I saw their rotting faces.

  One by one, every cultist that I watched die appeared before me. I witnessed myself shoot them. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Blood, tear, vomit, pain, death, death, death.

  I fired my gun again and again until my ears rang. A sea of blood surrounded me. I fell into it, drowning as the red liquid pried open my mouth and forced itself into my lungs.

  Around me, floating in the blood, were the cultists. The woman I killed was right in my face. A man with a pistol wound in his forehead was next to her. They screamed so loudly that it made my ears bleed.

  My hands tried to move to my ear to plug them, but other cultists grabbed onto my arms. They forced them back so I could hear their gurgling death rattles as I drowned in a pool of blood.

  I snapped awake. Looking around, I saw that I was in my barren dorm. I'd never really had a chance to decorate it, since I was saving money for equipment. But now, I was grateful that it was just a nightmare and not reality.

  A knock came at my door. Sitting a moment, I tried to catch my breath. But the bashing kept going. I rolled out of bed and walked over to it. The banging got more rapid, but never louder, as I got closer.

  "I'm coming," I said.

  Swinging the door open, I saw Millia outside of it. Her face was filled with anger, but I could see concern in her eyes.

  "Dante, we need to talk," she barked.

  With a huff, I folded my arms.

  "You shouldn't be in here," I replied. "Girls aren't allowed in the boys' dorm. How would you like it if a boy broke into the girls' dorm?"

  She gave me an unamused expression.

  "No one saw me, and security cameras haven't been invented yet," Millia said. "Now, Dante."

  The girl grabbed my sleeping shirt and yanked me close. Millia's worry was even more clear in her eyes, despite her angry front.

  "Tell me. Why would you have nightmares from Robert's second bonding event?" she asked.

  "First, you tell me," I started.

  I yanked myself away, pulling out of her grasp. Even if something different clearly happened in the game, I was not in the mood to deal with her attitude.

  "What happened in the Duke's Duplicity?" I asked.

  Millia grimaced and put her hands on her hips.

  "Robert took Dante into a bad area of town," she explained. "They fought a few punks. The punks ran away."

  "We didn't fight punks. We fought cultists of Surtr, right under the school," I said.

  Millia's countenance of anger faded. It was swiftly replaced with a look of 'oh, shit.'

  "There...there shouldn't have been Surtr cultists here. At all. Not in the game," she stated.

  Memories flashed through my mind. A wave of nausea washed over me. I forced myself to ignore it.

  "Well, there were some. They were sacrificing people," I said. "We killed all the cultists, burned down their lair...there were no survivors. None of the cultists lived, and the people they captured were already dead."

  Millia shivered.

  "That's...horrible. I remember..." she started.

  "I killed people. Humans. For the first time. Humans who were monsters, but still humans," I couldn't stop myself from talking.

  Raising one of my hands, I looked at it as if it were stained with blood. It was sickening.

  "Women, men, it didn't matter. I saw what the cultists did. After that, they deserved death. But killing them still felt horrible. I can still see their faces, their bodies, their blood. Even seeing Augusta and Robert kill them feels horrible. How can I forgive myself, even when what we did was necessary? They would have just killed more people if we didn't kill them, and we didn't know if we could trust reporting this to the authorities. But that doesn't make me feel any less awful."

  Millia's voice flowed softly into my ears. It was oddly empathetic.

  "Dante, what you're feeling is perfectly normal. Humans innately do not want to kill other humans. That's just the way we are," she said.

  "Then, why didn't Augusta or Robert care when they killed the cultists?" I asked.

  Millia took a deep breath before speaking, her voice grim.

  "You don't remember what growing up in this world was like. You're surrounded by death. Disease, starvation, war, banditry, public executions, infant deaths. No matter where you go, seeing it is unavoidable," she explained. "By the time someone's an adult, they've witnessed so much death that they're used to it. Killing comes easier to them than it does to someone from our old world."

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  "Augusta told me that some people don't handle killing well," I said.

  After taking a deep breath, Millia spoke again.

  "There are exceptions. But I'm sure that you'd be like everyone else if you had your memories," she stated.

  I put my head in my hands.

  "That doesn't make me feel better," I said. "It makes me feel worse."

  Crushing guilt and anxiety crashed into me like a dump truck. I just wanted these horrible feelings to end. Tears leaked from my eyes.

  "Dante, you..." Millia started.

  I interrupted her.

  "This isn't your problem. It's mine and mine alone. I've already forced you to listen to me more than I should."

  Shaking my head, I brought my face back up. Millia seemed genuinely concerned. I pushed that impression away. She shouldn't have to worry about this. I wouldn't even make Augusta think about this.

  "Do you have another dream catcher or not?" I questioned.

  "I don't. Augusta has my only one," Millia said. "I told her that I had another, so she wouldn't worry about you."

  The faintest glimmer of relief flowed through me.

  "Thank you. But she won't fall for that forever. At least, if I keep having nightmares," I noted. "Is there a way to get another?"

  Millia's expression turned dead serious.

  "Yes. The second expedition you go on can get you one," she said.

  "Then, I'll try to keep my nightmares from Augusta until then. Good night, Millia."

  I turned back to my room, but Millia's voice came to me.

  "Wait, Dante, maybe you could find some way to...umm...share the dream catcher with Augusta? Like, maybe sleeping under her bed?"

