Shane was terrified! He had just gotten to the peak of I-rank, and was about to rank up when they came. Grey masked, and terrifyingly efficient. One seemed to teleport, another fired beams of force from his hands he used to block off any avenue of escape. Shane was ashamed to admit he didn't last more than a few seconds before being beaten to the ground, bound and gagged.
It was the worst experience in his life. Being disowned by his father, and lied to about his mother being 'in a better place' had just about soured this week. This was just the creme de la creme. The icing on the cake, the fucking cream filling in a shit sandwitch. Then he felt the Impact in his chest, felt Enchanting mastery, and resonated with them. Drawing the Impact up through his body he resonated it with Doom Sovereign Mastery.
"Backstab." He intoned and appeared fist swinging forward behind the teleporter. The teleporter just instantly turned around, and Shane realized he fucked up. He wasn't a space manipulator, he was a time manipulator increasing his personal time flow. The combat overlay tried to guide him to freedom, but failed. At each and every turn he was outclassed.
The time manipulator's first strike was with a baton and shattered his wrist, the next was a jab to the solar plexus that knocked the air out of him. The last strike shattered his jaw and sent him sailing into the nearby alley wall.
"Should have gone quietly, Wyndham, you still have a chance to survive this." The Cautious Man spoke, and Shane just struggled weakly and tried to spit at him. That spit was crimson and landed in his eye, "Oh."
"So you want to die?" The chronomancer spoke, his face deforming into a smile, "I wonder how long that'll take."
Hours. The six worst hours of his life, all the while mocked and belittled as an abandoned son. A Guardian not even willing to break the rules to save him, a weak useless insect that should have just stayed mortal. A failure of a cultivator, that needed to understand the reality of this world. So he started cutting, straight down the spine, his fingers reaching under the skin flaps, and pulling out.
Shane wanted to scream, but couldn't as the man shattered his ribs. Twisted them, and draped the torn skin over them. A brushed finger over the wound, and a whispered "Ten by Ten" increased the pain tenfold. For every second of thought he felt ten seconds of the torment. The cautious man's smile was terrifying, but what was worse was when he placed a mirror in front of his face.
Stretching from his back was a pair of wings, made from his own bone, his own skin. Tears flowed from his eyes, as the man snapped his finger, "Reverse.' Then everything healed, and it was worse. So much worse. He had been abandoned.
Then the door was kicked open, and the force beam blaster screamed, "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
The Chronomancer snarled, "If you incompetent fleabags can't kill them, you're on cleaning duty for a year."
Hope. Shane missed that feeling. So he stopped holding back his rank up, as his existence expanded he felt stats pour in.
[Vitality +7]
—
Jake noticed it the second it started, and ensured the torturer's moment of surprise was lethal. Smashing his hand through the ceiling tile he pushed his water magic to new heights. Well not really, the sword was probably better, but he was fucking tired, and this was the best he could do. So he compressed the divine water into a single sphere, and pierced the side releasing the nonsensical pressure into a single bullet aimed for the man's eye.
Of course that wasn't enough because Jake is unlucky. Still he had a chance, and shouted, "I wish for as much of a stamina boost you can give me, in exchange I will pay with ten seconds of my bloodline ability."
Violet lightning danced over the chained and gagged boy as his newly upgraded stats poured out as green vitality. That vitality flowed into Jake's body and he flung himself to the side Bloodline warning him of his prey's attack. The chornokinetic's magic was just on the tip of his tongue, but he bit back.
Not enough juice. Fuck that'd been useful. Personal time magic, Primordials above. Then the man threw something, and Jake could see it coming still, he was too slow to dodge. So instead he parried, generating a shield at the right angle to redirect the blow to the side rather than try to block it.
One more wish, "I WISH THAT YOU WERE BROUGHT TO YOUR PEAK STATE! I'LL PAY IN A YEAR OF LIFESPAN!" When he ranked up he'd get dozens and later hundreds more years of lifespan. When he reached C-grade—and he would reach it or die fighting to—he would have 10,000 years of lifespan. More than enough to find a way to increase it even more. The energy was ripped from him, but the weakness only had him stumble.
Falling off the side of the roof right before the time mage charged forward. Rias Incarnation of Destruction was doing a good job at beating the other 4 Ascendants into submission.
One minute. He needed to buy a minute, then Rias would be here. Then they could disappear.
"TWENTY BY TWENTY!" The ascendant screamed and doubled in speed, of course by this time Shane had already rose. The wish freeing him from any bind, and helping repress any possible trauma for a later breakdown. Jake smiled as he saw the boy rise, eyes defiant with a spark of something greater. This boy would rise, he would be a star and Jake was excited to become his friend.
Then Shane lept hand smashing into the roof below the time mage. Jake saw it as it happened, it wasn't poetry in motion, but it was beautiful all the same. Holding the potential for greatness. He drew upon the two points of impact and pushed one to the surface. Resonating the rune in his chest that seemed like [ENCHANTING], and [DOOM SOVEREIGN MASTERY] he pushed the charge and enchanted reality.
The stone turned to dust, and the charging Ascendant's footing collapsed out beneath him. Jake, still falling, took the chance given and fired the strongest mana bullet he could. He saw the Cautious Man's eyes widen before the bullet buried itself in one of them. The man collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, but Jake knew that hadn't been lethal. Then Jake paused.
He hadn't realized. He had wished Jake to be in his peak condition, which included another Impact. Shane realized that the moment he saw his tormentor fall from the sky, arms out, he caught the man's legs and spun activating After Burner for the 3x damage multiplier before slamming the man's skull into the metal corner of a table destroying the man's other eye. Still the man would not die!
