Chapter 2: Power to Raise

My first impressions of the store was that whoever the owner was, they must be pretty desperate since the store looked almost as run down as my last apartment. I first knocked on the door thinking that I wanted to seem as respectful as possible but soon figured that I'd have to enter if I didn't want to be late.

The shelves looked to be fully stocked. The floor was clean. Nothing in the store seemed to fit the surrounding area. Everything was clean and it was your typical run of the mill retail store. I was just about to look at the checkout when a head suddenly popped in to view from in the door frame in the back.

"Hello! Are you Ian?"

I could see that the girl was nervous. Why, I didn't know but I didn't think much of it.

"Hi, yes. I'm here for an interview"

She sighed and stepped in to view.

"Okay. Well hello. I'm Lia and the owner of this store. It's good that you could make in such short notice."

I could now see Lia. She was almost as tall as me. Long brown hair, big eyes and earrings in both her ears. She looked as if she were to be my age.

"No worries. I had some time to spare today."

"You see. This store is actually my fathers but he made me look over the store today while he is out fishing with a few friends of his."

That explains quite a bit.

"Follow me. I have set up for us to sit in here."

She said and led me in to the staff room. It was a small room with two sofas and a table in the middle. I can smell the tea brewing. We both sat down in front of each other.

"Explain to me why we should hire you."

"I have extensive experience in this field. I know how to service customers and I know how to efficiently stock the shelves."

She looked at me with a quizzical face.

"I didn't say any of that in your resume. How can I believe you?"

I understood what she meant. Just having finished school and then telling her that I have a lot of experience in this field sounds like straight fiction.

"I could... Show you."

She stood up.

"Sure. But you better not be lying and waste my time."

...

We went through lots of scenarios. Lots of scenarios I had been through in my past life. I showed her almost everything I knew about being a retail.

"Wow. You really do have experience in this line of work. How though? Didn't you say you just finished school?"

"I did. I learnt this off of internet."

She looked at me in amazement.

"Since I have your mobile number, I'll message you your working hours later."

"Okay. Sounds great."

I said my goodbyes and left the store. I had now a way to earn some money which I can then later invest in Deal Reds.

...

I spent the next month or so just spending my days at work. The drive that I had during this month was nothing like I had in my past life. I spent a moderate amount of time with my family having fun and talking. What I had wanted for so long had finally come back to me and I will do everything to keep it.

...

"Hey chief"

I entered the store with a smile knowing that it's payout day. The boss that had been out fishing while I got hired was as nice as my last boss in my past life. You could almost mistake him for the same person.

"Hello Ian. Had a good weekend?"

"Yup"

I had spent this weekend with my sister. We went to the park and then on Sunday, she showed me around her school. Her class was having some kind of celebration because of some yearly thing. I didn't really pay attention. I just followed her around smiling.

"What about you old man?"

"I spent some quality time with my daughter outside of work. I introduced her to fishing."

Seeing Lia in fishing clothes with a fishing pole in hand is something I'd pay for.

"Don't tell her but she isn't as good as her dad."

The old man showed a smile only an old man can.

"I will head out now."

The old man left the store with a limp in his left leg. They must have walked a lot.

I take my place behind the counter and wait for the customers.

...

A few hours go by. There hasn't been that many costumers so far which isn't surprising. It's Tuesday. Everyone is back to work.

*Crash*

I could hear objects crashing in to each other.

*Crash*

The crashing was coming closer. I started panicking. These sounds could only be explained by one thing. "Monster". A monster that escaped a portal, like the one that killed my parents.

Before I could realize it. A giant ogre was peering in through the window where I was stand. our eyes made eye contact and the ogre smiled. It's huge tusks peaking through its lips showed blood and pieces of people was still stuck between its teeth.

I tried making a run for it to get to the back of the store but I was too late. A huge fist came in through the wall hitting me in the back. I hurled through the store before hitting the floor. I was dazed, I couldn't move. My entire body hurt and my arms kept giving up when I tried crawling to safety. The ogre grabbed my lower half and dragged me through the store until he could grab the entirety of me. I was stuck. Without a way out, the ogre started suffocating me in his hand.

