Adrian woke up.

  He tried sitting up, but found he couldn't. He was tied to a hospital bed while in the same sick style he was wearing a robe. The Tomahawkman was right next to him sleeping the night out, there were six more sleeping Joes here and there.

  It functioned both as an infirmary and a storage.

  "You're awake, huh." A voice was heard from beside him. "And it seems somewhat reasonable this time."

  He turned his head and saw the bet master eating an apple, he was cutting it up piece by piece.

  "You want some?" he asked.

  Adrian shook his head.

  "Suit yourself. You did a good fight, you know that, right? It was... different watching you fight. Ever saw a dog fight? That's what it felt like to me. It was like you didn't care and just wanted to inflict as much damage as you could. People aren't used to that." He chewed a bite.

  "Neither are the fighters." He gulped down the apple. "To them everything has got to do with preservation. You can see it on them, they even want to preserve each other and come out victorious that way. You have none of that. No respect for yourself or your opponent."

  "What do you want?"

  "Money.” He set the eaten apple aside on Adrian’s bedside table. “It's what do you want? Is it money, power, women, fame yada, yada. Tell me yourself."

  "And you. A dude managing bets on the street is able to provide me all that?" Adrian smirked.

  "No. Only you can do that. I'm the one who wants to clear your path for that. I'll help you, you help me, that's it. One hand washes the other. Clear and simple, you fight, I search up fights for you and we split the money. So, what do you want?"

  "I want to fight."

  His hand stopped as he was cutting off another piece. He was expecting a lot, but not this kind of determination. He looked into his eyes and saw the flame within. He wasn’t joking.

  "Good. Very good." The bet master gripped Adrian's hand and shook it. "I'm Davis. You as a friend can call me Davy."

  "Adrian, as you could have already read." Adrian giggled, his giggle turning into a full-on laugh.

  Davy waited a minute until he stopped. "So, I still have two fighters that work for me. But here's the thing. There's going to be a big tournament and I need the best fighter I can get. I want you to fight them."

  Adrian looked at him in annoyance.

  "Can I have your word, you'll do it or will you continue to be mute?"

  "Sure, I'll beat them."

  "Confident, I like that." Davy punched him in the shoulder and got going having finished a deal. He had a suit on in contrast to his previous street wear that was now in a briefcase he had with him.

  "Here's my number and the spots where each of those guys hangs out. Their names are also on it." He put a business card on a bedside table along with Adrian’s wallet.

  "And where am I right now?"

  "You're in Noxpolis, some veterinary clinic." Davy thought it through and gentlemanly bowed before leaving. "Welcome."

  The time ticked by. All Adrian could do was wait till someone came and released him as there were belts tied around his wrists.

  What was this all about? Why? Why did I do it?

  Thoughts like this were running through his mind, but underneath it was this feeling. He felt it, but was too afraid to admit it, though he already did by giving his word to Davy, but he couldn’t give that word to himself. How hypocritical. He enjoyed it, he felt free, yet the excuses were unceasing.

  He wished he could just curl up and savour this feeling like he could savour that blood.

  But why is this happening in this city? Why does no one know about it? There's bound to be someone to spread the news and the internet... Kathrin.

  "Hey! Is there anyone here? I need to go!" He rattled the belts, but for a long while there was nothing.

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  But five minutes later, probably more to him, the double door opened and in came a hospital bed being pushed by a doctor. On it the fatty was in deep sleep, his face a bandaged mess, his body shape was the only thing he could judge him by.

  Then the Doctor parked him next to Adrian and was about to leave.

  "Hey, doc. Release me." Adrian demanded.

  The doctor turned, revealing a young man with glasses and a seemingly constant tired look, a staple of his work. "You won't bite me?"

  Seeing Adrian not getting what he meant, he clarified. "Understand. We had some problems in the past."

  Adrian seriously looked at him and smiled. "No."

  The Doc thought it through and unbuckled one belt.

  Adrian felt his arm as it went loose and watched on as the Doc stepped back, just waiting with a syringe in hand what’s going to happen this time. Nothing did, Adrian undid the rest of the belts by himself.

  "I bite only animals are you an animal?"

  "No."

  "Then you won't get bitten."

  Even with such reassuring words the doctor didn't let go of the liquid injector of sweet dreams.

  Adrian shook his head lamenting being misunderstood. "I want information. Can you give me information?"

  "I'm not an information broker. I'm a-"

  "Doctor, I know, I know. I'm not as stupid as I look, am I?" Adrian didn't wait for an answer. "All I need is some basic info. Something I would have appreciated before I got here."

