Two cocky guys approached the table. They were my old friends Greg and Chuck, the two jokers who’d kindly taught me the Affinity Control skill the previous day. They’d also clearly spent some gold, a lot of it, because they were decked out in full warrior kit with gleaming metal armor and bedazzled swords. It looked expensive, and I had to admit, they looked pretty cool. Most of the armor here was not historically accurate, but looked like the kind of things people wore in anime. Very stylish. Same with the weapons. There were some gigantic swords that would have been completely unwieldy in the real world, but probably worked just fine here in the fantasy milieu. Greg and Chuck had chosen these, and as they sauntered over with blades taller than they were slung over their shoulders I did a quick evaluation. Their gear was nothing special, all flash and no substance. Even the gems were glass.

Seemed about right for those guys.

“Hey, what’s up?” Chuck said, speaking directly to Jane.

“Yo babe,” Greg said to nobody in particular, but I'd assume not to me.

“Sorry,” Sigrid said. “We’re a little busy.”

“What,” Greg said pointing at me, “talking to this guy? Come on, we’re a lot more fun.” A small flicker of flame appeared out of the tip of his extended finger. “See?”

Both girls looked at him with completely emotionless faces. I was in awe by the sheer coldness of their looks, and how quickly they’d slid into frosty mode. It’s like they’d practiced it, but now that I think about it, they probably had. No doubt this was not the first time they’d had to deal with men like this, and putting on the chill was probably second nature.

“Sorry, I don’t smoke,” Jane said.

“Huh?” Greg said.

She imitated him by up her finger, then brought it close to her mouth as though lighting a cigarette.

“I, uh...” he stuttered.

“That’s nothing,” said Chuck. He pointed at Sigrid’s tea cup and it became encased in ice. “Check it out: iced tea.” He guffawed at his own joke, but he was the only one. Sigrid’s impassive face dropped into a frown.

“If I had wanted iced tea, I would have ordered it,” she growled.

“Come on, baby,” Chuck crooned. “You’re way hot enough already. Besides, the Iceman can think of better ways to warm you up.”

There comes a time in many isekai stories when travelers between worlds have a self-aware moment. This usually happens when faced with a situation that is clearly a turning point. They realize that they have to do something that’s contrary to their usual nature, to break free from what’s been holding them back. It’s a character-defining moment of growth that sets the stage for their transformation into the hero, stage six of the Hero’s Journey: the Road of Trials. Basic grade 11 English.

For example, it could happen when they see someone in dire distress and know that they ought to jump in to the rescue, even though they themselves are weak and cowardly. Or it could be they’re given the choice between a safe path or a dangerous path and know that the dangerous path is the right one, even though they themselves are fearful and habitually choose the safe route. Sometimes it’s as simple as deciding to save a cat. Or, to pick another example purely at random, they are sidelined by a villain and know they must stand up for themselves, even though they themselves usually avoid conflict because they are weak, cowardly, and fearful. Failure to find the inner strength to make the right choice in any of these kinds of situations will have consequences.

So yeah. I didn’t want to do it. Every muscle and bone in my body screamed at me to stay quiet and let things resolve without my interference. That had been the usual modus operandi for my whole pointless life. But I knew what I had to do. It’s not that I thought that Sigrid and Jane needed me to rescue them or anything, I was well aware that they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, especially with these buffoons. But I just knew that it was something I had to do to prove my worth to them and to myself.

It had nothing to do with a hero’s journey. This was my story, not some made-up fiction following a formulaic sequence of events. And I knew in my bones that I was not the hero of this story. I was not the main character. I was not the protagonist. No, what I did next was something I never would have done before, but for some reason I felt I had to. Even minor supporting characters like me have growth arcs, I suppose.

“Hey,” I said. “Can’t you see you’re bugging these nice people?”

“Who asked you?” Greg said.

“Yeah, who asked you?” Chuck said.

“We’re in the middle of something here, so could you please go away?” I said, doing what I thought was an admirable job of keeping calm and level-headed; only the slightest tremor in my voice betrayed how I truly felt.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure either of these lovely ladies would rather be in the middle of the two of us, if you know what I mean,” said Greg with a leer.

“Look,” I said with a sigh, “read the room and just go away.”

To hell with calm and level-headed.

A ball of fire appeared in Greg’s hand. “Who’s gonna make us? You?”