Well. . . maybe Jake didn't need any help.
Then the blind man intoned, "Reverse." And his flesh slowly knitted itself back together as Shane stepped back.
"TO ME!" Jake shouted, and Shane seemed to trust him. Leaping up the hole he created in the ceiling, fingers catching on the edge before he brought himself up. Jake landed with a painful thud, but was on his feet quickly. He swayed, leaned against the wall and muttered, "Fuuuuuuuck!"
Three breaths later he was trying to climb the wall as Shane ran across the roof. He saw the Chronokinetic's eyes fully heal before he rose with a roar. A roar that was immediately met by a torrential downpour of the power of destruction. That energy just suffocated him, and Jake could admit to never being happier to see anyone in his life.
[Mission Complete]
[Granting Rewards]
[Access to Planet: Callus]
[2,000 Points]
[Access to Trade System]
[Mirrored Level Soul Training Guide]
Jake let himself collapse, and raised a single shaky hand in front of his face. This had been the longest day of his life. Jake fell into unconsciousness nearly instantly.
"Good job saving my brat." The words were husky and slightly slurred, and seemed to fade away as he fell into that sweet little death.
—
Shane didn't feel it as they moved, but between blinks he, the man that had saved him, and a beautiful redheaded girl were in the living room. Zeke holding him in the tightest hug he had ever gotten, muttered apologies and curses, and fucking tears. He had never seen his uncle cry, it just didn't happen.
"W-why, why didn't you come."
"Fucking Elisha" Zeke said his father's name like a curse, before pointing to his head as a brand burned itself clawing down into his skull, "Had me sign a contract to follow the rules of the competition."
That didn't make it okay, but Shane could honestly say he didn't hate his uncle anymore. Just his father. Fuck his father.
Shane's attention returned to the pair that had saved him, the red haired girl. Probably the Ascendant that killed that bastard, her hair certainly seemed the right color. She stared awkwardly at his uncle's little emotional reunion before he saw that water guy laid out on the couch. He was pale and twitching slightly, but seemed. . . alright? As alright as he could be under the circumstances at least.
What had the chronomancer done to him? Shane raised a single eyebrow at Zeke who just shrugged.
A second later he shared his thoughts, "Hell by the time the kid had made his way to Benny's he seemed like he hadn't slept for days, and his soul seemes diminished slightly though that'll heal right up. Hell he'll probably get close to raising the tier of his soul from the stress he's put it through."
Shane raised an eyebrow at the only one who could possibly answer his question, but she just shrugged like his uncle. Smirked, and said, "I don't know much, but he had been fighting all day, and he had just gotten off an eventful watch."
The nascent wishmaster just shook his head, "Why?" why would they save him, what did they get out of it! Hell he didn't even know who they were despite them clearly knowing he was a Wishmaster.
"You didn't get it yet?" She asked, "Check your pocket."
He pulled a rectangular glass brick out of his pocket and stared in incomprehension, but Zeke just nodded "ooooh, oldschool those were the scan ring before the scan ring called a cellphone, used to have one when me and your dad were still in highschool."
"What's highschool?" He tilted his head to the side, was that like the mandatory data uplink centers?
"Later." Zeke rolled his eyes and motioned for him to press the button. So he pressed one and Zeke just chuckled, "Other one."
So he pressed it and read through everything. . . "You really expect me to believe this?" he chucked the phone to Zeke who read through it in like an instant.
"Nah, it's blank to me kid. If it's something strange it's probably true if it can hide from a peak B-ranker."
Zeke was B-rank? That was. . . impressive, he pushed the thought to the side. More important.
"B-but I thought Multiverse theory was disproved like forever ago!" Shane nearly shouted, and Zeke looked a little weirded out.
"Accept your newbie gift, that'll prove it to you." Rias simply state, and turned an unreadable gaze at Jake.
[Newbie Gift Open]
[Thinker 8 Power Fate's Herald]
[Mission Complete]
[Granting Rewards]
[Access to Planet: Callus]
[2,000 Points]
[Access to Trade System]
[Mirrored Level Soul Training Guide]
"What's a Thinker 8, and a Mirrored Level Soul Training Guide?" Zeke's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as the scroll appeared in his hands, casually opening it he read over it, but yeah that'd take a while to understand.
"Give me that!" Zeke stared at the paper, and started slowly chuckling, "Oh, I am so going to kick your father's ass when I see him."
"I thought he was an A-ranker though?"
"Brat, if this guide is real, fighting up one rank will be childsplay, with a Mirrored soul I could fight S-Rankers." Zeke turned towards Shane and gave Rias a hard look seeing a copy of the scroll in her hands, "A Mirrored soul is known by another name, a Divine soul. It is the level your soul must reach before starting Apotheosis. That and 1000 Impact."
Shane's gaze turned incredulous, but his system interface was already opening. Sparking to life in the familiar violet flames. He checked his skills and read [Fate's Herald] before trying to resonate with it. It was like opening a second pair of eyes that saw everything. The future and the paths he could use to guide it, slowly the skill fused itself with his Doom Sovereign mastery lodging itself in with the Combat Overlay.
Then Benny slammed the door open and Zeke barely stifled a glare, rolling the scroll up, and handing it back to Shane. Then the crotchety old drunk left the room, and Benny just kind stood them.
[Whispers of your exploits reach the ears of many]
[New Stats Allocated]
"Hey, Benny? Tomorrow we're getting you your power."