'Inhale... exhale... inhale... exhale.' I whispered to myself, as I tried to control my breathing.
I had discovered that meditating helped a lot in recovering my mental power and making it easier to focus.
It was a pretty funny discovery, to be honest. I mean, I'd read those over-the-top main characters in cultivation manwa, and I thought, "Why not give it a shot, just for the heck of it?" But when I actually tried it, I couldn't help but burst into laughter. It worked! Well, not like some lightning-fast, super-efficient recover, but it did work, slowly but surely.
Finally, I opened my eyes, and the throbbing headache was gone.
'I wonder if the system can add something like an HP and MP bar," I mused with a sigh. 'It would've made checking my condition in real-time so much easier. Maybe it'll be available in the next system update. I mean, the last one came when I reached level 10, so who knows? Level 20 might bring another pleasant surprise.'
But reaching level 20 was still a bit far away at my current leveling-up rate. At this pace, I'd probably need another month of grinding.
I thought about the idea of hunting down another gang to speed things up, but I imagined the headlines:
[Unknown Vigilante Patrols Seoul, Killing Gangsters for Fun,]
I mean, sure, it might give me a reputation for being somewhat kind-hearted in a twisted way, but that was definitely not the attention I was aiming for.
The last thing I needed was everyone in the city thinking I was some enigmatic, slightly sadistic hero, bringing justice in the most brutal way possible!
So, for now, I decided to lay low. I had a feeling that daily gang-busting might lead to Seoul's next news conspiracy trend, and I wasn't ready to face the government yet.
"I'm starting to get pretty hungry with all this training," I said to myself as I got up and dusted off the back of my pants.
I went to check my bag for some supplies. Fortunately, I had brought along a sandwich and some snacks because I had a feeling this training session might stretch into the night.
As I happily chomped down on my food, my mind couldn't help but wander. I kept thinking about what I'd do once I had enough power to defend myself.
"Is Team Gumiho ready?" The middle age man spoke.
"They're en route to hunt down Code Zero, sir," the blond man reported, his glasses perched on his nose as he tapped away at his tablet.
"Good,"
"But, sir, are you sure it's a good idea to send them on this mission without additional back up?" The blond man voiced his concern.
Team Gumiho was currently the most powerful squad in Cerebrum Asia when it came to dealing with powerful Gifteds.
They were practically unbeatable and had successfully apprehended every powerful target they'd encountered so far. However, Zed, also known as Code Zero, posed a whole new level of danger.
He was so dangerous and powerful that he held the special rank of "Zero." in Asia. This was because the difference in strength between him and the next most powerful Gifted was immense.
At his peak, he could defeat the top five Gifted individuals single-handedly.
The government managed to capture him only because decades ago, they had struck a deal with him to save her daughter's life.
But now, this very same monster had discovered what had happened to his only daughter, and he was on a crazy rampage.
If they didn't put a stop to him soon, it was only a matter of months before the entire country of Korea would know about him.
"You don't need to worry. He's a mere shadow of his former self now. When that old monster was at his prime, catching him was a fantasy – even a nuclear bomb wouldn't have been enough to contain him." Just the recollection of Zed in his prime sent a spine-tingling chill down his spine.
"Is he really that powerful ?" The blond man gulped audibly, his throat suddenly feeling parched after hearing his prideful superior speak so. This was a man who firmly believed in the superiority of humans over Gifteds, yet he was now acknowledging the power of Zero.
"He was closer to a god than a human,"