Chuck created an ice blade in his hand. “Yeah. You gonna make us?”

“Sorry,” I said. “I think we might be playing a different game here.”

“Huh?” one of them grunted, I’m not sure who. I wasn’t even sure where the words I was speaking were coming from, it was like some imaginary wheel clicked against a hypothetical cog inside me and it all just poured out in an uncontrollable gush, like verbal diarrhea.

I sighed again. “Look, nobody has any idea why we’re really here, or what’s going to happen. But given that we’re all going to be put into teams it’s a pretty safe bet that the game will pit us against one another sooner or later, my money’s on sooner, and if nobody else knows what I can do that gives me a distinct advantage. Maybe I’ll be on the same team as you guys and it won’t matter, but I sure hope not.”

Jane let out a little snort which Sigrid quickly silenced with a sharp kick under the table. Greg and Chuck just stared at me with glazed expressions.

“Only an idiot would go around showing other people what they can do this early in the game. I mean, as impressive as all this is,” I waved my hand while copying Greg’s trick and making fire flare out of the end of my finger for a brief instant, then immediately extinguished it, snuffing it out so quickly they might question if it had happened at all or if they’d only imagined it, “how do you know there aren’t people out there whose powers and skills are a lot stronger than yours? Is showing off like this actually only showing people how weak you are in comparison?”

“Wait,” Chuck said, “did you just...?”

I knew that the little use of Affinity Control I’d just demonstrated was ill advised, and went counter to what I was saying, but it was also a bit of calculated misdirection. I’d revealed an affinity with fire, but that was a common thing. They’d never suspect I also had affinity with several other elements, and could eventually have it with all of them.

“Who knows,” I said. “Maybe I’m wrong and it’s totally fine to let everybody else know what you’re capable of. Maybe being able to create a bit of fire and ice really does kick butt. It’s possible I’m just saying all this because I’m too scared to reveal how little I can do.”

Thinking this was an admission of weakness on my part, both Chuck and Greg started sneering at me a little. I ignored them and forged on with my diatribe.

“Or maybe the ability to light a candle or create a little icicle is a lame little parlor trick compared to the incredible things I and everyone else at this table can do. Maybe I’m doing you a favor by not embarrassing you in front of all these people.” I gestured beyond the table at the bustling street around us. Nobody was paying any particular attention to us, but there were a number of Players and NPCs nearby who’d surely notice if anybody started shooting off flashy abilities. “If you ask me, it doesn’t really matter. Either way, the only smart move right now is to hide what you can do and not go around trying to look impressive, because the only people worth impressing are the last ones who’ll find it impressive. Know what I mean?”

The table remained quiet. All I could hear was my heart pounding a steady beat in my chest. I honestly thought I might pass out. But I drew strength from the dim looks on the faces of Greg and Chuck as they processed what I’d just said and slowly recognized the insults buried in the middle of what really was some very sound advice. The girls’ amusement felt pretty good to see, too. The irony was that just before these two bozos showed up I’d decided that I was going to do exactly what I’d just dissed them for doing and share my Status with Sigrid and Jane, including all my powers and skills.

In the end, it was Jane who broke the silence. “Now’s the time when you guys bugger off,” she said with the sweetest of smiles.

Greg shot me a look that told me he was going to find a way to make me pay for this later as he sulked away, accompanied by the low murmur of Chuck whining as he followed suit.

The table remained silent after the bozos had gone as Sigrid and Jane stared at me with mouths agape. I assumed they were offended that I had spoken so brazenly. So much for making friends.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped in and said all that. Please don’t think that I thought you guys couldn’t handle yourselves, it’s just—”

“Are you kidding?” Jane said. “That was freaking awesome.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Damn straight,” Sigrid said. “Worth the price of admission.”

I reached out and wrapped my hands around her frozen tea cup. I concentrated on using fire, not to create flames but only to warm it up. I stopped when the tea inside started to steam. “There. Good as new.”

She gawked at the tea. “How did you...?”

“So I didn’t imagine that little finger flame earlier. But didn’t you just say only an idiot would show off his powers?” Jane said.

“Yeah, well, I trust you guys. And...” I bit my lip and mumbled, “it’s only fair. I kind of already know what you can do.”

Sigrid narrowed her eyes at me. “What do you mean?”

