CH 41

Matthew dreamt of his mother. Her hands always gently caressed his hair when he slept in her thighs. He was feeling the same comfort now as he did then. His body was covered under a blanket and his back was feeling a soft sensation that made him want to just lay down. It was only a second later, though, that he sat up so quickly that the person next to him was startled.

"Hick!"

"Smack. Ow!" A hand slapped Matthew's forehead back to a lying position. He looked down to see a flushed Kylie who was holding on to a wet towel.

"Why did you suddenly jump like that? Hey! Are you ok?" Kylie just realized that she hit a patient in the head. His body was supposed to be healing right now.

"What happe- Billy! Where's your father?"

Matthew was now able to remember running towards a hospital. He tripped and passed out when he was close, but he was able to scream before he did.

"Help!"

He touched his head that felt like it was splitting apart from the pain. There was an empty feeling in his body, like he was drained of all energy. Then he remembered his left leg. He tossed the blanket off to find out what its condition is.

"Oh, thank God!" Matthew looked at his still attached left leg. He thought it could have been cut off or something because of the lack of feeling he had on it.

"I'm sorry, Matty! The doctor said that the nerves were burned too badly. You might never be able to use it again."

"Sniff. Sniff." Kylie remembered when she was called by a man who said he was her father and Matty's boss. At the time she was very worried about the two because they hadn't come back for a night. She rushed towards the hospital without even having packed anything due to her worry. This whole night had been a whole coaster of emotions that she had nothing holding back her tears when Matty finally woke up.

The speechless Matthew didn't know what to do. He had seen for himself how badly Billy had been beaten so he understood why she felt like crying. He also did so when he found his parents in that state, and he knew what she needed right now. Something he wish someone had done for him at the time.

"It's going to be alright, your father is strong. He'll be back on his feet before you know it."

"Wahh!"

The words he gave to comfort the girl seemed to have backfired as it didn't alleviate the situation and instead made her cry harder. He didn't know what to do so he just placed his arms around her while patting her back.

"Shh... It's ok now. He'll be fine, I promise."

"But... but they said, they said that..." A bad feeling creeped its way into Matthew as he thought about the worst case scenario.

'No, he couldn't be...'

Matthew let her go and looked her in the eyes. The feelings he kept hidden were clearly expressed on his clear eyes that were reddening from the sides as tears had started to form around them.

Kylie couldn't take the close proximity and tried to move back but she wasn't able to get herself out of his grasp. His eyes were screaming for her to answer, to tell him what happened.

"They said daddy might not wake up for a long time. His body had many injuries that were very hard to fix back to what it used to be. He, he might not even wake up if he was not treated earlier."

Matthew let Kylie go and placed his hands over his face. He didn't understand why, why this is happening again. Did he just repeat the mistakes he promised never to commit again? Why was it so painful?

"Thankfully the boss had paid for the operation already, daddy should be able to survive. Though they don't know how much he can recover. They say the results are not always the same."

Kylie didn't know what operation they were talking about but the fact that her father would be saved was more than enough good news for her restless heart to at least get the chance to relax, even just a little.

"That's good then"

Matthew heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that. It seems he must accept the boss' proposal now. If the debt of saving his life was not enough to make him accept the job, then what would?

"But, but what about your leg, Matty?"

Kylie couldn't help but tear up again when the condition of Matthew's legs was brought up. She watched as Matthew closed his eyes, seemingly thinking hard about his feelings. Kylie went on to touch Matthew's hand but felt a jolt of something run up her spine as she stiffened after the fact. It was only when Matthew opened his eyes that she finally got back to herself and hurriedly removed her hand that was placed over his.

"I'm sorry Matty, do you mind telling me what happened?"

Matthew was using what was the miniscule amount of energy he had accumulated to try and get a response from his left leg. The energy was able to pass through the leg, so he felt that hope was not lost, but when they energy dissipated quickly as if being absorbed by his leg, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?"

"I see, I'll ask later then." Kylie thought that something bad might have happened and Matthew didn't want to talk about it yet. She was willing to wait, as long as he and her father were going to be back to her, she would wait no matter how long.

"No, I mean, we were attacked by men that seemed to harbor a grudge against your father. He did everything to protect me, I only took a chance to escape when he had already fought them back. Billy saved me Kylie, I want you to know that."

Though Billy didn't want to lie to the young woman, Billy himself didn't have a clear idea of what happened as well. Why those men were able to handle an attack that was aided by the energy of the stone. Why Billy didn't fight back when he had such a powerful ability. Why this was all even happening. He needed to find out, but first he needed to heal.

