The Underworld sky was weirdly pretty that day. Purples, oranges, and streaks of blue like a Van Gogh painting on steroids. If I wasn't about to traumatize Saji for educational purposes, I might've stopped and admired it.
I stretched lazily, bending my knees, bouncing a bit like I was about to enter the ring at WrestleMania. My joints popped. Satisfying. My hair caught a gust of wind like I was the main character but Obviously i wasn't.
Saji stood nearby, glancing at me like I'd just told him we were about to storm Heaven with a spoon.
Saji:"Um... Levi, what are we doing?"
That voice. Nervous, hesitant. Like a baby deer looking up at a freight train.
I cracked a grin.
MC:"You wanna get stronger, right?"
He blinked, then nodded with a little more resolve than I expected. Alright, Saji.
MC:"Good."
I said, rolling my shoulders.
MC:"Because I'm going to make you way stronger than you are now."
He looked suspicious. Like I was about to sell him protein powder that came with a side of trauma.
I chuckled and stepped forward, casting my shadow over him just right. You know, like one of those shonen mentor moments where the student's about to regret everything.
MC:"I'm going to teach you a technique that triples your damage and makes you faster."
I said, my voice dropping slightly for dramatic effect.
His eyes lit up like I'd just told him he was getting promoted from NPC to actual character status.
Saji:"What technique?"
I grinned like a fox that just stole someone's soul.
MC:"It's called Electro."
He tilted his head.
Saji:"Like... electric magic?"
I had to resist the urge to smack him with a rubber slipper.
MC:"Nah, kid. Way better. You don't need chants, you don't need incantations, and you don't need to yell out the name of your move for it to work-though, let's be real, yelling the name still makes it cooler."
He squinted at me.
Saji:"...So how does it work?"
I walked up slowly, patting his shoulder in a brotherly, 'this is going to hurt but it's for your own good' kind of way.
MC:"You use your body's own energy, your anger and your raw willpower... and convert it into lightning. Not just zappy fingers or shock therapy level volts-we're talking punches that leave afterimages, kicks that flash, and headbutts that crack skulls like thunderclaps."
Saji looked at me confused. I'm then chuckled.
MC:"It's better if I show you."
Saji:"Huh."
Then lightning started to appear around my hand as my hair started to go up.
Saji looked at me with a shocked expression.
I smiled as i looked at my arms.
MC(Thinking):"Took me a while to understand the concept, but after a few days I figured it out."
Then I turn toward him.
MC:"This is electro."
He looked at me confused but nodded his head.
Saji: "Alright. If it's gonna make me strong... I'm in."
I gave him my best 'sh*t-eating grin'.
MC(Grinning):"Good, Because now the real fun begins."
Before he could blink, I vanished.
Boom.
I reappeared directly in front of him, grabbed his head like a basketball, and slammed him into the ground like I was trying to plant him and grow a Saji tree.
There was a satisfying crunch. A puff of dirt. A soft
Saji: "AGH!"
He coughed up some silver. Not blood-actual silver.
MC:"Ew"
He groaned and pushed himself up, dirt in his mouth, dignity somewhere in another realm.
Saji:"What the hell was that for!?"
I smirked, leaning down so our faces were close.
MC:"You need to learn."
I stood up straight, arms crossed. The wind picked up dramatically because of course it did. Cue the speech.
MC:"You think strength is just throwing a punch harder? Nah. Real power isn't just how hard you hit-it's about knowing what's coming. Feeling it. Sensing your enemy's next move before they even make it."
I pointed at my temple, then at my chest.
MC:"That's just survival, bro. You wanna get stronger? Stop acting like some background NPC waiting for a glow-up. Start throwing hands like you're already the final boss."
Saji was still on the ground, blinking up at me like I'd dropped divine scripture on his head instead of just him.
Saji(Confused):"How... is slamming my face into the dirt part of the lesson?"
I shrugged.
MC:"I'll show you soon."
He opened his mouth to argue, then stopped. Closed it. Nodded. Good lad.
I threw my arms behind my head, taking in the view. The landscape around us was perfect-wide, open, private. The ground was about to become sacred.
MC:"Now then..."
My eyes started to glow as my voice went dangerously.
MC: "let's begin."
I dashed forward like a bullet shot from a cannon. Saji tried to block my kick, raising his forearm in desperation-but I was faster. The moment his guard came up, my foot had already slammed into his ribs.
