I Am a Hero With A Hundred Abilities-Chapter 43: Ch 42. Flow

Sophia stood frozen, her mouth slightly ajar, as she stared at Ethan seated calmly in the center of the training ground—legs crossed, posture steady, his breathing slow and rhythmic. Meta essence pulsed around him in a gentle, perfect circulation.

"How is this possible?" she muttered under her breath.

She had just explained the fundamentals of entering the State of Flow. The process was intricate, involving fine-tuned control of meta essence, deep mental discipline, and precise bodily synchronization.

Even among elite heroes, mastering the first stage took years—some never achieved it at all. But here Ethan was, moments after hearing her explanation, achieving it like it was second nature.

She had always known Ethan was gifted—how could she not? His talent practically radiated from him. But this… this was something else.

'Is he even human?' The tought flashed in her mind.

He awakened as a Forsaken. An E-rank.

That label should have doomed him to mediocrity, but Sophia never believed he was average.

Something had changed in that den—something she couldn't begin to understand.

She expected him to eventually master Flow, maybe in a month if he pushed himself. But she had grossly underestimated him.

She herself had taken a month to grasp it, but Ethan had surpassed her in that aspect and to be honest her ego was hurt a little because of it.

Meanwhile, Ethan sat blissfully unaware of the existential crisis he had just caused.

His thoughts were focused, but not on his accomplishment—rather, on what he had overlooked for far too long.

'How was I so foolish:, he thought.

'I believed my ability was already at its peak because of the mastery granted to me. So I stopped seeking improvement in it, thinking the only path forward was leveling up.'

'But why should my ability dictate my limits?'

'If I started at the peak… then that should only be my foundation.'

'There should be no limit.'

As that thought settled into his soul, his aura erupted.

A wave of invisible pressure rippled outward, startling Sophia even more. Her eyes widened as she took an involuntary step back.

"I haven't even taught him the second part yet…" she whispered, stunned.

There were two parts to mastering Flow.

The first was entering the state—allowing meta essence to circulate through the body in perfect harmony, enhancing strength, speed, perception, and resilience.

But this state came with a major flaw: once an ability was activated, it disrupted the circulation. The essence would follow the preset pattern of the ability, breaking the Flow.

And so came the true mastery—syncing Flow with Ability.

To use an ability while remaining in the state of Flow required something most couldn't comprehend.

You had to let it FLOW. Not force the two energies to work separately, but allow them to complement one another. To unify control, not compete for it.

Even veteran heroes struggled with this. Many never succeeded.

But Ethan…

He stood up.

And He drew his arm back slowly, the air around him swirling, compressed by the sheer pressure of his controlled essence.

Then he whispered under his breath:

"{Force Might}."

He punched forward.

At first—nothing.

Then the world caught up.

BOOM.

A sonic shockwave split the air, tearing through the training ground with a whirlwind of dust and energy.

The sheer force of it knocked pebbles into the air and made the floor beneath his feet groan. Sophia raised her arm instinctively to shield herself, eyes wide with disbelief.

When it all settled, Ethan was calmly examining his fist.

"That was easy," he said with a faint smirk.

Sophia just stared, stunned. She felt something crack inside her. A piece of her pride… maybe her sanity.

Before she could respond, Ethan's phone began to buzz. He casually answered, his posture relaxed.

His face darkened within seconds.

"What!!!?" he barked.

The tension returned like a wave.

Sophia narrowed her eyes, stepping closer to Ethan as she sensed the sudden shift in his aura.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice calm, but with an undercurrent of urgency.

Ethan didn't look at her. His eyes were cold and focused.

"A villain's attacking Lisa's school."

His tone was emotionless—but beneath it, fury simmered.

Sophia's heart dropped.

---

Asterveil Academy, once filled with the light chatter of students and the warm hum of daily life, was now unrecognizable. The once pristine halls were littered with shattered glass, cracked tiles, and broken walls, debris scattered like corpses after a battle.

Walking through the chaos was a man clad in a black singlet, his long, unkempt hair swinging with every step.

His mouth curled into a grotesque grin as his twisted laughter echoed through the ruined corridor.

"Don't hide," he called out with a sickening joy.

"I just want to show you what it means to be an adult."

