The Foolish Grappler

by Cryptographers

I was a jackass back then, so full of myself thinking that I would be the main character just because I was transported to a world of my favourite manga. Well, if you are reading this journal of mine, you will find even those thought to be most undeserving can become great all they have to do is have the will to prove the gods and fate wrong, and this is how I did so. Oc Gamer fic

5. But Through the Pain

The Foolish Grappler Chapter 5

A.N. YEAH, GOT A LEGITIMATE REVIEW….. Sorry about that. So sorry about the long wait for an update It took longer both due to the length of the chapter and because I had final exams on (DAMN UNIVERSITY TO HELL). Now that I am on break, I have a lot of free time that can be spent on this, so I have set the high goal of having 5 more chapters done by the end of the year, it's a high goal that I doubt I can make but why not try.

Feel free to pop a review offering how I could fix my grammar and writing that would be very much welcome.

Thanks,

LOLZMAN

"NOO" "AHH" My eyes snapped open as I reached up with so much force I was now sitting up. However, that quick motion caused my chest to fill with a stabbing pain that was some of the worst I had felt similar to that time… Damn it, I thought I got over that why am I having that dream again why can't I just let it go it's not like I can change it or that I ever change still as worthless as- *Slap*. I should focus on more important matters like where the hell am I last I remember was charging at that guy that looked like the boss, and then all went black.

As I was thinking that, another large pulse of pain echoed in my chest, helpfully reminding me that I should lay back down as I was in a lot of pain. Sitting up really isn't helping. As I lay back down, I finally look down, and the first question in my mind is, who the fuck took my clothes off because right now, all I was wearing was a pair of pants that I wasn't wearing before. The next question was, who wrapped my chest like I was a reject at a mummy cosplay convention. The third and last question that came to mind was where was I as I don't recall being in this room, and it doesn't look like a hospital, so it couldn't have been a dream I had while in a coma.

Looking around the room, it seemed pretty empty it had a chest of drawers and a side table next to the bed, which was in the corner next to one of two windows on the side opposite the door. The sheets on the bed were plain white, while the mattress was quite comfortable, it had good support and bounce but was still firm, which was good. While I was criticising the bed, it was then that I heard a noise from the other side of the door.

*pat pat pat pat pat* It sounded like small footsteps which quickly reached my door, and after a small bit of straining sounds, whoever was on the other side must have finally reached the door knob. As it swung open to show it was the little girl that I ran into, I believe her name was Bella, given that was what her mother said. She looked a whole lot different, given she was now clean, not crying and fearing for her and her mother's lives. Her hair was done up into pigtails which fit with the big shining smile she wore on her face it seemed to glow with happiness which raised my spirits and slightly helped me forget about the pain.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU You saved my mommy you really are a hero, like Sora, warrior of the sea you were like *WOSSH KAAA* then *HAA BOOM* when you saved mommy, wait *GASP* I was told to get mommy when you wake up so stay right there, and I will get mommy" And off she went again seemingly only here for a few seconds but a good few seconds. It was great to see her so happy after such a traumatic event, but then maybe that's for the best less she has to deal with depression or stuff like that. Then, I heard footsteps going up what must be stairs based on this not being the first floor. The footsteps reveal themselves to be the mother I saved when she walks into the room...

"Hello there, it's great to finally see you awake, the doctor said it could have taken another day or so for you to finally wake up from your injuries, you had some serious ones" She smiled in the way all mothers could, one that truly brightened the room.

"SEE MOM, I KNEW HE WOULD WAKE UP TODAY", Loudly exclaimed Belle, which caused my headache to pound harder against my skull due to her high volume though I tried to hide it not to hurt her feelings. However, her mother seemed to pick up on my distress and quickly came up with a solution to this problem.

"Bella, why don't you go and fetch the doctor so she can give a check-up to ensure he is all good… you know where she will be, right… great now don't rush, ok" She had belle go fetch the doctor's clearly for my benefit, which I was grateful for. Belle nodded so fast that I could see multiple of her head… maybe that's just the headache regardless, the next second, she was out the door.

"Sorry she's just really happy that you finally woke up she is just so grateful for you that she is getting really excited your a real hero to her regardless I am Annabel Kennedy, you can just call me Anna", she introduced herself and apologised after she was gone based on the sound of the front door closing. Now, I thought having a peek at her character sheet would be useful.

