(In this story, respawn isn't a thing. When your health hits zero you fall into a coma until someone heals you, hence the death messages. The head game was a hassle, but now is time for the big event that everyone has to be part of, the Boss Battles. The Boss also gets a weapon this time, and people get mini wooden swords instead of sticks.)

Stress skipped to her home, excited. Her friend Cleo, host of the big event, invited her to be a boss in the boss battle event if she could pass a PvP test. Of course she knew nothing about PvP, but she could learn, right? I just hope that it doesn't mean I'll have to hurt anyone... Stress thought as she skipped through the jungle, smiling. She was excited. All she had to do was defend herself as long as possible, ri-

Stress let out an "oof" as she bumped into a familiar figure, stumbling back. "I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. "I was lost in me train of thought." The other smiled at her, laughing a little.

"It's alright Stress!" Iskall replied. "But I'm curious, what's got you so excited?"

"I was invited to be a boss at the big event!" Stress squealed, excited.

Iskall gave her an odd look. "But... doesn't that mean you have to fight?"

"It's fine! I'll learn how to dodge attacks and all that in no time!"

Iskall paused for a second before smiling. "Why don't you let me help teach you? I know a few things that could help you."

Stress's eyes widened. "Really? You'd do that for me? Oh. My. Gosh!!! Iskall, you're the best!"

Iskall just smiled eerily at the excited girl, his green eye glowing. "Come to my base, and I'll teach you a few things." He led the girl to his base, sword ready in his inventory. When the two arrived, Iskall turned to face Stress.

Iskall then took out his sword, surprising Stress. "Alright. Show me what you got. Attack me."

Stress stepped back a little, surprised. "Attack? But I-"

"Do you want to be a boss in the competition or what?" Iskall demanded rather harshly.

"I mean, I do, but-"

"Then listen to me. I'm going to attack you, and you fight me as if your life was on the line, okay? Fight me until you can't fight anymore."

"But-" Stress tried to protest it was interrupted by Iskall running at her with his weapon drawn. He swung at her, cutting through her sweater as she jumped back on instinct.

"Nice, that's a good sign, but you can do better. I'm going easy on you, you should be stronger! You can't be a boss in the big event if you're a weakling. Trust me. I'm your friend. This is only to help you."

Stress weakly tried to protest, but Iskall kept swinging at her. His attacks were sharp and accurate, and she found herself covered in cuts and bruises. She was afraid of hurting him, but she had no choice. Iskall smiled when she took out her own weapon to block.

Stress swung, but Iskall easily avoided it. She took another hit and cried out in pain but gritted her teeth and after many attempts, finally landed a hit on Iskall. She winced, worries that she hurt her friend, but Iskall didn't seem to mind. He kept pushing toward her, and she kept desperately backing up.

Eventually, Stress's back hit a wall. And Iskall's sword was swinging straight at her. She panicked as the sword got nearer, letting out a cry and kicking Iskall in the stomach. His eyes widened in surprise as he backed up, but he recovered quickly. "Nice moves."

"A-are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Stress asked, worried.

Iskall jumped toward her suddenly, hitting her from the side with the flat of his blade and pushing her down. He pinned her to the floor with one hand around her neck and the other gripping his sword. "Never lower your guard in battle. Don't be concerned for your opponent. And don't show signs of weakness."

Iskall stood up, letting her go. Stress breathed a sigh of relief, trying to ignore the stings from all her cuts and bruises. Iskall didn't seem to care, beginning to walk away. "If you want to succeed, meet me here tomorrow. We're training like this every day until the tournament." Stress watched him leave.

This is what I want, right? He's my friend and he's trying to help me. So why do I feel so bad?

————————

The next few days were a pattern. Stress went to Iskall's, and they fought. Each day Iskall pushed harder. Each day Stress went home with injuries. Each day Iskall won. And it was the day before the test. Stress walked into the clearing to find her 'friend' waiting for her.

"Hey Stress! You ready?"

"I don't know if I want to do this anymore..."

