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0.08% Supreme Magus / Prologue

Prologue

Author note: the story starts in chapter 1. The prologue introduces the MC and explains his background. Feel free to skip it if you are not interested, but as the author, I recommend reading it.

No matter if you were an optimist or a pessimist, Derek McCoy's life couldn't be judged to be either good or bad. It was just a mediocre, insignificant existence.

His father was bipolar and during his depressive episodes, he would disappear into his bedroom for days. He would emerge solely to eat, use the bathroom and for the occasional 'let's make your life miserable' fit of rage.

During his manic episodes, he would work like a madman, but not having any talent as a businessman nor as a social climber, he was unable to become successful and establish connections.

Whenever he decided to actually take his medication, he was just a couch potato that would stand up and go to work only to avoid being despised by his neighbors and peers.

Whatever his mental condition was, he was always a perfect example of an abusive father.

In his eyes, his sons were always a disgrace.

They never studied hard enough, they were never obedient enough, nor showed him the respect he demanded.

He considered it his paternal duty to remind them that such things weren't tolerated under his roof.

He would yell at them for the slightest mistake, constantly repeating to them that they were just parasites, leeching off his hard work to survive.

When words weren't enough, or when they failed to meet his expectations with school grades or chores, there was no teacher like his leather belt.

Hence, Derek and Carl had quickly learned how to fend for themselves. Their absent-minded mother had forgotten about them right after giving birth. She dedicated her life to the pursuit of peace and quiet, staying as far as possible from her spouse's tantrums.

Derek was two years older and he tried to take care of his little brother in every way that he could, but to no avail.

They grew up reading stories about heroes protecting the weak and upholding justice, yet no hero ever appeared to save them.

Every week, they would be forced to go to church to worship a nondescript benevolent god and his son, the savior of all mankind. No matter how much they prayed or how good they were, no miracle occurred.

After begging the heavens proved to be useless one time too many, they simply stopped believing in heroes and they crammed instead of wasting time with prayers.

School was their oasis, but that lasted only until sixth grade.

Once they started middle school, it didn't even take a month before the bullying started.

Their cheap clothes and gloomy dispositions made them easy targets. They were so used to being tossed around and insulted that they didn't even bother trying to fight back.

For a long time, Derek considered it the worst time in his useless life. After a month, he knew he could not take any more of that, so he tried to make things better.

He reported his father's abuse to social services with an anonymous email, but being overworked and understaffed, the social worker made a brief visit and never came back.

Then he tried to end the bullying by reporting their aggressors to a teacher, who in turn washed her hands of the problem by reporting the matter to the principal. The principal did not want to meddle in what he deemed as childish pranks.

He called Derek's parents to inform them of the problem, hoping they would let it slide. The principal's wish came true, whereas Derek took an extra beating for not being man enough to face his own problems.

"Are you really so stupid that you never learned anything from me? Never delegate! If you want something done right, do it yourself!"

Derek had never felt so helpless and desperate. That night he bawled his eyes out until he fell asleep. That had been the last straw.

The following day, he felt different, clear-headed like never before. It was not the time for despair anymore, he needed a plan.

It would take him years to realize that something inside him had died. He was no longer able to trust, hope, or develop any sense of kinship. He was surrounded by enemies and to survive he needed to be able to fight back.

So, Derek asked his father to let him join a dojo and learn martial arts. To his surprise, he did not have to beg nor even ask twice.

Derek's old man was glad that his wimpy, scrawny, and all-around poor excuse for a child was finally interested in becoming a man. His only condition was that Derek was not allowed to quit for at least one year, otherwise he would make him regret wasting his hard-earned money.

Not only did Derek start practicing Jiu-jitsu almost daily, he would also wake up two hours earlier every single day to build muscles doing push-ups, squats, sit-ups and running until he was out of breath.

In a few months, he was able to do 100 push-ups, sit-ups, squats and run for at least 10 kilometers every day before going to school.

Jiu-jitsu soon proved to be a perfect choice for his situation. At low level, it was mainly focused on self defense, but there was plenty of space for attacking and fighting dirty.

