James called Max with an excited tone, he had received the information about his blessing and was super eager to share it with someone. Max and James agreed to meet at their favorite venue, a park close to their homes.
Max quickly got ready. Dressed in a simple red t-shirt top and blue athletic shorts, he took his phone and got out.
Walking down the street to his designated meeting place, Max had a warm look, he loved the sun on his face and the wind blowing across the entirety of his body. He saw military personnel and construction workers working hand in hand rebuilding the damaged properties.
And also the many colors that made up their hair and eyes, a large proportion was by the military.
The mysterious and majestic castle was still in the sky following his every move as if it were another sun. it was so far yet so close, making any who watched for too long disorientated
''Ting!!, Ting!!''
< Do you want to try observer's eye: No hidden secret>
Max blankly looked at his status screen which seemed to have a mind of its own, he carefully thought before answering.
'' Sure, why not''
He felt a tingle in his eyes which caused him to blink multiple times in discomfort. He subconsciously began glancing around hoping to find the use of his blessing.
Before he knew it he had already found the use of the skill, he could see the status screens of others. He stopped in his tracks as he scanned the status screens of others.
'' only the names of the divinities are currently available for me to see…. that's not useful…. how long would it even take to level up'' Max sighed in annoyance finding leveling up a pain in the ass.
He deactivated the skill and continued on his journey. After 20 minutes of walking, he arrived at his destination, an abandoned park. The park used to be very lively but due to an incident years ago, parents refuse to send their children anywhere near it as if were the plague.
The park was currently in a disheveled state due to the lack of maintenance, most of the playground equipment was either broken or rusted, and the only thing still in service was a set of swings James and Max put a lot of effort into maintaining.
After a clean wipe of the swing Max took his seat, he felt at peace whenever he was there.
''it's just such a shame it's falling apart'' he looked on with pity.
''triple Max!! '' James arrived shortly with a big smile, his brown skin quickly flashed in the sunlight as he sat in the next swing beside Max.
He wore a blue tang top with green shorts that exposed the muscles on his body.
'' I told you not to call me that'' Max glared at James. He hated the name Triple Max because he couldn't give James a nickname, James was quite fond of his height and had a normal name, leaving Max with nothing to attack him with.
"Ops!!, I forgot, "James said with a smile before promptly placing his phone to his ear. Yeah, just turn left. "
Before Max could ask who he was talking to, Alice arrived at the scene panting like a dog.
'' why didn't you tell me she was coming'' Max stared daggers at James who gave him a goofy expression ''ops!!, I forgot''
Alice sat next to Max to control her breathing.
'' why are you so out of breath'' James curiously asked, Max wondered about that too.
After fully calming down she sighed, ''My dad and brothers….. have become super protective…. I had to sneak out''.
'' Your brothers are ok'' Max's mouth opened without realizing it.
''Yep, they even got a divinity blessing…. Your mood also tells me your mom survived,'' she replied with a heartwarming smile.
Max answered with a reassuring nod.
''Speaking off divinities''. James stood up with child-like excitement.
Max and Alice giggled witnessing him acting like a child eager to show off a new toy.
''I have a blessing called….'' James paused in thought'' Never mind the name, I can turn invisible for a minute'' his eyes glimmered as he spoke.
Max sighed thinking of how useful invisibility as a skill was, but he couldn't help but notice James's sudden pause before naming his skill, he knew the divinities had weird ways of naming things and quickly figured James was trying to hide the name; perhaps it was too embarrassing to say.
Max smirked as he activated his skill although he could only see the name of the divinity that alone might give him a clue to what James was trying to hide.
Max began laughing to the shock of the others, he was sent down memory lane as he recalled how timid James used to be, always hiding behind him for protection.
'' Sorry for that '' Max apologized holding back his laughter.
'' You won't do…. anything weird with that…. Right,'' Alice gave James a look of distrust.
''Of course not, anyway my available unique skill is called love of guns, it grants me a gun that never runs out of bullets, also with every level increase it gets more powerful ''
With that said James opened his palm, and a bright blazing fiery light formed in the center of his palm, the light slowly dimmed revealing a silver handgun with unknown symbols engraved on it. The handgun was flashy as if it was trying desperately to get your attention.
Max knew James had an unhealthy obsession with guns, his love for them was pretty strange, however in the country of Acirema where guns were associated with freedom he was normal.
James went back to his seat after displaying his new toy, he had a smile of satisfaction as he did so.
''My only… available blessing is called sit '' Alice swung her swing before jumping off to face the boys making her oversized jacket which blanketed her entire body sway in all directions.
She must have an interesting ability if that's her divinity's name Max thought feeling perturbed by his skills.
Alice secretly activated her skill, strange green lines appeared on her face, it was thin and wavy, moving from the corners of her lips to the base of her throat.
''Sit''
Both James and Max felt a sudden urge to sit, the feeling came to them naturally as if they always wanted to sit on the floor the moment they arrived. After a few seconds, their normal train of thought returned.
'' so that your skill, so cool'' James praised while Max felt a pinch in his heart he found all their skills useful while he considered his lame and useless.
'' due to my low level…. I can only make people feel an instant urge to sit on the floor'' Alice smiled, she found it cool she had such a skill and promised to make it more powerful. ''My unique skill is called safe zone… it only activates when am injured''.
When Alice was done she moved closer to Max, her face almost an inch away from his, he jerked his head back in surprise. Her blue eyes charmed Max, preventing him from looking away.
Max found her behavior strange his they hardly knew each other before the incident, he guessed fighting together in a life-or-death situation made them naturally closer.
'' my blessing is called...'' he hesitated for a second '' Stick of a pretender''.
The arm-long stick appeared in his hand with a light glow before dimming to show its ordinary look. The was a moment of silence, James and Alice exchanged glances before bursting out with laughter.
They didn't mean to do so but the stick had an ordinary look, it was as normal as any stick found on the dirty ground on any given day.
Max averted his gaze as he felt embarrassed.
After apologizing for laughing James and Alice took a long look at the stick in Max's hand.
'' Can I have it'' James moved closer to Max, with his arms sticking out.
'' Sure'' Max stretched his left arm with the stick, he didn't mind as long as they didn't laugh again.
James grabbed the stick and instantly felt a monstrous weight too great for his arm, his back was bent, and his hand was pinned to the ground by the stick. His look of shock came from the depth of his soul.
After trying and failing to free his hand, he looked up at Max in a pleading manner '' what the hell, it's his Thor's hammer''.
Alice didn't blink as she slowly processed what she saw, it was unbelievable, a weak-looking stick pinning down a human twice its size.
Max smirked, behind that smirk he was pleased and genuinely amazed, he couldn't help but smirk to show he knew all along about the power of the stick.
Alice went close to James to try and help but even with their combined effort the stick didn't even lift an inch.
''Am sorry for laughing, now get this off me'' James face contorted in frustration.
Max slowly got up to help enjoying every moment James pleaded and begged, the smile on his face displayed his inner thoughts which made James nervous.
He grabbed the stick and raised it off James without breaking a sweat, he felt the metallic feel of it with a satisfying smile.