I woke up feeling an immense, sharp, headache.
"Argh..." I groaned. My skull felt like it's splitting apart. Getting up, I noticed that my face is wet, and there's something on my check.
I rubbed my cheek with my finger... It was a blood, dry blood, from the looks of it, mine.
"Hmm, that's not normal," I didn't sustain any injuries while escaping the prison. well, aside from my hands.
Speaking of them, they're not healed yet. My face grimaces, my knuckles are bare and there's loose hanging off it. It's fucking painful, but my breathing regulates my reaction. Also, it was not bleeding... but it needs to disinfected and covered up, that shit is prime for infection.
Feeling thirsty, I turned my head to the pack of bear I stole from the guy last night. Before I could do that, however, I notice the small pool of blood on the cement floor.
"What the fuck, don't tell that's mine... oh shit it is!" That suspicion is made valid with the dry sensation of my throat. Either it's dry from not drink water, or I've spent eight hours puking my guts out.
[GACHA SYSTEM ONLINE]- ]
Analyzing Host…
- Detecting recovery from minor inner-raptures...
- Rewarding Roll for surviving the near Cardiac arrest...
[Would you like to roll?]
My face stops to look at the floating screen. The beer showering my hands continues.
What did you just say? Cardiac Arrest? Did I have a heart attack while I was asleep!? How the fuck did I survive then?! It must've been the strain and side-affects of using the Sendevistan to full-throttle. That chrome is the only piece of augmentation I have in my body, there's no other cybernetics present to lessen the affects of the Sendevistan.
I calm myself down, my heart steady -- unfazed.
So, I was dying in my sleep, great to know that even sleeping is not safe. Hell be damned... I'm the most unlucky isekai dude ever, second to Naofumi
Let's me just roll, get my head out that though, "I don't another existential dread. Have enough of it already."
"Do the roll." I said, tearing my sleeves -- wrapping my hands with them.
[...]
[You have received: The Hercules method.]
My eyes dilated in interest.
"Hercules Method? that sounds familiar-" Suddenly, like before, a sharp pain stung my head. Knowledge, information invade my mind forcibly. On how to unite the Mind, soul, and body. To reform yourself to be the perfect fighter.
The injection of the manual was painful, but not unmanageable. With my breathing, I was able to center myself and endure the sudden influx of foreign knowledge on how to become the perfect murderer through self-supremacy.
The pain settled, and the knowledge eternalize itself in my mind. The creator, or should I say the progenitor of this killer method, came from the son of Adam and the first killer of humanity -- Cain. He developed this with his realization of the universal truth of all things, after brutally killing Abel with his bare-hands. He refined his "method" through millennia, cultivating his mind, soul, and body to be the perfect vessel for his bloodlust. He then passed this knowledge to people who became his followers, and after many users passed, the Killer-method fall into the hands of teenage boy named, Luthor Strode.
"It's... perfect, "I uttered, resting my chin on my wrapped hands, "Ignoring the obvious 'I abandoned my humanity, Abel!' aspect of the method, it's my best shot to gain immediate strength without relying on chrome."
And the first instruction is to map your body to gain control. You see, the method doesn't advocate for just muscle building... Well, the methods every aspect of the human to be a muscle, your brain and even your soul. it demands full commitment of the regime, and full faith of the strength it will provide. The first exercise is perfect in my opinion. it flex the brain, while moderately using your muscles to map it out, and with the soul... I don't know how, but I feel like it's being engage also.
I did it and, " I know where my limbs are, " A hapless smile forms on my face.
This will take time.
I exercise the instruction of the method after drinking the remaining beer. I dedicated one hour to this training, and after it, I felt nothing... physically that is. The truth of the matter is, I already got one aspect of the method down, breathing. Well, I have Total Concentration so it's basically done, already. There's no reason for me to tackle it. I focused more on the mental aspect, while sparing my focus to physical.
My reason is, the physical won't instantaneously change even with this esoteric method. Even if I loyally follow every instruction, my body won't alter itself to be strong overnight. So, I concentrated on the aspect that I think will give me immediate result the mind, of course I did some physical session as to have head-start. But, I spent this hour with mediating and mapping my body the most.
There was result.
I know where my limbs are.
I could move finger independently.
My thinking is more after the session.
And, I could track the rhythm of my heart.
