The doors opened into a large living space, with a comfy looking sectional, a couple of armchairs, a coffee table complete with an untidy pile of magazines, and an extremely large TV against one wall. The room was well-lit with recessed lighting and completely devoid of people. I saw a hallway leading further into the house in front of us and another door to our right.

  “This is cozy,” Marko said.

  “I still want to know what a control point is,” I said. “Jasper?”

  The AI appeared and bobbed in place like it was a ball someone had just dropped on the floor.

  “Hello [Victor],” it said.

  “What’s a control point?” I asked.

  “I am unable to answer,” Jasper said. “Yet.” It added.

  “That’s an improvement, but still not particularly helpful,” Marko said. “Baby steps.”

  “I’d shoot that thing if I could,” Aria said.

  A message appeared in my chat.

  Adam (GM): Hold up a minute, Victor. Someone made changes to the control point. I’m tracking it down now.

  Victor: GM? Like, general manager? What’s a control point? Who the fuck are you?”

  Adam (GM): No, GM like gamemaster. Jasper will explain control points soon. Who am I? I’m the person trying to keep you from dying. Now stop bugging me for a second.

  “We should keep moving,” Marko said.

  “Hang on,” I said. “I’m…”

  Adam (GM): Don’t you dare tell them you’re talking to me.

  “…chatting with someone named Adam who says they’re a GM.”

  Adam (GM): Christ wept. What did I just say?

  “A gamemaster?” Aria said. “Is it an admin or something?”

  “You’re chatting with someone?” Marko said at the same time.

  I held up a hand.

  “Just hang on,” I said.

  Victor: I haven’t known them long, but they’ve had my back, and I’m pretty sure I can trust them. All you’ve done is spew cryptic bullshit.

  Adam (GM): Once again, I am trying to help you and you’ve just made that much more difficult. Now shhhh, daddy is working.

  “What’s he saying?” Aria said.

  “He says the control point changed, that someone changed it.”

  “How?” Marko said. “How could someone even do that?”

  “I told you!” Ara said, pointing a finger at Marko. “I fucking told you! This is some isekai shit.”

  She made her voice deeper, mimicking Marko.

  “This isn’t a game, Aria,” she said. “Don’t call them NPCs, Aria.”

  She flipped him the bird.

  “Sit and spin, bitch.”

  “Wow,” Marko said, shaking his head. “Just wow. Seriously though, just because someone calls themselves a GM doesn’t mean it’s true.”

  “Um, sorry Marko, but the system labeled him a GM,” I said. “In the chat.”

  “That’s not proof,” he said. “Maybe he’s a hacker.”

  “A hacker?” Aria said, grinning madly. “What is he hacking, Marko? The world?”

  “Our comms tech, maybe?” Marko said. “I don’t know, but there has to be a reasonable explanation for this other than a stupid anime trope.”

  I rubbed my forehead.

  “Reasonable explanation?” I said. “Are you serious? Nothing about this is reasonable. We just fought a giant elf! She can tie people up with vines, and you turn into a fucking wererat! How much more unreasonable does it have to become?”

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  Marko sighed and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath before opening them again.

  “None of us know what’s going on,” he said. “All I’m saying is it could be dangerous to make assumptions. Don’t put a label on it and start having expectations.”

  Aria walked over to the French doors and put her forehead against the glass. She cupped her hands around her eyes, looking outside.

  “What are you looking at?” Marko said.

  “I’m checking for the goalposts you keep moving,” Aria said.

  Adam (GM): You children should play nice. OK, I’ve got it. They made Kaius way nastier than he should be. He’d have stomped you. I can’t roll back the changes, but I bet I can do this. Yes! Tell Marko to use Ratatouille. Do it right and you won’t even have to fight him.

  “He says to use Ratatouille,” I said, looking at Marko. “Do you know what he means? He says if you do it right, we won’t have to fight.”

  “Ratatouille is my command ability,” Marko said, looking thoughtful. “Hmm. Is that all he said?”

  “That’s it.”

  Victor: Anything else we should know?

  I waited for several seconds but didn’t get a reply.

  “I tried asking for more info, but he stopped responding,” I said.

  “That’s fine,” Marko said. “I think I know what he meant. Let’s go get this over with.”

