Cryptomining Supervillain Chapter 12: 012 SUMMON SHIELD?

012 SUMMON SHIELD?

The man studied Dan.

"The kid looked harmless enough", he thought. Still, he pressed, "Where are you headed?"

"Well… honestly, I don't really know," Dan admitted. "It's my day off, so I ca to the City Council to look around. This place is huge…I keep getting lost. Could you tell how to get back to the admin center entrance?"

The man's suspicion lingered for a mont, but there was no hint of malice in the boy's tone. "He is just a student, wandering," he thought.

"Go that way," the man said at last, pointing. "You'll find the exit to the admin building."

"Thanks," Dan said quickly, before heading off in the direction shown.

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"Dammit…I almost had his Command score," Dan muttered, slumping into a café chair not far from the City Council building.

He had left Heroes' Gym early for one reason: the man he'd spotted inside who just gave him a tap on the shoulder. It was true… Dan was following him as he left the gym.

Dan discreetly seen his test results—it was an abnormally high Command score of 18.00.

He knew it then. His Command was too good to pass up.

"If I acquire his Command…I might have a chance to get a full score in Command,….then acquiring a super power is possible," he thought.

But stealing it inside the gym was impossible.

Dan was abnormally cautious despite only recently taking on the role of a thief. A thief of superpower.

The gym was monitored... there were caras at every angle. Any record linking him to the man will point suspicion straight at him if his Acquire ability was exposed.

So, Dan waited until the patron left the gym, then he shadowed him.

Unfortunately, the man caught him… finding him suspicious. He wasn't good at sneaking up people yet. Once caught, Dan had to play innocent, and for now, it worked- he was released unhard.

But this situation reminded him just how weak he still was compared to adult ta-humans.

He sipped his iced coffee while his eyes fixed on the Council building waiting.

"He's still inside… but he'll co out eventually."

Minutes later, his patience paid off. Another man finally exited the gym. He was another target that Dan scouted earlier while he was inside the gym.

Dan lifted his phone, activating the cara, tracking him from a distance.

"No connection… he's too damn far," Dan hissed, his frustration bubbling. He tapped the screen, but the mining app wouldn't lock onto the target.

When he was about to give up, luck shifted.

The man he wanted to track began walking directly toward the café to order a drink.

"Yes…" Dan whispered, his thumb trembling with anticipation. He tapped the commands.

"Begin Mining."

"Acquire: Command."

At once, the man staggered, throwing up a hand instinctively and dropping his wallet. An ethereal shield shimred into being around him.

Dan froze. "He… didn't get shocked like Thas and Onda?" His eyes widened.

He was expecting his victim to fall under a heart attack like the students. Then he rembered about Professor Gawdry.

"Why's he reacting like that… he isn't stunned but he's reacting like he's under attack? …. That's the sa reaction that happened with Professor Gawdry. He ran, thinking soone ambushed him."

Then realization struck.

"So that's it. Ordinary humans suffer heart attacks and paralysis when I Acquire from them. But ta-humans… it only hits them for a mont. To them, it feels more like a psychic sting, rather than a deathblow," he reasoned.

He leaned back with his mind racing.

"This is sothing I can exploit… If I target tas only, they'll probably never suspect … they'll just think it's a temporary enemy attack or sothing."

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The man Dan had targeted pulled himself up, then shouted, "If I know which jackass is joking around with , I'll kill ya…"

Everyone in the café including Dan looked at him stunned. He looked around for anybody suspicious but found none, so he shook his head with disbelief… and then hurried away.

When there were no police who ca flooding the courtyard, Dan relaxed.

"Was that it? I did it without any consequence?..." he told himself.

Dan cald himself before finishing his drink and made his way back to Heroes' Gym.

"Dan? Back so soon? Did you forget sothing?" Dorin asked when she spotted him coming back to the gym.

He cut straight to the point. "Can you test again? My day pass is still valid is it?....the day's not over yet."

Dorin gave him a curious smile but led him back to the testing chamber. "Sure… your pass is still good for ."

Dan stepped into the booth as the scanner humd to life. A few monts later, the results appeared:

Strength: 6.1 | ta: 1.1 | Command: 1.1

Dan's pulse quickened.

He had taken a risk using Acquire on that gym patron, risking the chance he was found using the DemCoin app to illegally steal other people's ta powers.

But his day pass was about to expire, he couldn't wait another day… he couldn't afford the day pass again. This must be done quickly…. He must get his superpower before the day's end.

To Dan's relief, the machine registered the change: a full point increase in Command.

Across from him, Dorin's eyes widened. "That's impossible. Was there an error earlier? How did your Command jump by a whole point in just an hour or two?"

Dan had already anticipated Dorin's surprise and he planned a good excuse. He forced himself to look thoughtful before replying Dorin.

"I've been considering this after I left the gym… If I'm really a natural-born ta, it wouldn't make sense for my ta to awaken without Command rising alongside it. That's why I wanted a retest…I suspected the first reading might've been wrong."

Dorin hesitated. Her equipnt was the most advanced in the city, yet… occasionally, even the best machines faltered.

But Dan had a good point.

Usually, ta and Command scores go hand in hand. She had doubts earlier when Dan's ta and Command score was too far apart, but she thought it was because of mismatch in his power awakening.

"You may be right," she said slowly. "Perhaps the scanner misread you before."

Dan kept his expression calm, but inside, he was grinning. Without hesitation, Dan asked, "Now that I have both the requisite ta and Command scores… can I learn a superpower?"

Dorin smiled knowingly. "Follow ."

She led him into another chamber.

At its center stood a single booth, unlike the scanner he had used earlier. This one was filled with a strange, glowing liquid that pulsed faintly as if alive.

"What kind of power can I acquire?" Dan asked, staring at it greedily.

"Our gym has researched and catalogued many abilities that can be grafted onto ta-humans," Dorin explained. "But… although you et the minimum requirents, your ta and Command are still low. That leaves only a few viable options."

"It doesn't matter," Dan said firmly. "Any ability is better than none."

Dorin studied him, then nodded. "In that case, I recomnd Summon Shield. It is a basic power of ta humans… it can even protect you from ta attacks."

Dan considered the offer. "Can I have more than one skill?"

"You can… if you can afford it. To graft this ability costs five hundred Aurs. Do you want to proceed?"

Dan blinked. "Wait, you're charging ? I thought the pass was unlimited."

"The daily unlimited pass doesn't cover skill acquisition," Dorin replied smoothly. "These abilities require years of research and developnt. If we didn't charge, we couldn't afford to create new ones."

Reluctantly, Dan pulled out all his Aur cards.

Dorin collected them and passed them to the cashier. Monts later, five hundred Aurs had been drained from his cards. She returned with a single light-green Aur card—the only one that still carried value. The rest were useless, empty.

"That's everything I had," Dan muttered under his breath.

"Now that paynt is complete…" Dorin gestured toward the booth, her tone calm but expectant. "Shall we begin?"

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