Kopi was taken aback.
His expression soon turned dumbfounded.
His face soon became uglier.
He groaned in exasperation.
'What are you doing- No, your way of talking?'
[Is the host, I mean, Kopi is really asking that? Of course, as per your request. I will talk like how humans do.]
Kopi narrowed his eyes, and an idea popped up in his head, causing him to grumble in vexation.
'Don't tell me you are imitating those drunkards outside?'
[If Kopi is talking about a thirty middle-aged man who looks like in his forties, who doesn't have ambitions, and who always gets scolded by his wife; who loves to drink, talk shit together with his friends, and loved his current life being so poor as to live in the slum and couldn't even provide three days of food to his family.
A natural-born Filipino.
If you are-]
Kopi interrupted him.
'Yes, I'm talking about Fernand, who just invited me to drink earlier.'
[Then, Kopi is correct.]
His voice was exactly the same as the person Kopi was so familiar and hated with.
It even sounded like he was proud.
Kopi was so infuriated he nearly exploded in anger.
'If that is the case, may I ask you to return to your usual way of talking?
No, it's better that you return to your old self.
I will prefer it that way.'
[All right, you bastard. I will execute your request… It will take five minutes.
Meanwhile, you should take this time to enjoy yourself.
You can even jerk off since you are already old enough.]
'Shut up!' Kopi shouted in his mind.
With that, the Extraction finally turned quiet.
Kopi sat in the previous place and leaned his back to the wooden wall.
He began to contemplate his decision henceforth.
'I remember…' He trembled in excitement. 'There is someone who has a regeneration Gift.
Should I… extract it?'
However, he finally started to realize how convoluted it was to achieve his sudden idea.
There was no way that person could not sense his Gift vanishing.
If he reported it to the government… then Kopi's movements would be more limited.
Nonetheless, Kopi did not let it become the main reason not to search for another method.
His mind overheated after excessively thinking.
'There is no reason not to seek for him. I should meet him, then, and decide my next move from then on.'
Kopi thought.
However, staring at his little brother and his Father sleeping peacefully, he couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
What if… Jerry would do it again?
He screamed for his name, again and again, disturbing the neighborhood.
And… he wouldn't be so sure if the neighborhood would let Jerry off if he became a nuisance.
'I will write a letter, then.'
Kopi glanced at his little brother and beamed.
Even when his little brother didn't receive an education from nurseries or school, there was his brother who taught him.
Jerry also showed signs of being intelligent, grasping how to read even when he was only five years old.
He also loved to read the books his brother would lend him.
If Kopi could compare himself to Jerry, there would be a high probability Jerry would surpass him in terms of intelligence.
Regardless, Kopi was always proud of his younger brother.
Kopi hurried to his backpack – preventing the echoing noise, of course – and took out a white paper and a ballpen.
Despite many things changing, people who survived would always try to implement the work of the past.
For instance, the ballpen was still the same.
The ink it produced was quite clearer now, even when it was cheap.
It was even usable until the ink was emptied.
Kopi wrote letter after letter, words scribbled by hand, and sentences filled with messages.
Kopi had a neat and organized handwriting, even when he utilized the cursive writing style.
When he was done, he beamed a smile and pondered for a while on the perfect place to leave the letter.
His younger brother usually searched for a book to read after waking up to cure his boredom while his brother or father was cooking breakfast.
Hence, Kopi decided to place the letter in the book that was placed by the table on the side of their bed.
That table was created solely to place the necessity of his younger brother to limit his movement as much as possible.
Kopi flipped the cover and gazed at the book. There was a paper sticking out, and he smiled.
However, the smile assaulted him with excruciating pain from his lower lip.
He purposely let the paper be conspicuous, so his brother would notice it.
After inspecting his younger brother and father to ensure and assure himself they were safe, he slowly and silently left the house.
…
Kopi sauntered in the street of the shanty town.
He noticed the gazes of the neighborhood, peeking at him and turning their head away whenever their eyes met.
Even when he was so infuriated at them – after not helping his younger brother – he was helpless to take any action.
All he could do was to ignore them…
For now.
'Even when someone said don't hold any grudge, it is so difficult to execute. I will swear to make them regret this.'
Of course, Kopi was not thinking of killing them, but rather, he wanted to regret offending him.
By becoming an Awakener.
Despite everyone possessing a gift, except for his father who seemed to have lost it, not everyone could easily become an Awakener recognized by the government.
You see, Awakener was a term for those who awakened their gifts… but usually, Awakener was always associated with those heroic figures who utilized their gifts to fight for mankind.
Hence, when someone was called an Awakener, he must be an Awakener registered by the Government or any associations, with the task to kill the beasts.
There were many associations that recognized Awakener.
For instance, the Mage Association, Associations related to Industry and Economy, the Awakener Guild, and many others.
What Kopi aimed to become an Awakener was to be recognized by the Awakener's Guild.
However, that plan was to be put aside for now.
What he had to worry about was how he could extract Gifts unnoticed…
'I will visit him first.'
A cold glint flickered in his eyes.