I had finally had enough. Laying on the bed, just staring at the ceiling is not at all fun. One of the so-called “perks”, although I wouldn’t dare call it that, of being an Untethered? I didn’t need to sleep. Or at least, that’s how Frank stated it to me. At the time of hearing it, I was pumped. More time on my hands. Brilliant! What I didn’t know at the time was that my so-called friend was lying. Lying by omission, you know. It’s not that I didn’t need sleep, it’s more like I can’t bloody sleep. One of the utmost joys of my life, gone, poof, just like that.

I got up from my bed and switched on the lights. I got in front of the mirror and took off my shirt. No, not to look at my newly gained muscles, although those were nice, I got to admit. No, the thing I wanted to see, wanted to admire, wanted to lovingly gaze at was my tattoo. Conclusive proof that yesterday hadn’t been a dream. Undeniable evidence that I had been elevated from the ranks of the countless ‘slotless’ on my first day as an Untethered. “Must be once in a generation event.” Frank had remarked, feigned jealousy in his tone. It was my ticket to strength, an escape from my monotonous, ordinary life and so much more, all at once.

But most importantly of all, it was a display of the fact that I was the first inhabitant of the Dimension on this planet that Frost had seen having a tattoo indicating three slots. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, yours truly is one among a billion, as rare as a meteor crash on earth. In all seriousness, my tattoo had shaken the hell out of Frank and Frost. The magnitude of this event could be felt just by looking at the expressions on both of their faces. Frank’s face was one of pure shock and surprise, while Frost had an alarmed look on his face which quickly morphed into a contemplative gaze. We had gone our own separate ways after the reveal of my tattoo, each of us having our personal thoughts to mull and ponder upon. Frost had made me promise that I would come to the club as soon as possible in the morning, as he had some things to prepare for me.

The first thing I had done after coming home was to study my tattoo extensively. Not to sound smug or arrogant, but it was a work of art, if I may say so myself.

It was an image of an ornate pocket watch which had one of its dials pointed at three, the indicator of the number of slots I possessed. The second was pointed at zero, the number of abilities I had currently unlock. Or at least, that was what Frost speculated. But it did not end there. What made the tattoo really special was the beautiful serpent coiled around it, its head rising from just over the top of the watch. The serpent itself was one of the most unusual and awe-inspiring I had ever seen. It certainly would never be found in the mortal world. I wasn’t even sure of its existence in the dimension. The serpent was really striking, its scales like amethyst. I was sure that if such a creature did exist in the Dimension, it would be even more beautiful in reality. What really separated it from the snakes found in the mortal world was the two wings sprouting from its back, giving the impression that it was a really thin dragon.

Looking at the tattoo, I couldn’t help but think back at the events of last night, after my tattoo was revealed. I had quickly taken off my shirt, much to the amusement of Frank, to see what my tattoo represented. To say that all of us were shocked would be an understatement. Frank was hyperventilating when he realised that I had three slots, while Frost just stared at me and my tattoo in quick succession before muttering, “This changes everything. Finally.” he was not too responsive when we asked him what he meant by that statement.

My narcissistic self-admiration was broken by the sound of my phone ringing. Looking at the caller-id, I saw that it was Frank. Picking up the phone I just told him that I would be at the club in fifteen minutes. Putting the phone down, I put on a fresh shirt with a sigh, reminding myself to ask Frank about his clothes changing trick. Picking up my phone, I went towards the window of my room and jumped off its ledge with a nonchalance that the me of yesterday would have great trouble believing.

I reached the club and almost immediately was greeted with the stares of the various people already present there. Something told me that someone had leaked the fact that I had gotten my tattoo and the number of slots I had to these people. I looked around to find where Frank was, certain that he was behind this fiasco. I eventually found him in one corner of the club, sitting with his girlfriend, Lucy and Samuel. I quickly made my way towards them, intent on giving Frank a piece of my mind. As soon as I made it to their corner, I was met with a sheepish look from Frank, proving my theory regarding his culpability right. But before I could go in on him, Lucy intervened, saying, “David, Frank only told me. It was me who told everyone else.”

I was surprised by this admission, wondering if she was telling the truth or just saving Frank’s hide.

“What, why would you do that? I made it clear to Frank that I didn’t want this information getting out,” I replied, adamant that it was my choice regarding who to tell and when to divulge this information.

I was surprised when Lucy took on a stern expression. She said, “Well, it’s not your choice to make. Everyone deserved to know this information.”

I was flabbergasted and I made it clear to her, “How? How does anyone else have the right to this information?”

Lucy was quick to reply, “Because you represent something bigger than yourself. Do you have any idea how many untethered live in fear that any day might be their last day?  People need to know that there is hope, a hope of a better, safer, more peaceful future.”

Frank quickly intervened, so that the situation didn’t escalate further, because now people were staring at us in curiosity, although most of the gazes still held awe and wonder in them as they looked at me. It was very disconcerting.

“David, do you know how many three-slotters we know or have even heard of? None. Until now, that is. Lucy is right. Like it or not, you have become a bastion of hope. People will look to you to reach your potential and become their leader. People need to know that, in the near future, they will have someone to look up to, someone who they can rely on to usher in a new age. Believe me, people deserve to know when a three-slotter comes around.

”

I was still digesting whatever the couple had said to me when Frost came around to our corner. He just waved to me and began speaking, as if he hadn’t just seen the little spectacle we had going on, “Hey, David. Good to see you join us so early in the morning. I see that you have already caught up with your friends. I wanted you here so that I could introduce you to Samuel. He is going to take over your training from today onwards.”

I shot an incredulous look towards Frost and asked, “What training?”

