The gerbil licked off the sugary foam on her finger and Casey sighed to herself in the booth of the ice cream shop.

She wasn’t sure what more she could do for her training. She was already E-rank. Her stats were fairly average. There was no way in two weeks’ time she’d be able to rank-up, so how else could she prepare for the final exam?

She knew what she had to do, but she didn’t know how to do it.

She needed to set herself apart. She needed a special move. She needed an attack that no one else was capable of recreating.

She pushed her sundae away suddenly losing her appetite.

Toto perked up at this, looking at Casey with disbelief.

“Don’t give me that look,” said Casey. “I can stop eating ice cream whenever I want and right now I don’t feel like anymore. I don’t deserve a treat. Not until I can figure out how to take myself to the next level. Until then, no more desert. C’mon let’s go.”

She hurried out the door with Toto on her shoulder as the owner of the ice cream shop yelled, “I’ve told you before! No pets allowed!”

Casey ignored the man, lost in her own thoughts.

She hoped she’d be able to think of how to improve her fighting style by the time of the tournament.

79

Just over two weeks later, the sea captain who’d escorted Max to Ogre Island, was looking at the foreboding patch of rock in the ocean through his spyglass.

He sighed as he looked out to the island.

“We should be docking at the coast in about an hour sir,” said one of crew.

The captain nodded and stared out at the island.

It’s been just over two weeks since we left that kid on the island. Was he going to be there waiting for them? Or were they going to find his ravished corpse strewn on the beach?

The ship parked itself near the coastline. The crew only saw an empty beach.

There was not a person or ogre in sight.

“The kid didn’t make it,” sighed one of the sailors.

“Yeah, you owe me three silver,” said another. “Pay up!”

The captain was filled with sorrow as he scanned the empty beach.

So the kid didn’t make it in the end, huh? Pluck will only get you so far...

“I see something,” said a crewmember.

“Oi! Give me my silver back then,” said another.

The figure emerged from the forest. The person’s clothes were ripped and torn apart, his body stained with dirt and cuts, but without a doubt, it was him.

The kid had survived and it looked like he had succeeded in his training as well. The boy looked significantly stronger than he had before.