The Reincarnated Hitman

"Get up, you bastard."

He moved his hand away from his eyes as he noticed the face of a man he had come to loathe.

His boss.

The boss was a man in messy yellow overalls, thick gloves and protective gear for his eyes.

"You think we’re being paid to laze around all day?" The boss asked.

The man looked behind his boss, noticing that the gazes of his coworkers were fixed on them.

"Why the fuck are you looking at me like that? Lower your fucking eyes!" The boss said as he noticed the man’s gaze.

"Now, now, boss," another voice came from behind the man, "don’t you think you’re being a bit too harsh on him?"

The person wrapped his arms around the man. "Tim here is trying his best."

The Boss silently looked at Tim and at the man behind him.

The newly arrived man was every bit as much of a slacker as Tim. If anything, he was even worse.

But, unlike Tim, he was an awakened human.

Not a high-ranked or even strong one, but the fact that he had a Factor put him way above someone like Tim, and that could be clearly seen in the way the boss treated him.

"Ray," he said, his voice noticeably softer than it had been when speaking to Tim, "I need this shipment loaded by two."

"It’ll get done," Ray responded, his hand still on Tim’s shoulder, "Tim’s just having a slow morning, aren’t you, Tim?"

Tim said nothing in response, but he was reminded, once again, that the world was unfair to someone like him.

"You good, buddy?" Ray asked.

Tim shrugged Ray’s hand off his shoulder and walked away without a word.

’If I were awakened too,’ he thought bitterly, ’they’d treat me with respect... Hell, they’d probably worship me.’

He continued toward the loading dock, his fist clenched.

It wasn’t that he was jealous of Ray, or at least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

He was just tired.

Tired of being treated like a nobody, tired of being looked down on, tired of feeling like he was worth less than everyone else.

Tim hauled multiple crates into a container until he created multiple stacks within, but what he didn’t notice was that the strap on the crane overhead had frayed until it was too late.

The first thing he heard was groaning metal, but he didn’t get the chance to react when the strap suddenly snapped, releasing the container that held up to three tons of cargo.

"MOVE!"

Ray screamed, but Tim’s body remained frozen in place, and he watched the container fall towards him with only a single thought in his mind,

’I-I’m going to die.’

Time seemed to slow down as the container dropped closer and closer towards him, and although Ray was doing his best to get to him, it was obvious enough that the awakened human wouldn’t make it in time.

Tim closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain, finally coming to terms with the fact that he was going to die a nobody.

What he didn’t notice, though, was the heat rising from within him.

His eyes were tightly closed as he waited, but even after a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, and the first thing he noticed was the shocked expressions of both his coworkers and Ray.

Confused, he looked up, and he was faced with an impossible sight.

The three-ton container that was falling towards him was now floating just slightly above him.

And for some reason, he could feel a certain weight on his mind, but the moment he paid attention to it, the weight suddenly disappeared, and the container started falling again.

Fortunately, Ray had recovered from his surprise, and he quickly closed the distance between them before the container could reach Tim.

The awakened human caught the container as if it weighed nothing before putting it to the side and turning to Tim, who was still frozen in place.

"You okay?" Ray asked in concern, but Tim just looked down at his hands as he muttered, "I’ve awakened."

"Hmm?" Ray asked, since he didn’t clearly hear him the first time.

Tim slowly looked up at him, a grin spreading on his face as he repeated, "I’ve awakened."

Ray wanted to ask if he was certain, but he recalled the container suddenly floating, and he couldn’t help but agree.

Before anything else could be said, the boss’s voice was suddenly heard, "What the hell is all that commotion?"

Ray smiled and put a hand around Tim’s shoulder again as he said, "That, my friend, was the sound of our very own Tim awakening."

"As if," the boss let out a scoff.

It was obvious enough that he didn’t believe that the lazy Tim had just awakened... That is, until the other workers suddenly started muttering.

"B-but you all saw it, right?" One of them started.

"Right, the container was just floating on its own."

The boss looked at them with a frown, wondering if this was some sort of elaborate prank being played on him.

Instead of saying anything else, Tim just calmly walked towards the container, extended his arm, and without touching it, the metal started rising off the ground.

The boss watched with wide eyes, wanting to believe that it was all an elaborate prank, but the scene before him proved otherwise.

Tim put the container down and looked directly at his boss, whose demeanor immediately changed.

"R-right, what great news this is," the boss walked towards him nervously, "I always knew you were someone destined for greatness."

It was Tim’s turn to look down on the man, and even he had to admit...it was a great feeling.

The man’s tone and expressions had completely changed now that Tim was awakened.

"I quit," Tim calmly said after the man was done speaking, and just after his words, he tossed his gloves to the ground and walked towards the exit.

The other workers watched him go with reverie in their eyes, one that caused him to grin internally.

This was exactly the awe and worship he deserved...and from that moment on, Torque was born.

***

After awakening, all he was supposed to receive were looks of awe and reverie, so why?

Why the hell was a pair of grey eyes looking at him as if he was nothing?

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A/N: Welp, the poll for locking at Chapter 45 won by a vote, but we have 3 comments that suggest we should lock at 35 if that means consistent updates.

So, we’ll be locking at 35, but not until we get to Chapter 40.