MC: "Too slow."
The force sent him skidding back. Before he could breathe, I grabbed his head and hurled him across the training ground like a ragdoll. His body twisted midair, but to his credit, he landed on his feet-shaky, but standing.
That smirk of mine widened.
MC: "Nice... but not good enough."
In a flash, I reappeared behind him-my first real strike, the one I always open with when I want someone to feel it.
CRACK!
My heel came down hard on the back of his neck and then I hit him with a mean combo.
His eyes widened in shock before he was launched into the sky, body flipping through the air like a broken doll.
MC: "You're still open."
I vanished again. This time, I was behind him in midair before he could even register the last hit.
MC: "Lesson two-never give your back to the enemy!"
THUD!
My elbow crashed into his spine, a wet cough and spray of blood leaving his mouth as he was sent crashing face-first into the dirt.
Still, he moved.
MC: "Hah... that's more like it."
He pushed himself up, coughing, growling.
MC: "C'mon, Saji! Show me something! You gonna cry, or are you gonna fight!?"
Saji: "RRRAAGHH!"
He roared and charged, a fist flying toward my face. I vanished again, appearing behind him.
MC: "Predictable."
He twisted, elbow aimed at my head, but I leaned back effortlessly. He spun, kicked, punched, again and again-but each strike missed by a breath.
I smiled, letting the tension build.
MC: "Come on! Come on, Saji! Is that it!?"
Then I struck. my hand grabbing him and sending him flying to a wall.
BOOM!
He was sent flying into a wall, dust and stone erupting from the impact.
Blood smeared down the stone as he slid to the ground, trembling. He stood again, barely, teeth gritted, bleeding and bruised all over.
I walked toward him slowly.
MC: "Is this all you've got?"
Saji's eyes shook.
MC: "You think this world will wait for you to catch up?"
He looked away.
MC: "You think you'll just magically stop being helpless if you cry enough?"
His head dipped. Shoulders slumped.
Saji: "w-What am i suppose to do...? I'm... I'm weak... I can't-"
MC: "SAJI!"
His head snapped up at the sound of my voice-sharp like thunder.
MC: "You can be weak. It's okay to be weak. But it's not okay to stay weak forever."
I stepped closer, standing tall.
MC: "You either burn, or you break. Right now, you've got two choices. Either stay down there, pathetic and forgotten-or rise up, take that pain, that anger, and turn it into fire."
His eyes widened. That light-there it is.
MC: "Light it up, Saji. Ignite your damn soul."
His breathing grew heavier. His fists clenched.
MC: "What are you gonna do, huh!? Keep living scared? Keep being someone that needs saving!? Or are you gonna stand up and fight like you mean it!?"
Then...
Saji: "RRRRAAAHHHH!!!"
He roared and charged. A wild punch flew toward my face-I dodged, easily.
But he didn't stop.
He kept swinging, over and over, growling like an animal, eyes burning with purpose.
MC: "Yes! Keep going! Use that rage! Let it burn! Let it become something more!"
And then-
SZZZZZZZT!
Blue lightning sparked across his fists.
I felt it before I saw it-a shift in the air, a crackle of energy.
MC: "That's it!!"
Saji: "RRRRGHHHH!"
His punch connected-BAM!
Right on my jaw. A gust of wind exploded from the impact, dust and energy rippling outward.
My head snapped to the side as the crackling electricity surged through my body.
The wind settled.
I turned to look at him-blood dripping from my mouth. I wiped it away with the back of my hand, a grin forming.
MC: "Heh... You actually hit me."
Saji staggered. His breathing was labored, his body on the verge of collapse.
He was about to fall, but I caught him, my arms firm around his shoulders before he hit the ground.
MC: "You did it, dude."
He blinked weakly up at me, eyes dazed.
MC: "And way faster than I expected."
I looked past him-at the wall.
No, the hole.
A massive hole, shattered through the stone from that single punch. The lightning had exploded outwards, ripping the air apart.
MC: "Hell yeah. You see that?"
I laughed, genuine pride in my chest.
MC: "You're a damn badass, you know that?"
I looked back at him.
He was unconscious now-but smiling. A calm, satisfied kind of smile.
I laid him down gently.
MC: "You did good, dude. You did real good."
I stood, eyes still on the broken wall.
MC: "You've got the fire. Now we turn that into a storm."