Foster stood up annoyed, since it felt like he was about to finally have a good night's sleep. He stomped over toward the door, and quickly pulled it open, seeing Octer standing there, half his face covered in deep white bones, as if they were a sort of mask, mimicking the skull of some sort of demonic creature. Simply put, he didn't look like much of a person right now.

"What happened? Do you need help training the martial skill again?

" Foster asked, letting out an annoyed sigh as he walked back into his room. Octer quickly followed him, slamming the door shut,

"No, no, you don't get it, I'm not using the skill right now!

" He exclaimed with a clearly worried expression. Foster snapped around and looked closer at his friend's face, seeing the dark rings under his eyes,

"...What's your stamina at right now?

"

"I don't know, like 2, maybe 3? I'm just... I'm just really damn exhausted right now, man... but the skill won't deactivate...

" Octer was clearly worried about what was going on, and that he was suddenly stuck like this.

"Did something happen? Like, did you do something different to usual?

" Foster asked, as his friend sat down on the bed, placing his face into his hands despaired,

"No, I- I didn't! I was just playing around with the martial skill a bit. You know how it feels sort of hot when you use martial skills? Well, I suddenly felt really damn cold... and then the skill deactivated for the most part, but my arm and face are stuck like this...

"

With a slight frown, Foster crossed his arms,

"I don't know much about this whole stuff yet, but that sort of sounds like magic?

"

Octer raised his head, looking at Foster confused,

"What?

"

"Well, that's what it feels like to me, at least. Martial skills feel sort of... well, your body heats up, because you're manipulating your body to do something, I guess? But using magic feels like... a cool gust of air running through your veins, or something like that.

" Foster pointed out, and Octer immediately nodded his head,

"That's it, that's exactly what it felt like to me!

"

"Well, if that's the case, then... well, congrats? You used magic for the first time! That's what you wanted all along, isn't it?

" Foster said, but saw that Octer didn't seem convinced, and rather just more nervous,

"The dungeon dude said it, right? That it can technically be counted as a spell too, but it's counted as whatever the person has an affinity for or whatever. Maybe your affinity for magic was right on the edge, and using the skill just sorta tipped it over that edge.

" He suggested, and Octer looked at him confused, staring at right hand, which was covered in the bone-like substance.

"Then... then how do I get rid of this?

"

"How do I know? Treat it as a spell instead or something. It works different to a martial skill, you have to kinda... force it back in or something.

" Foster explained,

"Or just, try to activate it as a martial skill again, and instead of letting it just sort of fade away, force the skill to deactivate.

"

Octer slowly nodded his head, nervously closing his eyes. Slowly, more masses of bone grew all over his body. And a few seconds later, those masses of bones completely disappeared again, together with the ones that had been stuck on Octer's body until now. Once he opened his eyes, he saw that the bones disappeared from his right hand, and quickly touched his face. With a sigh of relief, he looked at Foster.

"Thank the gods... and thank you! I was really freaking out there!

" He exclaimed with a broad grin, but Foster just rolled his eyes with a slight grin,

"Don't worry about it, man. It's what friends are there for. But why'd you come to me, and not Lynol? I barely even understand how, well, anything works.

"

"Ah, that... I... thought about what would happen if I went to ask Lynol for help, and I figured I shouldn't waste my time and went to you instead.

"

Foster looked back at Octer, and then looked at the door, imagining how Lynol would react,

"Heh, I guess that's fair. Anyway, big guy, get up. I'm trying to sleep. You get some rest as well, you obviously need it. We've got a few hours left till we have to get up.

" Foster pointed out, and Octer slowly nodded his head,

"Yeah, you're right...

" Octer said, and tried to stand up with a loud groan. But after managing to lift up a few inches, he immediately fell back onto the bed, and completely collapsed.

At first, Foster rushed up to him, worried, but then he could hear the snores already setting in.

"God **ing dammit, Octer.

" Foster let out an annoyed sigh and walked over, trying to wake Octer up. But no matter what he did, Octer didn't even twitch or flinch, so it was clear that he wouldn't be able to wake him up.

"Well **.

" Just barely stopping himself from letting out an angry yell, since he didn't want to bother the other guests in the rooms next to him, he started to search Octer's pockets for his room-key, but of course, he couldn't find it anywhere.

Foster, knowing that this wasn't the first time he slept like this, annoyedly laid down on the ground using his clothes as a pillow. And just like that, it didn't take long until Foster fell asleep, hearing the sound of rain outside the window.

---

With a loud splash, the puddle underneath his feet splashed into all directions, covering not only his own clothes, but those of the man next to him as well.

"Urgh, kid, the **'re you doing?

" He asked, rubbing the muddy water off his face, before wiping his hand clean on his scruffy, dirty beard.

"I saw some other kids playing like this the other day. It looked like fun.

"

"Well, you ain't like other kids, buddy.

" The man said annoyedly,

"They can go to their warm homes, take a hot bath, and change their clothes. But you'll have to stay in those dirty clothes, and're gonna end up sick.

"

Immediately, the young Foster next to the man shook his head,

"No, Carol said I'm not going to be sick… As long as I pray to the stars every night, I'll be fine!

"

The man stopped, as if his whole body became frozen, and squatted down in front of Foster. He grabbed both of his arms, and started shaking him,

"Don't you dare talk to that woman again, you hear?

" The man yelled, and Foster flinched confused,

"Wh-What, but wh-

"

"Just promise me you won't **ing talk to her again, you damned brat!

" The man's voice became louder and angrier,

"You know nothin'! Just **ing listen to me, and don't speak back!

"

Scared of the man in front of him, the young boy started to cry. Grimacing annoyed, the man stood back up and quickly turned around,

"Stop acting like a little bitch. Come on, we've got to keep going.

"

Trying to follow the quick step of the man in front of him, Foster tried to stop himself from crying any more than he already did, and ran after him.