CHAPTER ELEVEN

Powers and Bonds, Part 1

No sooner had Sam declared his intentions when all noise and color was suddenly drained from the world. Time had stopped once again, but not by the hands of Khronos.

Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Friendship, rejoices in seeing the hero establish his first genuine bond.

This window was golden and very different in style from what the system usually showed him. It was far too regal in quality compared to the blue notification that popped up next.

ALERT! You have gained a new [BOND]. A bond is a red thread of fate intertwining with your own, enriching the path you seek to walk. With the dawn of the [CAPRICORN] bond, your own star grows ever brighter, lighting the way to new possibilities. ALERT! The path of the [ELEMENTALIST] is now open to you.

Sam’s eyes widened as he read this final notification. He’d been so surprised by these messages that he’d failed to notice that color had already returned to the world.

“You’ve been staring off into space for a while now, Sam,” Thunder said in a knowing tone. “Did something good happen?”

“Um, I’m not sure… maybe,” Sam said, blushing as he realized the messages entailed he’d formed a unique bond with Thunder, whatever that meant. “So, yeah, like I said, I’m going to heal—”

A message box appeared over Thunder’s face to interrupt Sam from repeating his promise.

I’m impressed, kid… you really formed a bond. Come outside so we can talk.

It took Sam another twenty minutes before he left Thunder’s room so she could rest and he could chat with Triple-A’s creator.

“Where have you been?” Sam asked, sounding a little annoyed.

I got other things to do than watch over you all day, sleeping beauty.

Sam rolled his eyes at the message box.

Listen, kid… I heard your promise to Thunder. That’s lesson number three—integrity. Heroes stick to a code of decency, and decency dictates that heroes keep their word no matter what.

“Is it a doable promise, though?” Sam asked, his brow furrowing. “Can I do the impossible?”

Lesson number one, kid…

Sam had been super confident when he declared to Thunder that he would heal her. But now, as Sam realized he didn’t know exactly how he would achieve this miracle, anxiety began creeping up into his chest.

“

Master, please help me save the girl one more time.”

I was wondering what kind of hero you wanted to be… The all-time greats, the ones the world remembers to this day, found a reason to stand and fight, and more often than not, their reasons were simple just like yours is… I like it!

A new mission notification appeared in front of Sam.

SPECIAL MISSION: A CURE FOR THE BLIGHT CONDITION 1: Within the next hundred days, become a hero capable of healing the Blight. CONDITION 2: Use your power to heal fellow Argonaut [Thunder] so that she may return to the duty that cannot be forsworn. REWARDS: Growth with the [CAPRICORN] bond, increasing the chance to awaken a power from [ELEMENTALIST] tree, 1x Thunder Heroic Age action figure (12in) OTC exclusive item. WARNING: Failure to complete the mission within the allotted time frame will cause the death of the hero [Thunder].

“Hey, what’s with the three-month deadline?” Sam complained. “The Blight doesn’t work that fast!”

Three months is about how long Thunder has before she starts losing memories… Every single memory is precious, kid. They’re the experiences she built up to become the hero she is today.

“Oh, right…” Sam glanced over to the door of Thunder’s room. “We wouldn’t want her to lose those…”

Enough with the gloom already, sheesh.

“Sorry…” Sam straightened his posture. “So, how do we get from point A to point B within the next three months?”

It would be nice if it was as easy as drawing a straight line, but life is all about the curve balls… Go find a place where you can check the system’s menu. There are a few things I need to catch you up on.

Sam found an empty room in the same hospital corridor. After locking the door behind him, he pulled up the radial menu and noticed that there were more options available to him now besides [STATUS]. These were [ITEMS], [BONDS], and [POWERS].

I expect you’ll want to know more about bonds so pull it up.

Sam did as he was told. A window similar to [STATUS] appeared, but [BONDS] had only one entry.

CAPRICORN: Thunder (Sarah Ryder (20)] [BOND LEVEL: 1

Underneath this title was a brief description of their first meeting, and the moment they formed their bond. Below that was a list of the benefits given by the Capricorn Bond.

BONUS ONE: Tier 1 [ELEMENTALIST] Tree is now available. BONUS TWO: Increased elemental resistance to lightning damage.

“This bond thing’s pretty interesting… it’s like the system wants me to make social connections.”

That’s right… A hero’s growth is tied to the people he surrounds himself with. And interacting with these supporters won’t just strengthen you either. They can help you develop as a hero in mind, body, and spirit—the big three of hero development.

“And why are these ‘big three’ important?”

Saving Thunder’s just your first goal. Once you’ve figured out what kind of hero you want to be, you’ll find more reasons to fight the good fight.

“The kind of hero I want to be…”

Besides, don’t you know, kid? Being strong in the big three is what separates the heroes from the villains.

Sam knew villain was the term for a gifted who refused to play by hero society’s rules. There were quite a lot of them festering in the city’s underbelly.

Back when he was a hero-in-training three years ago, Sam had encountered a villain for the very first time. This villain, a dude named the Trickster, was in the midst of blowing up a building when Sam and his mentor arrived to save the day. Well, his mentor did most of the saving. Sam just helped evacuate the civilians.

He remembered that day vividly. It wasn’t just because it had been the first time he’d been put into some real danger, but because the Trickster, a zeta-level gifted who could only cast minor illusions around himself, had shone brightly in Sam’s eyes.

“Zeta, Delta, Gamma, Beta, Alpha, and Omega…these shackles we choose to bind ourselves with to determine our worth as powered individuals…it corrupts the meaning of heroism,” he’d said. “Don’t we all share the fate of being blessed by the gods? What gives you the right to consider yourself above me?”

As another zeta, Sam resonated with this message. After all, the power ranking system decided a hero’s worth, and that included how much money they earned doing a job that they couldn’t resign from. Getting sponsors, endorsements, and compensation for doing hero work depended on one’s power levels too. Not that this disparity was enough for Sam to want to quit the job. He believed there was more to hero work than getting paid.

“I shall be the seed of rebellion against the biased system you so-called heroes put in place!” the Trickster had yelled at the top of his lungs.

Sam thought the Trickster was pretty full of himself, although a tiny part of him couldn’t help but admire all that bravado.

A single punch from Sam’s mentor was enough to silence the Trickster though. That one blow sent him flying through a glass wall and into an experimental laboratory where he crashed into several liquid vials that mixed in so volatile a manner that the result was an explosion that ended the Trickster’s villainous career and his life.

The memory of that moment—how a life ended so abruptly, and how his mentor didn’t seem to care that he’d killed a man—never failed to sour Sam’s mood. Because it was that moment that first tainted Sam’s view of the hero life he wanted to be part of.

Hey, stop spacing out, lame-brain! This tutorial ain’t over!

Sam blinked. His reminiscing ended instantly. “S-sorry… I was just thinking about what kind of hero I wanted to be… and what kind I don’t want to be.”