Alex woke the others right before sunrise. “Good morning, sleeping beauties, it's time to roll out. We've got people to rescue.”
“I hate you, go away. I’m still a growing man, I need my sleep, and we aren’t transformers, you can’t say roll out.” Sam mumbled.
Alex used his Earth Magic skill to remove Sam's bed, causing him to fall to the ground. It was not gentle.
“How do you even know what transformers are? You're like.. 12.”
Lifting his face off the ground, Sam casually slung a [Fireball] at Alex, which he caught using his [Celestial Control].
“Huh, I didn't think that would work,” Alex said. “Remind me when we are done, you and I need to do some training with this.”
“How da fuk?!” Sam said, staring wide-eyed. “Dude, how?!”
“Don’t worry about it right now, we've got stuff to do,” Alex said with a wink and walked off.
Loud enough for everyone to hear, Sam casually said, “I want him to have my babies. That's a man right there.”
“Uhhh.. Sam, I don’t think that's how it works. Do we need to have “The Talk” about the birds and the bees?” Derek asked him.
“Shhhhhh. It's the 21st century, I can do what I want.” Sam replied.
“Hey, we aren’t judging. You can have babies with whoever you want.” Sarah added, chiming in on the conversation with a laugh.
“I hate all of you. And just so it's clear.. I like women, not that I have anything against guys who don’t, but I like women with some jiggling up top, if you catch my drift,” he said, raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively. “And sorry, Sarah.. You're a bit too… flat. Like a board. One beaten more flat with a hammer wielded by a huge troll."
Derek choked on air at the unexpected comment, eyes tearing up from the lack of air, while Alex laughed from outside the room, hearing what was said.
Sarah, on the other hand, looked offended as she grabbed her not flat chest. “Hey, these might not be big, but they aren't flat either, kid. Now get your ass off the floor and let's go!” Sarah huffed and then quickly exited the cave.
Derek turned to Sam and said, “You might not want to piss off your healer, bud.”
“Shit… you're right. Wait, Sarah, I didn’t mean it!” he yelled. “Your lumps are perfectly fine for people who like small ones!” He paused for a moment before adding, “And Alex, don’t think I forgot about you, I’ll get my revenge! Also, I’m 19, not 12!”
While everyone was making their way out of the cave, Alex was thinking about what he did with that fireball.
I’ve never tested it thoroughly on someone else’s spells. I don't count Zhiva; the boss was way above me. Could I do that in a fight? Or was it just that moment?
Sam was casual and had no intent behind the spell. I could feel it; he was just fooling around. When I took control of the spell, the resistance behind it was minimal. I need to do more testing.
Outside the cave, the sun hadn’t fully risen yet. A gloomy mist settled over the forest nearby. It was quiet and eerie. One thing that Alex had noticed since leaving the dungeon was the lack of insects and birds. So the normal forest noises weren’t there.
“It's this way,” Derek said, pointing in the direction where Alex had found them. They made their way through the forest towards the camp Chad controlled. While walking, Alex questioned them about Chad and his followers' classes.
“Chad is a warrior. He probably put all his spare points into strength; that's all he values. Morgan is also a warrior, though he’s lower level. Tristan is a scout with a focus on archery. And the last one, Chris, is a fire mage,” Derek told him.
Alex considered the information he received. “I see. I’ll take Chad, you three can handle the others. It should be easy for you all, but I’d recommend focusing on that scout first, he's more unpredictable and could easily run away.”
“Hmm yeah, that sounds like a good enough plan. I don’t really see any other options, and I don't think the rest of us could match Chad’s strength, even if we’re the same level now,” Derek replied.
It took them almost an hour to get near it.. The sun had just risen, morning light not yet illuminating the camp. Alex was surprised by what he saw through the trees. The camp was a mess, it stank, and people looked afraid of their own shadows. It was inhuman for people to be treated this way.
Alex felt rage boiling up inside him. Pure and uncontrolled rage at what these people were going through. It's bad enough that everyone had been ripped from their homes and loved ones from the integration, but this.. It's unimaginable in the modern day. It's not even monsters doing this; it's humans doing it to humans.
It's only been a few days since the integration. How did they fall this far? People look like they haven’t eaten anything, half of them look beaten and have bloody clothes, and their eyes…They all look dead inside, like they've given up on everything. Half of them are just staring at a random spot, zoned out, and oblivious to the world.
Before the integration, Alex wouldn’t consider himself an activist or anything. However, he did have strong opinions about certain things. The treatment of fellow humans was one of them. He felt no one should be mistreated, simply because they’re poor or weak, or because someone enjoys preying on others. But he never had the power to do anything about it, so he never even tried. He just seethed as he watched the news or heard about something that had happened. Now he had that power.
