Chapter 40: Traits

'F*ck...y-you couldn't have picked a worse time to...pass out, you idiot...' Jay thought as he slowly walked down the streets of the South Side, with Noah on his shoulder.

After defeating the Wolf's Fang member and...eating something, Jay woke up completely from the trance he was in and went to check on Noah.

Even though Noah had received some injuries from the crash and was currently unconscious, he was generally fine, but for some reason, he just wouldn't wake up, so Jay had no choice but to carry him.

There were many things to think about right now, such as the fact that he had almost died, that the parasites can move even without him giving them orders, and there was also the little detail of what he had eaten a few minutes ago...but this was not the time for that.

Then, after taking Noah's smart watch and looking at his map of the South Zone, he quickly chose the safest escape route for both of them.

The entrance of District 29.

While it was true that it was deeper into the South Zone, there was a reason that Jay had chosen that entrance, and that was the fact that Wolf's Fang forces were currently busy attacking District 30, on the other hand, District 29, being Wolf's Fang's territory, would definitely not expect some stranger to come and try to get out of the South Zone at this very moment, so according to Jay, this was their best option.

As for returning through the entrance to District 31...Jay dismissed that idea immediately because the explosions he had heard before had come from there, clearly showing that the situation was much dangerous than here.

But most of all...it was because Distric 29 entrance was closer, and that was an advantage he couldn't pass on.

After all, the state of his body was not much better than it was at the beginning of the battle, even though his thirst and hunger had diminished, they were still there.

A lot of things fused to make him feel terrible, the blows he received from the Wolf's Fang member, the intense use of Wind Control that drained a considerable amount of his almost empty energy, and although the use of "Overload" didn't make him faint, it put a great toll on his body.

He did not know how long he would be able to stay awake, nor how long his body would be able to endure, but he had no choice but to move.

However, it was not so easy to ignore the burden his body had been through.

'...Just...keep moving forward...don't think ..about anything else...' He thought, trying to ignore the fact that his body was making strange sounds in addition to the constant pain in his ribs, the tiredness and the incessant feeling of hunger and thirst. 'Just a little more...come on...a little...more...'

Thus, Jay went even deeper into the South Zone, being as cautious as he could while carrying Noah, fighting all the signs in his body that indicated that he desperately needed to rest.

Fortunately, it seemed that not all was bad, because just when he felt that he was just about to pass out, a warm flow of energy that seemed to come from inside him woke him up, and although it was really weak, it was like a drop of water in a desert.

After a few dozen minutes that felt like hours to Jay...they managed to get out of the South Zone, without meeting any other person on all the way.

Maybe it was luck, or maybe Jay thought right.

Whatever the case may be, Jay didn't stop there.

He kept going, and wouldn't stop until he reached the longed-for place he called home, no matter how much his bones cracked or how much his body begged for rest.

He knew that only when he was there would he finally be able to rest.

***

The next morning, deep in the South Zone, in Wolf's Fang territory...

"Urgh..."

A man's grunt could be heard.

"Oh, you're awake." Said a man sitting nearby in a doctor's gown, pausing the video he was watching on his smart watch.

Hearing the man's voice, Nozar opened his eyes and looked around.

The walls were white and there were several beds with curtains around them as well as a few medical supplies.

'...Damn, haven't been here in a long time...' He thought, feeling nostalgic.

"...Hey doc...long time no-ouch!" He said, sitting on the bed he was in, although he couldn't do it because his right leg and both arms were in a cast.

The doc he was referring to was the man in front of him, he seemed to be around 30 years old, had a brown beard that looked like he hadn't shaved in two weeks and was generally sloppy looking.

But even though he looked like this, he had always been in charge of treating all the injured members of Wolf's Fang, including guards, even saving their lives, which indicated that he was quite able.

"I wouldn't recommend getting up, there are a lot of things broken in your body." The doctor said before asking the question he had wanted to ask since Nozar arrived at the South Zone infirmary, "Now then, tell me, what exactly did you fight against, none of the others were as bad as you, did you meet a monster there or something? There are like, a dozen claw marks on your body, and even a chunk of flesh in your arm is missing."

Because Wolf's Fang had launched an attack the night before, almost all the members who returned were injured, but the one in the worst condition was undoubtedly Nozar, even though he had not been in the main battle!

