[Is heroism learned or is it an innate quality?]
The question blinked. After, a message indicating it was half the time, that is fifteen seconds left, appeared below the question.
Kaiza looked up after and in his mind he chose BOTH followed by an explanation in his mind.
Just then, the option 'BOTH' was bordered out on the screen. Unknown to Kaiza as he explained in his mind, the system stopped almost like waiting to hear him out.
After that the question was scrolled out of the screen and the stats came up. The battery life-bar representing his score was now in the middle of the screen. Followed by the other stats.
Then as the time counted down to zero, the stats were updated except for the battery bar.
[Number of questions – 5]
[No. Of questions asked – 1]
[Number of questions answered correctly – 1]
[Number of questions answered wrongly – 0]
"Did I get it wrong?" Kaiza asked when the time was out and the life bar didn't increase nor decrease. And that baffled him. His focus was solely on the battery and didn't notice the stats below it updated.
After a while, he continued to scan the whole message on the screen. It was then he noticed the number of questions gotten correctly stat. That made it clear that he did get the question correctly but why isn't the battery bar raised higher.
"Did I go against any of the rules? Or is the system malfunctioning? Damn it. What the hell is this? Is this even real"
[Dear player, battery bar will be updated at the end of each level]
[One question left for this level]
After seeing this, Kaiza's already racing heartbeat, decelerated. Then the next question was typed in.
[Q2 – Should a hero's actions be driven by a desire for personal redemption, a need for vengeance or a sole guide of selfless intentions]
Then two options appeared below the question on the screen. Merely looking at this question, Kaiza began to process and tried to understand what it meant. However as he thought about it he felt like the system could read his mind. The moment the system answered his question on the reward for winning the game, he had an enthusiasm driven by his thirst for revenge. He wasn't going to let his parents die just like that.
The pain of losing his parents still lingered in his heart. He wanted revenge not justice. Because there was nothing as such in this world. The world after the first war against the Dowolf beasts.
The world now remained in a chaotic state. While recovering from the war which is still ongoing, laws were stumbled upon. In cases such as that of Kaiza, as long as the accused is an ability expert or comes from a family where there is a special ability. The judgment would be ruled out in favor of the person or that family because the world believes their survival in the next war rests on the shoulders of these abilities' owners.
In some cases, the victim becomes the offender and they are asked to pay a fine for daring to accuse the World's Hero. Or even in some worst cases the ability experts determine the fate of the offender, some live imprisonment, some become their slaves. So in one word, the World's Heroes are in power.
Ability determines the fate of families in this world. Wealth is no longer valued as before the Dowolf Beast war. Life for a family without special ability or World Hero was hellish because all their words don't count in this world. They are treated as nothing.
So for Kaiza to seek justice was nothing in the picture. He wouldn't want to end up in prison or become a slave to M. Boss. Who he isn't certain yet is alien or maybe superhuman. But definitely not human.
Though, Kaiza's family was doing fine because they had two experts in the family. Enzox and Susan. They both specialize in advanced technology. Also has a skill in martial arts. But since they no longer existed, Kaiza was nothing against M. Boss. His family now is almost the same as those who had no special ability.
"Even if I want revenge, I need power first."
Though Kaiza was aware he would be getting an ability at the military school, he still wanted the power this game had to offer. Having that would add to what he was going to get.
For the past fifty years, everyone was required to attend a martial art class. Even if it wasn't for fighting against the beast. It was mostly for self protection.
The World's Heroes couldn't be everywhere at all times. So it was required that everyone attend the basic combat class back then. And anyone who wished to further could go extra miles to become a World Hero – W.H.
But now with the signs of the incoming doom and war. Every students from the past five years had being required to become a soldier even against their self-will. It was mandatory to become a military person because over 100 spaceships were spotted approaching earth.
The last war was just ten, which caused great catastrophe, earth is still yet to fully recover from. So what was the fate of humanity if just ten spaceships of the Dowolf Beast almost ruined the whole existence of earth in just a couple of days. Now over a hundred of space ship was approaching earth full of Dowolf and probably something greater?
All of humanity had lived in fear since the general publicity of earth's incoming doom. Parents were scared to hand over their children to the officials of the military school of heroes but in order to get the parents permit. The government made a scheme to bribe them with shelters, cars and protection when the war arrived. And if their children die as heroes they would be rewarded greatly. A lot of families believed and relied on this promise but still in fear handed their children over. And for the families that refused they were taken by force.
Kaiza will be joining the military school of heroes after his graduation from high school in the next few days. One of the reasons he was with his parents. From middle school he had attended boarding school because his parents were at the peak of their career. So Kaiza was meant to be out of the picture, he stayed with his uncle.
This was one drive to his action. Getting powerful would put him at a higher level. His true intention for having power wasn't to protect humans. How could he even protect humans? The same that took everything from him. It was just time for him to get to know his parents and this happened. It was impossible for him to think about that at the moment.
He wanted the power to protect himself from his enemies. So getting power was something he was ready to go head over hills for. But why was the system making it so difficult for him? It was revealed to Kaiza that the system had seen his mind made up to avenge his parents death but still it wants him to play hero. Hero?
Kaiza was having difficulties picking an option now. He wouldn't throw himself under the bus for humans, this wicked being. He was somewhat having regrets of being one.
[Half the time]
The system alarmed when it was fifteen seconds.
Kaiza looked up at the countdown already at thirteen and now twelve.
He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth with displeasure. Making a scheme in his head. Since this was about him getting the power, he was willing to put aside his anger for a few seconds. He wanted nothing to hinder him. As he did that he chose an answer.
[Selfless intentions] was bordered out just like earlier, then the screen was scrolled up, revealing the score.
The bar was now at seven, all he needed to win the game, and get the reward – the power he wanted.
[Stage completed]
[New Stage Unlocked]
[Stage 2 – intermediate]
The messages appeared on the screen after the score was revealed. Then the third question floated in.
[Q3 – what role does selflessness play in heroism]
"What the…?" Kaiza mouthed after seeing the full question on the blue screen. Kaiza vengeance mode had crept back in only to be met with another question he hated to answer.
"Don't let this bother you all you have to do is choose an answer and forget you ever did that" Kaiza could only comfort himself in this situation. It was like the system was trying to frustrate him and make him do what he hated. Being a hero.
Being a hero wasn't a problem to Kaiza until after he lost his parents. He had dreamed of being in the military academy with a sole aim of saving everyone from the beast in the second war. He even tried skipping a grade to fast forward the process.
But now, all he wanted was to get the power this system promised and avenge his parents. And perhaps save the weak from the beast leaving those with powers to save themselves.
Just then a new message appeared on the screen…
[Explain]
"What the … " Kaiza was . . . rendered . . . speechless.