2025-08-05 20:16:05“Why do you have two souls in your body?”
Max froze as the girl's soft voice clung to his spine like ice. He laughed nervously. “W-What? Two souls? You must be… seeing things, haha…” She narrowed her eyes. Just before she could speak again, a group of well-dressed men appeared behind her. “Young Miss, your car is waiting,” one said with a bow. She looked back at them, then turned to Max. But Max was already gone. Max was hiding behind a convenience store dumpster, gasping for breath. “Grimm!” he shouted, sweat dripping from his forehead. “How the hell did she know?!” Grimm floated beside him, popcorn in hand, chewing slowly. “Hmm. That girl… she’s something. Don’t worry, Max. You’ll meet her again.” “THAT’S NOT WHAT I ASKED—ugh, forget it!” Max groaned. That evening, Max finally returned home. He dropped onto his bed, his muscles still aching from the John encounter. He rolled over and pulled out the silver key and gold key from his drawer. He examined the silver key. [ITEM ANALYSIS: SILVER KEY – UNSEAL FUNCTION DETECTED.] “Unseal…?” Max murmured. He tapped the screen and chose to unseal Consecutive Punches. [SKILL UNLOCKED: CONSECUTIVE PUNCHES.] Max grinned. “Finally.” Then, curious, he inserted the gold key into the system. [NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: A BOY BECOMING A MAN.] “Huh?” Max blinked. “What does that even mean—” DING-DONG. Max stood and walked to his door. To his shock, it was the same girl who had helped him escape the police. “You?! How did you find my house?” She smiled coolly. “Your address was printed on the back of your school keycard.” She stepped inside without waiting. Max stood frozen. Then she walked up to him and said, “Take off your shirt.” [NEW QUEST: A BOY BECOMING A MAN (1) – Satisfy her needs.] Grimm popped into view with a jumbo-sized popcorn bag. “Ohhh this is gonna be good.” Max blushed furiously. “H-H-Here?!” She frowned. “Relax. I meant I wanted to see how skinny you are. You’re literally all bones.” She marched over to his tiny closet. “Is this seriously all the clothes you own? Come on.” [NEW QUEST: A BOY BECOMING A MAN (2) – Go shopping with her.] At the mall… She picked out a slick black leather jacket and a pair of black jeans. Max wore them reluctantly. “Damn…” he muttered, checking himself out in a mirror. “I look… kind of cool?” [NEW QUEST: A BOY BECOMING A MAN (3) – Take her to dinner.] At a small restaurant nearby… They sat across from each other, chewing quietly. The silence was unbearable. “So…” Max mumbled, “what’s your name?” She looked up, sipping her juice. “Emily.” Max smiled. “Pretty name.” She said nothing. [NEW QUEST: A BOY BECOMING A MAN (4) – Take her to a movie.] At the theater… Max barely watched the movie. He was more focused on Emily’s expression. Stone-cold. Unreadable. [NEW QUEST: A BOY BECOMING A MAN (5) – Show her your gaming skills.] Back at the PC café… Max lit up the leaderboards in three different games. Emily said nothing—but her gaze lingered. Max walked past the claw machine section, spotting a cute plush toy. “Ooo, she’ll love this,” Max muttered. He ran back with the toy in hand, yelling, “EMILY—!” YANK. Someone grabbed his hair and yanked him back. “Who the hell do you think you are calling her like that?” Max turned to see a tall, sharp-jawed guy with cold eyes. Emily appeared behind him. “Leave him alone.” The guy turned. “Tch. Whatever.” The dude asked Emily. “You… know him?” Emily nodded. “He’s my boyfriend.” Max, Grimm, and even the random dude all froze. “…WHAT?” Max croaked. Emily grabbed Max’s arm. “Come on.” Max followed, dazed. “…Boyfriend… boyfriend…” Later that evening… Max and Emily sat on the steps of a tall building. Emily looked at him and said, “Remember when you said you owed me a favor?” Max blinked. “Yeah…?” > [FINAL QUEST: A BOY BECOMING A MAN – Satisfy her needs.] Grimm nearly choked on his popcorn. “OH THIS IS GETTING REAL.” Max stood up nervously. “Uh… so why are we here exactly?” Emily didn’t answer. She led him into the building. Up the elevator. To the top floor. The elevator doors opened. Inside was a circle of massive guys, all towering, muscular, and terrifying. At the center was a slim boy with glasses, holding a tablet. The boy looked up. “Welcome to the Bully Council.” On the screen behind him was a profile of Max, complete with footage of the fight at the PC café. “So… this is the one causing all the disruption at Bloomfield High.” One member squinted. “He looks weak.” Another said, “Are you sure he’s the one?” The boy with glasses smirked. “Who wants to test him?” Every single hand went up. Max turned ghost-white. [FINAL QUEST: A BOY BECOMING A MAN – A real man enjoys the thrill of risking his life. Escape the desperate crisis… ALIVE.] Grimm floated beside him, whispering: “Max… welcome to your real boss battle.”
