Understandings / Flashbacks

"Why are you crying, Isaac?" Inquired a middle-aged woman, her gentle eyes fixed on a young Isaac, tears streaming down his cheeks, his gaze lowered to the ground.

"I'm not crying..." Issac muttered softly under his breath, and the middle-aged woman tilted her head. Seeing the obvious tears in the child's eyes, a warm smile formed on her face as she gently placed her hand on top of his head. "You know, Issac, sometimes it's okay to let your tears flow," she spoke with a reassuring voice.

The young boy remained silent, sniffling and trying to control the tears that kept streaming down his cheeks. The middle-aged woman continued to stroke his head gently, offering comfort and understanding as the tears continued to flow from his eyes.

"There, there," she said softly, gently caressing his head. "I may not know what's making you sad, Issac, but remember that I'll always be here for you. It's going to be alright."

"Thanks, Mom," Issac said, closing his eyes and finding comfort in his mother's embrace.

"Issac… Issac… Issac!" All.of a sudden, a loud voice pierced through his consciousness, jolting him awake. As he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a hospital bed in the university's medical center. Confusion washed over him as he glanced around, and the familiar faces of Beaver, Enrique, Maria, and Edgar came into view.

"Um, what's up, you guys?" Issac said, his voice a mix of confusion and calmness. Beaver exchanged a glance with Enrique, raising his eyebrows. "He's asking what's up with us, dude." Enrique shrugged his shoulders in response and replied, "Yeah, I heard. What do you think?"

Beaver then shifted his gaze back on to the unsuspecting Issac and nodded his head before adding, "Yup. He deserves it."

Whoosh!

The two young men rushed towards Issac, who was still lying on the hospital bed. Beaver swiftly gripped him by the neck, placing him in a chokehold, while Enrique unleashed a series of relentless punches to his abdomen.

"Ouch, ouch, stop it! That hurts, assholes!" Issac cried out in pain as he struggled to break free from the chokehold, but Beaver and Enrique showed no mercy. "He wanted to do it alone, he said," Beaver mocked Issac's voice. "He thought we were holding him back. Damn it, we were worried sick because of you, you know!"

"You come out of the dungeon, looking like some homeless guy, and then you collapse?!" Enrique vented his frustration, his punches not letting up. "You're fucking crazy, you know that?"

"Alright, alright… I think that's enough," Maria intervened, stepping between the three young men and spreading her arms wide. "He's still injured, you guys. Take it down a notch."

"The healer said that he's fine, though…" Beaver said with a reluctant expression on his face, finally releasing his grip on Issac with a sigh. Enrique followed suit, stepping back from the scene.

"The healer just cleared him, and you think it's alright to start punching him? Seriously, guys, what's the matter with you?" Maria stated firmly, her hands on her hips as she shook her head with an annoyed expression.

Beaver and Enrique exchanged guilty glances, sheepishly lowering their fists. "We were just worried, you know?" Beaver mumbled, trying to justify their actions, and both of them stepped back. Issac massaged his neck and stomach, letting out a groan of discomfort. He managed a nervous smile and asked, "So, um, what did I miss?"

Beaver and Enrique exchanged a quick glance, nodding their heads in agreement, "This fucker!" They were about to rush at Issac, intending to confront him. However, Maria swiftly intervened, extending her hand to stop them, much to Issac's relief.

"Well, for starters," Maria began, folding her arms confidently and taking a step back, "We beat the B-rank dungeon." She said as her face radiated a mix of contentment and pride.

"Oh that's great!" Issac exclaimed, flashing a thumbs-up in admiration. "I always knew you could do it, Maria."

"Well, of course I could. That should be obvious," Maria responded, closing her eyes slightly as she let out a snort, though she was secretly pleased with Issac's praise. "I'm the second best hunter candidate in the university, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm aware.." Issac replied with a puzzled yet nervous chuckle, unsure why Maria seemed slightly irritated by his compliment. He then turned his attention to Enrique and Beaver and inquired, curiosity laced in his voice, "So, how did you guys do?"

Beaver and Enrique exchanged glances, momentarily puzzled, until realization dawned on them. They pointed at Maria and Edgar, then exclaimed in unison, "Oh yeah… we went in as a team!"

