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Jack had warned them of a ‘dangerous, deranged, and likely armed’ man sitting on a bench across from the koi pond. Jack had reported as many details as possible to urge the police to move in quicker.

He had tried his best to be equally tolerant of everyone. But past issues didn’t make Jack tolerant of the mentally ill. They were likely to be violent and do horrible things, in Jack’s experience.

He remembered how Zarian would mutter to himself during class back in high school. He remembered how Zarian attacked other people like a raving maniac – though there were rumors saying that Zarian had only attacked his bullies in self-defense.

He bit off a guy’s ear like a Mike Tyson wannabe. That’s the actions of a crazy man, not someone rational defending themselves.

Jack had stayed as far away from Zarian as possible. He’d started doing that ever since he first heard Zarian whisper to his dead little sister that nobody else could see.

What was her name?

“Ariana, come out and see this!” Zarian yelled, sounding as deranged as usual.

Hearing him like that made Jack flinch where he lay belly down, arms covering his head.

A few droplets of piss leaked out and stained his expensive pants.

This is my favorite brand, Jack realized before pushing that thought aside.

He was still grasping at straws, trying to make sense of the unbelievable things he’d seen.

Zarian had shot out a dark tentacle from his hand back at the mall. Gunfire had ensued, which had Jack pinned in the corner close to the elevator behind the koi pond. Then a powerful suction had snatched Jack off the floor and dropped him into a dark, cave-like room.

From there, he’d watched Zarian shoot more dark beams like he was a villain straight out of a fantasy novel or movie. As a concept, it should’ve been comical or silly. Jack had never seen something so horrifying in his life.

That couldn’t be actual magic. There was no way. Because why would Zarian of all people have those powers?

Yet, the dark beams had sent grown men off their feet. Zarian had defeated them without weapons, only magic.

Not without injury, though.

It was dark here, with only a few light sources. Despite the lack of clear vision, Jack was sure that Zarian had been shot. Possibly in multiple places. If only someone could land a final hit on the mad man.

If only I weren’t hallucinating about blue notifications and a profile, Jack thought.

What the heck was this madness? He was Level 1, apparently. And he had an … alpha skill?

It even came with a description:

Jack looked up shakily at Zarian. The mad man was sitting down, not moving, doing God knows what.

Quickly, Jack resummoned his profile with a thought. He examined his ‘stats’ – which he could hardly believe were real – and noticed that his Wonder stat was higher than the others.

Why was that?

What was Wonder?

He waited for answers from the so-called System. But he received no explanations.

Was 9 points in Wonder enough to do anything to Zarian?

“Ariana, if you don’t come out, I’m going to choose my class without you!” Zarian shouted hoarsely before letting loose some wet coughs and a groan. “Then you’ll regret it!”

He sounded weak even while shouting. Even with all of his magic power.

If Zarian could use magic, couldn’t Jack do the same now? Why should someone as crazy and dangerous as Zarian be the only one to use his powers?

Jack trusted himself to have magic if it existed. Someone had to stop Zarian before he did even worse damage.

Removing his hands from over his head, Jack initiated his plan. He calmed his shaking body with a few deep breaths, in and out, in and out. He pushed his hand forward toward Zarian’s seated body.

The distance wasn’t too far. Only about forty feet. Jack had a good eye for hitting at range ever since he’d played little league baseball.

He was not good enough for D1, but he was good enough for chucking a decent fast ball accurately. Or in this case, shoot actual magic to kill a dangerous man.

You need to go down! Jack gritted his teeth and willed for the magic, Star Bolt, to work.

To his ever-growing surprise, the alpha skill answered his request. He felt a click inside of him, like the press of a mystical button.

He saw weird alien symbols flash through his mind, overworking his brain, making it throb. He didn’t get why he was hurting when it was a Level 1 skill.

Was that because he lacked enough energy or whatever?

The throbbing headache stopped mattering when a literal spark of starlight formed in Jack’s palm. The light pushed back the darkness despite its small size.

The growing Star Bolt shone with hope, faith, and Wonder.

Jack was amazed. He was a true believer now.

And he was about to die when a pony-size creature thrashed across the ground in his direction. He noticed its moving bulk from the corner of his vision and turned to see a gaping maw filled with teeth aiming for his flesh.

Jack jerked his star-lit palm around.

He fired his shot. And missed.

His one skill streaked across the cavernous room and over a pool of dark ichor that was filled with more of the large monsters. The Star Bolt blasted the far wall with a solid burst, spraying sparks and rock chips like a grenade going off.

It was amazing. It would’ve beaten the monster back if it had landed on flesh instead of stone. It would’ve been nice to charge another one if Jack had the time and energy.

I’m dead, Jack thought.

The monster lunged into the air. It plummeted down on Jack. He froze. He screamed.

Before he met his doom, dark beams struck the slimy monster’s side, all direct hits. The streams of jetting darkness pushed with a force that was palpable, making Jack feel oppressed under a heavy, invisible weight.

The monster’s momentum reversed and slammed down somewhere behind Jack.

