The Hero Code

Zik sat in his room, staring at his reflection in the cracked mirror. The faint bruises from the fight had mostly faded thanks to his upgraded Regeneration, but his face still looked the same. And that was the problem.

The man in the black jacket's words echoed in his mind: "Stop running around thinking you've won. The only thing you've won is trouble."

Zik sighed. "Yeah, no kidding," he muttered. His "hero face" had officially become a liability. If he wanted to keep doing what he was doing without dragging his school and the people he cared about into danger, he needed to hide his identity. It was time for a mask.

---

Zik gathered materials, a mix of old parts he'd dismantled from helmets and protective gear he'd scrounged up. With a steady hand and a little help from Telekinesis, he arranged the pieces, his Hero System glowing faintly as he activated Crafting.

He focused on the design: something sturdy but sleek, something that would make people think twice before messing with him. He shaped the mask from iron scraps, fitting it with tinted glass lenses for the eyes. To give it a more intimidating look, he added streaks of red paint, jagged and uneven, like claw marks slashed across its surface.

As he finished the final touches, the mask glowed faintly, and a notification popped up:

> Item Created: Iron Fear Mask

Grade: E

Ability: Fear (Passive) — Emits a subtle aura that makes others feel uneasy, amplifying intimidation and concealing the wearer's true emotions.

Zik picked up the mask, running his fingers over its surface. The glass lenses reflected his face back at him, distorted and faintly menacing. He slipped it on, feeling the weight settle on his head. The faint hum of its ability sent a chill through him.

"This should do the trick," he murmured. "No more dumb face for people to target."

---

Zik's gaze shifted to his cursed yellow shirt, which lay crumpled in the corner of his room. It was more tattered than usual after his recent fights, the fabric stained and fraying.

"Well, you've been with me through a lot," Zik said, picking it up. "But it's time to see what you can really do."

Activating Crafting again, he dismantled the shirt, pulling it apart thread by thread. Each piece of fabric floated in the air as his Telekinesis guided it into a neat pile. Then, with a deep breath, he began reassembling it, weaving the threads back together into something new.

The Hero System chimed as the final stitch fell into place:

> Item Created: Reforged Cursed Shirt

Grade: F

Properties:

Luck = -30: The wearer's natural luck decreases significantly, causing frequent mishaps.

Skill: Lucky Break (Active): Temporarily increases luck by +100 for 20 minutes. Cooldown: 2 hours.

Zik held up the new shirt, its yellow color brighter than before, almost mocking in its vibrancy. He slipped it on, feeling the familiar tingle of its curse. But this time, it was different.

"Lucky Break, huh?" Zik muttered, a small grin forming. "Guess even bad luck can have its moments."

---

Zik stood in front of the mirror, wearing his freshly crafted mask and cursed shirt. The mask gave him an air of mystery, its red slashes and glassy eyes making him look like a figure from someone's worst nightmare. The shirt, as cursed as it was, still felt like a part of him — a reminder of his philosophy: rise through the bad luck.

He activated the mask's Fear ability, watching as the room seemed to darken slightly, the weight of its aura pressing down on the air. It wasn't overwhelming, but it was enough to make anyone second-guess confronting him.

For the first time, Zik felt like he was ready for what came next. The fight, the threats, the challenges — he'd face them all head-on.

"This is me now," he said, his voice muffled but firm behind the mask. "Let's see what the world throws at me next."

As he stepped out into the evening streets, the mask's aura casting an eerie confidence over him, Zik felt a spark of excitement. He wasn't just a kid with bad luck and a Hero System anymore.

He was someone the world might start to fear. And someone he could finally believe in.

The streets were quiet as Zik walked through the neighborhood in his newly crafted Iron Fear Mask. He kept his hood up and his pace steady, appreciating how the mask's subtle Fear aura made people keep their distance. It was a strange kind of relief not to feel like he was standing out because of his "dumb face," as he liked to call it.

But peace rarely lasted in Zik's life.

As he rounded a corner, he noticed a kid, no older than ten, staring at him from across the street. The boy's wide eyes locked onto Zik's masked figure, and his mouth slowly dropped open.

"Uh… hi?" Zik tried, his voice slightly muffled by the mask.

The boy didn't respond. Instead, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "VILLAIN!"

Zik froze. "Wait, what? No, I'm not—"

But the kid didn't stick around to listen. He bolted down the street, still screaming, "Help! There's a villain! Someone call the heroes!"

Zik groaned, pulling his hood lower over his mask as a few people turned to look. "Oh, come on. It's just a mask!" he muttered, speeding into a nearby alley before anyone else could get a good look at him.

As he leaned against the wall, catching his breath, his Hero System pinged softly.

> Side Quest Unlocked: Correct a Misunderstanding

Objective: Convince the kid you're not a villain without scaring him further.

Reward: +10 EXP

Zik stared at the notification, groaning again. "Yeah, no thanks," he muttered. "Let's let this one slide."

---

Later that evening, Zik was still thinking about the "villain" incident as he wandered into a quieter part of town. He wasn't looking for trouble, but trouble always seemed to find him.

Sure enough, he heard a faint commotion from a nearby alley. A young woman was yelling, "Hey! Stop! Someone stop him!"