"Umm, the police said that these are the things you had when you were found in the lobby. They were going to take them away, but the boss seemed to have done something, so you got them back without any worries."

Kylie took out a bag that was placed on the table near the couch she had slept on. The private room that Matthew stayed on was also being paid for by the boss, Matthew wondered why he was being generous but that's a thing he has to worry about later.

"There's also a message from the boss, he said you can read it through your phone when you wake up." Kylie pointed at the hand of Matthew that was holding onto his phone. He looked on as the phone showed a hundred percent charge. He looked towards Kylie who was now peeling an apple, seemingly for him to eat.

"It's strange actually, both you and daddy didn't have any records they said. The only thing they had on you two were your phones but they had passwords so they can't open them. Then there's a contract for a bodyguard job I think?"

"Yeah, boss Zel was asking us if we wanted to get a job that's directly connected to him. It talked about protecting the Oculus or something like that."

Kylie placed the peeled apple on a plate before handing it to Matthew. Matthew looked at the apple that was cut into bite-sized pieces. He took one while checking out the message the boss gave him.

"Hey, check out the new app you have installed. Happy hunting!"

Matthew saw an app installed and he was sure he didn't have it before. He only had Ourtube and Gogugulu Chrome installed after all. He clicked on it out of curiosity.

[(Welcome to the system Ranker!)

5756:00:33

- Status

- Main Quests

- Side Quests

- Store

- Forums

(Don't forget that the time is running out! Follow your progress by viewing your Status! Get things ready by completing Quests! Get a bargain by using the Store! Compile your information by joining the Forums!)]

Matthew looked around the app, unable to understand what most of it was. He just clicked through everything.

[#0777 Matthew Linton

Age: 19       Race: Human

Gender: Male   Class: N/A

Vessel Limit: (15/17)   Level: 2 (0/250)

Exp: 145     Mana: 50(+250)

Titles :

Chosen One - A user with the blessing of understanding.

*Unlocks Paths]

[Stats:

Strength - 2(+3) Endurance - 2(+3)

Agility - 2(+4) Dexterity - 4(+1)

Intelligence - 1(+5)

Stat Points Available: 5]

[Skills:

[3] - Unarmed Combat - Level 3 (Exp 0.18%)

- The ability to fight with only the use of the body. Gives the user +3 in Strength, Agility and Endurance.

[1] - Hot Weapon Specialist - Level 1 (Exp 90.15%)

- The ability to fight with the use of the hot weapons. Gives the user +1 in Dexterity and Agility

Skill Points Available: 3 pt.]

[Equipment: (1/2)

-Stone of Life – contains the Legacy of Healing (+5 Intelligence)]

[Talents:

[10] - Paths - Green

- The ability to see the path of mana.

- Active Ability: Overseer - Dominate and control foreign mana. [Mana Cost: --]

Requirements: None]

[Current Main Quest Available:

(Level Up!)

- Spend your exp points to raise your level by one

Rewards: 1 Mastery Point, 1 Basic Gift, 10 Exp

Time Limit: none

Failure Penalty: none]

[Current Side Quest Available:

(Heal)

- Remove the blocks in the path of mana in your leg.

Rewards: 20 Exp Points

Time Limit: none

Failure Penalty: none]

[Current Side Quest Available:

(Hunt)

- Find the other members of Chris' gang

Rewards: 50 Exp Points each member neutralized

Time Limit: 71 Hour, 6 Minutes, 3 Seconds

Failure Penalty: - 5 Luck]

Matthew didn't know what to do. Since his job has always been easier with more information, he headed for the Forums to find out what the hell this thing was. It was here that he finally got a clearer view of what exactly the system was.

(What the system is for a newbie like you - Tiger)

(Basics to know before doing anything - Tiger)

(Who else is a ranker? - Tiger)

(Which stats do I focus on? - Tiger)

Matthew took in everything that this Tiger had given out like a sponge soaked in water. There was now an idea on his head of how Billy and the others were able to do what they did yesterday, it wasn't anything like his Stone of Life.

"If what he says is true, then hunting those bastards down is what would make me stronger."

Matthew wondered about the theory of Tiger that side quests were made to help a ranker grow. Since it was telling him to hunt down those bastards, he agreed with the fact that it was only going to be better for him to act upon what he feels is right. The fact that it gave him so much Exp also played a part in his decision.

"I'm going hunting!"