'I'm back?'
Alex couldn't believe his eyes. He quickly got to his feet and took in the surroundings, watching as the people continued with their lives as if nothing happened?
"Hey… Are you sure you're fine?"
The stranger asked again, concern etched on his face. There was no reason for him to help Alex as many had already passed him by.
He was the only one who approached him and woke him.
"O-oh. Erm…Yeah. Sorry about my behaviour."
"It's fine. So long as you're good, all is well."
The stranger replied with a sigh. When he turned to look at Alex again, he noticed how edgy he was, like he was under pressure to do something.
His gaze continued to roam the vicinity as if he was expecting something to happen. However, before he could ask any questions of Alex, said person turned to look at him.
"What's the time now?"
There was something different from when he appeared here for the first time. At the time that the voice spoke to him about the trial, he caught a brief flash of a passing communicator.
"Oh… It's 9:45 am."
"The morning?"
He was slightly puzzled.
The time he saw when the voice spoke was around 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. But the stronger was saying otherwise.
'Maybe the first one was to show me what was bound to happen. That means I have to find a way to say the city before the tsunami gets here.'
"Yes… Is there somewhere you need to be?"
"Don't worry about me, sir. And thanks for waking me."
He thanked the stranger and even though he knew everything was an illusion, it didn't stop him from doing what he always did; show gratitude where it was due.
"You're most welcome, son."
The man then turned to leave. But before he could move further, he stopped for a moment and Alex instantly noticed it.
"Something wrong?"
He inquired with furrowed brows.
"Just a word of advice."
The man slowly turned to him and continued.
"Look at the bigger picture."
With that, he turned around and left. Alex watched in silence as the man disappeared into the crowd.
'The bigger picture?'
He didn't quite understand what he was referring to as nothing about what was about to happen had anything to do with looking at the bigger picture.
Yet he felt that it should have a deeper meaning.
'I doubt it was random either. Maybe the trial is giving me a clue?'
That was the only conclusion he could draw from the words, but he didn't quite understand them yet.
"Right now, I have a whole city to save."
Putting the strange meeting at the back of his mind, he turned to look in the direction the tsunami was supposed to come from.
With a thought, he disappeared from where he stood, leaving anyone who saw the act in disbelief.
.......
Alex sped through the city, evading the vehicles and pedestrians alike. He was a blur of movement nothing could stop.
From his observations, only he had some kind of enhanced ability, so he believed it must serve a larger purpose.
After all, if his armour and weapon could be taken from him, there was no reason to leave him with his physical strength, speed and maybe mana if he had any.
"I won't be needing those to fight anyway. What I'm faced with is a natural disaster."
Sometime later, he arrived at the port and looked around, trying to see if he would spot something out of place.
He spotted nothing out of order as everything looked as normal as things could be. His actions even drew some attention towards him, but they seemed to mind their business, not to mention his superhuman abilities that left them stunned and afraid to approach in any way.
"Hmm… Before the tsunami hit, there were some seismic activities. What if it was the cause of the tsunami rising?'
He felt that might be some clue to what to do next. He still had a few hours after all. With that thought in mind, he moved to the edges of the port where the sea met land.
Alex stared at the waving sea with a profound gaze and then took a deep breath.
"Here goes nothing."
He dived into the sea in search of any changes in the sea bed.
.......
"His heart is in the right place, but I guess it would take some time before that advice rings a bell."
Hunter Mason commented with a sly smile. He had arrived not long ago; just in time for the start of the city trial.
However, what he didn't expect was to see Zol on the roof with Alex's pod before him. He was confused and curious as to what Zol was doing with the boy, but the man remained quiet and Mason could only stand aside and watch the event.
"It's a learning event. He will eventually figure it out."
Zol replied after remaining quiet since Mason got here. Luckily for him, the aura he was giving off was gone.
He knew exactly what his expression would be if he felt it. After all, the visitor event was not long ago. If anything, it was one of the most impactful moments in their long lives.
"Look who finally decided to talk. Zol, you should learn to be more expressive, you know? The frown isn't good for your health."
Zol grunted as he had to endure the continuous rumblings of the madman on how having a social life and speaking more often would make him more approachable.
'That is the idea, idiot. Why do I even deal with you?'
He sometimes wondered where he went wrong to have Mason as a friend.
"Haa…."
'If only I could dispose of him…'
His gaze returned to Alex as he watched him carry out his investigation when his time could have been spent more productively. But he couldn't tell him that; experience they say is the best teacher.
The other participants were undergoing similar trials with some variations. However, the core of the trial remained the same.
'Not all situations require throwing a punch.'