*Do you know anything else about him...?* wrote Jay.
*No, I'm sorry, all the ranks (C) supers in the South Zone protect their personal information very well, so normal people really don't know much about them.*
'Hm...well, it's obvious that their information would be a secret.'
Jay expected something like that, after all, in a place like the South Zone, information about the rank (C) supers was probably something confidential that was only known to the gang leaders.
In fact, although Noah had told him that the boss of Metal Body was an esper, after Noah had done some research, he confirmed that it was only the most widely circulated rumor, not a verifiable fact.
*Anyway, I think it would be best if you keep a low profile for the time being, at least for a while, that way Metal Body will stop being so alert and the rank (C) super will return to his original job, then you can continue to face the remaining low rank supers until you become known as "The Nightmare of (D) Rank Supers" or something like that.* Noah responded before Jay could write anything.
Because he didn't want his client/source of income to suffer any unexpected damage that would prevent him from continuing to hire his services, Noah advised him to stop going to the South Zone, trying to mask it as something beneficial so that he could make a name for himself more quickly.
*Hm...what you say makes sense, I'll keep a low profile.*
'Good! He's not as stubborn as I thought.' Noah thought after reading Jay's response, somewhat cheerfully.
He had expected his opinion to be ignored or scorned as it always happened, but this guy seemed to be reasonable!
Noah's opinion of him improved slightly.
In fact, if Jay had a system that could measure people's favorability, he would have received a [+1 Noah Favorability Point] notice by now.
*But I'll go tomorrow night anyway.*
'...'
[-1 Noah Favorability Point]
Or at least that would be the message that would appear if Jay had another type of system.
*But didn't you say you'd keep a low profile...?* Noah wrote again, confused by Jay's message.
*That's right.*
'...'
Then, for about 5 minutes, Jay didn't send anything else.
'But don't keep me waiting, at least tell me what you mean by that, you bastard!' Noah thought, somewhat frustrated that another message didn't arrive.
With no other option, he sent another message, asking what he meant, and a moment later, a reply came.
*I have a plan, and in fact, I think I need your help on this.*
'Ohh, another chance to make money, good!'
Noah was always happy to make some extra money.
*How about 100 credits for one night?*
'...Eh?'
***
"Ok...I definitely think I could have said it better...haha...ha..." Said Jay after he'd fixed the misunderstanding he'd caused, feeling a little embarrassed.
What Jay meant by "100 credits for one night" was related to being able to pick up his little ones tomorrow.
While it was true that there was now a rank (C) super guarding the entrance to the South Zone, that wasn't going to stop Jay from entering, much less now that the day of picking up his little ones was so close.
In fact, Jay had been thinking about what to do when the time came for one of the gangs to send someone to get rid of him since the first day he visited the South Zone, after all, no gang would let its members be defeated one by one by an unknown man.
However, Jay was not going to stop, so it was only a matter of time until Metal Body did something.
And finally they did, although they hadn't sent someone to "hunt him down" so to speak, it was a clear warning directed to him.
Originally, he planned to do exactly what Noah had said, not to go to the South Zone for a while until everything calmed down, but now that he had the convenient (and expensive) help of Noah, he could think of another "plan".
"Well...now it looks like I'll have to buy a few more things..." said Jay as he turned on his smart watch again and browsed through Jujusen's online store.
While he was at it, he also decided to check how much money he had in his bank account.
'...I definitely have to find a job...' He thought as he looked at the 3 digits indicating the amount of money he had, about to turn into a 2 digits number.
***
While Jay was trying to find the best products at the best price, a person was standing in a somewhat deep part of a forest in the middle of a small clearing with some trees and the occasional bush.
This young man was tall and had a thin complexion and lustrous white hair that was pulled back, his eyes were a vibrant jade green that gave off an almost imperceptible green glow.
Although this young man's appearance was striking, the most impressive thing was the fact that he had one small wind whirl in both hands.
If Jay was here, he could definitely recognize this young man, it was Carl.
*Woosh*
The leaves of the nearby trees and bushes were moving slightly due to all the wind in the area.
"Ah, shit!"
Suddenly, the young man lost control of the two whirls in his hands and had to threw them to one of the trees close to him, the whirls were emitting a strong wind current that raised some dust on their way.
*BAM!*
When they hit the tree, both whirlwinds dissipated, but not before leaving a considerable mark on the tree, although it still wasn't visible to Carl because of the dust.
Carl then moved his hand and a wind current cleared all the dust from the scene.
At that moment he could clearly see what he had accomplished, there were two large holes the size of a basketball which seemed to have been made from countless cuts in the tree trunk.
"...Damn..." he said, dissatisfied with his performance.
While those whirlwinds had been strong, it seems that they failed to meet Carl's expectations.
He had been training hard since the day Jay came to visit him, mainly due tot he fact that he had to prepare for the Eitsirc Academy entrance exam, but also because he had a strong desire to want to improve quickly.
