(Jamie)

A month has passed since Nick left, and I think I'm finally starting to be alright with it, though I haven't used Die of Mystery since. Cole still wants to do stuff with me, and I think I might be ready for it with him.

Or rather, that he's truly ready, but I'm not sure. For now, we're walking through town, drawing glances, a clear space around us as we walk. Everyone's keeping their distance. They know that they aren't to screw with me or mine anymore, and I'm fine with that.

I feel I'm close to Orange, with my raw skills and abilities improving on top of my Skills. Factoring in that my Stats themselves are immense compared to a normal person's, and even with my lower Color Rating than someone of my Stats would normally have, I'm still a dangerous, powerful foe.

I can even punch those golems into dust if I focus hard enough and combine the right Skills. According to the harem team that keeps passing us by, we'd face stronger and stronger ones as we go down that path until we reach the caves, and they have to use their magicians to deal with them.

At least they're talking to us again, though it ruins the fun of watching them struggle to figure out a way to get into the portal with Cole training near it, then eventually giving up and staying as far from him as possible as they went to it.

A commotion draws my attention away from my thoughts and to the source of it. There's a crowd trying to talk with someone, though his manner of speech is a bit odd. As we draw closer, people start to form a path, allowing me to approach.

He's around my age, and appears human, though with a few extra pounds without being obscenely obese. He's also butt-naked with his ten-inch dick standing at full erection. It's quite thick, and also uncut, and seems unrealistic. His amber eyes are a bit too narrow together, and his ears are rather large, his brown hair dull, his face a little splotchy.

However, my Perspicacity triggers on him, revealing a boy who couldn't be older than ten – also naked – with a light dusting of glitter on his cheeks, his slender body well-muscled, his hair thick and probably extremely soft, his skin clear of blemishes, his slightly-pointy ears more proportionate to his body.

My Appraisal and Divine Appraisal fail on him.

"Are you sure you cannot help me, fellow Humans?" He asks, looking confused.

You're not doing a good job of pretending to be a Human, dude.

"I'm sorry," the woman says. "I don't know of someone like what you're talking about. It seems… odd."

"Are you looking for someone?" I ask, and gazes turn to me, the crowd parting a bit more when they realize I'm here.

"Yes!" He exclaims, looking at me. "I am looking for another Human, fellow Human!"

You're overdoing the acting.

"Who are they?" I ask.

"They are a Human who can adapt to nigh any situation," he tells me, immediately giving me a red flag. He's looking for me, isn't he? "However, he is most definitely Human. He is also a newbie. He comes from another world."

"I may know of him," I state, and the crowd begins to murmur that it's only natural a monster like me would know of someone like what this strange boy's looking for. "Why are you looking for him?"

"To fight him, of course," he answers. "I wish to pit the power of my Skill against his."

He has an Ultimate Skill?

"Okay," I say. "Well, let's start by fixing your appearance. Why is your dick so big?"

"Human dicks are all big, are they not?"

"They average at just over five inches," I say. "With a deviance of less than an inch on that."

"Oh," he looks down, and his dick size reduces down to six inches. "Is that better?"

The crowd gasps, as if they're only now realizing this isn't what he really looks like, and that he isn't really Human.

"Much," I say. "Why are your ears so big?"

"Humans are bigger," he says. "As I am a Human, that means I am bigger, too."

"Not that much," I say. "Look around you. Ears are a bit more proportional."

He looks around at everyone, and his ears begin to shrink, becoming more normal.

"And the eyes," I say. "They're not that close together – or that small."

His eyes spread out a little bit more, becoming a tiny bit larger.

"A bit too spread out," I say. "And a bit too small, still. Look at my eyes."

He stares at my eyes intently, and it feels weird. He's got some stare-related Skill, I'm sure of it, though he might not be aware he's using it.

New Skill! Stare Resistance Passive Allows you to resist the effects of any stare-related Skill.

Yeah, he had a Skill for that. As soon as I obtained that, the intense feeling faded a small bit. Whatever he is, he's got a high INT, either at a natural base, or at a decent Skill, for me to not be able to simply ignore it.

His eyes shift, changing to be more human.

"Look at our hair, eyes, and skin as well," I say. "Yours are off. It makes you look… unattractive."

"It does?" He looks hurt, then looks around at people. "But isn't this normal for Humans? Am I not 'normal'?"

His people are probably considered exceptionally beautiful, based on the flawless body he has. However, it's likely he's never interacted with us before, and so is overestimating what he needs to do to make him seem 'average' for our people. Judging by the differences between Humans and… him, Humans probably are bigger, fatter, uglier beings than his kind.

"No, you aren't," I answer. "Our hair isn't so stringy and dull unless we don't take care of it and our bodies. Our skin isn't so blemished unless we don't take care of it or have other issues, and someone with a body as muscled as your true form wouldn't have so much fat on his body."

It takes me five minutes to get him to adjust his body to be more 'Human', and I think the people around us have decided to ignore the fact that this guy clearly isn't Human, now that they've realized he isn't.

Now that his appearance has been fixed, he's a decently-muscled guy around my age, with soft, thick brown hair of a medium-length and clear skin. He's also probably two inches shorter than me, but I'm deciding not to say anything regarding that, even though I'm barely 'average' in height, sitting at 5'6", when average is 5'7" to 5'10".

