Humble Beginnings

The following day, Maro didn't immediately leap into the night hunting for villains or crooks. That would have been foolish. 

After mulling over his newfound responsibilities, he knew he had to be smarter.

He needed to grow, to learn, and that started with minor heroic tasks—leveling up gradually.

Despite not truly believing that he was Hero material, he knew he had accepted the will of the system. It had offered its trust in him, and he had displayed his own will to it. 

And well, it wasn't as though he was entirely ill-equipped. The system provided many features to aid his task. 

But Maro couldn't help but feel conflicted.

Whilst it would no longer dictate his actions or hold his life as a reward or consequence, it did to a certain extent, imply he needed to be a Hero. 

He spent the afternoon walking around his neighborhood, checking the mission board periodically. He wasn't shocked to see how many missions showed up, some fizzled out within seconds, and others lasted a long while. But they never stopped flowing in.

If one were to see the amount of filth and crime that plagued Gotham, and had been handed a tool that could help stop it, who would not? It was in this manner that the system urged him.

It hadn't spoken to him again, not ever since it explained all that it needed to.

Instead, it left Maro responsible. 

And with every mission that fizzled out and disappeared, every assault that popped up in his mission tab, every theft, Maro couldn't help but feel responsible. 

But Maro wasn't stupid.

He knew he wasn't ready, if anything, he would probably end up another victim if he operated on guts and good intentions alone.

This was further affirmed in his mind when he used his scan skill on individuals as he walked by.

He had scanned adults, teenagers, and kids, and found that the range of stats varied greatly.

Some adults had strong stats, some were way weaker than teenagers, some as strong as Maro, others far weaker than him.

-

[Lvl 1]

Maro Dumont (Valor) 

Race: Human 

Strength: 8 

Agility: 8 

Endurance: 12

Vitality: 9 

Intelligence: 14 

Luck: 1

[Available Stat Points: 3] 

[Renown: 41]

-

His own stats had gotten stronger, but he knew now, in comparison to others he was rather weak. He had to wonder, why was it that he was so weak in the first place? Was that why the system had chosen him?

With stats that low, how was it possible for him to even be alive?

[Scan : Lvl 1 Activated]

Maro took a peek at the stats of a man walking the street in a tank top. He had a strong-looking form, with tanned skin that embellished his physique.

-

Race: Human 

Strength: 25

Agility: 11

Endurance: 19

Vitality: 10

Intelligence: 9 

Luck: 1

-

Maro couldn't help but notice the man's oddly low vitality count.

After a second of confusion, he realized the man probably abused performance enhancers to achieve the look and strength that he did.

He couldn't help but scoff. 

The man was just as healthy as him, and by all counts as far as the system was concerned, that didn't mean much.

He deactivated his scan skill. It was useful, but he couldn't help but think of the applications the skill could have once he leveled it up.

Currently, he could only see people's race and stats. The race description was odd— it implied that races other than human existed—a thought that Maro didn't want to revisit any time soon. 

Maro wished he could divine information other than that offered by his current scan level, such as name... or even thoughts and memories.

It would certainly make Hero work useful.

Though at the moment, he was far from being a Hero.

He had made good progress, but it was nowhere near where Maro wanted to be.

Two new missions flashed onto his tab on the interface, it was neatly situated on the side of his front-facing view, a neat, small column that Maro could scroll with his mind whilst he walked.

The missions were simple: retrieving a lost kitten, and helping a kid getting bullied in the nearby park. 

The amount of exp they offered was also small. Small, but perfect for someone like him, still learning the ropes. 

The first task was easy enough. He had found the mission target on his minimap and followed it to a crying girl sitting on the steps of her doorstep. 

The girl in pigtails ran at him, pushing past her small house gate and tugging at his sleeve, tears in her eyes. "Please, mister, can you help me find Bebe? I've looked everywhere!"

"Where'd you last see him or her?" Maro asked, crouching to her level.

The girl sniffled, pointing down a side street. "He ran off that way… but I'm scared to go there. My mom said to let him come back on his own, but he's been gone for hours!"

Maro pitied her as he looked down the street, he didn't blame her for not wanting to go down there.

Whilst the area was relatively safe, it was still Gotham. No one was safe, not really.

"Don't worry, I'll find him." He smiled, giving her a reassuring nod. This was just a retrieval mission—nothing dangerous.

The little girl gave Bebe's description, and off Maro went.

[Valor : Lvl 2 Activated]

He welcomed the surge of energy, making him feel lighter, stronger, and more perceptive.

His body was still slightly sore from yesterday's training, but it lay forgotten in the wake of his signature skill.

Maro had taken to activating it more often, hoping he could cause another level up with frequent use.