Name: Annabel Kennedy

Age: 35

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 70kg

Sex: Female

Cup size: E

Lv: 10

Occupation: Baker

Hp 150/150

Description: She is a loving and caring mother to her only daughter Belladonna who she takes great care in giving her the best life possible, even at the expense of her free time. Her late husband was a marine commander who died, luckily before he died, he gained his inheritance from his parent's will, which was an old two-story building. Due to Anna's smart thinking and great effort, she gathered the funds needed to renovate the first floor into a bakery, which she had dreamed of running since childhood. She has great talent in baking, leading to her being the best in wolf's neck. She has many suitors in the village and island due to her great beauty and all round top milf energy. However, she never accepts any due to her daughter and not wishing to betray her husband. This doesn't stop her from being the subject of many dreams of the local male and some female population.

Stats:

Brawn: 4

Vitality: 8

Dexterity: 5

Intellect: 12

Wisdom: 10

Charm: 16

Damn, her stats are high even with a 'low level' of 10, she got me beat in stats and Hp, clearly showing others aren't bound by the same game levelling system as I am. That makes me wonder how powerful the wolfs were as their stats were hidden, yet I could kill them with my weak-ass skill and stats.

It was only now, after reading her character sheet, that I finally noticed how much of an absolute milf she was even though I feel somewhat guilty thinking about it, she has all you could want in a woman. She had Long brown hair that went past her shoulders with a fringe that covered one eye, her eyes were hazel that complemented her beautiful, elegant mature face. Her "personalities", as given by the sheet, were quite bountiful, which has me questioning why in the hell does it give me her cup size dose that only works for females as I sure as hope I don't have to see every guy's package sizes. Anyway, her large assets only added to her balanced, beautiful body that didn't seem to have been touched by her 35 years of age, so either she has Alvidas Smooth-Smooth devil fruit, or she must have the Milf-Milf fruit. Wait, I should stop perving on her. I doubt she wanted that kind of attention after what had happened, so I tried to hide my blush by looking through the window. Yet when I looked back, I saw the knowing look in her eye that she understood what I was thinking, yet she didn't mention it then. Given what was said in her character sheet, I have no clue whether it's because she is being polite or that she is so used to it.

"Don't feel ashamed you have nothing to feel shame for you're growing young man coming into the high of your youth it's faltering you would think of me as that", She spoke as if she could read my mind causing even more embarrassment and confusion. It was until I looked down and realised I was "standing at attention" after trying to cover it up, she just laughed it off, saying not to worry and that I was flattering to her after composing myself, I finally replied to her.

"Ah well, I am Adrono Landor for the record and there is no need for you to apologise I understand she didnt mean too its nice to see her so happy, however I would like to know what happened as clearly we won but the last thing I remember was charging that leader that was commanding the attackers then just alot of pain and my vision going black." I replied, wanting to know what in the hell happened while I was unconscious as we won though I don't think I played that big of a role, sure, I helped Anna and Bella but overall, I doubt there was much effect from my actions.

"Well while I clearly wasnt there myself I was busy after the attack going to look for Belle, by the time everything began to calm down I inquired about you seeing as I never saw you before I then learnt that you are not native to wolfs island, yet you still helped us even when you have no obligation to," she said as she made her way to the side of the bed and gently sitting on the side of it taking great care not to disturb me.

"If you're wondering about your clothes, I changed you out of them as they seemed pretty much ruined, however, I am told they may be all that you had, so I have kept them in the drawares over there if you still want them, you also welcome to stay here, seeing as you have no place to go as this is a spare room that we weren't using anyway" She informed me helping put me to ease thought it's a shame about my uniform it's really the only clothes I have, and I doubt they have any spare clothing that would fit me.

"That would be great I don't really have anything other than those clothes as i dont really remember much i just remember waking up on this island on the beach" She quickly assured me that she would try to find some clothes I could wear when I could move.

"From what the rumours are saying, you caused the lieutenant to get distracted dealing with you, which gave adliend an opening to attack, which however wasnt a mortal wound and didn't finish the fight it did weaken and slow him, with that she was able to stall for time until the Chief and Hui returned, which caused the filth to flee lest they fight someone who could easily defeat them" She explained what she knew of the fight that she learnt from talking with some of the men defending from the town hall. Something of note was how hateful she said the last part, which given what she went through it, should be expected.

