For the rest of the day, Zach focused on school and tried not to think too much about Blair.
When the final bell rang, he didn’t go to the bus; instead, he walked to the nearby park.
He texted his grandparents that he was going to explore the surrounding area before heading home.
Zach wandered around the park until it was dark.
He found a comfortable place to sit and closed his eyes.
He took out his phone and set a one-hour timer.
‘Note to self, look for a portable barrier with the ability to turn invisible or camouflage.’
He closed his eyes again and recalled the breathing technique.
‘Here it goes.’ He took a deep breath and let it go; soon, he got into a rhythm.
Specs of light started to fly towards him.
He didn’t see them, but he felt the changes they brought him.
‘This feels amazing, it’s getting massaged by your celebrity crush and their best friend.
No, it’s like hearing the engine of a V8 with twin turbos starting up.’ Zach immersed himself in the feeling.
He was woken up by the alarm he had set.
He almost ignored it to continue, but eventually stopped.
‘Let’s see how much energy I gained.’ He pulled up his stats.
Name: Zach
Rank: D [*Note: rank is displayed based on the host’s current location.
Omniversal rank is F]
Level: 1/10
Energy: 20,000/20,000
Zach blankly stared at the screen.
‘What the hell?
This was my first time trying it out, and it gave me 20,000 energy.
System is there a mistake?’
[There is no mistake, host.
The title Elemental Prodigy should not be taken lightly.]
Zach numbly nodded his head.
‘Ok, Zach, you just became a walking generator.
No big deal, just don’t release all of it at once.’ Zach used his hands to push himself up.
‘Why am I in the air?’
THUD!
“Ouch, that crap hurted.
I guess I am stronger now.” ‘Let’s try this again.’ He did again, and nothing happened.
He squeezed his hands open and closed.
‘I know that wasn’t a fluke.’
Zach thought about it deeper.
‘Right!
Total Control, I wasn’t focusing on the amount of force but rather on the intention to get off the ground, which led to my little trip.
I wonder…’
Zach focused on the tallest tree.
‘I want to jump to that branch.’ The branch in question was two stories high.
Zach jumped and grabbed the branch with ease.
‘Let’s go, baby!’
Zach let go and landed softly.
He continued to test how high he could jump.
‘I can jump 65ft without using any energy or elements.
That is equivalent to a five-story building, give or take.’
Zach took a loose boxer’s stance and punched the tree.
He didn’t punch through it, but he left a fist print on the bark.
[Host left his mark on a tree, gained 1oc] Zach paused and then smiled.
He set another timer for an hour.
He punched, kicked, elbowed, and even headbutted the tree.
Zach panted with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
‘Show me the money.’ [Host has earned a total amount of 355oc]
Zach wiped his sweat.
‘I have a total of 356oc now.’ He punched the tree some more.
‘There 400oc looks better.’ Zach grabbed his stuff and headed back to the house.
By the time he got there, dinner was ready.
His grandma was placing the last dish on the table.
“Boy, go wash up for dinner.” “Yes, ma’am.”
Zach washed up and joined them for dinner.
He talked to them about their day and told them about his.
He left out some parts, but still told them everything.
He laughed at the stories they told him about their youth.
‘This is nice.
I am grateful to have this experience in this life.’ “Zach, there’s potential hiding in that body of yours.
What do you say to coming down to the gym and letting this old man get you into fighting shape?”
“Henry Maddox, don’t you start.
If he wants to, he will just show up.” Henry chuckled.
“Diana, I’m just letting him know he’s welcomed.” He turned to Zach.
“You know your dad won the Golden Gloves three times in a row before he gave up fighting to go to college.”
Zach thought about it.
‘Learning how to actually fight could come in handy, and with my talents and gifts, it shouldn’t be too hard to learn.’ “It’s fine, Grandma, I was thinking about asking to join a gym anyway.” Henry laughed and smiled.
“That’s my grandson.” Zach laughed with him.
“What kind of martial arts do you teach?” Henry chuckled.
“I personally teach Muay Thai and boxing, but I have instructors for all martial arts.”
‘No wonder you are so freaking huge despite being in your fifties.’ “I guess I will start with Muay Thai and boxing then.” Henry shook his head.
