I know this was hasty, but come on, admit that was epic. The song choice was superb; the heroic leaping into action was exceptional. The landing could have used some work. But it was my first attempt at being a superhero.

  [Quest Unlocked.]

  [Chain Quest: Become a Superhero. Description: You have shown yourself to have the potential for heroism and blatant theatricality. The desire to save others while looking good is both a noble and vain path. Reward: It's a secret.]

  [Sub Quests.]

  [Perform a superhero landing. Completed 1/1]

  [Gain a superhero name. Completed 0/1]

  [Rescue someone from certain death. Completed: 0/1]

  [Make a rousing heroic speech. Completed: 0/1]

  [Save fifty lives. Completed 0/50]

  [Save a town. Completed: 0/1]

  [Save a city. Completed: 0/1]

  [Save a country. Completed: 0/1]

  [Save a world. Completed 0/1]

  Jenny started blasting me with notifications, straight into my brain, but thankfully she didn't go the full vision stuff that the natives use. She downloaded the information directly into my brain. In a second, I knew I had a quest added to the to-do list.

  Sending that to the back of my mind, no matter how cool it was. The situation now was far more concerning. Chained woman to my left and three burly Garathi gladiators to my right. It felt like it would devolve into a Mexican standoff.

  "Who are you? What are you?" The lady asked, rattling her chains in my direction.

  "The name's Joey. As for what I am, no clue. Figuring that out, I guess. But I suppose im your rescuer, I think? Not sure." I replied nervously, monitoring the mean-looking gladiators.

  "What? Rescue me? Like a damsel in distress?"

  "No more like rescue you from a very unfair three on one fight. Making it two against three." I shrugged. "Even the odds, I suppose."

  She turned to me with an oh-okay kind of expression. Realising something, I think, not sure. A gladiator shouted in a familiar language, ending our impromptu conversation.

  "Stay out of this, human!" The dude with the enormous axe demanded, speaking Grimgardian or the common tongue.

  Raising a hand to forestall the menacing fellow, I really needed to correct this dude. "First things first, I'm not human, but I get the confusion. So, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and not drop the racist card on you, like we all look alike." I said the last part mockingly.

  "I'm not racist!" The axe wielder defended himself.

  "Yes, you are. I recall you a week ago, going on about killing all humans when you get to the surface." His fellow Garathi corrected.

  The guy in the centre remained stoic, but I could see a twinge of annoyance peeking out behind the layer of stoicism. Looking affronted, the axe wielder turned to his companion. Eyes wide, betrayed and infuriated, he let his companion have it.

  "How does that make me racist?" He demanded.

  "Well, do you want to kill them just because they are human?" I queried.

  "Yes, of course, your race is weak and needs to be destroyed." He stated matter-of-factly.

  "See now, that's racist, and I'm not human; I just look human."

  "Like that matters, you are a human to me and you will die like a human!"

  "Dude, you are just doubling down on the racism, huh?" I said, exasperated.

  "I am not racist! I killed the Volkaran dogs; their corpses are right there!" he challenged.

  "You can be racist towards multiple races. Racism doesn't discriminate against a single race. Wait that doesn't sound right." I tried to correct it, going over that concept in my head.

  "Enough of this, let's just gut the humans!" Axe wielder spat, his eyes turning red.

  Giving him a quick inspection told me he was a Berserker. I'm guessing the red eyes were a martial technique, or he was an arcane-based Berserker. Maybe when I rank up my skill, I can see what archetype people are. If it gets desirable, I'll ask Jenny to do an expensive deep scan. But I would prefer not to.

  Conversing was over, and the three were readying their weapons. The guy on the left withdrew his sword and buckler, and the central Garathi flapped his wings and brandished his crossbows. That dude was about to take flight; I could see it now. Lucky bastard.

  Glancing back at the person I was trying to help, I wondered if I could actually take on these three with her help. She was probably an adventurer; she looked like the type. Calm and defiant in the face of literal monsters. However, she was chained, and the fight would be tricky if she weren't a badass monk.

  "Well, screw this!" the prisoner exclaimed.

  Expecting to find her fleeing in the opposite direction. Instead, my jaw dropped at the unexpected sight. Her arms and legs were turning transparent; a blue glow settled across her limbs, and soon her chains fell through as if there was nothing there.

  Jangling like discarded jewellery, that a noble woman decided they were not expensive enough. Dropped onto the sands like they were garbage. Everything stopped; all of us gawked at the ease of her actions.

  To add even more incredulity to the situation, she ignored the deadly enemies and began furiously scratching her wrists as if she was digging into flesh. Going to town on her skin, I suspected she would grow claws and rip through to the other side.

  Instead of a painful expression, she looked to be in total bliss. I understood, nodding with a slight chuckle, unable to ignore the comical situation. Sometimes you get that itch, and only scratching like a madman will do.

  "Are you done?" I asked.

  "All done." She grinned, giving a few more scratches.

  Turning back to our foes, I prepared to blast anyone who even got close. With a thought, I readied my skills, having practiced my kinetic abilities. No enemy would survive my kinetic wrath, and soon these fools will understand that.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The crossbow guy went straight up, his wings outstretched. He ascended rapidly. The berserker went red, his body radiating steam, and a blooded haze. Eyes glowing crimson, mouth foaming, he charged at me like it was the last thing he needed to do.

