'I have now patiently waited for all of three minutes,' I mused as I flipped my wrist to check my watch. "Oh well... I suppose this should constitute as me trying," I concluded and spun to depart from the director's office.
Unfortunately, Jack, the director decided to appear at that moment. He stepped through the door concealed by his bookcase and greeted me with a casual "As impatient as ever, Elucidé."
Most of his character sheet was shrouded in mystery due to my underdeveloped Perception stat. Luckily, my stat was not so low as to allow him free rein of my character sheet either.
[Jack Python; Age: 72; Class: World-Class; Rank: #6; Hero name: Marvelous Silver
Talents:
•[Indomitable Fear]
•[Indomitable Pain]
Titles: {{Error!}}]
"By the gods, Child!" Jack was shocked after analyzing my character sheet.
[Elucidé Amethyst; Age: 21; Class: S; Rank: 1; Hero name: Fallen
Talents:
•[Shockwave]
•[Divine Lightning]
Titles: {+21}
Stats:
[Force: 87.94(SS+)]
[Agility: 98.03(SSS+)]
[Stamina: 85.7(SS)]
[Perception: 74.01(A)]
[Constitution: 83.9(SS-)]
[Dexterity: 82.82(SS)]
[Talent Control: 95.79(SSS)]
[Strength: 89.07(SS+)]
Race: Human
{#Error!#}]
"So, this is what you have been up to for the past three years? Your stats have grown beyond my wildest expectations, and I can't even see your skills," he chuckled. "Looks as if you're ready for advancement to World Class. Such a feat would make you the youngest World Class Ranker to date. Your mother would be jealous."
Despite his age, Jack looked considerably younger; he appeared to be in his early forties. 'Perhaps he was consuming children to maintain his youth,' I jest in the safety of my own mind.
The old man was well-built, taut, and had no problems standing straight. I could practically smell his life essence from where I stood.
My eyes remained focused; they quickly swept over the room before landing back on Jack. "I thought I made myself clear the last time we spoke," I uttered, my voice clear and soft, yet still somehow commanding. "I have no intentions of continuing down the path of heroism."
Jack quietly took a seat at his desk, his movements measured as he sat and composed himself. "Excluding the two from today, you've killed 52 of my heroes. If you're not a hero, do you plan on becoming a villain? How shall I punish you for this treachery, my child?"
"And what made you think you could punish me, grandfather?"
"Do not pretend as if you don't fear me, child! Take a seat." Jack's voice became intense, gesturing at the chairs in front of his desk.
"I'd rather stand while addressing my enemies." Rolling my shoulders back, I stand upright, preparing for the worst. "Any man that could drop his pregnant granddaughter in a wolf-infested hellhole to get rid of her 'demon spawn' is nothing if not an enemy."
"Enough of your petty games, Elucidé; it's time for you to come home. Your friends miss you, the heroes need their leader, the world needs-"
"Did they tell you that?" I cut him off.
"Eluci-"
"No, have they?! This world..." I gestured with my hands wildly at my surroundings. "No longer needs me, the heroes no longer need me, my friends no longer need me, and you better not need me; find someone else," I finished, turning to leave.
"....Seth's dead," Elucidé's expression didn't change at all, as if the death of her grandmother was a trivial matter, but she did pause. Jack knew that Elucidé was feeling; he knew exactly how hard this news would hit her. Some Amethyst children end up with a perpetual poker face after reaching adulthood. They could never show any expression in moments like this, but they would still feel emotions as anyone else, if not more so.
[Euphemia Elizabeth King-Python; Hero name: Seth; Class: World-Class; Rank: #18; Affinity: PSYCHOKINESIS; Talent: Precognition]
Deep breath. "When?"
"Last month, we tried contacting you but... well, you know how that went-"
"Obviously you didn't try hard enough. It seems you only go to extremes when it benefits you." I turned to him, slamming my hands onto his desk, cracking the sturdy material.
"She left everything she owned to you, and she left you this," Jack handed her a white envelope with the King family's stamp on it.
"The samå ended up taking her life." He paused. "Her final wish was for me to pass you that note, and she had a premonition before she passed. I think you'll want to hear it."
{sǎmå in the ancient language means darkness. It is an illness that afflicts children born with a large amount of life essence. Meaning more power than their bodies are capable of holding and they will eventually die due to the excess, the average age of death being 12. Those who live long enough to become adults are simply children who were forced to use mana a lot as children. It is characterized by sudden fevers and stunted growth. Unfortunately It has no cure.}
"Precognition doesn't work on me. Why in my mother's name would I want to hear it?" Elucidé asked, staring blankly at the envelope.
Euphemia was my's grandmother, not biological though. She married Jack when I was a toddler, and she quickly became my everything. She was there after my mom left, after I was kidnapped, after the abuse, after the trial of succession, after my brother's death. Through everything, Euphemia had remained constant.
"Her premonition stated that I would be murdered by an unknown entity within the coming months." I gave no response to that, but my eyes bled an ugly yellow color, and my pupils became slits. Jack is of world-class rank; with my current strength, he'd tear me apart in a fight. That being said, if there's something completely unknown out there that is capable of killing him, ranked #6, then it could possibly ruin my plans.
"There's an even bigger problem than that, though. We've started seeing signs of cooperation between the different villain groups and the beasts." Jack frowned. "If you or, more precisely, the Hero Fallon, my successor, returns to my side and helps me deal with this small problem, I'll willingly give you my life in one month's time."
"I'll think about it on my way out," I spoke through gritted teeth. Slamming the doors behind me, unwittingly setting off a trap, causing myself to tumble into free fall. I forgot that the "office door" was, in fact, a deceptive trapdoor, leading to the open sky, 28 floors above ground.