Bill's eyes rolled so far back from the shock that he felt he could see his brain behind the eyes.
"SINCE WHEN DO YOU HAVE AN ABILITY?!!" Bill shouted as he demanded an answer from Mako who couldn't stop grinning as he had envisioned this moment countless times in his dreams, but never did he think that he would show off his power in a friendly match.
Even though he actually wanted Bill to teach him how to fight properly, another reason why he brought him out in the woods was to reveal his new ability to him.
"I may have betted on myself during our match where all the odds were stacked against me," Mako spoke as he smashed a boulder with his fist engulfed in flames, his aura was matching Bill's in terms of level.
Bill was left speechless as he just stared at Mako who continued to emit small wisps of fire from his hand.
Suddenly everything for Bill clicked. It was Mako who was the anonymous better that made so much money after Bill lost the duel.
A wide range of emotions flooded into Bill's heart and for a moment he reverted to his old self again as he was angry at the fact that it was partially because of Mako that he was imprisoned in that warehouse in the first place.
However, that was not who he was now as quickly after, he took a deep breath and reflected back on everything that had happened.
Yes, Mako did bet on himself and made some serious bank by winning the duel; however, the outcome of the duel wasn't predetermined or fixed in anyway. Mako had no idea of Bill's affiliations and was just simply betting on himself with the confidence that he would be able to beat the odds and cash out.
Looking back, Bill realized that there was no one to blame but him. Sure, Mako made a lot of money while he suffered through hell but he won that money fair and square and defeated him in a fight, he had no business winning.
Coming to terms with everything, Bill came back to reality with Mako's words from earlier ringing in his ears.
'What do you say we both forget about our terrible pasts and start fresh?'
He let out a small smile as he agreed with Mako and was going to forget about the past and start with a clean slate.
There was no point in holding a grudge against Mako for spending that money and finally gaining an ability of his own. He definitely deserved it. Still, he wasn't about to let him win like that ever again.
"You've improved since last time, but I gotta ask, what was that phasing move you used on me during our match?" Bill asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.
Mako didn't respond. He just grinned and smoothly slid into the same stance he had used in their last battle.
"That's a secret," Mako said, his eyes gleaming. "But feel free to debunk it, if you think you're capable of learning my secrets."
Bill narrowed his eyes, the taunt only fueling his resolve.
"Oh, I'll do more than just try," he replied, slowly easing into a stance himself. Since he was still injured, he was far being capable at going toe-to-toe with this improved Mako; however, that wasn't going to stop him from trying...
*DING!*
'Huh?'
The match had begun.
The ground started shake around Mako and his perception quickly began blaring alarms in head to move from his spot instantly.
[Phantom Shift has been activated]
In an instant, Mako vanished from his spot. A split second later, three massive pillars of earth erupted from the ground, crashing into the space he had just occupied from different angles.
He reappeared just to the left, dust swirling around him as he watched the pillars grind against each other and settle.
Turning his head toward Bill, Mako grinned.
"Oh, so that's how you're gonna play this."
Mako quickly began to sprint toward Bill who stood calmly at the edge of the forest clearing. Fire engulfed Mako's hand as he started forming a small fireball.
[Fireball has been activated]
Mako launched the fireball at Bill but to his surprise Bill still didn't make a move. He began to worry as to maybe he had pushed Bill a little to hard when he hadn't fully recovered and that the fireball was going to hit him and injure him again.
But just as the fireball closed in, it suddenly veered off course on its own, streaking past Bill and exploding harmlessly behind him, missing him by mere inches.
Mako halted his dash, eyes flicking to Bill with mild surprise.
"How did you..."
It was now Bill's turn to return the boastful grin as he watched Mako's expression trying to scramble and understand what had just happened.
"You have your secrets, I have mine," Bill said gleefully as he gestured Mako to keep coming at him.
In reality, Bill had channeled his Earth aura into the ground beneath him, subtly shifting the terrain just enough to slide himself slightly to the left. It was so smooth and minimal that it gave the illusion the fireball had changed direction on its own.
In truth, Bill had completely avoided the attack without taking a single step.
It was a neat little trick he'd learned from his father. It required almost no movement and very little energy, yet was effective enough to dodge nearly any attack so long as the user could sense it coming.
Bill lifted his arms again. The earth rumbled softly beneath him and in the next moment multiple projectiles of compressed stone launched from the ground and shot toward Mako at high speed.
Seeing the attack, Mako instinctively knew he couldn't punch his way through this stronger attack.
He sidestepped the first two, ducked under the next one, and finally activated his movement skill just as the last one nearly clipped his shoulder.
[Phantom Shift has been activated]
In a blur, he vanished again and reappeared several feet to the side.
Bill's eyes widened a little as he observed Mako perform the Phantom Shift for a second time. He still hadn't fully recovered and his perception was still not good enough to fully break down what Mako was doing but Bill was slowly understanding how Mako's phantom moves worked.
Fire already started gathering in Mako's palms as he wouldn't let Bill pull off another attack. He quickly hurled two fireballs toward Bill from slightly different directions so that Bill wouldn't be able to dodge them like he did previously.
[Fireball has been activated]
[Fireball has been activated]
Bill didn't flinch. He stomped the ground once, and a panel of solid rock rose up to block the blast.
The fireballs exploded harmlessly against the wall, sending dust and smoke into the air and cloaking Bill's location.
Mako didn't waste the opportunity. He dashed in toward the cover of smoke, using his perception to try and pinpoint his location.
Just as Mako entered the smoke, jagged spikes burst up from the earth in a tight circle around Bill.
