Darkness, the enemy of reason. In the night there were terrors that went unseen. Primitive man mastered fire to drive it back. Modern man relied of electricity and brightly lit cities to keep the crawling things at bay. However, for some people darkness was their ally.

A dark figure flittered across the landscape. It moved swiftly from one shadow to the next. All the while, its prey cast its gaze about in anxious confusion. The oversized rabbit could neither smell nor see, the creature that lurked nearby. Still, it could feel the presence of something ominous, something deadly. Danger followed it for quite some time now. Frequently, it had been forced to flee due to the fear of the unknown.

Suddenly, a hellish abomination appeared before the benighted bunny. The only thing that it could see clearly were the beast's baleful, predatory, eyes. The rest was darkness. It stood upright, much taller that the rabbit. Something fluttered behind it in the slight breeze, further enlarging its profile, and instilling even greater fear inside the heart of the prey animal.

The monster rabbit, a creature the size of a large dog, leapt back then sped away. The dark creature followed after it just as it had done so many times before. At first, it walked as a man, but after a few dozen steps it began to float above the ground. The creature flew to a nearby shadow and waited for a time before it repeated the process. It never took another step forward. Instead, it flew silently after a short period of rest in the shadows.

The game continued for quite some time. The thing in the darkness terrorized the poor monster. The rabbit's fanged maw soon opened to allow its tongue to loll out of its head. The beast panted heavily in a desperate bid to gulp in precious air.

A sound off to its left startled the beast. It whipped its head to the side, but saw nothing. Slowly, its eyes wide with the fear it had been put through, the killer bunny turned back toward where it had originally been looking. There was nothing there!

A brief sense of relief flowed through the benighted bunny, only to disappear the moment another dull thumping sound echoed from nearby. Once again the rabbit turned to see what was there. Nothing, it saw nothing. No sounds were heard for a time. No dangerous scents were carried to its nose due to the fact that the wind blew wrong.

The sound! The terrible thump came once more, this time from behind. The rabbit turned to look, but once again there was nothing. Beginning to suspect that it was merely hopping in the dark, the beast snorted then slowly turned around. Suddenly, its eyes widened and it leapt back. In the process it nearly rolled over. The dark figure had returned, and this time it was much closer than before!

A primal rabbit squeal erupted from its oversized jaws. The bunny ran for its life. Whatever the thing was, it was obviously out to kill it. Attacking the hideous thing was out of the question, it was too calm, too intimidating. Clearly, it was too strong to beat in a fight. All the hapless rabbit could do was run for its life.

The bunny ran, and it ran. No matter where it went, or how far it ran, the terror would find it. The dark figure never attacked the rabbit directly, only spent toyed with it. After what felt like days, the dark specter stopped chasing after the rabbit. It sighed in relief, just before it and the world it inhabited ceased to exist. The virtual dungeon adventure was over. Scott had to take a break due to the protocol of such training.

"So, how's the training going?" asked Maxine, after Scott wandered into the nurse's office. "Anything die of fright, yet?"

"I feel like a douchebag, but I'm getting the hang of it," said Scott. Despite his words, he smiled a bit. There was something empowering about being the thing that haunted the darkness. Some might feel bad for the virtual rabbit, but whenever a dungeon with such creatures appeared they would attack people. Until the defense forces were able to arrive, the local area would be made into a blood bath.

Maxine smiled at him. She leaned back in her chair then stretched in a lazy manner, like a cat. The motion might have been lazy, but the effect on Scott's mood was quite impressive. The golden elf stretched a lot when he was around, and it always improved his mental state.

"Don't worry. Once you've gotten the hang of intimidating things, you'll be able to develop all manner of interesting abilities. You just need to learn to exert your will over monsters, first," said Maxine.

It was true that he did need to learn to be more assertive and direct in how he dealt with dangerous situations. Alice's little mind warping trick had proven that much. "I'm working on it. How long should it take, though?"

She shrugged beautifully. "Once you can effectively intimidate monsters during an actual fight, you should be about ready."

"Right, I guess I should get to my regular training then," he said. "I need to get a decent item for my collection."

"Good luck," said Maxine. She waved farewell to him, and then returned to her work.

