The "Best" RPG Ever-66

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---

Katherine burst into the living room. "Did we seriously not buy one umbrella?! Ever!?" Everyone present—Mira, Clera, Zack and Nora—stared at her for a second. "...Hi Clera bytheway," she said with a small wave. "Glad to see you made up and woke up and all."

"Um. Hello." She was confused by the sudden shift from excited/angry to friendly/calm.

"...I guess not?" said the witch. "Is this a serious problem?"

"No...I just thought obviously someone would've thought to buy something with basic utility like that. Including me. I mean, how many times did we go on hours-long journeys out somewhere to fight monsters or whatever, where it might rain anytime on the way, and didn't even have like, a coat?"

"Th-there were higher priorities than j-just not getting a little wet," Nora said.

"A little? Look what it's doing outside right now." She gestured. "If it did that and got cold enough, it could make someone sick. Or...hypothermia or whatever! Right?"

"I suppose that is a sensible concern," said Clera. "Although, people don't actually get colds from merely being cold."

"I knew that already."

"Before or after you read her mind?" Mira teased with a grin.
"Before...obviously," the catgirl said with her hands on her hips. "I passed biology, I know how viruses work. I mean, on a basic level at least. But even disregarding health issues, just think of how many of us have a bunch of fur or really long hair to weigh us down if we get wet, or at least—if Nora's not in the party anyway—be a huge pain to get dry again."

"Did you actually..?" the winged girl started.
"I pick up 'loud' thoughts, like whatever you're about to say, on instinct. Can't really turn it off. No, I haven't been actually digging through your brain or anything," the psion said.

"Good. Don't."

"Anyway, can't you just like...deflect the raindrops with your mind?" said Mira. "What good are psychic powers if you can't even do that?"

"Weelll...there is a telekinetic shield skill. But it's kinda, a little out of the way and I'm trying to stay on-build..."

"Surely you only need the one level to deal with something as small and slow-moving as raindrops, though?" she pressed. "Anyway, the power to block stuff sounds useful enough to put in your build, in case those catlike reflexes you can't level up ever happen to fail you?"

"Aria won't be happy. Shouldn't you be on her side anyway?"
Mira put up her hands. "There's really nothing wrong with the 'this and that' build as long as it comes together in the end. I get the feeling we'll have lots of opportunities to get more points anyway. It's not that expensive to take, is it?"

"Where're you in such a hurry to go to anyway?" Zack interjected.

"I'm not in a hurry, I just wanted to go to town and thought not getting soaked in the process would be nice. And where I wanna go really isn't any of your business!"
"It's not, and I didn't mean it like that," he said, his ears drooping a bit.
"You didn't, right. Sorry."

Nora asked, "You know that now, b-but not a minute ago?"

"Yeah, sometimes picking up the intent behind someone's words comes after coming up with a response to them," she shrugged. "Even with mind-reading help."

"Well, since it was magically summoned or whatever, this should blow over before long, right?" Zack suggested.
"There's no reason to assume that," said the witch. "It could mean just the opposite. Anyway, take that skill and you can go as soon as you like."

The catgirl grabbed one wrist with the opposite hand. "I'm really not in a hurry, though..."

"Then take a seat if you want." Mira patted the spot right next to her on the couch.

---

"...But then you just sneaked out that night to keep trying. The next morning you walked up and did it in one shot, and we didn't even know you'd practiced all night until you started falling asleep during classes the whole rest of the day."

"Hahah, that sounds about right. I won't let some wall beat me," said Aria. She leaned back in her chair a little. "Strange how much all this fits me..."
"How so?" Loren's head tilted a bit. "I mean, it is you."
"Uh." It wasn't like she could explain the real reason to him. "I just mean, I don't actually remember it but it fits so well with what I think of myself. You know, like how do you block off all the memories but still end up with the exact same personality those experiences shaped? That's not how amnesia stories usually go, right?"

"I don't know what books you've been reading, but sure. I'll admit I'm happy it still seems like you, even if you don't exactly remember."

