Tragic News

"Hello Dave, how do you feel?" A good looking woman around 24 years of age with long black hair sitting next to Dave's bed asked.

"Who are you?" He said bluntly still confused without answering her question.

"I am sorry. I should have introduced myself first. My name is Ayano Nakamura. If you still remember, I am the person you saved at the lake.", Ayano said with a gentle smile.

"Thank god you are alive. I wasn't sure if I was successful." Dave responded relievedly.

"Yeah, no worries except for the cut at my throat I wasn't hurt in contrast to you. You got badly hit in your stomach by a knife thrown by the guy, who was called Squirrel I think." She said distressed.

"No need to be sorry. It is not your fault that someone tried to kidnap you." Dave tried to calm her down because obviously what happened weighed heavily on her conscience.

"No, that's not my problem. It is just that I am not used to be so helpless. Normally this wouldn't have happened."

Dave sent her a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "I am an ability user, too. I guess you know already what that means?!?"

Dave widened his eyes. "You too?!?" Dave didn't have yet any time to verify his ability and he wasn't even sure if what happened before wasn't only a dream but her words confirmed it.

"Yeah, my ability is mostly focused around healing... That is, by the way, the reason, why you are still alive. Being hit by a mana imbued knife in the stomach is normally either going to kill you or sending you for months into the hospital." said Ayano smiling.

"Then I guess I have to thank you...", responded Dave touching his stomach to verify if there was a wound. To his big surprise, he couldn't find anything besides smooth skin.

"No, you don't have to thank me. In the first place, you were only injured because you helped me. But there is still another thing you don't know about yet. I have to tell you..." She gulped and waited a moment.

"The other guy, the one, who tried to help me too... I mean Mike, Mike McDonald, I heard you were friends... He passed away." Ayano's voice was hoarse.

Dave was perplexed, his body froze and he didn't move for a few seconds.

"Wait, wait, wait. That's a joke or? I mean Mike can't be dead. He was alive and told me to help you. He talked to me..."

"Dave..." Ayano looked deep in Dave's eyes. "I am not joking... His ribs were broken and punctured his lungs."

"Wait, you can heal... Why didn't you save him?" Dave screamed at Ayano, his voice getting louder with each word.

"Dave, calm down.", Ayano said. "Let me explain, what happened."

Taking a deep breath Dave waited for her explanation. He simply couldn't believe that Mike was dead. The always good Mike, the funniest and happiest person he knew. The only person, who cared about him.

"We both fell into the water and everything was full of blood. Then this Dolphin came and helped me. We had to hurry because your blood was luring sharks over to us. I knew we wouldn't even have a minute before they would be there. So, we swam over to you and together we managed to bring you back to the surface. At that point, you were already passed out." Ayano spoke fast out of fear Dave's patience wouldn't last very long.

While she spoke Dave suddenly remembered that the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was a woman and a Dolphin swimming together.

Taking a deep breath Ayano continued.

"We reached the stairway out of the water. Then with my last strength, I pulled you up. At that point, you already lost so much blood, that I had to use all of my power to heal you. Normally it would have been much easier but I was extremely weakened at that point in time." An apologetic look appeared in Ayano's eyes.

"Then after I healed you I walked over to Mike. He was already at death's door and I had no energy left. Dave, please understand, I wanted to help him but I simply couldn't." Dave looked in her eyes. He couldn't see any falsehood there. He decided to trust her.

"I understand." Dave nodded. There was no point in being angry at her. It wasn't her fault. But whose fault was it?!?

'If I had helped him and wouldn't have just stood there... Maybe he would still be alive' Dave thought sadly his head buried in his hands.

'How can my power be heroism if I couldn't even save my one and only friend? Why do I deserve to live? What right do I have to get a power like this?'

"Stop it, Dave, you aren't responsible. The only people, who are, are these two criminals. And we will do everything in our might to enforce punishment upon them." Dave didn't say a single word, nevertheless, Ayano was able to see the guilt in his face. It was the guilt the survivors always felt. What could I have done differently? Why did he die, not me?

Those were questions every person in that situation asked themselves.

"What did you say? You want to punish them?" Dave asked curiously.

"Yeah, every ability user is under the jurisdiction of the Agency. And I have good connections with them." Ayano said proudly.

"What is the Agency?" Dave questioned her.

"Oh, that is simple. The agency is a special authority consisting of ability users. They handle all the matters concerning people with special powers. Obviously, the agency is not known to the general public."

"I... I can't let them handle that." A strong glare in his eyes Dave looked at Ayano.

"Dave, you just got your ability. I don't know what it can do but one thing I know for sure. Every ability user needs time to train, explore, and develop their abilities and not only that. You never really fought in your life. These two people,..., I am not allowed to tell you where they belong to... but these two are part of a power that is so strong that even the agency wasn't able to eradicate it for the last 50 years of time." Ayano lectured Dave.

