CHAPTER 5: INFINITE STRENGTH
MARKO gulped down as his hands scratched the window pane. He could see the stream of smoke rising higher and higher near the village square, the crimson light of the flame were impossible not to notice. "Are the core five going to be okay?" He asked himself. The sounds of the battle could be barely heard over the distance but still enough to spell the certain doom that would soon hit them. "Shayla? What's the highest level of a terror the five have ever faced?" He asked. Shayla hesitated a bit before responding. "A level two terror like the dark leopard is the highest they have ever faced. But you managed to beat that on your own so I guess you are much stronger than them all put together." Teresa observed her son with a gloomy look on her face, she could notice his eyes carrying a troubling gaze she could not discern. "What about a level four terror?" Marko surprised them by his response. "Can they beat that?" Since he was the only one who could predict the level of the terror it was he knew they would be baffled by it. Shayla pressed down on her chest and replied after a moment. "If it was a level three they would have had a very difficult time. But a level four would required at least a hundred more of gifteds their level. Level four are on the level of mid rank terrors where they can exercise a more sophisticated level of firepower and intelligence." Marko ducked his head and sighed. "Oh…! I see!" Teresa became immediately startled at her son's change in personality. "Marko? We have to leave now! We might not be safe here anymore." She pulled her son and made for the door. Shayla yelled as she reached the door, "I really hate to leave this village." She noticed that no one was behind her. Glancing back she saw Marko standing by the window with his mother still holding on to his hand. "What's wrong?" She asked. "Son? You may be a gifted now but you are still new and inexperienced. If the core five fail to stop the Terror then no one in the village can!" Teresa cried as she buried her head in her son's shoulder. "It was Ted and his friends that made you go to the woods and got hurt, wasn't it?" Marko buried his head in his mother's hair and kept mute. "You don't have to prove anything to anyone. They knew what they signed up for when they chose to protect the village. This is just how the world is, we can't change it!" "So, please let's go son." "There is nothing left for us here." Marko sniffed his mother's hair taking in his mother's scent for possibly the last time. His heart pounded hard against his ribcage. "Mother you once told me that a hero is a pillar for what he believes", Marko started in a calm, tempered voice. "That was why I love hearing about heroes even though they were just stories. They inspired me." Teresa raised her teary eyes to meet with her son's calm gaze. "Heroes help those in need no matter what, you taught me that!" Marko said with a smile that made his mother cry more. "That is what defines a true hero." "Hey Marko, that's crazy! You just survived one terror and you are off after another? Don't be foolish!" Shayla screamed her lungs out. "You'll die!!" Teresa sniffled at the tears. "Son, you should not… I-- I don't want to lose you. Not how I lost your father." "Then…" Marko grabbed his mother by the shoulders and gently pushed her aside. "Perhaps you should not have talked with me so much about heroes then!" He glanced out the window and peered at the rising flames in the distance. "Heroes create miracles!" He repeated his mother words. "Being a gifted does not make you a hero! Quit it!" Shayla slapped him hard on the back. Marko smiled again. "No! Being a hero makes me a hero!" With that Marko leapt out of the window and falling to his impending doom from the five story building. He could faintly hear the cries of his mother and Shayla as the wind blew violently at his earhole. "Hey system!!" He screamed. [SYSTEM ACTIVE] "Activate eye of power!" [ON ACTIVATION OF EYE OF POWER YOU WILL PAY A PRICE] [PRICE WILL BE DECIDED BASED ON AMOUNT OF POWER USED] Marko's eyes sparked with a red glow as his muscles started to ripple with power. He landed on his feet and cracked the ground beneath him within showing any sign of being injured. [YOU HAVE ACTIVATED EYE OF POWER] [ON ACTIVATION YOU CAN UTILIZE INFINITE STRENGTH] "What?" Marko exclaimed. "Infinite strength?!" "What does that mean, system?" [THE LIMITLESS SYSTEM GRANTS YOU SIX TALENTS CALLED EYES] [EACH EYE CARRIES AN UNQUANTIFIABLE AMOUNT OF POWER] [PENALTY WILL BE ASSIGNED BASED ON YOUR ACTIVITY WITH THE EYES] "What does infinite mean?" Marko asked just to clarify what he had just read. [YOU WISH TO UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF THE FIRST EYE] "Yes!" [THE EYE OF POWER ENHANCES YOU PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES, GRANTING