"Can you see it now? huh, HERO SWITCH SKILL?"
Alab felt the hair in his body stood upon hearing Nathan. The thought of being like an open-book, free to read by Nathan made Alab shiver in fear.
"You... just how much information can you see with your talent?", Alab asked as the talent [Eye of the Truth] was too omnipotent. Not to mention that it was an unprecedented S-grade.
"This... what is this grade?", Alab added as questions continued to arise in his head. He had never heard of the grade "S", even the Philippine strongest, Golden Hero, never had this skill.
As if waiting for this qeury, Nathan broke his calm demeanor. Covering his face with his right hand then tossling his hair, a maniacal laugh escaped his mouth.
"Kikikiki, Ive read it... Ive read it in novels. S-grade, the strongest skill! BWAHSHHA, the heaven *cough, the system chose me! The greatest villain! BWAHAHA *cough KIKIKIKI", cackled Nathan as he punched the air around him. His messy footwork causing him to nearly trip. Alab felt a stronger goosebumps enveloped his body. After all, he thought that Nathan was normal but...
'It turned out that he is more of a madman than the guy earlier', he pondered. Shame engraved in his face.
Nathan, however, was yet to be pulled out of his delusion, he reached out his hand, pointing towards Alab. With a grin, he declared.
"And you, young boy, has been chosen by the system to help me in this villainous path. Come, lets join forces!", muttered Nathan as his azure eyes dazzled with stars, looking forward to a prospect of greatest villain title.
"Ahmmz you forgot your 'villain' laugh", muttered Alab...
"Ohhh, thank you boy, Kikiki *cough. You! That is my normal laugh!"
"Okay okay..."
Having enough of this cringe, Alab strode forward, looking at which path the people earlier had went to. Nathan, felt a chicken egg fell in his head from being ignored by Alab. Retreating his hand, he glanced at Alab.
"You!!! How can you ignore this great villain me?!", screamed Nathan only to be ignored by Alab again.
"This boy..."
Alab assumed that Nathan was about to regained his sanity as long silence enveloped the area. However, as he looked back, he saw Nathan covering his face as he seemed to ponder. His mouth whispering to himself...
"Is this the first challenge of the system? Procuring this boy's help. Oh system, I accept the challenge Kikiki", whispered Nathan.
Solidifying his conviction, Nathan lifted his head, meeting the cringed face of Alab.
*shame~
"You!!! You are looking down on me, arent you?!", queried Nathan
Having enough of this, Alab heaved a sigh as clicked his tongue. Candid words escaped his mouth...
"What are you? A kid? Stop with your delusions Mr. Fury", uttered Alab. Earlier, he felt respect towards Nathan as his skills were powerful but upon hearing his cringe words, he just couldnt help but fell in dismay.
"Huh! Said the kid who dreams of becoming a hero!", yelling, Nathan retorted with equally candid words.
"But Im a 14-year-old boy!"
"No longer a kiddo"
"This..."
With each ego being hit, the two dwell in their nonsense arguement that lasted for a long half an hour. Only when they were deprived of energy did they halt. Their bodies now knelt on the ground as a delusional 23-year-old villain aspirant man and a 14-year old hero aspirant boy panted for air. Their eyes piercing each other.
With ragged breathing, Nathan voiced out his proposal.
"Say, how about this, you serve me for 5 years then I let you go"
"No"
"You!!!! Okay, then 3 years!"
"No!"
"1 year?!"
"Still no!"
"You! Dont you feel indebted that I saved you?!", screamed Nathan
Heaving another deep breath as he closed his eyes. Nathan shook his head as his maniacal demeanor subsided. Calmness sewed in his face.
"Should I just kill you then?", muttered Nathan as he took the knife that he pointed at Alab's throat hours ago. Alab felt a recollection and fear surround him for a minute, but, after witnessing Nathan's hand trembling as he held the knife, Alab felt relieved.
"You... You have never killed a person, didnt you?", uttered Alab as the shaking and crude handling of the knife made him doubt Nathan's threat.
"You... How can you be sure of that?! I... I killed a hundred *cough, a thousand heroes back in Earth!", Nathan declared, his eyes avoiding Alab's as he glanced at the sky. His mouth curving upwards.
'He is lying', Alab speculated.
"Okay... Okayy, I will help you", Alab finally gave in as he found it bothersome arguing with this madman.
Nathan widened his eyes in joy as he jumped like a kid, rejoicing at his triumph.
"Kikikiii, I won! I won, system, I won your first challenge! Kikiki"
Jumping in the air, Alab's next words seemed to shackle him down the ground.
"But... In one condition"
*cough
"What condition?"
"I will only help you get three skills at most and that should be switched from the villains. I dont want to get the talents of heroes after all", Alab stated.
Nathan placed his finger in his chin, pondering over the proposal. He knew that Alab would not compromise any longer and this would be his last bet. Nathan had to weigh his gains and losses.
'3 skills... Assuming that I can awaken three times, I would awaken 9 skills, and having 4 high-grade skills at that line up should not be that bad... That would help me become the greatest villain!', thought Nathan.
"You have 5 more seconds to think", Alab teased
"You!!!"
"5"
"Stop that! I cant think!"
"4"
"Okay!"
"3"
"I said okay! OKAY! OKAY OKAY! I agree!", screamed Nathan.
Alab felt satisfied. Looking at Nathan acting bravely, he couldn't help but remember his sister Alexia. They both loved to create a brave front despite being kind and soft inside. They were literal Tsundere.
'I wonder how's she doing now? Did she hear the news? I hope she would not worry so much', Alab thought.
