CHAPTER SIX

Gods and Monsters and Those Who Train Them, Part 2

Sam had no right to judge her. He’d walked away from the hero’s life too, after all. However, as he watched her back get smaller and smaller, Sam imagined that Warmaiden took hope with her because there were no more living heroes for him to heal. Thunder and Dr. Hearthstone were it.

What did you expect? She’s a side character who doesn’t have the guts to face this level of adversity.

“Don’t call her a side character,” Sam snapped.

Ha-ha-ha… So, another side character thinks he can be a hero now?

Sam’s eyes narrowed at the message box. “Hold on...are you Triple-A?”

That would be like saying I’m Apple.

Somehow, Sam could feel whoever was on the other side of that message was rolling its eyes at him.

“You mean, you’re more like Steve Jobs,” Sam guessed. His eyes widened. “You’re Triple-A’s creator.”

Call me master, kid. It’s only proper.

So, someone was managing the system, Sam realized.

“I’d rather not,” he said. “I don’t even know you.”

No response came.

Sam sighed. “Master...”

Yes?

Sam rolled his eyes at the message box.

“Why did you create Triple-A?” he asked out of curiosity.

It’s what I do. I’ve trained them all: Hercules, Jason, Achilles, Lagertha, Liu Bei, Musashi, Joan, Washington, Lincoln, all the all-time greats. They learned Heroics 101 from me.]

Sam frowned. He’d never heard of such an amazing hero trainer before. Not even in the old myths.

I’m not lying, kid. Just look at Thunder. She’s proof of concept.

At the mention of Thunder, Sam peeked over the car to check on the battle.

“Yeah… she’s awesome,” Sam admitted, his brow furrowing. “How do I get to be like her?”

Dr. Hearthstone was wrestling with the terror’s arm, giving Thunder a clear path to zap the horror with the thunderbolt in her right hand. She slammed it partially into the horror’s chest, causing it to screech in pain.

Too bad she passed the system onto you. She could have climbed much higher as an Argonaut, but that girl’s always been practical. She traded power for the chance to live.

Sam’s face fell. He didn’t mean to take the system away from Thunder.

Don’t sweat it, kid. Thunder made her choice. Honestly, I’m not so sure about you, but she seems to think you’re a worthy successor. Try to prove her right.

The master’s words stung, but Sam knew he was right. “Look, I know I’m not the hero of the story—”

Self-deprecation, that’s definitely a hero’s quality.

Sam could almost see this master laughing at him.

So, you want to be the hero?

Sam didn’t respond immediately because he was still resolving his feelings in his mind. He’d always wanted to be a hero. It was why he’d tried the first time, despite how risky it was to use his power. But he’d run away from the job once already. What would stop him from doing it again?

I need to hear you say it, kid. Resolve is the key. We’d be wasting our time without it.

“I...” Sam’s eyes stayed glued to Thunder as she continued to do battle with the terror despite new wounds appearing on her body. “I want to be a hero, too.”

It felt to Sam like a great weight had finally fallen off his chest after he said those words. No, his renewed desire to be a hero probably didn’t invalidate his past failures, but it was feeling like he could breathe again after drowning for so long.

Good. Now stop using your power on side characters and figure out how you can become strong enough to be relevant in this battle.

“How do I do that?”

I’ve given you enough hints. Now you show me what you can do with them.

To become strong in the short time available before Thunder and Dr. Hearthstone used up all their power was impossible—these were Sam’s initial thoughts. Then he remembered that he’d done the impossible only a short while ago when he’d saved Thunder from certain death.

Sam pulled up the radial menu and selected [STATUS] for the second time that night.

NAME: Samuel Shepard HERO NAME: None LEVEL: 2 RANK: Zeta (ζ) ROLE: Support TITLE: Loser who has yet to prove his true worth HEALTH POINTS (HP): 330 STAMINA POINTS (SP): 165 FATIGUE: 30%

“My fatigue’s decreasing automatically,” he remarked.

Right below this was Sam’s attributes, which he’d noticed had all increased by one after he’d leveled up.

STRENGTH: 11 DEXTERITY: 11 CONSTITUTION: 33 INTELLIGENCE: 11 WISDOM: 11 WILLPOWER: 9 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE: 3 + 2 (bonus points for successfully healing 2 extra heroes) + 4 (bonus points provided by trainer)

Finally, the last section of the [STATUS] menu showed no new significant changes.

ACTIVE: Healing Hand (ζ) PASSIVE: Regeneration (ζ)

With nine points to allocate, Sam’s first thought was to invest it all into Constitution once again. He figured he could help Thunder by becoming the horror’s punching bag, distracting it long enough for her to finish it.

“But that wouldn’t make me the hero,” he realized.

As he was currently looking down, Sam’s gaze fell on the object lying on the ground beside him. It was War Maiden’s hammer.

It had a simple design. A foot and a half long handle wrapped in black leather attached to a thick, cylindrical-shaped chunk of enchanted steel. Runes, not of Greek origins, were etched along the edges of the two sides of the hammer’s head.

He’d heard of it before, an artifact that scholars claimed weighed as much as the burden carried by the one who lifts it. In exchange for this quirk, however, it theoretically had the power to overturn one’s current burden, providing them the strength to face whatever challenges lay before them.

Sam reached down and tried to pick up the hammer. It rose maybe half an inch off the ground before he had to let it go.

He frowned. “Maybe this is why War Maiden gave up—because the burden of an alpha-level horror is too heavy.”

A thought crossed his mind, and he turned back to his status.

STRENGTH: 11

Nine points would bring his total strength up to twenty.

“Become strong enough to be relevant,” Sam repeated the master’s words. “What if…”

It was a gamble, but it seemed like the master was nudging him toward this route.

“Yeah, Sam, listen to the sarcastic floating message box,” he said with a shake of his head. “I’m losing my mind...”

Sam placed all his points on [STRENGTH], raising it to [20]. A second later, a new notification appeared.

CONGRATULATIONS! Your potential has grown and you now meet the qualifications to unlock a new power that was previously hidden inside you. [Herculean (ζ)] received.

“Huh, that gamble actually paid off,” Sam noted.

He tapped on the [?] and opened the new power’s status window.

POWER: Herculean LEVEL: Zeta (ζ) DESCRIPTION: Named after the hero known for his incredible strength, calling forth this power exponentially increases the user’s strength during times of great need. EFFECT: Depending on the direness of the situation, the ability can momentarily double, triple, or even quadruple a hero’s strength. The strength gained is proportional to the current Strength attribute + crisis level + opponent’s power level. The use of this ability will quickly drain the hero’s life force. It will switch off the moment HP is at a critical level or the hero cancels its activation. WARNING: Herculean will cause the hero’s fatigue to grow at a fast pace. WARNING: Herculean sacrifices defense for power. Damage received is increased while this power is active.

A new message box appeared before Sam.

You’ve got the luck of the devil! That’s a strong double-edged sword you’ve earned.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Sam asked.

Who knows…? Now, pick up that hammer and we’ll see if you’ve got what it takes to be an Argonaut!