I've been called many things, but ambitious was never one of them. That was in the before days when isekai was just an overused trope. Now that isekai was my reality, things had changed. I had changed. My plan to create this new razor floss power from scratch skipped right past ambition into pipedream territory. It was ludicrously hard and any rational person would’ve given up after failing time and again.

I doubt anybody would call me rational anymore, if they ever did.

Even with the nudges Synthesis gave me in the right direction, the perfect combination of abilities eluded me for a long time. When I considered which powers to combine, I usually had an innate sense of what the result would be — it even mattered in which order they were added — but every time I thought I was getting close to razor floss the synthesis collapsed and I was left to either quit or start over.

Along with my lack of ambition I’ve never been what you’d call a stubborn person. If anything, I was prone to giving up as soon as things got hard. But Crucible was changing me in more ways than one. I’d been given a taste of things I’ve never dreamed of, things like true friendship and the power to help others, not to mention seeing the results of putting in a real effort. I was going to get this power, whatever it took.

In the end, it took a crazy number of abilities synthesized together in multiple stages, and countless failed attempts, but it eventually worked. With a flick of my fingers I was now able to string nearly invisible strands of magical essence in the air and control them with a thought. The mana cost was brutal, but the results were just as I’d hoped.

I was pretty proud that I’d managed to give myself — a nobody who could never be great at anything — a power usually reserved for protagonists or Boss-tier villains. It wasn’t something I was about to go around using all the time, but it made for another comforting trump card I could pull out if I was ever in a tough jam.

I called it Slice and Dice because System wouldn’t let me call it Razor Floss. That probably meant that there was already a Razor Floss power out there, I just hadn’t met anyone or anything that had it yet. This was not a comforting thought. After seeing what Slice and Dice could do to target dummies, I was in no rush to face someone else with that ability.

Something else I discovered while spamming All Can Be Revealed in my search for new powers to add to my arsenal was how busy Chika had been. She hadn’t been joking when she said she wanted me to teach her omni-do. In between quests she’d been working her way through the city’s clans and had already reached at least Competent in five of their six martial arts, and was working on learning the last one.

Shashu had been doing the same thing after Sifu Chow Bo had suggested he ought to learn omni-do too so he could start training others. As Chika and Shashu had spread through the other clans to learn their fighting styles, so too had the idea of learning omni-do. It now became a thing for members of all clans to train at other dojos in order to learn all six martial arts in anticipation of being trained by Shashu. I started seeing more and more NPCs walking around with multiple sashes of different colors braided together, just like I’d done. Chika and Shashu had started the trend and I guess it just sort of caught on.

Unfortunately, it was going to be a problem when Chika and Shashu were ready to begin receiving instruction in omni-do. There was no way they’d be able to learn it, not in its current state.

Skills:

Omni-do - Adept: Custom martial art synthesizing the techniques of Acrobatics, Affinity Attack, Aikido, Boxing, Brawling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Capoeira, Crossbow, Dance, Elven Dual Knife Fighting, Escrima, Gymnastics, Karate, Knife, Krav Maga, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Ninjitsu, Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Sambo, Second Amendment, Silat, Staff, Sword, Tae Kwon Do, Throw, Who Needs Weapons?, and Wrestling.

I couldn't imagine anyone else learning all the requisite skills, and there were even three customized powers thrown in there which made anyone being able to use omni-do besides me inconceivable.

So I made a new skill specially for them.

Skills:

Toron-do - Custom martial art synthesizing the techniques of Karate, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Judo, Jiu Jitsu, and Tae Kwon Do.

Yeah, I named it toron-do. What of it?

Omni-do had become a lot more versatile after I added weapons skills to it, and more powerful, so I also made an advanced version of toron-do that included some basic weapon arts like sword, knife, and staff, as well as crossbow. Having an upgraded version of toron-do would give them something to work towards and make them even stronger.

And if you’re wondering why I included the crossbow skill, it’s because my secret goal in creating omni-do was to be able to fight like Keanu Reeves in the movies. True story.

Some kind of gun fu was mandatory to achieve my goal, but lacking actual firearms the custom power I’d made out of Bruce’s magic missile power was the closest I could find, so that’s why you see its cheeky ironic name in omni-do. It effectively let me do the sort of cool gun fighting moves that Neo and John Wick used.

To that end, I added crossbow to the weapons grade toron-do skill because it was the closest I could come to a gun using common, easily learnable fantasy world skills and weapons. Alas, only for one shot, though.

Crossbows are neat but they only hold one bolt and take forever to reload, which is a pain in the buttocks, so you just gotta make the one shot count. For some reason, repeating crossbows didn’t exist on Crucible. The ancient Chinese and even the Romans had them, but I guess they hadn’t been big in the source material upon which this world had been designed.

Still, I figured I wasn’t the only one who’d have fun with it, and it would make sparring with Chika a lot more interesting if we were also shooting at each other while going at it hand-to-hand. Plus, I had plans to fix that annoying limitation for single-shot crossbows.