“Ah, wait, I should’ve struck with the pointy ends, not the blunt ends,” Zarian said, slurring his words. “Ugh, I’m not doing so great.”

“Are you for real, Darkrun? You caused this mess, and now you’re complaining? You’re so out of pocket I want to shoot you myself,” said a familiar dark-skinned woman.

Despite her threat, she sounded way too calm about the situation they were in.

She grabbed hold of another woman’s hand, one of the show girls who worked for the rum promoters. She was the same girl who had her bottle snatched away by Zarian.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Jack watched the two women run from the slimy, coiling monsters. They stopped behind Zarian, who was still sitting down.

The guns are over there. Jack scrambled to his feet, his headache giving him some trouble, but not enough to stop him. It faded away a little at a time, making it easier for him to concentrate and move.

He lunged over one of the police officers. They were still struggling to get up after Zarian had taken them down.

Jack wasn’t going to help them. They’d failed their duty to protect and serve. If the monsters ate them, that was their fault.

Breathing in relief, he joined the others who got on the side of the man who caused all of this trouble.

Other than the familiar black woman and the rum promoter girl, there was the addition of a middle-aged woman clutching half-a-dozen shopping bags and a skinny retailer worker guy.

None of them went for the pile of pistols that was near the maniac. Jack thought of them as idiots as he tried to circle around the strange gathering and get at the guns.

Something snake-like lunged from the darkness under him. It snatched him by the wrist and made him squeal.

“Jack Masters? Yeah, that’s you.” Zarian flicked a single finger, beckoning Jack.

The dark tendril pulled Jack over into a stumble, its power undeniable. He nearly burst into pathetic apologies about calling the police and trying to kill him, but Zarian kept talking.

“You should’ve pitched more baseballs, dude. I swore you would’ve made it to D1. But I guess it’s a good thing you’re here. I need you to aim my hand. Blood loss is getting to me, and I’m still in the middle of selecting my class.”

Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Zarian hadn’t realized Jack had tried blasting him with Star Bolt earlier.

Well, Jack wasn’t going to tell him.

“I don’t know what those big wormy things are, but they look scary. It’s a good thing I’m scarier.” Zarian laughed wetly before letting loose a fit of coughs.

Now that Jack had an up close look. The man … looked rough. Very rough.

He’d gone into the Marines and gotten kicked out, which was the last thing Jack heard about his former school peer before today. Jack wondered why the Marines would let go of a magical super villain?

How were they here? How was any of this possible?

Then Jack noticed one monster thrashing toward a vulnerable police officer. The man was struggling to crawl away.

Jack still didn’t want to help.

What if touching Zarian was a trap? What if the maniac bit off his ear? Jack didn’t want to sacrifice anything, not for a failed police officer.

“I’ll do it.” The black woman brushed past Jack and dropped to a knee beside Zarian. “Gods damn you, boy, why are you so much freaking trouble? I can’t go anywhere without wondering what stupidity you’re gonna get into next.”

“Oh hey, Sergeant Washington,” Zarian slurred. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Jack jolted with sudden realization. The black woman was the military recruiter who’d shown up at their high school senior year.

She’d recruited Zarian into the Marines.

What was this twisted fate? How did this happen?

Jack gawked as Sergeant Washington sat in a stable shooting position and treated Zarian’s arm like a rifle. She rested her cheek on his triceps and aimed down the limb and past his outstretched fingers. Then she squeezed his biceps firmly.

Instead of the boisterous bang of gunfire, a silent and weighty bar of darkness shot forth. It was scarier when it made no noise while packing so much power.

The dark beam speared through the monster that nearly bit into one of the downed policemen. The creature thrashed aside, missing the man by a few inches.

Monster blood sprayed about, spilling on the officer. Jack heard a stifled gasp from someone behind him. He was gasping for air himself.

“My aim was off,” Sergeant Washington said. “Let’s try that again with a double-tap.”

She squeezed Zarian’s biceps twice and fired two short, dark beams, one after the other. She obliterated the monster’s skull, tossing up gore, brains, and eyeballs.

“It’s a fish,” said the retailer worker guy. “It’s a koi fish, but a big and mean one.”

“How did it get like that?” said the rum promoter girl with a strong Hispanic accent.

“Someone fucking help me!” shouted one of the downed policemen. That was the most he could do.

“Someone should go help them before they get eaten by the, eh, koi fish,” urged the rum promoter girl.

Nobody moved, especially not Jack. Instead, he glanced at the guns. The rum promoter and retail worker followed his gaze, probably thinking the same thing.

Jack hesitated. He had his energy back. The headache was gone.

He could fire another Star Bolt. It was powerful. Maybe it could be as powerful as Zarian’s dark beams.

Wouldn’t his skill improve if he used it more? Just like how it worked in a video game?

This was actual magic. Wonderful magic. It would be more powerful than a gun if he leveled it up, right?

Zarian was the perfect example, which Jack realized with horror and disgust.

Sergeant Washington was picking off the monster-turned koi fish with ease. Zarian was a reliable weapon, shooting pointy dark beams whenever his recruiter squeezed his biceps.

