The marked ones

'' Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! ting!''

Max woke up to the constant notification alerts from his status screen, frowning with a headache as he glanced at the screen.

After comprehending the information in its entirety, Max fell into deep thought with a somber look. He rubbed his temple once he was done, this time looking more calm than ever.

''I hope am strong enough'' Max sighed in thought before going about his morning routine.

Leaving his room to greet his mom before heading to the facility, he met her the moment his door was opened.

'' Max, do you know what this is?'' Mavis pointed to her forehead with concern.

On her forehead, was a simple white triangle with a black cross in its center. It gave off a subtle glow that deeply resonated with Max as if they were connected.

''Ting! Ting!''

< the marked one named Mavis Maxwell Maxson has been assigned to you for protection>.

At that very moment, Max wanted to express many varied emotions, and from the depth of his soul felt an immense worry that almost gripped his whole being.

Mavis noticed his son's emotional fluctuation, raised her hand, and gave Max a gentle pat on the head.

'' I don't know what's going on, but I do know worrying about it like this won't solve the issue'' She smiled warmly before heading to her room like nothing ever happened.

Not only did Mavis manage to calm Max's rational fear, but she also gave him a boost in confidence he didn't know could be possible.

'' Thanks, Mom'' Max faintly smiled before making his way to the facility.

In the facility where the ceiling always radiated light like the sun, Max arrived with a grin. He was one of the few in the facility with a confident expression; many walked around with clouds of despair and fear.

'' Triple Max….'' James greeted without his usual excitement leaving Max slightly worried.

He was about to enquire about his friend's dejected demeanor when Alice appeared, her demeanor the same as James'. Although the answer was obvious, Max couldn't stay quiet, his friends were experiencing some sort of depression, and that might affect him too.

'' why the long faces''

Alice and James exhaled sharply before replying to Max, their mood a bit brighter.

''My grandma, is the marked one I am protecting''

''For me… it's my dad''

They both exhaled again, casting their gazes onto Max. He smiled at them, making them detect his genuine emotion.

'' We promised we were going to give those fuckers a taste of their medicine… so I suggest you guys chin up, and put all that gloom into training ''

James and Alice exchanged pleasant glances before like a bunch of hyenas, bursting into laughter, watching Max make speeches was always a funny experience.

3 hours later Max, Alice, and James rested on the floor of the training room panting heavily like a pack of dogs. They have been training non-stop, using Battle mode continuously until they could no longer ignore their muscle pains, leaving them in their current state. They even manage to level up in the process.

'' can…. we…. stop…for…now'' Alice cried out, she was out of breath, looking like she was about to faint, any moment now.

'' I can't feel my body'' James lamented laying stiffly on the floor.

Max body was drenched in sweat. He noticed early on, that he made the training intense without realizing it. His mind was completely preoccupied with the thought of increasing his and everybody else survivability leading to such an outcome.

'' I am not a monster, we can stop for now '' Max uttered, making James and Alice quickly rise to conjure many delicious foods.

''All low levels, gather at the entrance of the facility immediately, delay will not be tolerated''.

Nixon's voice was as clear and loud as ever. Shivering at the thought of Nixon's punishment the three bolted out of the training room, arriving at the entrance in mere seconds with the others who also feared Nixon's extreme punishment.

The entrance had a new transformed look; the receptionist's desk was nowhere to be found, and in its place was a podium with a single microphone atop its structure. The staircase had also vanished, leaving no trace behind as though it was never there.

The thick black floor of the facility rippled like water before chairs connected to the ground steadily emerged. The entirety of the entrance was filled with these chairs giving everybody a place to sit. Max, James, and Alice took their seat and chose a spot closest to the podium.

It was a mystery why they were summoned, however, that stopped nobody from trying to unravel the mystery, turning the entrance into a noisy mess.

'' Silence!!!''

Nixon's voice boomed through the crowd with authority, and at once there was silence without delay. Nixon plus two other men climbed the podium without making a sound.

One of the men wore a lab coat while oozing off an intoxicating melancholic demeanor. The other man with Nixon caused a silent uproar in the crowd. His eyes were a perfect combination of orange and yellow, and his hair was a reflective purple-black as if it were made of a colorful glass.

His face was abnormally handsome making most girls and some guys gush over it. He wore a black suit which accentuated his robust body. 

''Ting! Ting!''

.

Apart from the obvious frown he wore on his face, Max hid his surprise deep down. He frowned unknowingly because his status screen had acted on its own volition to activate his skill once again, and he was surprised because the person responsible for creating the facility was right in front of him.

He felt an indescribable sense of awe, and he quickly wanted to reach a level where the impossible are easily made possible due to his raw power alone.

Dr. Frost who stood beside Nixon while the abnormally handsome man made his way to the standing microphone, bent his already bent neck to glance at his status screen which was only visible to him, his eye twitched after a second before he raised his neck and without a hint of hesitation shot a look at Max.

In an instant, Max felt a pressurizing aura grip his whole being, it felt suffocating, pushing deep into his psyche. It made Max want to prostrate and beg for his meaningless life like a slave to a king.

Dr. Frost retracted his gaze pretending nothing had happened just a moment ago, meanwhile, Max was trembling slightly with a bit of fear on his face.

''Ting! Ting!''

.

After calming his nerves and digesting the current info, Max couldn't help but sigh from the depth of his bottomless soul. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and focused on the abnormally handsome man on the podium.

''Hello, strong and good citizens of Acirema'' the abnormally handsome man spoke in a deep authoritative voice.

''Ting! Ting!''

.

''President White!!'' due to Max's overwhelming shock, he lost his self-composure and exposed his thoughts to the public.

'' That can't be him?''

'' The president is 49''

''the president is not this handsome''

'' who the fuck is that guy''

The crowd exploded in a flurry of discussion, James and Alice were the only ones quick to believe Max's sudden outburst.

The sound of an oppressive clap echoed throughout the loud rowdy crowd, and silence reigned supreme After that.

'' As the president of a mighty nation…'' he paused to take in the bewildered expression of the crowd '' wouldn't it be a joke to have a human president' 'he chuckled before continuing '' As a mighty nation the president must also be mighty, the president must also be strong, the president must know and be able to understand the pain his citizens are going through''

He ended his speech with a shine in his eye, his speech was oddly moving, making many few reverent.

'' I and the government have come up with a plan for every individual to survive, for our loved ones to survive. The people of the almighty nation of Acirema will! Not! Fall!'' President White ended another speech with a victory pose.

The crowd began to clap and praise the president, some yelled with joy while others teared up. Their behavior was almost unnatural, leaving Max, who was not moved by the president's speech, in contemplation.

The plan created by the government was very simple to understand. A certain amount of marked ones will be placed in a heavily fortified building. That building would then be protected by the various blessed responsible for the marked ones in the building. The government wanted the blessed to work together rather than as an individual unity.

However, the government devised this plan due to their fear of the penalty imposed during this trial, picturing a plane crashing down on someone implicated with bad luck or multiple nuclear disasters triggered by a person's bad luck, faced with such catastrophic scenarios, they opted to sacrifice many of the blessed rather than risk the death of even one marked individual.