The System Gave Everyone Superpowers

I walked deeper into the subway tunnel. The air got colder and the green moss grew thicker.

My chest stung where the stone dog had scratched me but I kept my eyes focused on the darkness ahead, listening carefully.

I needed to clear this Zone, but I only had 9 Blessing Points left. I couldn't afford to fight another pack of dogs, therefore I needed to find the Boss, kill it, and get out.

I walked for about five minutes until the tunnel opened up into a large maintenance room.

The room was filled with old metal shelves, pipes, and train parts. In the center of the room, standing under a flickering yellow lightbulb, was the Zone Boss.

It was a humanoid Construct, but it was massive—at least seven feet tall. Its body was made of iron. Its arms were very long, dragging along the floor, and its hands ended in long blades. It had a flat iron plate for a face.

It was standing still, waiting.

I hid behind a large shelf and peeked out, pulling up my Status Screen.

HP: 60/100

BP: 9/20

I looked at the iron giant. My baton would be completely useless against it. If I hit that iron armor, the baton would just bounce off. If one of those blade-hands hit me, my 60 HP would drop to zero instantly. It would cut me in half.

I needed a plan that didn’t require walking up and fighting it.

I looked around the room. The ceiling was high and there were water pipes running along the walls, covered in rust and condensation. The floor was concrete, with a few puddles of water near the center.

I looked back at the Boss. It was made of iron. Iron is heavy.

I took a deep breath, gripped my baton in my left hand and stepped out from behind the metal shelf.

"Hey! Ugly!" I yelled.

The iron giant slowly turned its head toward me, raising its blade-hands and charging.

It was incredibly fast for its size with feet that shook the floor.

I waited until it was halfway across the room. Then, I used my Blessing.

I aimed at the water pipes running along the ceiling directly above it.

I used Master of the Elements to rapidly drop the temperature of the water inside the pipes freezing the water solid in a split second. Water expands when it freezes.

Cost: 4 BP.

The rusted pipes couldn't handle the sudden pressure so they burst open.

Hundreds of icicles and chunks of frozen metal rained down from the ceiling, directly onto the Boss.

The iron giant raised its arms to protect its head but the ice and metal smashed against its armor, denting the iron and forcing the Boss to stop moving. It stumbled backward, confused by the sudden attack.

While the Boss was distracted, I focused on the puddles of water on the floor around its feet.

I dropped the temperature again, freezing the puddles into a slick sheet of ice.

Cost: 2 BP.

The Boss lowered its arms and tried to step forward to continue its charge.

But its feet had no grip on the ice. As soon as it put its weight down, its feet slipped out from under it.

The giant Construct let out a screech as it fell backward.

Because it was so heavy, the fall was devastating. The back of its head slammed against the floor.

The iron giant twitched once, then went completely still.

I stood there, breathing heavily, waiting to see if it would get back up.

A blue notification popped up in my vision.

[Zone Boss Defeated. +80 XP]

The body dissolved into gray pixels. Where the Boss had been lying, a blue stone was left.

I let out a long breath slumping my shoulders.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I walked over, slipping a little on my own ice, and picked up the stone. It was a System Core. This was the proof that I had cleared the Zone and what Miller needed to pay me.

I looked at my Status Screen.

BP: 3/20.

I had three points left. If there had been one more enemy, I would have been dead.

But I wasn't dead. I had won. And I hadn't even touched the Boss.

I put the Core in my pocket, turned around and started the walk back up to the surface. I was tired, my chest hurt, and I wanted to sleep for a week.

But as I walked, another notification popped up. This one was gold.

[Experience Points (XP) threshold reached.]

[Level Up!]

I stopped walking to stare at the gold notification floating in my vision.

[Level Up!]

I had been Level 1 my entire life. I had never trained, fought or felt what it was like to grow stronger.

Suddenly, a wave of heat washed over my body. It felt like stepping into a warm shower after standing in the freezing rain. The pain in my chest where the stone dog had scratched me faded away, my muscles relaxing. The ache in my wrist completely disappeared.

