A Losers Plan

"That's right!" Haruto said. "I've got you figured out."

It wasn't a complete lie. He had realized that Kael wasn't a Damage Reflector, but he hadn't learned what he actually was. Lying was the first step in Haruto's plan, not to learn more, but to stall. Get Kael into conversation.

"Oh yeah? What have you got on me?" Kael asked with a smile.

Haruto switched from Liar to Stress Management Consultant. "I'm clearly weaker than you. You didn't need to keep it a secret." Haruto said, waiting for his moment.

"It's a perfectly viable strategy to hide your job." Kael leapt forward. "Keeps people guessing!"

Haruto tried to jump back. Stress Management Consultant wasn't great for his agility and reaction speed, but he needed it for just another moment. It was coming. He could tell.

Kael’s foot flew through the air, faster than Haruto could fully dodge. As it grazed his side, he felt the full impact, as if he had been hit squarely. Haruto gritted his teeth as the kick flipped him over and used the momentum to roll into some bushes.

"See, you didn't hit me full on, and I know I didn't hurt you. So, how did that impact occur on my side?" Haruto asked, crawling behind the bushes.

"What does it matter? You said it yourself. You ain't winning even if you find out." Kael said, with a slight catch in his throat.

There it was. Stress. It wasn't big, but Kael didn't like Haruto piecing things together.

Haruto pulled the paper clip and rubber band from his pocket once again. He fastened the paper clip into the rubber band and pulled it back, aiming it through an opening in the bush like a slingshot. Just two more steps in his plan, and then he was stuck improvising again.

"You seem tense. Have you ever tried breathing exercises?" Haruto activated his Stress Management Advice skill on Kael, reducing the pain he would feel.

He switched from Stress Management Consultant to one he hadn't used before. Paper Clip Marksman. Haruto spent a lot of time shooting paper clips into the corkboard on the wall of his tiny cubicle. He got pretty good at it in his old world, but in this world...

He took aim at Kael's knee and released. It wasn't as sharp as a toothpick, and his job level definitely wasn't as high as the toothpick man's. The paper clip flew through the air, hitting its mark. This part of the plan was to accomplish two things: to confirm that Kael wasn't reflecting damage and to, hopefully, reduce his movement speed.

Kael walked toward the bush, taking no notice of the paper clip in his knee. Haruto had caused damage but hid it through the pain reduction of his Stress Management Advice skill. Haruto changed back to Stick Hero and stood from behind the bushes. It was time to improvise.

"You ready to fight me like a man, now?" Kael smiled again.

"Not at all!" Haruto said, charging forward. "I just have a few tests I want to run."

Haruto swung Yggdrasil with all of his might. Kael stood there and smiled, taking it to the cheek. Haruto expended one of his barrage stacks, turning the single hit into two. He felt the impact slap him in the face. It threw him back, dealing more damage than it should have for the amount he would have done.

As Haruto twisted in the air to land on his feet, he smiled. He didn't take a hit to the face for no reason. Haruto hit Kael twice. Only one hit came back.

Haruto laughed like a madman. He had put enough info together that it gave him a strange feeling of euphoria. The System watched as Haruto seemed to have a mental breakdown.

"Haruto! What are you doing?" The System screamed. "We can't handle this!"

"Don't you see it?" Haruto continued to laugh, pointing Yggdrasil forward. "Look at his face."

The System analyzed Kael with mechanical precision. It took note of every detail. The damage he had taken in his fight against Toothpick and the swordsman had left him tired, but not at all to the point that Haruto should be laughing.

The System's eye widened. It zoomed in on Kael's face and gasped. A red mark, like a vaguely sword-shaped stick, had appeared on his face.

"Y-you hit him..."

The System looked at this wretched creature he had pulled from another world. A cliche, depressed salaryman, with no more promise than any other. He was thrown into the deep end, with no knowledge of how to stay afloat. Another body to throw at its pursuers while it runs away.

This loser had survived more than any other before him, even damaging a boss fight that should be instant death for him. How is this possible? For all its calculations, the System couldn't come up with an answer.

"What's so funny?" Kael asked. "Let me in on it."

"You'll find out in no time!" Haruto dashed forward again.

He swung his stick as Kael stepped forward, slamming his foot to the ground. Haruto felt the impact under his own foot, shooting him up into the air. Kael grabbed Haruto by the collar, pulling him into a shoulder throw.

Before Haruto could hit the ground, the forest exploded behind them. Colorful sparks spread across the sky, bouncing off of each other and creating more explosions. With a whistle and a pop, a charred and injured woman, wearing glasses and a business skirt, comes flying from the forest.

Aki, Lyra, and the unintroduced carriage driver came flying from the forest behind her. The pressure from the explosion threw Kael off balance, allowing Haruto to land another strike. Yggdrasil lashed out three times, once to the chest, then the nose, and then the knee, driving the paper clip deeper.

Haruto felt the impact in the middle of his chest, but not the others. He skidded backward, trying to stay upright, just as another explosion bloomed behind him in radiant pinks and greens.

Aki screamed, spiraling overhead like a discarded ragdoll.