Exploration

I woke up the next morning and went into the restroom to splash cold water on my face to wake myself up. Last night after following the shadow of the murder victim, named Grace, I went back to my apartment and slept like a log as soon as I got to my bed.

There was alot to think about and plans I had to make for my future.

My life has been one misfortune after another. The negative feelings in my heart are fueling certain desires and with the power given to me by Her Majesty Death, I am anxious to begin venting them.

The world is full of sinners as Death told me and by killing them and taking thier souls I could become stronger.

I look at myself in my lavatory mirror. A scrawny body, unkempt hair, bags under my dark green eyes. My face would be decently handsome if I didn't look like a walking corpse. To save money, I eat very little and I would cut my brown hair with scissors and a comb using my bathroom mirror. So needless to say, I look like shit.

I was filled with self loathing at how I was living all this time. I thought if I didnt bother anyone and just tried to focus only on my goals I could live and have a happy life. But the scums in this world won't let people like me do that.

Society in our world values power above all else. Those with high potentials are treated with the upmost care and given full support. While those that have low potential or even none find themselves in the bottom caste of society.

Most cities have a slum or a ghetto, where the people at the bottom are forced to gather. The crime rates are very high in those places and the cops dont urgently respond to calls from there either.

Those with powerful abilities and potentials Rule everything. Much of the wealth is owned by ancient families instead of the government, and to be honest the government is just a proxy for the ancient families to begin with.

The ancient families control everything in our world. The ancestors of those families were some of the earliest to developed powers and many of them achieved great things in thier time. The bloodlines of the families have mixed through marriages and as such pedigree is very important to them.

So even if someone had amazing potential, if they didnt come from an ancient family then they are still looked down on.

The ancient families also commit atrocities regularly and cant be held accountable or punished. Many people wouldn't even try to fight back due to the power of the ancient families.

It all makes me sick. Our society doesn't have to be perfect but what we have now is a nightmare.

'Punisher...'

It was easy for me to accept such a position. My resentment and anger towards this world have left me vengeful and I wanted to crush everyone who looked down on me. I wanted to punish everyone that uses thier power to torment those weaker than them.

The first step towards my goal would be to improve myself. I quickly got dressed and decided to first get a hair cut and get some better clothes. I didnt have much left in my wallet, but I had enough. But there are plenty of ways to earn money later, once I've figured out how my powers work.

After getting a nice haircut and some decent clothes, I dropped them back off at my apartment and went for a walk. My destination? A certain house in the suburbs.

I took a bus this time and found myself in the right neighborhood. In front of me was a beautiful ranch style home. The outside walls were painted blue, with white around the edges. I approached the house with a clipboard in my hands, I had purchased earlier, and then I rang the doorbell.

I heard movement inside before the door opened. In front of me was a woman in her early thirties. She was wearing a sports top and pants and looked like she was running on a treadmill before I rang.

"Hello?" she asked after she opened the door and realised she didnt recognize me.

"Ah, yes! Good morning, Miss. My name is Joshua. I am a new member of the HOA, and I just wanted to introduce myself and get to know the residents. May I come in?"

The woman nodded and let me in. She and I talked and she told me her name was Laura and her husband's name was Henry. They dont have children but do have a dog. Her husband was currently at work as a bank teller and wasnt expected home until late.

I gave her a charming smile and thanked her for her time before leaving. As I turned and walked away, a mischievous grin appeared on my face.

My target's name was Henry Ostrick. And he was expected to return home around 8pm. I opened my phone and checked the banks hours of operation that he works at.

"The bank closes at 5pm but according to his wife, he doesn't come home till 8pm or later most nights. Strange..."

I could tell she also had doubts about her husband but kept them to herself, as I was still just a stranger. But I wasnt concerned about her marriage life as she was about to become a widow. I will be doing her a favor if anything. Her husband is scum.

But I had just remembered there one other important thing i had to do. I took another bus back to my house and then put on a tank top and shorts with running shoes.

I left my house again and went back to the place I first encountered my target. The scene of a vicious murder...

When I got there, I didnt dare to go and look at her corpse again. Instead i dialed the police and reported finding a body.

Once the police arrived, I pointed out the body of Grace and then stayed to answer all thier questions. I told them I was jogging and went off in the bush to take a piss and found her body. They told me to not leave town and they would get in touch with me in case they needed any more information. I was pretty sure they did that because in thier eyes I could also be a suspect.

But well, I'm not the suspect so they won't have a need to reach back out to me. I only reported her body so it could go through proper channels and get it back to her family intact. As for her killer. I was thinking of making my move soon.

After I was released from questioning I decided to go somewhere quiet and see what else my powers can do. I took a cab to the outskirts of the city I lived in, which was called New Hope City. It's a pretty big city that has historical significance in our country.

This city was first city rebuilt after our country was nearly destroyed by a Demi-God tier monster. The Golden Hydra. It came from the ocean shores in the south and destroyed everything as it traveled north with all manner of sea beasts in tow. It was known as one of the 5 Calamities that have appeared in the last thousand years, with the Golden Hydra appearing 35 years ago.

They say the time between the Calamities appearance has been decreasing each time. Before the Golden Hydra, the last one appeared 68 years before, and one before that was 126 years before that. If the trend continues, it is believed the next Calamity would appear in the next 10-15 years.

Another reason people believe that is also because the average strength of monsters around the world has also been increasing, as well as population. One such place where monster population has grown is the forests outside New Hope City, which is my destination.

I made my way into the forest after paying the cab fare, and walked for a half hour. I ended up in a clearing with only grass, surrounded by trees. This part of the forest has the weakest monsters, and most of them are scared of humans, and won't bother attacking.

I didnt bring much as I didnt plan on being out here for too long. I only wanted a private place to test my powers. I sat on an old fallen log that was in the center of the clearing and began feeling my power.

I was able to feel what felt like an ocean of darkness within me. It was vast but yet my connection to it was very weak. I tried to influence it and will it to obey me. A small amount responded to my call and began to move. It crept curiously toward me but I couldn't maintain control for long and had to release it.

I wasnt able to manifest it outside my body at all, and not only that just the attempt left me panting in exhaustion.

I took a break and then tried again. My second attempt I was able to get a tendril of darkness to move close to the border that separates this sea of darkness from my physical body. My nose bled for awhile due to the strain.

It took 2 hours of grueling effort to produce a good result. I opened the palm of my right hand and a wavy tendril of darkness about 6 inches long sprung out of my hand. It waves around like a lazy candle flame and with a thought I could will it to move.

It was like controlling a whole new appendage but I practiced it for a while and started to be able to control it as well as any other of my limbs.

The little tendril of darkness could become sharp and even extend further at the cost of thickness. If I was to measure it as a liquid, it would probably only fill a pint glass. That's as much as I could control right now. I tried to pull out more but it caused my entire body to feel a burning pain when I did.

I was feeling hungry after all that so I ate a sandwich I had brought with me. I planned to regain my energy and the try to kill something with my power before calling it a day.