Is this still Earth?

Jeremiah continued. ”Err- lets see. For those curious, I don seem to be that strong. My strength is a nine, but my staminas pretty high at eleven. Everything else is negligible. ”

Activating Analysis (Unique Rank D)

___________________________

Jeremiah

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: Italian

Class: Defender (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 9 | Epic

Agility: 5 | Common

Stamina: 11 | World

Ability Control: 5 | Common

Pressure: ?? | Rare

Skills:

Shield Bash: (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Reinforced Block (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Lions Roar (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

___________________________

(T) Negligible!? You
e a monster! If epic is near-fiction, then how strong is World!?

Arlos affinities were all common, so he felt happy and defeated at the same time over Jeremiahs stat potential.

Hazel nodded as they went around the table. ”Hey guys! My names Hazel. I know I wasn able to do much before Arlo showed up, but I promise that Ill help out where I can in the future.

Honestly, it says all my stats are really low, but I have really good ability control. ” Her happy expression devolved into shyness quickly, ”Unfortunately, I have no idea what that does. ”

___________________________

Hazel

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: French / Spanish

Class: Cryomancer (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 5 | Common

Agility: 6 | Uncommon

Stamina: 6 | Uncommon

Ability Control: 11 | World

Pressure: ?? | Epic

Skills:

Shatter (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

Ice Wall (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Freeze (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

___________________________

(T) Am I just weak?

Ezra nearly punched the table out of excitement, ”Spellblade! Where are my spells. Oh my god! I have to practice immediately. Im a wizard. Im a wizard! ”

___________________________

Ezra

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: East Slavic

Class: Spellblade (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 9 | Epic

Agility: 7 | Rare

Stamina: 7 | Rare

Ability Control: 9 | Epic

Pressure: ?? | Rare

Skills:

Augment weapon (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Arcane Missile (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

___________________________

Blaire sighed, ”This is Ezra. Hes my bro- ”

Boom!

Blaire paused as pieces of debris from the ceiling showered her.

Jeremiah stood up angrily, ”Ezra! What the hell are you doing!? ”

Ezra ignored Jeremiah and stared at his hands in awe. Ezra started rubbing the top of Blaires head roughly, sending her debris-covered, long blonde hair flying in multiple directions. To Everyones surprise, she had no reaction. ”Im Blaire. If it comes down to it, I can fend for myself. Oh, and my strength is 11. ”

Arlo looked up and saw the ceiling slowly repair itself.

Jeremiahs grit his teeth and stared daggers at Ezra.

(T) This must not be the first time theyve fought.

A full twenty seconds had passed since Ezra started rubbing his sisters hair. He still had a maniacal grin on his face, but Blaires remained emotionless.

___________________________

Blaire

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: East Slavic

Class: Warrior (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 11 | World

Agility: 7 | Rare

Stamina: 6 | Uncommon

Ability Control: 5 | Common

Pressure: ?? | Epic

Skills:

Slash (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Rheinhart (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

___________________________

Aria smiled as the table turned to her. ”Hi! Im Aria. I can express how grateful I am to be with you all. I really didn want to die alone, so it means the world to me that you guys took me in. It says my class is archer, but Ive actually never handled a bow before. ” She let out an embarrassed laugh.

___________________________

Aria

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: Cree / English (TL: Native American)

Class: Archer (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 6 | Uncommon

Agility: 9 | Epic

Stamina: 6 | Uncommon

Ability Control: 7 | Rare

Pressure: ?? | Rare

Skills:

Snipe (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

Track (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Eagle-Eye (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

___________________________

As the next person began to speak in a confident, yet smooth voice, ”My friends, we will all get through this together. ” Gaels speech continued.

(T) He seems like a really good guy.

Arlo smiled, but an eerie feeling came over him as he activated Analysis.

___________________________

Gael

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: Taino / Spanish (AN: Puerto Rican)

Class: Weeb (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 7 | Rare

Agility: 7 | Rare

Stamina: 7 | Rare

Ability Control: 7 | Rare

Pressure: ?? | Epic

Skills:

Incite (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Slash (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Plot Armor (Unique Rank D)

Proficiency: 0/100

___________________________

Arlos eyes exploded open as he read the class name. He rubbed his eyes but it remained unchanged.

(T) Don ask. Don **ing ask. Do not-

”Gael, whats your favorite book? ” Arlo regretted his words immediately.