I kept clasping for air but it was for nothing.

*crush*

...

Darkness surrounded me. I tried moving around but not a single part of my body responded. I was surprised to still be able to think. Was this the afterlife?

"Hello human."

A text appeared before my eyes. I read it over and over again until it changed. This answered my questions. Something exterior had interrupted my demise and put me here.

"You seem to have died... For the second time."

"I have a solution for you."

"My name is Usriel and I come from a distant universe quite similar to yours."

"The reason for my intrusion is that I also, am about to die. Or to be more precise. I already have but in my world. I still have my influences of the cosmos lingering which allows me to speak to you."

"Your kind would call me a god but I'm nothing of the sort."

All this information was starting to hurt. Universe? Cosmos? There was so much new information that I couldn't believe it.

"To cut things short because I feel your time is running out. I will grant you a part of my power. Don't worry too much about its details as it will slowly show you over time."

"Good luck."

...

When I woke up again. I could feel my entire body pulsating and hurting.

"aaaaaaagh!"

As I sat up, I could see lots of people running around outside the store. I had somehow ended up inside again even though the ogre had picked me up.

"Ian!... Ian!"

Someone was yelling my name but I couldn't make out who. Everything was still blurry and my hearing was like I was underwater.

"There you are!"

Lia ran up to me.

"MEDICS!"

Her screaming shocked me. Never had I heard her scream like that before. She was usually calm and collected.

A few paramedics started to walk towards me. The closer they got, the faster they walked. They ended up running.

"It's going to be okay!"

Lia was crying. I could see how she wanted to hug me but was afraid that it would hurt me.

"Don't worry, I'm-"

My consciousness left me and my vision turned black.

...

I woke up in a hospital. I could hear running and yelling all around me. It seemed like I wasn't the only one hurt by the ogre that had run loose. I couldn't see anything because the white blinds were closing in to my own little room. I laid there being worried about my family. Since the ogre had been at the store. That meant that there was risk that he also went to my house. This hadn't happened in my past life which means that my parents should be safe but I can't not worry about my parents that live not that far away from the ogre attack.

I rose up in bed. I did a half hearted self inspection to see if everything was alright. From what I gathered, I was completely healed. Not a single part of my body hurt.

A person came in to my little room made out of white sheets. When she saw me sitting up, she left immediately and started yelling for a doctor.

...

"Can you try moving your arms a bit?"

The man that was about my age in my past life instructed me to different movements. I'm guessing to see if I react to any kind of pain.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, not really. My body feels fully healed."

The doctor sat quietly for about a minute just writing down in his papers, then looking up back at me for a few seconds to then again write.

"You seem to be a hunter. A normal human being doesn't have this kind of regeneration ability."

That sentence confirmed something. Something had changed from my past life. What he is saying is true. If it was me before, I would've been in bed for months because of my injuries.

"I haven't taken the hunter exam yet but I'm thinking about doing it."

"Well you should at least go get your rank. It can help you a bunch if things like happen again. I'm leaving now. We gave your parents a call since they were worried about you while you were out."

"For how long?"

Hopefully it wasn't too long. I still wanted to invest in Deal Reds.

"You've been out for about 4 days now."

The doctor left.

I left the hospital that night with my family. My sister was crying the entire way home. She thought I wouldn't recover at all which meant that I'd have to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

I went to bed that night with a smile. I had invested my whole salary.

...

When I woke up I went to turn on my computer. I wanted to check how Deal Reds was doing. I knew for sure that they would boom in just a month or two. After that I wouldn't have to worry about money again.

The power that Usriel had given me was still a mystery to me. I had no clue on how to actually use it. I figured that I'd go do the hunter exam after Deal Reds boom.

While this would happen some time in the future, I didn't want to just sit still while I waited for my money to grow so I started training. Everyday before work, I would do sit-ups, push-ups and run.

And after two months of my boring daily routine, it was time.

...

