Shadow Vanguard headquarters was a lot closer than Michael had imagined. They'd barely spent half an hour on the road, but that didn't stop Michael from harassing Ben with one particular question. "Why didn't you just teleport us here? It's not that far, it wouldn't take any energy from a pro like yourself." "I can't go around using my abilities all willy nilly. Crime rates have been skyrocketing these days, conserving energy is the proper thing to do." Ben replied in his casual tone. "Come with me." He ordered before making the first step towards the gigantic spherical building."I'll show you to the dorms first and help you get yourself ready and everything. But once you go out there, you're on your own." Ben as they entered the building. It wasn't Michael's first time seeing the building, but it was his first time entering it. It was a lot bigger than he expected it to be, and even a lot more furnished. Obediently, he kept pace with Ben and followed the man everywhere he went. He
Michael lowered the little luggage he had with him on the untouched side of the room. He took a second to stare at his roommate's side, and with a glance was able to predict his probable personality. He seemed to be organized, had an affiliation with dull colors, and was clearly a nerd. With the information he had gathered from his assessment, his roommate was likely an emo kid. They weren't the worst kind, but Michael couldn't see himself building a relationship with someone who acts like life was depressing all the time. Tearing his attention from the more organized part of the room, Michael got straight to getting himself organized. It took half an hour to get everything in order, and after that, he settled for a quick nap. When he woke up, his roommate was already in, but unlike his hypothesis, he seemed to be a rather vibrant kid. He had his headphones on and was too focused on the book before him that he failed to notice that Michael was awake. Michael remained on his bed, and
The gym was just like Michael had expected. It was large with high ceilings, and every inch of the room was illuminated by bright overhead lights. Neatly organized rows of cardio machines, including treadmills and ellipticals, occupied one section, while on the side were weightlifting equipment. The place was a lot busier than he had anticipated, but he wasn't exactly surprised. Some powers required the wielder to develop their physical stats to a certain level. Besides, it wasn't advisable to rely on powers alone in combat. Training to be physically capable helped a lot in situations where the use of abilities were off limits. It was a requirement of heroes who wished to be part of the action squad."Do you visit the gym often? It's rare to see a guy go to the gym hours after he'd been admitted." Damian commented as they walked in. "Not exactly. I've been to the gym a couple times, but I'm not a regular." Michael answered. He had been in a hurry and had forgotten to get into an
[Daily Task Completed!][First task reward: instant level up!][Congratulations! You've leveled up!][Hero Level: 2][Exp: 0/100][HP: 85/100][Strength: 4/10][Agility: 10][EP: 150/150][You Have One Stat point available. Use one Stat point to Unlock A Superpower!][Passive Ability Heal is active!][Daily Task Reward Is Now Available! Would Host like to Reap Rewards?]"I think you've done enough for the day." Damian announced before lending a hand to the seemingly crippled man on the floor. Michael still couldn't move even though Heal was active. He had managed to increase his energy pool and wouldn't have to worry about quick exhaustion the next time he does his daily tasks. "Thank you.." he breathed loudly before taking Damian's hand. After that display, his roommate probably thought of him as a wimp, but none of that mattered to Michael. He had cleared his doubts and was now convinced that the system was definitely real. With the help of the system, the idea of becoming the grea
"Do I know you from somewhere?" Michael inquired with an arched brow while he slowly recoiled in fear and suspicion. It wasn't normal for some random stranger to walk up to him and act all familiar, especially in a hero institute where he knew nobody at all. "We've met once, but you probably don't remember." Cedric answered as he slowly retracted his outstretched hand. Perhaps he should have taken it easy with his approach, it wasn't like him to act out of line. However, after seeing the person he admired the most, Cedric couldn't help but lose control. Michael was a year ahead of him in highschool, and he had always wanted to be like his senior, perfect grades, a lot of friends—Michael was basically like a god to Cedric. However, after he awakened a month ago, he was forced to leave school and join a guild, and never got a chance to befriend his senior. However, now that they were in the same guild and class, Cedric could finally see his wishes coming true. "I was your junior in hi
Ben Fury patrolled the cold streets of Geo without any assistance. There's been reports of villain activities going on around this part of town, and Charles had ordered him to take care of it. Some people who claimed that they used to be awakened reported about being abducted and suddenly waking up in the streets without any powers. With all these rumors spreading, coupled with reports, it could no longer be ignored. Everything seemed to be normal, and nothing out of the ordinary was in sight. Was it all a lie? A ruse by tyrants to just get a pro hero's attention? It happened sometimes, so Ben couldn't really rule out that possibility. Nevertheless, he continued to search until finally he stumbled upon an opponent. "A human? No, a robot?" The being before the hero was as perplexing as it seemed. Ben could see that some part of the being before him had been mechanized, yet there was still organic flesh conjoined with the mechanized parts. That alone had thrown the hero into a state o