I think it’s safe to say I was starting to feel pretty good about things. Not something I was used to. The elf village was seeing a steady trickle of expats coming back to resettle from the beastfolk lands and envoys were being sent to places beyond the sea to find more elves to bring home. Trade with the other settlements around the city was already growing brisk. I was having fun with my abilities, even though my Status was starting to look absurd with all the new ones I was creating. And best of all I had a large group of really good friends, perhaps for the first time ever.

Stratos had once told me that I’d never be as strong as other Players thanks to Good At Everything’s growth-capping restriction, but I now knew what they’d meant when they said I’d find other ways to compensate.

Daniel Lamont Team Player, Defender of the Green, Great Architect Affinity:

Air - Adept

Darkness - Adept

Death - Adept

Earth - Adept

Fire - Adept

Ice - Adept

Life - Adept

Light - Adept

Nature - Adept

Shadow - Adept

Void - Adept

Water - Adept

Gifts:

Good at Everything

Hands Off My Stash

I Can Keep Going And Going

Jack of All Trades

Murder Hobo

Powers:

Able To Leap Tall Buildings - Competent

Affinity Attack - Adept

Affinity Defense - Adept

Affinity Form - Adept

All Can Be Revealed - Adept

All Tied Up - Competent

Almost Omniscient, Almost - Novice

Arise And Shine - Adept

Circus Master - Novice

Curse You - Competent

Do What I Say - Novice

Don’t Believe Everything You See - Competent

Does Whatever A Spider Can - Competent

Doesn’t Hurt A Bit - Novice

Drink Me - Competent

Everyone Gets A Heal - Competent

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet - Adept

We’re Going The Distance - Competent

Holtzman Effect - Competent

Human Beat Box - Novice

I Draw Upon The Power Of The Green - Adept

Isn’t It Enchanting - Adept

I Hate Surprises - Competent

I Vant To Zuck Your Blud - Novice

I’ll Be Back - Competent

I’ll Cut You - Competent

I’m Going To (Clap) Buff You Up - Competent

It’s All In Your Head - Competent

Just Another Background Character - Adept

Let’s Keep A Clear Head About This - Novice

Like A Feather In The Wind - Novice

Keep Your Eye On The Ball - Novice

Man Behind The Curtain - Novice

Mirror Image - Novice

More Powerful Than A Locomotive - Adept

My Body Is A Finely Honed Weapon - Adept

Mystery Wrapped In An Enigma - Novice

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t - Adept

Oh No You Don’t - Competent

Physician, Heal Thyself - Competent

Power Portal - Competent

Rage Against The Dying Of The Light - Novice

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Second Amendment - Adept

Slice And Dice - Competent

Sneaky Wabbit - Adept

Stop Staring At My Ears - Adept

Synthesize - Adept

That’s Gonna Leave A Scar - Competent

That's Heavy, Man - Competent

Think Again - Novice

Versatility For The Win - Adept

Who Needs Weapons? - Competent

With This Army - Competent

Wonder Twin Powers Activate - Novice

You’re Getting Sleeeepy - Competent

You’re Not All That - Competent

Skills:

Acting - Competent

Affinity Control - Adept

Aikido - Competent

Appraise - Novice

Archery - Adept

Architecture - Competent

Armorer - Novice

Axe - Novice

Baking - Competent

Bashing - Novice

Bite - Novice

Blacksmith - Novice

Brawling - Competent

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - Competent

Butchery - Competent

Cartography - Competent

Capoeira - Competent

Claw - Novice

Climbing - Novice

Construction - Novice

Cooking - Competent

Crossbow - Competent

Dance - Novice

Drawing - Novice

Eidetic Memory - Competent

Elven Dual Knife Fighting - Adept

Engineering - Novice

Escrima - Competent

First Aid - Competent

Fitness - Adept

Fletcher - Novice

Gymnastics - Competent

Herbalism - Novice

Hunting - Competent

Karate - Competent

Knife - Adept

Krav Maga - Competent

Kung Fu - Adept

Jiu Jitsu - Competent

Judo - Competent

Laying On Hands - Adept

Lockpicking - Competent

Mechanics - Novice

Mixology - Novice

Muay Thai - Competent

Music - Competent

Negotiation - Competent

Ninjitsu - Competent

Omni-do - Adept

Otaku - Competent

Pounce - Novice

Public Speaking - Novice

Puzzles - Novice

Polearm - Novice

Riding - Competent

Sambo - Competent

Sculpture - Novice

Silat - Competent

Sneak - Adept

Spear - Novice

Staff - Competent

Stealth - Adept

Strategy - Competent

Sword - Adept

Swimming - Novice

Tae Kwon Do - Competent

Tai Chi - Novice

Taunting - Novice

Tea Ceremony - Competent

Teaching - Adept

Throwing - Novice

Tracking - Novice

Trivia - Competent

Toron-do - Adept

Weapons Grade Toron-do - Adept

Wrestling - Novice

Yoga - Competent

Like I said, a little absurd.