"Well, it's good that I actually helped and wasnt a burden-" As I was talking, I was interrupted by a hand on my chest. "You helped me and my daughter, so you aren't a burden to me understand if you dare call yourself a burden in front of me I will make you regret it" Weirdly, her aura shifted from the loving and caring mother to an empress that you dared not disobey less you are executed. Yet she returned to normal after nodding so much it hurt my head I still believe it must have been a trick of my injured head. It was then that we heard the front door open.

"Ah Belle must of been lucky and found her quickly, let's have her check on you to see how you're recovering and then I can start making lunch for us." She said as she stood up to open the door on the other side was someone who you could instantly know was a doctor due to her outfit. She, too, was quite beautiful, which was becoming a theme in this world with pixie-cut ginger hair and a womanly body that was very modest with curves yet elegant. She wore a doctor's coat with a green dress under it with a stethoscope around her neck. Overall, she was quite beautiful. Yet when she spoke, you would find that she really had a no-nonsense attitude.

Name: Ash Bush

Age: 30

Height: 6'0

Weight: 65kg

Sex: Female

Cup size: D

Lv: 12

Occupation: Doctor

Hp 120/120

Description: Born and raised in Wolfs Neck, however at a young age, her mother died due to disease leading her to want to become a doctor from the age of 6. She was able to gather the funds to allow her to travel to Mercy university on Good Will Island. She is another of the most desired Single woman in Wolf's neck, yet many fear wooing her due to her no-nonsense attitude to anything other than her work which she has dedicated her life towards. She will heal anyone who requires aid regardless of if they deserve it, which surprises many. She lives next to her clinic near the centre of town and lives a quite modest life using a large amount of inheritance she received that allows her to charge low prices for her services to allow as many as possible to get help.

Stats:

Brawn: 2

Vitality: 10

Dexterity: 3

Intellect: 34

Wisdom: 25

Charm: 10

What is with the game system and having the cup sizes of women, not that I really am truly complaining, but really odd, what next showing if they are virgins hahaha… Please don't system. Then again, this is an isekai world and is one piece, so it is a given that all the women must be hot.

Turns out I had one broken rib, two bruised ribs, a bruised diaphragm, a twisted ankle, bruising to my skull, a nasty bruise all over my back, and many nicks and grazes from when I was sent back into a building. Overall it hurt to do really anything other than lay down and recover, which was what I was strictly ordered to do.

After all that and lunch, I finally had some time to myself, which was when I felt it best to deal with the damn flashing blue box in the top left of my vision wherever I looked. First, I had the screens from the encounter and the quest, as I wanted to see what all that effort was for.

ENCOUNTER

REWARDS +3 to Bra, +4 Vit, +1 Dex,+1 Wis +800 Ber, +500xp, 1 rank in the following skills Blade: One-handed sword (novice), Firearms: Pitol (novice), Items gained: Beaten Cutless, Shoty Pistol

These are the greatest rewards that I have gotten so far that, given that I come close to death makes me feel better that the system won't shortchange me. I do wonder how I got the point of wisdom, maybe it had to do with thinking instead of rushing in…. well more than I already did. Though I am not that impressed by the shity sword and pistol, I am not really in a position to be picky, and I did get a nice chunk of cash and XP which I guess evens it out.

QUEST: (To your destiny starts here) (COMPLETED)

Seeing how you have now proven your mettle against some poor pups, your destiny awaits you, which will surely meet your expectations, right? Go to Wolf's neck, as you need a place to rest.

Objective: Make it to Wolf's neck (COMPETED)

Rewards: 100 XP, 300 Ber

Optional objective 1: Survive until dawn tomorrow (COMPETED)

Rewards: 200 XP, 400 Ber, 3 Stat Points

Now, after going through all of that, I feel the rewards for the quest weren't up to the same speck as the encounter rewards were then again, I suppose that I didn't have to rush in and nearly get myself killed. I shouldn't worry about that, so I should focus on what I can change, which are my stats, let's see how they are doing.

