It was a weird feeling, like floating without a course on a river, at the same time waiting for the right moment to start swimming to the shore. But the weirdest thing about what Max was feeling right now is that he somehow knows that he is drowning the longer he is stuck in that feeling.
After he was hit by the golems and his body flew to the wall, his consciousness faded for a moment, then he found himself like this. Floating on a river, not knowing where.
'System, I know that you can wake me up. System, help me.'
Nothing happened.
'SYSTEM! Why am I in this situation...'
He cried. He can't keep his tears inside him anymore. It was really easy after he got his system, it kept everything inside him blocked. But now, everything that was inside him rose, tearing his emotional state apart.
In his vision, he was helpless. An orphan who couldn't do anything besides crying for his lost mother, his loser self, and most importantly, he felt like he was dying not knowing what was happening.
But without him noticing, somebody grabbed him by the arm. It was a blurry figure.
"You will be more amazing than you think. At least for now, you are right. You are a coward, at least at this moment. Believe in yourself. Oh and one more thing. Don't become a monster like them, please keep this in mind."
"Who are you?"
"Hmmm, interesting question. Neither I don't know the answer to that."
Then, Max felt like he could stand. Looking around he realized the now, he was standing on a field, a calm and beautiful field that can make anyone breathe easily.
To his left, he saw a river, a rainbow-colored one. On the other side of the river, there was something that he didn't expect. A dark place, somehow magical in a weird way. Something that Max knew could break him, only thinking about it gave him chills down his spine.
"How can this be? Wait a minute, where am I, and what is this place?"
"These places are inside you. This place here, the calm one if you want to call it that way, is the embodiment of your mind right now. It is calm, thanks to the s... Never mind. Look there! That dark place is your soul. Seems a little bit dramatic to me. The darkest place I can think of. And the river between the two of them, I guess there is only one way to find out."
"What do you me...?"
After that, the entity that Max was talking to grabbed him and threw the teenager into the river. Somehow Max felt like he needed to do that. Something was inside him that was screaming to go inside the river like there was a solution to his problem.
The water of the river felt warm and a little cold at the same time. It felt warm like the hugs his mother gave him, and cold because he could feel a bit of regret, like he couldn't protect what he held dearest in this world. It was something new for him. Even if he drowned, he could breathe. Even if his vision was blurry, he could see something, he was getting close to something like an image, or painting.
There he could see a man meditating in a forest. Max was attracted to it like he was inside the painting. He tried to touch it, and to his surprise, he was sucked in. Feeling overwhelmed, he closed his eyes not knowing what to expect.
After opening his eyes, he looked around. There were trees everywhere. Max tried to move, but he couldn't. He looked at his body, and to his surprise, it wasn't his, but at the same time, he felt like it belonged to him. It was weird, feeling like you owned a body but couldn't move it.
'So you are my future.'
Max was speechless. He heard his voice, but older and more rigid speaking inside his head.
'Is this your first time if you can't speak? Don't worry, you will get used to it. This is your burden and your blessing. Now watch and learn. I will teach you how to use your body effectively.'
Then Max moved, or the body moved. He watched how his hands and legs moved, getting to a fighting stance unknown to him.
'Try to channel your inner energy inside your muscles, enchanting your own body, making it stronger, faster, or more sturdy. This way you can fight with the attribute you need most. Like this.'
And just like that, he started to run at an inhuman speed, like he was a certain blue hedgehog. He could see everything very clearly, and feel everything like he was doing it, but he had no control over it.
'Just watch, feel, and think about it. Learn it, your life could depend on it. You got yourself in some situation if you come to me first.'
The voice didn't need to say these things to him. He was already trying to comprehend everything, and he thought that he got a hold of it. The feeling you must have to create this speed. But he was more amazed when his body stopped and started to do something different. He could feel his muscles tenser, more powerful like they could hold an action with more power than speed. It was a different feeling, like the energy used earlier was making the body more swiftly, and easier to move, and now the same energy was more wild, like it was making the body slower, but it got more power. It felt like his muscles and bones would break every time he hit something, but that energy would heal those injuries in no time.
True to what he believed, his body just destroyed some trees only using punches.
'Now, before I show you a more advanced technique, I must say that I showed you only the level that you can accomplish at a novice level. You can learn to do more things after doing it once, believe me, your body, mind, and soul will remember everything.'
'Nice!'
'Now talking, so you got the hang of this feeling?'
Max was surprised that the one talking could hear him, so he tried to ask him anything, but in vain, he didn't hear anymore.
'Maybe not. Anyway, let me teach you something complicated. But first, I warn you. If you don't have what you need to activate it, you will be in a lot of pain afterward.'
After half an hour, Max was impressed with what he learned. He didn't believe that he could do the same, but he wanted to try it.