“Okay, here’s the thing,” I said. “Wait, you know what? It’d be a lot easier to just show you. I wonder if I can.” I opened my quest and quietly asked System to share it with the other people at the table.

Quest: Be A Team Player - Assemble a team of 10 Players before the end of the Tutorial

Restriction: [Hidden]

Assembled Players: 0/10

Quest time remaining: 27:42:23

“Can you see that?” They responded by peppering me with their own questions.

“How did you do that?” asked Sigrid.

“Is that your quest?” asked Jane.

“What does this mean?” asked Sigrid.

Okay, they could definitely see it.

“Whoah, whoah, one at a time. First, there’s System. It’s a sort of AI or something that runs things, and you can ask it to do things, like display stuff publicly. Second, yeah, I got a different quest, and I’m not the only one. And lastly, that’s going to take some explaining.”

Sigrid lifted her reheated tea to her lips and sipped delicately. “We’ve got time,” she said.

I explained how I and some of the other people who’d played the God Game at the convention had been given a different quest, but I neglected to mention that time I’d spent alone with Stratos on the final day and how it was all my fault they’d been isekai’d.

“Hang on,” Jane said. “Do you think the reason we’re here has anything to do with the God Game?”

I wondered if my reaction showed just how shocked I was by the incredibly insightful question. “That’s...”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Sigrid said. “You and I weren’t playing games, we were just playing eye candy.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jane said.

“How do you feel about being here, anyway? You must be pretty upset.”

“You’d think so, but to be perfectly honest, I think this is all pretty amazing,” Jane said.

“You say that now, but we don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

“I’m upset,” Sigrid said. “I have no idea what’s going on or if we’re ever going to be able to go home after it’s all over.”

“Well I suppose there is that,” Jane said. “Still, we’re here now, so the only thing to do is make the best of it.”

“That’s a pretty good attitude,” I said, honestly impressed by her adaptability. Not that I would’ve expected anything less from the hero.

“That still doesn’t explain how you know what we can do,” Sigrid said.

She was a shrewd one too.

“Not exactly,” I said.

“Then what?” Sigrid said, annunciating each word carefully. “Exactly.”

“Look, I’m going to do what you should never ever do and let you see my Status screen. I think it’s only fair, and you’ll understand why once you see it.”

I opened my Status and told System to share it with them just like I had with my quest screen. I could tell by the way their eyes fixed on something above my head that they could see it. I gave them a few moments to soak it in.

“I see,” Sigrid said.

“Holy bonkers,” Jane said. “You have all the affinities, too?” She covered her mouth with her hand and looked around guiltily, then said much quieter, “So do I.”

“I know,” I whispered back.

“I want your skills,” Sigrid said. “Can I learn them?”

“I think so. I mean, I’m pretty sure.”

“I bet you can teach them,” Jane said, “you have the skill.”

“You know I never considered that,” I said, feeling stupid.

“So you actually learned kung fu?” Sigrid said.

“Yeah.”

“Just by watching.”

“Yeah.”

“So cool. Does that mean you can—”

“Yes,” interrupted Jane, who’d been quiet up to now.

“Yes, what?” I said.

“Yes, I’ll join your team,” Jane said. “That is why you came to talk to us in the first place, right?”

She really didn’t miss a thing.

“Well, yeah.”

“Then yes. Count me in,” Jane said.

Sigrid stared at me, an intent look that reminded me of Sifu’s appraising gaze. Then she relaxed, seeming to have made a choice. “Me too,” Sigrid said.

Quest: Be A Team Player - Assemble a team of 10 Players before the end of the Tutorial

Assembled Players: 2/10

“That makes me very happy,” I said.

Jane reached out and gripped my forearm and fixed me with an even more gripping look. “But first you have to tell me how the hell you got those affinities. I haven’t learned a single one yet!”

I explained about Affinity Control.

“You are so teaching me how to do that,” Jane said.

“I can teach both of you,” I said. “I think.”

They exchanged excited looks.

“Who else is on the team so far?” Sigrid said.

“Nobody. You’re the first people I’ve talked to about it, so far it’s just us.”

“So, just to be clear: you’ve used that All Shall Be Revealed power on us, then?” Jane said.

“Yeah, but in my defense I use it on pretty much everyone and everything I see,” I said.

“How do we compare?” Sigrid said.

“Let’s just say there are very good reasons why I wanted you on my team.”

“Really?”