“Change of plans. They’re all mine. Protect the people.” Alex said, anger and something else coming out in his voice. His eyes glowed, and mana in the air spun around him, embracing him, bowing to him, as if it was all his.
***
Derek unconsciously took a step back, as if he was standing before a predator. A giant. A tyrant born to control. Someone who rightfully owned all. He shook his head, attempting to clear away the fear and thoughts.
It’s just Alex, he's our ally… Right? Derek thought to himself as he watched Alex walk into the middle of the camp.
***
Sam felt it, the mana roaring off Alex. Since he had begun practicing the mana manipulation, he felt himself become a little more sensitive to it. But what he felt from Alex terrified him. He could feel the anger mixed into the mana.
“Remind me never to piss him off…” he whispered.
***
Being a healer, Sarah was more empathic than most, and the class had given her an insight into people, more than she had before. She could roughly understand how someone felt, at least a little. Not reading their thoughts, but at least knowing if someone was in pain, angry, sad, or happy. The basics. But what she felt from Alex went beyond anything she had seen or felt before. The emotion she felt coming off him in waves was massive and impossible to miss. Anger. So much of it, she feared it would infect her too. The emotion was so strong that she hadn’t even realized she had stopped breathing until her face turned blue, and she quickly took in a big breath.
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“What is he..?” she said with fear in her voice.
***
Alex was pissed. All he wanted was vengeance. Revenge for himself and for these people. These people weren’t strong enough to take it themselves, so he would take it for them. Gladly. They were being treated like dogs, scraps, discarded, and abused. But not allowed to better themselves or leave.
Chad will not survive today. Alex promised this to himself.
He moved with purpose. Quickly entering the middle of the camp. Alex immediately shouted for Chad.
“Chad, get the hell out here!” It took a minute or two, and during this time most of the people in the camp were there, watching and waiting to see what was going to happen.
“Who the fuck needs their ass beat again? What dumbass is ou- Ooohh? Who are you?” Chad asked, eyebrow lifted in curiosity.
“Don’t recognize me eh? Your brain always did seem a bit small. Muscles were about the only thing you had. Pretty shitty caving instructor if you ask me.” Alex said, keeping his anger in check. It wasn’t time yet.
Chad looked puzzled. “Caving instructor? I don’t rememb– Wait. Are you the dude that 'fell' down in the cave? Your face looks familiar, but I definitely don't remember that hair or those eyes,” The man had used air quotes when he said fell.
“There you go, finally a little use of that tiny brain of yours. You didn’t even remember the guy you purposely let fall. But enough small talk, asshole, bring your goons out here so I can kill you all at once. I’d rather avoid having to hunt one down later.” Alex replied, eyes and voice gone cold.
Chad laughed and had a large grin. “On purpose? I have no idea what you’re talking about, you simply... slipped. And you weren't the first. Some guy 'tripped' last year, too. I was soooo sad to see him bust his face all up."
"Why? Are you just a piece of shit who can't hurt people normally, so you try to do it secretly. Are you that weak? What was it even for?" Alex asked, genuinely curious. But then he remembered something... "Sarah. You did it because I was talked to her and she wouldn't talk to you. You're that petty? And let me guess... the guy last year you knocked down, was talking to another girl you wanted."
He spat on the ground. "That stupid bitch should have shown me some attention. I could have shown her a reallll good time."
Alex shook his head. "You are really a bigger shitbag than I originally, thought. That's actually impressive. I didn't think lower was possible."
He slammed his weapon into the dirt. "You think you can take us? You look weaker than these people. At least they knew how to show me a good time, though they got boring too quick. I’ll have to beat you into submission just like I did with them. I could use a new dog.”
Not replying, Alex looked around and inspected their levels.
Chad Michison - Level 5
Chris Torgman - Level 4
Morgan Smith - Level 3
Tristan Buhen - Level 4
They’re all here. Good.
Alex channeled his Earth Magic and quickly summoned 5 Earth Spikes, each one about a foot long. He launched all 5 of them at Tristan, wanting to quickly take out the scout.
Tristan didn’t stand a chance. Before he could even register that he was the target, three of the spikes had plunged into his chest, killing him. The other two missed, only grazing him.
Killing the scout sent the others into a frenzy.
“SHIT! ATTACK HIM! He’s a mage, get close!” Chad screamed. The warriors, Chad and Morgan, both charged Alex. The mage, Chris, was casting a [Fireball] to throw at him.
The fireball reached Alex before the warriors did. He felt it coming, and seized it with all his anger and Willpower, it came under his control quite easily. He caught the fireball with his [Celestial Control], but didn't stop it. He kept its momentum, slung it around his body to sustain it, and launched it back at Morgan with greater speed.
The fireball caused Morgan to stumble. But since it was from a lvl 4 mage, and Alex didn't improve it when he had control, it didn’t do a large amount of damage to him.
“Send another! I bet he can’t keep doing that!” Chad commanded the fire mage.
