5 Goal

'Man, this pain better be worth it,' David thought as he sat up with difficulty, his body still reeling from the recent ordeal. Whatever the system did had ended, yet every movement wracked him with unspeakable pain. Even now, just sitting up resummoned the sensation of being doused with boiling water.

To his fortune though, the intensity of these phantom pains faded with continuous movement. And after about a minute of light stretches, they subsided into a dull tingling that spread throughout his whole body. From the top of his head to the sole of his feet, it felt like there were tiny ants on the march above his skin and below it.

He waited a bit to see if this tingling would disappear, but nothing of the sort happened. It continued unabated, uncaring of the discomfort it placed him in. Seeing as he could do nothing about it, he took his mind off it and gave the knowledge and skills he just gained a glance.

Like the mind-body technique, they had been branded into his mind, and he deduced that they also had to be practiced in order for him to gain mastery of them. 'Compared to the mind-body technique though, I should be able to master Connor's skills in a short time… that is, if the things I've read about character templates are true.'

Whatever the case, only time would tell. He put the matter aside and brought up the system to get an accurate feel of the template's effects.

Name: Oliver Jonas Queen

Race: Human

Bloodline: Isu (0.39714%)

Strength: 2

Agility: 3

Durability: 1

Vitality: ∞

Senses: 1

Mind: 4

Available Points: 2

Abilities:

1) Killing Instinct

2) Ultimate Regeneration

3) Inventory

4) Eagle Vision

His attributes did not change, but a new section, [Bloodline], had appeared, making him elated, though not as much as you would expect. Of all the bloodlines and races that crossed his mind when he received the spark, he could say with confidence that not once did he think of the Isu.

Why would he, when races like Saiyans and Kryptonians existed?

Looking at the updated bloodline section and the percentage beside it, he felt like someone who received a poorly thought out gift …even though he chose this. He didn't let it sour his mood though, and reminded himself of the reason behind this choice.

The ability to see someone's true allegiance and nature was too good to pass up. Not even Geralt's magically enhanced senses could do this. Plus, if his memory served him right, in the Assassin's Creed lore, some ancient civilizations worshiped the Isu as gods. Compared to becoming a sterile mutant, he saw the tiny chance to be a demigod a better choice.

Back in the present, he diverted his attention to his latest ability, [Eagle Vision], and read the description that popped up.

4) Eagle Vision: You can intuitively sense how objects and people relate to you. Red indicates enemies or spilled blood, blue indicates allies, white indicates sources of information and hiding spots, and gold indicates targets or objects of interest.

'Just like the games,' he mused. 'If I remember correctly, Connor's eagle vision wasn't all that impressive. It was like Ezio's in the beginning; just glowing enemies and shiny hiding spots.'

Eager to experience it for himself, he activated the ability with a simple mental nudge. There were no enemies around, and nothing of interest in the room. Hence, he expected it to darken and be devoid of color. To his surprise however, the opposite happened, and the room gained a bright hue.

Under his supernatural gaze, the room now had a white aura-like covering on its walls, ceiling and floor. This development bolstered his confidence in his choice. 'With this I can find a proper hiding place in no time,' he nodded, moving his gaze from the walls to his own shiny, white self.

His curiosity satisfied, he turned off [Eagle Vision] and went down to the lowest floor to gather some materials to start a fire. While he did so, some part of his mind wandered off the task, thinking of the changes the Potential Spark would bring.

'Eagle Vision will definitely change. I mean, it has to,' he analyzed. 'Ezio unlocked those nifty abilities by practicing with his gift for a long time, while I possess a magical talent enhancer. In my case, it's practically a done deal.'

Done with the gathering, he climbed up the stairs, carrying pieces of wood, twigs and dried leaves, all the while absentminded. 'Arno and the twins could see through walls. Edward could tag people and track them, and Kassandra could connect with her pet eagle and see through its eyes.'

A hopeful expression found its way onto his face. 'I hope the spark gives me all of them, especially the x-ray vision.'

Upon returning to the room, he came out of the stupor and dropped the materials. He then got to work, using the knife in conjunction with Connor's knowledge to carve the wood. He then applied the necessary friction on the right materials in the right way, and soon, a small fire lit up and crackled inside the room.

The flames lit up his face, revealing a smile of pride as he gazed at his handiwork. Just as he began to bask in the warmth of his creation, the darned tingling reappeared. Well, it's not like it ever stopped. He had just been so engrossed in starting the fire that it took his mind off of it.

'I know the spark is improving the bloodline, but isn't it taking too long?' he wondered while bringing up the system. He scrutinized the bloodline section, the percentage value to be specific, and found concrete evidence of the spark's effects. 'The number has changed. Wait, it's still changing… 0.00002 every second.'

"That means…." he muttered as the screeching of rock filled the room. Using the knife, he scratched some calculations on the floor. After a short while, the screeching ended, replaced by low mutterings. "If it continues to increase at this pace, the tingling should end in one month, give or take."

"In one month, I'll become a complete hybrid… whatever the hell that means…"

Apart from the higher tiers of [Eagle Vision], he had no knowledge of what to expect, hence he didn't bother trying to drum up anything. He instead sat down near the fire, crossed his legs like a monk, and closed his eyes, delving into the mind-body knowledge to begin training.

As the name suggested, the technique was divided into two parts: mind and body. Each had to do with gaining supreme control over these two aspects of one's being, and he could choose to practice either or both at the same time, it made no difference in the short run.