"Hahaha, you could say that, yes... it was a monster in a way..." Nozar replied, recalling the battle.

Although he had been really angry the night before, Nozar was a rather carefree person, so although he was badly hurt by that person, what he felt most, instead of resentment or anger, was the desire to face that mysterious bandaged man again...and pay him back for everything he had done to him.

"Anyway, doc, how did we do last night?"

Seeing that Nozar didn't seem to want to talk about it anymore, the doc began to explain to him about the outcome of last night's confrontation.

"...Man, that's...that's just bad luck..." Nozar lamented, visibly saddened and momentarily forgetting about the bandaged man.

The result of last night's battle had been...a defeat.

The reason that Nozar said it was bad luck was because Wolf's Fang had prepared very well to launch this specific attack, as it would be the first of many, and getting a victory here would positively affect the rest of the attacks.

The invasion force of last night had 10 rank (D+) supers, none being weaker than Nozar himself, taking into account that each Metal Body guard was a rank (D+) super, sending 10 was obviously using a sword to kill a chicken.

However, who would have thought that instead of a normal guardian, the person guarding the nearby 31st District was none other than one of the Metal Body executives!

Although he was only one person, he alone guaranteed that the attack had already been a failure, in fact, thank goodness they sent 10 rank (D+) supers, otherwise they definitely would not have returned safely.

While it was said that one super rank (C-) would be able to defeat 4 super ranks (D+) simultaneously, the truth went a little beyond that.

There were several factors that explained the big difference between the capabilities of a rank (C-) super and a rank (D+) super, but one of the biggest reasons for this was due to the manifestation of what was known as Traits.

Traits were the signal that a super had moved up in the life hierarchy, giving the super a complementary skill beneficial to his class, a skill that directly affected their bodies or, in very rare cases, a completely new skill!

Regardless of the type of super, whether it was a Mage, Pugilist or Esper, when they reached the (C-) rank, they would always awaken a Trait according to their class.

As for what kind of Trait they would awaken, if one that complemented their class, one that strengthened them directly, or if it was a new skill, that depended completely on the super...and on some luck.

For example, in the case of a Mage studying the branch of elemental magic, a Trait could manifest itself in a permanent decrease in the use of mana in all elemental magic spells, complementing his class.

In the case of a Pugilist who focused on endurance, a Trait could manifest itself in increased vitality, giving the Pugilist a greater amount of energy and Qi than normal, directly affecting him.

For an Esper whose skill was Pyrokinesis, his Trait could manifest itself in that the fire he created could take the shape of different objects, such as chains, swords, etc, thus giving him a new skill.

That was why, despite sending 10 rank (D+) supers, they could only escape.

"Well, there's no use in regretting it now..." Nozar said, before asking the Doc, "So, how long will it take me to heal?"

Hearing that, the doc reached into his robe pocket and approached Nozar a bit before answering him.

"Let's see...the most serious thing would be the broken bones, from your fingers, to your arms, to your leg, everything is broken in a certain way, the most advisable thing would be for you to stay here until you recover..."

"That doesn't answer my question, doc." Nozar added, looking at the doc with narrowed eyes.

"Don't worry, considering that you are a healthy and young rank (D+) super, with the help of some medication, you will be perfectly fine in...3-4 weeks~!" The doc replied with a smile, giving him a thumbs-up.

"..."

"..."

"I can't wait that long, doc!"

Right after he said that, he started to move forcibly, trying to free himself from the casts, even biting the one on his arm.

"I wasn't asking!"

*CHAK*

"Gah!"

But as quickly as he started, he stopped, or rather, was stopped, by a syringe in his neck.

"I knew you would get like this, that's why prepared before you woke up!" Said the doc as he injected Nozar with the green liquid in the syringe.

"A-ah..."

Unable to resist, Nozar fell asleep again.

"Alright, now to give you all sorts of unnecessary medicine to "speed up" your recovery, hehe..." The doc added with an even brighter smile than before, remembering that the more the infirmary had spent on Nozar, the more they could charge Wolf's Fang.

Not knowing that he had caused Wolf's Fang more trouble, Nozar just kept dreaming comfortably.