“Oi. Lil Bro. I got something important to tell ya.” Akuma called out to his younger brother.

“Why the serious face? You aren’t gonna tell me we’re closing down the shop and going to have to live out on the street, are you? I just started talking to the prettiest girl in class and if I gotta tell her I'm homeless, I'm going to beat the shit out of you, Big Bro.” He vowed.

“Nah. That ain’t it. And who do you think you’re fucking talking to? You want me to smack you upside the head with my bat?” Akuma responded back.

“Smack my balls, you damn virgin.” He flicked him off.

“Go put up the closed sign, lock the front door, and get over here.” Akuma told him.

His little brother did as he asked with a cute pout on his face. Despite being brothers, they looked nothing alike. Akuma took more of his father’s rough demonic looks while Xiao took their mother’s angelic looks. Akuma’s name fit his appearance more than his brother’s did. Both of them were named Akuma by their parents but the only different was that Xiao was called Xiao Akuma and he was Da Akuma. Their father was named Wei Akuma and their grandfather was You Akuma.

“Now, what the hell did you want to show me?” Xiao propped up his arms on the store’s counter and looked him dead in the eyes.

“It’s time for us to become filthy rich.” Akuma evilly grinned.

“Are you playing some kind of shitty prank or something? I don’t have time for this crap, Big Bro. Classes at the Star Academy are tough as shit and I'm doing everything I can to make sure I'm not dead fucking last. I could be studying right now but here you are joking around!” The vulgar mouth on this sweet innocent looking boy would shock the ears off of any adult!

“Quit fucking yapping your lips and listen.” Xiao could tell by the tone of his big brother’s voice that this wasn’t a joke for once. He shut up and listened carefully.

“You know dad’s ole training dummy in the back?”

Xiao nodded.

“It turns out that it was actually a Makin that was sleeping for who knows how long. And just a few days ago, I realized I had an incredible ability that only we can know about. Not even the little thot you plan on making your girlfriend.”

“She’s not a thot.” He quickly defended the girl he planned to smash, date, and then marry.

“Yeah sure. But anyway, I have some sort of Super Maki that I can use to boost things with.”

Xiao had trouble believing his brother at face value and was pretty close to calling him fucking insane. He probably had some sort of dream about this and was so far lost in the delusion that he forgot that this was the real world, not the dream world. What his big brother was saying was a bit too ridiculous to believe. If he really had some sort of super Maki that could make shit stronger, then they really would become rich as long as no one found out and tried to kill them.

Maki was the energy of the world. It arrived when a meteor from deep space crash landed onto Earth and transformed the planet centuries ago. Humans, beasts, insects, plants, and more were all affected by the introduction of maki. The beasts, insects, and plants that took in maki transformed on a genetic level. Those transformed creatures were now called Makin. Beings that were capable of evolving into higher forms with unbelievable supernatural abilities. Some were capable of breathing fire hot enough to melt steel, growing to heights large enough to dwarf houses, and master elements such as space, sound, and wood.

Humans weren’t left out of these miraculous skills. Through the accumulation and mastery of Maki, they could somewhat match Makin on their own. But it wasn’t until humans started to form mystical pacts with Makin that the world really began to transform into what it was today. A world centered around Makin, Maki, and Makin Masters.

Xiao was in Star Academy, a prestigious educational institute made specifically for developing Makin Masters. Makin Masters were humans who made pacts with Makin for various of reasons. The most common reason was for making loads of money. Akuma could only enroll Xiao in the academy thanks to their parent’s life insurance left to them after their passing. A decision their parents wanted for him even before he was born. Akuma got expelled from his school when he was young and had to take care of the family business with his father before eventually taking it over after his parents’ death. He ran a low-quality Makin shop to feed and keep their family afloat.

“Can it like... evolve the normal ranked Makin we got inside?” Xiao unconsciously lowered his voice.

“Oh, hell yeah...” Akuma whispered back with a grin.

“And you’re not joking, right, Big Bro?” He asked because he still couldn’t believe it.

“Oi, Angel. Come out here for a second.” Akuma called out.

