The Weak Hero

Hero Ranking

Paul fell flat on his face, and groaned in pain. He could hear Jovi talking to someone and then heard a bout of laughter. Paul groaned again, as he picked himself up. Jovi reached his hand out and Paul took it. The man's strength was incredible, as Paul nearly flew off his feet. All of the sudden, Paul could hear the chatter of those around him. People stood everywhere, some in groups, and some alone, sitting near the wall or in the corners. The dome shaped room had to be at least ten stories tall and the interior was similar in shape to that of a colosseum, except it was closed off and what would be the audience seats were just a single balcony here. Paul estimated there to be hundreds of people on this level, and a few dozen stood in the upper balcony staring down. From this distance, Paul could see that they had to be the ones in charge of whatever this spectacle he had gotten himself into was, or at least they were involved in it. Paul felt a pat on his shoulder, and his heart dropped in a flashback of Jovi porting him. He turned and it was still Jovi, to his dismay, but this time he had a grim look on his face and was apparently not going to cause Paul nausea. "I wish you luck, Paul, the world needs us, now more than ever. Give it your best," he said. Jovi disappeared into thin air once more, throwing a little shockwave of air all around him. Paul was so utterly confused, everything was happening so fast, and no one was explaining a god damn thing. It seemed everyone was gathered here for a reason, so maybe those people on the balcony would explain it. Paul looked up to see a few of them pointing down at the crowd, nodding, and pointing again but at different people. Do they know everyone here or something? Paul thought.

Paul overheard some excited chatter in front of him, so he walked closer to eavesdrop. It was a group of girls around his age pointing up at the people on the balcony with smiles. "I guarantee I'm going to rank at least C. My dad was a C rank and I can definitely see myself putting up a fight against him". She looked conspiratorily at her friends, and added "If I get rank B, my days of school are over. I'll be fighting monsters and villains non-stop! Who knows, maybe the association will reward me with a bonus so that I can buy a car!" The girls giggled to each other. One of the girls, a short freckled teen with red hair said "It's not like D rank heros are that weak, they're still leagues beyond the average person. Honestly, I won't be disappointed and it will be less dangero..." Paul realized too late he was wayyy too close, he hadn't even realized because he was so caught up in the absurdity of what was happening and what he was hearing. "Oh my god, that guy is totally just standing right behind you like a creep, Nicole" the freckled teen said. Nicole turned and lifted up her hand, palm facing Paul. A ripple through space started at her hand and slammed against Paul, lifting him up and back, hurtling until he crashed into something.

Paul's world spun, and slowly  righted itself, as someone picked Paul up by the collar of his shirt, grunting like a mad bear. Paul's hazy eyes cleared and he saw another teen, except this guy could have been mistaken for a bear if Paul was out on a hike. Bear growled out, "You trying to start a fight with me?!" Paul saw a massive vein on Bear's arm turn sickly green, and then his eyes did the same, as he shoved Paul across the room again. Paul was not used to this much flying, but apparently neither was everyone else. Everyone stared and pointed at Paul as he flew across the room, then landed on his back, sliding a few more feet.

Paul slowly got up, feeling for any damage. The back of his head hurt a little, but beyond that he was surprisingly fine. The buzz of an intercom started to sound out across the room, and everyone turned towards the sound. An old woman stood across from Paul, in a small podium overlooking the audience. "I see you are all becoming acquainted, I do love blooming friendships". She looked at Paul with a smile. "But now the fun is over." She adjusted her glasses to sit directly on her nose. "Some of you are here for glory, some of you for selfless service, and the rest of you are only here because you are needed based on your talents" She added. Paul looked around him and saw a grim aura emanating from the crowd. He still had no idea what was happening. He was beginning to believe he would never know what was happening in his life, and this was a common ground when compared with his erratic dreams.