Name: Adorno Landor

Occupation: Vagabond

Bloodline: (Hanma)

Level: 4

EXP: 914/1000

Unspent points: 8

Hp: 50/105

Brawn: 8

Vitality: 9

Dexterity: 4

Intelligence: 14

Wisdom: 7

Charm: 1

Not bad, not bad, could be worst, nice to see I now get to have a real choice in how I grow with all the possible options I have now. That brings the issue up of how I want to fight if this was an MMO what type of build do I want there are so many to choose from I could use swords like Zoro or any other badass swordsman. If I didn't want to get close and personal I could opt for a ranged gun build of a sharpshooter maybe my many hours on FPS will benefit me here…. On second thought, not the greatest idea I had. Now I am getting ahead of myself I don't even know if there is someone I could train under its not like I have much money. My best shot is going to the captial surely that place would have a gym or something right? …

NEW QUEST: (Yet it won't be easy)

Seeing as you did survive the last quest, maybe you have a chance in this new world you found yourself in however, all you have shown is that you aren't completely useless now, you must find a way to improve from an ant to a slightly more powerful and.

Objective 1: Find a way to learn how to fight.

Rewards: 250 XP, 2 Stat Points

Optional objective 1: Have your trainer be in the top ten fighters on this island.

Rewards: 500 XP, 1 (Hidden) Perk

Optional objective 2: Start a fight with at least 5 opponents and survive.

Rewards: 750 XP, 5 Stat Points, 1 Random Perk, Item: 1 Skill book (Random)

Optional objective 3: (Redacted)

Rewards: (Redacted)

"WAIT THERES BEEN PERKS THIS WHOLE TIME WHERE THE HELL HAVE THEY BEEN-" "Honey are you ok" I heard from the door as Anna looked in to check on me, seemingly worried. She was wearing a baker's hat, clearly having come from downstairs, weird how fast she responded to my surprised shout. Luckily I had my arms up as I unintentionally shouted, which I quickly used as my excuse.

"Oh, I didn't mean to shout I was trying to stretch however that seems to be painful for my ribs, so I think I won't try again really sorry for worrying you like that," I said as I tried to put on a pained-by happy smile while holding my ribs which were quite painful still from my shout of shock which hopefully sold the act better.

"You know Ms Bush said not to move around so you should just laydown and rest, you do want to get better right, I will be back up in 20 minutes with lunch which is nearly done", She said with her smile and left down the stairway note to self don't make a racket regardless of what happens.

Anyway, back to my shock at learning there are perks, I quickly tried mumbling the word perks quietly however, nothing happened, so when I tried opening my character sheet, I found no way to check my perks. Luckily the system apparently can read my mind… let's not think too deeply about that, thankfully the next moment a message came.

THE USER HAS NO PERKS AS OF NOW THE WINDOW WILL BE UNLOCKED WHEN THE FIRST IS RECEIVED

Note For the Users information: Perks are collections of traits that the system recognises the user has or is given as a reward from the system.

What, so I don't even start with a perk? That's lame… though, on second thought, I guess I never had anything that I would want as a 'perk', so I guess it's touche. Doubt there is a good perk to do with choking the chicken, pulling the plunger, etc. Anyway, enough worrying about spilled milk about how much time I spent wasting self-pleasing and not self-improving. I must put aside such petty shit and focus on the here and now so I don't end up in a ditch somewhere dead, having made nothing of myself. This isn't like back home, where I could get away with doing the bare minimum to get my everyone off my back.

Luckly after that, Anna finally came in with lunch set out on a tray. A lunch that was some of the best food I have tasted in a long while… Anyway, after that, I had the realisation that I didn't have the internet anymore, which meant I was without my favourite past time which I would be lying if that didn't give me a minor panic attack about not getting to finish all the web novels and anime/manga I was consuming. Thankfully Anna realised that I would be bored being stuck in the room with nothing to do but lay down and count the specks of dust doubt that ever was ever the catalyst to someone getting really powerful in any story…

*cough* As I was saying before I got onto that tangent, Anna thought of it and hence got Belle to pick up some books from the village library after asking what I would like to read, to which I replied that anything about the world would be nice. So I spent the rest of the day reading and learning all that I could about this world, seeing as I am stuck here and oh boy, was there a lot to learn.

Everything feels like something oda would have written, yet there is no way oda could have come up with all of this. So after quite a bit of reading and a lovely dinner from Anna, I fell asleep to a hopefully restful night.