As soon as the question left his lips, Gaels right eye erupted into a torrent of purple particles. ”Im so happy you asked! Its ”The time I died in the real world by getting hit by a truck and got transported to another world as the worlds strongest sage to marry my 12 year old stepsister! Life in another world without the laws of consent! ”

”O-oho, thats great. ” Arlo eeked out.

(T) NO! God why!? Why!?

Everyone except Blaire had their eyes wide open and tightly pursed lips. Ezra stopped rubbing Blaires haird and Jeremiah looked like he was about to pass out.

Hazel whispered to herself, ”Thank god, hes the youngest one. Maybe hell grow out of it. ”

Gaels eye deactivated and immediately returned to the previous topic as if nothing happened. ”But if we all believe in ourselves- ”

Gaels pep talk lasted a few more grueling minutes. The only one actually listening was Blaire who kept vehemently nodding every few sentences as if fully agreeing with what he was saying.

After the questionable speech finished, it was Lanis turn.

(T) It feels rude, but Ive already read through your stats. Why is that eerie feeling returning?

___________________________

Lani

Age: 17

Zodiac: Pisces

Gender: Female

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: Cantonese / Vietnamese

Class: Summoner (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 6 | Uncommon

Agility: 7 | Rare

Stamina: 5 | Common

Ability Control: 9 | Epic

Pressure: ?? | Rare

Skills:

Summon Vulture (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Summon Lion (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

___________________________

(T) Thats weird. Why does it say her zodiac? None of the others-

Lani raised her head proudly, ”Im a Pisces. My rising sign is Cancer and my moon sign is Scorpio. My chinese zod- ”

(T) Wait did she say her name yet?

She continued, ”All of you seem like great people, so Im sure nobody here is a Leo. Don worry guys, Im really open. I love all people. Besides, Leos of course. ”

Arlo stroked his chin and remembered his duty as a future medical professional.

(T) This is the worst case Ive seen so far. Ill have to find her some kind of treatment. Wait a second, Im a Leo!

Lanis eyes sparkled as she looked at Arlo. ”Im pretty good at reading people too. I can already tell that you
e a Scorpio. ” Her eyes beamed as a giant smile manifested on her face

Arlo threw his hands up, ”Oh my god, How did you know!? ”

(T) No! She can never know the truth!

Finally, it was Kenjis turn. It was hard to describe, but Arlo was actually highly expectant of him. His aura was just different.

___________________________

Kenji

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: Japanese / Korean

Class: Assassin (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 6 | Uncommon

Agility: 12 | World +

Stamina: 3 | Common (Affected by Achilles Heel)

Ability Control: 9 | Epic

Pressure: ?? | Rare

Skills:

Flashstep (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

Eviscerate (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Galespeed (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

Active Effects:

Achilles Heel: -40% Stamina (Inflicted by Hermes)

Observers:

Hermes

Fujin (AN: Japanese God of Wind)

___________________________

Kenji cleared his throat and began to speak. ”Im Kenji. Im grateful that all of you were so accommodating and open about your stats. I fear that I may actually hold back the group. Im agile, but my stamina is only 3 so Ill be in your care. ”

(T) He has observers as well. Its a shame that they
e harming him more than helping.

Everyone else nodded respectfully. Arlo couldn shake the feeling that he was stronger than he was putting off. There was something off about him.

(T) Could he have been a criminal?

Before he could delve further into the thought, Nikita started.

Her shy demeanor made her appear to shrink. She spoke in a voice so soft that nobody could even hear her words. ”H-hi Im Nikita. Thank you all fo- ” She trailed off.

(T) I can hear her.

Ezra started, ”Hey! Can you speak up! ”

She continued talking in a small voice. Arlo was only two seats away but couldn discern any of the words she was saying.

At some point, Kenji had started a personal conversation with her, also speaking a tone that couldn be heard by ayone.

(T) What are they talking about!? I wanna know!

Gael was the next to speak, ”As a friend, I will learn the language of my allies! No matter how long it takes me! ”

Gael also began to speak in a volume so low that it couldn be heard. Arlo could tell that he still couldn hear Nikita and Kenji, but they welcomed him in and seemed to understand everything he was saying.

Lani shook, ”T-they must be the same star sign. ”

(T) No! Fuck! I thought you would all be normal!

Blaire looked attentively and nodded while listening into Nikita and Kenjis conversation

Arlo looked to Jeremiah and Hazel pleadingly and they gave him sympathetic expressions.

Arlo began to tear up.

(T) Atleast I have you guys.

