"Oh... Finally something you can work with. It's about time, you fucking developers." Roberto said with the most pronounced smile he'd displayed in months, moving his fingers from side to side on the screens projected in front of him. Without being too surprised, those holograms worked no more and no less than touch screens.

Whoever designed them didn't even bother to hide it, even leaving an icon bar for shortcuts vertically on the side and a desktop where you could still position and resize different windows. Basically, these 'Ancients' were either cheap enough to plagiarize the classic GNOME graphical user interface or perhaps, hard to imagine, they were good people in favor of open source.

Technical jokes aside, that new information about his teammates gave him quite a bit to do, leading him to an almost artistic form of tribal dance as his arms and head moved here and there in an attempt to chase down the various strings of data.

"Combat potential? Simulated? What about this... Mana? Huh?" Muttered in the meantime an Alex visibly disfigured by the novelty, with an expression on his face that even on its own was saying enough. In his life, unfortunately but fortunately, he had had his months of addiction to various types of computer drugs in the form of games whose genres ranged from shoot-em-ups to MMORPGs.

However, the fact that his brain was beginning to generate a logical big picture about the mess they had been thrown into... Well, I doubt anyone could have ever faulted him for that. I mean, VR wet dreams aside, what kind of fool would take kindly to having become part of some kind of video game?

"Oh... I'm the one with the highest attack! Oh... That's cool." Instead, Mario was perhaps part of that very rare breed of paleolithic surviving imbeciles capable of not making a big deal out of it. Indeed, after noticing that his 'attack', the [Combat Potential], was much higher than the others, he moved his right arm to the side and brought his hand close to the same shoulder causing a bulge in the biceps and, having arrived at that narcissistic point, he remained quite happy and satisfied observing his muscles.

Poor Camilla was the only one who ended up observing him in that slightly gay gesture, not having the slightest idea of what he had just tried to read from her Terminal. For her, computers began and ended after reaching social networks, not even a smartphone was properly part of her combat equipment. A slight bragging point considering the current times, but a limitation that had now totally prevented her from understanding anything about it.

"Okay... that makes sense. This one doesn't, but that's okay. Here? If I click here what happens instead... Eh! Oh... But you could have put a shit button on it, how's a person supposed to know something like that?" Meanwhile, Roberto didn't stop muttering, completely stuck in his own little magical world. Touching almost everything he could, until his perseverance was finally rewarded.

[Personal Skill: Mental Training (+0). The Skill possesses two distinct effects: The first, it improves the user's imaginative abilities, allowing him to be able to simulate an opponent in his mind more accurately and effectively. The second, during sleep the user has the possibility of being able to take refuge in his own mental palace, a virtual space designed to refine his skills. The second effect ends as soon as the user regains consciousness. This Skill belongs to the Support Skill type. Cost in Mana: None. Cost in Energy: None].

"Holy moly... The art of synthesis is unknown I see." He chuckled after the new window appeared, but read its contents with genuine interest.Having arrived at the end, however, he didn't hide the disappointment his tender heart had to endure at all.

"The Victoria Cow Skill. These assholes..."

I didn't get that one either... Let's move on, I doubt it would be worth wasting time on it anyway.

"Alright, never mind," he resumed shortly after, once he reluctantly raised his head, telling his companions, "Take a look at your Personal Skills. Clicking on them should bring up a description. Check the others' as well, I'm going to start doing the same thing now." Mario was the first to hear this and, shouting excitedly, "Cool!" he sank his index finger into the blue hologram in front of his chest, also giving evidence of another hypothetical talent of his.

[Personal Skill: Massive Physique (+0). The Skill has only one effect: physical abilities such as strength, speed, recovery and endurance are significantly increased. The skill belongs to the Passive Skills type. Cost in Mana: None. Cost in Energy: None].

"A passive that makes you a superman? Now that's luck." Commented Alex with a hint of envy as he peered at the other's screen, hesitant to try and find out what their Skill consisted of. After all, in any video game, a character's strength and usefulness were primarily based on their moves and stats. And since other than Mana and Energy, no other attributes with readable figures had been assigned to them, only Skills mattered at the moment.

"Click on the word, right? Like this?" Camilla, however, oblivious to the fears and enormous anxiety that was tearing the poor man apart from the inside, did her best to navigate the Terminal in search of her own description. Too bad that, due to a stupid mistake, she ended up opening the wrong sub-menu.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

[Personal Skill: Quick Recovery (+0). The Skill has only one effect: once every 24 hours, the user can activate the Skill to instantly recover all his Mana and Energy. This Skill belongs to the Support Skill type. Cost in Mana: None. Cost in Energy: None.]

