Chapter 40 - How I Became Strong

"I wanted to have a talk with you, about something we couldn't discuss while time was stopped. I want to tell you how I got strong," said Hero.

"I never told anyone else about this except Ambrosia. Not even the administration knows my methods. They keep requesting to study me, and quite frankly, it's getting annoying, so I just keep declining."

"...but, I want you to know because you're the most important person in our mission right now. You have the ability to tame monsters, something you can effectively use against The Zodiac. If you combine that with great strength, you could be unstoppable..."

Hero's attitude shifted from worrisome and apprehensive to calm and confident, almost instantly. He seemed to have a lot of wisdom he wanted to share...

"Alright, if you believe it to be of importance, please tell me, just how you became who you are today..." I said.

"Listen carefully, Yukio. I'm going to go into my past..."

Hero then closed his eyes, and began to talk about his past, and how he grew up into who he was today...

"You see, my true age is 32. I was born 32 years ago near Camp Kappa, to two parents, whom I never learned the names of. The truth is, I was abandoned as a child, because my parents weren't financially ready to care for a kid..."

"They put me in an orphanage, and I lived there until I was adopted by a new family at age 3. They tried their best to care for me, but I hated them. They sheltered me so much, and never let me do anything, in fear of the monster onslaught."

"I was never given a birth name either, but my adoptive family decided to refer to me as "Kaizo". That was my "name" for the time that I lived with them. Nobody called me that though except for them."

"For 8 years I lived with them, suffering under their strict parenting. I couldn't make any friends, I couldn't go outside, and I had to obey their rules. They shut me in, blocking me off from the outside world."

"Eventually, I reached the end of my rope. When I turned 11, I ran away from home... I was through with them, and their totalitarian parenting. I ran to a nearby camp, Camp Iota, where I hid among the heroes..."

"However, I quickly realized that without a guardian, I was suspicious. Also, I couldn't survive long without food. So I became a bandit. I stole from the camps, before making my grand escape. I lived in the wilderness, finding safe spots to sleep, away from monsters..."

"I explored the world, stealing equipment lying around, and food that was available to me. I even stole weapons to protect myself from kidnappers. But, soon after my disappearance, my parents filed a missing person report..."

"They sent heroes from the Hero Camp's Police Division to search for me, but I eluded them all. I was learning how to survive on my own, growing and becoming stronger as I went along. I had a few close encounters with police, but I managed to get away."

"By the time I was 13, I was killing monsters. I had mastered the use of the grappling gear that I stole, and became skilled with daggers. I fought kinda similar to how Daphne fights if you saw her in action earlier."

"I continued to explore the world, until I turned 15, when I ran into a very interesting person in a cave alongside a mountain... he was sitting in a meditative position, practicing controlled breathing. He was very old..."

"I approached the man and asked who he was. He asked what someone my age was doing all the way out here alone, and he had every right to know, as it was indeed a treacherous path getting to where we were, I had to kill 4 monsters along the way."

"We exchanged information. Turns out, he was a monk... and his name was Jatak. He commended me for my efforts in reaching him, saying he had a lot of wisdom he wanted to share with me."

"Together, we talked about my past and my travels. He talked about his life, and why he chose to become a monk. He said that the true way to survive was to free the body, mind, and soul, and tap into the deepest parts of oneself."

"He said that he lived alone for most of his life, learning languages as he traveled. He resorted to living as a monk, to build a stronger connection with nature and the world. He said he'd been living that way for nearly 90 years..."

"When he came across monsters, he never killed them. He was a pacifist, using his strength instead to injure and deter, believing that monsters had every right to live in this world, just as humans did..."

"But I wasn't a pacifist. I killed monsters to protect myself. Regardless, he respected my way of living, saying he would help me to become strong. Because I grew up similar to how he did, he wanted to help me survive in this world, and share his knowledge with me."

"He brought up the topic of Chakras. He taught me about them, and how they helped him unlock near-infinite power. He demonstrated his gift to me, and I was blown away. He could fly, jump super high, and possessed superhuman physical prowess."

"I inquired him about the process of unlocking this power, and he warned me, that it would be a long and difficult process, but he would be willing to help if it was something that I truly wanted to do... I had nothing to lose, so I went forth."

"To open your chakras, he said, you must think about the things that bind you to this world, and let go of them... by doing so, you will free parts of your body, mind, and soul, and unlock an inaccessible part of yourself."

"There are seven chakras to open, the Crown, Third Eye, Throat, Heart, Solar Plexus, Sacral, and Root. I chose to open them from top to bottom. When you start the process, you cannot quit. If you leave a chakra blocked, you could hinder your performance severely..."

"It took me 2 years to completely open them all. You can open them all in a few days simply by going through the sacrificial processes, but in order to completely free them, you will need to spend years meditating afterward."

"I opened all of mine in 7 days, and meditated every day after that, with this monk, for 2 years, until they were completely opened when I was 17 years old... it was then, that I completely shattered my ceiling..."

"Remember, that everybody has a ceiling that represents their maximum potential. You cannot exceed your ceiling, and once you reach it, you will forever be that powerful. But by opening your chakras, you're accessing the inaccessible...and can break through it."

"Jatak taught me his abilities that he acquired through extensive research and practice. Things such as flight, and even basic teleportation. I'm still trying to master these skills to this day... Jatak is still much stronger than I am."

