Chapter 2: Two Months Later

[Rural town, Orphanage]
It was a cold and rainy night, the sound of the pouring rain twinkled on the ears of those awake while comforting those who were asleep. Thunder occasionally chimed in, which made the environment even more chaotic, muffling any type of sound anyone would try to make.

This was the weather the boy experienced when he was abandoned by his parents.

He wasn't even a year old at this time, but like a disposable item, he was heartlessly abandoned in an orphanage, in a town that’s located in the middle of nowhere. The only thing known about this town was the fact that it was in Europe and that it was near France as well, that's all.

The country it belonged to was unspecified and the people living in it were a mixture of different lineages, whether it be Black, White, or Asian, all of them lived here in peace.

On that fateful day, when a nun from the orphanage came outside of the door to check, her first encounter with the boy ended up shocking her so greatly that she stepped back when she first saw him.

The rain and thunder were so loud that it would be understandable if the boy's cries were overpowered. but looking at the child once more the nun knew that wasn't the case.

Despite the loud and chaotic sounds of rain and thunder, the cold gushes of wind, and the shaking of the child's basket.

he was just lying there wide awake without a single care in the world, there was not a single tear in his eyes nor was there a single cry that left his mouth. His look was as deadpan as a mask and the only thing that could be heard from him was silence.

His cold grey eyes looked apathetic to everything despite the chaotic environment, his dark black hair that seemingly reflected the night, and his expressionless but cute face all induced a chill on the back of the nun.

Thinking he was a bad omen, the nun almost stopped herself from taking him in. But understanding that doing so would permanently damage her conscience she went on with it.

As gently as possible, to not startle the baby, the nun brought the baby inside the orphanage.

"Sigh... I hope I won't regret this in the future."

The only thing the boy had on him at the time he was discovered was a blanket that covered his entire body, and a nametag on his neck with the name Jericho written on it.

It was the only thing he received from his parents and will probably be the only thing he will ever receive from them in the future.

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Jericho from a young age was what you would call a little special. Compared to children of his age he acted too mature.

He didn't get into unnecessary fights with other kids and he got along well with the adults. He always kept a stoic face despite the others laughing or crying loudly, really only showing emotions to people he was close to.

But for him, he was always like this for as long as he could remember. He was born with an in-human memory which allowed him to clearly remember things from the young age of 6 months.

This, unfortunately, meant that he clearly remembered that faithful day when his parents left him. The day he first tasted abandonment.

As a child who remembered everything at a young age, his personality and nature were formed early on by the actions of his parents.

It was the first thing he could remember and it became the main foundation of his current personality.

{Anyone can be abandoned, no matter how much it looks like you are loved. do not expect ... Make sure that you become better, only then will you be accepted)

Because he understood that pain from a very young age a fear grew inside of him, a fear that makes him think that he is not enough, that he is worthless, a fear that tempered his will to survive.

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"waaaahhh!" (Child)

"Oh, dear! what happened?! (Nun)

While listening to the noisy surroundings of the orphanage, Jericho who was sitting on a chair tried to continue reading his favorite book with a slightly annoyed expression

{Loud, please stop crying already... please?... hah* looks like I won't be able to continue anymore.}

Seeing that there was no way for the crying to stop soon he gave up on reading for the day,
But just when he was about to close his book, suddenly his vision was bathed in blue light

Woooooooom!

And without warning, the phenomenon that changed the lives of everyone on Earth happened.

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[Two months later]

"You idiot bear, take this!"

Said a boy as he threw a ball towards his friend, the ball while traveling in the air suddenly glowed red and accelerated even faster reaching speeds of over 160 km/hr.

though this should've been a crisis for the young boy who was on the receiving end, he had a calm look on his face as he raised both of his hands to try to catch the ball.

His stretched hands suddenly started glowing, continuously expanding beyond their limits, creating a shield as large as the boy's body, which was enough to catch the thrown ball.

The boy whose hands started returning to normal held the ball with slight tears in his eyes. Although he caught it, didn't mean the pain was lessened. that was still a 160 km/h ball.

The two boys were named Fredrich (Age: 4 Gift: Projectile Enhancement)

and Orson (Age: 6 Gift: Body Enlargement).

They were orphans along with Jericho and were his closest friends.

"Hahahahahhahah! you should know better than to try and overpower me of all people, naïve Fredrich!"

"Oh shut up, if we used a harder ball that throw would've easily pierced your hand. Besides, you teared up a little there."

"Hmph! sore loser! a real man doesn't make excuses, Bleh! Isn't that right Jericho?"

Looking a few meters away from the two of them, there was a young boy doing pushups while panting heavily
"60....61....62....63... hah ….64"

"Why even bother talking to him, we both know how focused he gets when he starts training."

"Exactly, even though he only received [Physical Enhancement] he is training it to the fullest! not being left behind by us at all! isn’t that cool?"

"...it is pretty amazing how despite being the same age as us he already has the strength of a normal teenager. Even with that x2 boost, he receives from his gift."

"Exactly, and here you are complaining about the type of ball we used... Pathetic! If you just kept on consistently training you could've thrown an even faster ball than the one just now!"

"...But I heard from the nuns that sooner or later he will reach the limits of his gift."

"Hmph! and when we last held a fighting contest, why was he 2nd then? It all depends on who's using it."

"...Tsk!, alright, alright, I'll train more in the future, happy?"

"Alright my ass, watch your tone boy before I hit you, speaking so rudely to your elder"

"Elder? you've been watching too many wuxia movies. You are only a year and a few months older than me, and you talk about being an elder? well considering how old you look compared to us I guess I can understand."

"What the hell did you say!? Come here!"

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

"haaaah*, are they at it again?”

Jericho done with his training was wiping his sweat with the towel he prepared

Although those two were his closest friends, he still couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth about his gift. A gift that is known by those who have ulterior motives can bring more harm to him than good (imagination).

{Just the thought of having a child who can grow infinitely stronger physically at your disposal would be enough for most villains in the books I've read to abduct me with all their power. Although the gift won't show its true potential until I finally reach the peak of human physicality, there’s a chance that they would still be interested in catching me out of pure curiosity. I’m sure of it,
Until I become strong enough, until I become certain that my life will not be in danger even with my gift known, I will never reveal it.

Be cautious me, be cautious.}

That was what Jericho thought at the time, not noticing he might've been a little~ bit biased with his gift, overestimating it a little.

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