Adam : From a man to a God

Adam surveyed the sky, his eyes narrowing. "So there's a barrier up there. Makes sense. If there wasn't..."

The burnt trees began to turn green, new branches sprouting.

"They're regrowing?" Adam approached a tree, touching it. "It's more like it regenerated. It's almost like the fire didn't happen. This is awesome. That means I can test my new powers without worrying about the environment."

He broke a small branch, watching as the tree slowly regrew it.

"I can check out my firepower and use the trees as targets."

Taking a deep breath, Adam conjured two fireballs, one in each hand.

"I don't even have to throw it. I can launch it like a cannonball. But if I throw it at the same time..."

He leapt, spinning mid-air as he hurled one fireball. The projectile rocketed through the trees, causing an explosion upon impact. Flames licked the tree behind the initial target.

"Wow, so it deals a lot of damage. And the explosion was bigger than I thought. People who love nature would be so angry at me right now."

He examined the remaining fireball. "I wonder what happens if I hit the barrier with this."

Aiming at the sky, he launched it. The fireball exploded against the barrier, which briefly became visible in its entirety.

"So, it's this big? Looks like it's all connected to the barrier at the end."

Adam clenched his fist. "And now... my strength."

He sprinted towards a tree and struck it with all his might. The tree shattered instantly.

"Nothing left. (Somehow that doesn't surprise me. I wonder how much time I've spent in here. I'm supposed to meet that lady at the academy.)"

He glanced at the door, appearing to stand unsupported. Reaching out, he confirmed the barrier's presence beside the door.

"Looks like I can't go behind the door."

He opened it and stepped back into the house. Heading downstairs to his room, he checked his phone. It was eleven past eleven in the morning.

"My clothes are dirty. I need to take a shower and change. (I'll need to eat too.)"

After showering and eating, Adam sat on his bed, reading through the documents he was given.

"(Oh, so there are eleven different power holders? Okay, let's see...) Flame, Light, Air, Earth, Aqua, Metal, Insect, Beast, Memory, Cursers, and Nature. That's a lot, but according to this, there were more than eleven gods. Why are there only eleven types of power holders? Let me look at the history behind this place. Wait! This place was actually created to take power holders from the other world and bring them here. So why did they stop?"

He checked the time on his phone. It was eleven minutes to twelve.

"I still have time."

*In the city, a skyscraper*

On one of the top floors, a man stood, looking at the view. He appeared to be in his thirties, wearing a black suit with a white tie.

Kim entered the office. "Good evening, sir."

"Good evening," the man replied, his voice calm. "How is our new member adapting to the environment? I heard he caused some trouble a few days ago."

"Yes, sir. But the situation was handled. It seemed the artifact he possessed also had a will of its own."

"So, he is like her..."

"He was. And his artifact only showed the ability of an upper-grade mortal."

"Did he conquer it?"

"It seems he did. I did not sense it when I touched him."

"Okay. Let's hope he is not a troublemaker." The man's pupils glowed faintly white. "What is it?"

"I'm actually here to tell you that the erasing process was a success. (It wasn't hard since the kid was an orphan.)"

"Good. You do a perfect job as usual. Now, kneel..."

Kim knelt on one knee. The man touched Kim's head, his hands glowing white. Kim's eyes glowed white for a second before returning to normal. The man let go.

"Thank you, Lord Michael."

"Rise..."

Kim stood.

"You may take your leave. Oh, and you'll be in charge of looking after him. I have added three months to your life."

"Yes, sir, and I am grateful."

Kim exited.

Lord Michael thought, "(Only a few months... then it will be ready.)"

*An hour and some minutes later, Adam finished reading. He had some pages left but he was supposed to meet up with Marry.*

"Okay. Time to go. (My understanding of this world has become better. Now I know why they hate outsiders.)"

Adam left his room and stepped outside, locking the door. He looked at the city 4 km away and smirked. He dashed to the city at a blistering 1086 km per hour.

"Running is more fun," Adam murmured, a thrill coursing through his veins.