Quickly, Chris used [Fireball] again, right before Chad was able to close the distance. This time, when Alex took the fireball, he held it for a moment, testing his mana control of it. He focused on the fireball, felt its heat and structure, and how it was created. Alex gave the fire what it wanted, fuel. Pumping mana into it and making it suck in more air, the fire burned brighter. The heat doubled around it, and then Alex took the fireball and spun it as he condensed it. Compressing it down to a smaller size, he kept its rotation.
Too bad I don’t have an orange jumpsuit, a ninja headband, and some wind magic. This looks exactly like the anime attack he uses.
Alex chuckled and unleashed the spell, sending it back at the mage.
The fireball was devastating. Chris put on his Mage Barrier before it hit, but it didn’t matter. The barrier shattered instantly, and the fireball burned a large chunk out of his chest, almost going straight through. Chris’s smoking body collapsed to the ground.
He felt something inside of him click, as if a switch had been flipped. Suddenly, Alex knew that he had learned the [Fire Magic] skill. He didn’t want to check his notifications to verify, but he could feel the skill within him. He knew he could use it if he wanted.
Is that because of what I did with Chris’s fireball? He didn’t have time to think about it, so he pushed the thoughts away for now.
“Two down,” Alex said to them. “And you're next,” he added, clearly looking at Morgan, who had begun charging him again.
At this point, Chad finally made it to him. He swung his large two-handed warhammer; Alex could feel that the weapon was enhanced with a skill. Chad was slow, and the dumbass had clearly just wasted his [Power Strike], expecting the attack to land.
Attack missing, Chad followed up with a skill Alex hadn’t seen before. He raised his foot and stomped down, causing a small shockwave to radiate out a few yards, knocking him to the ground.
Morgan had also activated his [Charge] ability to get him into the fight. Standing over him, he swung down with his sword, but Alex had drawn his sword too and parried the blow, while on his back. He kicked Morgan in the leg, causing it to buckle under his weight.
Alex rolled backwards, coming up onto his feet right before Chad landed his follow-up attack. The blow slammed into the ground where he had been lying, throwing dirt into the air.
Glad that didn’t hit me.
He immediately jumped backwards, putting a little distance between himself and the two warriors. Keeping his sword drawn, Alex tested out his new [Fire Magic].
My sword said it had high mana conductivity, so that means I can probably add mana to it. I didn't try it with earth magic, since adding rocks to my sword would be heavy. But now with fire magic… Alex had a big smile on his face.
This is going to be fun!
Alex channeled the skill, directing the mana flow into his sword. The sword ate it up, drinking it deeply. The blade immediately began to glow. Fire sprouted around it, coating it, caressing it. It was as if they had been partners for years and had finally been reunited.
Alex laughed. “You're all fucked. This is what you have brought upon yourselves from these people.” Alex swung his blade.
Fire arced out of it. A projectile slash made of fire soared through the air towards Morgan. The magic looked like a backwards C flying towards him. Time seemed to slow as everyone watched. When it impacted against him, he screamed as the fire ignited all over his body. Morgan burned for several seconds before a charred corpse fell to the ground. And then silence.
“Three down,” Alex commented, ice in his voice. Eyes glowing brighter, stars upon stars could be seen in them.
“What are you?! You're a god damn monster!!” Chad screamed at him, fear etched on his face.
“You're just weak, Chad. You prey on those whom you should be protecting, those whom you should be helping. But instead, you need them to be under your feet, so that you can feel a little bit stronger. Well, let me tell you a secret, Chad, that’s not strength. This is what it really looks like.”
Alex walked up to him, sword still lit with fire mana. Chad swung his large weapon, but Alex easily dodged it, and then he struck out with his sword, taking off Chad's wrist on his left arm. The wound didn’t even bleed; Alex’s sword had cauterized it immediately after cutting it through.
Chad flailed and screamed in pain, spittle flying out of his mouth. “YOU PIECE OF SHIT! I WILL KILL YOU!” Coming back at Alex, he swung his weapon again, this time with one hand.
So Alex repeated the action. He cut off his other wrist after deflecting his attack. “I may not be skilled with a sword, but you're just outright terrible with that thing, swinging it around like a drunkard.”
Chad wailed, both hands gone, warhammer on the ground, and then he fell to his knees. Crying and screaming about unfairness.
“Unfair?” Alex chuckled. “Look around, you piece of shit. You abused these people and left them to live in squalor while you picked anything of value, stole all the food, and murdered anyone who disagreed with you. You earned every second of this.”
Alex walked up close to him, extinguishing his blade and stabbing it into Chad’s chest. Not aiming for his heart, but still dealing a fatal blow. He just made it a slower death. Chad held on for another five minutes before he bled out. He was unable to talk for the duration, and when he tried, he would just split up blood.
