NECESSARY FEAR

Say goodbye to your arm, tough-nut!" Geragorn dashed the mace vertically at his opponent's shoulder.

Lirzod crossed his arms to block the incoming attack, but a silhouette entered his vision before the mace reached him.

The attack was neutralized with a delicate arm movement without making much of a sound.

"Hmm?" Geragorn narrowed his eyes at the person who had interrupted his attack. "You... why do you care for this foolhardy fellow?"

"He's smaller than you in physique, but for all I know," the lady monk said in a teasing manner, concealing a smile in her eyes, "his balls might be bigger than yours."

"Don't push your luck, lady!" Geragorn let go of the mace, and his elbow soared at her chin from underneath. Her eyeballs moved down, and she swiftly tapped his elbow, sprang up, and her legs spread out as she jumped over Lirzod and landed behind him, who was staring at her with a lack of certainty in his eyes. "Heh!" Geragorn smiled and kicked in Lirzod's stomach, startling both of them. Lirzod, who was focused on the lady, didn't see the kick coming, and neither did the lady, and they both fell back to the ground on top of each other.

Lirzod spilled blood, and the back of his head lay on her chest, seemingly from losing consciousness, but the slight downward curl of the corners of his lips told a different story.

"What a great position," Geragorn sneered. "I'm sure you're enjoying it. Guess you are a monk only in name."

The lady monk pushed Lirzod aside and stood before assuming a flowing stance.

"Are you sure you want to fight me for him?" Geragorn's voice turned cold and contained crossness.

"Not necessarily for him, but definitely for what you spoke about my monkhood!" With propel, she bolted ahead and let fly a sweeping kick at Geragorn. He blocked it with his forearm.

BAM~!

The impact was resounding, as loud as if a hundred-kilo boulder fell from the skies onto solid ground. The subtle and fleeting air gush that spread around made most people among the crowd squint their eyes and take a step back.

"You gotta be kidding me. If those two might users fight here, the running tracks will surely be spoiled!" some parts of the crowd were unsettled.

"Hmph, so you can perform a kick after all," Geragorn gave a teasing look at her.

"Better than you can pack a punch," the moment her other foot landed on the ground, she twirled her body and swiftly kicked the arm of Geragorn away from its defense. Her other leg then nailed into his stomach. The pointy wooden footwear she wore made him feel the pain, but he tightened his stomach muscles and pressed against her foot. She pulled her leg back in startlement. She did succeed, albeit her footwear got stuck.

Geragorn took the footwear and broke it into two halves with his bare hands as if he was breaking a biscuit. "That itched. Don't tell me that's the best kick you got."

"I wouldn't bet on that if I were you," the monk maintained her sangfroid as she removed her other footwear and moved a couple of steps away in an arching path.

"We'll see," he was about to step forward.

"You peachy piggy," at that time, a voice came from behind Geragorn, and a mace hammered on his back, "take this!"

The mace cracked and then broke. The blood of the onlookers ran cold upon seeing Lirzod in action.

"You little—" Geragorn gritted his teeth and turned back to grab hold of Lirzod, but a hideous foot loomed in at his face and smacked his cheek with a bang. Geragorn's body flew a few meters to the side, then eventually crashed and rolled several times on the floor.

The crowd was set on their heels and watched in wide-opened mouths.

"She sent that four-hundred-pound monster packing to the side!"

"How much power can her kicks generate?"

Geragorn stood almost as fast as he fell. A bruise had blemished his cheek, though it was mostly obscured by his reddish skin. The drop of blood dripping down a corner of his mouth was as plain as the nose on his face. He rubbed it and glanced at his own droplet of blood, and all the muscles in his body began to bulk up. "Now you've done it, monk maid!"

"Oh crap, he's pissed!" most of the members among the crowd panicked. "The tracks are done for. Everyone, run!"

Some stood in affright and were shitting bricks, but most people vamoosed like squirrelly dogs scarpering from sharp-set wolves.

Geragorn lunged at the monk with a thundering jump that left a hole in the hard wooden floor. His fist sought her face fiercer than a tiger's paw, yet she wished to meet his fist with her foot. Both of their weapons were about to meet head-on into what would be a massive collision; however, a snowy figure appeared out of nowhere and effortlessly terminated both the attacks with bare hands.

Lirzod eyes lit up upon seeing that person. Geragorn and the monk, however, were surprised and immediately pulled back their attacks.

"Madam Stussy," the lady monk respectfully pulled back her leg and joined her arms at her chest, before bowing, "I apologize for forcing you to touch my feet."

