Won't go easy on you

[17K EP]

Ender, not caring about his results, started walking back toward the group. He saw Alex looking at the result with mixed feelings.

'Only this, I thought he was stronger... Well, so much for a self-trained boy.' He turned and glanced at Ender while giving him a thumbs up. Ender just shrugged and called the machine back to the storage.

"You may leave now if that was all."

"Hmm, do you want to train with us? We meet every Friday and Saturday to advise each other or things like that." Alex said with a smile.

Ender on the other hand kept staring at him not knowing whether to accept or refuse. In the end, he just said, "I shall see."

Alex sighed and walked towards the exit, when every one of his friends exited he shouted, "My room is the seventh at the left wing!"

Then he closed the door. Ender stared at it, then started chuckling. He soon stopped and recomposed himself before saying, 'System, unseal my strength.'

[Strength unsealed.]

Ender felt a refreshing sensation all over his body as he became more powerful. He called the machine again and tested it for the second time. The result was 24K EP. Ender looked at his fist while laughing.

After a while he stopped while saying out loud, "Damn, having power sure is a drug."

["I suggest you don't get drowned inside it. Bet you don't want to end up as a mindless psycho."]

"Of course not, there's nothing better I can do but be self-aware."

Ender called the machine back and continued training, mainly focusing on reflexes. He noticed that trying to improve through real-life scenarios rather than boosting himself with the System was more rewarding.

That's the moment he noticed what the System was for. It was a mere help to his situation, the real work had to be done by him. He noticed it while sparring with Sakura, every day he didn't just become faster, he just learned.

Of course, the System had something to do with it but that wasn't the case. To finish the day, he started increasing his percentage.

Another thing he noticed was that after gaining the Fire Manipulation another 'vein' appeared. It wasn't that much of a problem, as Ender just started channeling both of them. Luckily, the percentages didn't add so he wasn't left with 204% or something like that.

Sadly, it was slower to do so. But because he was increasing two different percentages, the reward was a higher EP per 25%.

Getting back to EP, as said, it was a measure of physical power. The way to increase was mixed. The most common way was to reach 75%, gain 10k EP just from that and increase your percentage by 25%. Then, you would get 1k EP while being multiplied by your Element Grade.

Common meant times one, Uncommon times two, and so on until Divine was the seventh and last one. That's how they graded Elements.

Something to keep in mind is that having a rare Element didn't mean a higher grade. Stella had a Legendary Gravity Manipulation, but she could've gotten a Common one perfectly. A higher grade meant a higher physical multiplier.

Having a strong physical aptitude was important, but most of the work was caused by Elements, so being physically strong was a slight boost. Not only that, but past 400% the EP received decreased drastically.

In the case of Ender, it seemed that the highest grade multiplied and it didn't add others. Meaning that every 25% was 1k EP times 2. Due to having two Elements past 75%, that means free 20k EP.

That was the base EP one could get. Then there are boosts, such as weapon molds, armor, or abilities related to that. For example, a Rock Manipulator could cover his hand in rocks and boost his EP from 20K to 27K.

Using a weapon will do so, but it only worked with swords not bows.

Other methods exist but they were highly classified as only the BB and high-wanted criminals knew about them.

'Having multiple elements is useful the same way it arouses suspicions, but-'

["For fuck's sake stop whining over it. It's bound to happen, you are only delaying the inevitable."] Ren complained.

Ender clicked his tongue but couldn't say anything, after all, it was true.

Before realizing it, an hour had passed and he boosted his percentage from 126 to 127. It wasn't much as he was supposed to get twice the percentage but, two elements. Also, he only spent one hour when the average was about two or three.

He left his room and locked it down, then he started walking towards the big reception area.

To enter the facility, one must first go through a 10-meter tall and wide wall that acted as both a door and a security system for unwanted items. After doing so you will be greeted by a massive reception which several halls and stairs leading to different places.

The walls were plain white with different decorations, some Greek-like columns, and, of course, the receptionist right in front.

When Ender tried to leave, he was stopped by a shout coming from behind him. He looked and saw Alex, along with Loren and the other two girls, coming towards him. He inwardly sighed before waving at them.

"You leaving already? We were planning on eating outside, wanna come?" Alex said with a charming smile.

'Dude is smooth as fuck...' Ender praised with disgust, "Yeah sure, got nothing to do."

"Nice! We were thinking of some fast food... what'd you rather, pizza or a burger?" Alex said while exiting the place.

"Never tried them, you choose."

Everybody looked at Ender like he was some sort of alien or who knows what, which made him feel uncomfortable. They just laughed it off and went to get some pizza.

1 hour later...

"Daaaaamn, I sure love pizza!" The blond-haired girl, who Ender later discovered was Emma, said with her mouth almost full, spitting some pizza as well.

"Hey! Stop it already your mushrooms are messing with mine!" The green-haired girl, Rachel, said.

When they left the training center, they went towards the center of the city where the shops and restaurants were more varied. Specifically, they got inside Ludo's Pizza and ordered one for each.

Ender had no idea of what to order as it was his first time, so Loren let him eat part of her pizza as she never could end an entire medium one. After paying they went to a near park and decided to eat there.

He must say that pizza tasted better than it looked, or maybe it was the specific combination, who knows?

"So tell me, Ender, why did you join the tournament?"

After a while of casually chatting, Alex decided to make the big question. Everybody stopped what they were doing and listened closely to Ender's answer,

"Who knows?" He bluntly said, "Why did you join?"

Alex stared at him with his mouth slightly open before replying, "Well, recognition? I want to get popular, maybe the BB will focus on me and see my potential."

Ender slowly ate his pizza slice while listening to Alex's motive. It wasn't really solid, it was indeed, really generic. Before he could reply to him, Alex quickly said, "But why? There's at least a motive right?"

'Money, but that's too greedy to say.' Ender thought, "Well, there isn't a particular motive. I just want to prove that I'm strong."

"To whom, your family?" Loren said while looking at him closely. Ender chuckled at that question and said in a low tone,

"Yeah, to my family..."

...

They continued chatting casually with some random questions thrown here and there. Most of them were directed toward his hair's color, after all, it was unusual to see a grey with red hair. Even Ender didn't notice that it was completely grey by now, a dark grey.

He wasn't feeling that comfortable with them though, the only decent person there was Loren. Not that talkative, only for important or interesting matters.

After the clock hit 10 PM, they started parting ways. After all, school was still a thing. He also learned that they went to a school outside of the city, the Knights High School. Wasn't as prestigious as Umbrian, but it was a really well-known place.

After Ender was left alone on his way home, he couldn't help but sigh. It was the first time he has ever socialized this much and was somewhat nervous.

It wasn't his own reputation that made him feel that way, but rather the experience. It was pleasant, but Alex, Emma, and Rachel were the living definition of annoying.

He was just minding his business yet they had to ask him all sorts of questions and was making him wonder if coming was a good idea. Still, having this small group was a pleasant feeling overall, he felt accepted for once.

He thought about Alex's last words before getting on the bus, "Hey Ender, don't contain yourself, I won't go easy on you."

He looked at his fist and clutched it firmly. This new sensation was awakening something inside him. Something he never had, ego, the feeling of becoming the best. He started forming a small smile, before going towards his flat.

["Well, well. The little boy has matured. Have fun in the tournament."] Ren clapped.

"Yeah... life is starting to get some meaning now... Don't get baffled, I'm joining to try and get the money so I can move out. But destroying my opponents doesn't sound too bad as well."

["Don't get cocky, that can change very quickly..."]

"I will make sure it won't."