"Oh come on!  I'm your friend! This will help you! You want to qualify, don't you? This is the best for you!" Iskall urged her. Sighing, Stress agreed, and the two began their fight.

Iskall swing at Stress from the side, so she moved back. Bringing her sword from underneath, she swung it up only her it to be blocked by Iskall's sword. Iskall used his downward momentum to push the sword out of her grip, creating a horrible sound of metal scraping against metal. The sword clattered to the ground.

Iskall then swung at her shoulder, and Stress felt like her life flashed before her eyes. She ducked, avoiding the hit, in shock that Iskall would aim near her neck. She stared at his icy cold eyes, empty handed. He gave her a smile as he swung toward her stomach. She couldn't duck. She couldn't move to the side. When she backed up, she felt the wall against her back.

Stress tried to kick Iskall back, but he caught her leg with a smirk and made her fall over to the floor. He looked disappointed, prepared to pin her down, but she rolled over. Standing up behind him before he could react, Stress punched him in the back of the head. Hard. Iskall fell to the floor, breathing hard. Stress held her hand over her mouth, shocked at what she had just done. She ran over to Iskall, offering her hand to help him up.

"Gosh I'm so sorry, are you okay?" She asked, worried.

Iskall took her hand. "Did you not learn a thing? Never lower your guard." Grabbing her hand, he pulled her down and pinned her onto the ground. "I try so hard to teach you all these things, and you don't even listen to my advice? I thought we were friends."

"I- I didn't mean to-" Stress cried out, despair in her voice. "I'm sorry! I'll be better!"

"... I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have been so harsh on you. Some people just aren't fit for fighting." Iskall sighed sadly. "At least I tried. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be watching your test." He then stood up and walked away, leaving Stress on the ground watching him.

——————

"Alright Stress. You know the rules. Beat me and hold up for as long as you can. Now. 3. 2. 1. Go!"

Cleo moved in to attack, and Stress did as well. Wielding her weapon, Stress attacked and blocked, still holding back a little. But she did not give up. Meanwhile Iskall watched from the sidelines.

Cleo jumped while swinging to get a critical hit, and Stress moved back to dodge. Stress swung and Cleo panicked to block. The two were tired, but both kept fighting. Finally Cleo backed up and went on defense as Stress swung at her, slowly getting tired. Stress stopped to catch her breath, giving Cleo a prime moment to attack. Cleo jumped and swung her sword as Iskall gave a disappointed sigh in the corner.

Stress saw it all as if in slow motion. She had let her guard down. She had failed.

Cleo let out a cry of surprise as Stress's sword hit her in the chest, knocking her down with a critical hit. Cleo smiled at Stress, looking proud. "Good job! You passed!"

And then her health went to zero. Joe came in to heal Cleo, and Stress stood there, shaking. What did I just do?

"Good job." Iskall said, congratulating her. "You actually did it. I'm impressed."

Stress forced a smile. She had won! She succeeded! So why did she feel so empty?

——————

It was the day of the event. Stress stood in the ring with her weapon and armor, surrounded by a group of people with small wooden swords. She just had to defend herself. Defend herself. Defend herself.

Yet everyone stared in shock as she killed everyone on the field, despite being outnumbered, having no previous experience in fighting, and having to fight for so long as people were healed and rejoined the fight. She won. No one defeated her. Everyone at once was being taken to be healed. And she had done it.

Stress stared at her hands as people congratulated her, impressed.

"I didn't know you could do that, Stress!"

She couldn't do it.

"Wow, that was really impressive!"

It wasn't her that did it.

"I'm surprised. I didn't know you had it in you!"

Stress never wanted to hurt anyone.

"We learn something new about people everyday, I suppose."

This wasn't Stress.

But if it wasn't Stress,

Who was it?

Why?

Why had she listened to Iskall?

Why?!

(1650 words. And guess what! This is part 99. Which means next time is a special! I've been coding a short one-minute game, but idk if I'll release it and it has nothing to do with Hermitcraft. Other than that, I have no ideas. But yeah! That's a thing.)