26 Rankers
About to implode.
That’s what Vik thought would happen to his head when the memories first hit him. He had fallen into a deep sleep once again.
Sleep was the only option available to him at the time. While the memories were getting played in his head, Vik felt like he was living a different life in pieces and fragments. It was in a way that didn’t make sense to him.
This was the life of Eren Elijah Idril. The original owner of the body he was forced to reside in. He didn’t know when this virtual montage of memories would end. All he could do was watch and observe these memories.
With this phenomenon in sight, Vik had concluded that something magical had happened to him. He was transmigrated into the body of the spectator of his accident. A spectator whose soul was nowhere to be found.
Was it due to the Lazarus pods? Or was it a one-in-a-million chance of something that was uniquely offered to him?
Vik started having more questions in his head as he kept on reliving fragments of memories. After some time, the man stopped thinking. Overthinking is never too healthy. And Vik knew that first hand because he was used to overthinking too.
‘That place was real. Those thoughts were real. And so was everything that happened to me.’
Vik concluded to himself as Eren’s life unfolded before him like a movie. He couldn’t recall all of his experiences in that strange place. But now he knew that it wasn’t in his head.
‘This guy also died because of me. And I also took over his body and his memories.’
Vik realized that and sighed. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel anything for Eren, to whom this new body of his belonged originally. It was just that he hadn’t done this deliberately. At this point, neither of them could do anything.
Vik looked keenly at the memories of Eren’s past in his memories and spoke up as if he was addressing Eren.
‘It would not make any difference if I said sorry to you at this point. So I’ll not say it. I don’t care what kind of person you were when you were alive. But for me, you are my savior. And I thank you for it.
In return for the life you have given me, I’ll cherish it to its fullest. Instead of trying to regret things that had already happened, I’ll try to live for the both of us.’
Vik thought to himself as he watched another mundane scene get played in front of his eyes. Then he just closed his eyes and let these memories take him wherever they wanted to take him.
***
Vik opened his eyes and saw the familiar bedroom. Eren’s bedroom. This time, he had sorted a bunch of Eren’s memories in his mind so he knew almost all the things and their origins that he was looking at.
Since the only window of the room was covered with a drawn curtain, the room was dark and visibility was compromised. But he didn’t need it to know where things were.
Some parts of Eren’s memories had gotten in perfect sync with Vik while some were a bit blurred for him. The unsynced memories still needed active concentration from him to remember them.
Vik realized that he was tucked nicely under a blanket with the room’s temperature set to a pleasant setting.
The former hustler of the streets was still not completely out of his sleep yet. Plus, he was trying to make sense of the new memories that Eren left behind. So he ignored the fact that there was someone else sleeping with him under the blanket. With their heads near his chest, not visible from outside because of the blanket.
The most fascinating piece of memories Vik had found from Eren’s life was about Rankers. So he focused on those memories first.
He looked at his hands and remembered bits and pieces from Eren’s memories. He then closed his eyes and focused. He was trying to sense something in his surroundings.
‘I… I feel it.
This is a reality. I’m almost a Metahuman. Damn.’
Vik opened his eyes in wide surprise when he felt the presence of mana around him using Eren’s memories as the reference point. The more he processed those memories, the more amazed he became.
‘Fokin hell. Metahumans are just the first rank. There are other ranks as well.’
Eren’s memories told Vik that Metahumans were the only Rankers who were in Rank 1. The beginners. A true ranking journey began when one became an Awakened Rank 2. There are other ranks as well that reach way past Rank 2.
Vik concentrated while looking at his hand and channeled the mana that he felt in the area around his index finger’s tip. In the next moment, a few tongues of lightning appeared with a distinct chirping sound.
‘This… This is when I don’t have a rank yet?”
Vik couldn’t help being fascinated by what he was seeing. Even though the previous Eren was called a loser for still failing to become a metahuman at his age, for Vik, Eren was a boy extraordinaire.
He stopped channeling the mana from the surrounding atmosphere since he knew it was only a party trick and couldn’t be utilized as an attack in most cases. This wasn’t any spell or ability. It was just the manifestation of his elemental affinity.
To become a proper Metahuman, he needed to go through mana core formation. Only those who had a mana core would be called Metahumans and their ranking journey would begin from there.
‘One becomes Metahuman when they attain Rank 1. They are called Awakened when they reach Rank 2. And Arch is the title given to rankers who reach Rank 3.’
Rakers were people with the ability to harness mana for themselves. They considered those who couldn’t harness mana as mortals.
Rakers had an extended lifespan than humans. They could cast spells, and perform superhuman feats. They could even go “outside” once they progressed enough in their ranks.
Eren’s limited knowledge about rankers was limited to Rank 3. So Vik’s knowledge about them also stopped there. But he had gained so many memories that he needed to clear his mind for a while.
‘First things first. I need to go to my job. Therein lies my quickest way to become a Metahuman.’
Vik narrowed his eyes as he thought of something. His face could tell anyone that he was in a controlled rage.
‘Heh! I was helpless before. But this gives me a kind of hope. Maybe… just maybe… I’ll be able to get back at the bitch for real with these powers.’
He thought and clenched both of his hands, unaware of where his other hand was. It took him a while to realize that he was squeezing something soft and mushy with the other hand.