Martial Online.



"How was he?" Jack asked while washing the plates in a modern kitchen. 

They had servants to do this kind of stuff, but he preferred to do it himself to keep himself occupied.

"It takes time." Anna said and wrapped her slender arms around his waist. She then placed her head on his shoulder and whispered. "What about Emma?"

"I don't know, haha." Jack laughed softly. Sometimes, he wished that his daughter showed more of what she thought and not keep her feelings inside. 

It made it difficult for him to understand what was truly going on in her mind.

"Should I go talk to her?" Anna asked.

"I think she had already gone to play." Jack replied with a chuckle. "I am glad that she has something she is enjoying, but I am afraid for her safety. I have heard some disturbing things about Martial Online, and I am not sure whether it is a good place for her."

"She will be fine; trust in our daughter." Anna said with a smile. "Jesse also wasn't what I expected."

"In a good or bad way?" Jack asked with a chuckle.

"From what I remember about our first meeting, you looked depressed and were very scrawny." Anna giggled. "However, Jesse has a lot of life in his eyes."

"He is unlike anyone I have met before." Jack said and put the plates on the drying rack. "After hearing about his situation, I thought he had basically given up on life; that's why I hurried to get to know him.

"However, after today, I don't think he has given up on anything. He seems very obsessed with experiencing as much as possible within his limited lifespan."

"Did something happen today?" Anna asked curiously.

"Yeah, he wanted to go skydiving." Jack revealed with a small chuckle.

Anna's face paled significantly. "D-don't tell me."

"It was actually pretty fun." Jack chuckled. "Terrifying though."

"What if something happened!?" Anna pouted and hugged his waist tighter. "That was very reckless of you."

"I promise, I won't do anything like that again." Jack reassured her, thinking that one time was already enough. "However, Jesse has a very adventurous spirit. Chaining him wouldn't do any good. We should trust him.

"After all, life is meant to be lived to the fullest."

Anna nodded in agreement. "Talking about Martial Online and adventure, do you think he is playing Martial Online?"

"Well, he asked Sebastian to bring a headset." Jack said and rubbed his chin. "I assume he does."

"Does that mean he can play without getting hindered by Humanoid Imperfecta?" Anna said and saw Jack's expression freeze. 

She then continued. "Are you interested in trying it out?"

"No... haha." Jack shook his head. "I have already learned to live with this. I don't need to be reminded of what I am missing out on."

Anna sadly smiled and then patted her husband's buttocks. "I am going to go take a shower; are you coming?"

"Soon, I will visit Jesse first. I have something to ask him." Jack planted a kiss on Anna's forehead before leaving the kitchen.

...

"Hah!" Jesse groaned in pain, his sweat falling to the floor. He pushed his body up using his trembling arms before lowering his body again with his arms at a ninety degree angle.

He was doing push-ups without using his legs, as he couldn't really use them. Therefore, he had to rely solely on his upper body strength to complete the exercise.

He then lifted his shaky right arm, moved it behind his back, and then continued doing push-ups with only his left arm. 

This instantly brought his body to the brink of collapse. He simply lacked the strength to push his body back up.

The pain surged through every muscle, leaving him gasping for breath.

He desperately fought to hold on, but his body refused to cooperate.

His vision blurred, and darkness closed in around him.

'No!' Jesse shook his head and tried to stay conscious. He screamed and pushed his body up, even though it looked impossible only a moment ago. 

His muscles trembled and swelled as if they were about to explode.

"Ugh!" He couldn't hold on anymore, and his body approached the floor with alarming speed. 

He, however, quickly balanced himself with his right arm, then flipped over and fell on his back. 

That alone brought a spike in pain that made him moan in pain.

Knock, knock—someone knocked on the door, and then it swung right open.

"Jesse?" Jack peeked inside the room and couldn't see anyone on the bed. However, he then saw his son gasping for air while moaning in pain on the floor. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah..." Jesse lifted his arm and waved it lazily. "I was exercising. Ugh."

"You look like you are in pain." Jack limped over to Jesse with his walking cane and knelt down beside him, concern etched on his face. "With our condition, it's very dangerous to overexert ourselves like that.

"You should take it easy and not push yourself too hard."

'That is not an option.' Jesse thought and then smiled while sitting up with a fatigued face. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Just came to check how you were doing." Jack replied and stood up with the help of the cane. "Are you liking your room? We can also change the location if you want."

"Nah, it's perfect." Jesse replied and climbed on top of the bed. He then rubbed his tired legs and looked at his father with his peripheral vision. "There is something else, isn't there?"

"Yes, there is." Jack sat down in the wheelchair that was beside the bed and put the walking cane in front of him. 

He leaned his arms against it while looking at his son. "What I am going to say might hurt you. But I believe its something positive."

"Huh?" Jesse turned his head to look at his father, wondering what he was about to say.

Jack opened his chest pocket and pulled out a folded paper. He unfolded it and handed it over to his son. 

Jesse opened it and began reading it slowly, his eyes widening further the more he read.

"These are the custody papers." Jack said. "I met your mother and talked about you. She gave up on you; that's why I gave her the custody papers and told her to sign them.

"She did, and after I left, so did Terry." He sighed. "They sent me these papers early this morning. So, now you are Rothsmith, not Kraham."

Jesse gave the custody papers back and silently looked at the air in front of him. It was unclear what he was thinking about.

"I leave you to be. Let's talk about this next morning." Jack patted his son's shoulder before walking over to the house.

"Hey... father."

Jack froze when he was about to open the door. He turned to his son and saw him looking at him. This was the first time he was called father by Jesse.

"Can I move in here?" Jesse asked with a painful gaze. "I don't want to return to Nocklund."

Jack looked stunned before smiling. "Of course. I will tell Sebastian to bring your stuff here. Good night."

He flicked the lightswitch, saw darkness fall over the room, and then left the room with lighter steps.

"Haaah." Jesse plopped down on the bed and looked at the dark ceiling. He pinched on his glabella, then moved his hands behind his head to use them as pillows, and then sighed. "Jesse Rothsmith... Ambrose Rothsmith... Ambrose..."