"I understand that it is difficult but there is no way around it. I can't let someone else penalize them. I have to do it for Mike so that he can rest in peace."

Ayano sighed. Dave was so stubborn.

"If you really want to take the path of revenge then there is only one way you can achieve it. You have to join the Agency. But I ask you to think about it again! Those, who seek blood, will bleed!"

Dave gulped.

"If that is your path then let us first take a look at your ability. If your abilities potential is weak then there is no way for you to do it. So, activate it once."

Dave thought back to what that voice said to him. He focused himself on his energy body with all his might.

'Status'

A list appeared in front of Dave's Energy Body.

Name: Dave Davidson Age: 21

Title: Wannebe Hero

Class: Man, who plays with bubbles Rank: 1 Star

Class Evolution: 0%

Attributes

Strength: F

Agility: F+

Stamina: F+

Wisdom: E

Intelligence: F+

Charisma: F-

Heroism: 1

His eyes widened. 'Are these my stats'

"Do it already Dave. Or don't you know how to activate it?!?", asked Ayano because she couldn't see the Status screen.

"I... I have already, please just give me 5 minutes then I will explain everything." An apologetic look in his eyes Dave focused himself again on his Status screen.

'So these are my stats. That voice was right. It is really game-like but I need more information.' Dave scanned the screen up and down.

'Ah, that will help me.' Dave noticed the question marks at certain places on the screen. He used his finger to push the first next to title.

A new smaller window appeared in front of the other.

[Title Explanation] [Active Title: Wannebe Hero]

[Through an achievement you unlocked the title Wanne be Hero.

Title Effects:

Movement speed: +5%

Ability: Newbie Hero's Radar]

'That is cool. I will have to test it later if I really am faster. Maybe I can run now even faster than Mike...' It was as if a knife poked into his heart. For a moment Dave nearly forgot that Mike died. He tried to concentrate again. He didn't want to cry because he knew that Mike never cried and he didn't want to disappoint him.

'Let's check out the other question marks.'

He clicked the question mark next to class and another window popped open.

[Class Explanation] [Current Class: Man, who plays with bubbles]

[You are a man with the aspiration to become a hero. Your current class allows you to control and create bubbles.

Class innate ability: Bubble Control

Class Rank: 1]

Dave didn't know what to say. The ability to control bubbles sounded kind of lame.

'Why can't I get something like "Fire Control" that would be cool.' thought Dave. 'But before I become depressed, let's check the rest first. Class Evolution might mean that this is not the end form of my ability.'

He clicked the next question mark.

[Class Evolution Explanation]

[You are not at the end of the path but the beginning. Every time you reach 100% you might rank up your class and gain new abilities and lift your limits further. Be aware that after a class upgrade your stats are reset to F rank but don't worry, you won't lose any of your power during the process.]

"Uff." Dave breathed heavily out. Ayano sent him a questioning look but he ignored her to check the rest.

He was happy. The fact that this wasn't the end for him was something good. He feared before that he got a useless ability without any perspective but now he could continue reassured.

'Next one.'

Dave pushed the question mark next to stats.

[Stats Explanation]

[Strength: Power of your body.

Agility: Speed of your body and better body control.

Stamina: Represents your lifeforce and endurance.

Wisdom: Mana quality

Intelligenz: Mana quantity

The stats above can be trained through exercise or the use of medicines and meditation.

The stats below aren't reset during the ranking up process.

Charisma: Strong charisma allows you to influence the people around you

Heroism: Class-specific stat, can be acquired through hero quests and heroic deeds.]

'Okay, that is pretty cool. Even if the Bubble Control ability is not that good, I can still train my body to a level where it is like having a superpower. Let's check the Skill List fast, Ayano is already a little angry about my long silence.'

"Only one more minute, I promise," Dave said apologetically to her.

Her feet stepped in a certain rhythm on the ground and made Dave a little nervous.

'Skill List'

Dave scrolled fast through the skills. Right now there were only two skills available, 'Bubble Control' and 'Newbie Hero's Radar'.

He read their descriptions.

[Bubble Control] [F]

[Enable you to create and control bubbles. Through training, you can control hardness, elasticity, shape, quantity, and movement of the bubbles. A higher ability level increases the power of bubble related skills.]

[Newbie Hero's Radar] [F]

[Locates people near you, who need your help and grants you corresponding quests. Open your map to activate the ability.

Current Radius: 200 Meters

Quest difficulty depending on skill level.]

"Okay, I think I understand now what my ability is and how it works. Let me explain it to you," said Dave, while raising his hand with outstretched fingers. Suddenly, very slowly a bubble came out if it and lay on his hand inside.

A knowing smile crept on Ayano's lips.