"Haah... and you dare call yourself human?" I let out a breath as I lay sprawled on the grassy ground, looking up at my teacher, who, I might add, put me there with an over-shoulder throw like I was some toddler.
"Coming from you, kid? That's rich," Richard replied as he stood over me, arms crossed and a leisure expression on his face. "In only one week, You've already become more physically powerful than I am, even if by a little," he dismissively added, shaking his head, causing me to sigh as I turned to my character screen.
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Class: [Thief (level 10 MAX)] [Fighter (level 4)]
...
Stats:
Body: 16
Mind: 24
Spirit: Locked
Stat Points: 34
...
Skills:
[Brawling (level 6)]
[Crime (level 25)]
...
Perks:
[Dormant Metahuman:]
[Silent Step]
...
He wasn't kidding. I physically overpowered him, and was faster and packed a meaner punch than him, but it meant nothing since I couldn't land a single blow on the man.
It had been a week since Richard taught me the reverse breathing technique, and practicing the damned thing had been a bitch and a half, and I'd always go home feeling like my lungs were splitting in half.
But the results spoke for themselves, as the extra strain using the technique while training put on my body helped to temper it, hence the two points of improvement in my body attribute.
It took me four days to get used to the breathing technique, and that's when Richard started teaching me actual martial arts and sparring with me for the rest of the week.
And let me tell you, the man was a bona fide monster, capable of taking everything I threw at him and giving it back threefold with a minimum effort and sometimes none at all, depending on how badly I blundered.
The training had left me with zero energy every day, so I had no time to visit the library or go on my usual pickpocket frenzies. Luckily I didn't need to since gangsters tended to carry an abundance of cash to avoid creating paper trails for Batman and the GCPD to follow.
I had looted $678 from the cartel thugs combined, and I won't be short on money in the near future.
"That's enough for today. Go home and rest," Richard said as he turned away from me. "There's gonna be a practical test tomorrow, so be ready," he added, waving me off with a gesture.
"You want to make me fight more thugs, don't you?" I asked, bitterly smiling as I stood up, to which Richard merely chuckled without elaborating, leaving me no choice but to go without an answer.
...
Richard slightly smiled, crossing his arms as he watched Gray slowly walk away, heading home while holding his sore muscles that were likely hurting like hell after a full day of breathing exercises and sparring.
In truth, the reverse breathing technique was more advanced than Richard hinted to Gray. He wanted to test his new student, and the results didn't disappoint. Not at all.
Not only did his student adapt to the breathing technique quickly, but his body quickly improved thanks to the added pressure, shocking and astounding him at the same time during the past week.
"I'll still make a warrior out of him yet..."
Still, now was not the time to think about his student's excellent performance. He had a guest to attend to, after all.
Richard waited a couple of minutes after Gray disappeared from his sight and turned to a lone tree a fair distance away.
"You can come out. I know you're there," Richard remarked, crossing his arms as Lady Shiva calmly revealed herself. She stepped from behind the tree and walked towards him.
"So that is why you refused to train my daughter? You have a protégé of your own?" Lady shive asked as she stood in front of Richard and turned to stare in the direction said protégé took to leave.
"I do have a student now. But that's not why I refused to train your daughter, Sandra," Richard firmly replied, shaking his head. "I have no interest in sharpening the league's tool," he added, dismissively waving his hand.
"I train martial artists and warriors, not weapons. I believe I already told you as much when your first came," Richard concluded.
"But can you not see that a weapon is much more than a mere warrior could ever aspire to be?" Lady Shiva asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can't you imagine what a human weapon tempered to absolute perfection can achieve?" she asked again, her tone growing more intense with every word she spoke.
"You are set in your ways, Sandra, as am I. There's no point in this debate," Richard replied, sighing and shrugging in annoyance.
"Indeed," Lady shiva said with a chuckle.
"But if debating is pointless, how does a wager sound?"
...