On the way back to the training room, Scott ran across Jerry. They had not seen much of each other since their training had begun, but as the only remaining male student candidates they had an unspoken bond.

"Still bitches?" asked Jerry.

"Yep," said Scott.

The youths shared a laugh at the expense of the snotty girls they had dealt with in the selection area. They did not spoke together that often, but they did take the time to compare notes when possible.

"I've heard a rumor that it changes once we get to the academy," said Jerry.

Scott tried not to let on too much of what he knew, just in case it turned out to be bullshit. Who really knew what these teachers were on about? The entire selection process might be an elaborate lie to screw with him. Was he paranoid to believe that? Maybe, but given everything that happened to date he did not put it past the faculty.

"That's what I hear, too. Either way, I like the odds," said Scott.

"Hell yeah, man. Thousands of hot super babes, a few hundred guys..." Jerry smacked his lips then wiggled his shoulders up and down. "Man, I'm lovin' it already."

"How's the training going?" asked Scott with a wry smile.

"Slow, but I'm on track," said Jerry. He grinned at Scott then continued, "I hear you're almost done."

"I think everyone heard that," said Scott. "The teachers weren't exactly quiet about it."

Jerry lightly punched Scott on the arm. "Don't worry, bro. We won't be trapped in this hell of bitchiness, forever."

The youths shared a laugh at that. Most of the girls at the selection center were nice, or at least they minded their own business, but that one group was still a problem. They did not go out of their way to cause issues since they were given a stern lecture, but it would not last long. Those girls, neither of the guys trusted them not to be complete toolbags in the future.

Polite chit-chat echoed through the hallway for a few minutes, and then they went their separate ways. There was training to do, after all.

Back to the training room went Scott. Once he logged on to the virtual dungeon, checked his status. Little had changed since the day before. However, he was ready to make a few decisions.

"Those development points aren't doing me any good just sitting around..." Scott could not force a permanent stat increase, but he could upgrade his stats heavily by improving his equipment.

"The cape first," said Scott. He pulled up the upgrade screen then chose his cape. It had not changed at all since the moment that he had acquired it, but things were about to become slightly more interesting.

Scott took the cape off and held it in his hand while he paid the ten development points required to upgrade his equipment. The glorious bit of superhero attire flared brightly with a brilliant red light for a moment, but appeared no different after the lightshow ended.

He checked the actual stats, and his eyes widened significantly. He immediately spent another twenty-five points to upgrade it a second time. A ridiculous giggle bubbled up from his lips as he saw his next increase.

[Superior Cape of the Lone Guardian]

From the depths of the heart arises a power like none other. Rise above the common beat. Reach for the skies true believer.

Level: 3/00

Development Points: 0/40

[-Special Options-]

All Attributes: + 30

Improved Regeneration: [Type IV][12% Reduction in Healing Time]

[-Developmental Skills-]

Defensive Aura: 30 [0/5670]

Aura of Flight: 30 seconds [0/20250]

[--]

"This is..." Scott looked at the stat information carefully. Every time he upgraded it, the defensive aura and aura of flight developmental skills reduced their purchase requirements by ten percent. His improved regeneration improved by four percent, but all of his attributes increased by ten points each time. As long as he wore his cape, he would be a lot stronger.

"Man, this is friggin' sweet!" He was eleven points shy of another upgrade, so he looked to his gloves. His government items could not be upgraded, unfortunately.

Scott spent four points to upgrade his gloves once, and upon seeing what happened he spent another seven points to upgrade it a second time.

[Lesser Blue Bomber Gloves]

A blast to wear and use. Strike your opponents with explosive fury!

Restriction: [Physical Prowess - 110]

Level: 3/3

Development Points: [Max]

[-Special Options-]

Offensive Aura: 3 – 9

Defense Aura: 6

[-Developmental Skills-]

Burst Punch: [0/81]

[--]

The attack power was now three times stronger, and he had tripled his defense boost as well. Between his cape and gloves, his fighting ability drastically increased. Curious to see the official numbers, he checked his stats.

