Jolting out of the bed, Neal gasped for air desperately, sweating as usual. Even when he passed out, he was not spared by his nightmares.
"Ackk!" He uttered as he felt get pain by his side.
He remembered majority of what had happened in the depths of the dungeon, as well as the punch he received from the sasquatch. What he felt now was only a side effect of such a blow.
Disappointment plagued his mind as he remembered he had failed to kill this monster. He hated to admit it, but if the fight had gone on any longer he may have perished.
The thought of Evans eventually crossed his mind. When he came to himself, he remembered seeing him taking a barrage of punches. For sure he was worse of than he was.
"Ack! Urk! Argh!" Neal struggled in pain as he wore new clothes on.
Within a few minutes, he was out of the house walking over to Evans home. He was only caught off guard witnessed the sight of Evans in the distance, running towards him.
"Neal!" He shouted with a cheerful expression.
Seconds after they were close to each other, bumping fists together.
"How are you feeling? I was coming to check up on you."
"I am supposed to be asking you that," Evans replied.
Now that he actually paid attention to detail, it looked as if Evans was completely fine. He on the other hand was still messed up.
'This must have something to do with his Combat class, guardian,' the thought ran through his mind.
The fact that he felt terrible from just one punch from the sasquatch, while Evans felt okay after multiple blows only made him feel embarrassed.
"Cheer up man. I am sure you will be fully recovered by tomorrow."
"How long was I out?" Neal questioned soon after.
"You have been out for five days," he answered after some form of hesitation.
The fact that he had been out for that long only dumbfounded him. His nightmare lasted for what he believed was it's normal duration of time, yet he was out for so long.
"That can't be right.. I was out for that long?"
"By the way, sorry to drop this on you when you are still trying to get yourself together but, Xavier wants to have a word with you."
This made Neal more cautious than he was curious, but he did not utter a word.
Walking with Evans to the lake side, they were greeted with the sight of Xavier, who stared at the body of water. Even when he was aware of their arrival, he took his time before moving towards them.
"Neal, how are you feeling?" Xavier asked with genuine concern.
This did nothing but make him even more edgy. A reaction that he felt bad having.
"I am fine.."
As if catching a whiff of how uncomfortable Neal felt, he gave off a sigh, returning to his original stoic expression.
"I see. Let's get to the point then. Neal, you will not be following us on our next mission.
"What!?" Neal uttered in disbelief. "But why!?"
"I don't need to remind you of what happened in the depths, do I? Because of you, Evans was almost killed," Xavier reminded him.
Just then, Neal gazed at Evans who could do nothing but bite his lip. He knew very well that the monster further past the depths was more powerful than he could handle.
"Do not worry, the blame is not only yours. I will admit on my part that I didn't lead you into battle the way I was supposed to; however, I also have to admit that you are not strong enough to follow us down there."
Remembering how difficult it was to slice through the sasquatch, Neal tightened his fists. As much as he didn't want to agree with Xavier, he was actually right this time.
Perplexed by the fact that he did not fight back as usual, Xavier walked away, leaving the duo alone.
"Damn it, even now, I am still not strong enough," Neal said in pain.
"Neal, I am sorry I can't make things any better this time. To be honest, the only way to do that is to remind yourself what you're fighting for."
With this, Evans soon left the area as well. His words stuck to Neal's mind though, as he soon began to ponder why he actually fought. Upon landing on what he believed his answer, he snapped out of his reverie, focusing on the task at hand.
*****
Two days had past and the team had gathered together to travel into the dungeon's depths once again. This time they were determined to take out the most powerful monster within it.
Equipped for battle, they met at the exit way to discuss their battle strategy. Something that would obviously change since Neal was not coming along.
Everyone in the group felt for him; however, after what happened, they believed it was probably the best course of action.
After going through the break down of their strategy, the team prepared to leave. This was cut short by the sound of feet in the distance. With some seconds passing by afterwards, a familiar figure stood before them, staring Xavier down.
"Neal, what are you doing here?" Xavier asked with more curiosity than rage.
This question did not need to be answered for him to know the reason why though. From the blades by his side and the armor on his body, one could take quite easily.
Evans who was by the side could not help but smirk at the sight in front of him. From the way Neal stared at the team, it was clear that he had come to the realization about why he fought. As if not hearing Xavier's question, he spoke on something completely different.
"I promised myself early on when I arrived here that I never wanted to feel useless again, and I intend to do that. Besides, the reason I fight is to escape this tower, along with my friends by my side."
Upon hearing this, none of them spoke as if they were having deep thoughts about what he said.
"Xavier, you told me in the past that it was impossible for me to prove myself to you; however, I don't believe that is the case," Neal spoke with nothing but determination.
Xavier's face at that moment, contorted into one of disappointment as he believed he was being rebelled against once more.
"Xavier, I challenge you to a duel."