I couldn't help suspiciously looking around as I walked the streets of East End on my way to my apartment. It was all too quiet. There were no gunshots echoing in the distance, no pimps screaming at the top of their lungs while scolding their prostitutes. I couldn't hear a single crime or shady activity and saw none.
'Am I being too paranoid...?' I mused as I turned a corner and immediately ducked, taking cover as I got my answer in the form of a loud, deafening explosion. My actions were quick since I was prepared. Paranoia and pessimism for the win!
I peeked in the direction of the explosion and saw a man in a tight spandex suit with red lines on the side, casually walking around and flinging buzzing blue arcs of electricity from his gauntlets.
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" the electricity-flinging maniac exclaimed at the top of his lungs, zapping a car in the distance, which immediately exploded.
"Come out and play! BATMAN!" he kept yelling and laughing while zapping everything that moved with his electricity. However, he didn't get to laugh for too long as a black Batarang came flying from behind and hit the back of his head.
He staggered and almost fell but quickly gathered his bearing and turned around, flinging an electric arc at where the Batarang came from and hit his head.
"THERE YOU ARE!" he exclaimed, having exploded another car, and that's all he could say before Batman came swinging with his Batgrapple from behind.
One dropkick to the head later, and the man was down for the count. But before Batman could restrain the electricity flinging maniac, multiple mobsters in Italian suites came out of the surrounding building and started firing their Tommy guns.
Batman ducked, covering himself and the unconscious man with his cape. I watched in astonishment as the bullets bounced right off it.
The caped crusader waited for the mobsters to empty their magazines before taking out his Batgrapple and aiming for a nearby roof, intending to bide his time and take them out one at a time.
But before he could launch the Batgrapple, a massive man, who I immediately recognized as Bane, burst through and shoulder tackled Batman into the nearest wall.
Not even grunting in pain, Batman reached into his utility built, retrieving three spherical black stun pallets, which he threw in Bane's face, causing the latter to grunt in pain and loosen his grip. I couldn't really blame him since even I felt my ears buzz this far away.
Batman quickly rolled away from Bane and fired his Batgrapple into a nearby roof, intending to lure Bane and the mobsters away, and they obliged, quickly chasing behind him.
I sighed in relief as I watched Batman leave in the opposite direction, my eyes unconscious turning to the downed electricity flinging maniac. I felt the kleptomania weeks of pickpocketing people had developed inside me flaring and smacked my dry lips.
I looked around the street, inspecting the destruction and lack of cameras or prying eyes, and after a bit of hesitation, my greed got the better of me.
I walked into an alley and inspected the area to see if no one was watching. I then crouched behind the dumpster and equipped my bullet-proof trench coat and a cheap black mask I'd bought earlier.
I looked around again just in case and raised the coat's hood over my head as I walked into the streets, making a straight beeline for the unconscious super villain's body.
Crouching down, I put my hands on the man's body and indiscriminately stored the entirety of his black-red suit into my inventory, which was a mistake since the bastard didn't have the decency to wear underwear.
I frowned in disgust, pushing down the urge to kick the man in the nuts before I stood up and left the scene in a hurry before the confusion died out and someone noticed me.
But little did I know at the time...
...
I scratched my head, my eyes alternating between the Electrocutioner suit, my bulletproof vest, and a book about electrical engineering in my hand.
I might have stolen the damned suit, but there's no chance in hell I'd strut around showing my ass in a tight spandex suit like some comic book character. I wasn't an exhibitionist, thank you very much.
So I began reading up on some electrical engineering to move the Electrocutioner's technology into my bulletproof trench coat. I had to put that boasted brain of mine to use some time and it felt like the right one now.
That was the plan, but I couldn't find any book with extensive knowledge on such short notice and only had basic information to work with, leaving me unable to transfer the technology completely to my bulletproof vest.
Note to self: buy a fucking cell phone.