YOU A NEVER ENDING AMOUNT OF POWER CALLED SUPER STRENGTH] [THE LONGER YOU STAY IN THIS FORM THE HIGHER THE PENALTY] [THE MORE OF THE POWER YOU SUMMON THE HIGHER THE PENALTY] Marko gritted his teeth together and sprinted forward. "In that case. I need to save the core five!" "No. I need to save everyone!" Marko found himself practically gliding over the ground, each of his footstep caused a shockwave that ruptured the earth beneath. His speed went so fast that he broke through the barrier of sound itself and crates a sonic boom. "This is unbelievable, is this what super strength mean?" From his heightened senses he could tell he was closing in on the battle. The level four terror chuckled as it swung it's two tails to slice Ted's head off his body, att the last second Marko came screeching to a stop and landing a strong kick at the terror sending it flying with a sonic explosion that deafened the ears of those nearby. Ted raised his arm to block the falling dust and rubble falling from the sky, there was a loud ding in his ear followed by a deep silence. As the dust before him cleared his eyes peeled open to see the last person he wanted to see. "Marko Rivers?" His words words were drowned by the deafness of the explosion. Marko stood before the core five and stared at the dozes of houses that had been reduced to rubble from the pressure of his kick. "Did I just do that?" He asked himself, unable to comprehend his own offensive power. "How am I thaty strong." "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRR!!!" The terror jumped out of the rubbled and roared in rage. It's eyes flashed at him as it tails swirled wildly on its back. Marko screamed. "How are you still alive after taking that?" He looked back at badly battered five and turned to glance at the terror approached at a astonishing speed. "You want to hurt my friend, my village? I will have to stop you, twin tail!" [NAME TWINTAIL HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO LEVEL 4 TERROR] [THREAT LEVEL: HIGH] [SUCCESS RATE: 10%]CHAPTER 6: IMPULSE Marko barely managed to evade the twintail's deadly tails. He was very surprised it could keep up with his insane speed and in a more deadly way. One of the Terror's sharp tail swung at his face, Marko barely had a second to block it with his right arm leaving a large cut down his arm. Blood spewed down on the ground. "Ouch!!" BHAM!! Marko choked out as he recieved a strong jab to his chin, next the terror threw both it's tails at him. Marko managed to avoid the first but the second came a bit too fast for him to react. SWISH!! Marko's right hand split down in half and met with the hard ground, a stream of blood followed. The terror chuckled as it licked it's lips pleased by its work. For someone who had just lost his hand Marko did not take it easy. "Waaaahhhhhh!!" He cried out. The terror dove down for another sweeping kick. Marko felt himself before a great wall yet again, he could only resort to on
CHAPTER 7: BATTLE SENSE "Haa!!" Marko sprung back to life. The first thing that greeted him was the ash box displayed over his head. [YOU HAVE AWOKEN FROM SLEEP MODE] [ESTIMATED TIME ASLEEP: 3 WEEKS, 5 DAYS, 2HRS, 19 SECONDS] [ALL BODY FUNCTIONS HAVE BEEN RETURNED TO NORMAL] [PLEASE RECHARGE] "Huff! Huff!" Marko's ash hair had grown a bit. His face was dripping with sweat and a light headache stinging him by his temples. His eyes was weak as he glanced around the room, it was the physician house, the wind curtains whipped the air as wind blew in. "What?" He looked down at himself. He was wearing a thin patients cloth. "Who changed me?" He turned to the bedside where a collection of flowers sat on a tables with a note "GET WELL SOON! HERO!" "Oh God! Mon is going to kill me for running out on her!" He ran his hand down his damp hair and sighed in exasperation. "System?" […] "What are you…?" […] Marko pushed hims
CHAPTER 8: DISTORTION "And why don't you want to join the specialist forces?" Dexter asked. Marko responded. "It's not like everyone wants to join anyway, as long as I can stay here and protect my home I'm good." Sylvia snorted. "What an half-assed reason to say that." Marko glared at her then turned to face his mother who was staring at him. "I don't want to find my mom or Shayla hurt or the village when I can finally protect them." Shayla lost her composure a bit. "What? Me?!" Market continued. "My whole life people always ignored me, I don't have a father. I'm not strong or smart, I'm just me. And now I can do a whole bunch of things and help people because I want to. If the village protectors did not have me.to help then the life of everyone would have been endangered. I saved them and I will continue doing so." Teresa and Shayla were moved by his words but. Dexter still had a point to relay. "I admire you Marko, I really do." He started in a calm voice. "Let's suppose you
