"Temporal Overlay? What’s that?" he asked.
[Ohh! Do you rember the ti compression thingy we talked about? (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ]
"Yeah, I rember... Don’t tell ..." Maximilian muttered as anticipation and excitent rose in his chest.
[Yes! This is it! This is the function that can help you compress ti. Moreover, it cos from the system itself... which ans the Energy Blocks needed to initiate ti compression will be reduced by about half compared to what we discussed last ti. (ﾉ^▽^)ﾉ]
"I see..." Maximilian thought for a bit before asking, "How much does it cost to compress a year into one day within the confines of this building?"
[Umm... About 5 Energy Blocks per day,] Aetherna replied.
"Then I need two days of ti compression. We’ll start the day after tomorrow. I’ll train Ricardo and his people during those two days so they can finally be useful," Maximilian said, then added,
"But first... I need to store a lot of food."
[You could just store that food in the system storage, you know. Ti in the system storage is frozen, so you don’t need to worry about it going bad. (๑´ڡ`๑)]
"Okay... I’ll do that. Thanks for the advice." Maximilian nodded.
— A Few Days Later – City Center —
Inside a private hospital room, Photon Fury reclined on her bed. Her hospital gown was pristine, without blemish or signs of wear. The clean and elegant room offered a full view of the city center, where she could see the towering monunt of Atlas, the world’s number one hero and savior.
The fruit basket on the bedside table was still fresh, sealed in plastic, untouched. The tray of food was only half-eaten, sitting on the overbed table next to her.
Photon Fury gazed through the panoramic window at the grand square, where people bustled in and out, the area alive with activity.
The silence and calm atmosphere of the hospital, with no TV on and no outside noise allowed her mind to wander back to the past...
Before she turned 16, the age when most EF powers manifested, she had simply been a girl obsessed with heroes, dreaming of becoming one herself. She wanted to change the world and beco a role model for others, just like Atlas... the man who ended the war and stood as the main pillar of human order.
But she had been frail, often bullied in school for her over-the-top enthusiasm.
During her ti in the pre-hero academy, she was constantly compared to others. Though she tried to train and grow stronger, her efforts were overshadowed by manipulation and discouragent from those around her.
A nerd like her couldn’t do it. All she did was obsess over heroes. She was weak. Her stats were pathetic. She could never beco a hero.
Voices like those haunted her. According to statistics, those who wished to be heroes needed to train both their minds and bodies before their EF powers manifested.
For example, those with high bench-press stats were likely to gain strength-based EFs. Speedsters were often fast even before manifestation. People with strong wills tended to get powers like telekinesis or ntal abilities.
No one believed she could beco a hero just by relying on an unknown EF.
Sure, there were rare cases of people awakening incredibly powerful EFs unrelated to their physical or ntal aptitude—but such instances were extrely rare.
Then, when she turned 16, things only got worse. Her EF still didn’t manifest. She spent another year at the pre-hero academy, waiting. Still nothing.
By that point, professors and doctors at the school advised her to consider another career path. But she was stubborn. She held on for another year... and still, no EF.
It beca common knowledge: if your EF hadn’t manifested by 18, chances were it would be weak—sothing useless and forgettable, like an EF that slightly accelerated hair growth.
She was expelled from the academy and returned ho, where her father disparaged her relentlessly, insisting she would never make it and should just get a normal job.
For two years, she worked on a farm. Then, one day, her EF finally manifested. It happened when the farm manager at the Pacifica City-State on the West Coast tried to force himself on her. Her powers erupted and vaporized him on the spot.
The police were involved imdiately. She was about to be charged for the illegal use of rare EF powers—until the UEC stepped in. Just like that, the police and the city-state dropped all charges.
From there, she rose to the top, becoming one of the most powerful heroes thanks to her ability to generate, control, and absorb photons. Everyone adored her. The tables had turned.
The sa pre-hero academy that once expelled her tried to use her na for promotional purposes—but she stopped them and publicly humiliated the board.
Eventually, the school board was replaced by the school’s founder and a group of shareholders.
There’s a saying: "If you want to test a man’s character, give him power."
This saying fit her perfectly. She now had power... power strong enough to topple anyone, especially n.
Having been abused and bullied by n in her youth, that resentnt festered.
And once she had power, it twisted her... turning her into a man-hater who openly discriminated against them.
But before she could delve deeper into her mories, the sound of the door opening drew her attention.
Strauss and Oldcowboy walked into the room. Strauss gave her a nod, while Oldcowboy offered a friendly wave.
"How are you feeling?" Strauss asked in a cold and composed manner.
"Fine..." she replied after a pause, her gaze drifting back to the view outside. "Why are you here?"
"As a Level 9 IHB (International Hero Bureau) officer stationed here in the Arkadia City-State, I have a responsibility to look after heroes sent from UEC Central," Strauss said matter-of-factly.
"Hero from UEC Central? Heh..." she echoed the words, part mocking, part scoffing. "Will I even be able to hold on to my position? I’m wondering about that myself."
"Your concern is justified, Photon Fury. There are hundreds of heroes who could surpass you and enter the top thirty ranks. Especially since it may take years for your ability to control photons to manifest again," Strauss said bluntly, without sugarcoating it.
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