In no time, he arrived and continued his sprint, finally stopping at the academy.

"Oh man... so quickly."

Adam entered and took the stairs, reaching the floor where he had met Marry. He found her in a rotating chair, absorbed in a game of Fruit Slash.

"Hi..."

"Oh hey... you're here. This is awesome. Come here."

"Ok?"

She swiveled to face her desk, fingers flying over the keyboard, documents flashing on the screen. She paused, staring intently at Adam.

"See the problem?"

"Umm... no?"

"You don't see that big 'unknown' on the monitor, constantly switching to 'flame category' and then 'unknown'?"

"I can see that, but I don't know what the problem is."

"The source of your power is different. Different than any other flame power holder. No, any power holder."

"What do you mean?"

"At first, I thought it was a glitch. I analyzed it multiple times. I think I have an answer... but it would change almost everything."

"What are you talking about?"

"I might have called you too soon. I need to confirm it first."

"Confirm what?!"

"If we found a new kind of power holder."

"What? But... I use flames."

"Some gods had similar abilities. Like the goddess of momentum, who could speak telepathically, and Lilith, the god of deception."

"So which one am I?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out. This is gonna be fun," she said with enthusiasm.

"Damn... and just when I thought I was starting to get a handle on this power."

"Adam, how fast can you run?"

"I'm not sure. Super fast, I guess..."

"Here, take this."

She handed him a bracelet that looked like a watch.

"What is it?"

"It measures your speed, no matter how fast you run. Put it on."

"Cool."

"Do you see that treadmill in the corner?"

"Yeah."

"I want you to run as fast as you can on that. I'll set the speed and you tell me if it's too fast."

"A treadmill? How fast is it?"

"I don't really know."

Adam got on the treadmill. Marry controlled it from her desk, setting the speed to 344 km per hour. Adam began running.

"Can you kick it up a notch?"

"Okay..."

She increased it to 800 km per hour.

"Again."

She set it to 1407 km per hour. Adam glanced at his speed measure.

"Wow, I can run that fast? Again!"

She pushed it to 2078 km per hour. The treadmill began smoking.

"A little more."

"Are you kidding me? I can't even see your legs anymore. Plus, I don't think the machine can take any more of this."

She stopped it, and it gradually slowed down.

"I'm amazed. Have you always been this fast?"

"No, not really." (Should I tell her I can run way faster than that?)

"You still wanted me to pick up the speed for you. Oh my, can you run at the speed of a bullet? That would be unique. A bullet's speed is 3000 km per hour."

"I don't think so. I can only run a bit more than that. Maybe adding only 300 kilometers of speed."

Marry now seemed more excited.

"You're the first first-year to go over 1.9. And you attended only once."

She moved closer.

"Wow... so interesting. Judging from what I witnessed today, I may have to do some experiments on you."

Adam backed away a little. (Whoa! Too excited.)

Suddenly, Adam's phone started ringing.

"Um... I might have to take this."

"Oh no, no, take your time. You know what? I think we're done for today."

"Okay."

Adam took out his phone. The contact said Tilda.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Adam, did you find the room? It's not locked, is it?"

"Oh, I did. It wasn't locked. I actually found out a lot I can do in there."

"Oh, I'm glad you're getting to know about your powers."

"That reminds me of something. I've been thinking about it a lot earlier. Can you meet me at home tomorrow? I know you've helped me a lot and..."

"I'll come."

"Great. I'll see you... in the afternoon, I guess..."

"Yes. Bye then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wow, already found yourself a girlfriend..."

"What? No. She's... she's not—"

"I'm kidding... I'm tired."

"You're going?"

"Yeah. You didn't think I live here, did you?"

"Noo?"

Marry chuckled before grabbing her handbag and leaving, with Adam following suit.

When Adam got home, he collapsed onto his bed, thoughts swirling.

"I wonder how the economy works around here. Now that I think about it, I didn't see Tilda paying for the food in that restaurant. I once turned on the TV in the living room, but it just shows parts of this world and its beautiful places. I miss playing console games. Brock would let me play once a week. Brock... he still didn't deserve to die."

