Adam : From a man to a God

Adam rested his head against the couch, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"It's been two days since it happened," thought Adam. "I'm giving Tilda some space after all that. My place was a wreck, so now I’m in this four-bedroom house in the city. Turns out, I’m not the only one to destroy their own home."

He pulled out his phone, scrolling to Mr. Kim's message. "Meet me at the mansion in 2 days," Adam read. "Guess I'll see him the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow's the academy."

Stretching, he stood up. "New clothes, at least. I have a feeling tomorrow’s gonna be long. Sleep time."

Adam threw himself onto the bed and quickly fell asleep.

Morning arrived, and Adam prepared for the academy, backpack in hand. Entering early, the bustling students fell silent. "Awkward," thought Adam.

He took his seat beside Akira, who was engrossed in her book. She glanced at him, then continued writing. Feeling nervous, Adam spoke.

"Good morning," said Adam.

"Morning," replied Akira, without looking up.

He overheard whispers.

"Did you hear? That guy, Adam, took down Alex’s group solo," said a male student.

"Really? They say he’s got a relic with a will of its own," a female student responded.

"Did he conquer it?" asked the male student.

"So they say," the female student replied.

They glanced at Adam, who averted his gaze and pulled out a pamphlet. "Everyone's talking about me. And Alex doesn't look happy," Adam thought.

Alex, glaring, clenched his fist, a faint red glow emitting steam. "That bastard better sign up for the tournaments. I’ll prove them wrong," thought Alex.

A teacher entered the room.

"Good morning, class. I’m your first teacher today. Adam?" said Mrs. Anna.

"Yes, ma’am?" replied Adam.

"Did you go through the notes I gave you?" asked Mrs. Anna.

"Yes, ma’am," answered Adam.

"Good," Mrs. Anna said as she placed a paper on her desk. "Last time, we talked about the heart. Did you know that power holders’ organs regenerate slowly? For example, a punctured hand heals faster than a punctured lung. Which one would heal faster?"

Hands raised sporadically.

"Do we really need to answer such an obvious question?" thought Adam.

"Yes, Alison?" called Mrs. Anna.

"The hand?" guessed Alison.

"Correct," confirmed Mrs. Anna. Mrs. Anna continued, "But the heart heals slower than all other organs in a power holder’s body."

Adam attended all his classes and eventually reached the last class of the day: Instructor Gabriel's.

"Okay, class. Remember the teams I assigned last time? Those will be your teams for the next two months," announced Instructor Gabriel.

"Oh man..." groaned a student.

"Those two have some bad luck; they're stuck with Adam," whispered another student.

"Bad luck? Are you kidding me? Don't you remember what happened? I bet he’s stronger now. They say he managed to conquer it," replied another.

"Okay, listen up!" shouted Instructor Gabriel. "Last time, I wanted to track your speed, but some of you weren’t putting in your all. So today, we’re having a normal race. That’s why I cleared a path in the forest."

The students looked at the wide path with short green grass, wide enough to fit two cars.

"Everyone will be wearing these," said Gabriel, pulling out a lot of speed-measuring bracelets from his pocket.

"Does he always walk around with bracelets in his pocket?" a student asked.

"How is he able to pull out so many bracelets?" Eddie wondered aloud.

"Eddie," called Gabriel.

"Y- yes, sir?" Eddie stammered.

"Shut up and come take the bracelets. I want you to give everyone these bracelets," ordered Gabriel.

Eddie quickly took the bracelets and began distributing them.

"Listen up. These bracelets measure your speed. They’ll let me track your speed, and you can also see your speed on the small screen while running," explained Gabriel.

Adam looked at the bracelet. "I already have something like this at home," he thought.

"Okay, I believe you all have them and have put them on. You will compete in groups again. We will start from descending to ascending order. Each team member will race against another team member. Whoever has the highest number wins. After all the teams have raced, we will combine all the team members’ scores and see which team has the highest score," Gabriel instructed.

"We’re gonna win this time," said a P team member.

"Yeah, team O won’t beat us twice in a row. We can’t allow that," agreed another P team member.

"Those slowpokes think they can win against us. What a bunch of losers," retorted an O team member.

"Say what?!" challenged the P team member.

"I wouldn’t recommend throwing hands in front of me," warned Gabriel.

The students stopped arguing.

"Okay, give them some space. You need to run 10 kilometers and come back. There is a tree at the end; you have to touch it and return. I’ll be watching with that drone above to make sure you touch it. If you don’t, you’ll be disqualified, which is a big disadvantage for your team because your points won’t count. And yes, your scores or points will be your highest speed count. Jake!" called Gabriel.

"Yes, sir?" replied Jake.

"You’re from the O team, right? You’ll be racing against Ben from the P team since you were both arguing," said Gabriel.

"You heard him, bring it on!" Ben challenged.

"Let’s see who’s faster," Jake responded.

Ben and Jake got ready to race, eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"On my mark, get ready to run," instructed Gabriel.