"You need not say anything, Everna," Stussy glanced at her once before shifting her gaze toward Geragorn, making him frown and take a step back. It seemed like he knew what she was going to say by her look alone. "You have overstayed on this deck."

"I…" Geragorn wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words he was looking for. He kept scratching the back of his head with his finger.

"The lives of all the entries that board this ship haven't necessarily been beds of roses," Stussy rested her hands behind her, and her voice was rather mollifying. "Troubling them right away isn't an exemplary thing."

"I won't go as far as to say 'sorry for the trouble.'" Geragorn smiled slightly and then began to walk away like a koala fleeing from a forest fire. "Like you, I have a priori belief of my own about the new entries. In a way, they must thank me for giving them the necessary fear in order to survive this journey and all that follows. Anyway, you are the boss, so you make the rules. I'm heading to the higher decks. You shouldn't have a problem with that."

"None," Stussy replied, fixedly looking elsewhere.

"What?" Lirzod was startled. "How can that piggy go to the higher decks after everything he did, and especially when he didn't even finish the run?"

Both Stussy and Everna stared at him with blank faces.

Geragorn snorted as he left. "Bovine to the bone."

"Why aren't any of you two speaking?" Lirzod was left confused. "He's walking away."

"You seriously believed the rumors that he's not fast enough?" Everna said and smiled as she came in between him and Stussy.

"Rumors?" Lirzod was a little surprised. "Well…" he blinked twice and then understood the meaning of her words. He tilted his head down a little. "I just wanted him to win the event and then go. So, he's already finished the test." Lirzod felt a bit disappointed. He was thinking of mocking Geragorn during his run, but now, knowing that he couldn't do it, he could only rub the back of his neck.

Everna's smile subsided. "He just let the rumors out himself, so that some would pick a fight with him. And he enjoys crushing the rookies that come after him. Most of his underlings are all victims of his methods."

"That's," Lirzod paused a moment in deep thought, so much that he didn't bother about the bloody saliva that was drooping from his mouth. "So that piggy was trying to toy with me from the start."

"Kind of, yes..." Everna said, taking slow and calm breaths that didn't seem forced. "Hey, clean your mouth."

"Oh," Lirzod was about to use her shirt, but she held his head and stopped him. He was forced to use his own shirt. "So, you are.." Lirzod looked at her from top to bottom, and more than anything else, the image of her face brought tears to his eyes. "So sorry that you are bald even though you are so young." His expression turned sad, "Is there anything I can do to help the hair grow back?"

Everna blinked twice. "I'm a monk, potato!" She slapped on the top of his head, greatly surprising him. "Of course, I will be bald."

"Monk?" His stomach hardened a bit, and he observed her from top to bottom once again. "You are right. It makes sense, too. But I didn't know that the female monks have bald heads."

"Now, you know that they do, well, most of them."

Lirzod paused a moment before his hand moved in a flash and scratched the top of her head, startling her.

Everna didn't blink but ground her teeth as she glared at him. "What was that for?"

"Just confirming," Lirzod said and nodded twice, "Mm, doesn't seem like there's any fake layering like a hairless wig."

"Hairless wig? It's called a skull cap. And I'm not—"

"So, you're wearing one!" Lirzod was startled and tried to touch her head again, but she pushed his hand away.

"Let me finish my words. I was about to say that I'm not wearing a skull cap," she scratched her head a bit, bringing out a droplet of blood.

"What were you doing?" Lirzod reflexively placed his hand on her head.

"It's a minor wound. Will heal in no time," Everna let out a slightly hard smile. "Do you at least believe me now?"

"I do, I do." Lirzod stared at her for a moment before nodding. "This is my first time seeing a monk in the flesh." He looked a bit excited. "By the way, your roof is so smooth," Lirzod's words loosened her smile a bit.

"Roof?" she was puzzled.

"The top of your head," Lirzod continued rubbing her crown.

One of her brows twitched. "You can remove your hand now."

"I don't think that's a good idea," he replied in a cautious tone.

She furrowed her brows. "Why not?" she could only wonder as she asked.

"You may die from blood loss, you know."

The two of them exchanged looks before she displayed a decent grin. He beamed back in return. At the moment, in that hall, their smiles were like the sun and the moon in the sky at twilight, and even the sands of time sought to slow down, hoping more eyes would heartily heed.

Still and all, as the sands of time shifted ends, the hilarity in the young hearts downsized by degrees and eventually died out.

Whew. Lirzod removed his hand, then stepped back and breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, he scanned her attire from top to bottom, which took her by surprise and ended her smile but didn't really discomfort her either.