“You mean it’s not just because we’re a couple of super-hot babes?” Jane said.

“Jane!” admonished Sigrid.

“I’m just saying,” Jane said.

“Most people have maybe one or two gifts and powers, and a lot of those powers are so-so,” I said, quickly switching the subject. “Your Statuses are definitely on the higher end of the scale.”

“Good to know,” Sigrid said with a competitive grin.

“Also, some affinities are more common than others. Some are quite rare. Your affinities with Light and Air are both among the rarest.”

“Coooool,” Sigrid said.

“And my whatchamacallit, Master Of None thing?” Jane said. “It’s like yours but different.”

“I saw a few people with a power that gives them a second affinity, but I haven’t seen anyone else who has the potential to get all of them.” Neither of us made mention of the fact that her Master Of None and my Good At Everything may have been similar, but hers was better.

“Lucky you,” Sigrid said, her competitive streak letting a bit of bitterness show through. Maybe gamers weren’t the only ones who were jealous and selfish.

“Do you have your eye on anybody else?” Jane said.

“Actually, I did see a couple earlier who both had great powers. She’s a healer and he’s an artificer.”

“Wow! I don’t know what that second one means but you should get them on the team too.”

“That’s the plan. And actually, for the sake of full disclosure, that’s the reason why I approached you first. I could really use your help.”

“How can we help you?” Jane said.

“I’m crap at talking to people.”

“I don’t know about that,” Sigrid said.

“Did you see the looks on those creeps’ faces just now after you laid into them?” Jane said. “Seriously, that was next-level awesome, dude.”

“You’re very kind, but that’s really not what I’m usually like. I don’t even know where that came from, and even now my heart’s still pounding from the fear and stress. You have no idea how hard it was for me to even come up and talk to you,” I said.

“Aren’t you an honest one?” Jane said. “If I’m being honest too, it’s pretty refreshing to have someone come straight out and admit they want to use you.”

“Jane!” Sigrid said. “Be nice.”

“How am I not being nice?” Jane said.

Sigrid paused for a second.

“You’re right,” Sigrid said. “It is a bit refreshing.” She turned to me. “You get so used to guys like those two before, you forget there are also some nice ones out there too.”

“Awwwwwwwww, he’s blushing,” Jane said, giggling. “So cute.”

“Knock it off, Jane,” Sigrid said, but she was giggling too. “So you’d like us to help you recruit people for the team,” Sigrid said.

“Exactly,” I said, grateful to be back on track.

“So let me get this straight,” Jane said. “You’ll find the best guys around, then you want us to go flirt with them so they’ll join the team?”

“I was thinking more like you use your outgoing personalities to talk to them and see if they’re a good fit,” I said.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Jane said. “If the whole cuckold thing is your kink, wear it. I’ve seen weirder.”

“Just ignore her,” Sigrid said. “Is this so we don’t get any assholes like Iceman and his pal Mr Cigarette Lighter on the team? You know, my power can do that without even talking to them.”

“That’s even better,” I said. “But, judging their character was only part of it. I’m really not good at, well, I can’t just...by myself.” I put my head in my hands. “God, I must seem so lame.”

They both looked at me, and their tones flipped from playful to serious in an instant. I think that was the instant they both realized I was serious about the social anxiety thing.

“We’ve got you, Daniel,” Sigrid said.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Jane said. “You just let us do the talking.”

“Thanks. Oh, there’s one other thing.”

“Here it comes,” Jane said, flipping back from serious to playful in an instant.

“Remember I said I’m not the only one who got a different quest?”

I went on to tell them about Kiki, and in the process the part about me almost dying and her threats of doing it again if I dared to recruit anyone good spilled out.

“Not what I was expecting,” Jane said once I’d finished.

Sigrid patted my arm. “Don’t worry, Daniel. This Kiki slag is the one in trouble if she tries to mess with you again.”

I told them I had to go back to the dojo for training and suggested we split up so they could go outside the walls and explore their powers, but both of them shot that idea down without a second thought. It’s not that they didn’t want to go adventuring, they just had other priorities.

“First,” Sigrid said, “I am not leaving you alone, not with that Kiki bitch out there.”

“Slag,” Jane said.

“I stand corrected,” Sigrid said. “Slag. But more importantly,” she eyed Jane and received a nod from her friend.

“We want to learn kung fu too,” they both said in unison.