And fortunately for him, he was succeeding, although he was still a rank (D) super, he was slowly improving his Wind Control ability, which motivated him to train more.
However, today was not a normal training day because Carl was feeling different today...he felt like he was just one step away from reaching the (D+) rank!
That was the reason why he had been trying to use his skill to the limit, creating air whirls much more stronger than normal, unfortunately, just when he felt he was going to make progress, he lost control of them, causing him to have to get rid of the air whirls, just as he had done a moment ago.
"...this way I won't achieve anything even if I spend the whole night here..." he said with some disappointment.
He had been trying for several hours, so it was unavoidable that he felt somewhat discouraged.
"... if doing the same thing doesn't work...then I just have to try something new!"
However, the discouragement dissappeared as quickly as it came, and again Carl's desire to improve encouraged him to keep trying.
Then, Carl changed the way he used his skill, he no longer tried to control the wind, instead, he began to feel it.
Normally, what he did was order the wind to do his will, with that method, he had always achieved the result he wanted...except this time of course.
So, this time he decided to try a different method, instead of ordering the wind, he would go with the flow.
As silly as it sounded, Carl was willing to try.
"Haaaa..."
Then he let out a long sigh, trying to empty his mind, thinking of nothing else but the wind in his surroundings as he sat down and closed his eyes.
"..."
Five minutes passed...
"..."
20 minutes passed...
"..."
1 hour passed...
"..."
Normally Carl hated any activity that involved testing his patience, but the feeling that he could gradually feel the wind better and his desire to improve made him wait patiently.
Until finally, after having waited so long that even the sun had gone down, Carl felt something.
From the light breezes where he was, to the strong and constant current of wind above the trees, to the wind that passed through each tree, he could feel even the smallest change in all of them.
This time...Carl felt as if all the wind in the forest was under his control.
"Urgh...this is harder that expected..."
Carl let out a grunt, maintaining this state was difficult for him after all, but he persevered and kept going anyway.
"But, I can do it!"
Suddenly, all the wind in the surroundings began to gather in a sphere the size of a basketball above him.
It seemed to want to form a whirlwind similar to what Carl normally did, however, at that moment, Carl interrupted the process.
"...I need...something stronger!" He screamed as he forcibly changed the shape of the wind that was gathering above him.
Even though he didn't have a drop of sweat on his face, the expression he was making showed he was trying his best.
Then, following Carl's will, the wind sphere began to get smaller, until it was no bigger than a golf ball.
Carl was sure that if he used this to attack, he would undoubtedly be able to cause great damage, however, he was still not satisfied with that.
"Not yet!" He yelled, enduring the pressure that his body was going through due to the extreme use of his ability.
The small wind sphere then began to stretch horizontally, but this process was not easy, because of the large amount of wind condensed in the sphere, the risk of it losing its shape and dissipating was very high, but Carl miraculously managed to maintain the stability of the sphere.
"ARGHH, COME ON!" Carl shouted again, concentrating on the wind sphere to the maximum.
Finally, after some distressing seconds that seemed like hours to Carl, he succeeded, the sphere had changed its shape completely.
Now it was no longer simply a sphere of wind...but had become a deadly wind spear which swirled and released strong currents of wind around it!
"IT'S DONEEEE!!"
At that moment, Carl opened his eyes and let out a scream before throwing the spear into the same tree that he had thrown the two whirlwinds to.
*BAM!*
The sound of a small explosion resounded in the surroundings, accompanied by a small cloud of dust that was raised by the spear, it seemed that the power of the spear was far stronger than expected.
After a few seconds, the dust cloud dissipated, allowing Carl to clearly see the effect of his spear...there was a small hole that went right through the tree!
Considering that the thickness of the trunk was at least 30 inches, the power of the spear had been really strong.
With no doubt...this was an attack worthy of a rank (D+) super!
"I...did it...haha." Carl said with a tired expression, but feeling cheerful anyway.
He then fell to the ground because of the fatigue.
Even though he was tired, he could barely feel how the energy in his body changed, this was something that happened everytime a super achieved a breakthrough.
As he was someone who had advanced multiple times, he wasn't new to this feeling, however, there was something different this time.
Instead of just a cold sensation all over his body, he could also feel a warm sensation midst all that coldness.
"Well...doesn't matter...it feels nice..." He said, deciding to enjoy that new and warm sensation in his chest.
***
Back at Jay's house, he was training the Phantom Trace in his backyard even though it was night.
A sour expression could be seen on his face.
"...Why is it so expensive if the effect is only temporary...?" he said as he remembered his previous purchase.
However, before he could continue lamenting, an unexpected notification from the system arrived.
_____________________
Congratulations! The [Parasitic Egg] has successfully hatched in the former host [Carl Gaffner].
_____________________