He burst into a jog, his eye glancing at the map in the corner of his eye. 

He covered ground quickly, periodically switching streets and asking random people if they had seen a fluffy brown cat with a red collar.

He looked into alleyways and bushes until he finally spotted a pulsing dot on his map, leading him to a small furball curled up beside a trashcan. That little menace had made a grand escape traveling nearly 5 streets away from home.

The kitten hissed as he approached, its back arched and claws bared.

"Easy, Bebe, I'm just trying to help," Maro muttered, inching closer. The kitten swiped at his face, grazing his cheek.

"Ow—come on! I'm the good guy here!", He grumbled, scooping the angry bundle of fur into his arms.

One short walk and now sporting many scratches; Maro was able to return the kitten to the overjoyed girl, who hugged it tightly to her chest, borderline strangling it. "Thank you so much!"

A notification popped up in his vision.

[Mission complete! Helped retrieve a lost kitten.] 

[7 Exp!]

Not much, but every little helps.

The second mission wasn't as clean.

Maro spotted the group of teenagers before he even reached the park. Three older boys circled a smaller kid, jeering and shoving him between them like a ragdoll. 

The boy's backpack lay discarded in the dirt, its contents scattered. 

Maro felt a flash of anger—it reminded him too much of the cafeteria brawl with Caleb and his cronies.

He clenched his fists. This was a chance to see if he'd actually learned anything.

Activating Scan, Maro quickly assessed the bullies. Their stats flickered into view: higher strength and endurance than his own, but their intelligence and agility were lower.

Still, numbers wouldn't win this for him—it would come down to how he fought.

Maro approached, his voice steady, but nervousness palpable in his tone. "Hey, why don't you guys back off?"

The biggest of the three turned, a sneer spreading across his face. "Who're you? You his brother or something? Get lost, kid!"

They shoved the kid they were bullying onto the floor and his face ate the floor as the biggest bully stepped on his back defiantly.

"Not gonna happen.", Maro replied.

His palms were sweaty, his knees weak.

He tried to signal the boy to get ready to run, but he had already closed his eyes and started crying.

Maro didn't even have time to respond before the first punch connected with his cheek.

Pain exploded across his face, his head snapping to the side.

Then the others came bumbling in, an array of fists and kicks filling his vision. 

He kept his guard up, more so out of fear of getting hit in the face than trained instincts. But that didn't help when three people were vying for your face.

Punches slipped through, clipping his lips, brow, and cheek.

Maro kicked their legs away and stepped back, slipping past two punches that sailed past. 

The boy, once on the floor, had now scrambled to his feet, casting a wide-eyed glance at Maro before darting off. "Th-thanks!"

"Stay down, hero," one of them laughed, smiling cruelly as they stalked closer to him. 

Maro wiped the blood from his lip. He then slipped into the boxing stance that Ted had him. "Is that all you got?" 

The three came at him in a rush. 

At first, Maro struggled—his fists connected a few times, but he was taking more hits than he gave. 

These guys were older, stronger, and more experienced in throwing their weight around on people like him.

But Maro was a fast learner. Ted himself had affirmed so. It was only now that Maro began to believe it.

Each blow he took, he adjusted—ducked lower, moved faster. 

He used his small, lithe form against them. Despite the many punches he ate, he was not deterred. He could feel his body tire but he refused to back down.

[Endurance +1]

Maro felt his cheek begin to swell, but he knew he would be fine. He still had a trump card.

He had wanted to see how far he could go with his meager fighting ability first, trying to temper his amateur boxing skill. 

Especially regarding instances with multiple opponents. The situation was reminiscent of his cafeteria incident, and he needed to become accustomed to it happening.

Gotham's criminal activity was rarely comprised of singular individuals.

But that was easier said than done.

Adrenaline made one hell of a haze, clouding his thoughts. Maro swung wildly, missing and paid the price for it.

The two of the bullies lunged at him, one of them aimed for his torso, the other for his legs. 

[Valor : Lvl 2 Activated]

He activated Valor immediately, understanding that if they managed a strong hold on him, it was over for him.

They had gotten tired of his constant movement, more used to subservient victims. 

But unlucky for them, with the flow of energy coursing through Maro, he was faster and stronger than they were currently. They were already fatigued, their wild swings had been progressively growing wilder whilst Maro tried to slip past them.

But now?

Everything sharpened.

Maro reacted instinctively. He slammed an elbow into the first boy's nose, before twisting his body to deliver a knee to the second one's nose. 

"Argh!", They both recoiled, hitting the ground, gasping for air and clutching their faces, blood trickling from their noses.

Panting, Maro backed away, scanning the situation. They were down, but not out. The fight was over—at least for him. 

He didn't need to prove anything more.

