed like a maniac, now overpowering Bynarr.

The lad was surprised that the boot she received was far greater than what he felt in his body. It was beyond comparison. He could not understand the reason why when he was sure that they ate the same thing.

Everything was going smoothly for Red. She's winning every round of their sparring. The moon bore witness to her unprecedented greatness.

When she raised her wooden sword for her final act, her wooden sword all of a sudden slid from her grasp and fell to the ground with a clang. Red swayed sideways before her body collapsed to the ground.

Still under the influence, Bynarr swiftly caught her in his arms before her body reached the ground.