Erik woke up feeling in a good mood the next day. He was going to meet with someone he considered a father more than his real one.
Erik felt grateful to Benjamin. After Erik's father left, Benjamin stepped in to take care of him. The kid knew it wasn't common for someone to raise another person's child as their own and appreciated how caring he was, especially since such kindness was uncommon in their society.
But it wasn't like he worshipped him. Uncle Benjamin took care of him as he could, but didn't even do that much. The most he did was keep him company, making him feel less lonely.
This didn't make Erik's attachment toward him less strong, but he didn't even see him like a benevolent god.
Erik worried that if Benjamin complained to the school about his injuries, Logan would hurt him even more. That's why, over the past two years, Erik learned to use makeup to hide his bruises. He did this after working out and showering and before going to school.
"Quests," the young man said.
A blue and white semitransparent window appeared in the corner of his field of view. The two daily quests were there.
—[Quests List]—
Daily Quests
##Eating Habits##
Rewards: 10 Experience, 10 DNA points
Penalty: None
Task: Eat a healthy meal.
(Accept)|(Refuse)
##Physical Training##
Rewards: 10 Experience, 10 DNA points
Penalty: None
Task: Train for at least one hour (Choose any exercise.) (Accept)|(Refuse)
—End—
Erik looked at the screen showing his daily quests. It looked like a sort of illusion, which, in a sense, was.
Even though it seemed unreal, he knew it was part of the biological supercomputer's ability. He decided to do both quests. To get ready for his workout, Erik started his day with a good breakfast.
As Erik ate breakfast, he watched the news on TV, paying attention to the reports.
The news reported on the ongoing war between Frant and Hin. Fighting had started again on the beaches of the island country.
The authorities didn't say much about it, and strangely enough, the blackguards didn't intervene, making it look like Frant had a serious reason to attack.
The way wars were fought was different from the past. Instead of using ships, tanks, and planes to fire missiles, people themselves are the main fighters in modern wars.
There were two main reasons for this change in warfare. First, most cities were protected by special barriers. These barriers were created using either advanced technology or brain crystal powers, with people keeping watch at every hour of the day and keeping the barrier intact. Most cities also had walls to prevent anything significantly dangerous from entering the city, in case the barriers fell.
While it was impossible to kill all of these creatures, the barriers worked well against conventional weapons.
Second, because of people's brain crystal powers, most weapons were useless against both Thaids and humans.
Thaids had a natural mana barrier that the power these weapons could make wasn't able to destroy. Humans, instead, could simply play it smart. If there was someone with ranged powers, at the same moment they saw a missile approaching, they would blast it down.
Human reflexes, as much as their physical capabilities, had been powered up by mana a lot, to the point they became inhuman.
Of course, there were people not able to do this. Those who could were not few, but they weren't even in the millions, not that it was needed. Weaker people were still limited in what they could do.
Something that didn't change where the transportation means. Cars, buses, trains, and the like were still present; it was just that technology developed in a direction where maneuverability and speed were the focus.
This was needed for two reasons: the first was a purely utilitarian one: it allowed people to reach their destination faster. The second was related to survival. Thaids couldn't go so high into the atmosphere; mainly, where oxygen reached was where they could go. This meant that all the transportation means outside cities needed to reach that part of the atmosphere where thaids couldn't reach, and that required power.
As Erik pondered all of this, he finished eating, washed the dishes, and waited a little to digest before training.
He completed that too and got another twenty experience points and twenty DNA points.
"System, show me the status."
—Status—
[Host Information]
NAME: Erik Romano
AGE: 16
POWER LEVEL: 8
SYSTEM LEVEL: 1
EXPERIENCE: 50/100
DNA POINTS: 50
HEALTH: 120/120
MANA: 10/10
{Attributes}
STRENGTH: 3
INTELLIGENCE: 6
DEXTERITY: 4
ENERGY: 1
Available attribute points: 0
{Powers}
[Biological Super Computer Powers]
Brain Crystal Manipulation
Brain Crystal Power Strengthening
(LOCKED)
(LOCKED)
(LOCKED)
(LOCKED)
(LOCKED)
DNA Manipulation
DNA Strengthening
(LOCKED)
(LOCKED)
(LOCKED)
(LOCKED)
(LOCKED)
Analysis
Brain Information Injector
Device Manipulation
[Host's Powers]
Plant Growth: Fσ1E-RANKED
—END—
Erik was halfway there, both to increase his level and to get the necessary DNA points to fix his problem.
After that, it was a jump into the unknown. His power was useless, but at least he would never starve, thanks to it.
Erik considered starting his own farm, inspired by Mister Fox. However, he knew it wouldn't be easy. To start a farm in the city, he would need permission from the Stone family, who controlled most, if not all, the entire food production inside Frant.
Erik changed into casual clothes—jeans and a shirt. It wasn't fancy, but it was all he had.
After hiding his injuries, he left the house and walked to the meeting spot where Benjamin would pick him up. He strolled a little around while waiting.
It was midday, and the sun gleamed on the buildings along the street.
After some time, the man arrived. A flying car landed close to him. He lowered the window, and Erik noticed he was wearing a fancy suit. Despite being in the army, he was tall and thin.
He had dark skin and was in his mid-thirties. His hairs were black, long, and tied in a ponytail. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses, and when he saw Erik, he lowered them to say hi. He then smiled at him.
"You look nice," Erik said to his father's friend.
Benjamin smiled broadly. "Thank you," he said. "You too!"
Erik then jumped into the vehicle, and the man sped toward the restaurant.