I took a deep breath and my body felt lighter. It was a rush of euphoria.

I opened my Status Screen.

Name: Shay Fawn

Age: 19

Level: 2

Title: None

HP: 120/120

BP: 3/20

Attributes:

Strength: 5

Agility: 6

Constitution: 5

Intelligence: 8

Wisdom: 4

Charisma: 5

Unallocated Attribute Points: 5

When you level up, the System heals your Health Points back to maximum. It doesn't refill your Blessing Points, though. I still only had 3 BP left.

But the most important part was the five unallocated Attribute Points. I could put those points into any stat I wanted.

Strength and Agility were for brawlers. Constitution was for tanks. I didn't want to get hit, and I didn't want to punch things. I just wanted to use my S-Tier Blessing without almost passing out.

To get more BP, you need Wisdom.

I mentally selected the Wisdom stat and dumped all five points into it.

Wisdom: 4 -> 9

The moment I confirmed the choice, a cool sensation shot through my brain. It felt like a fog was lifting from my mind. My thoughts became clearer and faster.

I checked my BP pool.

BP: 3/45.

My maximum BP had jumped from 20 to 45. It had more than doubled.

I smiled. Forty-five points. That meant I could freeze twice as much water and create stronger winds. I could actually fight without counting every single point like pennies in a jar.

I understood now. I understood why people like my parents and Chloe were obsessed with leveling up. The feeling of the System upgrading your body was addictive. It made you feel invincible.

I closed the Status Screen, squeezed through the hole in the fence and walked out of the abandoned subway station.

It was fully dark outside now with the city lights glowing against the sky.

I checked my phone. It was 8:30 PM. I had cleared the Zone with hours to spare before Miller's midnight deadline.

I started walking back toward the Aegis Field Office. My body felt great, but my clothes were ruined. My shirt was torn across the chest, and my tactical pants were soaked.

I didn't care. I had the Core in my pocket. I had leveled up. And survived my first Public Zone.

I walked into the strip mall and pushed the door to the office open.

Miller was still sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen. He looked up when the door opened.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're alive."

"I'm alive," I said. I walked over to his desk and pulled the blue Core out of my pocket. I dropped it on his keyboard.

Miller picked up the Core, examining it and turning it over in his hands.

"F-Rank Boss Core," Miller muttered. "Clean extraction. No cracks." He looked at me, slightly impressed. "I didn't think you would actually clear it. I thought you would run out of BP and die."

"I'm very efficient," I said.

Miller opened a drawer and pulled out a scanner and scanned the Core. The computer beeped.

"Alright, Fawn. The bounty for an F-Rank Zone clear is five hundred dollars. The Core itself sells to the city refiners for another five hundred. That's a thousand dollars total."

I held out my hand. "Great. Pay me."

Miller started typing on his computer.

"Not so fast," Miller said. "Aegis takes sixty percent of your hazard pay and loot. That leaves you with four hundred. Then, there are the HRC union dues, which are fifty dollars a week. Then, there is the equipment rental fee for the baton and the uniform you just ruined. That's another hundred dollars."

He hit a button on his keyboard and a small receipt printed out from a machine on his desk. He handed it to me.

I looked at the receipt.

Total Payout: $250.00

I stared at the paper. "Two hundred and fifty dollars? I risked my life in a dark tunnel with stone dogs and an iron giant and I get two hundred and fifty dollars?"

"Welcome to the bottom tier of Pro Hero work," Miller said. "The elites make millions because they fight Villains on live television with corporate sponsors. You fight rats in the dark and get paid like a rat catcher."

I crumpled the receipt in my hand.

I was angry again. Not at my parents this time, but at the System. At Aegis. At Mr. Graves sitting in his fancy glass tower, taking sixty percent of my money while I bled.

"If you want more money, clear more Zones," Miller said, turning back to his computer. "You have two more to clear this week to meet your quota. I'll text you the addresses tomorrow. Go home, Fawn."

I turned around and walked out of the office.

I was Level 2 now. I had more BP. And I was smarter.

I wasn't going to be a rat catcher for long.

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