We were the last to arrive at the gazebo, only a few minutes late. While they’d been waiting, the others must have figured out they were all there for the same reason, because we found them all chatting together: Byron, Nina, Sam, Bruce, and Wayne. Nine of us in total. We just had to find one more in the next six hours to complete my quest.

Everyone was excited to explore together as a team, and after some deliberation it was Jane who finally chose where we’d go.

“I want to meet elves,” she said. The Elf Village in the Eastern forest it was.

An air of giddy nervousness permeated the team as we trundled along the path to the forest. Everyone was talking a blue streak, everyone except me. I was in my head, plotting strategy in case of a fight.

Bruce would hang back with Byron and Nina in her bubble, using his ranged spells to protect the ones who have support powers and are no good on the frontline. I’d still encourage them to learn kung fu, but if Nina or Byron ever found themselves using it in combat that would mean things had gone terribly wrong. Better to stay at a distance, which meant they both needed a ranged weapon skill, stat. Neither of them had an affinity that would give them an easy attack power, which had pretty much become my go-to long range attack. We were pretty weak when it came to fighting at a distance, really.

I wondered if there was a way to use Byron’s crafting power in battle? I needed to know more about what it did. I wondered if Artifice would allow him to fabricate weapons in the field? Maybe bombs even?

Sam should also hang back. He could summon things to fight for him, and that power to make plants grow anywhere would be good for crowd control, but he’d be squishy in close combat. Wayne seemed to like being on the frontline, and his flaming sword was pretty cool and intimidating. Jane was also an effective damage dealer, blinking in and out of melee range. Sigrid was a tank, so she really ought to be up front. It’d be nice if she could hang back to protect the supporters, but we’d have to trust Bruce’s spells to do that.

Wait a second, Byron had that power to make portals. He could pack his inventory full of backup weapons like extra spears and other supplies like potions and stuff, and use a portal to deliver them to whoever needed it. Or even to take Nina to the frontline for a quick heal if someone was hurting. Or assist in a retreat if someone was in dire straits and needed a quick way out of harm. Or he could open a portal to Sigrid so she could get back to defend fast. There were a lot of possibilities there.

And then there was me. I’d accepted that I’d never be great at anything, but hopefully I could become good enough at enough things that I could move around and plug holes as needed. A Good At Everything Jack Of All Trades human Swiss Army Knife.

My plotting was interrupted by a song. Jane had started singing and Sam had joined in. They both had amazing voices and their harmonies were bang on. No wonder they both had the Music skill. Conversations all ended as we marched to the beat. One song became two, and two became three as they started taking requests.

System: You know Music

Along the way we passed a few small groups of Players heading back from the forest. Pity their abilities weren’t anything special, but we only needed one more team member anyway. It would’ve been awkward to invite one but not the others.

Suddenly Jane and Sam’s rendition of I’ve Got You, Babe was interrupted by a piercing squawk from overhead. I felt an ominous shiver run through me along with a rush of adrenaline and the sudden urge to find a large rock to hide under. I even saw a few of my companions put their arms over their heads and cower. I looked up to see a massive, winged creature soaring above us. Well, Jane did say she wanted to see a dragon. I evaluated it. No, not a dragon. The dragon’s slightly weaker cousin, the wyvern. Close enough.

Wyvern Closely related to the legendary dragon, but not quite the same, and not quite as strong. It’s good to know the difference between monster species, because if you don’t, while you’re waiting for the Wyvern to use its breath weapon on you you’ll be in for a surprise when this creature’s poisonous stinger at the end of its tail brings about your unexpected, and devastatingly painful, demise. Powers:

Fearsome Shriek - Master: Cause fear

Hello Darkness My Old Friend - Master: The Wyvern’s stinger injects a deadly poison

Skills:

Vicious Bite - Master

Vicious Claw - Master

Vicious Stinger - Master

Yeah, no. Not gonna fight that. Not a chance in hell.

Then I noticed something else streaking through the sky towards the wyvern. Once it was close enough, I could tell it was a person, a woman wearing a stylish set of armor straight out of an anime. She held a long, double-edged sword in one hand, pointing it out in front of her like a lance. The parts of her long, pink hair not tied up in twin buns on either side of her head trailed down her back as she flew. I didn’t recognize her at all.