Adam remembered the time he and Brock pranked Anna and laughed together. Only Adam got the punishment, but it was the only time he felt truly connected with Brock.

Turning to the side, Adam felt a mix of sadness and anger. "I'm gonna have to talk to Mr. Kim tomorrow."

He went to cook dinner, ate, and then headed to sleep.

*Morning*

Anna and her family still lived in Centerhill. She was supposed to attend a party with her friends, but a sudden school trip intervened. Fortunately, the party was postponed because the host was in the next class, and both classes were going on the school trip.

The bus was traveling from Centerhill to Mountaindale, winding through a forested hillside. The students chatted animatedly until the teacher stood up.

"May I have your attention, please!? Hey!!!"

The bus fell silent.

"Thank you. As soon as we arrive, I want you to be on your best behavior. I don't want any—"

Suddenly, a minor earthquake shook the bus. Students panicked, but it quickly subsided.

"Wh-what the hell?"

The teacher let out a small, relieved laugh.

"Whoa, did you feel that?"

Another, stronger quake hit, causing the bus to slow down. Rocks began to fall, and the driver sped up.

Ahead, the road split open, making it impossible to cross. The driver panicked, veering off-road, hitting the barricade, and leaving half the bus teetering over the hillside.

Screams filled the air as students realized the precarious situation. Anna looked at her terrified friend, then out the window at the steep slope below.

The teacher yelled at the driver, "What are you doing? Give me the keys! We have to get out the backdoor, now!!"

The driver handed over the keys, trembling.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay... I'm okay."

(The earthquake stopped.)

"If we don't get outta here, we're gonna die!!"

The students' panic grew.

"Calm down, please! See that back door? I have the keys to unlock it. We're gonna slowly walk to it and get off this bus. Okay?"

(I have to get home to my wife safely. She just told me she's pregnant two weeks ago.)

The teacher slowly opened the door and jumped out.

"Okay, I want you to slowly—"

"What's that sound?"

A massive boulder suddenly rolled down the hill, crushing the teacher against the bus, killing him instantly and sending the bus tumbling down the slope.

*DMR*

At 11 am, Adam was at his training grounds.

"I always feel a bit of energy leave me when I use these flames," he noted, gazing at his fiery hands. His legs ignited next.

"My shoes aren't burning again. Neither are my clothes. (Thank goodness, I would've run naked after the fight with that woman in the woods. Sounds weird just thinking about it.)"

Adam clasped his hands together, forming a flame ball.

"(I wonder what happens if I put more power into this.)"

Focusing hard, the flame ball grew to the size of a soccer ball.

"Whoa, it got bigg—"

He accidentally released it.

"Not again..."

The ball exploded mid-air, igniting the surrounding trees in a brilliant burst.

"Whoa..."

He sprinted to the explosion site, finding a small crater.

"That was a big explosion. (It's almost as if the ball wanted to leave my grasp.) It didn't hit anything, and yet it exploded."

The doorbell rang. Adam headed downstairs to open it and found Tilda standing there.

"Hi. Um, come in."

"How are you? How's the training?"

"It's actually great."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about, though."

They sat opposite each other.

"What is it?"

"I have a lot of things I want to talk to you about. Some of them might make you uncomfortable."

"Okay?"

"I read some of the things the teachers gave me, and I understand a lot now. Can you please tell me what Alex meant when he said you're still an upper-grade mortal?"

"Oh, about that. Originally, I'm a unique power holder. But, I can't seem to rise any higher than an upper-grade mortal."

"Unique!? (She's ranked higher than me.) Why...?"

"I don't know... I just can't seem to raise my power. Even the teachers tried to help me, but they couldn't."

"Oh... What is your power exactly?"

"I'm a metal-type power holder. But, unfortunately, I can only turn things into gold or cover them entirely with gold."

"Really? Can you show me?"

"Okay... but not here. There's nothing for me to turn that's not useful here."

