As for Luke and the others, they simply continued to play.

Luke: So, lemme get this straight. All I have to do is play like some normal third-person shooter?

Max: Yep.

Ken: Precisely.

Luke: Huh....

He was expecting some sort of long-winded explanation about how their philosophy worked, but... sure.

Luke: So, they're the normal guys.

Ken: Well, ... not exactly...

Luke: Huh?

Ken: You see....

In all forms of understanding, it could be easy to see the idea of the Attritious class.

As Ken explained, the idea of the attritious was to symbolise the harshness of battle by being, simply put, bred into it.

Everything about the attritious spelled, ready for war.

And not just the war, no.

Ready for the long haul.

This meant planning, decisiveness, sacrifice, and control over the battlefield.

Of all the classes of Warring Dimensia 2, it would be hard to argue that there was even one class hardier than the Attritious.

Their weapons, stats, and even perks spoke for themselves.

Their signature weapon, the gatling gun, perhaps being some sort of emblematic weapon, firing several bullets at the enemy at once and hence kiling them both quickly and slowly at the same time, was perhaps to symbolise war itself.

Slow and quick death.

Quite poetic, one would say.

But, in any case...

Ken: ... and that... is the story behind the attritious class.

Luke: Huh....

To most people, especially teenagers, a long winded philososphical speech would be a huge bore to a teenager, or at least expected to be a huge bore, but in this case, Luke listened intently.

Such is Warring Dimensia 2.

Luke: That actually sounds pretty cool.

Ken: Yes. Indeed.

Max: Meh...

Ken: Hmm?

Max: I still think the Dextrous are way cooler.

Ken: Mmmm.. Well... to each his own.

They simply agreed to disagree.

Luke: Yeah. Plus, using that class looks impossible.

Max: Yeah. It was pretty hard to figure all the controls out when the game first came out, but... I figured it out.

Ken: And quite the achievement that must be.

Max: Yep!

He was quite proud of himself.

Ken: In contrast to Tiff, who figured it out in a matter of minutes.

It took only a second for Max to wholly grasp the full meaning of the statement, ...

Max: Hey!

... and to take offence... much to Ken's delight.

Luke chuckled, and Rose herself could be heard giggling behind them.

Julianne simply smiled, and Tiffany, as always, remained silent.

Max: Mmmmm...

Luke: Ok. Ok. Let it go, Max.

Max: Tch... Fine....

Luke himself turned the player on.

Luke: Ok. I think I got the gist. Hit the enemy over and over, and don't get hit, right.

Max: Yeah.

Ken: Correctamundo!

Luke: Ok then.

And with that, the new game was about to be started.

Luke: Ok. Here goes nothing.

He wasn't used to the game, but he still found it amusing, the way any teenage boy would find the game amusing.

Amusing enough to forget how sleepy he was.

And the game started.

Ken: Good. Now, equip the gatling gun.

Luke: Hmm?

Ken: Makes sense that you give it a try before using it in battle.

Luke: Huh... fair enough.

He pressed the fire button, his character unloading a flurry of bullets so ferocious that the player character had to brace himself before he fired.

Luke: (whistle) That's pretty good.

Ken: Agreed. The gatling gun is not only easy to aim... but also... causes massive damage to the enemy... while also carrying enough ammo to keep going over long periods.

Luke: Really?

Ken: Yes. Quite the incredible weapon, if I do say so myself.

Max: Yeah, yeah....

And as they went on...

Julianne: Would you like a try, Rose?

Rose: (gasping) Oh no, Mrs Hunter. I'm not very good with video games.

Julianne: Really now...

Rose: Uh huh. But it's ok. I'm fine just watching.

Julianne: Alright.

Rose's eyes fell onto Max, and she couldn't help but smile as she watched him argue with Ken as they, concurrently, "helped Luke figure out how to play Warring Dimensia 2."

Max: ... Sure, but the grapple gun gets you mobility and kills.

Ken: True. But that often results in the opponent's body getting stuck to the grapple gun, hence... making you lose time "unstucking" yourself from the enemy.

As Luke would, from time to time...

Luke: Hey, which weapon's better? The rpg launcher or the mini gun.

Max and Ken: (unanimously) The missile launcher.

Ken: The minigun is just a slightly faster gatling gun with more ammo, but also... much weaker. It does reload faster, though.

Max: And the missile launcher does a lot of damage.

Ken: True. But don't rely on it too much. Its reload is massive.