"Alright, so what did I do for a living anyway? I can't imagine that I was much of a fighter before, considering how clumsy I feel about combat without the sword boosting me."
"Yeah, not really. You did accounting for a lot of the shops around town. As far as I understand you found it supremely dull, but it paid the bills and you only had to do it for six hours a day, with the rest left over to do whatever you wanted. By the reaction after you left, I get the impression your work was pretty good, though."
"Hmn. Sounds like something I'd rather not remember all that well. Dangerous work like this has its own problems, but it's never boring," Aria said, mentally noting the similarity to her Earth job. Whoever made up this other life for her had apparently been watching Will for a long time. More evidence it was the gods, perhaps.

---

Clera stood up. "I find myself exceptionally hungry now. I neglected to eat before we left out of concern for expediency."
"Well, help yourself," said Mira. "Just don't try to use fire magic to cook, eh?"

"Uh..what's that supposed to mean? I've—the one from here has never really felt confident enough in her control to try that," she said.
"Never mind, reference you wouldn't get," she said with a vague wave. "Sometimes I forget who I'm talking to."
"Okay then..." The winged girl made her way to the kitchen.

"I've been wondering, by the way—what sorta jobs you all had back on Earth," said the witch. "If anyone wants to share?"

"Um, I-I was still making my way through college," Nora said. "T-trying to get a degree in literature or s-something like that, wasn't really decided yet..."

"Looking to be a writer?" Mira asked. The elf gave a shy nod. "Well, if we ever do get back, this'll be quite the inspiring experience, won't it?"
"Hah...I g-guess so."

"Well, I did engineering work. Actual engineering, not sitting at a computer all day like Aria," said the catgirl. "Shame there's no real electrical systems in this world, or I could make some crazy good money combining that knowledge with not needing to actually touch the shocky bits. What about you, huh?"

"Hmmn, I suppose I brought the question on myself," said Mira. "I guess I know you all well enough to be honest. Let's just say...if I said my last name you might just recognize it. I'm the third-youngest son of a pretty old-money family. More or less just coasted through law school and got a cushy job pushing paper around for a big law firm because of that. The pay was better than my work was honestly worth, too.

"So anyway...What about Zack, hmn?"

"What about me?" His arms were crossed semi-defensively, and he looked unhappy with the question. "Who cares what my old job was?"
"Well, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but...I can't be the only curious one here," said the witch.
"It's not like I was doing anything important," he said.

"And nobody says you had to be, either. I mean—nothing I did was vitally important, but most of the other people who knew how to do it had actually passed the bar and were busy being actual lawyers. Does it need to be a big secret for some reason?" she pressed.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine. I worked at a warehouse. Paying off debts for a college education I never actually used anywhere. Happy?"

"I mean—I guess so, but I dunno why you're upset about it," Mira said, getting an actual look of concern. "Was it a bad job or something?"
"No, it was fine. I just felt like I was wasting my life there doing nothing really important, is all. Everyone else here did something amazing or important or—at least that pays well," he said, waving a hand in a small gesture, "I mean—there's three people living here who you could actually call 'famous'! And that just rubs it in worse."

"Come on, that's not right. What you were doing was important too," the witch insisted. "Maybe more than what I was doing at least—I mean, it involved stuff getting physically moved around to where it needed to be, right?"

"Yeah. Job that'd be done by robots if the company thought they could afford it," he said, not looking very encouraged.

"Well sure, but it wasn't yet," said Katherine. "At the pace of that tech, you could probably retire before needing to worry about that. Really, what's got you so upset?"

"Look, I played games to forget what my real life was like," he said. "You know—big, epic quests where important people do something like save the world or at least a nation or something. I used to wish I could get to be one of those people, in some other world instead. But now I'm here, and I'm still just...me. I mean, I'm strong and good with a sword or whatever, but I didn't actually earn any of that. It just got dropped on me. There's probably a million other people who could've landed here the same way, been given the same stuff, and done just as well as I did—or better, really."

