9 Yesterday's Foe
"J-James... " Adam said as his body shuddered uncontrollably. He could not believe the memories flooding into his mind. The "friend" he missed, but couldn't remember, was the same person who made his life a living hell.
"You just remembered... " James said when he noticed Adam's shaky gaze, "do you remember what happened after the incident? Do you know what I had to go through after that? " His words got sharper.
".... " But Adam only stayed silent while lowering his gaze in grief. He remembered the close friendship he had with James and knew how it felt to lose a family member at an early age.
"I bet you don't remember the promises we made. The hardships we went through..." James said while walking closer to Adam with heavy steps.
"... "
"That incident awakened my High Human abilities and granted me great strength, but none of that mattered anymore. I lost my father in that fire! " James continued to let out the words he kept locked in his heart.
"... "
"You were the only friend I had, but you changed after the incident. The Adam I always knew and admired was no more. "
"... "
"I vowed to myself not to return to being the weakling I once was and started working hard to master my abilities. "
"... "
"I gained attention and multiple guilds wanted to sign me, but I only thought of that bastard who started the fire... "
"Me too. I wanted to kill that bastard, too. " Adam finally spoke as his confused gaze met James's.
"So why? Why did you look like you gave up on everything when I saw you? " James reached Adam and asked.
"... " Adam, however, returned to silence at his question.
"The first time I saw you after the incident was at school, and you looked like an empty shell. " James sat on the ground in front of Adam before he continued. "I could not hold back my rage at the sight of you giving up everything like that. "
"... " Adam's gaze turned back to the ground with a pained expression, because James was telling the truth.
After the incident, Adam no longer endured the pain and gave up. His mind unconsciously blocked out most of his memories to avoid pain, and his personality turned into a hollow shell of its former brightness.
"I tried greeting you at school, but you replied with dead eyes, as if I was a stranger to you. " James said with a slightly teary voice. "I kept remembering the things you told me when we were children... "
"... "
"I-I'm sorry for insulting Janett, but I wanted you to get back to who you once were. " James apologized with tears running down his face and a shaky voice. "The same Adam, who taught me what confidence meant... "
"I'm sorry about everything, too. " Adam matched James's teary eyes and apologized as well. He never considered that James might bully him for any reason other than his weakness and unfortunate circumstances. It was because of the weak mentality he adopted after the incident.
Although he still couldn't remember all the details, the strong bond he shared with James remained.
*Pant! *
*Pant! *
"What is going on here? Why are you both sitting on the ground?! " Darius asked as he struggled to catch his breath. He only possessed water magic abilities, so catching up to the two freakish monsters took a toll on his body.
"It's a long story... " Adam noticed James was too emotional to answer at the moment and gave Darius a concise answer, for now.
"Woah! Is James crying?!! " Darius said as he noticed James's tears at last.
"Idiot... " Adam said as he slapped his forehead before glancing at James.
"I'm fine... I was not crying. " James wiped his tears and spoke as he stood up. "We need to get you to the hospital. Get up. " He grabbed Adam's hand and helped him up.
"You're right! Adam, you look bad. " Darius said as he took out his phone to call someone.
"Thank you, James. " Adam thanked James as he stood up and checked his bloodied body.
[HP: 50/250]
'This is bad! My HP is rapidly decreasing. ' Adam panicked when he saw his abysmally low health.
"Master Darius, you called for us. " Just as Adam started panicking, a giant man in a black suit spoke as he got out of an obviously expensive car and held the door.
"Let's hurry. You need medical attention ASAP. " Darius said while walking towards the car.
"I'll help you up. " James spoke as he supported Adam and walked him to the car as well.
"Thank you... " Adam thanked him.
"It felt good, right? " James asked as they walked closer to the car.
"Getting beat up and bullied for three years? No. " Adam replied curtly.
"I apologize for that, but what I meant was fighting back. " James said in a nervous tone with his gaze fixed to the ground.
"Yeah, it did... " Adam said with a faint smile.