'If only I had access to the internet, things would have been so much simper...' I mused, turning to the simple watch mounted on my bare room's wall. 'It's already too late to go to the library or buy a phone today...' I sighed, scratching my head.
'Should I...?' I hesitated as I opened my character screen, looking at my Mind attribute's score of 24 and the available 35 stat points.
I'd been curious to see if raising an attribute to 25 would give me a perk like what happened when Crime reached level 25, and maybe increasing my intelligence would make up for the lack of knowledge.
'Fuck it!' I grit my teeth and put one point into my Mind attribute. My eyes widened as the number went up to 25, and I felt my brain wiggling in my skull, giving me a massive headache.
I grunted in pain, holding my forehead. The pain luckily subsided quickly, and with it gone came a sudden feeling of epiphany, and I suddenly remembered things I'd long forgotten.
I also started making sense of things that I'd wondered about before but forgot somewhere along the way. The change this time wasn't quantitive like what happened before I fought the three thugs. It was qualitative this time around.
[Due to reaching a milestone in your Mind attribute, your brain has evolved, and you have unlocked a new perk: (Eidetic Kinesthesia)]
[Eidetic Kinesthesia: sometimes called Muscle Memory or Photographic Reflexes; it is the ability to instantly mimic any physical skill, including various fighting techniques, acrobatics, or weapon skills]
I gritted my teeth and pushed down the rush of excitement and euphoria at seeing what came with the qualitative increase in my brain. Unlike the sudden feeling of strength, I liked this feeling, perhaps too much, and the last thing I wanted right now was to get an addiction.
However, I didn't need to put too much effort into calming myself, as a feeling of weakness came over my body, and I collapsed on the ground in a boneless heap.
'What the fuck is going on?!' I immediately panicked as I tried to get up and failed, unable to lift my hands off the ground.
[Vital malfunction detected... scanning host]
'HURRY THE FUCK UP!' I urged, mentally screaming as panic overcame my mind at the sudden feeling of powerlessness.
[Scan complete: the host's current physique is unable to provide enough energy to sustain the host's brain]
'How do I fix it?' I took a deep breath to calm myself, though I expected and dreaded the answer.
[Solution: the host can upgrade his physique to match his brain by allocating points to the Body attribute]
'You'd like that, won't you?' I grit my teeth at the convenient answer, doubt filling my mind. Did the system know this would happen? Did it choose not to warn me, knowing I'll have no option but to increase my Body attribute?
[Warning: the host's brain is consuming all vital energy in the host's, any further delay may cause permanent brain damage or death due to lack of energy]
'DAMN IT ALL!' I wanted to scream in my anger and frustration, but I had no energy or the time to do anything else than think.
Left with no other choice, I gritted my teeth and allocated 7 points to my Body attribute, raising it to 25. I closed my eyes as the familiar sensation of strength began coursing through my veins.
My muscles constantly tightened and expanded, and I felt the blood rushing through my veins dramatically increase in speed, sending an electric feeling all over my body.
The changes didn't even spare my bones as I felt an itchy sensation in the very marrow of my bones if that makes any sense.
[Due to reaching a milestone in your Body attribute, your physique has evolved, and you have unlocked a new perk: (Superhuman Stamina)]
[Superhuman Stamina: sometimes called enhanced stamina, it is a term used to describe the ability of some characters to function without tiring or feeling undue strain. People who possess this perk can often go for long periods of time without rest or even sleep]
My expression darkened as I got up, feeling my stomach rumbling. I took out whatever snacks I had in my inventory and started munching with a vengeance as if vent my frustration on the innocent nutritious bars.
I didn't even feel like having an existential crisis about my increasing strength this time around because of how hungry and lethargic I felt right now.
'Do I need to eat more often now, system?' I asked after finishing all snacks in my inventory, feeling my hunger satiated. I really didn't feel like spending all my hard-earned money on food. Yeah, fuck that.
