Chapter 4: CH. 4 | Doing Something Right for Everyone

Michelle said her goodbyes and left, giving Theo some time alone to settle down. Theo thanked her for looking out for him.

For some reason he felt like Michelle paid a lot more attention to him than the other sisters at the orphanage did.

He lay back down on the bed. That curiosity started creeping in again.

He wanted to know more about the Authority of Mystic Eyes, what it actually was, how his power worked, how the mechanics behind it functioned, why he was the one who ended up with it, and whether anyone else out there had it too.

He raised his hand, traced the letter S in the air, and tapped it once. His system panel appeared right in front of him, laid out with detailed information about himself.

[Status Profile:]

[Name: Theo]

[Class: -]

[Skill: -]

[Level: 1]

[EXP: 0/150]

[Talent: Authority of Mystic Eyes]

[Basic Attributes:]

[STR: 10 || AGI: 10 || MAG: 10 || CONS: 10 || DEX: 10]

From that panel, it was clear he still had no class, the same result as the awakening ceremony, and no skill list either.

His level was still one, and his stats were all sitting at default values.

But what really caught his attention was the Authority of Mystic Eyes. It sat under the Talent section, which meant this authority was actually his talent.

From what I know... talent is something you’re born with. Does that mean I’ve had this since I was a baby?

But why me? I mean, why did it end up with me specifically? Wouldn’t it make more sense for whoever grants this authority to give it to someone actually gifted?

A thousand questions sat in his head, waiting for real answers. Still, Theo had no idea where he could even go looking for them.

Was he supposed to just wait it out? Would the answers come to him eventually, sometime in the future?

His curiosity spiked again. He tapped the talent section, pulling up another panel that explained the details behind the Authority of Mystic Eyes.

[Authority of Mystic Eyes]

[An all-seeing eye ability capable of controlling power and everything else in the world. One of the three great authorities]

[Authority Level: 1]

[Authority EXP: 0/500]

[Note. Authority EXP (Auth Exp) can be earned through Authority Quests or by absorbing beast energy]

[Skill:]

[1. Foresight (Auth Lv. 1)] [Unlocked]

[Desc: The ability to see a limited span of the future, determined by the skill’s level. Using this ability carries the risk of shortening the host’s lifespan by an amount equal to the time viewed during activation. This cost increases the more the skill is used]

[2. Locked]

Theo took it all in clearly, the detailed information about the Mystic Eyes authority laid out right there on the panel. His attention locked onto the Auth EXP and the skill list.

He noticed skill 2 was still locked, which meant this authority had more to offer than just foresight, something else was hidden behind it.

What he needed to figure out was how to unlock it.

The foresight skill was labeled Auth Lv. 1. Did that mean the authority’s skills would unlock as the authority level went up?

I have to try it out, but where’s this authority quest supposed to be?

[1st Authority Quest:]

[Objective: Use the Foresight skill for more than 5 seconds]

[Reward: 50exp || 100 authexp || 1x random skill]

[Status: Completed]

Right as Theo was wondering about the authority quest, the panel suddenly popped up on its own, catching him off guard.

His eyes landed on the completed objective, and technically, he had already pulled it off earlier during the fight with that gang.

Since the quest status was complete, Theo saw another panel appear in response to the authority quest.

It was a system panel showing his personal level and his authority level.

[Status:]

[Name: Theo]

[Level: 1]

[EXP: 50/150]

[Authority Level: 1]

[Authority EXP: 100/500]

[Congratulations! You’ve earned a chance to pick a random skill]

The panel shifted into a lucky wheel, each section filled with the names of available skills.

When Theo pressed the spin button, the pointer immediately started spinning clockwise to select a random skill for him.

Slowly, the lucky wheel began to slow down until the pointer landed on a skill, its name and rank displayed clearly right in front of his eyes.

[Congratulations! You’ve obtained a skill]

[Name: Extraction]

[Rank: B-rank]

[Desc: The ability to extract more deeply from loot, with a chance of obtaining rare and valuable loot items]

I’m not betting much on it, it’s a gacha skill after all. Still, I’ll give it a try, maybe I can use it to absorb energy and build up my auth exp.