"That's confidence. Never forget that feeling. " James spoke with a nostalgic expression.
"That's cheesy... " Adam said in a mocking tone.
"Ugh! Just get in the car! " James roared before shoving Adam into the luxury vehicle.
____________
After a 10-minute car ride, they finally arrived at the nearest hospital and walked in. Darius used his influence, which made it easy to secure a room and start on Adam's treatment.
An A-rank High Human healer conducted the treatment, which lasted less than 15 minutes. Doctors were still valuable personnel in today's world, but healers were the best solution to recover injuries nowadays, as they used fewer resources and spent less time on the treatment.
"Thank you, Darius. I'll make sure I pay you back. " Adam said while resting on the hospital bed.
"Don't worry about it. This hospital belongs to my father, anyway. " Darius said as he scrolled through his phone.
"Since when? I thought your family only dealt with magic weapons. " James asked in a surprised tone.
"Oh, I just bought it. " Darius casually replied.
"Right now?!! " Adam got up from his resting position and asked with shock all over his face.
"Yes. " Darius looked up from his phone and answered with a smile.
'Is this how rich people operate?! ' Adam thought as he plopped down on the bed with a stupefied expression.
"I told you to be more careful about spending your money like that, dumb*ss! " James spoke in an angry tone while staring daggers at Darius.
"Don't worry, it's an investment~. " Darius replied while rubbing his fingers.
"I really can't understand you... " James could only massage his forehead at the nonchalant reply.
"Anyway, we're going to let you rest now, Adam. " Darius said as he stood up from his seat. "I'll leave a couple of these guys with you. We'll visit you again tomorrow. "
"Focus on recovering. See you tomorrow. " James got up and said his goodbyes, too.
"S-see you tomorrow. " Adam bid the two farewell with an awkward smile. He could not believe the absurdity of the situation. His bullies just took him to a hospital and paid for his treatment.
'This is exhausting my mental strength. I'll take a nap for now.... ' Adam thought as he covered himself with the sheets and closed his eyes.
_________
After a quick nap to recover, Adam got up and checked the time.
'That was a good 2-hour nap. ' He thought as a satisfied smile surfaced on his face.
'This was a crazy day, man... ' The young man could not help but think that as he recalled the ridiculous events of today.
'Unveil. ' Adam chanted to check on the changes in his record.
[Name: Adam King]
[Sex: Male]
[Age: 17]
[Height: 190 cm]
[Class: None]
[Akashic connection: Low (medium)] (up!)
[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.2 (Level up!)
'The only things that changed were Basic Sword Mastery and Akashic connection. Let's check the skill first.. ' Adam pressed on the skill to see the change.
[Basic Sword Mastery
Level: 2
Effects:
-Increase attack effectiveness by 25% when using a sword.]
'That's it? ' Adam got disappointed with the mere 5 percent increase in attack effectiveness. 'I can't be picky, it's my only skill... '
'Now, to the main event. ' He thought as his eyes drifted towards the Akashic connection.
[Akashic connection: Low (medium)]
[-Connection to the source of the system.
-Grows stronger when the user meets certain conditions.
-User can view records of lower-level beings.
-User can view the records of items.]
'View records?! That's amazing! ' The new features that came with the increase in Akashic connection thrilled Adam. He always preferred to collect as much information as possible before fighting and this feature would be of great help to him.
'Let's test it out! ' The thrilled young man thought as he took out his sword from his inventory and focused on it.
[Silver Sword
-Attack: 50-70
-Durability: 12/80
-Special effects: None. ]
"WOAH! " Adam could not help but exclaim as he saw the characters appear in front of him.
*Knock*
*Knock*
"Is everything fine, Mr. Adam? " The man stationed outside his room asked.
"Y-yes, everything is okay! " Adam hurriedly replied, before turning back to the characters in front of him.
'The durability is too low. I need a new weapon.... ' The young man thought as he placed his sword back into the inventory.
