As I watched in amazement at how the whole world was experiencing this, I had a smile on my face.
"Wow! Elliot, this is amazing! We're not alone! Now we can get help—maybe train, or even become official heroes!!" I said excitedly.
Even though I was happy, Elliot was not. He had a weird expression on his face. An expression of both anger and fear, and a mix of... confusion?
"Hey Elliot, what's with that look on your face?" I asked in confusion.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing."
I heard his answer. He said it was nothing. I wanted to believe him, but for some reason... I couldn't. Something in my gut was telling me it was something else, but I just shook it off.
3 Months Later
Three months passed, and surprisingly, humanity had adjusted very quickly. The government was going all in with this hero thing.
They had now constructed a Hero Organization—with rankings, hero names, and all that.
The government put a lot of its funding into the Hero System, even going as far as to build bases and Hero Agencies. They even recruited people who had been spotted or reported to have great powers.
In America, where I was currently living with my roommate and best friend Elliot, they had hero agencies in every single state.
This may sound good and amazing, right? The world adapting so fast and everything. However, what we didn't notice—at least me and most people didn't—was that the government was putting way more funding and advertising into heroes than I had thought.
Elliot soon pointed this out to me. At first, I thought he was just spewing nonsense, but soon I noticed it. There was barely any police. Rumors had been spreading about the government stopping funding for the police. Even the military was only receiving a quarter of the funding they usually got.
Elliot is someone who always tells me theories he has about the government and stuff like that. Like how the government kidnaps people with high potential if they don't cooperate. He also says that heroes don't do it because they like saving people, but for money and fame. At least, that's how Elliot describes it. I just brush it off, though.
I've been trying to figure out what my power is for these past three months but still have no clue. I wonder why Elliot didn't just immediately go become a hero. I had asked him many times, yet never got a clear answer.
The reason why I didn't apply—even though I wanted to, and I was hit by a stone—was because I was scared they wouldn't believe me and just kick me out.
From day one I told Elliot I wanted to be a hero, yet he brushed me off. Elliot was always focused on training, yet didn't become a hero? That's what confused me. He also doesn't seem like the type of person to become a villain since he's always been nice to people. I just can't seem to figure out what's going on in his head.
It's true that I'm still not able to use my power and still don't know what it is. But even so, I want to become a hero. Which is why I kept training my body by working out. I've made huge progress, because the stones didn't just give people powers, but also increased speed, stamina, and strength. Yet even with that, I was mostly useless without a power.
Eventually, I decided what I was going to do. I had heard rumors about the Hero Agency having new ways to figure out a person's power and test their strength. That's when I wanted to give it a try.
Today I left the house, telling Elliot what I was going to do. I thought he would call me an idiot or something like that, but the only thing he said was:
"Good luck."
And then he just went back to training in the backyard.
As I arrived at the nearest Hero Agency in my city, I looked around at all the heroes I knew from the internet, just walking here like it was no big deal.
I walked to the desk where I would sign up.
"Hello, I would like to take the aptitude test, to test my power and then sign up to be a hero," I said, looking at the woman at the counter who had an almost irritated face.
"Fill in this form and go into that room. The instructor will further help you."
I thought her tone was rude, but I didn't say anything. I started filling in the form without a problem. It was just regular stuff like your name and address. But as I reached the last question on the form—"Power"—I froze for a second.
"Uhm, miss, here it says to fill in power but... I don't know my power yet?" I said, embarrassed.
"Then just write 'Unknown.' Are you dumb?"
"Oh, yeah, sure..."
She was really annoying me, but I managed to keep my cool.
I walked into the room with the instructor in it. The room had a lot of cameras. The instructor was a tall, large man. He was very muscular, yet I didn't recognize him as a hero.
"Hello, I am Instructor Julius. What's your name, little guy?"
I was a bit annoyed by the fact that he called me "little guy," but I again kept my cool.
"My name is Algor Reed. I'm 19 years old. I don't know what my power is yet, but I do have the boosted speed, strength, and stamina from the stone," I replied.
"I see, so you want me to help you figure it out, huh? Alright then. But being a hero also requires skills, so I'm gonna test your skills without using my power, to see if you're worth training."
I nodded in agreement.
"Hey, before we begin, can I ask... what are all these cameras for?" I asked, since it had been bugging me ever since I entered the room.
"Oh, those? They track your movement and analyze your skills. They then rank it E to S. Also, a lot of heroes like to train here, so they often use it to rewatch their training and correct what they did wrong," he answered.
"Oh, that's pretty cool actually!"
"Yeah, I know, right? Well anyways, kid, let's get started!"
He then got into a fighting position. I got into one too, and we looked each other in the eyes and grinned.
"THINK FAST, NEWBIE!"
He immediately launched a punch at me, directed at my head, but I was able to dodge in the nick of time.
I punched him in the gut while his guard was down, yet it barely damaged him. My eyes widened in shock as he said:
"Lucky shot, newbie. Now it's time for me to start trying!"
And it was NOT a bluff. He punched me in the gut so hard and fast I couldn't even react. The blow knocked the wind out of me. I even coughed up some spit.
I went down for a moment but quickly got back up. At that moment there was only one thought in my mind.
So this is the level of a hero, huh? Damn it... I have to get stronger!
But what surprised me was that while such a thought would normally waver my confidence and make me sad... this time it made me... more excited?
He came running at me again, but this time I was focused. I focused my breathing and calmed down. I read his movements and swiftly dodged, then came behind him and kicked him in the back.
"Damn kid, you might actually have some potential."
We fought for a few more minutes until he said he'd seen enough. I had a few good plays, but mostly he outdid me since his strength was still superior to mine no matter what I did.
Fifteen minutes passed, and he came back to me.
"Well kid, I've analyzed the footage, and from my personal experience I can say you're worth keeping around. You have some potential since you're smart and have good tactics, but you still need to increase your strength if you really want to be a hero. Right now the system ranks your skills as E-rank. We will contact you, so go home for now."
He told me that, but in my mind... I already knew.
I needed to get stronger.I needed to awaken my power.And I needed to become a hero.
A hero who can be strong no matter the situation.
So I replied to him:
"Thanks for the feedback. I'll do my best to discover what my power is and become a hero worth admiring!" I said, smiling.
"I'm sure you will, kid."
An hour later I arrived back home. I had already received a call from the agency—they had put together a training plan for me and a schedule.
I told Elliot all of this. I thought he would be impressed, but all he said was a dry:
"Good job."
I told myself one thing, and one thing only.
Become... a hero worth admiring!
And now, together with the support of Instructor Julius—and I guess maybe a little from Elliot... I begin my training.
To be the one thing I've wanted to be since I was a child.A dream that hung in the back of my mind.A dream that I had forgotten, because I thought it was impossible...
The dream of becoming... A HERO!