"You don't think there's anything special about you?" said Katherine, incredulous. "Zack, in case you don't know, anyone's first instinct is to avoid something dangerous, but—I don't think I can even count how many times you've jumped in front of something to protect someone else."

"A-and usually gotten hurt b-because of it," Nora added.

"That's just because—I'm supposed to do that," he said, "This body can take hits yours can't."

"More importantly," Mira said, "You're an honest, straightforward person, always kind even to people you don't really like that much, and you hate seeing others get hurt so much you'd rather get hurt yourself. Am I wrong?"
He hesitated for a long moment. "...Well, no, but.."
"And you think being that way is normal, not something to be commended for, because it's so obviously the right thing to do," she continued before he could come up with an objection. "If that's not special then it's a good thing, because that's how people should be. Jobs and paychecks don't define people. Where you work doesn't matter compared to who you are."

"...I...I guess not." Zack looked to one side, toward a wall, visibly blushing. He was still wearing a frown, but at least his ears were up and his tail wagging ever so slightly; Mira concluded that she'd succeeded in making him feel better.

---

In the late morning, Ezra came to Tsaron's house, wearing a tan cloak big enough to obscure her features. The door opened as soon as she was in front of it, and she walked inside silently; it closed behind her.
The elf was waiting inside, sitting at his table. "Welcome! I understand our town heroes took down a fire giant early this morning," he said.

Ezra took a moment to get the blue crystal charm at the end of her necklace out, holding it in one hand and snapping the other hand's finger once. The water on her clothes and hair flowed into the charm, refilling some of its magic spent that morning. "Indeed...word travels fast." Then she took off the cloak, and mimed hanging it on a coatrack that wasn't in the room; it stayed in place anyway, thanks to the psion.

"Now, why didn't you ask me on this little adventure?" he said. "You and I could've killed something like that no problem."
"As if you'd come within a mile of harm's way," she replied, crossing her arms disapprovingly.

"Sure, but I would have lent you one of my toys. Like this little number?" A flail whose striking head appeared to be made of ice floated into the room through a doorway and waved itself around a bit. "Surely that plus the Favor would've been sufficient for you."
"Of course." After taking a moment to stretch, Ezra came to the table, taking a seat opposite Tsaron. "But since the two of us clearly aren't enough to do whatever needs to be done, I thought it best to give them some practice instead. The reputation boost won't hurt them, either."
"And why not let yourself go underestimated, right?" The weapon showed itself back out of the room at this point.
"That too," she nodded.

A pot of tea that had been busy making itself floated over, pouring into two cups already on the table. "You still like it sweet?" A few of the sugar cubes floated out of their dish. Once she'd nodded, they were dropped into Ezra's cup. Both of them took a moment to quietly drink some of the tea, although Tsraon made a point to still not lift a finger in the process. Even for an audience of one, he just couldn't help but be a massive show-off.

"So, after seeing them in action yourself—any better ideas about why this bunch was chosen this time?"

"...Not particularly," she shook her head after a moment. "They do seem pretty smart on the whole; at least some of them have good tactical sense that I think was learned before coming here. Nothing like the results of real training, but enough to improvise some good ideas on the spot at least. As expected, their 'new' abilities have been growing by leaps and bounds since they first got here, and they seem well-adapted to using them."

"I could've told you that," Tsaron said. "They have a menu when their eyes are closed, similar to our old books but I guess tailored to a more electronics-oriented mind—and far harder to misplace. And they've been going off to do something nearly every day, even though they've definitely got enough money and fame by now to skip the real work. Even accounting for the one who needs blood to stay sane, they seem to have a sort of restlessness about them."
"Almost like they're motivated to do something besides sit around all day," Ezra said with a mildly sarcastic edge.

"Come on, you know it's all in here," he said, finally raising a hand to point to his head for a second. "Haven't you had a little less unsolved crime lately thanks to me?"