She pushed the shooting pace to a five-shot volley with a pause in between. She and Zarian blasted the koi monsters into gory bits before the giant fish could reach the downed policemen.

It was a terrifying display of power.

Zarian wasn’t even paying that much attention. He was letting someone else aim and signal when to fire. Sergeant Washington handled that like a pro.

“How are you doing that? How are you so brave?” asked the rum promoter girl, which was the same question Jack was wondering.

“I’m cheating. I got this alpha skill called Tranquil Thoughts, Level 2. It calms me down and makes me think clearly. Or I’ll lose my shit like the rest of you,” Sergeant Washington explained. “Is that what’s happening now? We’re in a video game? All because of this impulsive boy? God, you annoy me so much, Darkrun.”

“My bad, Sergeant.” Zarian let out a bloody chuckle that made the others shiver. “I might’ve screwed up a lot. But I got good news. I know what I’m picking for my class.”

“Does this look like high school to you?” Sergeant Washington snapped at him, while still shooting at the monsters.

Jack couldn’t believe the gall of this woman during an absolute massacre. Yet, Zarian kept chuckling, not bothered at all.

“Video game term, Sergeant. It means I’m picking a magical battle role to beat the monsters better.”

“Sorcerer?” asked the retailer worker guy.

“Oh, I get it. This is a role play. This is all make-believe. It’s like the VR stuff and brain chips, right?” asked the rum promoter girl.

Jack was having a hard time with the tonal whiplash. There was death, macabre, and screaming monsters ahead. Yet the surrounding discussion was more suitable at a convention for nerds.

“Not sorcerer. And this is not make believe,” Zarian said. “Here, I’ll show you. You can stop shooting now, Sergeant.”

The recruiter hesitated for a second before backing off of Zarian’s arm. She strode to the pile of pistols, picked one, then emptied the rest of their magazines and cleared the bullets. She shoved the mags into the thin waistline of her jeans.

She probably needed the gun and bullets more than Jack. He’d never shot a gun before. He was still sad she took control of one and hogged all the ammunition.

Meanwhile, Zarian staggered to his feet like a drunk.

Wait, he is drunk, isn’t he? He’d taken a bottle from the rum promoter girl when all of this madness started.

Jack couldn’t believe he was standing behind this guy now.

Zarian lurch toward the remaining monsters. There were far fewer now. Sergeant Washington had done a good job wiping out half of them with Zarian’s power.

Jack glared.

Why wasn’t Zarian affected by overuse?

“Yeah, no, I’m not going to,” Sergeant Washington muttered to no one in particular.

“Not going to what?” Jack asked.

The military recruiter looked grimly at the back of Zarian’s bleeding head. Her hand gripped the pistol firmly while it pointed at the floor, finger off the trigger.

Jack understood what she meant now. He disliked the woman even further.

She had a golden opportunity, and she was squandering it. Yes, she could wait for Zarian to finish the koi monsters then take advantage. But how could she call herself a Marine and not aim to take down a dangerous disgrace?

It has to be me, Jack thought. Zarian has to have a limit. He can’t shoot all of that magic forever. He’s barely able to stay standing.

“Ariana, I’m worried about you. You’re not responding or showing up anywhere. If you really were a figment of my imagination, that’s going to hurt,” Zarian said aloud. “You know how many people wrote me off as crazy. I’m not crazy. Don’t make me look crazy.”

Jack looked dead in the recruiter’s eye. Aren’t you seeing how insane that is?

Sergeant Washington ignored Jack’s glare with a stony expression. She was not a good woman, that was for sure, or she wouldn’t have gotten Zarian into the Marines somehow.

“When do we go home?” asked the rum promoter girl.

“We’re in an isekai,” said the retail worker guy. “I don’t think we get to go home. I’m Wally, by the way.”

“Hannah,” said the meek-looking, middle-aged woman still clinging to her shopping bags. She was all the way in the back.

“Bianca,” said the rum promoter girl. She was a natural blond beauty and should be far away from these horrors.

Jack muttered his name while Sergeant Washington grunted out “Naomi.” They fell into an uncomfortable silence as Zarian faced off against the remaining koi monsters.

One of the koi monsters stood bigger than the rest with a greater amount of bulk. It looked like a serpentine dragon rising out of the eerie muck that was covering all the monsters.

Maybe the creature might be strong enough to kill Zarian.

Wait, no, if that happens, who would kill it? Jack wanted to shout in frustration.

He also wanted a new pair of pants. It felt uncomfortably wet, distracting him even with death and horror happening in front of him.

Then things became weird when a large, chain-wrapped book phased out of Zarian’s torso and floated in the air beside him. The chains rattled so hauntingly they drove the fear of evil into Jack’s soul.

The chain bindings on the big black book pulled away from its thick face. The covers swung open. Ghastly black lights shone from the rapidly flipping pages.

What the fuck was that? What class did he choose? Jack checked his profile and saw he didn’t have the option to choose a class.

Was it because he was Level 1?

What level was Zarian?

And seriously, why him?