The Hero's name was Max. A nuisance, that's for sure. He tripped a lot, but always got back up. Respectable. I taught him the skill, and he picked it up pretty easily. I got away with hiding my powers by saying that I could only use a flame that big once a day. They believed it.
"I see you've taken a liking to Max."
"I guess I might have. He's got a good heart, and wants to do the right thing. But man is he a pest."
"I totally get where you're coming from." The mage, Alicia, is honestly a pretty nice person. She's smart and caring. This isn't a romance novel, and I have no feelings for her. (A/N: He actually doesn't, believe it or not. He never will, nice try gooners.) And of course, she has feelings for the hero. Just like any good ol trope.
"Personally, I believe he will take the demon king down. He is insanely strong, after all. And his ability to adapt is off the charts!"
"Hope he makes it through." Not really. "He's a good kid. However, if the demon king throws something so powerful at him that he literally can't adapt in time, he's a goner. Just… watch over him, man."
"Why don't you join our party then? You can look after him as well. Plus, you're young, and he won't be the youngest anymore."
"That's a pretty good idea. I'll consider it." The mage, Karl, is enthusiastic about the final fight. And his suggestion is pretty good. Keeping an eye on my adversary, getting to see the world, and being able to play some secretly OP stuff? It's quite a nice deal.
"I envy him. I really do. He's always been so talented, and he's never had to work for it. I've worked twice as hard, and never even began to close any gaps between us. He just keeps widening it. His growth is TOO exponential. But, as his brother, I still promised my parents to look after him after their passing."
"Nice trauma dump. Honestly, from what I've heard, the demon king never kills the hero and gang. Just beats them up and threatens to kill them upon return. Then makes them promise to bring another hero in a century Though here's the weird thing. He never attempts to take over the world. I'm thankful for that. Your brother should be safe, as long as he doesn't return."
"Wow, you're pretty educated. And thanks for the tip. I'll make sure that he doesn't go back. Hey, about the mystery of all the demon king. I'll investigate it."
"Hmm… may I join you? I've been thinking about joining your party, and there hasn't been much fun around here. I've always needed an excuse to find answers."
"Wait, you'll join our party? And do what? Carry our bags?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Well then, welcome to the group. The others will let you right on in. We'll solve this mystery together." He got up and left. I really like their brawler, Ash. He's really understanding and willing to go deeper. I know what to do with him. I'll gain his trust, and he can help me solve the mystery on why demons and humans fight. This will be interesting.
"You're joining our party?"(Alicia)
"WOAH! A NEW MEMBER?!? WELCOME TO THE TEAM, BAG BOY!!!" (I think we knew that was Max. Expect Caps Lock for him talking from now on)
"Glad to know you've decided to join us. Welcome aboard." (Karl)
"Congrats on acceptance." (Ash) I proceed to shake hands with Karl and Alicia, get a hug from Max, and me and Ash dap each other up. So glad I learned about human culture.
The villagers are sad I'm leaving. I give them a wave and my new party heads off. The trip is relatively quiet. We don't speak much, it's kind of awkward, me being the 5th wheel. I know the term, but there were already four of them there. K?!? Be nice. We follow the path. It seems like a paradise, the hero occasionally slaying monsters, it being quiet and very nature-like. I love it.
Finally, we arrive to the next village. And what do you know, just our luck. It's under attack by my kind. Thankfully, they won't recognize me. I'm not in battle mode remember? The demons only knew me because of my battle mode, not my casual mode. Thank goodness.
"Hey, snap out of it! Hand me my staff! You drop those bags and help the villagers!"
"Oh, sorry Karl. I'm on it!" I snapped out of my trance and hand him his staff. I then show how good I am at following basic instructions. Alicia has begun to tend wounds, and Max is fighting off the monsters already. I spot a kid crying for his mom, who's lower half is trapped under the collapsed house.
"Uh… hang on ma'am! I'm coming!" My first rescue.
"P- uh - pwease hewp! Mommy!!" The kid is screaming and crying.
"Don't worry, I got you guys." I lift the rubble off the mother and drag her out. I pull her into my back along with the kid. "I'm going to take you to the healer." In an instant I dash across the village and drop the two off. Before you know it, I've repeated this at least 20 times in at least ten different varying scenarios. In about 5 minutes, the entire village is now with Alicia and are in line to be healed. "You ok?"
"Y- yeah, just fine…" she puts on a not very convincing smile as she sweats, obviously lacking mana.
"Here. Take some of mine. I don't know how to use it, anyways." Anti magic explanation time! (Skip to the next paragraph if you don't care). It's science and fiction at the same time. Heat is energy. Taking inspiration from a certain manga, anti-magic involves heating you skin to boiling temps and burning the oil on your skin to make a flame. However, you force intake energy from the electrons spinning around atoms to make this heat. Basically displacement of heat energy. That's fire. The rest involved siphoning energy from the same electrons and controlling it, as it is technically part of your body now. All you do is take the energy from the electrons and then put it back in. Then you move those electrons onto objects(kind of like telepathy, but just with siphoning and using only the electrons from atoms you've claimed) and pushing the atoms up and down. Make a web of those atoms and you can basically do anything the Avatar can. Also telepathy, gravity, and electricity. Yeah. Explanation done.
"Th- thanks."
"No problem." Suddenly I hear cheering. Me and Alicia look up. Ash and Karl are standing slightly behind on either side of Max. Like a podium, but instead of stairs it's bodies of demons piled up. The evening sun shines behind them as they smile. Max looks at them, puts his sword over his shoulder with a sprinkling of sass, and smirks like a hero from a children's book would do. A roar of applause commences. Amidat the crying of excitement around me, I realize something.
"Yep. I'm definitely not the main character." Comes a mutter under my breath. Of course, no one can hear me.