[Status]

Scott Hennessy

Age: 18

Development Points: 18

Offensive Aura: 2 [5-11]

Defensive Aura: 1 [41]

--

Resilience: 101 [131]

Vitality: 136 [166]

Dexterity: 113 [143]

Physical Prowess: 154 [184]

Mental Acuity: 159 [189]

[--]

He released a low whistle. The defensive aura was ridiculous. In a game it would have been something like automatic defense against attacks. If an enemy attacked, their attack would need to overcome the defense number in order to do damage. It was a little different in real life, basically it worked on percentages and damage received would be based on where the attack landed.

"Damn, the debris from burst punch shouldn't even phase me now..." Scott's expression shifted to one of feral glee. It was time to test the waters once more!

He returned to the virtual dungeon where he fought the grass beavers before the drama of his life had side-tracked his mission. The attacks could barely phase him before. It was time to see what he could do now.

The grass land spread out before him, once more. Using his expanded power of flight, Scott flew up into the air and searched for rustling grass. It did not take long to spot several sections of grass that were rustling close to each other. He grinned then flew down with a swoosh.

"It's the end for you!" cried Scott in an attempt to sound intimidating. His smack talk could use a little work, but his heart was in the right place.

Three grass beavers hopped out from hiding and immediately began to attack him in earnest. Grass needles shot toward him at a high rate of speed. He was barely able to dodge them, even now, but he soon realized that there was no need to do so. The few that managed to hit him plinked harmlessly off of his flesh.

Scott's grin returned. He stood in the center of the attacking group and laughed. The grass covered beavers pulled back a little. His laughter was unnerving. They were doing their best, but could do nothing to harm him!

He made a big production out of cracking his knuckles. Two more grass-furred beavers ran in to help their brethren, but it was useless. They could only scratch him before, but he had completely outgrown their attacks.

"Looks like you don't stand a chance there, fellas," said Scott. He eyed the largest beaver. "Why not kill yourself and save me the trouble?"

The beavers hissed at him and attacked harder. Another beaver wandered into the mix. Now their attacks started to occasionally scratch him once more. The sheer amount of razor-sharp grass that they were firing toward him had finally reached the point that it could hurt him a little, not that they could actually tell.

Scott laughed loudly then spoke in the most intimidating tone that he could muster, "That tickles."

The largest among the mini-horde could stand it no longer. It raced in while the others continued to fire. Scott turned toward the creature as it attempted a flying body tackle. However, its movement speed was much slower than its rate-of-fire. Scott performed a casual spin move that dodged the attack, but allowed him to catch the rodent by the tail.

He braced himself then whipped around, rodent tail in hand, and hurled the fat beaver into one of its friends. Scott clapped his hands like he was wiping them clean then said, "Is that all?"

Shrieks of outrage echoed from half a dozen rodent throats. The battle began in earnest at that point. The rodents instinctively took up battle positions. Four of them moved inward to try and form a circle around their hated foe, while the other two continued to fire grass blades.

A beaver leapt toward him, but received the same fate as its larger comrade. The second leaping beaver was caught but instead of tossing it away Scott gripped it tight. The rodent squealed briefly when Scott grinned at it, but it shrieked in terror when he launched himself into the air.

He counted to ten while he held the rodent in a death-grip. It clawed feebly at him but could do nothing. At the end of his count, Scott whirled around quickly then hurled the squealing critter toward the ground. Halfway to its destination, Scott rocketed downward. Just as the beast slammed into the dirt, the would-be superhero unleashed a burst punch that hit the monster with such force that its ribcage split open. The pressure wave spread outward and knocked over the closest of the other rodents.

Kneeling in the dirt, Scott slowly looked to the largest grass beaver. The ruination of one of their comrades caused shock among the rodents. Had they truly been fighting such a monster? Was there no hope in this battle?

"You pancake-tailed bastards came to my world..." said Scott, without moving.

He drew his hand back, his eyes never leaving the largest rodent. "You think I'm just gonna let you crawl out of your stinking holes and attack my people?"

Scott rose up to his full height, and then briefly activated his flight power so that his cape would flutter majestically behind him. The only thing missing was an epic brass fanfare and the rising sun in the background.

His eyes narrowed. His jaw became firmly set. He pointed at the obvious rodent leader. In a deep, resonant, voice he spoke concise words that brook no argument. "Crawl your sorry asses back into the grass and stay there."