Zik turned to see a guy in a hoodie sprinting out of the alley, clutching a purse. The woman stood at the entrance, pointing after him.

Zik sighed, activating Super Speed and taking off after the thief.

The thief, to his surprise, was faster than expected. Zik had to push himself harder, dodging pedestrians and leaping over trash cans as he closed the gap.

"Stop running, man!" Zik called. "You're just making this worse for yourself!"

The thief glanced back, his eyes widening at the sight of Zik's mask. "What the—?!"

Panicking, the thief veered into another alley, hoping to lose him. But Zik's Speed Strike sent him flying forward, landing in front of the thief and cutting off his escape.

"Alright," Zik said, catching his breath. "Hand over the purse, and we can skip the part where I embarrass you."

The thief hesitated, clutching the purse tightly. "What are you supposed to be? Some kind of wannabe hero?"

Zik tilted his head, letting the mask's Fear aura do its work. The thief visibly shivered, his grip on the purse loosening.

"Not a wannabe," Zik said, his voice calm but firm. "Just someone who keeps their promises. And right now, I'm promising that you're not walking out of here with that purse."

The thief lunged, throwing a wild punch, but Zik was faster. He sidestepped easily, countering with a Power Strike to the thief's arm. The thief yelped, dropping the purse as he stumbled back.

"Not your best move," Zik said, retrieving the purse and stepping away.

The thief glared at him, clutching his arm. "You're gonna regret this, mask-boy."

Zik sighed. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

As the thief turned and ran, Zik shook his head, muttering, "Low-level thieves. Never learn."

The Hero System chimed again:

> Quest Complete: Stop the Thief

Reward: +20 EXP, Slight Strength Boost

Picking up the purse, Zik returned it to the woman, who thanked him profusely. He waved her off, walking into the night with a small smile.

"Not a bad day," he said to himself. "Villain accusations and all."

For now, at least, he felt like he was starting to live up to the mask he wore.

Back home, Zik sat at his desk, his Iron Fear Mask resting in front of him. He stared at it for a long moment, thinking about the kid who screamed "villain" and bolted, and the way the thief had called him "mask-boy" with such disdain.

"Not exactly how I imagined this going," he muttered.

The mask was supposed to help him. It was meant to make him look mysterious and intimidating, not like some creep lurking in the shadows. But instead of inspiring confidence or even respect, it seemed to send people running for the wrong reasons.

His Hero System pinged softly, as if agreeing with his train of thought:

> Notice: Current Reputation Rating: Neutral (Trending Negative)

Tip: A hero's image is as important as their deeds.

Zik sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Great. Now even my Hero System is telling me I need a PR manager."

---

He closed his eyes and thought back to the incidents of the day. The mask was doing its job—it intimidated people. But maybe that wasn't always what a hero needed.

The kid had screamed because all he'd seen was a scary figure in a mask. The thief had taunted him, not because Zik wasn't strong enough, but because Zik didn't have the presence of a real hero.

Sure, he could fight. He had abilities, skills, and now a mask with an aura of fear. But that wasn't enough. People needed to trust him, not just stay out of his way.

He opened his eyes, staring at the mask. "So how do I fix this?" he wondered aloud.

---

Zik pulled up his Hero System window, reviewing his stats and skills. His Stealth ability and his mask's Fear aura were great for intimidation and staying unnoticed. But if he wanted to correct his image, he needed to balance those with something more approachable.

He tapped his fingers on the desk, thinking. "What do people trust? Symbols? Bright colors? A name?"

That last thought stuck with him. He didn't even have a proper hero name. To everyone else, he was just some masked figure skulking around in cursed yellow shirts. That wasn't exactly a recipe for trust.

"Alright," Zik said, sitting up straighter. "Step one: A name. Something that sounds heroic, not scary."

He glanced at the mask again, its red streaks gleaming faintly in the lamplight. "Iron Fear… no, too aggressive. What about… Iron Resolve?"

The name felt solid, determined. It spoke to his goals, to the way he kept going no matter how bad the odds were.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Iron Resolve. I can work with that."

---

The next step was trickier. He needed to show people he wasn't a villain without outright taking off the mask. The mask was still important—it hid his identity and gave him an edge in fights. But he couldn't rely on intimidation alone anymore.

"I'll need to focus on helping people," Zik thought, pulling out a notebook to jot down ideas. "Not just stopping bad guys. I need to actually be there for the little stuff, the stuff that makes people feel safe."

His Hero System pinged again:

> New Passive Quest: Build a Heroic Reputation

Objective: Perform acts of service and public heroism to earn trust.

Reward: Reputation Increase, Minor Stealth Grade Boost

Zik smirked. "Looks like the System's finally giving me something useful."

---

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the notebook filled with scribbled plans. Tomorrow, he'd start small: helping around the neighborhood, keeping an eye out for people in need, and maybe even finding a way to make the mask seem less ominous.

It wasn't going to be easy, but Zik felt a spark of determination. His image might be bad now, but that just meant there was room to grow.

He glanced at the mask one more time before slipping it back on, the glass lenses reflecting his face.

"Alright, Iron Resolve," he said quietly to himself. "Time to make this mask mean something."

And with that, Zik prepared himself for the long road ahead—one small step at a time toward becoming the hero he wanted to be.