Old Friend

Avinash, panting heavily, struggled to take even a single step forward. As he attempted to take another, his legs trembled violently, and he collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

Barely able to lift his head, Avinash looked at the man sitting before him. This guy is completely insane, he thought. If he keeps training me like this, I'll end up dead.

Avinash recalled their first meeting. The man, with a smile on his face, had said, "Hero, my name is David, and I'm thrilled to work with you. I'll do everything I can to make you stronger. So, let's start training together!"

Now, David taunted him, "Hero, what happened to you? You can't even handle triple gravity? I thought I'd start your training under five times gravity!"

"It's only been three hours, and you've already taken five breaks."

In a faint voice, Avinash asked, "Can I rest a little longer?"

David shrugged, "As you wish. Fine, we'll resume training in half an hour."

Cursing him silently, Avinash thought, You mother... Why is this guy so obsessed with training? He then turned his gaze to his status screen, which he had left open to avoid repeatedly uttering the same awkward words.

Status

Strength: 3 (+0.3)

Agility: 4 (+0.5)

Defense: 0.3 (+0.01)

Intelligence: Low

Recovery: 0.2

Potential: Bronze

Mana: 100/67

Ability Rank: F

David extended his hand to help Avinash up from the ground. Avinash's eyes fell on the black mark on David's hand, something he was sure he'd seen before.

It reminded him of the second man who had come to the prison after the priest's death. That man also had a similar mark on his hand.

David asked, "What's wrong? Why are you staring at my hand?"

Taking a deep breath, Avinash replied, "It's nothing. I'm just a bit tired and was lost in thought."

After David left, Avinash noticed two people training nearby—Xavier and Aniket. Seeing them, he became certain of one thing: the trainers were the same people who used to come to his prison to draw his blood.

Quietly, Avinash muttered, "What do these people want to achieve? But one thing is clear—they'll exploit us in every possible way."

Just then, a voice called out from behind him, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Avinash turns around, and as soon as he sees the boy standing behind him, his face fills with anger. He growls, "What are you doing here, Karan Singhania? I clearly remember you ran away to America."

Karan, in a slightly nervous voice, replies, "I didn't run away. I relocated. I know you're furious with me, but please forgive me. Back then, I was scared. Please try to understand. I didn't know my little lie would create such a huge mess."

Walking away, Avinash says, "I have nothing to talk about with you."

Karan tries to stop him, pleading, "Please, listen to me. Can't we go back to being friends like before? Won't you give me another chance? Can't you forgive your best friend? Please, Avinash. I regret everything. I admit my mistake, so please forgive me."

Avinash halts in his tracks, turns around, and says, "Fine, one last time."

Hearing this, Karan beams with joy and says, "Thank God! We're friends again." He hugs Avinash tightly and says, "I missed you so much. When I first saw you here, I couldn't believe it was you. Who would've thought we'd meet like this?"

Avinash, with a blank expression, mutters, "Yeah, I didn't expect this either."

Curious, he asks, "By the way, what ability do you have?"

Karan responds, "It's pretty strange. I can devour any creature's special traits."

Avinash, narrowing his eyes, asks, "So, you can steal their traits and use them for yourself?"

Karan nods, "Yeah, you can say that. But it's nothing compared to your ability. I've heard you have a system."

Avinash sighs and says with disappointment, "It's nothing special. I just have a gaming window that lets me download and play games. My ability is completely useless."

Karan tries to console him, "Don't worry. Your potential must be really great, right?"

Avinash shakes his head and says, "As always, my luck is terrible. Just a bronze rank. I don't think I'll—"

Before he can finish, Karan loudly declares, "I want to spar with you!"

Avinash, startled, mutters, "Huh?"

With a dangerous smile, Karan says, "So that means you've accepted my request." Without waiting for an answer, he throws a powerful punch at Avinash's face.

Caught completely off guard, Avinash is sent flying backward by the sheer force of the blow.

Avinash, struggling to regain his balance, placed his hand on his bleeding nose, trying to process what had just happened.

Karan, glancing at his fists, smirked and said, "Wow, after just a little training, I feel like I've become a superhuman. Now, no one can save you from me." With that, he charged toward Avinash with no intention of letting him escape.