  "Millia, I am too tired to talk about this right now," I said. "Just let me get to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow, even if there isn't a bonding event."

  She listened to me, and I spent the rest of the night struggling with nightmares. Still, the next morning, I wasn't the most tired I've ever been. So, I went about my day.

  Alchemy class came, and I talked to Crummel von Licht again. Though juggling it with class was...well...

  "Dante, pass the acid," Augusta held out her gloved hand.

  I carefully gave her the vile of acid, making sure not to spill it. My girlfriend took it before pouring the solution over the chemical compound we were working on.

  "Alchemy is pretty cool, but I'm not sure if it's worth risking permanent damage over," I said, attempting to get the teacher's attention.

  Crummel was observing what Janek was doing. He was paired up with a girl who was adorned with a witch hat, and they were working on a lead solution.

  "Don't worry, Dante," Augusta gave me a thumbs-up. "I am very careful."

  "I was trying to talk to..." I started.

  This was interrupted by me noticing the chemical compound had changed colors. Recalling Crummel's instructions, I grabbed the flask and poured it into a different jar. Then, I placed a chunk of lead inside.

  Some of the acid splashed up. None of it hit me, but it made me glad that I was wearing gloves.

  "Anyway," I shook my head. "I think that people should be careful with their ingested alchemical solutions, especially. Test them on animals before moving onto humans."

  Crummel was looking over the whole classroom, making sure there weren't any accidents. I hoped that other students would start agreeing with me, but they were all understandably paying attention to the dangerous chemicals they were working with. In retrospect, hoping they'd agree with me was foolish.

  "That's a good idea, Dante," Augusta gave me a single nod.

  ...I wondered if it was a bad sign that Augusta didn't seem to be paying as much attention as everyone else?

  In any case, we managed to finish up our compound. And through it, we turned lead into silver. Yes, silver. To quote Crummel's lecture before we began:

  "In Katov, Calavon, and Cym, it iz illegal to tranzform lead into gold. In other kingdomz, a lizcenze iz needed for it. Vortunately for our clazz, turning lead into zilver iz fully legal."

  Physical education class came after we were done with alchemy. I was in the center of the room with Augusta again. We weren't in armor like usual, instead being in more loose clothes. Padding had been placed on the ground.

  "I guess we aren't doing fencing like usual today," I said.

  "Yes. And Dante, now that we're lovers..." Augusta got into a wrestling stance. "It'll be fine if there's accidental touching, right?"

  I mimicked her posture. Thinking about it, a lot of guys probably dreamed of wrestling their girlfriends. Or actually did it for fun. And now, I was going to grapple with mine too.

  "That's a good point," I said. "There's no reason for us to not train in..."

  "Stop," Augusta's voice interrupted me.

  "Is there a problem?" I asked.

  She looked me up and down.

  "Stay in that stance," Augusta's stoic voice commanded.

  I did as such. My girlfriend stood up straight and walked over to me.

  "Dante, you have a lot of talent with swords," she said.

  "Thanks, Augusta," I replied.

  "But it's clear you have no experience with practical unarmed combat," Augusta continued. "Your stance is too weak."

  Augusta grabbed my hips and pushed them back. I didn't even try to resist. She moved her foot between my legs before pushing them further apart.

  "This will make your stance more stable. You'll be harder to push over," my girlfriend explained.

  She then grabbed my shoulders and pulled me down so I was leaning further forward.

  "You are now in the proper stance," Augusta said.

  "Thanks," I replied.

  "Now, Dante, do you know how to start grappling someone?" she asked.

  I was beginning to realize that wrestling with your girlfriend was very different when she was a serious martial artist. Or maybe it was different than I thought in general? Did I actually have a girlfriend in my last life, or did I just see movies with people in relationships? Or maybe this was something specific to Augusta? That was something I'd have to think about later.

  "No," I admitted.

  "First, you..." Augusta started.

  One lecture later, I was enraptured by Augusta's explanation of this world's wrestling. It was absolutely fascinating to me, incredibly interesting.

  "So, pinning is a thing because it makes it easier for one of your allies in battle to stab an enemy?" I asked.

  I had no idea there was so much logic and warfare applicability to grappling.

  "Yes," Augusta answered. "And remember the most important rule of battlefield wrestling: you can use a dagger when grappling someone."

  "And daggers are good for getting in the gaps of armor too," I noted.

  A soft smile appeared on my girlfriend's face.

  "That's right, Dante. And now that you know the over a thousand-year history of wrestling, we can start practicing," Augusta said.

  "But class is over," I pointed out.

  Augusta did a double-take. People were putting their gym gear away. My girlfriend let out a small breath. She shook her head, disappointment flickering in her eyes.

  "We're back to sword training tomorrow, Dante," she stated.

  "Are you sure? We didn't get any unarmed combat practice today," I pointed out.

  "I'm sure," Augusta replied. "Swords are more important."

  I placed a hand on her shoulder and pecked her cheek.

  "Don't worry, Augusta. You just lost track of time. That's understandable when you're talking about something you really like," I said.

  "Thank you, Dante," she gave me a slight smile.

  I took my hand off Augusta's shoulder. My girlfriend reached up and patted my head. She then looked at the entrance to the room and started walking. Of course, I moved alongside her.

  "You have everything ready, right?" Augusta asked.

  "Don't worry, Augusta, I do," I answered. "So, we can get started today."

  I just hoped things didn't go horribly wrong.

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