One day had passed since Mark fell into a coma, and things appeared to be going south really fast. Protests all around the world wanted him out of the scene –a coma not being enough. Apparently, everyone is afraid that his existence will attract the being again.

His family had no choice but to go back to their usual lives, filled with grief, shattered into tiny pieces that they could barely hold together. No one expected that to happen. Truly, one could say Mark’s sacrifice was for nothing.

"Huh, so Mark is not coming back…"

Alex could barely bring himself to say this, barely allowing the words to come out. No one could accept that.

"I could have done something if only I were stronger…"

Sebas kept blaming himself for being powerless—a blame that everyone tried to take away from him.

"Don’t be harsh on yourself, Sebas. I am stronger than you, yet I could only stand and watch."

Charlotte felt remorse, something she didn't expect to feel. She hadn’t known Mark for a long time, yet his being in his current state turned her into a wreck.

"Guys, I know this whole thing is ugly, but what if this is what Mark wanted?"

Darius spoke out, and surprisingly, he was onto something.

"He did what he did knowing that many would have died if not for him. You know…"

He took a deep breath, embracing himself for what was to come.

"Maybe we should move on. I don’t think he’d want to see us do nothing, but rather he’d love to see us become stronger than him."

They all listened to Darius, agreeing deep down that he was right.

"Well then, old friend, I think it’s time we go. Make sure to get enough rest since you always complain about being tired."

Having said that, they all went out, not looking back, afraid that they might lose their resolve.

Alex gave Xandra a call, notifying her of everything she had to know.

"Alex, is Mark alright? I hear about what happened, but I—"

"Mark is… not in the best of health right now, which is why, for a while, we’re giving up on school and changing our focus to leveling."

"What do you mean?"

"Mark can’t do all the fighting, so it is time we become stronger. I’ll come pick you up, then we’ll try to find as many ways as possible to get stronger."

"I see…"

Alex ended the call, focusing on the task at hand.

"So, where are we going? We need a place to use as some sort of base for operations."

Charlotte had that in mind already, which is why she got in contact with a few people she knew she could trust to a certain extent.

"I took care of it, don’t worry."

In just a few hours, everyone had gathered together in an old warehouse. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but with a bit of work, it could turn into a center of operations.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Not too shabby, I guess."

Alex had made himself comfortable, sitting on a box. Xandra did the same, sitting next to him.

"So, what should we do now?" asked Sebas, his mind already fixed on the idea of becoming stronger, but not by rushing things.

"Now, we need to go around and take care of whatever monsters appear. You might not know it, but in this country, the organization is limited, meaning that we can get away with killing some monsters without a permit."

"That’s it for living in a post-communist country."

No one laughed at Alex’ remark, since it was basically the truth.

"Well, the first step is to get rid of monsters, but shouldn’t we learn about our abilities first?"

Darius did appear to have thought this through, which was, by no means, something Darius would have done.

"We have no time for that. You all have to learn on the go. Make sure that every battle counts."

Xandra listened, bothered by something.

"How are we supposed to know where and how the monsters attack? How are we supposed to get there in time? There are just too many things that need to be worked on."

Charlotte was taken aback, since that part of the plan was still under development.

"We still have to work on that part. The organization has a lot of people who work for it, spread out wide and thin around whatever country they work in."

"I guess we’re screwed...

All of them let out a loud sigh, troubled by the whole ordeal they had to face.

"What would Mark have done?"

Alex asked himself this very question, since he knew, deep down, that Mark was the perfect man for such a job. Despite being an asshole when using his powers, seeing himself as the pinnacle of existence, he knew what to do.

"I could help you with that."

All heads turned in the direction of the mysterious voice, only to find a floating window.

"System?"

Except for Charlotte, they all had an inkling of what it was.

"Why is a system tab talking with us?"

Charlotte was amazed, yet at the same time, confused. Sebas went on to explain what he knew about it.

"So, Mark had an assistant."

"To put it in terms you can understand, yes. Now that Mark is out of the picture, I came to assist you."

Sebas and Alex almost lost their cool, seeing how blatant the system was when talking about what had happened to Mark, but they restrained themselves.

"Tell us, then, how could you be of help?"

Charlotte was willing to take this opportunity, even if she had to be on the lookout for hidden intent.

"It happened after Mark fell. The open gate allowed us to create a way of pinpointing where other monsters might appear. You’ll have some time to get there if you’re fast enough."

Us? So there are multiple entities behind the system.

"Still." interrupted Darius, "How are we supposed to get there in time?"

"That is up to you to find out. I can only tell you where and when, with a few hours at most in advance."

"That’s more than enough. We can strike the closest zones, then make way for others that might appear."

"So I guess we have a plan, right?"

Xandra seemed eager about it, playing with magic like she was warming up for battle.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

The system tab started beeping.

"This means that a portal is about to open somewhere. Check it out on this map."

The tab turned into a map, showing the exact location of the next attack.

"It’s close, and it happens in one hour? Time to go, everyone!"

Sebas was burning with passion, spreading his feelings to everyone around."

Charlotte called someone, asking for a lift.

"Let’s go, everyone!"