By practicing martial arts, he finally discovered something he was good at. He was not particularly nimble, nor a fast learner. His hand to eye coordination was also average at best.

His talent lied in the ability to exploit the best time to hit a sensitive spot during a block or a defensive maneuver.

Even when the sensei was teaching sword or tanto arts, Derek was always able to grasp the killer moves on his first try, sometimes even before the sensei completed the practical demonstration.

It was an exciting yet disappointing discovery, since his only talent had no practical use. Even if Jiu-jitsu was a sport with tournaments, hits to the groin, eyes, and trachea were universally forbidden.

For months Derek kept training hard while keeping a low profile at school, planning his next move.

At the end of the first semester, Derek stopped hiding from the bullies and started replying in kind to every single insult they threw at him, using the best quick-witted roast lines he had found online.

Derek was careful to never go to the bathroom or to remain alone for too long, always keeping an adult witness in line of sight. It did not even take a full day before his enemies were gunning for him.

Only when the veins almost popped out their necks, did he throw his bait.

"I have had enough of your sh*t, as*holes. Meet me in an hour behind the grocery store between Lincoln and 3rd. Or are you too scared?"

"Since you're cruising for a bruising, I will happily grant your wish you fag*ot. It will only be you and the three of us, alright?"

Derek nodded without believing him in the least. He was right.

When they entered the back alley, they had brought along two more people.

Derek was waiting for them, leaning against the wall at the end of the blind alley.

"There you are. I was starting to think you would stand me up." Derek said.

"Sorry we were late. Hope you do not mind us inviting some friends to the party." They replied with a laugh.

Derek shrugged while grinning from ear to ear.

"No problem. No matter the quantity, trash will always be worthless. I chose this alley because it has enough dumpsters to accommodate all of your friends."

The last line hit a nerve and they charged at him blindly.

"Gang up on him guys! Do not let him escape! Let's show him who the real trash is."

And so, they fell into his trap. Derek had prepared the terrain right after choosing the best spot for the fight. A blind alley only has one way out, and as they approached the end of the alley, they weren't able to see the tripwire Derek had set due to the dim light.

The first two fell down hard onto the concrete, and those behind them were so worried about not trampling on their friends that they never saw the steel pipe coming.

They came in numbers, Derek had come armed. Using the pipe as a club, he quickly hit them respectively on the head, the side of the knee, and in the groin. Only then did he start hitting the two that were trying to get back on their feet.

While they were moaning and sobbing on the ground, he used a small knife to cut the tripwire to be able to move freely. He beat them again and again with the metal pipe, giving special attention to their nether regions.

Deep inside, he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he couldn't care less. If the world was bound to be unfair, the only possible course of action was to make it unfair in his advantage.

So, he took out the taser that he had 'borrowed' from his father and tased all of them until they fell unconscious in a pool of their own urine. After that, he stripped them completely and took many photos.

After arranging their bodies so that they would seem to be spooning each other, Derek even made a short video. When he was done, he splashed them with a bucket of cold water and sealed the deal.

"Sorry to ruin your Brokeback Mountain moment girls, but I need your attention for a minute."

When the bullies woke up, they were in so much pain that they barely noticed that they were naked and embracing each other. Retorting to Derek while he still had a firm grip on the steel pipe was out of the question, so they kept quiet and listened.

"I have made quite a scrapbook out of you all and even a short movie. I uploaded everything to my computer and to the cloud. It would be terrible if someone, I don't know, me for example, uploaded them on all the biggest image hosting sites. You know what they say, the internet never forgets."

The bullies started crying and begging.

"Imagine how terrible it would be! Whenever someone would Boogle your names, be them your grandma, your girlfriend, or even the colleges you will apply to, the first thing to appear would be those photos!"

"Dude, no!" "Please, I don't even know you. I was just doing a favor for a friend!" "It was only a joke, please forgive me!"

The choir of begging gave him goosebumps. Derek wanted to puke at their hypocrisy.

"I do not care about your pathetic excuses! From this day onward, you will leave me alone. And you better pray that nothing happens to me because the cloud is set so that if I do not enter the password every day, it will upload them everywhere."