"So," I say now that his appearance is fixed and people are pretending he's actually Human. "Why do you want to fight the one you are seeking?"

"To see who is the superior, of course," he says.

"May I see your Status?"

"No."

"What if I told you I'm a Paladin?"

Paladins, from my understanding, are only through a god, and are selected from their warriors who they believe represent them and their types the best. In most cultures on this world, it seems that Paladins are highly respected, and being proven to be one earns one many rights and things.

"You are?" He asks. "Your Primary Class says 'Squire'."

"That was the first Class I took on."

"You can update it," he says. "All should know that, yes? You can update it by going to a Scribe Hall. However, if you're a Paladin, you can just update that to your Primary Class. I do not believe you."

"I am a Paladin of Hope," I say. "It's possible my Patron-"

"Oh," he says. "You're one of Riddle's Paladins. I am, too! I'm a Paladin of Fun! See!"

His expression got cheerful when I mentioned what I am, and his voice has a lot more energy to it. If Trickster named him a Paladin of Fun, things might get… fun.

I look at the Status that appeared in my vision during his cheerful commenting.

Name: Light Species: Semidivine Fairy King Sex: Male Total Level: 467 Age: 729 Public Title: None Class: Paladin of Fun Health: 5,125/5,125 STR: 1,196 AGI: 922 INT: 1,469 VIT: 781 Mana: 6,820/6,820 END: 1,169 DEX: 830 WIS: 1,364 LCK: 748 Rating: Indigo CON: 1,025 FLX: 777 PER: 798 LIF: 1,116

"Jamie?" Cole waves a hand in front of my face. "Jaaaaaaamie? Everything alright?"

"Light," I look at the Fairy-pretending-to-be-a-Human. "You do realize that you vastly outclass pretty much everyone, right? I don't think even that Skill would allow someone to survive a fight against you."

I really don't want to fight him. I definitely don't have the skill level required to take him on. In addition to that, I heard that Fairies haven't left their realm in over a thousand years, so why is he here? Did he come out just to fight me?

And what is with that absurd physical aspect? From what everyone says, Fairies specialize in the mobile aspect and the mental aspect. And that ridiculous LIF… he's not even a fifth of the way through his 5,000-year natural lifespan. He's Ranked-Up four times. Max told me there was only one triple-ranker – is this him, and Max was just omitting the fourth one, or was he unaware of such an absurd being?

The fact that he has such a high Level means he likely has at least six Ultimate Skills – the four Ultimate Rank Skills, and at least two Ultimate Class Skills. Which was he wanting to test against me?

"Jamie?" Cole waves his hand in front of my face again. "Hellooooooooooo?"

"Stop that," I push his hand out of my way. "Light – you do know that, right?"

"If he has that Skill," Light states simply. "Then he will survive. The fact that you put emphasis on 'that' implies you know which Skill I am looking for the wielder of. Do you know the person who wields the Human Ultimate Skill? I intend to fight him. According to Riddle, he is in this town somewhere."

Please tell me you asked where I was, and not got told about me by him.

And you just told everyone here that I have the Human Ultimate Skill. Thanks for that.

"And what happens when you fight him?" I ask. "If you're too strong, you'll kill him. And you're too strong. He's only at Red Rank, while you're Indigo."

Cue gasps from the crowd. They can handle him being something pretending to be Human, but finding out he's Indigo is definitely something they'll have to take time to adjust to.

"I will not kill him," he states. "I will not hold back as much as he might like, if I need to hold back, but I will not kill him. I wish to see who is superior – the Human with the Human Ultimate Skill, or the-or me. I am a Human. Just like him."

Cole opens his mouth to say something.

"No, Cole," I say. "Don't say it."

"But-"

"Just don't."

"Where can I find him?"

"You do realize," I say. "That you have an unfair advantage, right? You're centuries older than him, have a plethora more Classes than him, among other things."

"There is no Skill like an Ultimate Species Skill," he states. "Where may I find him? I wish to fight him. If he can survive against me for thirty minutes, then I will determine him to be the superior. If he blacks out or dies in that time frame, then I am the superior."

If I don't tell him now, he'll keep searching, and eventually find me. However powerful I might be then, he'll only be more powerful. Not only that, but our patron clearly wants us to fight, otherwise, he wouldn't have guided him to me.

Sighing, I make a decision, and unexpectedly, a window appears in my vision.

Would You Rather Adapt and Fight or Flee? Fight Flee Time to Decide: 60 Seconds

Adapt.

+3 STR! +3 END! +3 CON! +3 AGI!

"What just happened?" The Fairy looks at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Your maximum Health just increased by fifteen," he says. "And it's done it every second since that was stated. What's going on?"

"You're talking to the one you seek," I state. "Let us leave town, and I will show you just how adaptable a Human can be, Light."

I turn and start walking, knowing he will follow as Cole asks me if I'm sure about this, if I believe I can fight someone who feels as powerful and dangerous as the one before us.

I'm not. I doubt Overbuff will trigger again, but that's fine. I wasn't even expecting Adaptive Choice to occur.

Since it did, that means my odds of fighting just increased, especially since it just added on some WIS and INT to its bonus.