"Trust the method," Those words repeated on my mouth, smiling to myself as I saw the sun raised on the horizon, "This won't be enough... But, at least I have something to work with."
He has a clear rode to lead him to the highway.
...
..
.
I replaced my prison clothes with a hoodie I stole from a thrift store. I also robbed a large mall for some money, that I will use to buy food. It's wrong, but... I'm stealing from a big corporation, and I'll say its honest to my cyberpunk aesthetic~ you get what I'm saying?
Shaking my head, I enter the convivence store with a mask on. The security guard look at me with suspicioning, but with my deliberate positioning -- where he could see my every movement while I cruise the isles, I'm indirectly announcing I am of threat. Just your random, everyday fella, whose totally not a prison escapee. Totally .
By the time I was in the cash register with a handful of essentials—bottled water, some canned food, and a few protein bars—the security guard had stopped paying him much mind.
Mmhmm, how genius of me.
"That will be twenty-dollars sir, " The cashier said with a rehearsed tone, "Would like to pay in cash or credit."
I take out exactly 20$ from my pocket, "Cash please, and you could keep the reci-"
"Lower your head, and don't try anything funny! This is a robbery!!" Suddenly, two men came rushing in the store. And, like they've seen this before, the customer of the convenience store did as they're told.
I followed their action. Intervening might acquire some attention on me, and the last thing I want is the GDA or authorities that have connection to the Agency having their prying eyes on me. Generally, these robbers don't kill, they threatened and bluff what they're for is money -- not blood. So, if I just lay low no one will get hurt, and this a convenience it ain't gonna lost much if it got robbed by some desperate people.
Think naturally here people.
I glance at the robbers, they look young, and they carried their weapons like first-timers -- dangerous. One carries a knife, and is the one taking the money out from the register. The second is keeping the guard busy by pointing a butterfly dagger to the man's throat. And the last, the backbone of their plane, brandish a rifle -- assumingly, automatic -- is in the center keeping check of the civilians of any movements.
I exhaled deeply. As long as everyone don't act hastily, no one will get hurt-
"UWAAH!" The sound of a toddler screaming and crying snapped my attention. Looking to my left, I saw a baby crying and desperately being cuddled by its mother to stop it from crying.
all the customer look at this, and the man holding rifle -- young and trigger-happy -- felt nervous. I could see it in his twitching muscle. He is getting rattled, by a child crying.
"Hey, make shut the fuck up!" The robber stupidly shouted and the child cries even more, the mother now look mortified...
Even more so when the idiot pressed the barrel of the rifle on the child's head.
"Don't you fucking dare." I murmured, veins bugled into my head as my breathing intensify.
The man shouted more, making the child resound appropriately. The nervousness his radiating is palpable, aided also by his colleagues. Who are now looking at him, pleading for him to calm down.
"Flint, calm down. it's just a child, we're almost down, "The one carrying the briefcase de-escalate.
"Dude, what the fuck are you two doing, we need to get out now!" The one who cornered the guard shouted, making gun-holder flinch on his trigger-hand. A bulge snapped on my forehead.
"Make it shut up!"
"Dude, it's a kid! Get over it already, "the man shouted, widely gesturing his hand.
"The cops are coming you idiot!"
This only helps making him more rattled, and my eyes counted every inch of that index moving on that trigger.
Shit, no more holding back. this idiot will hurt somebody if I don't move.
Time slowed down in a whip of a second. My eyes watched the world turned green, as I weave towards the three morons. Striking their napes with a considerable amount of strength to knock them out.
One second passed, and I returned to my previous position.
The slowed down world shattered to its normal pace, and the robbers fell into the ground. The rifle's barrel bent because of me.
I realize the tension by exhaling, and my heart returned to steady pulse.
Stupid! why did I play hero there, it could've played silently!
I got to leave now, the cops must've already been notified of the robbery. And, I don't need to show myself even more to surveillances even though my face is hidden.
I stood up and brisk towards the exit. There's no purpose in staying here, I have my food.
"W-wait!" A voice behind him.
He froze, and turned to see the cashier look at him. As if she already notates me to ending the robbery, sharp... annoying.
Her expression speaks of gratitude. Unwanted thankfulness.
"...Thank you," She let out.
I clenched my jaw and did not respond, instead I pulled up my hood, and adjust my mask then walked out.
I could hear the sound of sirens echoing towards this place.