"Hero Switch Skill? You still alive?", Nathan called out as Alab seemed to dozed off for a moment.
*cough
"Im good. *cough* And can you please stop calling me that?! It sounds bad. I want to have a hero title that sounds great as Golden Hero!"
"Ahmm, okay, Hero Fanatic"
"You... Villain Fanatic!"
With the agreement set in stone, the two moved forward to a more pressing matter at hands.
"Have you checked the remaining number of challengers yet?", Nathan asked. He assumed that Alab hadnt check it yet since he just regained his conciousness.
Alab shook his head as he called out for the system. His status window in the form of a transluscent screen appeared before his very eyes.
[Name: Alab Sebastian Hytes
Level: 1- First Awakening (Temporary)
Exp: 0%
HP: 60/70 (10 times of Endurance stat)
Mana: 80/80 (10 times of Intelligence stat)
Attributes: (10 each stat for average people)
Strength: 6
Endurance: 7
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 8
Stat points: 1 (1 stat for each level up)
Talents:
Skill Switch (S) (Active)
- You can switch skill with others.
Mp Cost: 50
Cooldown: None
Stone throwing (E) (Passive)
- You can now throw stone accurately.
Alab didnt dwindle much in his below average stats and the unusual S-grade skill, after all, it was expected for his small build. He directly clicked the [Mission] bar and the portal's mission was unveiled before him.
[Planet Dem Mission (S):
Option 1: Kill the survivors of the destroyed Planet Dem
Option 2: Survive for 30 days]
[Number of survivors: 4/4
Number of challengers: 678/1000
Remaining days: 30]
Scrolling through the remaining number of challengers, Alab twitched in fear. Its only been more than two hours since they entered the portal. In that time, 322 human lives had already perished.
Alab wracked his brain, pondering just what kind of monsters would they fight in this portal.
"Those survivors... I think we will be battling humans.", ahead of him, Nathan muttered.
Horror flashed in face of Alab, he dreamed of becoming a Hero and it was given that they would fight monsters. He was prepared to do that but, in faced of human, not in once did he think that he would have to kill them.
"No... You cant be sure of that. It could be monster, it should be", Alab uttered as he closed his status window.
Nathan shook his head as he then scanned the barren land they were at. The azure moon, infertile soil, and uncivilized planet made his speculations feasible.
"This planet, I think it is similar to Earth that was once invaded by monsters. Only that they failed to defend from invasion and is now nearing destruction. Those survivors, they could be the only survivors of this planet. And now, we have to fight them.", Nathan voiced out his thought. Still, he was uncertain about the real cause of the Planet Dem's downfall. It could be monsters or not.
But, he was certain that they would be battling humans... And 4 of them at top of that.
"I am not certain of their strength, they could be stronger than I think. Thats why I need your help, after all, the great villain me could not perish with this planet."
Nathan gazed at Alab, attempting to wash off the uncertainties in this boy's mind. Similarly, he knew that words would not be enough to convince him.
"You are not sure about that yet..."
Shaking his head, Nathan spoke.
"I hope you are right. I dont have the confidence to fight them now. I need skill...", he paused as he shifted his gaze. He now glanced at a path where footprints of 30-40 people remained imprinted on the ground. Licking his mouth, Nathan muttered.
"You remember that madman earlier, right? What do you think, isnt he a villain? Kikikiki", Nathan bickered at Alab, his eyes dazzling light as he desired that madman's power.
"I also think that he is a bad guy, why did you ask----", Alab paused as realizations hit him. His eyes widened but later on shone similar light as Nathan.
A Hero aspirant he might be, Alab never left any harm to himself nor loved ones unpaid.
"So... Should we chase him? KIKIKIKI", shrieked Nathan, surprised at the guts of this 14-year-old boy.
-----
Keeping track of the fading footprints in the ground, Alab asked Nathan who was walking ahead of him.
"Do you really think that those survivors are humans?", he asked
Nathan, with eyes fixed on the footprints that had now turned chaotic as the people appeared to encounter something and had dispersely run off, open his mouth discreetly.
"Then what else?"
Though how much he tried to fool himself, Alab could no longer think of anything. Survivors. Just that word alone was enough to speculate what kind of entities they would exchange ill-intent with.
The night became deeper. The azure moon shone more brightly as the ground seemed painted red with its rosy moonlight. Dyed red, the footprints met its end. Nathan lifted his head looking at the scattered bodies meters ahead of them.
Coating the ground red with blood and sliced corpses, Alab felt his heart contract at the brutal death in their path. A head rolled their way as the cold breeze of the night drove it.
Eyes wide opened flashing with horror, mouth agape, the head seemed to scream for help before it suffered its end.
Rolling for more, the feet of Nathan halted its momentum. Alab couldnt help but gulp at the sight of the head so familiar to him.
The same face that killed a man earlier. Also, the same face that nearly delivered him to death.
The madman who tortured people to death with his enlarged feet, had now met his end in similar manner.
"This...", muttered Alab, unable to pull out words to express his feelings. Cause after all, along with the rolling of the head, a system notification rang.
[Ding!]
[A nearby awakened (deceased) has been detected... Scanning for talents]
[Ding!]
[The following talents have been detected:
Body Enlargement (A) (Active)
- Purging the path of becoming a Titan, you can now enlarge a part of you body.
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 2 minutes
Taunt (C) (Active)
- You can attract aggro by taunting the target.
Mana Cost: 10
Cooldown: 5 minutes
[Do you wish to switch skill with the nearby awakened?]
[Yes/No]