However, if he wanted to reach the level of say, slowing his heartbeat, he needed to attain a high mastery in the mind section. Seeing as it was important for even the physical aspect, he chose to start from there.

Seated and unmoving on the dirty floor, he alternated and controlled his breathing in accordance with the technique. At the same time, he tried to silence any mental distractions and keep his mind focused on a single thing. The nature of the thing didn't matter. It could be a thought, a set of them, a particular emotion, or desire.

The breathing part came easy. The thinking part however, proved to be a challenge.

Keeping one's mind on one thing for an extended period of time did not come as easy as it sounded. At least… for most people, and this was especially true for David, who had an active imagination. Add that to the fact that he didn't know what to keep his mind on, made the whole thing a lot more difficult.

It could not be helped. This was his second life. He had entered a universe that, for him, used to be fictional. He had gained powers that he formerly had to accept as impossible. In just one day, he had died, resurrected, gotten tortured and received a gift that made him rethink his two short lives as a whole.

After waking up in the DC universe and discovering his true nature as a cold-blooded killer, how could he focus on just one thing? He couldn't! There was a mountain of things he wanted to think about. Revenge. His escape from the island. His survival in this reality, where world and universe ending threats existed in droves.

It felt so overwhelming that he didn't believe he had the luxury to relax. The fear that he'd ignore something only for it to come and bite him in the ass later loomed over him like a falling skyscraper.

At the same time though, he knew he couldn't continue this way. If he didn't choose a single important thing to focus on, the mountain of problems would crush him and leave him a mess of helplessness and indecision.

That could absolutely not happen. His second life had to be better and longer than his first, else what was the point of it all?

'What is the most important thing to me right now?' he wondered as he opened his eyes.

'As much as I want it to be revenge, I have to rule it out. I'm in the DC universe. Focusing on some petty revenge instead of the possible dangers is pointless. I will get stronger, and Fyers will die… that-is inevitable. There is no point then, in making him the center of my thoughts.'

'What is it then? Getting off this island? That will come along with dealing with Fyers. I guess that leaves trying to determine the kind of universe I am in and how to survive in it. I know some stuff about the Arrowverse from the shows, but I could take a guess and say that it's not one hundred percent the same.'

'I woke up in Oliver Queen's dead body after all. For all I know, that difference is just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, why would the entity send me to a peaceful universe with a killing system? My gut tells me that this world is crazy, and I'll have to kill a lot if I want to survive it.'

'Then again, I could be wrong. That doesn't change anything though. Even if it somehow ends up being a peaceful universe, I know for a fact that there are universe jumping assholes and multiverse destroyers in this reality. This means that wherever I am, my safety is not fully guaranteed.'

'The only way to ensure my survival is to increase my strength. And the entity has made provisions for that with the system, the island, and mercenaries.'

And with that, the dark shadows looming over him disappeared, the path he should take lighting up like a runway on a dark moonless night. He also came to understand the entity's thought process and why he woke up as Oliver Queen on a deserted island crawling with evil mercenaries.

With renewed resolve and a clear path to follow, he started the meditation afresh, going through the respiratory motions and this time, focusing on Connor's fighting skills. Just like before, the other things weighing on him fought for his attention, but their efforts went unrewarded.

In addition to having an active imagination, David at times fell captive to the fantasies conjured by his mind. In high school, he could daydream anywhere at any time. Whilst a teacher stood in front of the class, he was lost in time, wearing mystical armor and fighting in a war against trolls that wanted to destroy humanity.

And that was one of the P.G. ones.

It got so bad that he himself realized it and began to put in effort to make it go away. He succeeded, and got fewer and shorter episodes by the time he reached university. He didn't cure it by any means though, that's why now that he needed it the most, he fell into the familiar rabbit hole with ease.

After about forty minutes of meditation, he reopened his eyes, checked and adjusted the fire, and stood up with the combat knife. Once on his feet, he bent his knees slightly and spread his legs apart, shifting his right foot back while raising his knife hand to a height right above his head.

After one final check on his stance, he shifted his right foot forward and stabbed downward, retreating to his former position just as quick. He went through these motions repeatedly, all the time comparing them to the ones in his mind.

He found the dissimilarities between them reducing with every twenty or so strikes, and that gave him the fuel to continue.

'I bet I look stupid right now,' he chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed. This did not discourage him though. The torture he went through today had been etched into his mind, and if looking stupid would reduce the chances of getting caught in such a situation again, then so be it.

About a thousand stabs later, he exhaled and came to a stop. "Whew!"

He lowered his arm, but not before wiping the thin sheen of sweat off his forehead. He examined the water droplets in slight confusion, for they hinted at a fatigue he could not feel. 'No wonder some characters consider regeneration a curse.'

Still, that did not matter. Curse or not, he intended to make full use of it.

Resuming his seat on the ground, he performed another forty minute session of meditation, reviewing more of Connor's dagger techniques. After that, he practiced with the knife again, performing about a thousand straight thrusts.

In such a manner, he alternated between the two practices, making progress in both, though his quest for total mental domination saw no quantifiable achievements. As for the latter, his progress was akin to the speed of light. He transitioned from stabs to thrusts and thrusts to slashes, gaining basic proficiency in these attacks in the span of a few hours.

With nothing else to do, he kept at it like a lunatic, spending the rest of the day like this until dawn broke.