“This… Why are they so strong all of a sudden?!” A man wearing predominantly white clothes gnashed his teeth as he waved his arm. Shards of glass coming from the rubble of nearby houses and buildings rose to the air, following the direction of his hand.
A Black Tortoise gang member stomped their foot to the ground and the earth rose, blocking the shards of glass flying their way. They then pushed both of their palms forward, causing the wall made out of rock and dirt to fly forward.
The White Tiger gang members hurriedly dodged the attack, but other members of Black Turtle used this opportunity to rush in.
One inhaled a large amount of wind and roared, producing a powerful shockwave.
Another one transformed into a ferocious snake over ten meters long with black obsidian scales. Dark purple energy gathered around the giant snake’s body and then exploded out in a circular, wave-like motion. The moment an object came into contact with the dark purple wave, it would begin to rot and decay.
The Black Tortoise gang operated at a whole new level compared to before, displaying shocking coordination that caught the White Tiger gang off guard.
Both sides had already been in conflict for years and were familiar with the topics the other gang used. In fact, the four gangs, with their decade-long existences, knew each other well with barely any secret trump cards left because no other superpowered forces existed on the island.
They kept each other in check, keeping the power balance of the Right Isle on a tight least.
Now, all of a sudden, the Black Tortoise gang revealed dazzling tactics and used their powers in ways the White Tiger gang would have never even thought of, catching them off guard.
“We need to escape! We’re going to lose here!” one of them shouted.
“But we’re going to lose our Club Hall!” another rebutted.
The Club Hall in question was the main reason why the two gangs were currently in conflict. Originally, the Club Hall belonged to the Black Tortoise gang and they gained a lot of profit from it, but White Tiger forcefully stole it from them, along with the revenue that came from it.
Because of that, it was only reasonable that the Black Tortoise gang was trying to regain what was once theirs.
“Shut it! The boss would understand why we did this!” The leader of the group, the one who suggested to retreat in the first place, shouted. “We’re bound to lose at this rate. Our lives are worth more than some few thousand dollars.”
“Damn it…” they gritted their teeth but decided to retreat in the end.
The leader of the group’s eyes burned brightly with red light as he manipulated the blazing hot smoke pouring out of his pores and cooled it down to bearable temperatures. Then, with a loud shout, he slammed both of his palms to the ground and an endless torrent of black smoke covered the street.
The Black Tortoise gang members reacted quickly and they gathered together in one spot. The ground below them rose and formed a barrier around them as they expected the smoke to be blazing hot like always, but unexpectedly, when some of it leaked into their barrier, it was barely considered hot.
They immediately recognized that it was a ruse and they forcefully expelled the smoke, revealing an empty street with none of the White Tiger gang members to be seen.
Well, that was easy. Poppy calmly sipped on his tea as he watched the White Tiger gang members running away into the distance like scared rats.
Following them in secret, he couldn’t help but wonder what the White Tiger leader would look like.
Maybe they’ll be a white man? He snickered at the slightly racist thought he had and went on his merry way.
…
Laura stared at the plain room she was in and couldn’t help but reminisce about the past, or to be more exact, the original’s past when he first met contact with Aegis.
Damn, it’s the same as before. She cleared her thoughts and focused back on the woman currently interrogating her.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“So, to summarize, your name is Laura Field. You’re an orphan who used to live Meno City. You graduated with a degree in Agriculture and you planned on opening a normal flower shop here in Insea City since there was a cheap plot of land to buy. However, on your way here, exactly 10 days ago, you found a gigantic colorful boulder when you were lost in Mound Forest and touched it, gaining superpowers in the process.”
“Using those powers of being able to control plants and receiving unconditional affection from animals, you opened your shop with your ‘unique niche’ and that’s how your shop was started.”
The woman surmising the info she received wore a depressed look on her face as if she just heard something ridiculous. To think some random girl would reach Level 3 by pure chance. What an enviable position to be in.
“I still can’t believe you’d use your Level 3 ability to alter the genetic structure of plants so they’ would appear prettier and easier to grow. You know, with your power, you could potentially create new crops that could solve world hunger.” She helplessly sighed. “Of course, that’s simply a potential achievement. It’s not like us Aegis has a lack of Demigod-level plant manipulators to solve world hunger.”
Laura looked at her weirdly.