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Chapter 30 – The Grind of Madness
The next day, Max woke up with a groan and half a mind to smash his system window with a brick. But the glowing words refused to vanish:[Quest Initiated: Body Enchantment Training.]Mission One: Commute to school in Dragoon Pose. Distance: 49,869m.]Max squinted. “Forty-nine… thousand… meters? That’s like—what, running a marathon? In a crouch?!”The system blinked at him silently, cruel as ever.So, he did it.At seven in the morning, Max shuffled out of his house crouched low, arms spread like some cosplay knight, thighs already burning. His knees trembled as he waddled down the street.By the twentieth meter, his face was red, sweat dripping down his chin. He collapsed against a lamppost, gasping.“Twenty meters down… forty-nine thousand, eight hundred and forty-nine to go,” he wheezed. “I’m gonna die.”Students on their way to Bloomfield High burst into laughter.“Look at Johnson! What is he doing?!”“Bro, is this some new TikTok challenge?”“Nah, he’s cosplaying a crippled kangar
Chapter 29: Rain of Defeat
The rain came heavy, turning the street into rivers of broken light. Streetlamps flickered, their glow hazy through the downpour. The night carried a silence that felt alive, broken only by the steady rhythm of water hitting asphalt.Max stood in the middle of the road, soaked, fists clenched so hard his nails dug into his palms. His swollen eye still burned from the last fight, but his gaze never left the figure across from him.Isaac Holt.The older boy strolled casually beneath the cover of a black umbrella held by one of his bodyguards, his pristine shoes untouched by the water splashing around them. He looked less like a fighter and more like a king surveying a subject.“Give me the flash,” Max demanded, his voice cutting through the storm. “The footage of my mom.”Isaac tilted his head, lips curling into a smirk. “Flash? Ah… so you know.” He chuckled low, the sound mixing with the patter of rain. “But, Max… what makes you think you can take it from me?”The umbrella shifted slig
Chapter 28: Keys of the Past
The cemetery was quiet, the kind of silence that presses against the skin like a weight. Marble headstones stood like sentinels, some polished and new, others cracked with time.Max stood before one in particular, his head lowered, hands tucked into his pockets. The engraved letters—Sarah King—caught the last light of the evening sun. His mother’s name.The flowers he brought were simple, not expensive—wild daisies and lilies tied with a cheap ribbon. Yet when he placed them down, they looked right. His fingers lingered on the stone, tracing her name like he was afraid to let go.“Hey, Mom,” he muttered under his breath. His voice was rough, carrying a tiredness that felt older than him. “Things have been… hard. You’d probably scold me for the fights, for skipping school, for everything I’ve done. But—” He swallowed hard. “I’m trying. I swear I’m trying.”A shuffle of footsteps interrupted him. Max turned.It was Peter.The older boy’s presence was unexpected, his school uniform messy
Chapter 27: The Weight of Justice
The warehouse echoed with the sound of fists slamming into flesh. Max was a storm—his body moved like a man possessed. Every punch, every kick, every elbow strike carried the weight of his fury and the precision of Mas Oyama’s soul link.One by one, the boys dropped. Cries of pain mixed with the thud of collapsing bodies. Max was everywhere—countering, striking, punishing. He was a blur of raw speed and force, and within minutes, the twenty boys who mocked him were scattered across the floor, groaning, broken.At the center of it all, Max stood, chest heaving, eyes burning red with rage.And then he turned to the boy—the ringleader—the one who had lured May and Lois here.The boy tried to crawl backward, but Max grabbed him by the collar and dragged him across the filthy floor like a bag of trash. He dropped him in front of May.Max’s voice was low, almost trembling with the effort of holding back. “Family’s not something you throw away. You killed her sister. So now—your punishment i
Chapter 26: Five Minutes
The wind felt cold that afternoon, brushing across Max’s tired face as he walked beside Lois and May. His body was still recovering from the fight with Kael, but curiosity—and maybe a hint of responsibility—kept his feet moving.He glanced at Lois, brow furrowed. “So tell me again—when you spoke to the spirit of May’s sister… did you ask her how she died?”Lois shook her head. “Some spirits don’t remember. They hold onto pain, regret, anger—but not the details. Sometimes it’s just… fragments. Enough to tug them to the living.”Max exhaled, scratching the back of his neck. “That’s convenient.”Lois gave him a side-eye. “It’s not convenient, Max. It’s tragic.”He didn’t argue. Instead, he looked to May, who had been hugging her arms tightly the whole time. “When was the last time you saw her?”May swallowed hard, her voice fragile but steady. “Three weeks ago. She said she was going to meet a friend from school… but she never came home.”The weight in her tone made Max slow his steps. H
Chapter 25: The Girl Named May
The world felt heavy when Max opened his eyes. His body sank into the mattress as if gravity itself had doubled overnight. Every muscle ached, his ribs throbbed, and his head buzzed with the lingering echoes of Kael’s blows. The system notification about the bronze keys was still faintly burned into his mind, a reminder of the chaos from last night.“Don’t even think about moving,” Grimm’s voice cut into the silence of his room. It wasn’t angry—it was practical, firm. “Your body’s screaming for rest. For once, listen to it.”Max groaned and turned his face into the pillow. “For once, I think I will. Forget school. Forget everything. Just… sleep.”But the universe didn’t care about rest.His phone buzzed on the nightstand. Once. Twice. By the third vibration, Grimm muttered, “Ignore it.”Max reached over anyway, fumbling for the phone. The name flashing on the screen made him sigh.Lois.Of course.He answered with a voice that sounded like it had been dragged across sandpaper. “What?”
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