"I don't know much statistics, but I received a report of that nature recently, yes. What've you been doing to my populace?"
"Nothing extreme or detrimental. Just, you know, giving the odd person a fleeting impulse to look the right way or go to the right place at the right time to catch someone in the act." He shrugged. "Sometimes it only takes a little nudge for someone to convince themselves it's a bad idea, too."
Ezra took another sip of tea. "I'd rather you ask before taking up a project like that, but that's fine, I suppose. You're planning to have a closer look at them yourself soon, aren't you?"
"I invited them to all come in for tea if they want to," he said. "I predict that they will want to this afternoon, sometime after the rain lets up. Maybe your transporter will join them, unless he'd prefer to catch up on stolen sleep."

---

Lynn threw open the stairwell door and burst into the living room, the energy of an idea born from just waking behind her. "Hey! Morning again everyone. You're up!" she added, looking at Clera.

"I am."

"Uh, what happened exactly? You okay?"
"I'm well." A brief explanation followed of what had happened.

"So, you can do fire magic now?" The winged girl nodded. "Great. More tactical options is always good." She looked around the room and fixed her eyes on Nora once they'd found her. "So, I had kind of a thought. You can throw around pretty big quantities of water easily, right?"
"Right..?" Nora wasn't sure where this was going.
"So, bodies here seem to still be made mostly of water. Could you use that to like, throw monsters or people around?"

"Um..I d-d-don't think I can," she said.
"Why not?"

"Will to live," Clera interjected.

Lynn paused turning to look at her. "Huh?"
"People—and creatures of all kinds, for that matter—have a natural resistance against that kind of thing. Specifically magical interference of the 'inside' of their body. It's usually called the 'will to live resistance'. A disembodied arm or a corpse with sufficient water content, she probably could do it with."

"How strong is this resistance, exactly?"

"Very. Enough that if a fire mage wanted to kill someone it would be several times more efficient to make a fire hot enough to kill them outside their body than make a small, controlled fire inside of it to hit a vital organ. It isn't entirely impossible to do something like that but it's much more difficult even to try; magic users' instincts target the outside of the body for presumably this exact reason.

"..Before you ask, it doesn't depend on the size of the body, its magical capacity, or seemingly on the intelligence of the creature, either. It's as difficult with small rodents as it is with giant monsters, and psions—known to have zero magic capacity—are just as resistant as anyone else."

"And, why's it called 'will to live'?" Katherine asked.
"Because of its properties, it's believed to come from the soul, and to be a manifestation of a person's will to live. For one thing, it doesn't affect healing magic. A healer can interfere with the body as much as they like because that interference involves fixing things the body itself wants fixed. Empathic magic is also healing, and...corrupted Empath magic, 'giving' wounds to others, essentially uses its fundamental nature as healing magic as a backdoor to get around that resistance." She frowned, obviously disgusted with the idea. "For another, it has been...shown to be significantly weakened in a person who is genuinely suicidal, with extremely unpleasant results. It's actually convenient when you don't want to hurt someone, for example, drying them out with water magic without drying out their mouth or pulling any of their blood out?"

"Oh yeah..that, should've occurred to me sooner," Lynn said.

Clera nodded. "You just target the whole person with a light touch and the resistance does the hard work for you. Magic users don't even think about it most of the time. Something similar is known to affect psionic powers, by the way," Clera added, turning slightly toward the catgirl. "Even a powerful telekinetic will have a far easier time throwing a person's entire body around than they will using that power to pull out a vital organ; or, say, inducing brain death by telepathy is known to be nearly impossible."

"Could you get around that by making someone suicidal? I mean, not that I actually would, but since you brought it up..."

"No one has ever succeeded in doing that instantaneously. The mind, I'm sure you know, is an intricate and complicated thing. It's just as difficult as attempting to cure something like depression through telepathy. Long-term—very long-term thought manipulation could work, perhaps, but it would take a particularly cruel person, even from among those who would want to murder someone, to go that route."