"He and I also practiced gaining superhuman strength. I now had access to 100% of my muscles, as well as 100% of my energy supply, so I was able to output as much strength as I wanted, whenever I wanted."

"After a few months of training, I was able to defeat any monster I came across in a few hits. Low-level monsters I could conquer in a single blow. Jatak was proud of me, but said that with great power, came great responsibility..."

"He suggested that if it was my goal to control the monster species, that I join the Hero Camp. He said that regardless of his view on life, and on monsters, that they would eventually be the downfall of Etheria, and that they needed to be controlled."

"It was also around this time that we noticed an influx of monster appearances... this was 14 years ago, so The Zodiac had already been established but was working under the radar..."

"If only we knew about The Zodiac back then, Jatak could have easily stopped it all on his own... there are a few things about the Patriarchs that still confuse me... they seem to be nearly as skilled as me, but in their own fields..."

"For one thing, The Zodiac was established 30 years ago according to the administration, how come the patriarchs haven't aged? They all appear to be in their late teens/early twenties. The Shade seems to have blessed them with almost...divine powers..."

"Unless they also opened their Chakras, which would make things a trillion times more terrifying... but there would be no way of them knowing how to do it unless they also met Jatak, who seemed to be the only other person who knew about Chakras."

"Anyway, back to where I was. When I was 18, I left Jatak to go adventure on my own, and learn more about the world, and the monster species. I decided to use my newfound abilities to enlist in the Hero Camp, as he had suggested."

"7 years had passed since the missing person report was filed, so they dropped the case, labeling me as presumably deceased... because my appearance had changed so much since age 11, I was unrecognized upon my arrival to Camp Alpha."

"Also, because I was now 18, I wasn't legally bound by any guardians, meaning I wasn't ever questioned about my childhood or anything like that. They simply welcomed me with open arms..."

"When I took my exam, I shattered every single Camp record in the physical section and received a perfect score in the mental section. They gave me a quest, which was to slay a level 5 Dread Rhino. They're basically like normal Rhinos but larger and faster."

"I demolished it... with a single punch, it perished. The administrators were terrified of my ability. They immediately placed me into Level 7, something that had never been done before. Recently though, they changed it so that you could only be placed into level 1 or 2."

"I was given the hero name "Single Strike", because of my ability to kill any monster I came across in a single hit, but this name didn't suit who I wanted to be. I didn't want to be known for my power, but instead, for my occupation. I took up the alias "Hero"."

"My initial rank was Level 7 Rank 13. I quickly moved up the ranks, and after 9 months, reached the number 2 spot. There was one hero above me, and his name was Benji Goya, Grandmaster. He had been in the Hero Camp for 37 years when I first met him. He was a legend, and he still is today..."

"It came down to a duel between us for his seat. In terms of physical strength, he matched me at the time. Despite not opening his Chakras, 37 years of sheer strength and martial arts training led him to match me in ability."

"The duel ended in a tie...but Grandmaster saw more potential in me than he did in himself, and awarded me the first seat, 13 years ago. I remain there today, continuing to get stronger, as I have no limit anymore..."

"Four years later, a very special girl joined the Hero Camp. 9 years ago, 19-year-old Ambrosia Heroux joined our ranks. She demonstrated advanced esper capabilities, the power to control matter with your mind."

"She was placed into level 5 instantly, and after a single year, reached level 7. A few months later, and she was knocking at my door, reaching the number 2 spot after defeating Grandmaster in a duel."

"He was defeated simply because she could disable him with her mind. She was terrifying, and I myself was incredibly anxious when she requested to duel me... she had an attitude, claiming she would fight anyone and win."

"I accepted her duel, and expected to be kicked out of the top seat... but instead, I annihilated her... her esper powers had no effect on me, because I opened my Chakras, causing my mind to outclass hers by leagues."

"I knocked some sense into her, and she settled into the second seat. We became great friends, and ended up dueling 80 more times, me winning every single time, until the present day, where we both sit at our current ranks."

"The rest of level 7 has shifted around tremendously though in the last decade. The top 3 has been consistent with Me, Ambie, and Benji, but 4-16 were always a toss-up."

"But anyway... that's how I became strong... I want you to open your Chakras too, because I believe you could gain powers like me, and together, we could destroy The Zodiac, once and for all..."

"I've only ever told Ambrosia this story, because I trust her with this info, and initially was going to teach her how to open her Chakras, but she disregarded it... she kinda hurt my feelings...but I see something in you."

"You're special, being summoned to this world means you have a purpose, and if that purpose is to restore peace, and dismantle The Zodiac, then I want to help you as much as I can. What do you say, Yukio?"

After his monologue, he held his hand out to me. Hero really was an interesting character, gaining his powers by studying with a monk... he seemed adamant about spreading Jatak's teachings on to me...

His eyes were glistening, and his hand was shaking slightly. I turned around, to see if anyone else had just heard his backstory. Nobody was paying any attention to us. I turned back around, and looked into Hero's eyes.

Then, I shook his hand, and a tear fell from his eye. It was like he had accomplished a life-long goal just then... he smiled at me, and spoke once more.

"Thank you... Yukio Sazuke... together, you and I will make you strong..."