“Get up”. Those were the first words Blaze heard as he got up.
“That’s what I’m doi- ” Blaze couldn’t finish his sentence before a fist rammed into his stomach. He felt all the air leave his lungs as he bounced off a locker and crumbled on the floor. Blaze groaned and curled up. He heard mocking laughter above him.
“Come on James, give him a break.” Mark, Blaze’s best friend, complained.
“If he wanted a break, he should have given me what I wanted.” James growled back and kicked Blaze.
“At least don’t use your module, please. He can’t handle it.” James snorted, but his muscles shrunk a bit.
“You owe me double for this, Sparky. I really wanted to test out my new module.” James told Blaze. His only reply was a groan. James smirked, then kicked him again.
“Come on Blaze, why don’t you use your soul module, huh? Oh right, it’s useless. You’re useless.” Instead of replying, Blaze slowly got to his feet, scooped up his school books, and ran away. He hated running away from anything, especially from someone that had toyed with him, but standing up to James would only make things worse. Blaze pushed his way through the crowd of students that had flocked up to watch the one sided brawl. The laughter only made everything worse. Far worse. Blaze ran for a minute before sitting down on the ground with a pained sigh.
“You good?” Mark asked. He had followed Blaze after he had run away.
“Except the fact I’ve been beaten up by empowered blows and been kicked at least ten times? Yeah, I’m good.”
Mark snorted and sat down next to Blaze. “Honestly, are you fine?”
“No, not really. He hit a sore spot there.”
What made it worse was that it was true. Blaze’s soul module was useless.
Soul Module [The Fallen]:
Even the greatest hero falls from his former power and glory. But this fallen hero will prevail.
Primary Effect: Cultivation takes 10 times as much essence as a normal being. System is locked until Core Module is obtained.
Secondary Effect: ???
This soul module expands at every bottleneck.
His own soul, his goddamn soul detrimented his cultivation, making him level so much slower than anyone else. Blaze stifled a sigh and got up.
“Come on, we need to go to class. At least it’s history, I guess.”
****
Blaze walked down the streets feeling miserable. But Blaze had endured this for all of his life. He could, no, he would endure.
“At least it can’t get worse.” Blaze muttered to himself.
“Come…” A voice whispered. Blaze jumped from fright and whirled around. No one. Blaze inhaled a deep breath. Had he imagined it?
“Come… anyone…” So, Blaze hadn’t imagined it.
“No, don’t go,...” Blaze told himself. It could be dangerous. He could die. However,... Blaze’s life was already hell. Except for the time with his family, Blaze hated every second of his life. So, even if he died, might as well explore. Blaze made up his mind. There was only one problem. He didn’t know where to go. Blaze concentrated on the voice. From where had it been strongest? Blaze turned north to look at the town park. With a deep breath, Blaze ran.
****
“Ow, ow, ow, ow…” Blaze grumbled as he pushed past a bush of roses, pricking himself on multiple places.
“This better be worth it.” Blaze muttered. Soon, he reached a clearing. Blaze looked around. The voice had been loudest somewhere around here. But where…?
“Who’s there?” The voice came out of nowhere. Unlike before, Blaze could hear it clearly.
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“A random teenager that gets beaten up a lot. Who, and where are you? ” The voice chuckled, or at least Blaze thought so.
“Stomp.” The voice ordered.
“What?”
“Just stomp. Trust me.” Blaze gave the voice a flat look, only he didn’t know where it was, so he compromised by staring at the ground.
“Stranger danger.” Blaze murmured, but he stomped nonetheless. The ground fell out from under him and Blaze fell, screaming. Stranger danger indeed. Blaze fell… and landed only twelve feet down. Groaning, Blaze got up and looked around. He was in a cavern.
“Ow…” Blaze hurt everywhere. But,... Blaze was used to pain, so he ignored it and got up.
“Where are you?” Blaze asked. In this moment, he wished more than ever that he had been born four hundred years ago, when the integration had occurred. Blaze imagined it would have been far easier than now, with tutorials and system messages. Maybe a map.