Akari Hero Gifts:

I Know What’s Going On Here

I’m A Lot Stronger Than I Look

I’m A Lot Tougher Than I Look

Powers:

I Don't See Anybody There - Expert

Indomitable Spirit - Expert

Guard, Turn, Parry, Dodge, Spin, Thrust - Expert

Single Sword Splits The Sky - Master

The Sky Is Not The Limit - Expert

Skills:

Aikido - Master

Baking - Adept

Brawling - Master

Exploring - Expert

Hunting - Master

Staff - Expert

Swimming - Adept

Sword - Master

No wonder, she’s an NPC. And holy crap, with those abilities she’s a monster herself.

“Holy shit, look at that,” I heard Jane mutter. I glanced around and everyone had their head craned back, watching things unfold in the sky above us.

With a mighty clash, the woman charged into the monster then flew past, leaving three long slashes across its body that oozed green blood.

The wyvern shrieked again, and again I had the urge to run and find somewhere to hide. Several of us dropped to the ground, and Bruce actually dashed away towards a scrubby bush, I could only assume in the hopes of hiding behind the spindly, waist-high thing. Anybody could tell it would be futile, but it was clear he was under the fearful influence of the wyvern’s Fearsome Shriek power and not thinking straight.

The woman veered around and came back, charging fearlessly toward the wyvern again. This time the monster met her charge with its teeth and claws exposed, the poisonous stinger on its tail poised and ready to lash out. The two met and hovered mid-air, exchanging blows.

“She’s incredible,” Sigrid said.

The battle lasted several minutes but eventually the woman thrust her sword deep into the creature’s chest. It squawked again, but this time it was a different sound. It did not inspire that gut-wrenching fear. It was the sound of defeat.

The wyvern plummeted from the sky, landing in a cloud of dust not too far from us. We gazed in awe as the woman glided down and landed gracefully beside the creature. It shuddered on the ground, its wings flapping lamely, too injured to move anymore. She peered down at it for a moment, her mouth moving but I couldn’t hear what she said. Then she plunged the tip of her sword into the wyvern’s head and its pathetic shudderings stopped for good.

Wow. So that was what an S-Ranker looked like in this world. Amazing.

She withdrew her sword then collapsed to her knees, shoulders slumped, head drooping.

“Oh shit, she’s really hurt!” Jane said. “Nina!”

“On it!” Nina said and raced toward the woman. We all followed, even Bruce.

As we approached, the woman held her hand up as though to ward us off. She was covered in scratches and bite marks, and several large wounds oozed foul-looking pus, no doubt the result of the stinger’s poison.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“It’s okay,” Nina said. “I’m a healer.”

The woman lowered her hand, and Nina rushed in to immediately begin using her healing power. As we watched, the smaller injuries closed up but the stinger’s wounds were unaffected.

“Sorry, let me try again,” Nina said.

The woman shook her head. “Don’t bother, it won’t work. Not on this kind of poison.” She reached into a small leather pouch on her hip and I couldn’t help but notice that her arm went in far deeper than the tiny pouch should allow. Clearly it was magic. When she withdrew her hand, it was holding a potion vial. She expertly unstoppered it with a flick of her thumb and drank it down in one quaff. Immediately, the poison wounds started closing up.

“Ah, that’s better,” she sighed. She finally raised her head and looked at Nina with grateful eyes, and we got our first good look at her face.

“Wow,” I heard Andy mutter. “She’s even really pretty, too.” Good old Andy, trust him to say what’s on everyone else’s mind that the rest of us are too shy or sensible to say out loud.

“Thank you for the help,” the woman said.

“Oh, it’s nothing really. Thank you for coming when you did. We wouldn’t have stood a chance against it ourselves,” Nina said.

“True,” the woman said, rising to her feet. She reached into her pouch again, this time pulling out what looked like a drawstring beach bag. She opened it up and went toward the Wyvern’s head.