“Muay Thai isn’t just a martial art you jump into; most people already have experience in a different martial art.
How about judo and boxing first?”
Zach nodded his head.
“Whatever you say, coach.” Henry nodded.
They finished eating, and Zach went back to his room.
He grabbed an empty journal and wrote down everything he had experienced.
He even wrote down people who were secretly dating, every rumor he heard, and even the gossip between teachers.
Half of the journal was filled by the time he was finished.
‘Maybe I can ignore some of this stuff in the future.
He took another journal and wrote everything he heard in class, only the stuff about the class.’
Zach groaned as he stretched and popped his fingers.
‘I definitely need to get a laptop.
Writing everything down is for the birds.’ Zach stared at the ceiling and then stood up.
‘The adaptable metal!
I never tried it out.’ Zach thought about it, and he appeared in front of him on his desk.
[Adaptable Metal- a semi-solid metal that can be shaped according to its users’ needs.
It must be claimed and baptized by the user’s energy and blood to form a connection.
Once claimed, the metal will only follow the user’s commands, and the metal will grow stronger as the user allows it to absorb more energy and alloys.]
Zach moved the metal into the bathroom and placed it in the tub.
He grimaced as he cut his finger with the letter opener from his desk.
He let the blood drip freely and focused on calling upon the energy in his body.
‘I don’t need an explosion or surge.
I need a lazy river that turns into a lazy waterfall.’ For a moment, nothing happened, but then a silver-white fog started to form.
‘I need it to be liquid.
Compress!’
The fog turned into a pure silver liquid, almost like mercury.
Zach watched as it fell onto the metal.
He could feel something had changed inside of him.
He stopped pushing the energy out once the metal was completely submerged.
Blood continued to fall from his hand.
It causes the liquid to turn maroon and deepen in color.
Zach willed for the cut to close and felt a little tired.
‘Noted closing wounds or making modifications drains stamina and causes fatigue.’
He checked the system to see what had changed.
Name: Zach
Rank: D+
Level: 2/10
‘Interesting.’ He focused on feeling the energy in his body.
It was smoother and responded faster than before.
‘The energy has turned into a liquid, which means it’s denser.
Why is it silver, though?’ [The host energy is extremely pure.]
Zach nodded.
‘I wonder what happens if I use an element.’ Zach focused on using the water element.
The response was still slow, but it was faster than before.
A blue ball of water floated above his palm.
‘What about ice?’ The energy became a mixture of white and blue.
The temperature dropped in the bathroom, and an icecicle floated above his palm.
Zach grinned and made it move around.
‘This is so freaking cool.
I wonder if there’s any fighting or bending styles I can afford in the shop.’
Zach stopped because he turned around and saw that all the liquid was gone.
He reached for the metal, and it latched onto him.
He almost freaked out, but stopped himself.
The metal covered him from head to toe and then settled on his finger as a ring.
He felt a connection with it.
He imagined different weapons, and the metal responded in turn.
A sword, a dagger, a shield, and even a gun.
The gun form didn’t have any bullets, but that didn’t bother Zach.
‘What if I let it absorb all of the elements?’ Zach was a man of action rather than theory.
He put the metal back in the tub and poured out his energy, intending to manifest all the elements.
The result was breathtaking.
Every color in existence seemed to be present, yet it wasn’t chaotic; it was beautiful.
The metal absorbed them greedily, as if it were in a desert for years, and the elemental energy was water.
Zach didn’t stop but instead conjured up more of it.
After almost twenty minutes, it stopped absorbing.
The results were beautiful.
The metal was colorful and softly glowed.
[Adaptable Metal has been involved in Elemental Metal.] Zach checked out the description and grinned.
‘Now this is what I am talking about.]
[Elemental Metal- a rare metal material found among the omniverse.
It is adaptable to any element and can only have one owner.
It is bound by the soul, so it can be used as a shield against any soul attacks.
It can also take forms of any type and size as long as energy is provided.]
Zach cleaned the tub and got into bed.
‘I wonder what will happen if I were to take another breath?
The first time I gained so much.’
A stone wouldn’t either.