The students swarming the other hallways of the school had a strange sight to behold. A young couple that no one quite recognized. Made out of a boy people knew but didn’t like, and a girl that looked odd but no one knew.

Unlike what she looked like to John, Ember seemed to the rest of the students to be a completely normal student. Wearing a school uniform and with brown colored hair. The knife held to John’s throat was also invisible to them, hidden behind a shimmer. Instead, Ember’s arm looked to be wrapped around his back in a way that might be seen as normal intimacy between a couple. She knew how dangerous it would be to move him outside the school without such a precaution, but the young woman didn’t appreciate the glances and snickers thrown her way.

Only hearing snickering and glances, John was confused why no one was doing anything more than that, and unaware how they looked to the others. If the situation was different, he might have still been panicking, but he figured she didn’t intend to harm him if she didn’t need to. Hopefully he would be able to prove what he was saying was true and she might be able to explain some things. There was nothing to be done for now, he was sure, and he was curious to hear what she had to say.

’Late bloomer she said, right? What the hell even is that…’ he thought, deciding to wait. That decision didn’t last long, however, as he noticed Alice some distance away among the crowd.

When he first spotted her she didn’t seem to notice him, which made John relax, but then he understood what would inevitably happen if she did. He was currently walking around with a girl who, if judging by the snickers and glances, probably didn't look like she was holding a knife to his throat. If that was the case, there was a very strong possibility that they looked entirely normal. While he didn’t know Alice to be the jealous type, his panicked mind didn’t consider anything but the worst possible outcome. Trust was hard won, especially with Alice, and he didn’t want to lose it so quickly after he had gained it again, to some degree.

He decided to do something, and he wanted to do it peacefully. Ember was someone that might be able to help, so he didn’t want to harm her in any way, and he wasn’t sure he even could with a knife on his throat. John’s mind went to his more peaceful tools, his Charm and Psychic Connection abilities. For a moment he also considered using Modify Emotion, but that thought disappeared when he remembered what that skill can do.

’If Ember is not capable of disabling Charm or Psychic Connection I might just be able to convince her that I am telling the truth. At least if I play my cards right,’ John thought, determined that this was his best course of action. The way he could use Charm was obvious to him, but seemed like it would not be enough to convince her. What he wasn’t sure about was how to use Psychic Connection. He had used it to glean information from the minds of others, so maybe he could do so in reverse. Ember could judge the information in his mind instead of judging his words.

In the short period of time that he had before he believed Alice would notice him, John came up with a plan and began executing it. It started with John using Psychic Connection to connect to Ember’s now open mind. She had relaxed her guard, thinking that John, who connected to her, wouldn’t do it again. Next, John attempted to do something that felt opposite to digging through her mind for information. He attempted to bring information from his mind into hers. Focusing entirely on the information and imagining it moving into her mind, the feeling he was now connected to. Surprisingly, his plan seemed to be working, as the next thing inside her mind was not one of her thoughts, it was his message.

’I am John Miller, a normal high school student. Yesterday I got these weird powers which function like a game, and I have been struggling to find out where those came from since then. I am capable of speaking to you thanks to an ability called Psychic Connection,’ She heard a strange voice say inside her head. Almost immediately, John was kicked out of her mind, and something far more dangerous to him occurred.

“You think you can enter my mind and influence me? You’re a fool,” Ember said, and the blade in her hand moved to slit John’s throat, slowly but steadily. Meanwhile, all around them the white walls of the school hallway had become gray and blue. The students had disappeared from sight, and the lights above them took on a bluish glow as if seen through a filter.

Before the blade reached his throat, however, John activated the second part of his plan. He used Charm and spoke quickly.

“I am telling the truth. I know it’s hard for you to believe, but it’s all I can give you. If you had some way to access my mind I’m sure you would’ve done that already, which is why I entered your mind. I didn't do it to influence you but merely in order to convince you that I’m not lying to you. I thought it’d be smart to show you what I really think, not just my words. That maybe you could believe that more,” For some reason, as soon as John started talking the knife stopped it’s movement. When John stopped his speech, the knife, as well as her hand dropped to the side of her body.

“I can understand why you think I’m lying. But since yesterday morning I have been getting skills like in a video game. It’s been hard to believe for me as well, but somehow my life is like a video game now. And I don’t even know why. First I got a skill called Observe. Which lets me look at something and tells me what it is, it’s how I found you. Then I got another skill which lets me charm people. I got a few more skills, and I even got quests and achievements. Hell, I’ve even levelled up. I don’t expect you to believe me right away or anything, but that’s the truth. And I hope you believe me enough to not kill me and maybe even explain some things,”

Charm successful, RP increased by 30

“‘I’m not sure why, but I do believe you. This changes things. First, if you are truly a late bloomer, it is my duty to give you some basic info. Being a late bloomer basically means you only got your powers sometime after puberty, usually we discover them earlier in life. Whatever powers you may have, you are now part of the Abyss…”

She paused for a moment, shaking her head as if with concern, “which is a world adjacent to our own. It’s one filled with magic and fantastic things, but it’s mostly filled with danger. As one might expect of a place where there are people so strong as to defeat entire organizations, the strong rule and the weak die if they’re not under their protection. It’s not a good place to live in, but you’re part of it now, whether you wish to be or not. I’m sorry you didn’t have a choice, but none of us do.”

The look on her face told John she knew that part too well, “I come from an organization named the Council of Exploration. Something that you said you already knew earlier. I guess that’s from your Observe ability. The Council is responsible for exploring a sort of pocket dimension called the Gateway. That’s where we were going to verify your identity. My boss has the ability to check that sort of claim, but as that is no longer necessary, I must return to my duties. I will be back, however, as you are a late bloomer. And according to the code of my organization, that means I must report you to the Council. I hope I’ll come back to ask you to join us and tell you more about your new world. And that is why I ask you to stay around this school or at your home. But even if that is not the case, and I or some other person is commanded to eliminate you, I hope you find luck in this cruel new world you found yourself in,” Ember said, her voice showing more emotion than ever before, and disappeared.

That’s when the world shattered