“That ain’t gonna fit,” Bruce said. He was right, of course. She’d barely be able to fit the tip of the wyvern’s nose inside. But then she glanced over at Bruce and winked, and suddenly the monster started to stretch and distort, disappearing into the bag as though being sucked inside. In a matter of moments, the bag had entirely swallowed the wyvern’s enormous body, stinger and all. She nodded once, then pulled on the drawstring to close the bag. The way she carried it, it was like it weighed nothing, like it really didn’t have anything more than a towel, swimsuit, and some sunscreen in it.

She slung the bag over her shoulder and gave us all a curt nod. “You be careful out there, huh?” she said, then sprang into the air and soared away, back toward the city.

“She was strong, man,” Byron said.

“She didn’t even tell us her name,” Andy muttered as he watched her vanish into the distance, a longing look on his face.

“Guess we aren’t important enough for that information,” Bruce said.

“Akari,” I said.

“Huh?” Bruce said.

“Her name’s Akari.”

“Akari what?”

“That’s it. Just Akari.”

“So cool she only needs one name,” Sigrid said. “I think she’s my idol.”

“How do you...oh I get it. You used your ability on her,” Andy said. “What’re her abilities like?”

I chuckled. “You don’t wanna know. But I think I’ve figured out the different levels of mastery now.”

Everyone seemed interested in that. It had been the topic of a few conversations. None of us had raised anything beyond Competent yet, so we didn’t know for sure what came after, nor in what order.

“From what I can tell, after Novice and Competent comes Adept, then Expert, then Master. If there’s anything beyond that I haven’t seen it yet, but I suspect there might be a Legendary level.” That had been what was on System’s gacha wheel when I had spun to win the Synthesize power.

“What levels did she have?” Wayne said.

“A few Expert, mostly Master. I think her Baking skill was the lowest at Adept.”

“Wow.”

“She can even bake?” Andy said. I think he’d found his perfect woman.

“What about that monster?” Byron said.

“The wyvern? Everything Master level.”

“We really wouldn’t stand a chance against either of them,” Nina said.

“You forgot an important word,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“Yet. We wouldn’t stand a chance, yet.”

Jane was right next to me and she slung her arm around my shoulders. “Why Daniel, I think that’s the first truly optimistic thing I’ve heard you say. I knew you had it in you.”

We started back on our way toward the forest and I stuck next to Jane. We walked in silence for a while, then I blurted, “You’re a really good singer.”

“That’s me, your all-singing, all-dancing girl.” She glanced sideways at me. “Now why don’t you tell me what’s really on your mind?”

She doesn’t miss a thing, does she?

“Well, I’ve been thinking and...” She listened while I explained the entire combat strategy I’d worked out for the team.

“That seems pretty sound,” she said when I was done. “Not that I know diddly squat about strategy. But wouldn’t it be better if you started at the back too, tossing fireballs or whatever, then use Byron’s portal to jump to wherever you can be of most use?”

“That’s a really good idea.”

“If you can convince Sigrid to leave your side,” Jane whispered, elbowing me gently in the ribs. “She seems pretty hell-bent on protecting you at all costs.”

“I’m sure you can convince her.”

“Why me? And why are you telling all this to just me anyway?”

“I kinda thought you’d be the one to present the plan to the team,” I said.

“Again, why me? Like I said, I don’t know jack shit about strategy. I’ve never played any of your games before. Ever. I got about as far as Monopoly then called it quits. Such a dumb game.”

“Do not paint all games with the same dark brush as Monopoly,” I warned her, and she laughed.

“It’s your plan, Daniel, you tell them about it.”

“It would be better coming from you,” I said. “You’re a natural leader. I’m just a guy in the background.”

Jane abruptly stopped walking and slapped me hard on the back of the head. “Bull,” another slap, “shit,” another slap. A stark change from the friendly arm around the shoulder a few minutes earlier.

“Cut it out,” I said.

“You cut it out!” she shouted, drawing looks from the others, who’d been forced to stop behind us. “If I ever hear you say crap like that again, I’m going to fuck you up.” As abruptly as she’d stopped walking, she started up again, grumbling to herself. I remained rooted there, rubbing the back of my head, watching her stride off ahead of me.