[No. The host only needs to eat right now to replace what the host's brain consumed to maintain vital operations]
'Well, that's some good news at least...' I sighed as I turned to the half Electrocutioner suit, feeling the urge to throw it in the trash as the main reason for this incident.
I shook my head, pushing down the ridiculous urge as I approached the trench coat and resumed working, already feeling more energetic after the meal as I put my newly evolved brain to work.
I was bound to invest more stat points into my attributes, eventually. The damned thing only hastened the process, so there's no point in sabotaging the suite I've already spent so much effort to make.
...
[Bulletproof Trench Coat MK2: the wet dream of every edge lord and their mothers out there, and a stable in Gothamite fashion. It now comes with the awesome ability to shoot arcs of electricity (It's bulletproof, it shoots electricity, and it's edgy as fuck, what more do you need to know?)]
I sighed, massaging my shoulders out of habit more than anything since I wasn't feeling tired or sore, thanks to my so-called Superhuman Stamina, no doubt.
I'd pulled an all-nighter to finish working on it, and I didn't feel slightly exhausted or tired, a good thing too, since it was time for me to go and meet Richard.
I lazily stretched my hands and stored everything in my inventory as I made my way for the door.
"Oh! Up early, as usual, Gray. You seriously have too much energy," Mark greeted, waving a hand as I neared the apartment complex's exit, causing me to smile.
"That bread ain't gonna get itself," I replied with a smile, shrugging my shoulder as I waved back with a smile.
"No kidding! Take care out there. I heard some freaks were out and about yesterday shooting up East End," Mark said with a smile as I passed by him, offering a word of advice.
"Will do, thanks, pal," I said, waving him goodbye as I left the apartment complex.
...
"You look taller," Richard said, raising an eyebrow as he saw me approach our usual spot in the park. He crossed his arms and gave me a scrutinizing look.
"Do I? Maybe I had a growth spurt in the night or something?" I replied, scratching my head in fake confusion. Richard obviously didn't, but he merely shrugged and let it go.
"No matter, I suppose," Richard said, waving it off. "Let's get to work. Only light training today since you'll need to be in top condition when it gets dark," he added, smiling meaningfully.
'Whelp, time to put that Superhuman Stamina to the test...'
...
"That's quite the growth spurt you've had today, kid," Richard said, raising an eyebrow as he regarded his student, who looked just as energetic as he arrived.
He had a light training regime planned for the day, but the way Gray breezed through it without any signs of tiring, exhaustion, or even shedding a single drop of sweat astonished and confused the martial arts instructor.
Giving in to his curiosity, Richard slowly increased the training's intensity and even sparred with Gray, but his student still didn't show any signs of tiredness. Not only that, but how quickly Gray seemed to understand and learn the techniques Richard taught him was equally astounding.
"Well, all this training has to be worth the squeeze," Gray replied with a shrug.
Richard had asked similar questions during the training as he tried to probe for some clue as to what caused his student's sudden transformation out of concern.
All he got was similarly vague, non-answer replies.
Richard knew of his student's extraordinary physique and his ability to grow by observing him run; it was why the martial arts instructor took him as a student, after all. But this was the first he displayed so much progress, leaving the martial arts instructor worried.
"Whatever you say, you little monster," Richard said, shaking his in exasperation. "Anyway, that's enough training for today," he added, gesturing to the side.
"It's time for a more practical lesson..."
...
Gotham's Uptown
South of Crime Alley
I couldn't help but glance at the system as I followed Richard through the dark streets of The Bowery, unable to remove my eyes from the Brawling skill, which had gone by two whole levels over the course of a single day of training.
I honestly didn't know how to feel about it. The increase had come so quickly because of my new perk Eidetic Kinesthesia, or however the second word is pronounced.
You know what? I'll call it Photographic Reflexes from now on. It's seriously giving my evolved brain a headache just mentally trying to pronounce it.
