CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX

Tech Support

For his first assignment, Sam was instructed to build as many glowing walls as he could create with Bulwark’s aura while ensuring they remained in the air without dissipating.

This was easier said than done because Sam needed to focus his life force on each new wall that he conjured which meant there wasn’t enough life force to maintain the wall he’d already created. With every new wall coming to life, the old ones wavered in the air for a short time and then winked out like a light bulb turning off.

“It’s like you’re asking me to look to my left while also looking to my right at the same time,” Sam reasoned.

It’s only hard because you’re not using your gift more efficiently, lame-brain, Chiron chided.

Sam could feel the centaur draw his attention to the wall that was just about to vanish in the air which was just to the right of the new wall he had just conjured into being.

See how your new wall is filled to brim with life force while this other one’s barely got any juice to it?

Sam nodded.

Try filling that one with life force again.

He did as Chiron instructed, but no sooner did Sam send life force into the dissolving wall when the wall that had looked strong and sturdy began to show signs of weakening too.

If I charge up one wall then the other one loses juice…

That’s because you’re doing things the hard way.

What do you mean, master?

Think about it some more, kid … You’re wielding your life force—which should be taxing enough for your brain to do, by the way—to create an object made of life force. Now, you not only have to maintain its state with a constant flow of energy, but you also have to do it while conjuring another wall that also requires an equivalent amount of life force to stay afloat… For anyone who isn’t a genius, that would be impossible.

So, why did you tell me to—

An epiphany struck Sam then.

I’m doing things the hard way when I don’t have to, he realized. I don’t need to manually maintain the walls with life force myself when I have something that can do it for me. Triple-A!

You look left while the system looks right, Chiron chuckled. It’s about time you thought of the system as a tool that can support you in combat too.

Attuned to Sam’s needs, a new pop-up appeared in the air.

Does Herculean have a task for the system?

I’ll need you to pump enough life force to keep Bulwark’s walls from disappearing. Sam looked hopefully at the floating notification window. Can you do it, Triple-A?

It’ll be a relatively easy task to regulate your energy output and ensure sufficient life force is passed to Bulwark’s aura.

Let’s test it out, Sam replied eagerly.

Five minutes later and Sam was surprised with how easily Chiron’s assignment became with the help of Triple-A. Not only did he manage to conjure and maintain two glowing teal walls, but with Triple-A’s help, there were a total of five walls floating around Sam now.

Triple-A didn’t just allow Sam to focus on conjuring a wall either. It also optimized the amount of life force required to maintain each wall so that Sam’s HP didn’t dwindle as quickly as before.

You’re amazing, Triple-A.

The system appreciates the compliment.

Unfortunately, keeping all five walls up for five minutes was Sam’s limit as his HP had gone down to near-critical levels at that point, forcing Triple-A to cancel Bulwark’s activation as a safety measure. Distance had also been a factor because the wall that was furthest from Sam—the one Chiron told him to conjure twenty yards away—had drained more of Sam’s life force to create and maintain than the others that were closer to him.

“The further it is… the harder it is to maintain Bulwark’s aura,” Sam realized.

But now you’re used to the feeling of controlling your life force while it’s separated from you while also learning how Triple-A can be useful to you in these kinds of situations where you need extra computing power to get the job done, Chiron pointed out.

Is that the point of this exercise? Sam, who sat on the floor lotus-style as it was Triple-A’s prescribed position to speed up Regeneration’s efficiency, frowned at the air. It’s not exactly a combat technique, master…

Learning to wield your life force like this is just a preliminary step, kid, Chiron answered. Now we get to the fun part.

While Chiron waited for Sam’s HP to rise back to full health, he reminded Sam not to forget the sensations he’d experienced during the previous exercise. This wasn’t as easy a task to do, however, as Sam’s concentration was constantly interrupted by the scene on the other side of the hard light barrier.

Thunder had been fighting fake Superion for about an hour by now, and even though she hadn’t taken a single break since then, her enthusiasm and commitment to the training hadn’t dwindled in the least. Sam could see the wide grin on Thunder’s sweat-coated face while she exchanged one savage attack after another with her cousin’s mirror image.

“She’s so hardcore,” Sam chuckled. Then he frowned. “I’m in love with a battle maniac… Styx.”

Yep, you chose well, kid, Chiron chuckled. Just imagine what she’ll do to you if you ever stepped out on her.

I-I wouldn’t do that, Sam protested hotly.

Indeed, he couldn’t even imagine ever looking at another woman the way he saw Thunder. She meant the world to him now, and he would do whatever it took to protect this thing blossoming between them.

Yeah, yeah, quit staring at Thunder, lover-boy, and get back to focusing on what you’ve just learned.

After Triple-A reported that Sam’s health was back to a hundred percent, the next step of his skills training began. At Chiron’s suggestion, Sam asked Marcus Flint for a ranged target to appear exactly twenty yards away from where he stood. Their host went the extra mile, however, and created ten targets around Sam, with each one floating in the air at different heights and varying distances.

You know, I like Flint. He gets it. Training efficiently is also about having the right environment to train in, Chiron noted.

“Are you sure you’re okay doing tech support?” Sam asked. “Don’t you have a company to run?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve cleared my schedule for this… and I’ve got competent people running the company for me,” Marcus Flint’s voice assured him.

“Um, Mr. Flint, mind if I ask why you’re helping us?” Sam’s brow furrowed slightly. “It can’t just be because you and Thunder are friends… right?”