Without waiting for their reply, he turned his back to them and walked away.

"Almost forgot, I threw your clothes into random dumpsters. I can't remember which clothes went where. If you don't want to go home in your birthday suits, you better start digging. So long suckers!"

Derek returned home euphoric, almost singing. He had never felt so proud of himself and had the completely undeserved confidence that he would never have to think about those b*stards ever again.


Prologue (2)

The bullying had ended, but Derek's social life never stopped being miserable. How could he possibly make any friends with such a shameful private life?

He had to constantly hide his bruises with long sleeves and had run out of plausible excuses for his streak of black eyes months before. His classmates and professors simply pretended to not know about the abuse and he just pretended to believe he was that good of a liar.

It was painful, but manageable. Derek still had his little brother to share that pain with. Carl was all he had. He was his family, friend, and confidant. He was Derek's whole world.

But when that age came, he started to have crushes toward girls in his school, and those feelings weren't easily suppressed. Once again, Derek felt utterly helpless.

He couldn't tell anyone about his problems nor he could allow people to getting close to him. Otherwise, he would have to make up a reason for not being allowed to bring a friend home. Let alone a girl he liked.

Derek was tormented by cruel thoughts, often asking the heavens why what others took for granted was but an impossible dream for him.

Fueled by his hormonal storms, Derek's rage grew relentlessly. He started having trouble sleeping at night, thinking about all those lovey-dovey couples out there.

Derek knew he was different from them. His crippling flaw wasn't being shy or having a bad case of acne. His problem couldn't be cured by any doctor, because it had a first and a last name. Ezio McCoy, his trash bag of a father.

Derek started to conceive plan after plan to get rid of his father, even if it meant killing him. At night, he would devise elaborate and meticulous scenarios that often involved prolonged torture.

Death was too easy, Derek wanted Ezio to suffer as he did for all those years.

But when morning came, he would always realize they were dumb ideas, more wishful thinking than anything else.

Derek lacked the means and ruthlessness necessary to get rid of Ezio. No matter how much he hated him, Ezio was still his father and Derek was just an angry teenager.

Kill Ezio? Sure, and then what? Live his whole life ridden with guilt? Running away from home to avoid being arrested? With what money?

Killing Ezio would have meant abandoning Carl forever and destroying any possible chance of being happy in the future.

So, every morning Derek would swallow his most recent plan along with some porridge and move on. His only real prospect was to cram like a madman, get a scholarship, and get out of that hell as soon as possible.

Time flew and in the blink of an eye, it was the last summer before Derek's first year of high school. Despite the hot climate, his heart was as cold as ice.

Derek had already hit his growth spurt. That combined with his martial arts and muscle training had given him a mean look.

Ezio was aware of that and being a coward, he decided to avoid beating Derek and made Carl his new favorite target.

Derek had already tried standing up for his brother, but the only result had been Ezio buying a nightstick from the local Army Surplus. Ezio started beating Derek with a nightstick instead of his bare hands.

He saved Carl from suffering the same fate by begging and crying, and it only worked because the ruckus alarmed their neighbors.

So whenever Ezio threw one of his tantrums, Derek could only watch his brother get beaten time and time again.

One morning, Ezio received his first big commission in years. He wore his best suit despite the heat and had Derek prepare him his briefcase and laptop.

Ezio was in a real hurry. He could not afford for his competitors to snatch this whale. It could have been his career-making commission!

Derek rushed to the door where Ezio was already waiting and helped him adjust the laptop's satchel.

Ezio ran to the elevator, pushing the button like a madman, but the light remained red.

Cursing his damn condo, the building manager, and his rotten luck, Ezio made a rush to the stairs.

That's when Derek noticed it. Turning his head to follow his father, Derek noticed that the daylight was strongly reflected on the hallway's floor.

Ezio had just passed in front of him when Derek realized that the janitor had just washed the stairs, but forgot to put the wet floor sign down.

Everything happened in an instant. Ezio made a long heavy stride, shifting all of his weight down and forward on his front leg. Then, his foot slipped.

