Seeing Luna so soon after signing up for and signing into the game left Greg at a loss. He had hoped to keep it as a surprise and shock her and her friends the next time they showed up at the gym.
Unfortunately, such an outcome eluded him, instead he found himself inside of a tavern next to the very same guy he duelled with on his knees with his hands on his thighs. Both men were forced to kneel in front of a small rabbit eared girl who was looking down on them from her chair with an icy expression on her face.
"So you wanna tell me what happened?"
Adam immediately pointed a hand at Greg and remarked
"He was the one who challenged me first. How was I supposed to know who he is?"
Greg was left bewildered at the guy suddenly throwing him under the bus out of nowhere. Not above being just as petty as him, Greg immediately pointed a finger back.
"He was the one who was aggressive first and was the one to initiate the duel."
Adam glared back sharply in annoyance and a bit of fear yet he couldn’t say anything under the glare of Luna.
Luna’s expression remained unreadable as she sat silently, letting the tension stretch out between them like a wire about to snap. Her arms rested lightly on the carved wooden arms of her chair, fingers drumming ever so slightly.
When she finally spoke, her voice was as cold as before, but now carried a faint edge of disappointment.
"You two sound like middle schoolers caught fighting in the hallway," she said flatly. "Do you even hear yourselves?"
Adam lowered his hand slowly, his mouth opening as if to defend himself again, but he quickly shut it. Greg noticed the faintest twitch in his jaw, he was either biting back a comeback or swallowing whatever pride he had left.
Penny who had been watching all of this from the sidelines was in awe. Two proud and stubborn men had been forced to bend to the whims of a girl that was barely more than half the size of Greg’s giant form.
"Can I call you Big Sister?"
She asked with stars in her eyes, leaving Luna to feel a bit uncomfortable herself.
"I... what?" Luna muttered, her cold composure flickering for just a moment.
"Big Sister," Penny repeated eagerly, her shortbow bouncing against her back as she leaned forward with stars practically glittering in her eyes. "You totally dominated them. That was amazing."
Greg raised an eyebrow at Penny, but wisely kept his mouth shut. Adam looked like he wanted to disappear.
Before Luna could offer any kind of response, the tavern doors creaked open, and Leo, Lily, Rachel, Aria and Crystal walked in. They had separated and had gone out looking for Adam and Penny but took their time when coming back.
Leo was the first to notice the identity of the giant man kneeling besides Adam.
"Greg? What are you doing here?"
Leo asked with a perplexed expression while the girls didn’t say anything but were also clearly interested in the answer.
Greg had a sheepish expression on his face as he scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Well when I heard that you were healed, I thought that maybe I could get something healed for me too..."
Rachel then pointed it out
"So you risked mutating into some sort of monster freak like us just for your eye? That was a huge gamble Old man."
Greg’s sheepishness faded into something more serious. He glanced at the ground, then back up at her, unflinching.
"I’ve lived with this busted eye for years. Half blind, always in pain, never improving. The doctors gave up on it. So yeah, I thought maybe, just maybe, the same thing that helped you guys could help me too."
Rachel crossed her arms in front of her chest and casually replied
"Don’t take it the wrong way Old Man. I am actually really impressed that you could be so decisive."
Luna’s eyes narrowed, her posture stiffening just slightly as she turned toward Rachel.
"This isn’t something to praise," Luna said flatly. "He took a leap without understanding the consequences."
Rachel tilted her head, still unbothered. "Sure, but he committed. Not halfway, not with a safety net. You know how rare that is? Most people hesitate and burn out. Greg threw himself in blind. That’s either courage or insanity."
"Both," Lily muttered under her breath.
Greg gave her a glance, but didn’t argue. He knew it was true.
"I wasn’t trying to be brave," he said. "I was being selfish. I wanted to fight again but my condition stopped me. You guys were giving me a chance to chase the dream I thought I had given up on."
A quiet hush fell over the group at Greg’s admission. Even Adam had the decency to stop fidgeting. The weight of Greg’s words didn’t feel forced. It was quiet. Honest. More real than anyone expected from a guy who had just logged in swinging fists.
Lily’s sarcasm faded as she looked at him again with more curiosity than judgment.
Aria spoke up, her tone calm. "So you thought you were done."
"In the real world, yeah. You guys saw my eye patch before right? Its been shot for years. I couldn’t fight. Couldn’t even read half the time without the headaches kicking in. I was tired of sitting on the sidelines, watching everyone else keep going on without me."
He paused, letting the silence sit for a moment before glancing toward Luna.
"And then I saw you all. What this place did for you. How it gave you something back. I figured... maybe it could give me something too."
Luna didn’t answer right away. Her arms were still crossed, her posture cold but no longer unreadable. There was a quiet understanding there, buried beneath the surface of her usual discipline.
"You could have told us," Luna said, finally.
Her voice had lost its earlier bite, but it was still firm. Not angry, not harsh, but careful in the way someone speaks when trying to hold something steady.
Greg gave a tired smile.
"You should know me better than that by now right?"
Luna finally began to smile a bit as she nodded her head.
"I guess you are right...You’re a stubborn old goat!"
The two of them began to chuckle while everyone else was left speechless.
Adam raised his hand and asked the question he really wanted to say.
"So...ummm....Can I stand up now?"
He had practically been forgotten there.