"Mako...?" Bill said in confusion before he collapsed right in front of his front door.
Mako's heart skipped a beat.
He stood frozen for a second, staring down at the battered, burned figure slumped on his porch. The voice sounded familiar; it was faint but unmistakably Bill's.
He had just finished dinner and was about to head out to work at the bakery when out of nowhere, Bill appeared on his doorstep in such a bad condition that Mako couldn't even fathom how he was even alive.
No... None of that mattered right now...
"Bill?! Hey—hey, stay with me!" Mako dropped to his knees, panic rising in his chest as he gently turned Bill over. The sight made his stomach twist.
Bill's body was a mess, covered in ash, torn clothes, dried and fresh blood, and deep burns. His breathing was shallow, his skin cold.
"My God… what the hell happened to you?"
For a second, Mako stood there in the doorway, struggling to process what was happening. But then instinct took over. He hooked his arms under Bill's and dragged him inside, careful not to jostle any injuries, and gently laid him down on the couch.
"Come on, man… hang in there," Mako muttered, fumbling into his pouch with trembling fingers. He pulled out one of the high-tier healing pills he had purchased, but he never imagined he'd be using it like this. He gently pressed the pill past Bill's cracked lips, tilting his head up to help him swallow.
As the pill began to dissolve, Mako grabbed a damp towel and carefully started wiping the dirt, blood, and soot from Bill's skin. Every scrape and burn made him wince just looking at it.
Not only were the injuries on Bill's body so severe, but Mako could also notice that his body had degraded significantly from the last time he saw him during the duel. He had lost some weight as if he were malnourished, and his muscles had all but degraded.
[Analyze]
[Profile: Bill Johnson] (Unconscious) (Multiple Deep Lacerations) (Fractured Ribs) (Bruised Knuckles and Forearms) (Microvascular Rupture) (Extreme Muscle Fatigue) (Torn Ligaments) (Heavy Blood Loss) (Malnourished) (Dehydration)
[Ability: Earth (Level 3)] ⓘ
[Health: 2/140] ⓘ
[Energy: 1/200] ⓘ
"I don't know what you've been through," Mako said softly, voice shaking. "But you're safe now. I've got you."
He sat beside the couch, still cleaning Bill's wounds slowly and carefully. His night shift could wait.
******************
Over the past few days, Mako had thrown himself into training, pushing himself harder than ever as the military trials loomed closer. He wanted to be as ready as possible before they arrived at his high school.
It had been over two weeks since his fight with Bill. With no sign of Bill at school since then, everyone assumed he was too ashamed to show his face after losing to someone without an ability. The whispers faded into jokes, and the jokes into silence.
Once the initial shock of their lost bets wore off, the student body shifted. Now, they wanted to be close to Mako. The same people who used to ignore or mock him were suddenly eager to be his friend, to have him on their team, in their group.
Girls who once passed him without a glance were now asking him out. But Mako saw it all for what it really was...
Fake smiles that hid their shallow intentions.
He kept his distance, never lowering the walls he'd built around himself. His cold, detached demeanor remained unchanged, confusing many of his classmates. Even the ones who had bullied him now avoided eye contact, fearing he might come for revenge.
Eventually, someone snapped. A girl, nervous but determined, walked up to Mako and asked the question everyone had been thinking, "Why are you acting like this?"
Tired of their persistence, Mako finally gave them an answer, one they never expected.
"I'm not like you," he said bluntly. "Don't project your ideals onto me. When I was being mocked, beaten, and humiliated every day, none of you did a thing. You watched. Some of you laughed. Some joined in."
His voice was calm, but his words hit like stone.
"And now, suddenly, I matter to you because I won a fight? Because I proved I'm not weak? No. I don't want your approval. I don't need your friendship. I'm not here to take revenge, but I'm not here to play pretend either."
The girl shrank back, her face pale with guilt and shame.
"I stood alone when I was weak. So now that I'm strong, I'll stay that way. Alone."
His words hung heavy in the air. The crowd around him went silent.
'What an idiot!' a boy thought bitterly. 'Why throw away the chance to connect with the strong and wealthy?'
'Who does he think he is, some kind of saint?' a girl sneered internally. 'No revenge? Please.'
But no one dared say it out loud.
Mako didn't care what they thought. For once, he had spoken his truth and that was enough.
******************
Word spread quickly throughout Emerald High. Everyone was talking about what Mako had said, but as with most rumors, the message had been twisted along the way.
"Did you hear?" one student whispered during class. "Mako Grey said he's too strong to bother taking revenge. That anyone who challenges him would just end up humiliated... like Bill."
The version of the story that circulated stoked egos and bruised pride, especially among the bullies and the students who had tried to cozy up to Mako after his rise. They felt insulted, exposed. The shame was too much for some of them to bear.
By the end of the day, the school was buzzing with outrage. He received sozens of duel requests some filled with threats, others with taunts claiming his fight with Bill was a lucky fluke. Students dared him to prove himself again, calling him a coward for staying silent.
Mako ignored them all.
Until yesterday—when their latest combat training session changed everything.