As Sigrid walked by she said, “I don’t know what sparked that little outburst, but I have a pretty good idea. And don’t let me hear you either or I’ll do the same.”

She rushed to catch up to Jane, and Andy stopped beside me next. “Sorry bro, looks like no more indirect kisses for you.” I gave him the smile he deserved for trying to lighten the mood, although I didn’t feel it.

When we reached the edge of the forest, Jane stopped everyone.

“Ok, people, here’s the plan. If we get into a fight...” She explained the strategy.

“That’s some good thinking, Jane,” Wayne said.

“Yeah, makes sense,” Andy said.

“Well don’t thank me. It was all the idiot’s idea,” Jane said, then stomped the forest.

“Great job, Daniel,” Sigrid said as we all followed Jane out of the light and into the shadowy gloom of the trees. I couldn’t tell if she meant it or was being sarcastic. Probably a bit of both.

“Whoah, Daniel,” Andy said. “You’re like our personal tactician. Can I call you Kongming?”

“No,” I said. “I’m not—” I was about to say I wasn’t smart enough, but I suspected that might get me effed up. Even if it was true.

Byron came to talk to me as we forged ahead into the forest’s foreboding depths.

“Daniel, thanks for coming up with those ideas for my portal. I’ve been so worried I won’t be of any use to anyone,” he said.

“I am sure you’re going to be incredibly useful to the team.”

“I still don’t know how I can help fight, though,” he said. “Maybe I can throw rocks or something.”

“I’m sure we can do better than rocks,” Wayne said in his deep voice.

“Yeah, Wayne’s right. Byron, what can you make with your Artifice power?” I said.

“Well, so far all I’ve fabricated are a couple of toothbrushes, a hairbrush, a mirror—”

“Make me one!” Jane said, stopping suddenly at the head of the pack and forcing all of us to halt again.

“Me too, all of them!” Sigrid said.

“See?” Nina said to Byron. “I told you some things are essential no matter what planet you’re on.”

Jane pushed her way through to where we were and gripped Byron by the arms with both hands. “Can you do shampoo?”

Byron laughed and shook her head. “Not yet, but I’ll give it a whirl later.”

Jane hugged him briefly. “My hero.“ Then she let go and swept back to the front of the pack. “Okay people, what are you all standing around for? Allons-y.”

“Do you think you could make things to throw?” I asked Byron once we’d continued on our way.

“What, like darts?” he said.

“Sure.”

“How about Molotov cocktails?” Andy said.

“That would be awesome, but seems a bit complicated.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to load up my inventories with these kinds of things beforehand, then bring out what we need as it’s needed?”

“That does make a lot more sense,” I said. “How does Artifice work, anyway?”

“I have this.” He reached into his inventory, which was just like mine, and pulled out what looked like a small kiln, roughly square, a few feet along each side. It looked heavy, but he had no trouble carrying it as we walked. “This is my Artifice Forge. It was in my inventory from the start.”

“How’s it work?” Andy said.

“It’s kind of like a 3D printer,” Byron said, words pouring out in a flood. “All I have to do is think about what I want to make. The more detailed I can picture it the better, kind of like I’m programming it.”

“Byron’s a software developer back in the real world so it’s pretty natural to him,” Nina said.

“Anyway, the more complicated the object is the more mana it takes to make it, but—”

Nina rested his hand on his arm. “I think they get the idea.”

Byron blushed. “Sorry, I get excited about this kind of stuff.”

“We can tell,” Jane said, looking back over her shoulder with a grin. “Never be sorry for what cranks your engine, Byron.”

“For sure,” Sigrid said. “I think your enthusiasm is wonderful.”

Jane’s eyes darted over to me. “I believe everyone should always be their true proud selves, no apologies.”

Byron flushed an even deeper shade of red. “Thanks, guys.” He stuffed his forge back into his inventory. As with the wyvern, it was a bit of a mind warp watching something that big fit into an opening that small, but inventory’s magic made it happen. “What was I talking about again?”

“If you could make items during a fight,” Nina said.

“Right. Yes, I think I could probably whip a few things out on the fly, if necessary.”

“Good to know,” I said.