Wiping the blood from his nose, Avinash growled, "You're still a coward, just like always. You made sure first that you could handle my ability and potential before attacking. Coward!"

With a roar, he yelled, "I won't let you live!" and launched a punch at Karan. But his eyes widened in shock as he noticed Karan's eyes—they had transformed, resembling those of a fly: red and divided into multiple visions.

Effortlessly, Karan dodged Avinash's punch and delivered a powerful kick straight to his stomach.

Clutching his abdomen in pain, Avinash struggled to figure out what to do. It didn't take him long to realize that his stats were no match for his opponent's.

In that moment, Avinash understood how the gap in potential rank could create an insurmountable divide between him and his enemies.

Despite three hours of grueling training, his status had barely improved due to being bronze-ranked. Meanwhile, his opponent had grown as strong as a superhuman in just a few hours of training.

Nearby, Akira, who had been watching the scene unfold, turned to the instructor and said, "Aren't you going to stop this?"

The instructor replied calmly, "This is the hero's personal matter. We can't interfere unless someone's life is in danger. Besides, there's no need to worry. If they get injured, they can be healed again."

Fuming, Akira retorted, "Can't you see he's being beaten badly? If this keeps going…"

The instructor interrupted, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. They're sparring under the supervision of the other boy's instructor. It's not my place to intervene."

Noticing Akira's rising anger, the instructor added, "However, if the other boy's instructor shows up, he could stop it. Unfortunately, the bad news is that his instructor is probably drunk by now. I'd bet he's passed out somewhere because, after noon, he turns into a complete drunkard."

Hearing this, Akira realized that this world wasn't much different from his old life, where the strong always crushed the weak.

The other onlookers remained silent, watching the scene unfold. Everyone knew what was happening was wrong, but no one stepped in to stop it. A few had approached the instructor, but his responses were as disappointing as ever.

Avinash, who was being brutally beaten, suddenly grabbed Karan's hands and stared directly into his eyes. Karan felt a shiver run through his body.

Trying to regain his composure, Karan delivered a powerful kick to Avinash's face. Avinash, writhing in pain on the ground, attempted to get up, only to see another kick aimed straight at his face.

Just then, someone shouted, "Justice Hero is here!" A shadow swiftly advanced and caught Karan's leg mid-air, flinging him away. Karan skidded across the ground and, filled with rage, stood up, yelling, "You mental basterd! What are you doing here?"

Standing before him was James, draped in red cloth like a cape and with his face partially covered by a scarf.

Laughing, James declared, "The superhero will punish you!"

He landed a powerful punch on Karan's face. Karan smirked, saying, "Your attacks are useless against me," but the punch broke his nose and sent him crashing to the ground, smashing through wooden training weapons.

Karan, stunned, thought, How can this lunatic be so strong? My potential is diamond rank, yet his power surpasses mine. Could he be platinum rank?

As Karan pondered, James advanced and kicked him in the face, launching him into the air. Karan landed headfirst, groaning in pain.

James turned to Avinash and said, "No need to thank the superhero."

Avinash, chuckling through his pain, replied, "Ah… but I will anyway. Thank you."

From behind, Karan, consumed with rage, screamed, "Enough!" He transformed his hand into a sharp, blood-red claw resembling an ant's leg.

One of the instructors gasped, "A Metal Ant claw? But why does this kid have it? No… his hand itself has changed!"

He continued, "Metal Ants are a rare species, known for eating metal and lifting objects a thousand times their weight. They possess immense strength and defense, earning their place among the most dangerous low-rank monsters. Let's hope nothing terrible happens."

Karan, now with his transformed claw, charged toward James in fury. Suddenly, a gunshot echoed, and a bullet grazed Karan's ear.

A deep voice boomed, "Oya!, you walking freakshow. I've had enough of you.Stop and say sorry ."

It was Aniket, holding a gun aimed directly at Karan. Calmly, he added, "Sure, your fly-like eyes may help you see things in slow motion, but I doubt they'll save you from dodging a bullet."

Pointing his gun unwaveringly, Aniket continued, "So do yourself a favor. Pick up your dirty ass and leave."

Frozen in fear, Karan clenched his teeth and muttered angrily, "I'll deal with you later."