Unwanted visitors

"Leave your house? Why would you?" Sakura said while getting her dirty clothes inside a bracelet, "Is everything alright there?"

Her question came as a shock for Ender, nobody ever asked anything about it, he looked down and said, "Well, let's say it's not the best place... that's all."

Sakura patted his shoulder while saying, "The Humanycs that will participate won't be something to mock about. There will be max eight people I suppose... it's early in the month so they are probably still searching for private coaches."

She patted his shoulder again and left the room. Ender quickly followed behind and said, "Am I ready to fight?"

Sakura stopped walking and looked backward with a little smile and replied, "I don't know, are you?"

*SLAP!*

Ender was sent flying backward while Ren stood indifferently.

Every day when his training with Sakura ended, he would go to a random restaurant to have dinner. He didn't care about the cost he just wanted something good to eat. After finishing, it'd be around 9:30 PM, and would go back to his bedroom.

He always completed his daily tasks after waking up, and his stats currently looked like this...

---------------------

Name: Ender Rialto

Age: 17

Level: 6

Status: ?

Exp: 2550/3400

HP: 60/60

Ability Energy Points: 100/100

{Attributes}

Strength: 40

Perception: 40

Agility: 38

Speed: 41

Intelligence: 40

Thinking Speed: 40

Charisma: 0 [Locked]

{Spare Points: 30}

---------------------

[Level 2 - Dash: [The next five seconds in the real world will have an incremental boost (x2) on your speed, allowing you to move faster through space.]

[Level 2] - Healing: [Heal one-fifth of your HP every five seconds until it's replenished.]

[Level 1] - Empowerment: [Overload your element for five seconds, boosting (1.5x) its power. Warning: May cause harm to the host!]

[Level 1] - Appropriation: [When all requirements have been met, you will be able to consume an opponent's ability. It will severely weaken his own ability and you will gain a big portion of his ability. Requirements: Opponent must be in the highest state of fright (Distressed) passed out from fear or dead; Opponent must have an ability between Common to Uncommon.]

---------------------

[Fear Manipulation]

Grade: Uncommon

Passive Abilities:

>>[Level 2] Fear Vision: You will see a trail leading to an injured opponent that has been attacked by the Claws of Fear. The further he is, the weaker the trail intensity is. Maximun range: 25 meters<<

Active Abilities:

>>[Level 2] Claws of Fear: Specific nails will instantly grow into resistant, long claws. In case of successfully attacking and damaging an opponent, he will enter into a fright state. Note: intensity of the emotion varies; the higher mental fortitude, the weaker the effect.<<

...

[Fire Manipulation]

Grade: Common+

Passive Abilities:

>>[Level 1] Fire Resistance: Resistance against flames under 800ºC temperature.<<

Active Abilities:

>>[Level1] Fire Coating: Envelop a part of your body in a fire for five seconds. Any direct hit will burn the opponent.<<

---------------------

If one could see this he would probably wonder that Ender was above average right now, which he was, but not as much as he expected. After going past the 25 points mark everything seemed to progress slower.

After not being able to identify the issue he decided to call the System which shortly replied,

[Levels multiply.]

That's when Ender instantly realized, if he didn't find a way to level up faster, he would be stuck in the same strength forever. That's easier said than done, as he had no way to get EXP other than tasks.

Instead of worrying, he decided to save points so that when he levels up only once the boost would be incredibly overpowered. He was worried that this would attract attention but there was no other way.

After going to sleep he would always enter a dream world where he would spend time with Ren training. Sometimes it overlapped with Sakura's and Ender could feel his body getting destroyed after every step but it was worth it.

Ender stood from the ground caressing his cheek. Ren decided to have some compassion some days ago and put himself at a disadvantage, by not moving. Still, Ender wasn't able to make the tiniest scratch on Ren's.

Nonetheless, Ender would try and try until he managed to do something to Ren. He would kick to try to move him but he would just punch the leg and mess up the trajectory.

If he tried to punch him Ren would simply move aside or crouch. He remembered a day that his fist went toward one of his earrings and Ren instinctively punched Ender so hard he crashed against one of the consciousness barriers.

He expected it as it was a messy move due to being tired as heck, but when Ren apologized he knew that it had a deeper meaning, yet decided not to inquire more.

After finishing their training they just lay on the ground while looking at the grey star. Ren looked to his side and saw Ender concentrating while looking at it.

"Still wondering about the levels shit?"

"Yep... I feel like the second I put one foot in the tournament I'm going to get blasted into oblivion..."

Ren sighed and continued to stare at the star, thinking about his own problems. He was still trying to figure out why he punched Ender with so much rage when he almost touched his earring but he didn't know why.

"I know that they are not as strong as Sakura...or you. I feel like I could easily win, I know that I can... so why do I feel so powerless, even though I have everything." Ender wondered.

He expected Ren to say something in return but got confused when only silence replied. He looked to the side to find Ren staring at him with his mouth somewhat open.

"What..."

"Oh... nothing... it's nothing, just was lost in thoughts." He said while sighing, "Don't worry about it though... I bet you won't lose." He said with a soft tone.

Ender quickly rose up and said, "What the fuck was that soft voice... yo it's Ren inside there?" He said while slightly punching Ren's head.