"Wait, wait, wait... you guys actually teamed up?" Issac's surprise was evident, considering Edgar and Maria typically stuck with their own friends during dungeon runs.

"Yeah, well... No thanks to you, I guess," Maria said with an eye roll and a snort. "We decided to team up with these two because it seemed like the only way we'd get you to join us."

She then glanced over at Edgar, who shrugged his shoulders, and continued her sentence, "... But then you decided to go do a solo run of the dungeon."

"And by then, everyone had already signed up into groups," Maria finished off her explanation, pointing at Beaver and Enrique. "So, we had no choice but to team up with these two doofuses."

"Why're they talking like we're absolute crap?" Beaver leaned towards Enrique and whispered into his ear. Enrique shrugged his shoulders and spoke with a confused expression, "I really don't know, dude. I'm sure we're at least in the top 20, maybe even top twenty-five."

"Anyways…" Maria shook her head, ignoring the two blabbermouths, and focused her gaze on Issac. "Most of the groups, except for a couple, cleared the dungeon successfully. It turns out our class has the highest success rate in the whole university for the B-rank dungeon."

"Oh well, that's great!" Issac said, his smile widening. Maria nodded, raising her eyebrows, and then she turned to the other three young men in the room. "Could you guys give us a minute?" she requested, hinting that she wanted to talk privately with Issac.

Beaver, Enrique, and Edgar turned to look at her with wide eyes, clearly taken aback by her request. Even Issac seemed surprised. Maria let out an exasperated sigh before reiterating, this time with a slightly stern tone, "I said, can you guys give us a minute?" Her annoyance was evident as she emphasized her words.

"Oh! Um, yeah, sure..." Beaver, Edgar, and Enrique nodded, realizing they might have somehow pissed Maria off, and they turned around and walked towards the door. Before leaving, Beaver inexplicably gave Issac a thumbs up, further adding to Issac's confusion.

Once the others had left the room, Maria approached the door and checked to ensure they were gone. Turning back to Issac, she asked, "Why'd you do that?"

"Huh?" Issac raised his eyebrows, looking puzzled as he tried to understand her question. "Do what?" he inquired, not sure what she was referring to. Maria, with her hands on her hips, clarified, "The dungeon. Why did you decide to do a solo run?"

"What do you mean?" Issac's confusion deepened, and he seemed a bit defensive. "I did a solo run because I wanted to challenge myself. I'm confused, did you really make them leave just to ask me about this?"

Maria bit her lips, her frustration evident on her face. After a moment of contemplation, she spoke up, "You know, every time I tried to compete with you, you'd always come out on top. And yet, somehow, I always felt like I could catch up to you. Even if I lost every time, that feeling never left." Maria took a moment to collect her thoughts, her frustration evident in her expression. "But at the same time, it always felt so.. so frustrating. And that feeling, it just lingered inside me, eating away at me. And I didn't know why… But today, when I saw you exiting the dungeon after your solo run, it hit me."

As Maria spoke, Issac's serious expression remained unchanged, his attention fully focused on her. She continued, "All that time, you weren't even taking the training seriously. You tried, sure, but it felt like you were holding back, as if you didn't need to give it your all. And I don't know why, maybe it's because you thought you could achieve what you wanted in life without pushing yourself to the limit."

Issac's eyebrow arched in response, and Maria let out a sigh. She continued, "But today, I sensed a change in you. When you walked out of that dungeon, I could feel it—the weight of your abilities and the feeling of despair that I'll never match your skills."

"Maria..." Issac whispered softly, leaning forward, but she interrupted him. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not depressed. I'm just... I'm just grateful. Grateful that I finally saw what my true goal really is," she said with a hint of relief in her voice.

Maria stared at Issac, her gaze serious as she continued, "I hope you also know for sure what you're aiming for, Issac. Because what you showed me today, that's something that'll bring a lot of despair, both to me and to you. I just hope you understand the consequences before you start pushing yourself again."

The room turned silent, and after a few seconds, Maria turned around, opened the door, and left, leaving Issac all alone in the room.