Anyway, I felt complicated about it because it felt too easy. I've been busting my balls for two weeks to increase my brawling skill by two levels, only to get this new perk, and now all my hard work seems worthless. But at the same time, a part of me enjoyed the quick improvement, and my rationality told me it was a good thing.
Pretty complicated right? Now I can finally say I'm a complicated guy with a straight face whenever I'm on a date!
I know I should have been happy about the progress and needed the strength to survive and live better, but a guy can still get depressed over his hard work suddenly losing meaning, you know? It's perfectly reasonable and well within my constitutional rights.
That's right; I know my rights!
But all jokes and brooding aside; a part of me might not like the source of my newly gained strength and abilities, but I wasn't dumb or stubborn enough to not put the, to use. I needed every bit of strength I could get my hands on after all.
"Ouch..." I intoned, unable to continue my mental rambling as I turned to glare at Richard, who just smacked me on the top of my head. "What the hell, can't I brood in peace?" I snapped as Richard took his hand back and gave me a bemused look.
I'm pretty sure Richard must have noticed not only my increased strength but how fast I was learning as well. Luckily he didn't push me for an answer, taking the vague non-answers I gave him without any negative reaction and dropping the subject without complicating matters.
"You're distracted, kid. Keep your eyes open," Richard said, huffing in annoyance as he regarded me with a raised eyebrow while gesturing towards the surroundings.
"Does it matter? I'm following behind you after all," I replied with a shrug, exaggeratedly gesturing to the side. "You wouldn't let anything happen to your precious student, are you?" I added, crossing my arms while sending him a smug look.
"You keep being a smartass and something is gonna happen to you alright, kid," Richard blankly replied, but a faint smile was on his face as he spoke.
"We're here already," Richard stated, gesturing towards the surrounding area. He lost the faint smile and put on a stern expression instead. "Look around. Tell me why we're here," he instructed, crossing his arms and going quiet as he waited for my answer.
"A dark, dingy Gotham street?" I muttered without bothering to look around, and Richard's stern expression turned even more so. "Fine, fine," I said, raising my hands in surrender as I turned to take another look at the surroundings. A proper one this time.
The street looked like any other you would find in Gotham City, dark, fifty, and smelled like a mixture of smog, cat piss, and an assortment of chemicals. The only thing worthy of note was the lack of pedestrians and the two men in heavy clothes standing in front of a restaurant, keeping an eye out on the surroundings.
"The restaurant with two guys in heavy clothes standing in front of it," I replied, gesturing towards the two men. I narrowed my eyes and focused on them, immediately noticing the bulges on their sides; guns.
"They look like lookouts, and they have guns... a gang meeting?" I concluded as I turned to Richard, getting a nod.
"The restaurant is a front for Black Mask's gang," Richard said, gesturing towards the restaurant with his chin, his arms crossed. "They're making a deal of sorts with a member of the Intergang," he casually added, and I felt my eyes widen.
"Nah," I immediately said as I shook my head, cutting Richard off. He tried to stare me down, but there was no way I'd let myself get involved with Black Mask without good reason, not to mention the Intergang, who if I remembered correctly, were working for Darkseid or something.
That's some Superman-level shit, and you don't get involved with Superman-level shit unless you had a death wish or were Superman-level yourself. I was neither of which, by the way, if you didn't know already.
"You don't need to worry about Intergang. The guy inside is a turncoat, and he's acting on his own," Richard said, unmindful of how vehemently I shook my head. "Black Mask might be ruthless, but that's all there is to him," he added. But I was having none of it. I wasn't nearly ready for this level of action.
"There's $15,000 inside that restaurant. You can keep it," Richard concluded, and I suddenly wasn't feeling so reluctant anymore. My expression immediately turned into a calculating one as I began debating the pros and cons.
Cons: a pissed-off black mask and the possibility of getting shot if I didn't play it right.
Pros: $15,000.
Richard looked at my rapidly expression and sighed in exasperation but said nothing.
