The System Gave Everyone Superpowers

I woke up to a text from a familiar number. Sarah. I opened the text and read what she wrote.

Your mother has officially added you to the graduation guest list.

That was all she sent. However, I knew exactly what she meant. I sent a reply back. Thanks for the heads up.

What that text actually meant was that Chloe knew that I was going to be attending. For my mother to officially add me, she had to go to Metropolitan Academy and tell Chloe’s instructor that I am attending. That means that Chloe likely heard it first hand.

This changed things. I didn’t think she was going to officially add me. I could have attended without being added. Not only does she want me there but she wants me there with them. Together. As a family.

I quickly checked my bank account.

Bank Account: $707,124

That’s enough for upgrades. I put my clothes on and left the penthouse. It was time to get some better gear.

I arrived at the shop 10 minutes later. Now that I was officially reinstated as a Fawn, my perks had returned. My parents worked for the defense contractor known as MTX. They were one of the five most powerful contractors in the country.

Their speciality was technology, support items and zone management. In normal circumstances, I would have never shopped at one of their locations. Their prices were insane. However, since I was now on good terms with my family, my old discount was back again.

As I walked through the front door, the salesman greeted me.

“Welcome to MTX Support, how can I help you today?” Salesman Rick said with a smile.

“I’m looking for high end customizations. Armor and stat boosters.” I said, following him down an aisle.

“Great!” Rick said, looking at his device. “What is your Hero name and contractor?”

“Seasons and Aegis Defense.” I replied quickly.

Rick stopped walking and looked directly at me. “Seasons? The Seasons?”

“That’s the one.” I said quietly.

Rick took a step back and bowed. “Thank you for your service Seasons! The city appreciates you.”

A crowd started to form around us and a bunch of people started staring at us. Rick was yelling his praises for me at the top of his lungs. People started to clap.

Before I knew it, the entire store was cheering my name. Rick had made a scene. I had to defuse.

“Hey, I am grateful but I really need the gear.” I said firmly, pulling Rick aside. “If we could continue with the visit.”

Rick nodded and cleared his throat. “Yes, of course. The visit. Aegis Heroes get no benefits with MTX subsidiaries, however let me see if I can find a discount for first time customers.”

He tapped on his device, scrolling through plans and discounts before stopping on something.

“Actually, there is something very interesting here!” Rick said, smiling. “It seems you have a family discount. You are on the Fawn Family Plan. With this you will have a 35% discount on everything storewide.”

Bingo.

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“Excellent.” I replied, quickly moving away from the crowd. “Armor and stat boosters. Let’s get to it.”

We walked for around 5 minutes before arriving at the booster aisle. The prices were obscene. [+5 strength creatine cost $250,000]. [Energy resistant armor padding was half a million]. [+10 Charisma invisalign was a million before dental costs]. Only top Heroes could afford this.

The family discount was a necessity.

After shopping around for 10 minutes, I found what I was looking for.

[Blue Eye Drops: +5 Intelligence and enhanced focus] ~ 220,000 after discount

[Helmet of the Crusader: 20% Mental Resistance] ~ 197,000 after discount

I called Rick over who was helping another customer. “I have found what I need and would like to check out.”

Rick took the items and scanned them right there. He took me to the back where we checked out, away from the prying eyes of the public. The total was $417,000 + $3,000 in tax making it $420,000.

I paid the amount and took my bag, waving to Rick as I left the building.

Step 1 was complete. Now it was time for Step 2.

My driver dropped me off at the Aegis Private Training Zone Facility. It was time to get back to training. I walked in and gave a nod to the attendant before checking into 4B. There was no time for pleasantries.

When I got in, I looked around slowly. I needed to get stronger. Not just for Chloe but for the new threat, Jungle. They were a variable I hadn’t accounted for. Their power was very different from the ideologically charged Black Hole.

I ran through that night in my mind, thinking about what happened. Jungle attacked the tournament right as it ended and killed a bunch of people. Then, they locked the place down and fought for a couple of hours before leaving. That wasn’t the strange part though. The strange part was the actions of the two ringleaders, the giant and wolf man.

They disappeared immediately after putting the barrier up and were not seen until the end. There was no attempt by them to attack any pro Hero or cause any real damage. Their lackeys were disruptive but did not incur significant losses. No Heroes, students, or executives died that night.

It was almost as if the entire thing was a distraction. I then remembered Koda. He made no moves to fight any of the Jungle members. However, he didn’t make any move against the Heroes either. If he was a double agent or a spy he would have acted then. It made no sense to pass up an opportunity like that.

I thought about the variables and ran scenarios for an hour before coming to the conclusion that I need more skills and spells. Specializations don’t unlock until level 100 and increasing my current skills will just lead to diminishing returns.

The solution was versatility. I needed a skill or spell that could counter everything.

I went over to the control panel and changed the stage to a fiery lava pit. I created tall mountains and wide waterfalls. The sky had dragons, flying back and forth, constantly looking for enemies below.

This would be my crucible.

By creating an environment completely hostile to my very existence, I would be forced to develop something that could counter all of my weaknesses.

I finished by spawning a bunch of human Constructs with fire based Blessings, rank C and up. Auto-heal was of course turned off. I pressed the button and in an instant everything changed.

The heat hit me with immense force. I began sweating instantly. Tears came out of my eyes. Not a minute had passed and I was already close to my breaking point.

Despite the strain, I kept my composure and started to train. One Construct rushed me from my left launching Fireballs. I used Wings and dodged it, burning him back. Another Construct came from my right using Fiery grenades in the air.

The grenades forced me to fly higher. Once stationary, I used burn on him as well. As I started to come down, a Construct from beneath swung a flame up at me. I used wind to push down the flame however the resulting move pushed me higher.

I looked around and saw no more Constructs. Just as I thought it was over I heard a scream that shattered my ear drums. Above me were three dragons exhaling fire at me simultaneously.

They were too close for me to dodge and too far for me to attack. If I used wind it would strengthen it and Burn would do nothing. I was completely out of options.

My mind started to panic. Was I going to die in a Private Zone a month before my sister’s graduation? No.

As the flames got closer I realized exactly what I had to do. It was obvious.

I lowered the temperature of the area as quickly as possible. Everything in my vicinity was freezing. 10s…5…1….

By the time the flames touched my nose they were icicles. The dragons were frozen. The waterfalls. Mountains. I had frozen the entire stage.

And depleted my entire BP in the process.

BP: 0/295

My Wings spell deactivated and I started freefalling to the ground.

I wasn’t going to die from dragons.

I was going to die from fall damage.