The next day

Thankfully, for the small mercies of having a night not full of nightmares but of nice fulfilling sleep. So when I was awoken by knocks on the door and the voice of Anna, who I let in given it is her house, she walked through the door.

"Time to Wake up, Adrono oh your awake great as breakfast is ready" Right behind her was Belle, somewhat struggling with carrying the tray with my breakfast that smelled divine. It looked like some kind of bacon and scrambled egg with a bun on the side. If it tasted as good as it looked and smelt, then I was in luck, which I am sure based on yesterday.

"Thank you so much for this" I tried to thank them while stuffing my face since I was starving however they just shrugged it off for helping them. As everything was set up, Anna got belle to go downstairs to open up the shop after giving me the food. While she sat down at the table in line with the foot of the bed after she set some clothes on the bedside table.

"Also I was able to get some clothes for you to wear they are quite old but should fit you and beggars can't be choosers sadly i will try to get some better ones soon."

"Oh don't worry these work fine i will put them on after breakfast."

"Do you have any plans for today that we could help with surely your parents are worried for you we could try to contact them" She seemed like she was quite worried for me, which I was grateful for.

"I ah don't really have any plans, and you don't have to call anyone as I don't have any parents. I am also not from around here before you ask, I was working on a ship that just capsized, which led me to waking up on the beach back that way" As I pointed in the direction of the gate, I came through. She seemed to be shocked to learn I was an orphan and again quickly reaffirmed her offer for me to stay as long as I wished. I also had came up with more bits for my cover story, which hopefully made it more robust the added parts came from my new-found local knowledge from the books given to me to past time, thankfully, she looked like she believed me.

I also told her what happened before I got to the village with Hui in the cabin and the two sisters. She got worried at the part about the wolfs however she laughed at my misshapes with the Sicht sisters, much to my embarrassment. Our talk ended when I finished my breakfast which she took to clean however she stopped halfway to the door as if remembering something.

"Ah I nearly forgot that Marie came by yesterday morning while you were still asleep wondering how you were, I told her to try again tomorrow so she could come by at any time though she has been quite busy with working with her mentor Ms Bush in healing the wounded, However, I heard the Doctors from the nearest villages got here last night which should lighten the load on her so she may turn up sometime today." This was good news as I was wondering what happened to Marie looking back, I just left her with belle and took off without regard for her or belle's safety which was a massive mistake as I don't even know if she could defend herself or belle, so it's quite stupid of me to leave them like that though luckly it worked out.

So I went back to reading the last of the books belle got me, which surprisingly didn't last as long as I thought. I guess laying in bed with nothing to do most likely has something to do with it. Anyway, my day was pretty uneventful until an hour after lunch, the doorbell rang, which turned out to be Marie's. When she walked into my room, she was carrying a basket of supplies that fit with her clothes which somewhat matched Ms Bushs ones, clearly showing that she was learning to become a doctor. She looked like she was busting with joy from the big smile on her face.

"Adrono, good to see you up and awake my teacher has given me responsibility for looking after you, so don't worry, your are in the best of hands", She stated while making a peace sign and putting her basket on her hip, to which I simply replied to this with a confused reply.

"Thanks?" I replied awkwardly, however, she took it in stride.

"Good I also wanted to thank you for helping my village when you didn't need to it was quite brave to do what you did, and because of that, you are quite popular in the village even though you're an outsider", She replied not caring for my awkward reply, it was nice to hear that I was being recognised for once and is popular for the right reason it gave me quite a bit of satisfaction.

"Now please take your shirt off while I get ready" Now, this got me thinking things that while the logical part of my brain correctly understood the meaning, the rest of my brain that was still high on her compliment took it the totally wrong way.

"What, ah, right now, Sure I can, " I painfully rushed, trying to take my shirt off, foolishly thinking I was being rewarded…. The logical side of my brain was bashing itself against my skull.

"So I could change your bandages, what did you think I meant" Is she doing this on purpose as I got redder and redder. Regardless of being embarrassed about both showing my very much less than stellar body and thinking she was flirting with me, I did as I was asked. She started examining my ribs by taking off my bandages and then carefully feeling around to see what was painful, overall, she did so in a professional manner or what I imagined to be professional, which was help full in calming me down.

"Well, you seem to have healed up a fair bit, given how you were when I saw you after the fight, which is great", She happily informed.