Both Jake and Ben's eyes glowed a faint orange.

"What is that feeling? Is it coming from those two?" Adam wondered.

"Go!!" shouted Gabriel.

Ben and Jake suddenly sprinted. Ben was in the lead while Jake lagged behind, looking at his speed measure.

"Only 352? I’m faster than this," thought Jake.

Jake quickly increased his speed and passed Ben. "Slowpoke!" Jake taunted.

"No way, we won’t lose twice," Ben thought as his eyes glowed a faint orange, his speed increasing to 464 km/h. He caught up to Jake. The tree was right in front of them. Ben touched the tree, stopped, turned, and ran back.

"Fuck!!" cursed Jake as he touched the tree and turned back. Ben arrived before Jake.

Ben's team cheered for him, and the students complimented him on the race. Jake returned to his team.

"I’m sorry, team. I made us lose, didn’t I?" said Jake.

"Don’t worry, dude. It’s not over yet," reassured Brighten.

"Sir, can I ask?" Akira raised her hand.

"Yes?" replied Gabriel.

"Does the speed of a person running back after touching the tree count as well?" Akira inquired.

"No, it doesn’t. And if you run at 400 km/h and slow down to touch the tree at 100 km/h, it doesn’t matter. Gabriel continued, "The tree-touching part is to make sure you run the full 10 kilometers. It doesn’t matter who touches the tree first."

He held a large tablet, scrolling through the data. "Interesting... And just so you know, Ben's score is 470 and Jake's is 433. Team P has the lead."

"Wow, I never knew Ben was this fast," a random student commented.

"I think I’m getting scared. Should I put my all into this?" Adam wondered.

"Are you guys as anxious as I am to see Adam’s speed?" another student asked.

"Hey Adam, you’re faster than that, right?" Eddie questioned.

"I’m not sur—" Adam began.

"Isn't it obvious? Of course he is," Akira interjected.

"Who’s next? Sandra and Sasha," called Gabriel.

Sandra and Sasha, two dark-skinned twins who were flame power holders, stepped forward. They looked identical and even sounded the same.

"Okay, let’s go!" Sasha challenged.

"You’re on!" Sandra responded.

"Go," commanded Gabriel.

They both departed at high speed. Sasha was leading with 525 km/h, while Sandra was close behind at 512 km/h.

"She’s faster than me. I’m already at my top speed; I can’t run faster than this," thought Sandra.

Sasha from team O took the win with 526 points. Sandra got 514.

"Sasha with the win. It’s currently 984 for team P, while team O has 976 total points. This last race will determine your teams' fates," Gabriel announced.

"Why does he say that as if—" a random student began.

"Oh, and to the team who loses," Gabriel said, his face suddenly serious, "I’m gonna knock your asses out."

He immediately smiled, his tone cheery. "Alright, so who’s next? Oh, Ella and Brighten. You’re up."

Brighten and Ella quickly got into position.

"Go," Gabriel commanded.

Both Ella and Brighten sprinted, causing a gust of wind as they took off.

"Huh. That’s the spirit," Gabriel remarked.

Ella was leading, running at 754 km/h, while Brighten was just behind at 743 km/h.

"We have to win this one, plus, I don’t wanna die..." thought Ella.

She quickly touched the tree and headed back.

"Damn it!" Brighten cursed.

They both arrived, out of breath.

"That was... the fastest I’ve ever run," Ella panted.

Adam watched the race intently, feeling the pressure build. His heart pounded as he thought about his turn. He knew he had to give it his all, especially with everyone’s eyes on him. The anticipation in the air was palpable, and the students' excited chatter filled the space.

Gabriel glanced at his tablet. "Hey... Looks like team P won. The total score for team P is 1738, while team O has 1719. You were really close."

The captain of team O stood in front of his team, his face serious.

"Now, you guys know what’s next, right?" Gabriel asked.

"Huh? Bu- but," stammered Brighten.

"You're gonna clean up half of the cafeteria! Now isn't that great?" Gabriel said, softly slapping Brighten on the back.

"Oh, uh, thank you, sir," Brighten replied, trying to sound grateful.

Gabriel's expression suddenly turned serious again. "Mhm? You sound relieved," he said, his tone icy.

"N- no, sir. Come on, Brighten, let’s go clean the cafeteria. Haha..." Sandra said nervously as she slowly pulled Brighten's hand.

Team O left quietly.

"Don’t take your sweet time. I want you back here to tell you your teams' ranks," Gabriel called after them.

"Yes, sir," Jake responded.

"Okay, on to the next teams. Jenny, you’ll be going against Tim. Go to your positions," Gabriel instructed.

"Everybody knows Jenny is the slowest in class. Tyler is faster than their whole group. That means I really have to put the gap between us in order to win," Tim thought, preparing himself.

"Go," commanded Gabriel.

Tim dashed off, leaving Jenny far behind. "I’m the fastest in the group," he thought, pushing himself harder.

"Ooh... running hasn’t always been my strong suit," Jenny muttered as she struggled to keep up.