"How did things get this rough?" Charles inquired the moment he caught sight of Ben on a hospital bed. He had been on a quest to find Michael Black when he was still at Shadow Vanguard headquarters, but he had received a call that Ben was in critical condition. "We got attacked by something very strange, a half human, half robot. It was crazy strong, and it forced Ben to use 'it'." Saber briefed and Charles' eyes widened in horror. He had restrained Ben from using that technique because of the amount of stress it put on his body. To be forced to such an extent meant that their enemy was a powerful one. "Is this really the best your guild could do?" The voice of a familiar man questioned from the other end of the room. "It's a shame that your sidekick couldn't handle one single enemy, the Shadow Vanguard guild has really lost its glory." "What do you want, John Grant? Did you come here to make fun of my sidekick, or is there a reason why you're here?" Charles asked, his rage and blo
Michael sat with his head lowered, and his eyes fixed on the concrete floor. It's been two days since he confronted Frank, however, he was yet to hear the end of the incident. Charles had missed him that day, but today was different. Instead of a public visit, the hero has shown up specifically for him, and had gotten a good scolding for acting out of line on his first day. "Heh, I guess teenagers are always hot-blooded." Charles concluded after he was done inducing verbal discipline on his aggressive son. "Don't act all sad, I know you don't feel a bit of remorse." He exposed, and only then Michael raise his head, a cynical smile spread across his face. "I had no idea I'd win that fight, it just happened." He said with a proud smile, one that Charles had completely ignored. "That's not exactly why I'm here, something happened to Ben." Michael paused for a while, and after giving his guardian a curious stare, managed to ask. "What happened to him? Is he okay?""He's recovering swi
[Beast defeated! +50xp][Beast defeated! +50xp][Beast defeated! +50xp]Just before Michael landed the last blow on his last opponent, he took a few seconds to examine how well Frank was doing. He wasn't exactly struggling, but he wasn't having a field day either. He had already managed to put down two wolves out of the five, but the remaining three were making him work a little bit harder. Letting out a sigh of exhaustion, Micheal balled his hand into a fist and pummeled the last of his adversary into the ground. [Beast defeated! +50xp][Host has leveled up!][Hero Level: 7][Exp: 30/500][HP: 92/100][Strength: 10/11][Agility: 13][EP: 350/350][You have three stat points available!][Passive Ability Heal is Active!]With a wave of his hand, he immediately dismissed the flurry of messages and immediately rushed forward to help Frank out. Using his superior speed, he managed to ambush and restrain one of the wolves, giving Frank enough time to focus on the remaining two. Michael d
Due to the chaos that had been brought by the deviants and hostile activities of the general public, General Allen had issued for all admitted students in any hero institution of all kinds to begin internship. The demand for heroes had become high, in and out of Geo. People were awakening in large numbers daily, and most of the newly awakened individuals had taken to the streets to show off their newly gained abilities. The pro heroes were already distracted with fixing the damages and investigating issues concerning deviants and supersoldiers, there was no time to waste on mediocre villains these days. "You're going to your family's agency, I suppose. It's a shame you won't be joining us." Cedric said to Damian who was busy with getting his things in order. Thanks to Michael, Charles McRae had agreed to take three students under his care, and those students were Michael, Cedric and Frank. Michael and Cedric weren't exactly onboard with the inclusion of a bully in their team, but at
From time to time Cedric would glance over at Michael's desk. Ever since the night of the inter guild contests, he couldn't help but feel that something was up with his friend somehow. At first he brushed it off as disappointment for not finishing the event, but now he was certain it was something else. Subsequently, Michael always seemed to excuse himself, and Cedric always watched him climb to the rooftops. He would spend five to ten minutes there regularly, and Cedric had begun to think that Michael could be secretly seeing a lover. That had been his first suspicion, but that hadn't been the case. There were no love letters, no chocolates, and even lately he had crossed his boundaries and had gone through Michael's messages. He didn't text a lot of people, and he didn't find anyone who could possibly be Michael's love interest. "Focus, Cedric!" The teacher instructed firmly. At the moment they were being taught how to perform simple rescue operations, and everybody absolutely loa