It wasn’t only me, my friends were steadily growing stronger thanks to all the quests they were getting. I’d lost all, well, almost all of the bitterness I’d felt about being left out of the quest game for so long. Still, I did wish I was able to do more adventuring with them. Which was what gave me the idea to run a little training session with them in the Light Dungeon.

During a lull between their quests, I invited Team Maple Leaf and the Round Table to visit the labyrinth where I’d prepared an adventure for them using my Great Architect’s control over the place to act as a real-life dungeon master. I had the door teleport them to a place in the dungeon they hadn’t seen during our conquest raid, and put them against all sorts of monsters and traps they hadn’t seen before either.

I took the opportunity to present scenarios where they were better off not killing the monsters. They needed them alive to get information or unlock areas. It took them a while to figure this out, and forced them to come up with new tactics and ways of working together and using their abilities to win without all the slaying and the murdering and the wanton bloodshed.

When it was over, Arthur thanked me on behalf of the group. “This was so much better than our usual training sessions. And we got loot, too!”

"It was very educational for me as well," I said.

Then Jane pulled me aside. “I get it now,” she said.

“Get what?” I said.

“When we talked during the elf festival you were saying about how I should learn non-lethal combat techniques. This is what you were talking about, I get it now.”

“That’s great. Feel better about facing other Players now?”

“A bit, maybe. But don’t for a second think that this gets you off the hook. You promised me a one-on-one training session.”

“But you’re already doing so well. I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“It’s not about necessity, idiot.” Then she spun on her heel and flounced away.

The whole thing had been more than an excuse to hang out with my friends and play DM, it had been an experiment in how to use the dungeon. Watching Jane go, I had to say that particular experiment had been a rousing success.

Just when I was feeling really good about myself, Sigrid came up. “That was fun today,” she said.

“I’m glad,” I said. “It was fun for me too.”

“You did good.” Then, out of nowhere, she cuffed me on the back of the head.

“Ow! If I did good, what was that for?”

“Why are you ghosting Morgan?”

“What? I’m not ghosting her.”

“Oh really? Have you gone out together again after your dinner date?”

“Well, no,” I conceded. “But—”

“Have you even talked to her?”

“Sure.”

She blinked her piercing blue eyes at me. “Really? Besides simple pleasantries, have you had a real conversation?”

“Well, I’ve been busy.”

“Is that what you’re telling yourself?”

“Well...crap. I have been ghosting her, haven’t I?”

Sigrid shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I love you, Daniel. I really do. But I am so pissed at you right now I can’t even.”

“Oh.”

“I gave you some time, I kept telling myself you’ve been busy, too. But I thought surely today you’d make an effort to connect with her.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

She cuffed me again. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, dummy.” Then she put her hands on my back and literally shoved me in Morgan’s direction.

Morgan had been chatting with Kay at the time. When I showed up, Kay said something cryptic about having to go somewhere to talk to someone else about something. The only way she could’ve left the two of us alone any faster would’ve been to use her superspeed.

“Hey Morgan,” I said.

“What’s up Daniel?” Morgan said.

“Look, I owe you an apology. Since we went for dinner we haven’t had a chance to talk.”

“I’ve been around,” she said quietly.

“Yeah. I just want you to know—”

“Sigrid said something, huh?”

“How’d you know?”

Morgan chuckled. “It’s okay, Daniel. Thank you for apologizing. Seriously. I was a bit hurt that you didn’t make the effort before, but you did now so you don’t have to say anything else.”

“It’s just, I’ve been kind of distracted by the dungeons and the elf festival and everything.”

“Listen, Daniel. It’s fine, you don’t need to make excuses. I realized a long time ago that us going out together was a one-time thing. And besides, I’m really not looking to take on a project, you know? So it really is fine.”

“A project?”

“You know. A fixer-upper.”

I had to think for a bit before I figured out what she meant. “Is that what I am?”

She shrugged. “I like you, Daniel. You’re cute, you’re kind, you can actually be a lot of fun when you want to be.”

“Who, me?”

Sho poked her finger into my chest. “And that right there is what I’m talking about. I get being a bit insecure, we all feel that way sometimes. But honestly, you’re frigging exhausting.”

“Ouch.”

“I’m not saying this to be hurtful, I’m really not. It might seem like I’m lashing out or something, but the truth is I just wish you could see yourself the way others do. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“If only I had more confidence,” I said.

“If only. But then I’d have my work cut out for me, wouldn’t I?”

“What do you mean?”

Morgan looked pointedly to the side, and when I followed her gaze I saw Jane staring at us. When our eyes met, Jane quickly looked away and strode off.

“Being busy with all your dungeons isn’t the only thing that’s got you distracted,” Morgan said.

“You lost me,” I said.

Morgan smiled. “Still so dense.”

“I’m getting real tired of hearing that from everyone.”

“Then smarten up, would ya? We’ll stop saying it when you stop being it.”