"Where the hell is he?!" someone shouted.

Theo jolted awake, practically leaping off the bed after hearing that loud shout from outside. The voice belonged to a man, deep and forceful.

Worry started creeping in. He was sure this had to be the people that the young man had mentioned earlier. They’d come to get back at him for what he’d done.

The young man got up right away and threw open his bedroom door, stepping outside to find three burly men standing in front of the orphanage, being held back by Sister Anna.

"That was just a kids’ dispute, there’s no need to drag adults into this," Sister Anna said, "I’ll handle disciplining Theo myself."

"No!"

"We’re not here to make peace. We need to make him pay for what he did to Zack!"

Theo clenched his fists, then pointed straight at them and shouted back, "He’s the one who started it. He’s the one who insulted me!"

"You?!" they shouted.

Sister Michelle was there too. Theo caught sight of her, her expression sharp and dead serious. She walked over to Theo and asked him to tell her exactly what had happened.

"Tell me... what really happened?" Michelle asked.

"They—"

"Zack and his friends were bullying Theo. They almost jumped him out in the open. Lucky for him, Theo was able to fight back!"

"Just because you people have power doesn’t mean you get to push him around!" Maya shouted, arriving and catching Theo by surprise.

Michelle glanced at Maya, then turned back to Theo to confirm whether it was true. Theo took a long breath, cleared his throat, and nodded in agreement.

What Maya said was true, but he couldn’t let the orphanage get dragged into his mess.

Michelle clenched her fists and turned back toward the men, as if she was about to attack them herself.

Theo saw what was happening and thought about the bigger consequences if these men didn’t get what they came for.

It could end badly, the orphanage itself could end up in danger.

If they got what they wanted, they’d leave and never bring this trouble back again.

Should I use Foresight? No. I can’t keep burning my lifespan every time I get into trouble.

The young man decided to act fast. He grabbed a wooden plank and ran straight at the three burly men.

"Stop, Theo!" Michelle shouted.

He didn’t listen. Theo swung the wooden plank at the three men, but given the gap in strength and experience, they easily blocked it and even snapped the plank in half.

"You’re going to regret that!" they barked.

PUNCH!

Their fists clenched tight, then slammed into Theo’s face, sending his body flying backward. Theo winced in pain, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he wasn’t done yet.

He was sure they wouldn’t be satisfied with just that.

Using the basic self defense skills he’d picked up, Theo charged at them again, swinging his fists and throwing kicks.

His attacks were blocked with ease, and one of the men landed a hard kick straight into Theo’s stomach, sending him flying into the orphanage’s wooden fence and breaking it apart.

"HAHAHA!"

"You’re weak! There’s no way you’re beating us!"

The three men walked toward Theo, who lay sprawled on the ground, his body drained of strength and aching with pain, his eyes watching them close in.

Right as one of the men was about to slam a fist into Theo’s face, his hand froze when Michelle stepped in to break up the fight. He turned to look at her, her eyes sharp and intimidating.

"That’s enough!"

"He’s already hurt," Michelle said firmly.

"You’ve got some nerve, Sister?!" the man snapped.

But the man froze the instant his eyes met Michelle’s. He pulled his hand back away from her and started backing away.

"Tell that useless brat to leave!"

"Or we’ll tear this whole orphanage down!"

The three of them turned and walked off, leaving the place behind. Michelle immediately went to Theo’s side, checking over his condition.

"You really are an idiot, Theo," Michelle sighed.

Theo coughed and sat up on the ground, looking at Michelle with a small smile on his face, "If I hadn’t stepped in, they could’ve threatened the whole orphanage."

"And here I was sure I could’ve handled them myself," Michelle countered.

"That would’ve just made things worse," Theo said, letting Michelle help him to his feet, "I think, for everyone’s sake, I should leave."

"Leave?!" Maya said, startled, "But where?"

Theo went quiet for a moment, then shook his head, "I don’t know."