As I’m reaching for the handle to the equipment room, the door violently swings inward. In its place stands a bewildered student who was mid stride before finding me on the other side of the door.

….

……

…..

A moment of silence pass before we awkwardly pass by each other…. I really hate going through one fucking doorway at the same time as someone else, but if I had stopped to let the other kid go first, he probably would’ve stopped as well. Human thought process is utter crap.

….

….

….

Oh right Aiyla! Scanning the equipment room, I quickly find the odd one out. A tall girl with snow white hair is gently polishing Aiyla while sitting on stacks of wrestling mats. Her followers- or at least what I assume are her friends- all sit around on various other gym equipment.

They look different than the other students. Wearing an assortment of protective gear scavenged from this very room makes them look like larp wanna-bes, only further exasperated as all of them have swords or staves… One guy even has an inflatable hammer…...

Oh God no.

Mark restrain yourself.

Must.

Not.

Laugh.

Judging by their faces of indifference, they haven't picked up my internal struggle, which helps me rein in the rampaging emotions. I have nothing against larpees, but seriously if anyone has ever attended a session, they can attest to the sheer comedy of watching grown men hit each other with styrofoam. Sometimes I would also participate, but instead, wrapped metal pipes in the thinnest layers of bubble wrap I could find, that just barely met the safety requirements. Beating the literal shit out of full grown adults was always a great stress reliever for me as a kid.

Leaving that train of thought, I refocus on the girl holding Aiyla…. Holy crap she is beautiful. Her eyes are the brightest blue i’ve ever seen, with lips full enough to get lost in and cheek bones in that perfect spot that could make even the opposite sex drool. What the hell was someone like this doing in our school?

Not to mention her face, her body could easily win her any beauty pageant on this side of the state…. She's tall, at least 5’11”, got an amazing bust, I’d guess a size D…. hell maybe even double D’s if her armor wasn’t so constrictive. Best part of all are her thighs though. Oh god I can barely drag my eyes back up after they had taken in her full glory. I’ve joked before how i’d want a woman with thighs that could suffocate me on a whim, but god damn I never thought they could exist. If she was wearing stockings right now those god given gifts would be spilling over them in a way that it would be a crime to not show the world.

This all occurred in the fraction of a second it took for me to fully appreciate her beauty. So you can understand how startled I was when she spoke,

“Hey, my eyes are up here!” She had the cutest pout ever on her face. I could tell she was genuinely furious, but I couldn’t see past those Thighs. Like how am I supposed to react when a literal goddess starts speaking to me, much less one I had only thought existed in dreams and teenage boys’ fantasies.

So again, you can understand when I raised the Glock 26 I had scavenged from the Scatter Shot cop and quickly empty 4 rounds into her forehead.

NO TEMPTATIONS. THE HUMAN BODY IS WEAK, I WILL NEVER SUCCUMB TO SUCH PETTY DESIRES.

Mark’s mind completely blanked as his Blood Aura surged from his skin in waves. The fog was even thicker than before, whether it was due to Blood Lust being upgraded or simply his state of mind no one knew. All they did know however, was that the white haired goddess they had come to call savior had been brutally murdered before their own eyes. And they could do Nothing about it.

While the followers are watching their leader slowly collapse on the mat, Mark takes aim and fires. And fires. And fires.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Taking care to not waste ammo on the other trash, he takes his time- albeit highly compressed from a certain aura- and only goes for their heads.

Well that was definitely the smartest choice. Don’t have time for thots around here, especially whores like her that think they can touch Aiyla.

You have slain a level 14 Pioneer! Congratulations, you may choose one of their traits as well as skills!

You have been given 10% of their highest attribute: +7 Charisma

Due to them being a Champion you have gained Infamy:

-250 Reputation

You are now a Scourge.

Traits:

Charm: (Tier II)

Base Charisma is boosted by 55%

Psychic: (Tier I)

The pool of the mind. Originally based upon the art of enhancement, it has over time evolved into a hybrid of Enhancement and Manipulation.

Active Ability: Split Mind- Current Max (2)

Passive Ability: Base Perception is boosted by 20%

Ever killed someone with a thought? Well I have.

Titan Body: (Tier II)

Compresses muscle mass to hide your true strength.

Active Ability: Triples strength attribute for 12 minutes-- Halves strength for 55 minutes afterwards.

Passive Ability: Base Strength is boosted by 25%

Skills:

Infused Fist: (Tier I)

Overcharge a punch with excess stamina.

Damage boost scaled to the amount of stamina used.

Warning: Overcharging may lead to spontaneous organ rupture.

Fleet Footed: (Tier II)

Increases movement speed at the cost of Stamina.

Speed Boost scaled to the amount of stamina used.

Warning: Speed Boosted does not mean you have control.

Ice Bolt: (Tier II)

Exchanges mana to form an Ice shard.

Size and Damage are directly related to amount of mana used.

For killing 5 assimilated members of your own species:

Blood Lust: (Tier II) 304/1000

Souls: 5

Free Market Points: 468

234 XP

Well dang, I didn’t even know the thot was a pioneer. Probably should’ve asked her some questions before I spread her brains around the room, but oh well. Still made the smart choice.

Besides that, no wonder she seemed so beautiful to me…. Getting seven charisma means she had a nearly three digit charisma stat…… I’m sure she spent every single free stat on it as well. What a waste, seriously if she had put it all into strength I would have gained so much more damnit!

Ruling out Charm and Ice Bolt immediately as I don’t intend to seduce people and have exactly zero mana. Although Titan Body would be useful, I need more options for range so Psychic is the way to go, I also secretly want to mind fuck people but no one needs to know that. Skill wise is also kinda obvious since I never plan to use my fists as long as I have my amazing Aiyla so Fleet Footed it is.

You have been granted the Psychic: (Tier I) trait and Fleet Footed: (Tier II) skill.

With that I proceed to collect my Aiyla, who is positively glowing. Ok I seriously may have jumped the gun. That girl was a liability but she really knows how to clean a spear, if you know what I mean. Nope! No second thoughts! If necessary I can clean Aiyla just as well! In fact I would be honored to do it. I definitely made the smart choice. Right?