Back in my room, we began discussing what to do next. Things hadn't gone as planned, but we didn't let that discourage us.
I was the first to speak.Marie and Kaiser were bickering again, this time over who should get the last cookie. Of course, those cookies were mine — and I hadn't even had one.
"Guys, I'm talking to you. Please."
Marie and Kaiser immediately straightened up.Was I really that intimidating to them?
"I've come up with a plan to try and compete in WordCasting's PvP battles… that is, if you both want to go for it."
Surprisingly, Kaiser was the first to respond.
Kaiser: "Of course, John. We're with you — both determined to climb the rankings. We'll tear our opponents to pieces."
It was odd seeing him so fired up. As he spoke, he kept giving Marie strange looks.I really hoped he wasn't falling into that cliché.
Marie also joined our side.
Marie: "Obviously, we're with you. You can count on my sword. Though I can't say the same for our healer here, considering he's never been comfortable with his staff to begin with," she said, teasing Kaiser.
Yup. They were definitely falling into that cliché, I thought.
Kaiser silenced her quickly.
Kaiser: "Cut it out, Marie. John, tell us your plan."
"Sure. It's pretty simple: we train — for months if we have to. We build our synergy as a team and work to master as many formulas as possible. I'll do my best to use both of my classes. That's it. The key is that we give it our all, while also managing our lives outside the game."
Kaiser and Marie agreed to my plan.
"Good. For now, enough Full Dive — let's go eat."We couldn't spend too much time in Full Dive anyway. Apparently, it was harmful for young people's cognitive development.
We went to a fast-food place in our town, and while we were eating, I remembered my [???] skill. I decided to ask my friends if they had something similar.
"Hey guys, did you open your status screens while we were in-game? Did either of you have any skills?" I asked.
Marie: "John, are you stupid? How could we get a skill during the tutorial?"
As polite as ever, I thought.
Kaiser: "Nope. No skill, just the class."
"Got it, guys."
It was obvious they both wanted to ask me more, but when they noticed my low mood, they held back.
I didn't have time to dwell on negativity — training would start tomorrow.