“I’m right in front of you, kid.” Blaze startled and waved his hands in front of him. Nothing.
“Where?” Blaze asked again. The voice grumbled. He seemed irritated.
“Look down.” Blaze glanced down… and saw a cube. It seemed to be made out of some kind of purple alloy and gave out a faint light. Blaze stared down at the cube.
“You’re a machine?” Blaze asked. He had thought it was some kind of person stuck with a telepathy skill.
“How dare you compare me to something as unreliable as a construct? I’m a module with a soul! Have you never seen a module before?” Blaze gaped at the cube. Instead of answering, Blaze picked up the cube. It had intricate lines and symbols out of gold and steel lining its sides. Then, it finally clicked. Blaze had a module. He could put it in his core and unlock the system. Only, what if it was detrimental? Like his soul aspect.
“What do you do?” Blaze asked, curious.
“Of course you only care about what I do. Not even what my name is. SO uncaring.” Blaze gave the module a flat glare.
“I asked you before I fell in this hole. You just didn’t answer.” The module didn’t reply. Blaze grinned.
“Anyway… if you don’t even know what a module is, how come you don’t seem shocked at all by finding out that some modules have souls, eh?”
“Oh, right. Well, let me guess. You are either stronger than most modules or something unique. Or you are a familiar skill module. Am I right?”
“Yes, I am stronger than most. In fact, I am the strongest. For I, the greatest being to ever exist, have the power to copy other modules.”
Blaze stared at the module in disbelief. If his power was as great as he claimed, it was truly the strongest.
“How do I absorb a module?” Blaze asked instantly. The module laughed.
“Hungry for power, eh? Yes, that is an important component to becoming powerful. Crush me.”
Blaze’s stomach churned.
“Crush you?” Blaze asked. Why would he destroy the strongest thing he had ever possessed? If he possessed the module at all.
“That’s the way to absorb a module, kid. Do it or leave it. I don’t want to die.” The module chuckled.
“Why me, though? Why not tell me to give it to someone else, someone stronger?” Blaze asked, doubting himself. He had always been weak. Gaining this much power, it seemed like he would make a target of himself.
“The best power comes from the new. And besides, if you don’t want me, you can give me to anyone else. I felt in debt to you for finding me after all these years.”
Blaze took a moment to process this. If he crushed the cube, his life would change forever. He would have power. Blaze made up his mind. If the world tried to break him, he would break the world in turn. Blaze crushed the cube. It was surprisingly fragile and it crumbled to dust. Left behind was glowing moats of energy – mana. The mana flowed into Blaze’s fist and traveled up his arm. Blaze felt the flow of power and shivered. Blaze felt like he could carry the world. The mana flowed straight into his core, a ball of ethereal mana, and merged with it. Light started shining out of Blaze’s chest. Then, boxes of text appeared in front of him.
[You have absorbed Skill Module: Copy Module]
[Skill Module: Copy Module has become your Core Module]
[You have unlocked [System Interface] and your Secondary Core]
Status:
Name: Blaze Nathan Harrow
Race: Human (Earth) / ???
Level: 1
Class: No Class Module
Titles: Punching Bag,
Stats:
Strength: 3
Endurance: 7
Dexterity: 5
Vitality: 6
Intelligence: 4
Wisdom: 5
Modules: The Fallen (Soul), Copy Module (M: Basic),
Blaze stared at the screens in disbelief. He slowly reached out and tried to touch his status screen. His hand went straight through. He retracted his hand and kept staring at the screen, happiness welling up in him.
“Don’t get too proud, kid. This is only an average level 1 stats. Nothing exceptional.” The module told him. The voice had come straight from his brain. Blaze didn’t care, not one bit.
“For a no one like me, this is better than anything I have ever had. Well, except my family. Scratch out my dad, he’s a bastard. What’s your name?”
“Don’t have one.” Blaze smile widened.
“Good! Do you like Primus? It means the first. Since you are my first module, I think it will fit nicely.”
The module thought it over.
“I believe it won’t be a problem.” Primus said.