At his command, Xiao heard the footsteps slowly coming towards the front counter. From behind Akuma, a humanoid figure revealed itself in the doorway. Its glowing pink eyes gazed into Xiao’s, sending an excited shiver through his body. She was a Makin that looked like a training dummy! A feminine figure, made out of pink wood, a strange small flower growing out of her wooden head, and a short wooden nose that resembled a tree branch. The dummy swayed her way over to the counter and stood to the side of Akuma.

“She’s already worth more than all the Makin in the store combined.” Akuma confidently smiled.

“Did you form a pact with her already?! Let me form a pact! Let me do it!” Xiao excitedly begged.

“Are you nuts? Of course, I formed a pact with her, dumbass.”

“Fuck! Why can’t you ever let me have anything good, Big Bro?!” Xiao whined.

“Quit fucking whining like a little bitch. You think I haven’t thought of a Makin for you yet?” Akuma yelled.

“Where is it?!” Xiao yelled back.

“Go pick one out from the ones we have in the store. With my Super Maki, I'm sure I can eventually evolve it into a legendary Makin in a couple years.”

“Can the trash Makin we have in the store even evolve?” He questioned while looking over the Makin they had in stock.

“Every Makin can evolve, you little fucking idiot. It’s just that normal Masters don’t give a fuck about the weak normal ranked ones and never bother putting in the time, effort, and resources needed to evolve them. As far as we know, these weak little fucks could grow into incredibly powerful and useful Makin but no one’s ever given them the chance.” Akuma lectured.

“Sometimes I forget you’re smarter than you look, Big Bro.” Xiao innocently complimented.

This compliment gave him a hard punch to the top of his head from his big brother.

“Just because I got expelled from school, doesn’t mean I don’t know shit. Now hurry up and choose which one you want to make a pact with.”

Xiao looked over all the weak and borderline useless Makin they had in the store. There was the Atlas Beetle that could carry 1,000 times its own weight but was only as big as a human hand and moved as fast as a snail. These beetles weren’t used for combat purposes and were commonly used as feed for other Makin. Xiao immediately rejected this as bugs wouldn’t attract any ladies at all. He moved on to the next Makin they had and frowned.

The Quick-footed Chicken. Just like the Atlas Beetle, this was used primarily as food for humans and Makins. Their eggs were not tasty and its meat was alright at best. Its most advantageous trait was having strong legs and using them to run from prey. Xiao stared deeply into the eyes of the Quick-footed Chicken looking back at him, seemingly with eyes filled with pride.

“Hey Big Bro, do you think this chicken could evolve into some kind of ultimate kicking master or a phoenix?” Xiao asked.

“Probably not a phoenix unless you’re the luckiest bitch ever. They don’t show any signs of regenerative abilities or an affinity to fire at normal rank. Maybe if you could teach it how to fight with its legs instead of running away with them, it could learn how to kick.” Akuma shrugged.

“I'd look like a fucking nutjob trying to teach a chicken martial arts, won’t I?”

“I’d laugh my balls off if you did.”

“Definitely not the chicken then.” He moved on.

“The Suicide Dog would be perfect for you. I don’t see you as the type of Master to pick a defensive-type or supportive-type Makin.”

“This tiny thing?! How the hell is this going to help me excel in school and chicks?” Xiao was upset at his brother’s recommendation.

“One, chicks love cute Makin. Two, the Suicide Dog has one of the strongest bites and the most courage out of any other dog Makin. It isn’t afraid of anything and is willing to stand up to a fully grown elephant. Could you imagine how ferocious this little thing will be once it reaches the legendary rank?” Akuma explained.

Xiao didn’t look happy about having to pact with this small dog but a dog was way cooler than a bug and chicken. It could also turn out to be really cool when his brother starts to buy supplements for them and their Makin. He’d have to suffer for a little bit until they start really making money, but by then he’ll be able to buy any Makin he wants! So, he did as his brother suggested and made a pact with the Suicide Dog puppy. It was white with black spots all over it.

Making a pact with the doggy exhausted all the Maki within Xiao and the Suicide Dog’s body. Akuma brought his brother and his new partner to their bed and infused his Super Maki into their bodies. He didn’t know if his ability worked on humans but what better person to boost with his Super Maki than his own brother? It sucked ass his energy couldn’t be used on himself but Akuma could still take advantage of this. He didn’t know why his Maki was different but had a sneaky suspicion it had something to do with his mom’s necklace. When he was beating some robbers half to death with his metal bat for trying to rob his store, one of them pulled out a knife and with the help of his buddy managed to make him bleed.