"Oh... Another Support Skill? It's even better than mine." Roberto noticed first, rubbing his chin with the fingers of his right hand and thinking carefully. In any role-playing game there were attributes programmed by the developers in order to limit the use of special attacks that, if used too easily, would ruin the gaming experience. So, following this logic, the [Mana] and [Energy] variables listed in the Player's tab should probably have been designed with the same goals in mind.

Indeed. Thought the boy while remaining silent and observing poor Alex whose regret and disappointment were forcing him more and more to keep his head down because of the apparent weakness of his Skill. However, Roberto did not agree with that option and, in fact, would have definitely gladly traded if it were possible.

I guess I can't go the extra mile at the moment, but if my guess is correct then that guy will be even more useful than Mario. One total recharge per day would be more than enough to double the Skills he could use in combat. Mah, I feel like I'm back in the League against the Super Four. Although, since here they are taking from left and right without restraint, they might as well call it Total Recharge. What a wasted opportunity.

Stuck in his pointless reflections, the boy even missed the moment when Mario, now tremendously curious, went to open one by one the last two Skills that were missing, using his peculiar talent to make Alex and Camilla eat dust.

[Personal Skill: Energy Bullet (+0). The Skill possesses only one effect: Once enough Mana is concentrated on the fingertips, the user gains the ability to release it in one shot in a specific direction. It is not possible to control the direction of the energy once released. The optimal range of the Skill is about 10 meters, but can change depending on the user's abilities. This Skill belongs to the Offensive Skill type. Cost in Mana: 1. Cost in Energy: None.]

[Personal Skill: Warm Hug (+0). The Skill has only one effect: The user has the ability to temporarily improve the physical characteristics of another Player. The time limit for the Skill is 30 minutes. Important note: once this Skill is activated, the user is forced to lose consciousness. This Skill belongs to the Support Skill type. Cost in Mana: 10. Cost in Energy: None.]

"This is unexpected." Said Roberto after reading the first description, moving his head several times first in the direction of the screen and then towards Camilla, repeating the procedure until the girl noticed him and then he was forced to end it. Inside, however, it left him particularly stunned.

Judging from the information he had obtained up to that point, he had expected that the big woman would also possess a pseudo-offensive Skill like the other gorilla. From what he was reading, however, the ability looked like a ranged attack. Useful, for goodness sake, but... Maybe it would depend on the biological differences between men and women? What an unusual detail. For once I have the impression that the administrators have worked properly.

"Why did you get the usual Beginning Game Skill and I got a subspecies of consumable?" Alex asked, even a tad testy, to the girl without raising his head, moved by a genuine and semi-sleeping envy in one of the simplest and most childish forms that could exist in the world. She, however, not having even understood what his friend was referring to, could not help but remain open-mouthed without knowing how she had managed to offend him again this time.

Between them it happened often in reality, before finding themselves in that place of course, but often the reasons behind his bad mood escaped her completely. More than once she would have even wanted to scream in his face that women were the ones who were complicated to understand and satisfy while a man shouldn't be done that way, but she had avoided it for one reason or another.

This time, however, there was another actor in the play. An actor who, at the expense of others, also liked to have fun during the play.

"I actually think it's for the best." Roberto admonished him by seeking eye contact, bringing a hand to his cheek and lightly scratching that hint of a beard he had avoided shaving in the morning. "I get the impression that if you had been given a remote attack you would have been a disaster. I don't pretend to see you in the front line all the time but we only have three men here for the labor jobs and I've never liked DPS ladies too much. At least this way they forced you to make yourself useful in some other way."

Oh...the offenses, the insulting offenses thought. Or, at least, they sounded that way to Alex's low ears. A disgrace to his Mage Melee honor that a simple apology could never make go away, even in a million years.

"Hey!" He shouted at him as he emerged from the shell he had taken refuge in, immediately rehashing his words before the other could open his mouth. "I'm not a fan of the ignorant DPS either. I'm the one who is made for the Off Tank Mage! I'm the one who's always forced to clean up Tank's messes in the front line, don't you dare put me on the same level as them! Besides, why would you have these fucking doubts! Huh? I'm a man from hair to toe!" He continued with his harangue, a tad embarrassing for someone his age, even going so far as to stand up and pound his fist violently on his chest, even hurting himself.

"What makes you think I want to stay in the back while someone else takes the beating!? Huh? What the fuck makes you think that!?"

Well, the shrill tone and childish manner in which he had just exploded were already good clues, but Roberto avoided saying such things out loud. Even he, within his limits, knew when it was best to avoid sticking the knife in too far. Although, underneath, that little bit of desire to make a mess always came out on top in the end during the usual duel against his conscience. At least, however, thanks to the absurdity of the situation, the mood of the group seemed to have improved.

"You just give me that idea," said Roberto shortly afterwards, not being able to resist the call of the bullshit.