Heartburn
I was an only child, and my dad died when I was a baby, so it had always just been me and my mom. My dad had a $200,000 insurance plan that allowed my mom to manage even after his passing. My mom had died three years ago because some of the more chaotic participants in the Five Seasons ended up using the powers granted by the system to do horrific things back on earth. Lars Goldman was a rare gravity user who had an old score to settle and decided to level my mom's neighborhood because that's where his old boss used to live. This time around, I'll stop him, whether it be during the first season or after.
The fireworks continued to rage outside, but I paid little attention to them. I needed to take every advantage that I could before the world went to shit, and that meant relearning some skills that didn't require skill books or unique game conditions. One million humans, myself included, were about to receive the system and gain different skills and abilities in a world that can only be described in a fantasy sci-fi novel. If I wanted to survive in this new world, I needed to get a leg up on all the competition.
I sat down and crossed my legs as I began to circulate the familiar energy granted to me by the system throughout my body. The energy from the system acts as an extension of my body and functions similarly to a muscle. It was like a new part of my body that I could flex like a muscle, and my experience from having used it so proficiently in the last three years came in handy. I spent the next several hours in intense focus, relying on the stat boosts I received from my new titles to carry my body through the night without sleep.
It was 6:00 in the morning when I successfully finished guiding the energy from the system through my whole body. I paused to confirm the feeling of it passing through all my major arteries and veins. Once my body was saturated with the energy, I forcefully shifted the source from the center of my chest over to where my heart was. This was a unique way to guide the energy called Burning Heart Energy Circulation that had taken me months to learn back in the third season of the games.
Notification
You have learned Burning Heart Energy Circulation.
Passive Ability: Burning Heart Energy Circulation
[Casting Time: None] [Cooldown: None] [Duration: Permanent]
The strongest circulation method of the Giganti, the ancient fire-worshipping tribe. This circulation method is a dangerous way to circulate energy that doesn't come without its benefits. It is said that only the most powerful of the Giganti would be permitted to use it.
+50 Spirit
+10 to all other stats
+2 additional Spirit granted at every level
Critical Weakness: Energy Exhaustion
[Casting Time: Instant] [Cooldown: 24 Hours] [Duration: 60 seconds]Upon exhausting all energy, a detonation of energy occurs centered around the user's heart. The user is dealt a deadly amount of damage, and all living beings within 5 meters of the user are dealt a critical amount of damage.
Although the critical weakness was a problem, I had an item that prevented the energy exhaustion from activating in my past life. This life, I don't have such an item, so I just have to be careful. I only need to grow to become so strong that I'll never have to exhaust all my energy.
In the future, there were many of us who tried to learn this circulation method, but only three, myself included, had successfully made it to the fifth season without blowing themselves up. During the third and fourth seasons, it was common to hear that groups of participants had died because their allies were using this circulation method.
"Note to self, during the third season, find the circulation method and destroy it. Status Window."
Ronan Wilde
Race: Human
Class: None
Level: 1 [0/100]
Stats
Strength: 37 (Low-Tier)
Agility: 97 (High-Tier)
Vitality: 37 (Low-Tier)
Mind: 37 (Low-Tier)
Spirit: 77 (Mid-Tier)
Distributable Stat Points: 0
Skills & Abilities:
The Last Stand [Epic]
Burning Heart Energy Circulation [Legendary]
"Now these are some good stats. That was another nine levels worth of increases... I already have the same stat numbers that I would only be able to see at level 27 while being only level 1!"
The building excitement caused the new energy granted by my newly inflated Spirit stat to seep out of my body. Thankfully, I caught it in time, but not fast enough to prevent two-foot-sized burn marks on my studio apartment's tiled floors. The burns weren't bad, but they were definitely noticeable.
"Damn, I forgot about the unmentioned side effect of the burning heart... My energy is now more in tune with my emotions, so I need to keep things dialed down while I'm on Earth."
I did what any other responsible college student would do to clean up a mess in their apartment. I slid a carpet over the burn. I nodded approvingly to myself and reached down to pick up my phone that I had left on the floor. It was playing lo-fi music all night while I was circulating my energy.
"Okay, I have a few more things to prepare for, but first things first. It's time to stop being such a loner."
I navigated to my contacts and scrolled down to Punisher. I hovered my finger over the call button for a second before pressing the message button instead. You would think that fighting for your life alongside a bunch of strangers on alien worlds for over four years would do something to help cure social anxiety. In my case, apparently it didn't. This Punisher wasn't the one that I knew on the field of battle; this was the one that hadn't experienced the system yet. I needed to be strategic with my messages...
Ronan: Yo Punisher
Punisher: Whaddup?
Ronan: Lots a stuff, u free today?
Punisher: Not really, my daughter puked on my boots and I need to get some shoes b4 wifey gets home, date tonight
Ronan: Great, looks like u need new shoes, I'll c u at the mall 10am
Punisher: Lol k
I looked at the time; it was 6:15 in the morning, so I had a few hours to kill before meeting with Punisher.
"This is good. I have just enough time to do everything I need to do."
I fell asleep on my bed and accomplished nothing for the next several hours.