  A part of me wanted to be afraid, to flee from this terrible and wild enemy. Then I remembered, I am a badass. Power radiated throughout my whole body, unlike the rest of these poor saps, under the thumb of the system. I commanded mine, tailored it, refined it. The power I have was mine to wield, created by my hand. Most of them were, at least.

  "The power is mine, bitches!" I couldn't help yelling, eliciting confused looks from a few.

  Mister Berserker Range didn't seem to care; he just barreled towards me without concern. Spittle of saliva drenched his mouth and neck, eyes red and filled with unrivalled rage. Power he likely drew upon when activating whatever skill he had at his disposal. Since he didn't sacrifice someone's shrivelled spleen. He was a warrior, mage-type or perhaps a sorcerer.

  Either way, he was about to meet something he couldn't just rage his way through. Giving a mental command to check the current state of my force attribute. It could use a bit more love, but a solid twenty-two points would work.

  Clenching my fists, I prepared to bring the noise. Feeling like a certain armoured superhero, I thrust my hands forward and summoned up every point available in one activating of my new skill. Kinetic force waves moved away from my body and condensed in my palms. When it had enough energy, the force leapt from my hands and hit the beast.

  The force was enough to knock the wind out of the Garathi Berserker. The faint sounds of cracking suggested that a few bones were no longer whole. Soon after the impact sent him flying back to skid across the ground and collapse into the sand.

  Everyone was stunned, even the Garathi flying above us. Stuck between drawing his crossbow and loosing a bolt. The lull in the battle wouldn't last, so best to get in enough epicness before things got messy. With their attention rapt and on me, except for the groaning Berserker eating sand. I knew the best skill to use.

  Activating the skill Force Attract, I drew my weapon up from my bag with a thought. It jumped into my hand as if it were supposed to. Unable to stop a grin widening on my face, I activated the blade without an ounce of hesitation.

  The blade ignited with a swift wisp of air and a shimmer of energy. No doubt, I looked awesome. Magical sword in one hand, raw power in the other, and wearing a freaking cape. If not a superhero, what was I?

  "Let's do this!" I declared as the music reached a crescendo.

  As if my declaration woke them all back up, the crossbow bolts came a-raining. One after the other, that strange level zero guy popped them off like an Uzi. No matter how many came my way, he seemed to have an endless stock of ammunition. A few struck me cleanly, bouncing off my barrier. But I was no fool; I quickly dodged most of the barrage.

  "Those are cool! I can't wait to put them under a microscope." I yelled to Mister Flying Man.

  To be honest, it seemed unfair. I was the superhero wannabe, and I was stuck on the ground while he was mocking us earthbound folk with his wings. Naturally, he didn't respond, which made sense; he was the strong, silent type. I could tell that right off the bat.

  "Come on, dude, a little banter will make this fight scene way cooler!"

  Despite my attempts to elicit a response, he just kept shooting at me. The prick had no style, no flair for the dramatic. What was the point in living if you couldn't aura farm? I mean, that is the dream, right? Then he shot me in the head and rang my brain like a gong. Turns out force fields have limits, and with enough crossbow bolts to the face, you will feel it.

  Deciding to get serious, I tried to pull him out of the sky with a Force Attract. Willing my force field across the distance, barely reached his feet. The end of my reach was so minuscule, I think at most I tickled his toes. Then I noticed his face scrunching up, no longer with that stoic expression of indifference.

  Doubling down on the miniscule power I brought to bear. I came up with a really stupid idea. With my hand outstretched, I gestured with my fingers. Flexing and retracting them over and over. Every second I did this, I kept the pace consistent. Above us, the stoic flyboy cracked a smile before bursting out laughing.

  The booming laughter was, I will admit, deep and manly. So much so that it made what I was doing super weird. I had to be honest; I was using my skills to literally tickle his feet. Luckily, the Garathi was ticklish. I mean, who knew?

  With the distraction, I leapt forward, using a short force blast to propel me into the air. In making the distance, I noticed the unchained woman fighting the duelist. The brief glance made my eyes go wide. The Garathi gladiator was trying desperately to stab a seemingly intangible foe. Her body shimmered and went transparent moments before each strike.

  Putting that little tidbit away for later, I returned to the task at hand. Soaring into the air, the distance between us shrunk noticeably. Reaching out, I activated Force Attract again and gripped his leg tightly. With extreme force of will, I pulled him down from the heavens above and slammed him into the sands below.

  Using my cape, the descent back to earth was way smoother and settled on the ground with a soft thud, kicking up a small sandstorm. Not enough to obscure my vision of the downed opponent. Without any hesitation, I ran over, ready to skewer him with my sword. But just as I arrived, he withdrew a small object from a pack at his belt and threw it.

  The object landed on the ground and exploded into a giant smokescreen, obscuring my vision. Eyes now covered in smoke, I tried to locate him with my other senses. Instead of a bright aura showing everyone else upon the sands. He was practically invisible, so invisible I didn't notice a blade slam into my side. Through my barrier and into my ribs.

  "You Batman wannabe prick!" I grunted in pain.

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