John smiled from ear to ear as he helped Adriano to his feet.

  “It’s a shame they couldn’t make it.”

  It’s a shame I couldn’t take you too.

  “Yeah, they’ll be missed.” John didn’t even know their names—just their classes. One was a healer and the other an archer. Those were the easiest to get rid of without anyone noticing.

  The boss, some species of hydra, only needed a little help from John to lose its heads—a rock that wasn’t there before, a loose step, or something falling from the dungeon ceiling to disorient them was all it took.

  John made sure to act only when the fight was already over. The healer, a rather pretty woman John would've preferred to see die in other ways, had just healed one of his injuries when he managed to make her trip into the hydra’s many faces.

  The archer was a little harder, but when John was being chased by the creature, he quickly dodged toward the archer. The man was athletic and capable enough to dodge, but a small rock just happened to be in his path, and he fell face-first onto the ground.

  That moment was the most important of all. John had to help the piece of shit. He rushed toward the archer, helped him up, and was handing him a potion when the monster struck again.

  John let the potion fall on purpose, staying in front of the creature only to dodge at the last second.

  Anyone could see he’d just saved his own life and had no way to help the archer. The ginger teen knew better. When all the archer’s loot hit the ground, his heart pounded. That was a big part of the rush for John—getting the loot from the fallen ones.

  It made it personal—and almost tasteful.

  After that, he and Adriano had to finish the job by themselves, and with only two of them, even an F3 boss was hard.

  Adriano’s class felt like a mistake to John—he seemed able to fight with two small daggers like a rogue, but the bastard also had a freaking rifle that looked alien, made of a black metal John had never seen before.

  As he helped the man climb the mountain after they'd collected all the rewards from the boss and split the belongings of the two competitors, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Adriano had in his loot.

  You shouldn’t think about him, John. You’re not gonna get what you want from him. When a sponsored competitor dies, their deity gets it all. You know this.

  So, Adriano was sponsored, that was good to know but he already suspected it. About the loots of one sponsored… he knew that part already. He’d earned everything Max had in his loot. That was one of the reasons he’d accepted sponsorship from Magnr. The god was a self-centered stupid—

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  How many times do I need to tell you I can hear your mind?! the god hissed inside John’s brain. He still wasn’t used to it.

  Feigning smiles and emotions? Yeah, sure. But thoughts? That was hard.

  The god was a benevolent being who saw potential in John, and for the first time in his life—

  I can read your intentions as well, little lamb. You don’t need masks with me.

  But that meant nothing to John. What was a life without a mask? He had nothing to show, unless his desire to get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, could be counted as a mask. That probably wouldn’t be a pretty face to watch.

  He didn’t usually get what he wanted right away, but he always got it eventually. At least, that’s what he was used to.

  He’d managed to kill three of Max’s original party—all silently, all calmly—while their leader kept going crazy about revenge.

  They were all too weak to be on the side of a psycho like Max.

  Hah! the god chuckled inside his mind.

  John could see the irony in that, so he chuckled silently.

  “What’s up, kid?” Adriano asked, noticing John’s gesture.

  “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about what happened before, you know. How we took everything for granted and then… puff. Some small moments, I can’t forget about them… sometimes I smile.”

  He wasn’t lying. He was thinking about Julia and all the things he’d promised to do to her, but he never could.

  Is she watching me? Wanting me to die for what I did?

  That thought alone made his heart race faster and his blood pump down south.

  “Yeah, I get you. I miss my family. Sometimes I remember my little one, Ana, and I miss her.”

  Adriano kept rambling, but he wasn’t listening. He was thinking about Julia—and how to replace her. She was so gorgeous, perfect in every sense. Not the sharpest tool and prone to violence. Hard to tame, hard to get what he wanted, to extract the emotions he craved.

  There was someone, though.

  He kept that face in mind as they walked to the center of town, where Zach and his party would hold an assembly. The man looked different now after killing Max—stronger, confident.

  Is this jealousy? the god asked.

  Are you a woman or a man? John thought, resisting the urge to ask aloud.

  You won’t be able to define me on such an elemental level, little lamb. Just keep up the good work. I’ll rest now.

  Can you give me a bigger storage? I need it.

  Yours isn’t half full yet, the god argued, though he didn’t seem bothered—just curious.

  Can’t you read my intentions?

  I see… you think you’ll need more space in the days to come. Not now, on the tower. Easier to not be noticed during the first day—lots of cool things to show, and a small boon won’t be seen.

  I can wait, John replied as he walked side by side with Adriano.

  Max started talking, explaining how the tower would arrive in two days and that they’d need to buy walls and other things with their cash. Everyone accepted it as if he were a god himself;

  His party nodded like the sheep they were, and John’s plans started to change when he met the dark eyes of Mary. He’d thought about killing her first.

  But she smiled at him—and her smile was… perfect.

  He wanted to make sure she’d never smile again. That would be better than any loot she dropped after her body hit the ground.