The Hero System - Chapter 8

“Terra” Jonah took a deep breath.

Was it possible? For the world that he has known for so long to be only half of the world? Was there another world that is parallel to this one? No matter how Jonah tried to believe it, he couldn’t.

“I’m sorry Miss Ren, I can’t simply believe such a thing.” Jonah shook his head. Even though he got the system, it wasn’t as absurd as another world! How can he simply believe such a thing so easily?

“I don’t expect you to. However, I’ll show you.” Ren said and a strange light flashed through her eyes. Jonah knew this expression, it was excitement.

“Show me what?” Jonah asked with confusion.

“Terra!” Ren grinned.

“You mean”

“I’ll take you there.”

Jonah was dumbstruck. This other world was so easy to reach? And as if answering his thoughts, Ren continued.

“Not now, obviously. Let’s see On the first day of spring break!”

Jonah had his doubts, but since he was going to find out if this was true or not eventually, he decided to change the topic.

“Then Miss Ren can you tell me more about spiritual energy?”

“Alright. What do you like to know?” Ren nodded.

“First, what is this energy? How come I never heard about it before?” Jonah asked furrowing his brows.

“Mm. You can say that it’s like air it exists everywhere. Spiritual energy is life itself. Your soul is made of spiritual energy. That plant is made of it too. That book also has a bit of energy.” Ren said as she pointed around.

“If it’s everywhere, why doesn’t everyone know about it?” Jonah asked.

“Because it’s intangible. It’s not something you can feel with your body, but with your soul.”

“Then how did you learn it?”

“Some people are different, like me. We awaken on our own. Our souls are strong enough to make us perceive the spiritual energy and utilize it. We use our souls to gather spiritual energy and use it. Not anyone can do that without guidance.”

“Then what about me?”

“There are some rare cases where people started to feel the spiritual energy after near-death experiences.”

Jonah was struck with a realization. It seems that Ren thinks he awakened because he fell off the building.

“Why would that happen?” Jonah asked to confirm something.

“The soul is a very stable thing as it resides in the body. You can’t change its state or affect it without external factors. We, Spirit Cultivators, slowly try to strengthen our souls. Then we gather spiritual energy and so on.” Ren said.

Jonah finally understood the thing that was bugging him the most. Why did he receive the system only after falling off the building? Couldn’t that mysterious man give it to him before that and try to warn him?

It turned out that it’s not that he didn’t want to, but he couldn’t! The system is a spiritual artifact! That means it needs to fuse with his soul. Without his soul being unstable, the system couldn’t fuse!

“Is that all?” Ren asked. Jonah nodded. For now, he doesn’t have anything else to ask.

“Okay. Then it’s my turn to talk. Although all humans could use their spiritual energies long ago, as time went on, those who can, became the minority. With the capabilities we’ve gained through Spirit Cultivation, we regained supremacy. The Government? We control it. The media? We manipulate it. The world? We rule it.” Ren said as a matter of fact.

“Spirit Cultivators began to gather together. They formed sects, organizations, and even countries. However, they didn’t gather for no reason. They had a mission.”

“Mission?” Jonah mumbled with a shocked expression.

“Yes. Like I said, we weren’t the only ones living on Earth. Other beings also shared our lands. We invade them, they invade us back. It stayed that way until the world separated.” Ren said with a serious expression. Jonah didn’t know how to feel about having a beauty explain something so unbelievable with a serious face.

“You keep saying beings What are they?” Jonah asked with a deep voice.

“It’s more than one species We’ve only discovered tens of thousands until now. There are more scattered across Terra.” Ren shook her head. Jonah was stunned.

“You said something about a mission?” Jonah asked.

“Yes. Through Portals, the creatures started invading our world. The human race was threatened and needed to take action. That’s why The Spirits Organization was formed. Its mission was simple, stop the other world from invading us.”

“How did they do that?”

“They built strongholds and cities in the other world around the portals. They started protecting them ever since.”

Ding Dong.

Their lunch break was over.

“Miss Ren We’ll take tomorrow. I still need some time to process this.” Jonah smiled helplessly and left the room.

“Well, I think I told him too much.” Ren giggled to herself.

Jonah wanted to head home right after finishing classes. However, as he walked back to class, he saw Leo nowhere to be found.

“Hey, where’s Leo?” Jonah asked a nearby student.

“The usual.” The student shook his head and said. Jonah frowned.

Smack!

“Cough… cough”

“I’ve told ya to bring me 50 dollars didn’t I?” The burly guy said as he sent another kick toward Leo.

“You fuckers!” Jonah dashed from rooftop door and roared when he saw this. The other guy was taken by surprise and Jonah knocked him over.

“Fucking punk! Get him!” The guy yelled as he lied on the ground. The other two dashed toward Jonah who swiftly rolled over and stood up.

One of the two sent a punch toward Jonah who simply ducked. The other sent a kick and Jonah swiftly sidestepped. The group was dumbstruck at Jonah’s evading ability.

However, ten minutes later, Jonah was still lying on the ground beaten up. Even though he could dodge almost all of their attacks, his stamina and body were still too weak!

“Dammit Jonah, I told you to stop getting beaten up for me!” Leo said as he lied near Jonah. The two kept staring and the sky with their bruises covering their bodies.

“Dammit Leo, I told you that’s what friends do!” Jonah laughed.

“You” Leo was speechless.

Jonah looked at the blue sky. He remembers the last time they got beaten up like this. It was the day he was almost killed.

In the span of two weeks, Jonah’s whole world changed. Well, now it’s two worlds apparently. Jonah felt that his old life will never come back.

‘What am I thinking? I would have been dead if not what happened.’ Jonah shook his head.

Even though this new world was somewhat shocking, he was still alive and breathing. Just that alone should be a reason for him to be happy.

‘Spiritual energy Spirit Cultivators Terra’

For some reason, Jonah felt excitement rush through him. This was a whole different world! He has so many things to explore, so many things to learn, and so many things to experience!

Maybe he felt the pressure of having to save the world after five years. But now, after getting beaten like always, he remembered that he was no hero. He’s just a normal guy who likes to help people.

With his near-death, Jonah understood something. With the life he was given, comes a greater responsibility. However, he was still Jonah. Since he can help the world, why not? But he’d still enjoy his life. He still wants to do a lot, like traveling through this world, exploring Terra, buying a new house, getting into college, and making his mother happy. Being a hero doesn’t mean that he’s just a puppet to save others.

“Let’s go.” Leo extended his hand.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Ok. My stockpile is over and I have exams. If you like this story, do let me know. Yes, take a bit of your time and review. I know the novel only has 8 chapters but tell me what you think about the style… pace… grammar… things you don’t like… etc. So that I can avoid doing anything wrong in the future. Oh, vote so that others can see this.