"How long do i recover enough that i can walk" I questioned her.

"Good question normally, I would say about a week however I brought this herb mix that I have been working on from the herbs I got two days ago when we meet, this should help with your recovery" After which, she applied the herb mix, However that required it to be applied to the skin right above the injury which proved quite awkward for me when she had to straddle me to properly apply it to my front and back of my chest. Thankfully she didn't say anything too awkward however she did make a few innuendos but not that many, which is likely the only thing stopping me from Dying of embarrassment right there.

She totally isn't behaving as an imouto should, where is the cutesy shy little sister? It seems I have been stuck with one that is defective where is management so I can complain? I want a refund…..

After my many ramblings in my mind that may show I am going insane, Maire finished on my back, where she cleaned any mess and got me to roll over and sit up so she could do my bandages, after which she checked my other injuries and applied the herb mixture to them as well. Overall she finished quite quickly when she did, she pulled the chair at the table over to sit next to my bed.

"You don't know how much it means to me for helping my village when we really needed help, you had no responsibility to do so but you risked your life for people you didn't even know so thank you." She said with a heart-filled smile.

"Ah no problem really I just acted without really thinking it through, its a miracle that I am not dead right now, it really wasn't the smartest choise I could of made to rush in like that plus its not like I helped much all I did was get the jump on Ms kenndys attackers and then distracted the leader to buy time for adelind" I replied.

"Oh don't downplay your efforts, without you Belle would of be an orphan. Also, I have spoken to adelind when she wasn't busy patrolling about what happened and she said if you didn't charge him creating an opening by distracting him she didn't know if she could have stalled for enough time for father and old Raisin to come back and scare them off, they are probably why they thought they could attack in the first place."

"Wait? Shouldnt your sister be recovering as well surely she was hurt at least as bad as me. Also whos your father and this old raisin wait thats not Hui is it?"

"Your right that my sister was hurt really badly, in fact, she's injured to the point that she shouldn't be walking… sadly that doesnt seem to stop her form trying to protect the village. I hope she will stop soon before her injurys will worsen she got her stubbornness from our dad that makes her believe that no one can protect the village but her that its her duty, it comes from a good place it's just aggravating to watch her put herself thought so much for us" She ended with a sigh.

"Lastly yeah I just call Hui by old Raisin, have done so as far back as I can remember so I just stuck with it mainly due to him not liking it."

"Then whos your father?"

"Oh How forgetful I forgot you're new around here I'm too justed to people knowing already thats its kind of nice for someone not to know. My father Hagan Sicht is the village chief which as the name implies is the leader of the village in charge of governing and the main protector seeing as the wolf guard wont help us as we're on the opposite side of the island so its up to us to protect ourselves and my dad is the leader of our defences and my sister adelind is the captain of the outer guard despite her young age."

"If he is the chief why wasn't he defending the village?"

"Because he was called to have a meeting of the chiefs in the capital Alpha. I believe I remember saying that he would pick up Old Raisin on the way over hence why Old Raisin didn't help either they were both on the other side of the island."

"Wait I think I saw your dad when he came over to old man's place as he gave me his palace to crash at while he was away."

"That does sound like something Old raisin would do he's quite a kind man, really peaceful and calm plus wise."

So after a little bit more chatting, we said our goodbyes, and she said she would come by tomorrow to check how the mixture worked. It was only about five minutes past when she left that something felt worng.

I began to feel my chest tingle with pins and needles, along with getting warmer and warmer, until it felt like hot pins were stabbing into me. It was growing quickly where ever the mixture was on me, it started to hurt like hell, so I quickly got up regardless of the pain, given how much it already hurt to take off the bandages. However, for some reason, I got a feeling to check my Hp, and it shocked me as it showed the opposite of what I was feeling.

60/105 hp

That was a nine-point jump form this morning, where it only raised a point since I last checked it yesterday. I just recovered nine times, the amount of which took me a full night's rest in minutes. This would suggest despite the bad pain, it's actually healing me, which is complete and utter bullshit why does the healing stuff for me hurt… that's just so unfair. Anyway, the pain was already beginning to ease only very slightly, so maybe the pain is from it healing me, maybe the system is messing with how I heal? Regardless it's healing me, so maybe I will be able to get out of this damn bed faster, if some pain was the cost, so be it that's not that high of a price to pay.