THE MOMENT
"How about practical skills?" Max asked. "Any martial arts or weapons training or anything like that?" The young woman sitting across from him smiled; but, she shook her head.
"Nothing like that; do I need that kind of experience?" Kari asked.
"Well..," Max chuckled. He couldn't not laugh; but, he managed to keep it polite. "...you will be expected to deal with supervillains. Even street-level thugs can take you out if you're not prepared." Kari nodded.
"But, that's only a problem if I'm going to be chasing criminals, right? I just wanna be in the game," she said. Max tilted his head at her.
"What?" he asked. "Why are you here?" he asked.
"I wanna be a hero," Kari said. Max laughed, and this time he did not even try to keep it polite. He carried on for a moment, then calmed down and looked at her with a broad smile.
"What do you think this is?" he asked. "I represent heroes who go out there and put their life on the line every day. They fight to make the world a better place and you just want ...what, that title?" Max shook his head. "I know your ability isn't very useful for combat, but there are ways you can help; if you had any hero in you, that is." Kari's eyes flitted upward to a spot above Max's head and she sighed.
"I guess I shouldn't have expected anything else from you; I'm still getting the hang of things. Sorry, I'll try a different server," she said as she stood up.
"Wait," Max stopped her. "Can I ask? What does mine say?" Kari smiled. She was starting to think he might not ask at all. As soon as she told most other people about her ability to read something about them over their head, they asked what it said. Max lasted the entire interview, even if it was cut to only a couple of minutes. She didn't want to lie to him; but, she had to.
"It says you're a big fan of the rules. A stickler, but not in a bad way," she said. Max's chest inflated slightly and his smile grew even broader. He felt a bit of regret at mocking her.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you out," he said. Kari nodded.
"No problem," she said. She waved and glanced once more at the NPC tag above his head before she left his office.