  We moved further into the house, searching for Kaius. The place was beautifully decorated but didn’t look anything like the interior of the house from The Godfather. I wondered if someone had done renovations. After wandering aimlessly for a few minutes, passing bedrooms, an office, and at least two bathrooms, we came to set of fusuma, the Japanese sliding paper and wood doors. Aria took one look at the doors and snorted.

  “Weebs,” she said.

  I slid the doors open and stepped inside, the others behind me. Inside was a large dojo, complete with a thin mat covering the floor and racks filled with different practice weapons and equipment. The walls were painted white and decorated with murals featuring traditional Japanese art, and I spotted another fusuma on the opposite side of the room. A fane stood in the middle of the dojo, dressed in a spotless white gi with a burgundy belt tied around his waist. His short hair was silver, and he wore a pair of sandals. The fane held a rusty gladius in his right hand and had a round shield with a pronounced boss in his left.

  “I am Kaius Nova,” he said. “You have done-“

  “Surrender,” Marko interrupted, his voice echoing.

  Kaius blinked and closed his mouth. He immediately dropped to one knee, placing his shield and gladius on the mat in front of him.

  “I surrender,” he said.

  Quest Complete!

  Who’s Your Daddy?

  Defeat [Gost Nova] 1/1

  Defeat [Kaius Nova] 1/1

  Defeat 10 Hunt Thugs 10/10

  You receive: Control of Nova Sector, 250 Command Points, 300 Credits

  “I can’t believe that worked,” Aria said.

  The quest message was immediately followed by other messages spamming across my vision.

  Achievement Unlocked: Control Yourself!

  You have seized a control point! Now the fun really begins.

  Achievement Unlocked: Finished Early!

  That isn’t usually a positive! You completed the orientation phase before the timer ran out.

  The remaining time will be added to the next phase as a head start.

  Achievement Unlocked: Little Pig, Little Pig, Let Me In!

  You have entered a safehouse! Nova Sector Control Point has been converted into a safehouse.

  You may not be attacked in a safehouse unless your sector has been breached.

  The orientation timer vanished and was replaced by a new countdown.

  Consolidation: 14:02:09:37

  The messages faded out and I saw that Kaius was back on his feet and placing his sword and shield on an empty rack. He then returned to the center of the room and bowed to us. It was even a proper bow, all the way from the waist. His blue eyes stared at us calmly.

  “I welcome you,” he said. “You will find the command room through the door behind me. Before you enter, I would beg a moment of your time to answer a few questions.”

  “He has questions?” Aria said.

  Ignoring her, I returned Kaius’ formality with a polite bow of my own.

  “We might not have the answers, but you can ask,” I said.

  “Does my youngest son yet live?”

  “He’s at the Black Orchid, my club,” Marko said. “He might have some bruises, but he’s alive.”

  Kaius bowed again.

  “I thank you for your kindness. And Gost?”

  “We left him in the backyard, he was out, but not dead,” I said.

  “May I retrieve my children?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Marko said.

  “The fuck you say,” Aria said. “Why would we let him do that?”

  “By defeating us, you have become the masters of this house, and we but the servants,” Kaius said. “I would tend to my sons before ensuring the house is in order and stands ready for your commands.”

  Aria looked at Kaius, then turned to look at me, then Marko, disbelief etched on her face.

  “Is this guy serious?”

  “I’m almost positive he is,” Marko said. “Didn’t you get the achievements? This is our sector now, and this place is our safehouse. You wanted isekai? You got isekai.”

  Aria clenched and unclenched her fists. She walked up to Kaius and got in his face. The fane didn’t so much as twitch.

  “Give me your wallet,” she said.

  “I apologize, but I do not have a wallet.”

  Marko snickered and Aria shot him a dirty look.

  “Fine,” she said. “Give me all your credits.”

  Kaius cupped his hands in front of him and a stack of silver chips appeared.

  “Are those physical credits?” I said. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  Aria snatched the credits and they vanished. She stared at Kaius and cocked her head, regarding him. His face remained blandly neutral. She shrugged.

  “Yeah, OK,” she said, stepping back. “Go get your kids.”

  Kaius bowed one last time and walked out the fusuma we’d entered through, sliding the doors shut as he went. Marko clapped his hands, making Aria and I jump.

  “Well, that’s all cleared up,” Marko said. “Let’s scope out this command room.”