Derek could have warned him. He could have even extended an arm and prevented the fall, but instead, he chose to remain still.

Ezio tumbled down the stairs, bounced around the corner, and tumbled again, crashing downstairs. His body was a broken mess, all of his limbs bent in unnatural angles.

Like any teenager, Derek had his smartphone at hand, so he took several photos to prove that the floor was wet and there was no warning sign.

His mind was already planning on hiring the best shark lawyer he could find and sue the building managing firm responsible for his condo.

After that, he carefully walked down the stairs to confirm Ezio's death. He was still alive, yet incapable of making a moan or asking for help. His eyes were fixated on Derek, begging him for mercy.

Derek grinned to him and said: "Do you really think I am so stupid that I never learned anything from you? As you taught me more than once, never delegate. If you want something done right, do it yourself. Your smartphone is in your pocket, take it out and call 911.

"I'm just a failure of a son, I don't want to mess this up for you daddy."

Ezio's eyes were full of shock and hate, but that only lasted a moment. His head went limp, his gaze blank.

A laugh fought to come out, but Derek suppressed it. Instead, he started shouting for help putting on his best terrified son impression.

As always, Derek's mother was too obsessed with her problems, her grief, her feelings, to bother to look for a lawyer. She left everything in Derek's hands since Ezio was no more.

Three birds with one stone. After careful research, he contacted and hired the best shark lawyer they could afford so that Derek would be his client instead of his mother.

He told him everything about his father's incident, the domestic abuse, and the requirement to make it so that the money would be split between the three of them, mother and sons.

Both Derek and Carl were very firm on that point, they wanted the lawyer to start the process to get the emancipated. With the money from the compensation and their inheritance, they had enough to be self-sufficient until Derek could provide for them both.

What followed was the happiest period in their life. First, they obtained the inheritance, and shortly after they got emancipated. They could finally move away from their mother's place.

Not even a month later, they received a very generous settlement from the building manager. They used it to settle down and make proper plans for the future.

During the following years, bullies were not a problem. Derek and Carl were now both martial artists and had each other's back. Now that their domestic nightmare was over, they could experience having friends and girlfriends,.

They suffered many disappointments though, since too many of those so-called friends turned out to be people who wanted to use their parent-free apartment as a party house.

Also, they had a hard time figuring out what being a normal teen was supposed to be. While their peers seemed only to be interested in having fun and skipping classes, they were focused on studying and saving as much as possible.

Derek and Carl would spend holidays and vacations doing part-time jobs to slow down the thinning of their bank account. They were not poor, but not rich either.

They knew they had to save as much as possible in case rainy days were to once again fall upon them, but all in all, they had a good life.

Derek got a scholarship and obtained a bachelor's degree in chemistry, soon followed by a master's in biochemistry. Carl did well too, he had already got his engineering degree, he was about to start his master's and already had a steady relationship.

Despite being really happy for his little brother, it was really a painful thorn in Derek's side. He had always been the more socially inept between the two and never managed to get into a stable relationship, not even in college.

Derek had no problem talking to girls, the issue always lied in him being picky and ended in his inability to trust. He had had many crushes, but never fell in love.

In the beginning, he put the blame on his bad luck, always finding shallow or idiotic girls. After finding more than one good girl, he put the blame on his dark past.

When confronted with Carl's happy relationship, he could only blame himself. While Carl had suffered almost the same things, he got out much stronger and purer than Derek.

Derek was just too scared of being hurt again to let any relationship grow above a certain level and that was an enemy he could not just beat up.

Derek accepted the first decent paid job he got, working on the night shift of a big chemical company in the Q&A department.

Carl had confided to Derek that he was going to propose to his girlfriend, as soon as he got his master's. Hence Derek needed money because he only had two years to save enough to give his little brother a decent wedding.

Derek did not like his current job, but it was a way to start his working career and fill his curriculum. Also, it was well paid and he resolved to use the company's medical insurance to seek psychological counseling.

He knew he had problems and wanted to work them out. Derek consulted several doctors before finding someone he was able to work with and after several months, he felt he was finally starting to make some progress.

Alas, such happiness was not bound to last.


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