Chapter 75

See, good as new. Syn said snidely as Dan moved his arm about. He’d taken the entire remaining week off of tennis, as well as the weekend, to let his injuries heal up. Granted, even if he’d wanted to, he wouldn’t have been able to practice. Peter had confiscated his, refusing to even restring it for him, making him wait till he got his new racquets in, before h could play tennis again.

“That you did.” Dan said, trying his best not to feed the voice in his head’s ego. While he hadn’t been able to physically practice, he’d been watching as much tennis as he could why he healed, and had even picked up a few tennis books to try and read. They weren’t riveting, but thanks to his magical cheat, er, powers, he was able to not only finish them, but comprehend them quite well.

The added bonus of picking up those books, and studying, was it grew his mental traits, which he’d realized he’d been neglecting. Sure, just attending school had been slowly putting experience into them, but it’d been much slower than the active growth to his physical skills. Considering he was certain he’d always been more athletic than he was intelligent, that meant he’d just been furthering that gap.

He wasn’t dumb, by any means though, and as he looked around the house, making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, he couldn’t help but smile. Somewhere between the jump from 14 to 18 for his Intelligence, and 15 to 18 for his wisdom, he’d hit a threshold. Because he didn’t know his old stats, it was hard to say, but his mind was sharper and faster, and he seemed more, thoughtful.

Even better, his aptitude had grown even more. And every point in that stat, was worth whatever time it was he’d put into growing it. Because aptitude, increased the speed at which his other traits grew. Now, with the bandana giving it a +1, his Aptitude sat comfortably at a 23. It wasn’t, phenomenal, but a few extra quick points from a weekend of studying, was worth it.

These gains also increased his mental health from 150 max, to 180 max, though most days it seemed to fluctuate. The only time he ever actually noticed his mental health was maxed out, was when he was playing tennis. Otherwise, thoughts of his dad, or a plethora of other worries from life, kept him from hitting that peak, mental health level. Though, Dan figured, to be fair, no one really ever existed at optimum mental health every day, did they?

Dan opened the door, feeling the crisp fall breeze blow around him. It was early, but it didn’t matter. He’d been good. He’d taken it easy. Now, he couldn’t help but smile as he put his jogging shoes on. He could once again move forward. His health was once again maxed out, and it was time for him to make up for lost time. Without another thought, he took off towards school, his watch running its normal timer. He was going to beat his personal best today; he could just feel it.

By the way, Danny boy. Syn’s voice pulled Dan from the tranquility of his jog almost immediately. The mysterious voice actually opened the damned sentence up with a cough. Who does that?

“What is it?” Dan mumbled, his breath just hot enough to fog in the air before him. It was September after all, and the sun had just barely begun climbing in the sky.

First, just wanted to point out, your running form still sucks. Syn’s comment made Dan stumble, to laughter in the back of Dan’s mind.

“Ass.”

Second, try not to be too surprised later today. If there was one thing Syn sucked at, as far as Dan could tell from his time with the weird voice, it was that Syn sucked at keeping secrets. Like, if Syn had something excited, he wanted to share it. Unless he forgot. Which, Dan had also noticed, seemed quite frequent. The weird voice, for all the powers he had at his disposal, seemed a lot more laid back, and irresponsible, than felt comfortable.

“By what?” Dan asked, knowing Syn was baiting him.

By your awesome new racquet. Duh.

Dan stopped, immediately. They’d ordered his racquets last week. He was getting two Yonex VCore Pro’s, paid for, even as Dan protested, by Peter. The Senior had even paid extra to rush the order, and they were supposed to arrive sometime this week. Peter said Maddie would let him know the moment she got them in, and it was one of the few things Dan had been struggling to keep from his mind. And one of the reasons he was so excited for this week. He couldn’t wait to hold the racquet in his hand again. And the improved accuracy, had been noticeable immediately to him when he’d tested it out.

“What did you do?” Dan said aloud.

Oh, well, you know. Ever adventurer needs a magic weapon right? Syn’s tone implied the individual was practically vibrating with excitement.

“What did you do?” Dan asked again, a little more forceful. His heartbeat had increased. He could feel excitement welling up inside of him. They’d just recently given him ‘uncommon’ level magical loot. Surely, he wasn’t ready for anything better. Was he?

Well, it’s nothing TOO crazy. Syn stressed that word, implying it was definitely something crazy. But, the guys and I decided to gift you a little something special. For all your hard work, and ya know, everything you’ve been through.

“You mean hitting me with a truck?” Dan said, though his smile betrayed the serious tone of his accusation.

That, and your looks, and your injury, and you know, your whole mom situation, and you know

“Stop.” Dan interrupted Syn. His voice was firm. His anger had flared, along with sadness. How dare Syn bring that up. It wasn’t his place. It was no ones place. Ever.

Sorry, sorry. Too far, my bad. Syn actually sounded apologetic. Any who, the racquets you’ve ordered, are going to be magical. In a sense, they’re like artifact weapons, or something of that nature. Hard to really explain, considering it’s a, magical tennis racquet. But, based on your stats, the racquet will receive different levels of buffs. So, the better you get, the better your racquet becomes, and, it’s a fun cycle.

Dan was trying to listen, but his mind kept going back to that time, to his past. Images of his mother, weak and in pain. He’d been there, when she passed. He’d seen her, at her worst. And those final images, were the ones scarred into his mind. The emotions that came with those images, were stronger than any he’d ever felt before. And, with the sadness and frustration, always came anger and depression.

Uh, Danny boy? Syn poked, drawing Dan back to the voice in his head, away from the shades of his past. You still there. Like, did you even here me? You’re getting freaking magical racquets.

Dan nodded, taking a few breaths as he tried his best to calm himself. He stopped his watch. There was no way he was beating his time now. And, honestly, the enthusiasm that had filled him earlier, was gone. A quick check confirmed, his Mental Health had dropped nearly 30 points at those memories. Given his mental fortitude, he had to wonder just how hard they would have hit him, without his special powers.

Then again, as he thought of some of his actions after her death, he had a good understanding of just how bad it could get.

“Yeah, thanks for that.” Dan said, his voice barely holding any hint of appreciation. He was, indeed, grateful. Just, right now, he couldn’t show it.

I, uh, may have overstepped. Syn said. If it’s any consolation-

“Just, stop.” Dan said, and with those words, he mustered all the mental power he could, to shut Syn completely out. Then, without another word. Without another thought, he began walking towards school. The week had just started, and already, his mood was ruined. Freaking Syn.