What followed after was every single student who dared to enter the fighting ring with Mako getting his butt kicked by him there weren't even words to describe the immense horror, shock, and humiliation that every single student felt when they had to reluctantly admit the fact that the one they called trash was, in fact, better than them.
While at home Mako trained with his brand new skills and abilities every day so that he could be at his peak during the military trials.
Mako had a better status sheet with improved attributes.
'Open System Interface'
[User: Mako Grey]
[Health: 200/200] ⓘ
[Energy: 500/500] ⓘ
[EXP: 2200/3200] ⓘ
[Level 6] ⓘ
[Strength: 15 (+10) ] ⓘ
[Agility: 15 (+5) ] ⓘ
[Perception: 12] ⓘ
[Intelligence: 12] ⓘ
[Mentality: 12] ⓘ
[Stamina: 12 (+5) ] ⓘ
[Charisma: Locked] ⓘ
[Fortitude: Locked] ⓘ
[Attribute Points: 0] ⓘ
Mako took Gary's advice and tried to make his attributes as even as possible, but there had been a few changes as to how the attribute points affected his energy bar.
In the beginning, Mako spent a single attribute point to increase his energy pool by fifty as now if he wanted to increase his energy pool it would require two attribute points. It seemed as if the more energy capacity he wanted to obtain the more points he had to spend.
Energy is a major factor in combat as the person with the higher energy pool will win against a person with a lower energy pool as he could fight, and cast abilities for longer periods.
Mako realized that going forward he had to maintain a high level of energy as more powerful abilities required more energy to cast.
Mako's skills had improved a lot, as well as there, was a small variety of skills to choose from now.
'Open Skills Tab'
[Skills] ⓘ
[Basic Skills] ⓘ
- [(E-Tier) Ten-Palm Strike] ⓘ (LEVEL 1)
[Power Skills] ⓘ
- [(E-Tier) Elemental Control] ⓘ (LEVEL 2)
- [(F-Tier) Fireball] ⓘ (LEVEL 3)
- [(E-Tier) Flame wheel] ⓘ (LEVEL 1)
[Unique Skills] ⓘ
- [(D-Tier) Analyze] ⓘ (LEVEL 2)
- [(F-Tier) Phantom Punch] ⓘ (LEVEL 3)
- [(F-Tier) Phantom Shift] ⓘ (LEVEL 3)
- [(F-Tier) Phantom Kick] ⓘ (LEVEL 2)
[Absolute Skills] ⓘ (NONE)
Most of Mako's skills had been leveled up once or twice as he continuously cast them while practicing. The leveled-up abilities had slightly better attack stats, but the energy cost was also slightly higher which is another reason to keep increasing the Energy bar.
Due to completing the system's daily tasks as well as practicing his skills, Mako had increased a few attributes naturally which cemented the fact in Mako's mind that he was growing very fast due to the system's help as he was already capable of defeating level 3 ability users with ease, while only a month had passed since he obtained the system.
*************
Bill slowly opened his eyes to an unfamiliar setting as he was not lying on the top bunk of his bed in the common room rather he was lying on someone's couch in their living room.
Bill had a massive headache as he could barely remember the events of what had happened and how he got here, but he was slowly but surely getting his memories back.
Getting up from the couch, Bill noticed rays of the morning sunshine bursting through the window of the room. Looking at himself, he noticed that he was cleaned and bandaged up as they were no more visible injuries on his body anymore nor could he smell the stench of his own body that he barely got used to while being imprisoned in the warehouse.
Looking at his hand, there was still one injury that hadn't faded from his body as the burn mark of the key he forged was still there.
While still staring at the burn mark on his hand, the door to the living room slowly opened, and out came Mako with a tray of food in his hands.
Seeing Mako, Bill remembered everything that had happened and how he ended up in Mako's living room.
Mako showed no expression as he placed the tray of breakfast foods on the dining table between the two couches and proceeded to sit on the opposing couch.
Bill just stared awkwardly at Mako as he picked up his cup of green tea and started to stir some honey with a teaspoon.
"I figured that you must have been hungry, considering the state in which you arrived here so, please enjoy your breakfast," Mako said politely to break the awkward atmosphere between them while also sipping on his hot green tea.
Bill just stared at Mako's calm yet cold demeanor as he couldn't understand the motive as to why would someone like Mako would help him out, heal his injuries, and even cook him breakfast after all that he did to him.
"Why are you doing all this, Mako?" Bill couldn't help but ask as curiosity was eating him up from the inside.
Taking another sip of his green tea, Mako placed the cup down as he smiled at Bill.
"I didn't know it was illegal to help out another human being who was in grave danger and desperate need of help," Mako responded.
Bill saw that the words coming out of Mako's mouth were genuine and he meant every word that he said, but still, Bill could understand the reality of what was happening to him.
Bill was someone who had never shown mercy to anyone, but still, in his time of need, he was receiving mercy from the last person he thought he would ever get.
Mako looked up from his teacup to see balls of water escape from Bill's eyes as he couldn't contain his emotions any longer.
Consumed by the regret of all his past actions, Bill exclaimed to Mako, "Mako! I owe you a lot more than just an apology!"