It was highly unlikely that the beavers understood English. The absolute confidence in Scott's body language, and the fact that he just crushed one of their own like it was nothing, spoke far more eloquently than his poor trash talking skills ever could.

Carefully, the rodents began to back away. The moment that one of them began to hesitate, Scott clapped his hands together and shouted, "Faster!"

The beavers screeched loudly then scattered like cockroaches that had seen the light. They went in any direction that they could. As long as that direction was anywhere but where the chatty monster currently happened to be, it did not matter to them in the slightest.

After the terrified rodents ran for their precious little lives, Scott smiled. He needed Ideons, and thus needed loot. However, this sort of training was necessary as well. Trash talk was important for superheroes, after all. He picked up a grass blade left behind by the fallen rodent, and then moved away from the scene of battle.

Training in the grasslands continued for as long as possible, after that. He did not kill many monsters, but he developed his intimidation skills to a greater degree. Some might call what he did bullying the weak. Scott saw it differently.

Creatures like the hapless beavers were virtual representations of real monsters. Such beasts would pour out of the entrance to a newly formed dungeon and attack humanity with deadly results. He lived through such an occurrence when he was a child. The goblin he met that day slaughtered many people and did so with feral glee in its eyes.

Yes. Some might call his training the actions of a bully. In the end, however, bullying those who would destroy innocent lives was the hallmark of being a superhero. What were characters such as Superman or Batman, but epic bullies who crushed the dreams of the wicked? When the bully protected the innocent, the term used was hero.

So, for the remainder of the day, and at each opportunity over the course of the next two days, Scott trained his ability to heroically terrorize the living hell out of the opposition. It was the only way that they would know never to mess with planet Earth.

Three days of intense training to intimidate his enemies finally bore fruit. Scott looked to the status screen before him and grinned. There was a new option to choose.

[Update!]

Recent actions have given rise to new power. Would you like to awaken the following abilities?

Primary Attribute: Charisma [10 DP]

Developmental Ability: Intimidate [10 DP]

[--]

His grin broadened when he realized that despite his lack of kills in the virtual dungeons recently, he still earned enough development points to acquire both abilities. He spent his points to awaken his new power, and then took a look at his status screen. Three new additions came into view. Access to charisma, intimidation, and psycho force was now available. The latter addition was brought about due to having both a mental acuity and a charisma stat. It was automatically granted, and would determine the basic strength of psionic abilities.

The selection process generally rewarded student candidates who took initiative and learned about how the ID-Drive worked on its own. Many arrived for selection with the belief that they knew how upgrading stats actually worked. The truth was, that only people who had a real ID-Drive actually knew the truth. Only those who showed initiative would learn that their resonance played a major role in how their stats would grow when points were expended.

Scott learned the truth during the night that Alice taught him methods to intimidate others. In order to increase a stat through development points, the total amount of points currently in that stat had to be expended. A zero stat had the same requirement as a stat with one point, but guaranteed the first increase to be the maximum capable amount. The amount that the stat would increase, however, would be randomized based on the strength of an individual's resonance score.

He expended one development point to increase his charisma, and then one point on his intimidation ability. Unlocked abilities had the same requirement as attributes, but they only increased by one point at a time. They could be trained through use once they had a single point allotted, however.

[Status]

Scott Hennessy

Age: 18

Development Points: 0

Offensive Aura: 2 [5-11]

Defensive Aura: 1 [41]

Psycho Force: 1 [1]

--

Resilience: 101 [131]

Vitality: 136 [166]

Dexterity: 113 [143]

Physical Prowess: 154 [184]

Mental Acuity: 159 [189]

Charisma: 8 [38]

--

[-Abilities-]

Intimidate: 1

[--]

"Out of development points, but this is great!" Scott closed his status window then smiled. The smile turned into a sigh of relief a moment later. It took less time than he originally suspected, but several days were spent on his training side-project. There were still a few things that needed to be taken care of before he could head to IDEA.

"Training time is almost over for the day. Better make the most of it." Scott cracked his knuckles then went back into the fray once more. He ignored the beavers and other lesser monsters now that he finished his side-quest. Instead, he focused his time on slightly tougher monsters that swarmed. For the last few hours of the day, he intended to beat down as many virtual monsters as possible. His real selection training was about to begin again in earnest.