He dragged out the last word, licking his lips slowly like a predator savoring the hunt. Behind him, jagged rocks floated midair, orbiting his body, each humming with unstable kinetic energy—his ability, a terrifying force of destruction.

Deeper within the school, a reinforced steel door sealed the emergency shelter. It was designed to withstand low-level villain or Dread Beast attacks, but Asterveil was not a high-class academy—it lacked the funding for elite defenses.

Inside the shelter, a small group of students and a handful of teachers huddled together, trying to stay calm. Most of the school had already evacuated, but some—those in mid-lesson, or members of the Humanitarian Relief Committee like Lisa—hadn't been so lucky.

Panic was thick in the air. As Students were crying, some whispering to each other, with their voices trembling.

A teacher tried to calm the situation, standing in front of the group.

"Stay calm. The heroes will arrive soon and we will all return to our homes safely."

But before her words could offer comfort, a loud metallic bang rang out.

BOOM.

The steel door shuddered under a violent impact.

From outside came a manic voice.

"So this is where you're all hiding? Perfect. I don't even have to hunt you down. Since all of you are in one place."

There was a brief moment of silence before a giant boulder slammed into the door again.

BANG.

A massive dent appeared, and the screams inside multiplied. The teachers shouted over the chaos, trying to keep order, but the fear was too great.

The villain laughed again, louder now, almost unhinged.

BANG. BANG.

With each blow, the dents grew deeper. It was obvious now—this was no low-level villain. This was someone far beyond what the shelter could withstand.

And then… suddenly, the banging stopped.

A new voice echoed faintly through the hallway outside.

"Who are you?" the villain asked, confused.

There was no answer.

Only the crashing sound of a body being launched through multiple walls.

Inside the shelter, silence reigned for a brief second—then came the faint shhhhk of metal being cut.

Sword slashes began to form on the reinforced surface, sharp and deliberate, until—

CRASH!

The door fell apart, sliced into clean fragments.

The students screamed and backed away, and the teachers shielded them instinctively.

But the threat never came.

Instead, a breeze swept into the room, stirring the dust. A figure stepped through the remnants of the door, the very air seeming to part for her.

She wore a striking set of sleek, blue battle armor adorned with golden plates that shimmered like polished sunlight.

Her long blonde hair flowed gently with the breeze, and her piercing blue eyes burned with intensity and focus.

Her presence radiated authority and power—a beacon amidst the fear.

From the back of the shelter, a familiar voice gasped.

"Sophia?!" Lisa called out, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Sophia gave her a small, confident smile.

"It's not just me," she said coolly.

"Your brother will be here soon… he's just taking care of a pest."

****

From the wreckage of shattered walls and dust-choked air, the villain began to rise, rubble sliding from his back as he staggered upright.

His body trembled slightly, disoriented, blood trickling from the side of his mouth.

With a sickening crunch, he snapped his dislocated jaw back into place, eyes now gleaming with a twisted rage.

Then, he saw him—the source of his agony.

Standing amidst the destruction, untouched by the chaos, was Ethan.

His black hair swayed slightly in the breeze that slipped through the broken corridor. Golden eyes, sharp and unwavering, locked onto the villain with cold detachment.

He wore newly issued black battle armor—sleek, reinforced, forged in the Lancaster armory, a gift from Sophia before the mission.

On his hands were massive metal gauntlets, humming with energy, powered by a visible core of concentrated Meta Essence, designed to amplify his strength and deliver earth-shattering blows.

The villain's expression twisted with hatred as veins bulged across his temples.

"How dare you—HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT ME!" he screamed, his voice cracked with fury.

"I was going to teach these beautiful children what it means to be an adult! But no… now I'll have to kill you first."

Ethan didn't speak.

He didn't flinch.

Because in his mind, this wasn't a conversation. It was a sentence.

His gaze was void of empathy—just pure resolve. The man before him wasn't a challenge. He was a problem that needed to be erased.

Without fanfare, Ethan whispered a single word under his breath:

"{Flow}."

In that instant, the air changed.

The gauntlet hummed louder. His aura surged outward like a crashing tide.

The execution had begun.

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A/N I will release 3 extra chapters if I get 120 power stones or 50 Golden tickets.

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