Chapter 13

-[Kenneth]-

He wasted no time, equipping it as fast as the notification popped up. The charm disappeared as another notification popped up.

-[Skill Gained 'Electrokinesis'.]

Whistling in appreciation, he pulled up his skills sheet.

•••

[Skills]

Passive Skills

-Driving (Lvl 18/30)

-Muscle Memory (Lvl ???)

-Firearm Proficiency (Lvl 11/30)

-Unarmed Combat Proficiency (Lvl 10/30)

-Sword Proficiency (Lvl 3/30)

Active Skills

-Power Strike (Lvl 9/30)

-Stealth (Lvl 2/30)

-Mana Bolt (Lvl 2/30)

-Electrokinesis (Lvl ???)

[Equipped Items]

-Charm Of Electrokinesis

•••

He immediately noticed that the level for [Electrokinesis] was the same as [Muscle Memory].

'Is it because it's the charm that gave me the skill?' He had gained the knowledge on how to use the skill but since the skill came from the charm, the amount of power it contained was technically set.

The only variables were how much power he wanted to use at certain intensities and how much mana he was willing to utilize when using it.

Either way, it didn't diminish its usefulness. It was as strong as he wanted it to be. That was proven as it only took a thought for a spark of electricity to flow through his fingers.

He could already imagine multiple applications and uses of this new ability.

"I think things are starting to look good for me." He thought with some excitement as he started the car and continued his journey.

-[Later]-

The rest of the day passed uneventfully and he found himself resting in a motel. It was like there was an abundance of them in every city.

Exiting the shower, he stood in front of the mirror, still admiring the physical changes to his body. Before leaving home, he wasn't fat but he wasn't exactly muscular.

Now on the other hand, his lean body had filled out. Not only did he feel much stronger but his previously average body was now full of visible and defined muscle.

It was easily hidden by the clothes he wore but that didn't diminish the explosive power they held.

Ending his moment of self admiration, he also noted that the increase in his perception stat had gone beyond just what he could see. That was evidenced by how he found the charm of Electrokinesis.

He had determined that it was the mana in the charm that he sensed. Another thing he noticed was that he could feel the presence of people around him, a very useful thing.

As he threw on his clothes, he paused a bit upon hearing his phone ringing.

"Hey Steve." He said upon answering.

"What's up, dude? I got news for you but I'm not sure how you'll take it." Steve said from the other side of the line.

Kenneth's brow rose in confusion. "What news?"

"I know you said you went out of town but there's a high school that wants to hire us to play at their prom." Steve said nervously. "We can't exactly play without you so it's your call."

"Aside from the fact that I'm not in Bellwood, it's summer. Aren't schools supposed to be closed by now?" He asked.

"That's the catch, it's not in Bellwood. The calendar in some schools is different from what we have here. Plus there's still summer classes." Steve explained.

"Thank god I'm done with that." Kenneth muttered in relief.

"Excuse me but not all of us are geniuses who graduate highschool early." Steve said in an exasperated manner.

His response caused Kenneth to cough awkwardly. He was smart enough to skip a few classes ahead and graduate earlier than his peers.

While they would have to go back to highschool when summer ended, he would be on his way to college.

He'd already put the band on pause for a while and he honestly felt bad for it seeing as how it was his decision to go.

Sometimes he wished he had a skill that allowed him to stop caring.

He let out an audible sigh. "Fine. Where's the school?"

Just one gig wouldn't hurt.

"It's in New York. A school called Benjamin Franklin High School." Steve answered in excitement that he was onboard.

'Why does that name sound familiar?' He thought. "Wait! New York? How are you guys going to get there?"

It wouldn't be hard for him seeing as how he could drive wherever he wanted but he doubted that they had that privilege.

"Don't worry about that. Just leave it to us while you warm up your vocals. We have a few weeks till then so it's enough time to practice." Steve said with confidence.

That's right, he was the main vocalist of the band.

"Alright, just send me details later. I'll be there." He said.

From his memories, his predecessor could sing quite decently so he didn't have to worry too much. He could use it as a mini vacation to unwind a bit.

"Cool, I'll tell the others." With that, the call ended as he went into thought.

He planned on using the night to play around with [Electrokinesis] but he didn't need his mouth for that. 'Multitasking it is.' He thought as he sat on the bed, generating enough electricity to coat his entire palm.

While doing that, he thought of one of their band's songs which he could use to 'warm up his vocals'.

-[The Next Day]-

[Muscle Memory] did it's job as he gained a [Singing] skill which was at level 9. The distraction of remembering the lyrics to sing while also using [Electrokinesis] turned out to actually be a good training method in multitasking.

He was currently stuck in traffic, humming a song to himself when an explosion rocked the building ahead of him.

Looking closely, he realized that it was a bank. He also spotted some men in ski masks running out of the bank with what were obviously bags of money in their hands.

Despite being present, Kenneth didn't want to stop them. There was a difference between fighting EVOs and knights in mostly deserted places and stopping a bank robbery in broad daylight.

Ultimately, he chose to not act as the police arrived to give chase. The drivers of the cars around him, in their fear, immediately disregarded the traffic lights and rules of the road and drove away in fear.

Just when he was planning to drive away and ignore the mess entirely, he spotted a figure running after the vehicle the robbers drove.

The figure leaped high into the air, covering a large distance, repeating it again to close the distance quickly.

Kenneth's eyes widened as he recognized the figure. A buff male with red skin, four arms and in white and black clothing. The hourglass icon on its shoulder only confirmed his suspicion.

"Ben?" He muttered in confusion before driving after him.