Max: Yep.

True, the teen boys' argument would bother Luke every once in a while, but, all in all, they had a pretty comprehensive amount of data on the game.

Julianne noticed Rose staring at Max and simply smiled to herself.

Perhaps all was well, and perhaps, even she could finally get up and get a move on to her bed.

Her son's friends were happy. Her son was happy.

All seemed well, and so, why bother herself with worry and fear?

She decided.

She'd had enough fun and, perhaps more importantly, she'd done enough.

She didn't need to be there anymore.

Her son was ok.

And his friends were ok.

A few hicks and crooks here and there, but, ... yes.

Everything was absolutely fine.

And so, ...

... she could afford to get up and head to her bed.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

She stood up, and Rose, who was previously in a trance, suddenly woke up out of it.

Rose: Mrs Hunter?

Julianne: Hmmm?

She instantly understood what was going on, having seen the teen girls perturbed face.

Julianne: Oh. Sorry, Rose. I'm just really tired.

Rose: Oh! Ok.

She seemed somewhat upset to hear that.

And, just like always, it was her innocence that touched her heart.

That softness... that was the thing that made Rose Wright truly unique.

It could be said that in this world, there are many kinds of strength.

Some may say there is only one kind. That being, might.

The power to change things, the power to over people, the power to garner respect.

While that may be, and is actually, in fact, true.

There is also something to be said of the power of softness.

As to whether those who have it are aware of it or not, this power allows people to pull the heartstrings of their onlookers and listeners.

A good example would be an innocent child.

The child's very words soften all the adults around them.

Why and how?

A mystery.

But, as one would guess, this power is far more compelling than one would initially imagine.

Simply because... this voice... never fails to pull the sympathy right out of people.

Julianne put her hand on Rose's shoulder.

Julianne: It's ok, Rose. We can chat tomorrow, ok?

Rose herself was upset to hear that, but she understood.

Rose: Oh... Ok.

She smiled back at Julianne before the mother headed to the kitchen to drop her mug there.

It wasn't as though the others hadn't heard the conversation between the two.

And so, they'd all mentally prepared to say good night to her once she'd returned from the kitchen.

So, when she did...

Rose: Good night, Mrs Hunter.

Max: Yeah, good night, mom.

Ken, Luke, and Tiffany: Good night, Mrs Hunter.

The older woman smiled and giggled.

Julianne: Oh, you kids. (singsongy) Good night! (normally) And don't stay up too late.

It was something of a joke... since the time at which they were awake qualified to be an early morning.

And consequently, Rose giggled...

Rose: Ok, Mrs Hunter.

And the mother turned to her son, only once more, before she would turn in for the night.

Julianne: Good night, my little Maxie.

Ken and Luke turned to Max with a smirk.

Max: (sighs) Good night, ... mom.

Julianne giggled as her mind was quickly filled with thoughts of sleep.

She yawned heavily, not that she intended to, but she genuinely was just that sleepy.

Rose marvelled at her before...

Rose: Wow! You really are sleepy.

Julianne: Oh... yeah... I really am, huh...

And as innocently as a Rose, ....

Rose: (giggles) I guess protonites get tired just as easily as humans.

For one to fully understand just as to why what had happened next had happened, one would have to carry a proper understanding of the human body.

There is a theory, one that has proven to be true in all societies, nations, belief systems, and even something as modernised as medicine.

That statement being... that what the human mind decides and believes... has a massive effect on the entirety of the human body.

How big of an effect, one would ask?

The simple answer?

Depending on who you ask, anything from slight to absoluteness itself.

Simply put, if the human mind is at its weakest, so is the body.

A perfect example of this is the placebo effect.

That being, that the simple belief that one is free from one's disease... may, in fact, cure them of said disease.

This "placebo" effect is a perfect example of this... because it simply entails this. The mind vastly affects the body.

In fact, one may even say... that being even a little bit tired may just be less effectual to one's own being than actually saying and believing one is tired.

For when one is tired, or depressed, or even simply sad, it is almost as though one's entire body "listens to" and "believes" what that person is saying and believing. Hence, thinking one is tired while being tired, simply makes one more tired, and so, the cells of one's body don't act as well as they ought.

Simply put, humanity is more at the mercy of their own thoughts than they give themselves credit for.

And this very rule applied to Julianne Hunter.

After all, had she been even a little more alert, perhaps she would have said something else.

Julianne: Well, to be fair.... I'm not exactly a protonite.