“Well, it’s because Crow-Man asked me to, and Crow-Man doesn’t ask people for favors unless it’s important,” Marcus Flint replied. There was a slight pause before he added, “From what I’ve heard, and Crow-Man didn’t tell me much, the three of you are about to take on a highly challenging mission—the world-saving kind. And that’s more than enough reason for me to want to help you, Sam, because that’s all I can do for you right now.”

It was well-known that Marcus Flint was ungifted, which Sam thought was unfortunate as he believed the billionaire genius inventor would have made one hell of a hero if a god had just blessed him with a gift.

“Thank you, sir,” Sam said.

“Don’t mention it,” Marcus Flint answered. “I’m curious to see what you’re going to do with these targets. Crow-Man never mentioned you had any ranged abilities.”

“Um, well, I don’t,” Sam admitted. “But that’s about to change… I think.”

Next, Chiron suggested Sam pull out his hammer first, because, as the centaur explained, At least you won’t chop off your hand if you mess this up.

A quick press of a node on his shiny belt and Onus materialized in Sam’s right hand. Surprisingly, the black hammer with its cylindrical head didn’t weigh so heavily this time.

Self-training doesn’t possess as much burden as facing a live enemy. [Onus, the Load-Bearer] will not provide you with any bonuses this time.

I guess that makes sense, and I’m not complaining. I can do with one day without heavy burdens.

With Chiron’s instructions filling Sam’s head, he began to coat Onus’s handle with a bit of life force so that it shone faintly in his signature teal glow.

Why not the whole thing though?

Because there’s no point straining yourself needlessly when you don’t have to.

As if to emphasize Chiron’s point, a new notification appeared before Sam.

Life force aura is stable at [1%] decrease in HP per second.

“Okay, that is low,” Sam agreed.

Strangely, Sam could feel the hammer vibrating in his hand as if he were holding onto a living thing. When he pointed this out to Chiron, the centaur claimed Onus was reacting to Sam’s life force as if it had momentarily become an extension of Sam’s body.

Don’t forget that feeling, kid. It’s what’ll keep your connection to Onus after it leaves your hand, Chiron explained. Now, I want you to throw your hammer at the target that’s twenty yards away, which we’ve established is the maximum distance you can send your life force to right now.

“Here goes nothing,” Sam whispered.

Then, with just enough strength that he was sure it would fly to the floating target that was twenty yards away, Sam threw Onus forward—and it missed hitting the target by a good five feet.

I swear to the gods, kid—Chiron sounded annoyed—when in Hades are you going to learn to aim?!

Sorry, sorry! Sam apologized. I was way too focused on maintaining the connection… I kind of forgot to aim at the target.

As he jogged over to where his hammer had fallen, Sam’s cheeks flared red because he knew both Thunder and Marcus Flint had seen his mistake.

His second attempt was a little better though. He managed to hit a target twenty yards away, although he was far from scoring a bullseye. This time, Sam had been so focused on hitting the target that he couldn’t maintain his connection to his hammer.

“Concentrating on my life force that’s far from my body is hard enough, but focusing on a target while I hold onto that unseen tether is like—”

Looking left while also looking right, Chiron finished for him.

Sam could tell that Chiron was holding himself back from screaming insults into his ear, although there was nothing the centaur could say to Sam that he wasn’t thinking already. He was quite accomplished at self-deprecation.

However, as Sam picked up his hammer for the second time, he had another epiphany. He recalled that Triple-A had a feature that he’d used in the Ozarks which had made a virtual map appear in the corner of Sam’s vision. Also, he knew from reading the manual that Triple-A—not Chiron—provided him that the system could do other things with Sam’s sight besides its map feature.

Triple-A, Sam called, don’t you have a targeting function?

Yes. Would you like to activate it?

“Yes,” Sam answered quickly.

Activating [Targeting System].

Sam felt a slight sting in his eyes, and then a glowing teal targeting reticle appeared in his field of view.

“Holy Zeus,” Sam whistled. “This will do.”

I keep telling you that the system’s your best friend in a fight, kid, Chiron sighed. Maybe now you’ll pay more attention to it.

I know, I know… I just… I wanted to rely on my power more. And I’ve been assuming that relying on Triple-A too much wasn’t right.

The system’s a part of you now, kid. It is your power too. And just as it’s influenced by you and your nonsense, you, in turn, are also influenced by it. Just look at how much better you are at managing your life force. There was a time when you couldn’t even heal one person without feeling the fatigue. Now you can even cast your aura away from yourself.

Yeah, I get it now… thanks for helping me, Chiron.

You can thank me and Triple-A by ensuring you don’t mess up this time.

The third try’s the charm.

With Triple-A’s targeting reticle, Sam really did manage it on the third try. It was as if the system had filled his brain with enough information that his depth perception this time was on point.

[Onus, the Load-Bearer] is well-balanced. So, it’s all in the swing.

While remembering to maintain his connection to the aura he’d placed on Onus, he flung his hammer forward, and this time he hit the twenty-yard target right on the bullseye. And, with his connection to his hammer still alive, Onus didn’t fall to the ground. Instead, the hammer remained floating in the air just a foot away from the target Sam had hit.

“Chiron…” Sam whispered.

Reel it back in nice and slowly, kid.

Sam couldn’t help feeling anxious while he willed his hammer back to him. It took a bit more straining too, but, soon enough, Onus flew back into his hand—and the elation he felt from this success made Sam yell in triumph.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have acquired an intermediate combat skill [Weapon Throw].

“Yes~~s!” Sam pumped his fists in the air. “I’ve done it!”

What are you all happy about, kid? Chiron chuckled. We’re just getting started.