Once that blood leaked onto the necklace, Akuma felt a tight constriction within his chest. It was one of the most painful things he’s ever felt. And he’s a man who has got in a lot of fights over the years. He’s dealt with broken bones, being stabbed, whacked with metal pipes and other weapons, and even burned at one point. Akuma believed he was going to die that night. He made his way to the idiot couple that lives close to their shop and passed out on their front door.

“I’ll definitely have to pay back those two. Maybe I can give them a discount in the store for taking me to the hospital.” Akuma muttered to himself as he made his way to the front of the store.

“I’m going to be making bank once I get these plants to evolve.” Akuma laughed.

His eyes turned into money signs as he stared at the Silver Leaf Juniper and Bleeding Weed just sitting in their pots near the windows. The Silver Leaf Juniper and Bleeding Weed were both plants useful for medical purposes. The juniper could help in healing basic wounds at the normal rank while the weed could help replenish low blood reserves. When Akuma evolves these two into the next rank, they could gain additional abilities besides the one they already have, a physical mutation, or an elemental nature. Regardless of which change happens, they’ll increase in price more than ten times when they do!

Right now, they were only worth about 500 bits. 500 for the juniper and 300 for the weed. Not too cheap but not too expensive either. It made sense because they could only help with the most basic of injuries and weren’t too useful for anything more than that. However, once they evolve, it’ll be a whole new ball park. Getting Silver Leaf Juniper and Bleeding Weed to evolve is not an easy task. Rare-ranked and above version of these plants could only be found in the hands of hospitals and mega-corporations. That was enough to say how difficult it was to evolve them past the normal rank.

Akuma shared his Super Maki with only 5 of the 20+ small plants he was growing in the window. He considered evolving the trash Makin too but knew he couldn’t go too crazy with his special energy just yet. If one day all of the things in his store just suddenly evolved to the next rank, then some nosey bastards would get curious and start sniffing around. For now, he planned to make some good money off the plants that’ll level up in a few days and expand his shop and improve him and his brother’s life with that money. From low-level plants to mid-level then to high-level to top-level. After reaching top-level, Akuma believes that they’ll evolve past the normal rank and ascend to rare rank.

He was too vulnerable right now. His own strength needed to be improved, he needed to give his brother everything he needed for school and more, and since he made a pact with Angel, he had to go register as a Makin Master and prove he had the capabilities to own a dangerous monster. Akuma was thinking about hiring some employees to deal with the animals but keeping his Super Maki a secret from them would be a pain in the ass. He’ll just have to deal with taking care of the annoying animals until he can sell em all off.

“Angel. Let’s have a proper training session to test out everything you have.” Akuma grinned.

He walked to the back with the wooden dummy. It was their storage area but his father mostly used it for training purposes. All the supplies needed to take care of the shop and the Makin were back here but there still was enough room inside that it could be used for training. Akuma stood an equal distance away from Angel. Angel was an interesting Makin but one that also confused him. Was she supposed to be a Makin with a plant physique because she was made of wood or a humanoid because of how she looks? By focusing his Maki on their pact, he could find out information about Angel. It turned out that she was a Top-level, normal-ranked, plant-physique, special-type of Makin with no elements. Makin could be categorized in quite a few ways. Low, mid, high, and top for levels. Normal, rare, unique, legend, and mythic for ranks. Offensive, defensive, supportive, and special for types. Humanoid, insect, feline, canine, etc. for physiques. Fire, water, ice, wood, etc. for element type.

Akuma was more than glad for the gift his mother left him with that necklace. Now it was time for him to use what he was given and take advantage of it like a real man should. Not whining and crying about its disadvantages, like some little privileged bitch. The young store owner with a muscular frame and sturdy body lightly swung his bat. Seeing the dents on this baby made him think that he’ll need to get this thing replaced soon. He was never into baseball but always admired the bat as a weapon. Simple to use, reliable, and really satisfying to beat assholes with.

“Let’s see what you got, Angel.” Akuma ran towards the feminine wooden dummy with his bat raised high.