8 Epiphany

'There has to be a way I can beat him. He is not invincible! ' Adam wrecked his brain thinking of ways to beat the approaching furious mass of lightning trying to kill him.

The only ending to every scenario he could think of was death, which made Adam panic even more. He knew he could not beat James with his current strength. He also knew it was stupid of him to accept his challenge.

Running to The Bronx to become stronger was obviously the wiser choice, but he couldn't do it, because running away would spell the end of Adam's resistance.

'I would rather die than let this f*cker think he can get away with what he said about my family... ' Adam made his choice and hardened his resolve. Turning back was not an option.

'Unveil. ' He thought as he wobbled towards James.

[Name: Adam King]

[Sex: Male]

[Age: 17]

[Height: 190 cm]

[Class: None]

[Akashic connection: Low (low)]

[Level: 10]

Stats:

[HP: 120/250] [MP: 180/180]

[STR: 39] [AGI: 31]

[INT: 18] [VIT: 25]

[END: 20] [DEX: 28]

[ASP:0]

Skills:

[Basic Sword Mastery] Lv.1

'What can I do? ' Adam entered a distressed state as his gaze altered between his record and James. He finally looked at the 'Akashic connection' part of his record and touched it.

[Akashic connection: Low (low)]

[-Connection to the source of the system.

-Grows stronger when the user meets certain conditions.]

'Huh? The information changed! ' Adam's eyes widened in surprise. He immediately created more distance between him and James to investigate the change.

"You can run, but you can't hide. " James said as he strolled closer while exuding immense pressure. He regained some of his composure, but the same menacing glare remained in his eyes.

'Why did the information change? I checked it yesterday, and it was the same... ' Adam thought about the sudden change as he ran away from James.

'Hey, what's all this about? What is the Akashic connection and what effect does it have? ' Adam asked the system. It was the only thing he could think of now.

[User's level is too low.]

'Don't f*ck with me! I need answers! ' Adam lost his composure and asked again.

[User's level is too low.]

[New quest generated]

[Quest #3:

Success condition: Escape the current predicament

Rewards: Akashic connection: Low (low) > (medium)

Penalty: Death]

[Do you accept? Y/N]

"HUH?! " Adam could not hold back his anger and exclaimed.

[Do you accept? Y/N]

"What do you expect me to do?! " Adam asked, knowing the text hovering in front of him wouldn't give him an answer.

[Think.]

"Huh? Think? Think?! Think about what?! " The strange response only increased Adam's confusion as he tried to understand the meaning behind it.

[Do you accept? Y/N]

"Yes... " He reluctantly accepted the quest while running.

[Quest accepted!]

*BOOM! *

As soon as he accepted it, however, James landed in front of him with a loud explosion.

"It's about time we end this, twig. " James said while cracking his knuckles with an annoyed expression.

"I was just thinking about the same thing... " Adam answered as he held his sword in front of him.

*CLANG! *

James started the battle with a simple 'greeting'.

"Ack! " Adam blocked it, but the sheer force dislocated his right shoulder. He could not avoid the blow and blocking it was all he could do in his current state.

[HP: 100/250]

'Sh*t! ' Adam cursed inwardly as he saw his HP decreasing. 'If I took that hit directly, I would have died! I need to think! ' His mind started going in circles.

'What do I need to think about? '

'I don't think there is any way I can beat him... '

'Is beating him what I'm supposed to think about in the first place? '

'The quest told me to escape. Should I think of ways to escape? '

'NO! I can't escape. I'm fighting here for a reason! '

'Reason..... ' Adam's eyes widened as his thoughts led him towards the right question.

'Why is James doing this? What is his reason? What did I do to deserve this? ' Adam had never asked these questions before. He had always assumed that it was because he was a weak orphan, but is that really it?

"You can only use one arm now. It's pathetic, so let's just end this quickly. " James said as he stood in front of Adam.

"Why are you doing this? " Adam looked into James' eyes and asked with a firm expression.

"Huh?! " James looked at Adam with a stupefied expression.

"Why are you doing all of this? Is it because I'm weaker than you? Is it because I'm an orphan? Why? " Adam repeated his question with anger in his eyes. "You even insulted my family and called me a murderer! Why are you doi-?! " But before he could finish his sentence, James grabbed him by the collar.

"DO YOU THINK I GIVE A SH*T ABOUT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES?! " James screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes turning red with anger. "I CALLED YOU A MURDERER BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE! JUST BECAUSE I DON'T GO AROUND ASKING FOR HANDOUTS LIKE YOU DO MEANS THAT MY LIFE IS PERFECT. " James continued screaming as tears ran down his cheeks.

"What are you talking about? " Adam couldn't believe his eyes. He never expected a simple question would make this much impact on James.

"You really don't remember? " James said before throwing Adam to the ground. "Do you not remember what happened when your house burned down?! " James took a few steps back while asking a question with apparent confusion.

"Of course I do! It haunts me every night! I couldn't sleep for the past four years because of that incident! " Adam could not believe the ridiculous question.

"Do you remember the man who died trying to save your family? Do you remember my father, who died because of you?! " James said with a somber expression.

"J-James... " Adam said as his mind became jumbled up with confusion. "What are you talking about? There were only 3 casualties. "

"No, Adam, there were four... My father was the fourth casualty. " James said with a hoarse voice while looking at the ground

Adam's eyes widened as his mind recalled various distant memories he locked away for the past four years.

____________

4 years ago,

Two young boys walked together with wide smiles while covered in dirt from head to toe.

"Your skills improved, James. " One of them spoke while holding a basketball, "soon enough, we will be the best basketball duo in the entire country! "

"Hehe, yes, we will. I'll work hard not to hold you back anymore, Adam. " The second boy answered while scratching his nose.

"Hey! We're buddies, aren't we? Don't say stuff like that. "

"Yeah, we're buddies. "

The young duo was James and Adam before the fire incident. The two lived across from each other and grew up together like brothers from an early age.

They had just finished their usual basketball practice on the day that cursed event happened. As they walked closer to their houses, they saw a man running while covering his face with a hood.

"SOMEBODY CATCH THAT GUY! " A voice shouted from afar, trying to stop the hooded man.

"Let's go help them! " Adam quickly put the basketball on the ground and started running.

"Adam! Wait! Isn't that your house?! " James stopped Adam and made him look towards the large fire in the distance.

"What is happening? Is my family okay?! " Adam said with a teary voice.

"Let's go check! " James dragged his spaced-out friend and started running.

After the two arrived at the burning house, they could see the neighborhood residents trying to put out the fire with buckets of water.

"Adam! You're here! Thank god! " A middle-aged woman approached the two boys and hugged them both tightly. It was James's mother.

"What's going on, auntie? Where is my family? " Adam asked with tears in his eyes. He was a smart child and knew where his family might be in this situation.

"Don't worry sweety everyone is trying to help! James' father went in there to help them, too. It's going to be okay. " The woman tried to comfort the young boy while desperately holding back her tears.

"Dad is in there?! " James asked with a worried expression.

"I'm going to go help! " Adam left the woman's embrace and ran towards the burning house.

"Adam stop! Don't go in there! " The woman screamed and gripped Adam in her embrace to prevent him from hurting himself.

"NO! LET ME GO! I NEED TO HELP THEM! " Adam kept pleading, not caring about his own life, while his friend was crying beside him. The two lost a lot that day.

______________

[Quest complete!]

[Akashic connection: Low (low) > (medium)]

The sudden text woke Adam from his stupor, but he could still feel the pain in his chest.