Tim ran at 988 km/h, touching the tree and heading back. He passed Jenny, who was running at 697 km/h, and waved at her.

"Well... that was a huge loss," Gabriel commented.

"They think they are going to win, but knowing Tyler, they shouldn’t get their hopes up," Alex thought, observing the race.

"You can run faster than that, right?" Akira asked, looking at Adam.

"Yeah," Adam nodded.

"I can't believe we’re gonna rely on the outsider," Eddie said, sighing in relief. "I guess we have no choice. You’re probably the fastest in our group."

"Yeah..." Akira agreed.

"Oh. I’ll do my best," Adam assured them.

"This isn’t gonna be easy..." Eddie muttered, scratching his head as he glanced at Alex.

"Okay, the next ones are Tyler and Tom," Gabriel announced.

Tyler, wearing a blue jacket and blue-grey jeans, fixed his black hair with a casual slide of his hand. He stood beside Tom, briefly glancing at Adam before focusing on the path ahead.

"Go!!" Gabriel shouted.

Tom quickly sprinted, but something felt off. He looked back and saw that Tyler hadn't even moved yet.

"That frickin' bastard. Does he really think he can—" Tom's thoughts were interrupted as Tyler suddenly dashed off, running towards the tree at 1232 km/h. Tom, super surprised, watched as Tyler passed him just feet away from the tree. Tom, running at 864 km/h, touched the tree and headed back.

"I didn't need the speed measure to know he outran me that much. It was pretty obvious," Tom muttered.

Tyler arrived back, stopping in front of the crowd with a small gust of wind from his speed. He looked at Adam for a second.

"That really took me by surprise..." Gabriel admitted.

"He was looking right at me. He’s been doing that since we came to this class. Then again, all my classmates are," Adam thought.

"Did you see that? Tyler was so fast," a random student exclaimed.

"Are we ever gonna match that?" another student asked.

"Eventually... but after a lot of hard work," the first student replied.

"Whoa, did you see that, Alex? Tyler might be as fast as you. Maybe even—" Gregory started.

"Not a chance. I’m way faster than before," Alex interrupted, remembering his intense training sessions at home.

In the training area, full of rocks and bare land, Alex had been pushing himself to the limit. Wearing a white vest and black trousers, he was sweating heavily. His eyes glowed faint orange, and his skin emitted steam as his sweat evaporated. He wasn’t wearing any shoes, and fire erupted under his feet as he sprinted forward.

Back in the present, Tyler put his hands in his pockets and proudly walked back to his team.

"Show off..." Jenny muttered.

"I knew you were fast but not that fast," Berry commented.

"Well, you’re next, so don’t disappoint," Tyler replied.

"Come on, hurry up. Get to your positions," Gabriel urged.

Berry and Naomi stood beside each other, facing the road ahead.

"Go," Gabriel commanded.

They both sprinted, matching each other stride for stride at an incredible 485 km/h.

"You're pretty fast!" Berry exclaimed, glancing at Naomi.

Naomi ignored him, her focus unwavering.

Berry pushed himself harder, increasing his speed slightly. Naomi matched him effortlessly, now leading with a speed of 507 km/h while Berry trailed at 500 km/h. She reached the tree first, touched it, and pivoted sharply to head back. Berry followed suit, touching the tree and racing back.

Berry arrived, slightly out of breath. "Sorry, I messed up."

Tyler glared at him. "You should be sorry. If I didn't know better, I'd say you did that on purpose."

Jenny crossed her arms, smirking. "Yeah, just 'cause you have a crush on her doesn't mean we should pay for it."

Berry's face turned crimson, and he stammered, "Wh-what? You're wrong. She was just faster. That's all there is to it."

Gabriel stepped forward, drawing the students' attention. "Okay, now to check the team scores."

Silence fell over the group as both teams waited nervously, except for Tyler, who was confident they won.

"Team N's score is 2359. Not bad. Team M is... 2429. Team M wins," Gabriel announced.

"Yesss!" Jenny cheered.

Berry pumped his fist in the air. "We beat your asses again."

Tom gave a determined nod. "We'll get you next time."

"That's the spirit," Gabriel said, clapping Tom on the back. "Now take your team and help clean the cafeteria. And remember, the next team that loses cleans the male toilets."

The students murmured amongst themselves.

Gabriel clapped his hands. "Alright, let's get this going. We don't have all day."

Time passed as the teams raced, their competitive spirits igniting the air. Finally, it came down to the moment everyone had been waiting for: the showdown between Alex and Adam.

Adam smirked to himself, thinking, *Something tells me he's way faster than before. But with the speed I have, I could solo a team in this race. We'll just see.*

Alex noticed Adam's confident smile and felt a surge of anger. *He probably thinks he's faster than me. I'm going to leave him in the dust and wipe that smile off his face.*

Gabriel raised his voice above the murmurs. "I think I speak for the whole class when I say, finally, we get to see you guys race."

"Yeah!!!" the students cheered in unison.