  "You mean you don't know why you're here?" The doctor propped up his glasses gauging if he was having some sequalae from the fight, perhaps a brain concussion.

  "I know, why I’m here. I came to study here. The best university of the top universities. And my goal was for me to rise here to the corporate world." Adrian clicked his tongue and smiled. "But that doesn't seem to be the case now."

  "That explains the voluntary resignation from NoxUni you had on you."

  "What?"

  "Wait. Here." The doctor opened a drawer with his stuff and handed a paper to him. "There was a pen in addition to it in your pocket. Do you want it?"

  "No need at all. No, need really..." Adrian clutched the paper and tried not to laugh, but it was so unreal to him. He let it out.

  "Ok. Listen to me in the meanwhile. You're in Noxpolis. This is no ordinary city, gangs mob, criminals, scum of the earth roams here on these streets. By day they are law abiding citizens, by night vicious criminals."

  "Animals. That's what they are." Adrian spat.

  A brain concussion it is, noted the doctor.

  "Animals then, there's a few people that just live here as best as they could, but there's too few of those. People with big dreams go here and fall for them too. What matters is there's only a few ways out of this city one of them you have in your hands."

  "And there's many ways in."

  "As you say."

  "And what about this? I just sign it and that's it, I regain my normal life." He clutched the paper tighter seemingly about to tear it apart in the worried eyes of the doctor. "I just pretend that none of this happened."

  "Yes."

  "I can't do that." His hands relaxed and so did the Doctor’s.

  "What else? How is it people don't know about what's happening here?"

  Instead of answering, the Doctor took out his phone, he opened a social media and posted a photo of two fighters facing each other in some underground ring. Above the Doc wrote Noxpolis is a dump. And hit post.

  The circle started spinning. He threw the phone on the bedside table and they waited.

  "Nice. So, you're the first person that fought back against the city." Adrian applauded him. "Should I bring you a necklace of roses to commend you for your achievement or will just the hand of a princess suffice?"

  "Do you think there was no one who tried this before and many more things?" The Doc glanced up at him. "Do you think we all live here because we want to?"

  The circle stopped and a red X switched its place.

  "You see. Once you're here, they have you. Know you, everything about you. This is one big spider web with far reaching interests we can't even begin to comprehend. People tried getting out, but none did.”

  “Except those who have this document.”

  “Yes, and even then, nothing and I mean nothing about this city got out."

  "Great."

  "You still can turn this around. You can go home. You'll be watched sure, but you'll be free."

  "Watched and be free. As if. That's more like living in a sniper scope, just waiting to be shot for one misstep or maybe it won't be me, but my family. Threatening, blackmail and what else."

  Doctor said nothing to that. Memories flooded in when Noxpolis wasn’t a place of violence, he lived here he knows what heights this city’s been through. A technological epicentre of countries, a diplomatical ground in a neutral zone to resolve problems, a pioneer in science. All that, reduced to mere words, corrupted by the tongues of many. The functions are there still. The glory of those days isn’t.

  All that accumulated into a single sigh, that didn’t tell anything to Adrian.

  “I’ll be going if that’s everything.”

  "It is. We all have to play our part. but I still have to remind you." The doctor adjusted his glasses and looked at the tablet that was pinned to the bottom of the bed. "You have a suspicion of fractured ribs, torn tissue on one arm, broken nose and internal bleeding. I advise you against going anywhere if you don't want to have more problems, but if you have to there's pills in the drawer, one every four hours."

  Adrian got off the bed and took his wallet together with the business card off the table. "It was pleasure speaking with someone normal. You aren't an animal, doctor. I know it."

  "I wish that was the case."

  "It is. By the way if I'll need anything how can I find you?"

  "I’d rather we don’t see each other, but if you must then go here, to Grace the Dog Adoption Centre, and ask for Doctor Jules"

  "I will." And with that Adrian was out. He appeared on a packed side street; the first sunlight was just lazily stretching on the pavement before him elongating the shadows on this city.

  Adrian had a brief thought and took out his mobile phone. He pushed the on button and the black screen remained.

  In it he saw only his reflection and the system screen together with a new quest.

  [Earn your right to be remembered

  Defeat: Immovable Jim, Teo Ondrei

  Rewards: Immovable body, ???]

  So, it's adapting to my own path it seems. That's good, be it the other way around and I'd be in the hands of some light screen and its whims. Although can a light screen have whims of its own? AI maybe? Can’t be, that’ll be too stupid.

  Adrian headed out, direction St. Anna's Dormitory.