Mako didn't give chase to the leader as he had already used Analyze on him and besides having slightly better stats, than the ones he just defeated, there wasn't anything special so he didn't consider him a threat.
Instead, Mako decided to untie the two girls. Sophia was still awake, but Anna was knocked out cold, and it was most likely that she won't be waking up anytime soon.
Mako used his Blue Horn Mammoth Blade to cut the rope, and Sophia instantly started crying rivers. She was so traumatized by the whole situation that she couldn't even register the fact that they were no longer in danger.
Mako didn't want to waste time as judging by the amount of EXP he received for defeating some weak level 3 ability users, he knew he found the jackpot.
On average, there were 100 reports of crime being committed daily in the Rosewood district and those were only the ones that got reported, so in reality, the number was even higher.
Stopping bad guys and getting rewarded by the system. It was a win-win situation for Mako. He wanted to go out looking for more trouble, but his conscious couldn't leave the two girls alone like that.
Once Sophia had gained a grip, she looked over to her savior only to see a man completely covered in black from head to toe with a terrifying mask that had glowing red eyes.
"Ahh!!" Sophia screamed again, thinking that the danger was not over, but before she could be loud enough, Mako covered her mouth to not alert anyone else.
"Calm down…. Calm down…." Mako kept repeating as it took a couple of minutes for the poor girl to register the fact that she wasn't in danger anymore.
"Let's help your friend," Mako said as he let go of her mouth and picked Anna by the shoulder, lifting her to her feet.
Sophia rushed to help with the other side and they started walking back towards their apartment which wasn't far at all.
Mako kept quiet throughout the walk as Sophia kept stealing glances over to his mask, wondering who this person actually was. In today's day and age, no one helped another out of the goodness of their heart so why was he helping them?
The thought would forever plague her as Mako already refused to talk about anything about himself even after Sophia's consistent bickering. For Mako, it was natural to help another as this was the main life lesson ingrained into his bones by his grandmother.
They walked by the Emerald Tree fountain as their apartment was just past it. Mako could finally get back to his main goal after ensuring that these girls are safe and sound at home.
All of sudden two hover trucks, surrounded them on both sides, cutting off any chance of escape. The shutter behind both opened and multiple thugs started running out and surrounding them in a circle.
From the driver seat of one of the trucks, came out the leader that Mako had let go. He had a huge grin on his face as he stared at the three of them, thinking that he had them cornered.
Mako let out a big sigh as he thought that letting him go was the right thing to do since he didn't want unnecessary violence, but now he understood that scum like them didn't receive mercy.
"If you want me then fine you can have me, but let these two go," Mako said as he stepped forward toward the leader of the previous group. The leader kept grinning as he didn't care for the girls in the first place. If he managed to capture Mako who could easily defeat level 3s, he was sure he would get a reward from his boss.
He accepted Mako's offer and they let the two girls leave to which Sophia was still reluctant as she kept repeating that they would kill him. Mako didn't say anything while one of the goons yelled at them so loudly that they didn't care about anything other than their own safety and quickly got away from all of them.
Now Mako was all alone surrounded by 18 goons from all sides. Not all of them were of Level 3 variety as was confirmed by Analyze, but the sheer number worked in their favor as there were users of all the five basic elements mixed in between.
Mako did some basic warmup movements, like moving all his joints and cracking his neck slightly. This was done just to intimidate them because, in reality, Mako was freaking out as well because he really wasn't sure if he could take all of them out, but there was no other choice other than to try.
"Before we get started, does anyone want to leave?" Mako said as he took a simple stance.
A vein popped on the leader's forehead as he signaled all his men to attack.
Time slowed down as all 18 of them charged at him with their abilities to be unleashed. Mako quickly placed his hands on the ground again, but before he could even cast his Electrical Discharge ability, a ball of fire blasted right at his feet he had to jump in order to avoid the attack.
A strong gust of wind blasted him back down and he was pushed back onto the ground before he could reposition himself. Many whips made of water and clubs made of earth started to form in the hands of some of them.
Mako was entirely caught off guard by the sudden use of abilities as yet again, his over-confidence has brought him into such a predicament where he was being attacked by 18 different fighters all at once.
Before the leader surrounded Mako with the trucks, he had instructed his team to not kill him, but rather knock him out. He was sure that Mako would be of great interest to their leader as he could easily defeat the level 3s earlier
Mako didn't have time to cast any big abilities as they required a few seconds to activate, so all he could do was use Phantom Shift to dodge any big attacks while enduring the rest.
The beating hardly continued for over a minute and Mako was already running out of options as he didn't really think this through, but then a system notification came in clutch.
[PERSEVERANCE has been activated]
Mako grinned as it was only a matter of time before he could go on the offensive. Mako quickly used Phantom Shift thrice in quick succession, leaving the attackers confused. Using this crucial moment, Mako brought out two boost pills and quickly popped them.
[2x High Tier Boost Pills consumed]
[Which Attribute does the User want to enhance?]
'Fortitude!' Mako commanded the system.
[*SYSTEM OVERRIDE*]
[30 Attribute points have been temporarily transferred to Fortitude]
The cool chilling feeling of having an attribute increased was more intense than ever as Mako could feel the very fibers of every muscle becoming taught and strong.
With that down, the goons had relocated Mako and resumed their onslaught of attacks. This time however it hurt a lot less as the over thirty-plus points in Fortitude helped reduced the damage to a bearable amount even after the 50% increased damage taken that was one of the drawbacks of using the PERSEVERANCE title.
For the next five minutes, Mako watched a bar filled with red energy every time he took a hit. This red bar is the rage meter that appeared on the user interface after activation.
Mako wasn't even trying to dodge the attacks anymore as he only moved against attacks that could cause serious damage. The rage meter was 3/4th full when the time limit for the rage meter to increase had expired and a brand new prompt rose in front of Mako's eyes.
[Rage meter 78% full]
[Does the user want to enter rage mode?]
[YES/NO]
Mako selected the 'YES' option instantly as a change began to erupt from his body. As soon as Mako activated Rage Mode, he emitted a pulse similar to a wave in the ocean, but this was invisible but carried a huge amount of force as all the goons were knocked back.
After getting back up, they noticed the figure of Mako glowing.
Yes, Mako was emitting a visible red aura as he was glowing red all over as it looked like he was on a majestic fire. His eyes burned redder than ever as the air around everyone suddenly began to feel heavy.
[Rage Mode had been activated]
Mako let out a mighty roar akin to a mythical beast that announced his entry to weak beings.
The goons didn't even have time to gulp down their saliva before Mako appeared right in front of the closet one, giving him a swift uppercut.
The man's jaw was utterly crushed instantly as he was lucky that his head did rip off his body. He was sent flying ten meters into the air while Mako moved to the next closest one.
**Pow***Bam***Smash***Thump***Crash**!!!
Right now, Mako looked like a monster going on a rampage as he didn't care who or what was In front of him as he just wanted to destroy everything.
The goons now didn't stand a chance as any ability they used would just evaporate as they approached the red flames that enveloped Mako's body.
The leader watched in shock as Mako made light work of his 18 men in less than two minutes. His rage meter was still above 50% even after knocking and putting all 18 fighters in a critical state, Mako then toward the leader who had wasted the chance of freedom that he was given earlier.
Mako covered the distance between them very quickly as the leader actually was perceptive enough to move just enough so that Mako's fist ran right past his nose and instead punched a small hole through the truck on his right.
"SH*T!!" The leader yelled fearing for his life and regretting ever meddling with this monster.