___________________________

Nikita

Age: 16

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: Akari / English (TL: African-American)

Class: Electromancer (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 6 | Uncommon

Agility: 9 | Epic

Stamina: 5 | Common

Ability Control: 9 | Epic

Pressure: ?? | Rare

Skills:

Lightning bolt (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Syncronize (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

___________________________

After a short while, it seemed like their conversation was finished.

Jeremiah started, ”Arlo, do you have any idea what the stats and affinities mean? Strength, Agility and Stamina seem obvious, but the other two… ”

Arlo responded, ”Im not 100% sure, but Im pretty sure ability control has to do with ones expertise. ”

Arlo thought back to when he used his pierce skill in the first floor. He had somehow managed to land almost all of his hits. His accuracy was obviously modified by that skill. He hadn even used a knife for anything besides cooking before then.

Arlo continued, ”And as for pressure, I don even know where to begin. ”

Jeremiah nodded. ”Also, the adjectives on the affinities don make sense. Why would it be called
are if its common for us? ”

Arlo stroked his chin for a moment.

(T) Hes right. Even in Gaels case, who had some of the lowest stats in the group. All of his affinities were rare. Does that mean having all rare affinities is rare, or… is just having one stat set as rare unprecedented. Epic normally means fictional or near-fiction.If the system follows our sense of grammar, then how come those affinity levels are common among them?

Arlo sighed, ”Im really not sure. ”

Hazel broke the silence, ”Oh! What are your stats, Arlo? ”

He knew this moment was coming, but, unfortunately, he knew the answer would be a let-down to the others. He summoned his status window.

___________________________

Arlo

Age: 22

Gender: Male

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: French / German

Class: Wannabe-Doctor (Rank D)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 6(12) | Common

Agility: 6(12) | Common

Stamina: 6(12) | Common

Ability Control: 5(10) | Common

Pressure: ?? | Horizon

Skills:

Pierce (Rank F)

Proficiency: 3/100

Heal: (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

Bloodlet: (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

Analysis: (Unique Rank D)

Proficiency: 8/100

Active Effects:

Nexuss interference (Severe) – Boosts strength, agility, stamina, and ability control by 100% at the cost of increased probability for the giver. This effect also blocks other beings from being able to observe you.

Observers:

Nexus

___________________________

Arlo de-materialized the screen and looked back at Hazel, ”It won let me access it. I honestly don know. ”

The atmosphere tilted slightly in the room as silence persisted.

(T) Yeah, I expected that. They were all being so honest that I hate to do this. However, before I can divulge any information, I need to figure out what this active effect is first. I don want to get them involved with Nexus, especially when Kenji has other observers.

Gael was the first to break the silence, ”Y-you! Your stats are so high that they won even let you see it! You
e a protagonist! A real protagonist!

”Haha. ” Arlo force a courteous laugh

(T) I think I preferred the silence.

Arlo shifted his gaze over to Xavier, ”What about you, Xav? ”

Xavier didn waste anytime and introduced himself. ”Hey! Hey! Im Xavier! ”

Hazels heart melted as she saw the little boys excitement.

Arlo wasn hopeful but went ahead and peered into his stats.

___________________________

Xavier

Age: 5

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: English

Class: Telekineticist (Rank E)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 5 | Common

Agility: 5 | Common

Stamina: 5 | Common

Ability Control: 15 | Star +

Pressure: ?? | World

Skills:

Telepathy (Rank E)

Proficiency: 0/100

Telekinesis (Rank F)

Proficiency: 0/100

Telekinetic Slam (Rank D)

Proficiency: 0/100

Limit: Requires incantation

Observers:

Sol

Archaea

Alpha Centauri B

Wolf 359

Pending Mission:

Mission forcibly activated by the First creator, Archaea

___________________________

Mission

Difficulty: D

Objective: Kill one of your allies

Reward: Mother and Father will be resurrected.

Accept / Decline

___________________________

___________________________

(T) What?

Xavier put on a sad expression, ”All my stats are 5. ”

Arlo tried his best to keep his composure, but the world around him begin to blur.

(T) Xavier?

”Im weak, so you guys don have to worry about me doing anything. Im sad that I can be a hero like the revengers though. ”

(T) Xavier…

Hazel had to hold back her tears as she heard the little boy talk. ”Xavier, its ok! Nobody expects you to put yourself in danger. Well make sure you
e safe. ”

(T) Why?

Aria chimed in. ”Shes right! As long as we can play and be happy together, thats all that matters Xavier. ”

(T) Why are you lying?