The spikes formed a protective barrier, blocking all angles of approach. Mako reflexively leapt back, landing several feet away as the smoke finally began to clear. Bill stood at the center of the stone formation.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Bill shifted, and a column of rock lifted him high into the air. From that vantage point, Bill raised both hands and began forming a dense stone spike in mid-air with all the remaining energy he had left.
He launched it with force straight at Mako, who had just barely enough time to brace himself.
He couldn't use Phantom shift to dodge the attack as he wouldn't be able to move far enough to avoid getting hit by the impact of that massive spike hitting the ground so instead Mako decided to planted his feet firmly on the ground and release as much fire aura around his arms as he could.
[Flame Wheel has been activated]
Just as the spike was about to make contact, Mako jumped into the air with all of his strength and a ring of fire burst forth from his body as he spun wildly and intercepting the incoming spike mid-air and slicing it in half. The explosion of heat and debris sent a gust across the field, enveloping the whole area in dust.
Mako landed back on the ground with smoke rising from his hands as he had used way more energy that he would have liked in intercepting that last attack.
The whole area was engulfed with dust and smoke and Mako couldn't see anything in any direction. Just then, Mako's perception kicked in and warned him of imminent danger but the warning came too late.
Bill pressed a small stone dagger against Mako's back, claiming his victory.
"I may not be able to go toe-to-toe right now," Bill said, "but all I only need is one good hit."
Mako smirked, knowing that he had been completely outsmarted. "Alright, alright... you win this one."
Bill lowered the dagger from Mako's back with huge grin on his face as even though he was injured and couldn't really take Mako on in a physical fight, he was still able to get him back for defeating him in their duel.
********************
The two of them found a nice spot a few hundred meters away from where they had just sparred. A nice patch of smooth flat rocks that were under the shade of massive tree.
Bill leaned back with a satisfied sigh, wincing slightly as the strain of his injuries caught up with him. Mako sat nearby, still catching his breath from exerting so much energy in that last attack.
"I've gotta admit, Bill, you're seriously talented when it comes to combat and that's what's been bugging me... why did you lose so easily to me back during our duel at school?" Mako asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.
If Bill was able to fight him, and win, despite being injured, even after Mako had enhanced his attributes and learned a level 3 ability, it made the whole situation even more puzzling. Mako couldn't help but wonder that if Bill was always capable of fighting like this, then why had he lose their school duel so easily, a match he clearly had the skill to win?
Bill looked uneasy as Mako asked him this question and after a few moments he let out a big sigh as he made eye contact with Mako again.
"The truth is," Bill began, his tone more serious now, "I completely underestimated you that day. I'd been out the night before on a raid for El-Diablo, it was rough, and by the time it was over, the guys and I ended up hitting an underground fight event to celebrate. We partied hard the whole night. I was already running on fumes during our fight, but I figured it wouldn't matter. I thought I could take you out quick like usual, no big deal, and spend the rest of the day relaxing."
He paused, eyes narrowing slightly as he remembered. "But then you pulled out those phasing moves… and I wasn't ready for that. I didn't expect you to actually push me like that. I let my pride take over. I didn't fight smart because I just wanted to crush you."
Bill leaned back with a quiet exhale. "Didn't take long for that to blow up in my face... But maybe that loss was fate's way of slapping some sense into me, forcing me to see just how far I'd let myself slip."
Mako sat quietly, absorbing every word. Back then, he'd believed that a week and a half of training had made him strong enough to take down a level 3 ability user. But hearing this, he realized the truth, he wasn't stronger. He'd just gotten lucky. If Bill had come into that fight rested and level-headed, Mako wouldn't have stood a chance.
There was an awkward silence between the two boys as they were both recalling all the events that led them to this path. Both of them looked at each other and saw how much karma had affected their lives but there was no going back as they could only learn from their mistakes and move forward forging the best path they can from now on.
*DING!*
[Quest completed]
[Train against a strong opponent]
[Reward: 500 EXP, 2 Attribute Points]
********************
Later that night, Mako cooked up a small dinner for the two of them and as they ate, Mako asked Bill about what he was planning on doing after he had fully recovered.
Bill explained that after he had recovered, he would go back to the school during the night and retrieve all his personal belongings that he stashed there just as precaution.
Mako asked what were the contents of the things he was going to retrieve, to which Bill explained that it had a money card with all of his earnings as a gang member which he for obvious reason could never bring home as well as a few personal items.
Bill further explained that he couldn't go back to school because El-Diablo would people keeping watch there to report to him as soon as they saw him which would not be good, so he would just have to stay put until the military instructor arrived to take the trials for military school by which time El-Diablo would be too late to do anything.
"Well then, we just have to be prepared enough to be able to join the military school by the time the instructor comes for the trial in six to seven weeks," Mako stated as he picked up some of the dishes and carried them to the sink to wash and Bill followed with the rest.
"What do you mean? We are both level 3 ability users now and if we work together we can crush anyone." Bill exclaimed.
However, it didn't take long for Bill to understand that he was wrong after hearing Mako's sarcastic sigh as he washed the dishes.
"Have you never done any kind of research on how these recruitment trials are conducted?" Mako asked Bill to which he just lowered his gaze in shame as he had no idea.
"We have a long road ahead of us." Mako said as he patted Bill on his back while walking back to the living room.
**************************
Author's Note: Hey guys! Universal Power System is one of my favorite projects, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This is my very first work, so expect some amateur writing and a few slips. However, I always try to learn and correct myself so I can create a more coherent narrative. I hope you guys enjoy it. Don't forget to check out my other works!
Come say hi to me on Discord: https://discord.gg/TvjkrdnbE2