CHAPTER TWELVE

Powers and Bonds, Part 2

You sure you weren’t just thinking of something stupid? You had a dumb look plastered on your face just now.

Sam shook his head while feeling slightly embarrassed. “Nope, I’m sure. I was seriously thinking about how I wanted to become a hero… a good one.”

Today’s you’re lucky day, kid. I’m here to mold you into a hero…maybe even a great one! Ha-ha-ha…Nah, let’s not kid ourselves. I’d settle for you not dying right away. To that end, I want you to open the powers menu now.

“I’m loving the vote of confidence, master,” Sam sighed.

He tapped on [POWERS], and the window that popped up before him was unlike any of the ones he’d seen before. It looked to Sam like he was staring at the roots of several trees. [COMBAT], [SUPPORT], and [ELEMENTALIST] were the three options available so far.

Each option was connected to a line item directly underneath them which then branched out into several lines that ended in blank spaces. Only three items were visible. These were [Healing Hand (ζ)] and [Regeneration (ζ)] which were the origin points of two separate branches underneath [SUPPORT]. The only other visible item was [Herculean (ζ)] which was in a line separate from the main [COMBAT] tree.

You’ll notice that Herculean is a loner… that’s because it’s an extreme power all on its own. Do you know what that means?

“That it’s awesome?”

Well, yeah, but also that it’s dangerous and shouldn’t be used often…at least not until your body can cope with the effects of such a double-edged sword.

Sam could vividly remember the feeling of Herculean’s energy coursing through his veins and how it felt like his insides were on fire.

“You’ve got a point,” he admitted. “I’ll try not to use it too much.”

Honestly, you’re lucky you can regenerate quickly or I doubt you’d still be alive after that last fight. You were pretty reckless.

“You encouraged me to be reckless,” Sam reminded Chiron.

No reply came.

This silence gave Sam a moment to check out the last option, [ELEMENTALIST]. Right below it was a big fat blank.

“Why is Elementalist empty?”

It’s because you haven’t earned the right to wield that kind of power yet… if you even can.

“How will I learn to use it?”

I don’t know. That’s up to the system… but I guarantee that it won’t be as easy as adding points to your attributes.

“How do you not know how?” Sam glowered at the message box. “Didn’t you create Triple-A?”

The system develops with each new Argonaut it’s passed on to because there’s no one-size-fits-all in hero training. That’s the beauty of it, kid. Triple-A adapts to what you need to become the best version of the hero that you can be.

It made a weird kind of sense in Sam’s mind. After all, there was no way Achilles or Hercules went through the same types of challenges in their lives.

“Different strokes for different folks.”

Exactly! It’s nice to see that your brain’s not completely empty.

Sam also noticed that there were many blank spaces underneath the other power trees. When he asked Chiron about them, he got an interesting response.

You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?

“How is any of this easy?” Sam complained.

The power of regeneration was already inside you… You just needed to get stronger to awaken to it.

“But Herculean’s different from my original power set,” Sam reasoned.

Is it, though?

Sam’s brow creased. “Hold on… are you saying I had something this awesome inside me all along?”

Think about it, kid… what does it take for you to gain your strength boost?

“My life force,” Sam answered instantly.

Herculean was exactly like Healing Hand in how it needed to drain Sam’s life force for its fuel.

All I’m saying is that you’ve got potential… not a lot, but enough of it that something like a strength boost that uses your own life to empower you is within the realm of possibility for you... Don’t let it get to your head though… You’re just barely passable as an Argonaut trainee.

“What if I added more points to my other stats?” Sam wondered aloud. “Maybe that’s the key to unlocking new powers.”

Whoa, whoa, cool your jets, kid.

Sam raised an eyebrow at the message box. “What’s the problem?”

Don’t use your points willy-nilly like that, lame-brain! You don’t want to be a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. It’d be a waste of your already limited potential.

“Should I just focus on strength and constitution like before then?”

I’m not telling you what attribute you should invest in, kid. That’s up to you once you’ve figured out what path you want to tread… What I can do right now is help you improve that sorry excuse of mass you call a body.

“Oh, is this where we begin the training montage?” Sam joked as he leaned against the wall by the door. “Seriously, you want me to exercise? That’s your big plan to make me a great hero?”

In response to his question, a new mission window popped up.

DAILY MISSION: EXPLOSIVE TRAINING MENU #1 CONDITION: Complete the following exercises every day to gain excellent health and body benefits! TRAINING MENU: Push-Ups x100, Sit-Ups x100, Squats x100, Lunges x100, Distance Running of 10KM. REWARDS: A body that won’t drop from even the most grueling challenges, low chance to increase an attribute after daily mission completion. BONUS: Bonus benefits may occur if the hero eats a lot of protein, at least 0.8g per pound of current body weight. Eat some high-fiber vegetables and non-dried fruit too. WARNING: Failure to complete the daily mission within the allotted time frame will result in a [PENALTY], the kind that’ll make the hero wish he’d just complied with the mission tasks from the beginning.

“Hey…this sounds familiar,” Sam frowned.

There was no response.

“Styx…did you just rip this off from that popular superhero manga?” Sam accused.

How dare you accuse me of copying someone else!?

Chiron’s sudden hostility didn’t convince Sam. He crossed his arms over his chest and added, “Well…did you?”

It took a long while for a response to arrive.

Why mess around with what works? Also, I added lunges into the menu as a personal touch.

“That’s pretty shameless of you, master,” Sam sighed.

Listen, kid, as far as fitness routines go, the Explosive Training Menu #1 is superior to what people do at the gym. With these exercises, you hit more muscle groups naturally. And I guarantee on my honor as the best hero trainer out there that you won’t go bald from doing this… probably.

“This will really help me build up a body that can heal Thunder?”

Attaining a body that can do heroics easily is the first step. And this here is the kind of training that provides you with cardiovascular conditioning, muscular endurance, and physical explosiveness that you’ll need for the labors ahead. He-he-he.

Sam wasn’t sure why, but hearing the word ‘labors’ caused a chill to slide down his spine. He recalled another hero who’d spent a chunk of his career completing twelve grueling labors which included having to slay an eight-headed hydra.

Now that we’re done with all that beginner stuff…it’s time for you to go train, kid!

“Gods”—Sam called out to the beings that held his life and sanity in their hands—“please…give me strength…”