The System's Hold Over Me

Frizz followed the objective marker and the glowing broken lines on the ground.

"Just a few, several meters more," he muttered, a hint of exhaustion in his voice. Unfamiliar with the area, he slowed his steps slightly.

(I feel like I've been here before, but I can't recall.) Frizz thought as he realized that his town had seen multiple changes these past two decades. It was almost a city now.

Frizz halted and looked up. The sky was partly obscured by the tall trees, and though night had just arrived, it was already dim under their shade. He sighed as he remembered something from his past.

"I miss having trees near my house. It was literally cooler because they absorbed the heat," he mused as he scanned the quiet neighborhood with an inquisitive expression. The houses looked like your average low-middle income house, nothing noteworthy aside from the fact that the houses are close to each other.

"Hmmm..." He hummed, deep in thought.

"I'm not the smartest guy ever, but having houses this close..." He rubbed his chin as he talked to himself and stared at the compact houses.

"Isn't this a fire hazard?" He added as he resumed walking.

While he walked, a small glint at the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked in the direction and spotted a treehouse on a tall tree.

"Holy! Now that's a tree house!" He stopped for a moment, admiring it. "I wish I had that when I was a kid."

One minute later...

"Seems that I've arrived." Frizz noticed the objective marker vanishing as he came within range of the house. He leaned against a small tree, crossed his arms, and observed.

"No wonder; they're trying to rob the house," Frizz said in surprise. The house was more affluent than the other houses. It had two floors, a wide lawn, and structures like birdhouses and gnomes, scattered around. The verdant green gate and fences framed the property, with a doorbell mounted on a post near the gate.

"It even has a small wishing fountain. Wow," Frizz said in awe; he had never seen a house with a fountain before.

Frizz scanned the house and the area, looking for the would-be burglars. (If they're here, then they are really quiet.) He studied the windows, looking for any shifting shadows or movements.

Frizz turned his head around and looked at his surroundings; he looked for any possible lookouts but found none. "It really is just the two," he said.

(What should I do?) he thought as he playfully eyed the doorbell. (Should I ring it? Hahahaha.)

Noticing the unlocked gate, he made a mental note. Crouching low, he slumped beneath a large, unattended bush. He realized how suspicious he'd look if spotted.

*Sheek* A window creaked as it opened, alerting Frizz. He squinted and glared at the window. A man with a white medical mask jumped out, followed by another outfitted the same.

"Just sling bags on them."

(Probably just stole money or any jewelry.)

Frizz's legs restlessly moved; the memory of almost being shot flashed through his mind. He didn't want a repeat of that encounter.

"Should I use telekinesis?" Frizz looked down for any medium-sized rocks to fling at the two. "This should do." He eyed several rocks beneath his feet.

Frizz stepped back and raised his hand to make several rocks float behind him. He steadied his hand and aimed the rocks at the two burglars, slowly sneaking away.

Frizz closed his eyes as he tried to recall the conversation that he had with that superpower chat group at Fish-Book.

One of the users was surprisingly cordial and helpful.

frizzsoda: so what should I do?

sigmaballs1999: Imagine a catapult when you use telekinesis, wind it back as far as you can for maximum power.

The rocks shifted backward as Frizz envisioned the guidance.

sigmaballs1999: Imagine it spinning, a spinning object has better accuracy since it is stabilized. Like bullets.

frizzsoda: ohhhh, that's why bullets spin

The rocks began spinning as he visualized.

sigmaballs1999: When you throw something, you let it go when it reaches the maximum point. The same goes to telekinesis, the moment when you throw the ball and it is in your telekinetic point. Release it.

Frizz opened his eyes.

"Bang!" The spinning rocks hurled forward towards the two robbers, slipping through the fence's gaps with great speed. The telekinetically hurled rocks hit both robbers, especially on their legs, with the rest of the rocks hitting their hands and backs.

Either due to adrenaline or fear, they managed to stand up and limp away. They both headed towards a tree overlapping a big wall, planning to climb and jump over the wall.

"You're not going away that easy," Frizz declared as he made multiple potted plants float and hurled them at the two robbers. The potted plants hit them, and they all dropped to the floor, wincing in pain and confusion.

Frizz ran towards the two, shoving the slightly opened gate, and kicked the two robbers' legs to make sure they stayed down.

"Stop!" One of them cried.

Frizz snatched away their sling bags and rummaged through inside. The bag's contents were money, jewelry, knives, and lastly, screwdrivers. He looked at the two, groaning on the ground as he pocketed two one-thousand peso bills.

(Why not? I deserve an award.) He inhaled deeply and shouted:

"Thieves! Thieves! Come here! Help! Thieves!"

Multiple houses lit up because of the shout, several people exited their homes and sprinted towards the opened gate, causing a crowd to form.

"Who are these people?" An elderly man questioned Frizz.

"They're thieves! I saw them climb out of this window as they tried to sneak away." Frizz declared as feigned exhaustion and urgency. He handed the two sling bags to the approaching elderly man. Several people huddled at the old man as he rummaged through the bag.

"Hey, isn't that Ma'am Saya's necklace? I recognize that," a young woman exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, it is," another confirmed.

"You, help me tie them up." The old man instructed Frizz. They both tied down and secured the two burglars to a post, and the old man called the police.

"They'll be here in a few minutes, the old man said.

Several people crowded the two tied thieves, their faces unmasked and revealed.

"You two, how dare you steal from a teacher! Shame on you!" a woman scolded while others were recording the two thieves and providing commentary. (Attention-seekers...) Frizz thought.

Three men approached Frizz and congratulated him for the capture of the two. He smiled as he shyly rubbed his nape. He wasn't used to compliments so he nodded at them and walked away from the crowd.

Frizz smiled and dusted off his shirts and pants. He turned around to continue heading home, with a smile on his face because of his accomplishment.

"Today was a good day."

[System]

Objective Completed

Rewards: 30 Experience

Frizz stopped, laughing as he literally patted himself on the back.

"System, show me my—" He paused mid-sentence, deciding it wasn't necessary to display everything.

"System, only display my experience bar when I say XP. Do this for any other stat blocks."

[System]

[Request acknowledged]

Experience: 90/140

"Hmmmmm. Almost there." Frizz mused as he continued on his way home, skipping every few steps.

Unbeknownst to Frizz, someone spotted him as he made his way into the neighborhood earlier. It was a teenage girl, lazing around in her tree house built on a tall and strong tree.

The teenage girl saw everything, from start to finish. She couldn't believe what she was seeing and was in awe.

"What the fuck is he?" The girl asked herself with an excited voice.

"Can I learn that power?" She touched and caressed her left arm; several healed slash wounds covered it.