CHAPTER 9: ARRIVAL AT THE GIFTED ACADEMY Marko puffed as he alighted from the carriage. His boots giving rise to a puff of smoke, he stretched his body to relieve it from the many cramps it had suffered on the long journey. He had left his home three days earlier, embarking on the journey to better control his gift and master it. His mother, Shayal, he had vowed to return stronger. Staring at the huge castle before him covering a big space and encompassed by green gardens, a number of pristine fountains. The windows from top to bottom made of glass and shimmering with cascading fractures of light. The sky above flocking with different species of birds he never knew existed. For someone who had never seen anything as such in his village he marvelled and ran towards the wide open golden gates, eyes blooming with youthful vigor. "Woohoo! Academy here I cooome!!" Dexter grabbed him by the collar and raised him off the ground with ease. "For someone who seemed
CHAPTER 10: REVELATION Marko's eyes sprung open. "Where am I?" He asked the old man with long grey hair before him. He had a beard that seemed to go down a long way. Spectacles of two semicircle lenses sat atop the fringe of his nose. He wore a silver robe with gold lines and the crest of the gifted academy on it. On his head was nestled an awkward looking hat. "I am Headmaster Havadr Damocles of the Gifted Academy and this is office", the old man's voice was agee and we'll mannered. His gold eyes observed Marko to be a strong mannered and kind hearted boy, even his face looked like a cute baby that had just been born. But the other… was a brute, delinquent, bad egg, problem child. "WHAT!! YOU JUST WOKE UP YA DUMBSHIT LOSER, I'VE BEEN AWAKE FOR AGES!" Ted screamed as he snarled at Marko with his sharp pointy teeth that could be mistaken for a demon. "Even with the healing factor he still woke up before me?" Marko thought. "Just how thick is his hea
CHAPTER 11: COBALT BLUE Marko and Ted were filled in on the rules of the academy and it's setting. They were both informed that they were joining the first year at the middle of the semester. They would be forced to catch up with the others from the very first day. Dexter Knox ushered them down the halls after being excused from the headmaster, taking them down a long hall. Marko was lost in thought for a while Ted oogled every artifact, statue and painting in the castle. "Um, Dexter was all the headmaster told us true?" He spoke softly amd in a polite manner. "About us being the last line of defense humanity has?" Dexter tried to keep his eyes on Ted as they continued. "Without a doubt it is. But keep your head high, your are strong in terms of power, precision and stamina but you are not quite on the first years level." Ted stopped before a huge glass window and looked down at the huge training field below where a number of gifteds displayed their skill
CHAPTER 12: ULTIMATE BRAWLER SHOWDOWN Selena chuckled lightly as she raised her hand to her forehead and pushed the strands of hair from her face. With it came a sudden personality change. Her eyes flooded with deep killing intent as her smile faded. "Very well then, it's been a while since we crushed some impertinent newbies." Ted cracked his knuckles and snarled again. "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS." Marko felt a bit at ease with Ted taking the charge, even if he was a hothead he was strong but the problem was the girl. Ted had trained himself without any external help from anyone, emerging as a prodigy but the academy had tutors with the same powers as them. WHOOSH ! Marko was startled as all the Cobalt Blue members started to flock over like insects drawn to the light. "What ! This doesn't seem fair !" "HEY SCRUB ! REMEMBER WHAT MR BEARDED GLASSES SAID ?!" Ted said in a confident stance, his palms generating black smoke. "YOU CAN'T
CHAPTER 13: FLAMING FIST !! "FLAMING FIST!" Rings of flame coiled around Ted's clenched fist that reached her face. Again she side steped and slapped him on the face. He stumbled backwards unevenly. "How is it that you can see my attacks coming, HUH ?!" Selena smiled jovially as she opened her eyes. "In addition to enhanced physical capabilities and endurance gifteds normally have there is a power only those who have attained the peak of their gifts can master. We call it aura manifestation." Ted responded gruffly. "WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THIS ?!" Selena answered him in a threatening tone. "For a buffoon like you who is over reliant on your gift and brute force you are pretty easy to read. I haven't even used my gift yet, how pitiful." "WHAT !?" "YOU BITCH, YOU BETTER BE READY FOR TH--" STEP ! STEP ! "Huu !" Marko huffed out as he walked forward. "Pardon me for intruding." Marko could not have someone soiling his frie