Chapter 22: Power-packed punches
After Alex, it was Su Yan's turn to keep watch. He as well looked through the keyhole every now and then but for the rest of the time, he tried exploring his new abilities.
For a gaming addict like himself, it was ironic that the world suddenly became an RPG game with everyone developing superpowers, but in this game, there was only one life!
Su Yan stood in front of a decorative mirror in the apartment and pondered silently. "How do I control my abilities?"
He knew that he needed to figure this out as soon as possible because their lives depended on it, but at the same time, he didn't know where to start.
After thinking about it for a while, and flexing and relaxing his non-existent biceps and triceps, the only result he got was a constipated look on his face.
So he ended up standing in a semi-squat position and started throwing punches in the air.
He swung his hands rhythmically left after right and kept repeating it as if he was training for kickboxing.
He honestly did not know what else to do at the moment and summon his so-called ability.
After a while, he had already subconsciously closed his eyes and started recollecting the fight between him and the monster.
Scene after scene flashed past in his mind as he relived that terror once again and suddenly he found his body welling up with a tangible strength.
Su Yan flashed his eyes open as he recognized this feeling. He felt his hands itch and he saw black metallic scales with a sheen covering both his arms.
"I need to memorize this feeling!"
He clenched his fist, feeling strong power coursing through his veins, and started throwing punches in the air once again.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
But this time, the air around his hands vibrated, resonating to the power-packed in his punches. "Fuck! This is insane!" Su Yan grinned.
"Wait, can I spread this armor over my entire body?" He gritted his teeth and tried willing it to extend to the rest of his body, but nothing happened.
"Hmm… I guess this will have to do for now." He stopped trying to do that and focused back on just summoning and dismissing the scales covering his arms.
For the first few times, it was very irregular, but slowly and steadily Su Yan was able to achieve adequate control. He calmed his mind and heart and practiced and that helped him.
He then continued to drill this muscle memory into his bones so that the next time when they faced danger he would be able to summon these scales irrespective of his mental state.
Though after a while, Su Yan felt extremely drained and he had no other option but to stop training.
He was feeling very light-headed and even hungry. So he sat back down and then munched on some leftovers. "I guess using these abilities consume a lot of energy?" he thought to himself.
He sighed, letting out a deep breath.
Though they were in a miserable position with no clue of what was about to come, he felt slightly better knowing that he now had some control over his ability.
A few feet away from him, Qin Hua was watching Su Yan the entire time while pretending to be asleep. She rolled her eyes at the young man, visibly jealous. [I also want to practice, damn it!]
But unfortunately, Su Yan did not give her a chance and neither did Lu Chen who followed after him. Though the latter took no efforts to train his abilities like Su Yan, he still remained quite alert.
And so, another couple of hours ticked by entirely uneventful.
Finally, it was Xu Meilin's turn to keep watch until daybreak. Hers was the last turn.
Qin Hua's little face perked up as soon as she saw the young girl rub her eyes sleepily in the first few minutes itself.
Though she was somewhat awake and somewhat alert, Qin Hua was sure that her absence wouldn't be noticed at all.
She was not even her pet, so why would the girl care about her?
[Yass! This is my chance.]
[System, how do I activate this blending into darkness skill?] She asked excitedly.
<Ding. Any Active Skill only needs to be willed mentally in order to be activated. All Passive Skills are always active, provided the appropriate conditions are met>
Qin Hua bobbed her head up and down as if she was nodding and then immediately tried it.
Poof!
The very next instant her physical body disappeared completely, leaving behind only a wisp of black smoke-like material, which then disappeared as well.
Qin Hua now found herself in the shadow of the sectional couch, just adjacent to where she had been rolling around until now.
But she felt weird. She couldn't really see or feel her physical body anymore with any of her senses.
It was as if her body was a part of the shadow. She was two-dimensional at least for the moment.
[What is this? Am I invisible? Can I jump from shadow to shadow?] She was getting excited.
She tried moving from one end of the couch to the other end and bingo, she was there. She had actually run across the shadow but still in a two-dimensional state.
[How is this happening? Woof!] Qin Hua was going crazy with questions. [System, can you explain this please?]
<Ding. In the darkness state, you are a part of the dark realm> A small and short explanation rang out.
[Ahhh! What is this dark realm?]
<Ding. Answer not available. Level insufficient>
[So strict! Woof! Woof! Can I use puppy dog eyes on this damned system…] Qin Hua cried inwardly as she started experimenting with things on her own.
She ran from shadow to shadow, areas of darkness without light, jumping across wildly in the living room.
And when she was not in a shadow, her small body became instantly visible. It again disappeared when she landed on the next shadow.
It felt surreal but Qin Hua slowly got used to it. Soon she was going in and out of the darkness as if it was second nature to her.
It didn't take her too long to adjust. After all, she was simply running around and doing nothing special.
She noticed that she could even easily climb on walls as long as the shadow was big enough. Her shadow form was not bound by gravity.
And more importantly, the entire time, Xu Meilin never saw her shenanigans! This ability was almost like an invisibility cloak!
As long as she remained within a shadow or the darkness, no one would probably notice her.
[Ah… So this is Blending into darkness. Not bad. Not bad at all.] The little puppy licked its lips in satisfaction.
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