"Alright, let's go to the training room and you can show me there."

They walked to the training room.

"Wow... This one is full of trees and green grass. Must have been made by Ms. Rune."

"Ms. Rune?"

"Yeah. She helped create DMR."

"DMR..."

"Wait, all this time you didn't know what this place is called?"

"Yeah... So, can you show me?"

"Okay..."

Tilda walked to a tree and placed her hand on it. Instantly, the tree transformed into gold, with a sound akin to two knives being rubbed together.

"Ta-da."

"Wow! That's absolutely amazing. The whole thing just turned into gold!"

A golden leaf fell off the tree, making a small clink as it hit the ground. Adam picked it up.

"What a cool ability. It can instantly make you rich. Metal-type power holders really do have an ace up their sleeve."

"Thanks. And it's not every metal power holder who can make gold. Only I can at the moment. But I can't conjure anything."

"Oh, right. How fast are you?"

"I'm not sure."

"Then can you put this on for me?"

Adam handed Tilda the speed measure, and she put it on her wrist.

"What is this? Is this a speed measure?"

"Yes. So, want to see how fast you can run?"

"Yeah, sure."

Adam stepped away from her a little.

Suddenly, Tilda dashed off at 132 km per hour.

"This is it? No way, I can go even faster than this..."

She increased her speed, running at 211 km per hour. She looked at the speed measure and then ahead.

"Wow, I can't believe I actually—"

She collided face-first with the barrier and fell on her back.

"Ow, ow, ow."

Adam arrived as if he had been just behind her.

"Well, that was embarrassing..."

Adam smiled, trying not to laugh. He helped Tilda to her feet.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you about the barrier."

"You should've led with that."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"I didn't know I was this fast. Or should I say this slow compared to other power holders."

"Don't worry. I'm sure we will find a way to help you improve."

Tilda stayed quiet for a moment.

(Why the hell am I lying to him? There's no use in lying to him. I might be the only person he truly trusts in this world. I'm not ready to tell him the truth yet, but he should at least know this.)

Adam was lost in thought, staring at the crater nearby.

"Adam, remember when I said out of all people in this world, I understand your situation?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, my power also has a will of its own. So whenever I try to use my power even more, it gets out or tries to, and it can be dangerous."

"So you have that too? Have you ever tried talking to it—"

"No! And I don't want to. I never want to hear the voice of that thing again."

"Okay... I totally understand, but talking to it might be the only way to—"

"I said I don't!! There's a reason for that."

"Okay..."

Both Tilda and Adam were silent for a while.

"I really want to become stronger, faster. I don't want people looking down on me. Even the first years. I'm so weak. Who knows what could have happened if you didn't show up back then when you did."

"How did you end up in that situation anyway?"

"It's a really long story. I'm sorry, but I really can't tell you right now."

Adam sighed.

"How much power do you have to use for it to come out?"

"It always tries to come out when I conjure something or when I use too much of my strength. When I do anything that involves using a bit more power."

"Oh, I see. So if you conjure anything right now, it will come out?"

"Yes, but I can hold it back when I conjure something small."

"Can you give it a try? I know you said it's dangerous, but try to create something small. Like a knife or a pen."

"Those ones I can do, no problem. Not even a feeling. But if I try to make something longer or bigger like a sword, that's when it happens."

"Can I get a glimpse of what it's like? Try making the sword."

"Okay. I can hold her back since it's just a sword. But please, if you call my name and I don't answer, get as far away from me as possible and as fast as you can."

Adam stepped back.

"Okay." (Is it that dangerous? I might be able to handle it.)

Tilda took a deep breath and extended her hand. A golden liquid started to form in her palm. A surge of energy filled the room. Tilda's eyes glowed bright gold, and her hair turned to shimmering gold strands. Instead of a sword, a staff began to materialize in front of her hand. The air around them became charged, a powerful gust of wind emanating from her and then abruptly stopping. Adam felt overwhelmed by the intense aura Tilda was releasing.

What is this? Tilda? Tilda? Oh crap...