[Mission complete! Stopped local bullies.] 

[12 Exp]

[Lvl 2 Valor, Exhausted. Stats returning to default.]

With a laugh, Maro turned on his heel and sprinted away from the boys before they could prompt another attack.

He zigzagged through the bustling midday crowd, easily losing the teenagers in the mass of people. 

His heart raced, but this time, it wasn't from fear—it was exhilaration. 

He had done it. Not perfectly, but he had stood his ground and won. Kind of.

Whilst it may not seem like the greatest of accomplishments, to Maro—it was a milestone that he would remember. 

As he ran, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. 

He was far from being a hero, sure, but he had come a long way from the weakling who got jumped in the street.

He would never be that guy again.

Still, there was a nagging question in the back of his mind. 

Why had he been so weak to begin with?

Even with the system, his stats had started lower than anyone he had scanned so far, except for his intelligence stat. 

Was that why the system had chosen him? 

He shook his head, deciding to push the thought aside for now. There was more work to do.

Maro stayed outside until sunset, walking around, and scanning individuals. After a couple hours, his skill had reached Level 2, and with it, he was now able to view other's levels, and interestingly enough, their class.

This prompted Maro to open his status screen, which now displayed his class; Hero, beneath his race.

Though, that wasn't the only new addition to Maro's interface. His skills tab now sported a technique called Speed Reading. 

He acquired it whilst holing himself in the Library after getting bored of walking around aimlessly and scanning random people. It also gave him an excuse for staying late, just in case his father questioned his whereabouts again. 

Maro had sent a picture of a random maths tome placed on the desk just to appease his father's worries. 

By the end of his impromptu study session, Maro had acquired another stat point.

[Intelligence +1]

That night, Maro crept into the house, after making sure his father was asleep. 

The new bruises on his cheek and ribs ached, but he couldn't let his dad see them—not after their last conversation.

He collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. 

He couldn't rely on Valor alone, he'd learned as much from his recent scuffle. 

He needed more protection and more strategy. If he'd had armor, or a weapon even, he could probably perform better on missions.

Immediately, Maro sat up, his eyebrows drew in as he questioned himself. Why did he even want to do these missions?

'Oh, right.', He thought as he saw another 3 missions flash in his interface, accompanied by police sirens in the distance.

He had a responsibility, one that he traded his life for. Knowing what had happened to him could happen to others made Maro feel a sort of guilt.

But he knew in the meanwhile, he wasn't worthy of the job he had unknowingly accepted.

His life was more important, he said to himself— watching another mission fizzle out, and perhaps, a life with it.

He let out a groan of frustration. Something had to be done.

Maro reached for his phone, pulling up reports of the quickly growing urban legend; the Batman.

He lingered on descriptions of Batman—though no one had seen him yet, the rumors from the police were vivid. Some said he looked like a gothic knight, others described him as a vampire cloaked in a shadowy cape.

Realizing that was a dead end, he clicked a link under 'related news'.

There was the new guy in Metropolis—one they called Superman.

Maro raised an eyebrow at the name. 

Superman? Seriously?

"Pretty cocky...Not really creative either," Maro muttered, scrolling through articles about the man in the blue suit. 

But between being cocky, or named after a small unthreatening animal, Maro would take the former. No offense to the man of bats.

Besides, cocky or not, that Superman guy looked powerful. And the image he portrayed was rather imposing. 

He was flashier, and more open to the public than Gotham's resident hero. He looked like the textbook definition of a Hero. Handsome, Strong, and slightly ridiculous. 

Maro was drunk with admiration, staring at the headline from today's news. 

Superman held onto the undercarriage of a speeding car with a single arm, four masked individuals peeking out with guns all aimed at him whilst some sort of laser spewed from his eyeballs.

'Someone forgot to tell him to pick only one power...', he remarked, enviously.

Now inspired, Maro discarded his phone and grabbed a notebook. He started sketching rough designs—nothing fancy yet, but ideas for a suit. 

He needed something to protect him, something that could help him in the field. A helmet, maybe, or reinforced padding. 

His amateur boxing skills wouldn't be enough if he kept taking hits like today. 

He barely held up against three seniors today, which may seem impressive in comparison to his former self, but it was a far cry from Superman.

The system wanted him to become a Hero, but it was going to take more than just working out in the gym and stat points. 

Maro looked down at his bruised hands, the ache reminding him that he wasn't invincible. 

He was at war with Gotham, and it wouldn't go down quietly. 

His path forward was clear—he needed to be smarter, faster, stronger. And if it took 1000 lost cats found, and 5000 bullies getting their asses kicked—so be it.

If the system had chosen him because he was weak, then he'd prove to it that weakness only made him more malleable.