The activities in the shadow vanguard headquarters were yet to pick up pace since the deviant incident, and the events had been canceled until the heroes decoded otherwise. Charles visited a lot more often these days, and he never left without having a word with Michael Black. However, today was different, he was taking the boy out of the headquarters, and it was for good reason. Just recently, while some heroes were out investigating the deviants and supersoldiers, they had come across an interesting piece, a human hand, torched and almost burnt to a crisp. The hand had been taken to Mark who had run a series of tests on it, and after two days of intensive tests and examination, Mark had finally come to a conclusion that the arm belonged to Daniel Hardwood. "Y..you're joking right?!" Michael trembled after he had received the news. He never really believed that his friend died on the day they'd been attacked. Now that he knew a little bit more about what was going on in his life, h
Logan led his partner through a dark alleyway. The chaos that the deviant's had caused had left the city in a cold state for a week now, and although no more deviants had been sighted for a week, things weren't exactly as they used to be. The public had begun an open rebellion against the awakened individuals, and were rioting for them to leave the country. No one knew how, but an article had leaked out to the public giving detailed information on the deviants and how they functioned. It exposed the secret that only awakened people could become deviants, and ever since then, the public and the government had taken advantage of the information to create hostility in the entire country. "What exactly did you say these people are?" Hugo questioned for the umpteenpth time as he followed Logan into an old abandoned house. He wouldn't partner up with Logan for an assassination work on a normal day, but thanks to the commotion caused by the deviants, schools had been on lockdown, and incom
"Principal Hugo? What are you doing here, and what did you do to my friends?" Michael asked with a shocked, yet equally afraid expression on his face. "I just knocked them out, they'll be fine. Secondly, I came to pay my best student a visit, is that a bad thing?" The older man answered with a smile, one that Michael didn't find soothing at all. He had a lot a things going through his mind at the moment, but the question that bugged him the most was—"How did you get in here?" Principal Hugo read the boy's mind. He expected the question, but Michael was not ready for his principal's reply. With a hand stretched out in the air, Hugo tore a hole through space, and at the same time, another hole appeared behind the stunned boy. From the portal he had just created, Hugo walked through, and appeared right behind the unsuspecting boy. "How—? You're awakened?!" Michael stammered with visible shock. "Yes I am, Michael Black." Hugo answered as he steadily studied the boy's appearance. His p
Although the syringe and vial Ben had provided weren't from his lab, Mark couldn't help but feel that all of this was connected somehow. But the more he thought about it, the less he understood. It felt as though a portion of his memory was missing, and no matter how hard he tried to remember, he just couldn't quench the restlessness in his mind. "I've examined the liquid, definitely a power boosting serum, and it's likely the cause of the transformation." Mark revealed to the heroes gathered in his laboratory. "Is there any way you can turn them back? Any possible cure?" Charles inquired, eager and anxious. With a disappointed look on his face, Mark shook his head to answer. "Unfortunately not, but I can try. It will take some time, but it's not impossible. If we could find the root of all this, and get my hands on the serum's formula, it would be a lot easier for me to create a cure." "Do you have any suspicions of who it might be?" Hector asked abstractly while hoping for a pos
Despite the unending chaos in the streets of Geo, a man clothed in a long overcoat walked on the sidewalk of a half empty street. His pitch black hair was perfectly cut, and his Harry potter glasses gave him the appearance of a nerd. In his left hand was a brown paper bag containing groceries as indicated by the asparagus tips poking over the top. His strides were long and steady to match his well built frame. When he paused to avoid a mud puddle by the side of the road, the street lamp shed some light on his face, revealing strong facial features. There was a faraway look on his face as he crossed the road. He had been feeling strange all day, as if something was coming for him. What annoyed him most was the fact that he had no idea exactly what that thing was. But he had a feeling he would not like it.He wasn't the type who wandered around during the night, but some circumstances had warranted him to carry out his shopping after dusk. He had gone to the Guild Contest, and since the
"Are you alright?" Ben asked as he pulled his bleeding body towards the still standing Michael. "You're losing a lot of blood!" Michael exclaimed as he snapped out of his trance. He rushed to Ben's side and examined the wound, and like expected it was bad. Things would likely get worse before help could arrive, and too much movement would worsen the situation. "It's okay, leave me here and call for help. I won't die." Ben promised with a bright smile, one that Michael found odd, yet relieving. He didn't want to leave Ben's side, not even for a second. If he hadn't been too weak, none of this would have happened. [Would Host Like To Unlock A Skill?] The system asked after reading its host's desperation. [Use Two Stat points to Unlock a skill!]"Unlock skill!" Michael screamed inwardly. [You've Successfully Used two stat points!][Skill Healer has been unlocked! Skill allows host to heal his allies wounded in battle! Energy consumption 4Ep per minute! Skill can only be used once a