Chapter 60

You know, you’re starting to prove why you were supposed to be isekaid. Man. Why did truck-kun mess up? That poor world coulda used you. Syn’s comment came as Dan crawled out of bed, his body aching. Which, normally, wasn’t something it did. However, his body had actually been hurting every day this week.

“I thought you had that covered.” Dan groaned as he stumbled to the shower. Every muscle in his body screamed against him, but he ignored it. The pain would go away, and honestly, it wasn’t like he was in any danger of hurting anything. He had special powers, after all.

I mean. It was covered, sure. But like, this past week you’ve really shown some impressive grit buddy. Guess it’s true what they say, heroes don’t come from happy families.

Dan gritted his teeth and tried to ignore Syn’s prodding. The voice had a way of getting under his skin, and Dan had made the mistake of letting Syn get to him earlier in the week. Monday, to be precise, when he’d been so depressed he almost refused to even go to school. That annoying voice had picked at him, and found that Dan’s depression, stemmed from his father’s absence. And then, Syn had poke and prodded at him, until Dan got so pissed, he got up and went to school, just to spite the darned voice.

Since then, Dan had been spending every waking moment he could either focusing on school, or tennis. Keeping his mind and body occupied was all he could think of, to chase away the feelings that were trying to boil up. And on top of that, Dan found he could greatly accelerate his growth in training, if he utilized Auto-Battle to push himself to his limits. The side effect, of course, being the daily pains.

However, Syn was correct in one thing, Dan had been making great progress. Earlier, he’d been expecting to get all of his skills into the 20s by the end of the week, with a few to the 30s. At the rate he was going, everything, including his slice serve, were going to be in the 30s for the week. On top of that, the abuse he’d been putting his body through, had increased his physical traits even more. Constitution had already hit 20 and given him a nice bump in health and stamina, while Strength and Dexterity were both at 19.

So buddy, Syn’s voice continued as Dan went through his morning routine. It was Thursday. He still had two days left of school before the weekend. Not that that meant anything to him. Considering his dad’s absence, and all. What’s on your world saving agenda today.

“You’re just going to keep talking, aren’t you?” Dad said aloud. As much as he hated Syn’s poking and prodding, there was a part of him that was thankful for it. If not for that voice, he would be left in complete silence. Which, probably wasn’t healthy for him at the moment.

Not like either of us has much else going on. Syn said with a chuckle. You’re my focus for now buddy. You get all the Syn you want. And with the work you’ve been putting in, I’m excited, truly. Like, even with your powers, you’re making good progress. I’m proud of you.

Dan froze at those words. For some reason, Syn saying them brought a strange mix of emotions in him. Sure, he had no doubt that voice was being sarcastic, yet there seemed to be actual, truth, in them as well. And while Dan had no care whatsoever in what Syn said or thought, apparently, a part of him did care. Or, maybe Dan was just looking for some sort of validation, given his father’s absence. Was Syn filling that role? Ugh, this was not the type of stuff Dan needed to be dealing with on a Thursday.

“Whatever,” Dan grumbled as he grabbed his bag. He’d taken to adding weights to it, as well as ankle weights for his legs, and weights for his arms. Nothing crazy, but enough to be felt as he began his jog towards school. Without them, he’d begun to feel like the jog was too easy. And he needed to keep pushing himself.

That’s the spirit. Hide your feelings with apathy, that way, your enemies can never mess with you. Syn cackled. But, whatever buddy. I’m here whenever you need. And hey, depending on the request, maybe I can help ya out some way? Otherwise, I’m getting a bit bored. Training montages, you know, are only entertaining for so long.

Dan nearly tripped as he reacted to that. At the same time, he heard what sounded suspiciously close to a training montage soundtrack begin to drift through his connection with Syn. Extremely familiar to Dan, considering his father’s love of Sylvester Stallone.

“Really?” Dan said. “Really?”

Ha. One of the guys bet me I wouldn’t. Your reaction, totally worth it. The music stopped. But I was serious about the other part.

“And what exactly could you do for me?” Dan asked as he kept running. Even with the extra weight, he wasn’t going fast enough to cause his breathing to strain. After all, this was an endurance run, not a sprint. Not to mention, he was still working the pains out of his overworn, magically repaired muscles.

Well, for starters, some extra advice.

“Like what?”

Like, maybe the fact you forgot your tennis gear at home? Dan cursed. Had he really? He stopped, glancing back towards his house, his mind racing. A moment later, he cussed under his breath. He’d been leaving his tennis gear at school in the locker room. He hadn’t taken it home with him. Syn was messing with him still. Which was confirmed by all of the laughter going on in Dan’s head.

He growled, preparing to run again, and to tune out the annoying voice. If he focused hard enough, he was able to actually keep Syn from being able to interrupt him, though he would still be able to feel when the strange entity was trying to send him messages.

Sorry, sorry. Another bet. These guys are asses.

“So are you.”

Pah. I’m just a fan of a good practical joke. But, no, really, I got the green light to give you a little gift, for how hard you’ve been working. After all, even though you didn’t get teleported to another world, you are still, technically, a chosen hero. And hero’s, get spiffy things.

“What exactly could you-“Before he could finish, a nondescript van pulled up beside him. It was entirely white and screamed kidnapper. The doors slid open, and a package was thrown at Dan, hitting him hard in the chest. He managed to catch it, somehow, just as the van’s door slammed shut instantly, and drove away. For a brief second, Dan could have sworn he’d seen Syn, and a few others, inside that van.

Surprise. Syn’s voice said gleefully. It’s your first loot drop. Now hurry up and open it up.

The package in Dan’s hands was wrapped, poorly, in what appeared to be a mixture of old Christmas wrapping paper, brown paper bag, and newspaper. Regardless, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat excited, while also, extremely skeptical, about what was in the package. After all, this had come from Syn.

“I swear, if this is another of your pranks, I’m never talking to you again.” Dan said as he began to open the package. “Seriously, I’m sick and tired of your,” he trailed off as he finished opening it, and words flew across his vision, describing the contents of the package.

You’re welcome.