"Something wrong?" Everna couldn't help but ask.

Lirzod continued observing her dress before his gaze rose up and stopped at her face. "Uh, nothing. It's just that you…" he pressed his lips hard against one another.

"Yeah, I?"

He forcibly shut his mouth, trying to hide his laughter, but even so, plenty of stress showed on his face, which began to pinken by the second.

Everna narrowed her eyes and briefly clenched her fist. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," covering his mouth with a hand, Lirzod restrained himself from bursting out into a cachinnation. "It's just that, pfft, I'm sorry, it's just that your hairless head looks like an egg. Maybe I've been seeing too many eggs lately that an egg is coming to my mind when I see your face."

The atmosphere around Everna changed ever so slightly, but Lirzod was oblivious to it, for he put his all to make sure he didn't break out into gales of laughter.

Controlling his emotions, he stepped ahead. "And I must say, it's an egg that looks too egg-ish," he placed his hand on her shoulder, but then taking note of her face almost made him burst out into laughter again. A good dozen seconds later, he got his breath under control. "Ahem, why don't you think about growing your hair back? Then, you might look better and be eligible to be my—"

A slap very much vicious than earlier one greeted his cheek before he even saw it coming. "How rude!"

Lirzod covered his cheeks, staring at her in a stupefied reaction. "What did I do?"

"What did you do?" she bared her teeth. "You did nothing. It's me who lent a hand to a laughing stock." She swiveled in rhythm and walked away, annoyance evident in her slightly springy steps.

"I never asked for your hand," Lirzod said, his voice raising a little bit while his hand still rested on his colored up cheek. "Besides, you lent a leg, not a hand!"

He got no reply. Everna sprang into the air, then alighted on the turtle, which forthwith sauntered away at its own indolent pace, not minding the clamorous commotion of the crickety crowd out there.

"Tch, I was only helping her back by giving a suggestion. It's nothing to get incensed about. Hmm?" Lirzod looked around only to get surprised, "When did Snow White leave?" he felt a surge of discomfort washing through his whole body. "She escaped from my amity again! Ouch, my ribs..." one of his hands touched his ribcage while the fingers of his other hand touched his tongue and blood decorated them. "That piggy got a hit on my ribs again. I don't want to waste another phoenix fruit for this."

Taking a slow and deep breath, he started to walk but then felt pain during every step taken. "Che, breathing is beginning to hurt again. It would have been nice if Primera was with me. That Sawshin Sariyu won't bother treating my wounds twice in one day. Whom should I ask for help now?" Burton's image flashed in his mind. "I'd rather avoid asking that Headache…" He narrowed his eyes a bit. "Sitting his ass out in his room for like two days. I'm starting to wonder if he did the same in all the sect tests he took in the last ten years as well." Though it hadn't been two full days since Lirzod boarded the ship, he still felt like so much had passed.

"Hey, want some help?" at that time, a voice came from the side, and a curly black-haired person with a warm skin tone and an average build walked up to him.

"You..." Lirzod was surprised. It was the seller who Lirzod took token 101 from during the deck test.

"I'm Hundred."

"I'm Lirzod." They shook each other's hands.

"Lirzod?" he frowned a little. "Like a lizard?"

"No. Like Lirzod. Love incessantly raises zenith of delight."

"Oh…" he paused for a moment. "Anyway, I'm Hundred. And… Why did I come here again?" he muttered to himself. "Ah, yes, let me help you."

"Uh, it's okay. I can walk by myself. You don't need to—"

"Saplings with support look spry and grow like a shot. My old man's words. You don't need to suffer pain when you can avoid it, right?" Upon hearing his words, Lirzod let the guy help him. He gave support and helped Lirzod walk with relative ease. "I've seen Geragorn bully quite many characters, some tough guys even, but after facing his fists, all of them soon acted like they never wanted to see his face again. You were the first, you know, who looked him in the eyes for the second time. Maybe it was because he didn't give you a solid enough beating the first time, or maybe not. Nevertheless, your actions escorted his ass off this deck. Can't say I'm not impressed. I'm pleased to meet you again."

Most of the running tracks in the hall were abandoned except for a few souls still present here and there, for everyone was off their track.

"I'm pleased to meet you, too, Hundred. Where are my nuts?"

Hundred's heart almost jumped into his mouth. (He didn't forget about the nuts!) "U-Uh, ahem, they are in my room. I will give them to you afterward."

"Mm," Lirzod narrowed his eyes, wondering whether to believe his words or not.

