Part-63

  [Mission 12: Success!]

  After the firmation of his victory, abruptly, the Crisis Mode deactivated. James felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him, his legs giving way as he crumpled to the ground beside Sourov. His vision swam, the cheers and gasps of the crowd a distant hum in his ears.

  James packed his bag with leaden movements, the cheers and gasps from the fight repying in his mind like a broken record. He didn't stick around for gratutions ossip. He just wao get out of there, away from the prying eyes and the questions that swirled around his ued victory.

  The walk home was a blur. His body ached with a dull, throbbing pain, a testament to the punishment it had endured. Every moveme a fresh jolt of disfort, a stant reminder of the fight and the terrifying power he had wielded under Crisis Mode.

  Reag his apartment, James practically stumbled through the door and colpsed onto his bed. Ign the homework that y fotten on his desk, he opened his System interfabsp; He had a couple of notifications waiting for him: "Mission 12 plete. Reward: Crisis Mode (Unlocked)."

  He scrolled down and saw the sed notification, one he hadn't checked before: "Hidden Skill Revealed: Know Your Enemy and Ally (Rank: F)."

  The reward for pleting Mission 11, the seemingly useless skill – "Know Your Enemy and Ally". He hadn't checked it sihe notification appeared, brushed aside in the chaos of the fight. With a heavy hand, he accessed his System interfad pulled up his skills list. There it was, tucked away at the bottom:

  Skill Name: Know Your Enemy and Ally (Rank: F)

  Description: You view the biats of STA (Stamina), (stitution), DEX (Dexterity), INT (Intelligence), and WIS (Wisdom) of others. CHA (Charisma) will be shown separately.

  James slumped onto the couch, his body screaming every time he dared to breathe. He couldn't believe he'd just pummeled Sourov – the school bully – into oblivio, victory tasted bittersweet. The whole "Crisis Mode" thi more like a horror movie than a power-up.

  James flopped onto the couch with a groan that could wake the dead (well, maybe not his sister judging by her current TV show volume). His body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder run on "pulverize." Despite the victory and the glimmer of hope from the new skill, a nagging suspi lingered. He g his sister, Lily Khan, sprawled across the armchair, oblivious to his internal turmoil and pletely engrossed in a reality show about petitive cake decorating.

  "Hey, Lily," James croaked, his voice hoarse.

  Lily, eyes glued to the TV where a particurly fmboyant baker was strug a three-tier dragon out of marzipan, didn't even turn her head. "Mmm-hmm?" she mumbled, clearly ied in the baker's struggle with a stubborn fondant wing.

  James, ever the strategist (or at least, aspiring strategist), decided a more direct approach was needed. He focused on Lily, activating his new "Know Your Enemy and Ally" skill. A translut blue box materialized o her head, revealiats:

  **Lily Khan**

  **biats: 272**

  **CHA (Charisma): 356**