"Well, why didn't you lead with that?" I asked, sending him a beaming smile, to which he snorted in derision. "I just gotta kick the asses of everyone inside the restaurant, right?" I added, rubbing my hands together.
Huh, I never realized I liked money so much. I guess they don't call it the source of all evil for no reason.
"Just stop talking, kid, before you make me regret taking you as a student," Richard said, shaking his head in disapproval, and that's all I needed to hear as I reached into my hoodie and took out my mask.
"What? If I'm going to fuck with Black Mask, I'd prefer if he didn't know what I looked like," I said with a shrug, gesturing to the side as I started walking towards the restaurant.
[New quest initiated: Enter The Dragon II]
[Enter The Dragon II]
Your teacher wished to see the results of your short but fruitful training, and if that's not enough, there's $15,000 on the line!
Primary Objective: impress your teacher.
Bonus Objective 1: take out all opponents.
Bonus Objective 2: don't get hit.
Rewards:
Primary Objective: +5 skill levels to the Brawling Skill
Bonus Objective 1: ?
Bonus Objective 2: ?
...
[Accept quest now? Yes/No]
'Might as well... accept the quest.'
I raised the hood over my face and stuck to the shadows to avoid getting the two lookouts' attention. A guy wearing a blank gray mask would probably make them suspicious and possibly trigger happy.
I was almost five meters away from the two lookouts when they finally noticed something was wrong, and one of them started pointing at me while saying something to his buddy.
I broke into a sprint, keeping an eye on the nearest lookout as he reached into his side, taking out a gun. I was almost within swinging distance when he retrieved the pistol and took aim.
Looking at the way he held the gun and the hurry he was, I knew he would miss, my evolved brain having already deducted the bullet's trajectory.
The lookout shot and missed, the recoil pushing his hand back, and I was already in his face before he could adjust his aim. I used my momentum and pushed my elbow against his chin, immediately knocking him out.
However, I didn't let him fall. Holding on to the now unconscious lookout, I hid behind his body, using him as a human shield as the second lookout took a gun of his own and took aim, far more calmly than his unconscious friend.
The second lookout hesitated for a second, and that was all the time I needed as I kicked his unconscious body towards him with a kick to the back and used the distraction to lunge at my second target.
The second lookout quickly pushed away his unconscious friend without falling and turned to me with his gun. I was close enough to smack the gun away, which I did. Another punch later, and he was down for the count too.
"What the hell is going on out there?!"
I heard a shout and the sound of rapid footsteps coming from inside the restaurant. I paused for a second, listening to the footsteps, and counted at least three more people inside.
'People with guns...' I mused as I saw the shadow of a person clearly holding a gun through the closed red curtain covering the restaurant's window.
'No element of surprise this time, and the entrance is too tight for any maneuvers...' my eyes darted around the area as I tried to think of a plan of action.
'Alright... this should work... probably...' I took a deep breath as I took both lookouts' guns, and with a heave, I picked up one of them and turned the restaurant's window.
I spun him two times and threw him at the restaurant's window. His body went hurling through the air and hit the window, immediately shattering the glass, sending shards flying everywhere.
I waited until the first gunshot, which luckily missed the guy I'd just sent crashing through the window, and burst through the restaurant's door after kicking it open.
I immediately located the three people standing in the open, a fourth unarmed man taking cover behind a table. Luckily only one of them had a gun, but unfortunately for him, I had one too.
Taking advantage of the gangster's momentary distraction, I took out one of the lookout's guns and threw it at the armed one's head. You heard me right, I had a loaded gun, and I threw it at someone's face.
If you've got a problem with that, take it up with Richard. He's the one who set the no-guns rule as long I was his student.
In any case, I missed, but the sheer ridiculousness of my actions seemed to have stunned the man as he stared at me in disbelief, eyes wide in shock.
I didn't waste the opening and closed the distance, but the man recovered faster than I'd hoped and leveled the guns directly at me.
...
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