Ren just slapped his hand away while laughing. It was the first time Ender had seen Ren laugh with good intentions. It's weird but comforting. Ren combed his hair backward and lay back on the grey sand.

Ender, instead, got up and said, "I'll be going now." But before he could even open the rift to exit the Consciousness, the grey star glowed with intensity and a hologram appeared in front of Ender.

[Do you wish to spend 30 Points and gain a strength calculator?]

Ender squinted his eyes and looked at Ren, who just shrugged, then at the star, "What do you mean."

[It will estimate your current strength indicating if it's above or below average. You will be able to seal some of your strength if the situation requires it.]

"Uhmmm... well it's not that... whatever, fuck it. I accept, give me that so I can stop having panic attacks over nothing."

[You have received a Strength Modifier/Calculator. You will be able to find it in a separate tab.]

Ender kept staring at the glowing sun until it dimmed to the usual grey star. He sighed and opened a rift, then left. Ren kept staring at the rift until it disappeared, then muttered, "He reminded me of someone... but who?"

10 days until the tournament, 5:38 PM.

Today Ender didn't have to train with Sakura but still decided to go toward the training center. He was messing around with some speed training machines or strength-related machines.

He already checked the calculator the System gave him and was about this,

[Strength Calculator/Modifier]

Current host percentage: 126%

Strength: 24k EP (Above average for host's age and percentage)

Host percentage sensation: 176%

EP stood for Elemental Power but had no real translation to any magnitude such as Newton. Of course, some machines could do this, but having it perfectly calculated within you was way more reliable.

Don't get it wrong. The maximum EP you can get is based on your strongest punch with no limitations. In a real-life scenario, this magnitude is often decreased to a vast amount of variables.

He already spied on some people and the average was around 14K EP while the only VIP member of the center he has yet seen got 19k EP. 5K EP of difference was enough to make an impact while fighting. He didn't know their percentages but he was sure that those were above his.

While the calculator showed his current percentage it also estimated the public view. When he saw the sensation he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "That's going to bring unwanted attention."

He stopped training with the machines and decided to focus on increasing his percentage as it also affected his overall strength, but before he could.

*Knock knock!*

"Are you sure he is here?" A feminine voice asked.

"I saw him." A masculine voice replied.

Ender sighed as the two began discussing, the female started feeling nervous about the situation to the point she wanted to leave, but before she could the door opened.

The door revealed a group of four people instead of two. At the front, a smug-looking, blonde short-haired guy stood as the tallest of the group, mid-discussion with the girl next to him.

She was way shorter and had long green hair along with scared eyes. When the door opened she even flinched a little bit.

Behind them, there were two other girls. One had blond hair and was messing around with a holographic phone and to her side, there was an electric blue, short-haired girl, disinterested in the situation.

"What do you want?" Ender asked.

The boy quickly adjusted his stance and said, "Hey, I'm Alex. I've seen your name enlisted in the tournament and came to say hi."

"I'm Ender. So, just wanted to say hi?" Ender looked at the blue-haired girl, "She seems like she is waiting for something to happen."

"Don't mind me... I was brought here against my will." She said with a soft tone.

"C'mon Loren, don't be like that. But yeah... I wanted to check something. I've seen you leave this room before with a raven-haired woman..."

"Sakura?" Ender said while raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! Is she training you or...?"

Ender quickly noticed the boy's intention. They both were participating in the tournament and he wanted to test his strength. He inwardly laughed at Alex before saying with a poker face,

"No... she is just a friend of a friend. Only came to give insight but I do all the training myself."

The boy's expression quickly changed as if he wasn't expecting that, still he said,

"Weird... Anyways, mind comparing strength?"

Both Ender and Ren almost fainted on the spot after hearing that. They were very possibly about to fight each other yet he wanted to compare EP?

Ender was unsure about doing it, but he remembered a tool he now had that could change the situation really quickly.

'Won't miss such a freebie.' Ender moved his head indicating that they could enter the room.

He then called an EP tester, then a big machine with a red metal plate came through a backdoor.

"You go first," Ender said while stepping back.

Alex nodded and got into stance. He put his left foot in front and right foot back, and rotated his body as much as he could while clenching his fist. He then punched the plate as hard as he could, sending the machine some centimeters backward.

Ender looked to the side where the EP would be displayed some seconds after. He heard a sigh to his side and looked at the blue-haired girl, who surprisingly was as tall as he was, "Fucking idiot and his ego..." He didn't mind it and turned to check it.

[20K EP]

"Woah! Alex, you are fucking awesome!" The green-haired girl said.

On the other hand, Loren put her hand on her eyes while looking down like she didn't want to watch it, "Why is he so stupid..."

"Are you all VIP members?" Ender asked her.

"Only him."

Alex started going back while boosting about his strength and how he was the strongest one in the center... and that he would possibly win the tournament.

["I missed the part where not having a brain could help you win..."] Ren said while chuckling.

"Hey, Ender! Your turn now!" He said while patting his shoulder.

Watching his massive ego Ender wanted to show his full potential but restrained himself from doing so. He knew that being more powerful than him would bring problems.

Instead, he thought, 'System, please seal my power to 17K EP.'

[Host strength has been set to 17K EP.]

Ender walked towards the metal plate and copied Alex's stance. Then, he swung his fist with all of his force, moving the machine one centimeter.