Adapt the World

“Town guards, huh?” Kael asked, cocking his head. “Funny, I don’t think guards move like that.”

“Seems like you don't come to town often,” Toothpick Man replied, spitting the pick from his lower lip. It embedded itself in the dirt with a sharp crack.

The swordsman didn’t speak. He lowered his blade slowly, the thin line across Kael’s throat still glistening. It hadn’t been deep. It was just enough to greet him.

Kael touched the cut and looked at the red smeared across his fingers. “Alright,” he muttered. “Guess we’re doin’ this.”

He flicked his arm casually against his side—no tension, no shout. Just a little tap against his own ribs. Haruto noticed too late what he was doing.

"Stop him!" He shouted.

The air rippled, and a shockwave pulsed outward from Kael. The ground trembled, and the two guards were hurled backward, skidding along the dirt in wide arcs. Kael wasted no time. He lunged, his pace faster and strides longer with each step.

He went for Toothpick first. The old man didn’t even flinch. His body moved like water, bending backward just as Kael’s kick grazed his nose. The moment Kael overextended, Toothpick jumped into the air, spitting a rain of toothpicks, like a machine gun.

Kael weaved and ducked, feet barely touching the ground. The terrain detonated in a storm of splinters and dust. He zigzagged erratically, trying to close the gap without getting skewered.

The swordsman reappeared from nowhere, blade flashing in a clean diagonal slash. Kael dropped to one knee, sliding under the cut, then flared up with an uppercut that the swordsman barely blocked.

The two elite guards fought in perfect rhythm—one raining pressure from afar, the other slicing up Kael’s blind spots. It should’ve been over.

“They're all so ridiculous!” Haruto shouted.

“Haruto, look at me.” the System said, floating above his shoulder. "I'm sorry that this is the world you were brought to. I'm sorry that I was using you. But the people after me are bad guys, and I need you because you can think outside of the 'system' that I run."

“How am I supposed to live up to this?” Haruto looked on in amazement, realizing just how outclassed he actually was.

"In my opinion you're the only one who can." the System started. "You've been thinking in terms of this world and trying to adapt to it. I need you to be you!"

Haruto looked back at the little floating eye. Thoughts of his mother came back to him again. She wanted him to be true to himself, and he adapted to the world around him. Just fitting in. It seemed that he was subconsciously doing the same here.

"Alright, no more holding back." Haruto smiled, loosening his tie. "I don't need to adapt to this world. I'll adapt it to me."

Haruto began analyzing the situation through his own lens instead of the world's. He tried to figure out how Kael was doing all of this with a job like Damage Reflector. How was he somehow changing trajectory in an instant? How is he able to use it for so many other effects?

Haruto’s mind raced backward. Kael dodged or redirected every slash. Hid behind Gob-uh-ladies to block arrows. And when he did take hits, they were blunt.

"He's not a Damage Reflector." Haruto said to the System. "I thought you could see these things."

"I can, if they aren't actively hiding it somehow." The System said.

Haruto ducked another errant blast of wind from the fight, shielding the System with his arm. The two guards were incredibly strong, but Kael wasn’t losing. In fact, it looked like he was going to win if something didn't change soon.

Toothpick was being pressured. Kael kept on him so he couldn't use his preferred range. Toothpick attempted to jump away, but Kael caught him by the foot, swinging him to block a sword strike.

The swordsman came down on him with a clang as Toothpick grabbed the sword with his teeth to stop it. Kael roared as he spun, slamming Toothpick down on top of the swordsman. They bounced off of the stone ground and then slammed down again with extra force.

The two guards, bloodied and beaten, stood from their crater. Kael breathed heavily, falling to one knee. He began to laugh.

"You know you ain't winning this." He said cockily. "Daddy's the only one in town that can beat me! And he ain't here right now!"

"I wouldn't be too sure." Toothpick said, flipping a thick, wide toothpick into the air. He took a big inhale, blowing out as it touched his lips.

The toothpick flew past Kael, creating a gust of wind and an immense boom. It traveled instantly, creating a perfectly round hole in the mountain beyond them. The resulting wind whipped into razors, ripping into Kael and blowing him away. Haruto tried to crouch low, holding the System, but was thrown an estimated 500 feet at least.

The guards fell to their butts, hoping to sit for a moment.

Haruto groaned as he stood up from a bush he had landed in. His clothes were ripped, and his hair had pine needles in it. The System floated nearby, slightly lopsided and flickering.

"Still alive?" it asked.

"Barely," Haruto replied. He winced as he took a step. "You think he's down?"

Kael roared in the distance. An explosion sounded from the forest as he shot into the sky. Their eyes widened in horror that such a powerful attack couldn't take him down.

Haruto searched his person and job list for anything he could use. In his pockets he found a rubber band and a few bent paper clips. His eyes scanned for anything he could use in his sad list of jobs until he got an idea. It was a bad idea, but it was all he had.

Kael shot toward the guards, ready to end their lives. Haruto ran toward them, tying his tie around his left hand and brandishing Yggdrasil in the right. The System screamed at him as he ran toward danger.

Job Unlocked: Sprinter (Toward)

He changed to it, pushing it as hard as he could to reach them. Time seemed to slow as he jumped, using his momentum to carry him while switching back to Stick Hero. It was the only job fast enough, the only job with skills that could properly parry Kael's attacks.

Yggdrasil connected, and Haruto redirected Kael's strike down into the ground. The impact burst upward, sending the guards flying away and carving away the stone. The impact seemed to roll outward, rather than connect all at once, clearly originating from Kael.

Kael had lost his jacket and shirt, with cuts bleeding across his mastered physique. He came up with another powerful hit, Haruto changing to Human Punching Bag just before the impact. The damage was reduced, and the job shot up to level three instantly.

Haruto rolled along the ground, slamming into a tree. It seemed that Human Punching Bag literally only reduced damage from punches, but that was fine. Damage reduction at all was good in this instance.

"You didn't run when you had the chance." Kael said, pumping his fist against his chest. "Mad props, bud. Bad decision though."

"Yeah, I know." Haruto stood slowly, changing his job to Liar. "But why would I run... when I've figured you out?"