I had watched over the past few days how the numbers were increasing. At first, I had doubled my investment. Then after that, tripled. It didn't take long until I could quit my job.

I entered a local tea house and sat down near a window in the back. I opened my laptop which I had purchased because I wanted to splurge a little on myself. I logged in and opened a new tab. I typed in the hunter exam page and made my way through the application which I had done so many times in my past life.

"Hello. Are you ready to order?"

A nice looking lady stood next to me waiting for me to order.

"Sure."

I grabbed the menu and looked through it quickly.

"Yes, just a... Casual Friday."

"Coming right up sir."

"Sir" I said to myself under my breath. I had never been called that before. Even in my past life, people would just call me an old man. Her words sat with me for the rest of my stay at the tea house. I really liked being called a "Sir" but I guess this stems from never having more money than to get by.

The next hunter exam was going to be held near the city plaza in two weeks. That meant I should try and get ready before then. I knew that people often say "First impressions doesn't matter". Bullshit. I knew more than well that if I turn up looking like a hobo, I'd be discriminated against. So I went on my way to the hair saloon.

...

I entered a hair saloon called Golden Strings. It seemed empty. Not a single person could be seen.

"Hello?"

I walked around looking for someone that worked here.

"Ah yes. One second."

A rough sounding voice came from the staff room. I'm guessing he was on break. I sat down in one of the couches and looked around. This looked to be an extremely prestigious establishment. Definitely not a place where I would even dare to look in my past life. Out of the door hole on the other side of the saloon, a tall black man appeared.

"Hey. You gotta pay first so no idea in trying to cheat me."

He looked at me with distrust and anger. I guess he thought of me as someone to get serviced and then bounce.

"No worries. You have time now?"

"Yes."

I followed him to the cashier. I payed for it with my card. I had taken out a few % out of my shares in Deal Reds to buy a haircut and clothes that fit me better. He looked at me confused.

"No returns."

"Once again. No worries. I have the money so just do your thing."

He led me to one of the chairs in front of a mirror and after giving him a few examples he started cutting. I looked in to the mirror in front of me. Never had I thought that I could see my young face again. I stared in to my young dark brown eyes and just thought about my past life. The mistakes.

He cleaned me up. I said thank you and we said our goodbyes. He seemed to be a good person. Just too used to people leaving without paying after service.

I later that day went to a clothes store where both the people shopping and the cashier wouldn't stop staring. When I went to try a new outfit I got stopped.

"Sorry young man but if you can't afford the clothes, you are not allowed to try them out either. We will have to kindly ask you to leave the store."

I looked her in the eyes sighing.

"I can pay for them so just let me find clothes that fit me and then leave."

I never have liked these kinds of people. They used to bother me in my past life too. Whenever I went to get my costume cleaned for when I visited my parents grave. They would always spout some bullshit like this.

"Is that you Ian?"

An old familiar voice came from somewhere the store. My heart started beating faster for some reason I couldn't figure out.

"You hear what they're saying. Leave the store."

I now knew who it was. It was Chandler. The same Chandler who had bullied me through the entirety of school. His parents were rich which meant he almost always got what he wanted. The few times he didn't he would start breaking down and shout like a child. Not only this. Halfway school, he awakened as a hunter and started using his powers to hurt me. My blood boiled.

"Hahaha!"

I couldn't control myself. My feelings of hatred made me laugh. I put the clothes on a nearby shelf and took out my phone.

"Please leave the-"

I had logged in to my bank account and showed the store clerk my bank account. She stopped in her words when she saw the numbers.

"Excuse my rudeness sir. Please take your time."

Chandler looked in confusion at the store clerks reaction. I wasn't surprised. In Chandlers mind. You are either rich or not and if you're not rich, then you're not worth anything. Basically, if you're poor, you are worth as much as trash on the side of the road.

I walked away from Chandler to try my new clothes and they fit pretty well. The clothes really fit with my hair. I then paid and left the store. Chandler tried to stop me on my way out but I ignored him.

I was now fully prepared for my first impressions at the hunter exams.