Ground rules.

Reed returned to the 'Gold Rise' hotel after a particularly difficult fight against Cage.

'That was a hard hit.'

He rubbed his chin as he remembered the feeling of the flat of Cage's blade hitting his jaws. The blow had thrown him three meters before he hit the ground.

This was the second worst fight he had fought against Cage, the worst being when he had tried to wield a flail for the first time and had gotten beaten horribly.

He got used to the flail after two more fights, managing to use it acceptably in combat.

The best match was the one that was empty-handed, relying on martial arts and his own body. He had managed to get a few good hits on his opponent throughout the match.

'Cage was surprised when I tossed him, his expression was quite something.'

Reed recalled Cage's face when he had been knocked off-balance and thrown by Reed across the field.

Suddenly, he heard a soft sound, the ding-dong of an electronic doorbell.

He didn't stop, he continued walking until he reached the exit to the city, he walked out and into the forest.

He stopped and his eyes started to glow blue.

After a few seconds, they returned to normal.

"What is it?" He asked aloud into the air.

"Your radar sir, it was an alert from your radar."

"To be specific, it's your blue alert."

Reed summoned his map and took a look at it.

'So she has arrived.'

Reed miniaturized the map and put it into the corner of his vision, before walking back into the city and heading in the direction his map told him an ally was present.

He walked for two minutes, before stopping on a street corner and putting away the mini-map.

While the residents of this world couldn't see the panels, he wasn't sure if the players could or not, and he didn't want to ruin the surprise.

He peeked around the corner, locating his target then moved back, closed his eyes, and waited.

A few seconds went by, and he changed his position to the other side of the street and started walking, eyes still closed.

He took his steps slowly, putting on an air of carefreeness as he walked.

A few seconds later, he stretched his right arm out, making someone bump into it.

"Hey!" Avalyn exclaimed.

Reed opened his eyes and turned around to look at her.

"Yes?" He asked calmly, as if he didn't cause the incident just now.

She blinked, then sighed.

"Never mind."

They looked at each other in silence for a moment, before Reed spoke.

"It's late, let's talk in the morning."

"No problem."

"Come with me, I'll get you a room." 

Reed walked away, with Lyn following close behind.

The next morning, Reed led Lyn into a small open ground near the walls of the city.

He gestured to a rock while he leaned on a tree.

"Make yourself comfortable."

Lyn sat on the rock and looked at Reed.

"So what's this about?"

"I am going to set a few ground rules, and then we can discuss our partnership in depth. If you do not agree with the rules, then there is nothing to talk about."

Reed's face was stern, and his voice was even.

"Oookaay?" Lyn seemed a little confused.

"Rule number 1: Do not form deep emotional attachments with anyTHING, or anyONE."

He raised a finger and looked at Lyn, who was frowning.

"Do you want me to elaborate and/or give reasons?"

"Do both please."

"Very well, to elaborate, don't form deep attachments with anything, don't fall in love, don't become best friends with anyone, don't get a pet, don't adopt children."

"The reason being, if you lose anything that you care deeply for, it will affect you mentally, and quite heavily. You may blame yourself for it, you may feel inadequate, you may lose confidence, etc. Those conditions will cause you to weaken and lose sight of the objective."

After saying all this, Reed paused for a few seconds.

"Is there anything you want me to explain?" he asked Lyn.

"No, please continue."

Reed nodded.

"Rule number 2: Hide the fact that you are a player from everyone, and try to keep it hidden for as long as you possibly can."

"Do you want me to elaborate and/or give reasons?"

"Give me the reasons please."

Reed did not speak immediately, he looked at her for a few seconds before speaking.

"Tell me Lyn." This caused her to turn her sight from the ground to him. "What do you know about this game?"

"Nothing." Lyn's response was immediate.

"There are at least 10 million players in this game Lyn, the condition for this game to end," He said making eye contact with her. "Is that only a thousand remain."

He could see from her eyes that she knew what that meant.

"Would you rather die than kill others?" He asked her.

Her response was immediate.

"Never."

Reed nodded.

"Do you understand now?" He asked.

She nodded looking back at the ground.

"Do you know what the reward is for the victors?" 

Lyn turned back to him, and shook her head.

"It's }*#>!*{"

He blinked.

"Huh. I guess I can't tell others about it."

He made eye contact. "Then let me put it this way. I would suffer through a full DECADE, of torture, if that meant I got the reward. I would fight demons and walk through HELL ITSELF, if that meant I got the reward. I would fight in every war that had ever been waged, If that meant I got the reward."

"I intend to win this game, and if you impede me, I will not show mercy."

Reed's voice had grown rough and guttural as he spoke with a ferocity that Lyn had never seen before.

As Reed walked up to her, she flinched, and he could see that she was afraid.

"Do. You. Understand?" He asked, staring into her eyes.

She nodded, a very small nod, but it got the message across.

"Good." He retreated. "But remember this, I will not violate my bottom lines, and I suggest you clearly define yours as well, for future convenience."

"Now. Rule number 3: Do not give away any information about my weapons, my magic, my likes, my dislikes, etc."

"Do you want me to elaborate and/or give you reasons?"

She shook her head, not looking at him.

"If you break these rules, I will leave, and we will have nothing to do with each other from that point onwards, is that clear?"

"Yes."

"Good, now follow me. I know a good place for breakfast, then we will test your capabilities."

She was still a little bit shaken, but she quickly leapt up from her sitting position and caught up with Reed, following him two steps behind, as they left the field.