“What the heck, then why didn’t you guys go solve world hunger already?” she asked with a suspicious stare.
“I told you already, we’re humanity’s guide, not its caretaker. Humanity has to resolve its problems on its own. We can nudge here and there, but humanity must not be dependent on us to deal with its issues.”
“I guess that’s reasonable.” Laura shrugged her shoulders and then decided to move the topic back to her recruitment.
“So, if what I heard was correct, if I join you guys, I can still continue my flower shop business and still sell genetically altered sunflowers so I can rake in a lot of cash. The only catch here is that I have to join Aegis and deal with the threats that this city faces without any actual breaks and have to respond to the call whenever I am needed.”
“Not only that, but since I’m such a powerful Level 3 Super or whatever that is, I have to undergo extensive training to become and become this city’s fourth team captain, which is considerably harder compared to the usual trainee’s program.”
“Also, I have to expect that I would need to wait until a new Level 3 is appointed in this city before I could even have the thought of retiring and enjoying a lavish, lazy lifestyle with the wealth I have accumulated from working for your organization and the money I earned from my shop…”
“Damn it, that’s a total fucking scam!” Laura slammed her fist on the table with wide, angry eyes. “What do you mean I can’t retire when I’m 30?! What do you mean I have to wait for some bozo to replace me before I can fully enjoy life without worry?!”
“The whole reason I created my shop in the first place before I even had superpowers was so that I could earn tons of cash and be financially free at a young age!” Laura was already beginning to break down at the news.
“Hey, I didn’t say you’ll necessarily be this city’s fourth team captain. It’s just a possibility. This city only has enough members to be assigned to three teams, so even if you were to become a team captain, you’d have no team! Most likely, you’d be assigned to my team and I’ll be your mentor, so even when you finish your training program, you’ll still be assigned the role of a normal team member and not some captain and could hopefully retire by 30.”
“Don’t fucking joke with me, woman!” Laura scoffed. “You plan on having me as your goddamn replacement, aren’t you?! The moment you find it appropriate, you’ll skedaddle out of this whole Aegis bullshit and live a carefree life while I, your dearest disciple, take up your mantle as the team’s team captain and succeed your legacy!”
“Erase my memories for all I care. Take away my powers! I don’t need it in the first place!” Laura protested.
“Are you sure?” a dark light flashed in the woman’s eyes as a sly grin crept onto her lips. “Since you’ve already sold your flowers and Laura’s Flower Shop is already becoming a widespread name, we’ll have to erase the existence of your shop entirely, both from reality and the people’s memory, and it’d be part of nonexistent history! You’ll become a poor bloke back in Meno City with no shop, no money, and none of that carefree lifestyle you’re dreaming of!”
“YOU!” Laura gnashed her teeth and said with clenched fists. “You goddamn bastards…”
“It’s honestly an easy choice.” She shrugged her shoulders and wore a dubious smile. “All you have to do is say one simple word.”
“Yes.”
Laura stared intently at the woman before her and took in deep breaths. Her gaze turned cold as she mumbled, “Don’t think that I will ever forget this humiliating moment in my life, you Aegis bastard.”
“One day, this whole world will face the endless wrath of Laura Field, and it will all be because of your unscrupulous, corrupt, evil organization!”
“So, are you on board or not?” the woman ignored her words and asked the most important question once more.
“…” Laura clicked her tongue and said, “Yes, I’m in.”
“Great!” a smile blossomed on the woman’s face. “I’m glad to have you on the team, Laura.”
Laura smiled deeply as she shook hands with the woman.
“Likewise.”
…
“Oh my fucking god, I’m such a great actor if I dare say so myself!” Braun mumbled with a grin.
“Now that she’s part of Aegis, my intuition is practically screaming at me that the key to opening up my destiny is here.”
“Sigh, the closer I get, the more intrigued I become as to what it is. Even with my access to Aegis’ archives, the mysterious redacted files regarding this unknown object stored in Aegis are still hard to uncover.”
“It’s all up to you, Laura, to unveil this mystery and acquire it for me so I can finally step into the realm of Demigods!”
“Although…” Braun’s grin deepened. “It’s not like I need that power in the first place. If I really wanted to, I could have long ascended to Level 4.”
“Aegis, you’re simply way too lucky that I am a picky boy. Destiny is just way too cool of a power to pass on!”