The Cost of Failure

Alex decided to take the extra-long route to Jimmy's house so that he could meet his running requirement for the day. He thought that avoiding his quests completely in his last training session may have been a mistake. Leaving his house, he headed toward downtown rather than stay in the residential areas.

This caused his usual scenery to be changed from beautiful parks and manicured lawns to tall high-rise buildings and garbage-filled alleys. The extra people crowding the sidewalks and waiting at the crosswalks were simply burdens that he didn't anticipate.

He preferred to avoid going into the heart of the city whenever he could, but the distance he would have to run made it impossible. Unless he wanted to run on a treadmill or circle a neighborhood, this was his life. The stench of urine and vomit lingered in the alleys near the bars, and decay spread from the full dumpsters.

The beautiful high-rise buildings were marred by the presence of homeless people sprawled out at their base. Security guards attempted to shoo them away, but they always seemed to find their way back. They were sleeping on a bench or holding a sign begging for change. They always moved out of his way when he was jogging through the area, but they never left his sight.

He didn't plan his route too extensively, considering it changed every day, so he simply chose to run around a department store parking garage a couple of times to get some extra mileage in. He used the stairs to get some resistance to build a tiny amount of strength during the run. On his way past, he ran into a couple of skateboarders that nearly took him out and was thankful that someone finally came close to him.

He thanked the young skateboarder that nearly knocked him over as he helped him off the ground, and continued on his jog.

Alex had nearly completed his running requirements by the time he arrived at Jimmy's house, and he would only have to jog home after his training session to meet them fully. He was satisfied with today's activities but was concerned for the future.

'Will this ever plateau, or will I be running across the continent daily one day?' Alexander couldn't help but ask.

[Don't worry, the current quests won't serve many purposes once you gain control.]

[I'll stop giving you them]

[Then we can focus on more critical daily objectives.]

'Who determines the importance?' He didn't even know why he asked; he knew the answer.

[Well, I do, of course!]

"Alex, my boy, I didn't think you'd make it," Jimmy shouted from beside his car, rubbing it down with a cloth and hose.

"Calling me lazy already, old man?" He threw a quick verbal jab while picking up a cloth to help his mentor.

"Of course not! I just figured you'd be shacked up with that pretty girlfriend of yours for at least a week!" The older man gave the boy a creepy, knowing smile.

"So, are we going to do some 'wax on, wax off' crap, or will we train today?" Completely ignoring the subject, Alex jumped straight into his priority.

"Help me get this put away, would you?" Jimmy asked as he tossed the rag he was using to the young man.

The two stored the hose and car washing materials away before heading toward the house. Jimmy led Alexander inside and immediately invited him into the kitchen, where he had an enormous amount of food still prepared.

This would help him reach the second portion of his goal away from prying eyes.

"I assumed you couldn't eat so much in front of your friends. You need it until you start to control the beast within yourself," Jimmy explained his generosity.

"Thank you!" Alex gave him a hug as he was reminded that the old man was his only father figure.

Handing a plate to the young were-rex, the older dino just sat back and watched the young man enjoy devouring the steaks present. Jimmy never explained how he afforded this massive quantity of food each day. Still, Alex had a feeling it wouldn't be right for him to ask about a sensitive topic.

"I know I haven't been here in a long time…" The young man picked up a piece of steak that had slipped on the floor during his feast.

"But, It's almost like you're letting this place go intentionally!" He chuckled, tossing it toward the garbage can.

"You caught me! I just want you to move back in to help me with chores," Jimmy laughed, "I couldn't handle you being away last night, so I set that piece of steak there for you to see that I can't be alone."

Jimmy raised his hands to show that he was helpless.

"Did it work?" He handed Alex a cup of coffee before taking a drink of his own.

[Jimmy's a lot more laid back than he used to be.]

'Well, that's what happens when you treat people like people.' he thought, shutting down the system's complaints.

[He was treated great previously!]

'Mhmm'

The two of them finished taking care of the chores upstairs before heading toward the basement.

"So, since we can't run out of town and paint the world red every day, how will I learn control and the hybrid technique?" Alex grew impatient with his lack of growth.

"Well, At first, I was joking when I said we should find a gym where you could train the technique." Jimmy prepared a weight bench for the young adult as he had many times in the past.

"But, then I thought, 'why the hell not?'" He held one hand up with five fingers out, indicating the number of repetitions completed.

"You can probably use some motivation to succeed, right?" Another five fingers on Jimmy's opposite hand joined the first.

"Jimmy, don't tell me you want me to do it here!" Alex racked the weights and sat up in disbelief.

"If I fail, I'll kill hundreds!" He was shocked as he stared at the elderly man; it wasn't like his teacher to put the lives of others at risk!

"Then don't fail." Jimmy returned the stare as he added another weight to the bar.