"Anyway, I was standing in the queue to get some drinking water, and I must say, I didn't see that coming. I heard that 'Mad Monk' Everna isn't the type to meddle in others' fights. You are quite lucky. If she hadn't interfered, you probably would have gotten crippled to the point you would be worth less than a dustbin."

"So that bald beauty's name is Everna, huh… Now that I think about it, Snow White did call her that. But, dare I say, she's too spicy for a monk." Just thinking about her made him want to rub his discolored cheek again. (She seems more peppery than Pentera.) "Hey, aren't monks supposed to be peaceful?"

"I know, right?" Hundred also found himself thinking along the same lines. "But she's like the opposite."

"Yeah, but at least she seemed strong. Shouldn't she be on the upper decks already? What's she doing on this deck?"

"Only she should know," Hundred sighed. "Given her strength, she should easily reach the hundredth deck with no fuss, but she spends her time in these lower decks. I have no idea why."

(Hmm... Maybe she's looking for pretty boys. Now it makes sense why she ended up helping me... I do like her egg face, but that baldness is killing all my appetite.) Lirzod thought to himself. Especially after getting eggs thrown at him not long ago, his impression on eggs wasn't pleasant. "She must have her reasons." (Mm, maybe she'll change her mind if I can convince her to grow some hair.)

"That's what I think as well," Hundred sighed. "But most think she's just wasting her time. It's already been like five to six months since she entered this ship after all."

"Oh, it's totally understandable," Lirzod nodded. "Wouldn't it be boring if you only keep climbing one deck after another like everyone else? Sometimes it feels good to take a break, right?"

"Well... I don't have an answer for that. Exvo roams on the seas for eleven months of every year, picking up entries from many parts of the world. When localities change, so does the mindset of man. Some love to climb the ship, and some don't. It's hard to say any more than that."

"Picking people from many parts of the world, huh. Do you have an idea of how many entries are present on this ship right now?" Lirzod couldn't help but ask.

"I'd say at least a few million." It was a breezy response.

"M-Million?" he was flummoxed a bit as the anxious crowd still milled about in the background, and those who had to participate next were all keyed-up. "That many?"

"Of course. Just this deck alone has tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people."

"What?" Lirzod let out a brisk bark of laughter. "But there aren't that many rooms, right?"

"You are new, so you must not have seen this, but this deck has many blocks, each of which has at least ten thousand rooms. Also, many hollows use layered beds, so we require a lot less space than you entries. The tenth deck is the biggest deck for a reason. Most people would either choose to stay here, or get stuck here if they can't pass the test, and there are also cases of people getting forced to stay on certain decks because they broke the rules."

"Mm, so, not everyone can cover a hundred meters in less than twelve seconds, huh." Lirzod pondered for a moment. (Even though there are thousands of people on this deck, none took the trouble to tussle with that piggy. Is the difference in strength the only reason, or is there something else I don't know of?)

"Yep, but, to be honest, this floor is easy compared to upper decks."

"You've been to the upper decks?"

"Not too many, but I'm knowledgeable."

"Tell me about them."

"I can't."

"Since you are here, I can only talk about this deck. Besides, you have every deck's basic information written in the guidebook, right? You can even buy different manuals from a Book Booth."

"I did read the guidebook but just the test details. Do the upper decks also have people like that piggy who mess with others for no reason?"

Hundred's shoulders jerked a bit. "You mean Geragorn?" he quickly covered Lirzod's mouth and looked around at some of the people standing not too far away from them. "Don't call him like that. He has many friends. You never know when someone will come after you. Are we cool?"

Lirzod glanced at the people who were in his vicinity, but they didn't seem to be interested in their talk. However, he nodded.

Hundred pulled back his hand.

"They are doing their work and don't seem to be paying attention to us. Aren't you just being overly cautious?"

"You want them to feel amped about it, or what?" Hundred rose his voice a little.

"Uh, I think I get it," Lirzod scratched his chin.

"You don't look like you did," Hundred sighed. "In any case, it all depends on your luck. Every deck has its own share of troubles. I'm sure there are at least a handful of folks who could go toe-to-toe with Geragorn on this deck itself, but most of them stay low like the stars behind the sun."

"They are hidden?" Lirzod looked into the distance.

"Yeah, so you should choose to tread carefully all the time. That's the least you can do." Hundred continued, "Sometimes you'll encounter trouble, and sometimes you'll avoid it unknowingly. Regardless, you should always keep one thing in mind for as long as you're on this ship or even anywhere for that matter."

"What's that?" Lirzod raised his eyebrows.

"It's necessary to have some fear of the unknown."