Frost said, “Well, you need training obviously, especially now that you have unlocked your tattoo. You did a great job against the hell-kite, true, but it was a lucky shot. You need to train so that you can get stronger and it might also help you to unlock an ability, who knows? You will also be joining Samuel on his patrols, seeing as he needs a partner anyways. He will be showing you the ins and outs of the patrol. Basically, he will be your mentor and guide for the time being.”

Before I could get a word out, Samuel spoke up, in a rumbling voice which was still intimidating, “Let’s get going, kid. Just don’t expect any preferential treatment because you happen to have a nice tattoo, you understand?”

I could only mutely nod, not trusting myself to speak and followed him out of the club, but not before mouthing off towards Frank, intent on letting him know exactly how I felt about this situation. He just responded to my words with a smile, infuriating me even more.

On our way out, we ran into the beautiful girl from yesterday, Emma. She was looking at me with a contemplative gaze, as I was a particularly difficult puzzle that she just couldn’t wait to solve. Then I remembered that she was still slotless and wondered if she would treat me some sort of ill-veiled contempt. Contrary to my expectations though, all she did was nod in my direction and silently mouth, “Good luck”, her face still one of silent contemplation.

Before I could further ponder on her actions, Samuel asked me about the encounter with the hell-kite last night. He nodded along as I told him everything in excruciating detail, particularly proud of what I considered the crowning achievement of my young life.

After we walked some more in silence, me wondering I had said something wrong, Samuel finally opened his mouth, telling me in a dry tone, “Don’t let your head get too inflated. Your skills need much work, as do your storytelling skills. I was close to kicking you in the crotch if you had continued to expound your greatness much longer.”

That was certainly not the response I was expecting. My expectations were more along the line of compliments and encouragement, certainly not a critic of my skills as a fighter and a muse.

I could only continue walking along with him, until we finally came to a restaurant, “Samuel’s”. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. This was ‘the’ Samuel, the owner of the most exclusive restaurant in town. I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but damn.

We entered the building through the back door and went up a flight of stairs, where we came upon a massive gym, with no occupants in it. To say the place was the top of the line would be an understatement. A boxing ring, a taekwondo ring, machines, bars, weights, you name it, he had it. I was busy admiring the facility when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I was met with a punch on my jaw that sent me flying. I was seeing stars for a few seconds before I looked up to see that Samuel was staring at me, no emotion in his cold eyes.

“We need to work on your skills. Strength will be taken care of by fighting monsters during patrols. What we need to concentrate on is your reaction, instincts, speed and most importantly, your defence and evasion techniques. We need to make up for your lack of experience with an abundance of skills.”

He still hadn’t explained why he had clocked me in the face though. When I indignantly asked him to explain himself, he replied with a menacing voice, probably to intimidate me, in which he admittedly succeeded.

“I have two rules and you will follow them if you want to learn from me. Rule one, never talk back to me. And rule two, the minute you step into this room, it’s training time. You better keep your guard up whenever you are here.”

Immediately after that, he jumped towards me with the sole intention of punching me in the face again. I quickly jumped out of his way, trying to avoid his strike. But much to my amazement, he changed direction in mid-air with the agility of a leopard and kicked me in my ribs. That served to make me fly again and crash into the boxing ring. My whole body racked with pain. Before I could gather my bearings, Samuel was on top of me again and kicked me on my sides this time, sending me flying again.

This continued for what seemed like hours, with me rolling and ducking and jumping out of Samuel’s way to save my life, while Samuel kicked and punched me with what seemed like his full strength. When Samuel decided that I had had enough torture for one day, he finally stopped, saying, “That’s enough for one day. Let’s move on to other things.”

I so desperately wanted to flip him off, but my fear for the repercussions outweighed my desire to give Samuel the finger. Instead, I could only muster the strength to ask, still prone on the ground, “What other things? I can barely move.”

Samuel, though, couldn’t care less. All he said was, “No enemy is going to wait for you to not hurt or not be tired to attack you. Get up, you are going to try and hit me now.”

This I could get behind, although I was still wary of why Samuel would use the word ‘try’. I got my answer soon enough when I, with the strength of my bruised and aching body, tried to throw a feeble punch at him. All I got in response was him dodging and then punching me in my midsection. That had me doubling over in renewed pain, all the while cursing the gods and Frank and Frost for partnering me up with this unfeeling, sadistic freak.

My punishment continued for a few more minutes, or hours, or days, I didn’t know and frankly I couldn’t care less. I tried hitting Samuel with punches and kicks, the keyword here being ‘tried’, only for Samuel to evade and hit me right back. “No enemy is going to let you hit him without striking back”, he said. “Fuck you.”, I retorted back. Only in my head though.

After I had been sapped of all my strength, Samuel said, “Get up. I recognised your key problem. You are hitting without any thought, just wildly swinging. We need to work on your form.”

The next hour, we only worked on my form. He showed me how to control my punches and the angle of my arms and legs while hitting somebody. All the while, my body was screaming at me to just lay down and not follow any more of this moron’s words.

After finishing off with the training, I received no encouragement or compliments. All he said was, “Go and rest in your home. Come back here in two hours. We will go out on a patrol. What you experienced yesterday was a rarity, not what usually occurs. You need experience fighting our mortal enemies without the use of your ability, if and when you unlock them.”

Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence.

But he continued on, “I have seen too many waste their martial potential just because they have unlocked their cool ability, which is supposedly better than any ability anyone has ever possessed. Idiots, the lots of them. I won’t have you making the same mistakes. Do you understand me, kid?”

I could only nod as I didn’t have any intention of disagreeing with him, my body still proof of the punishment I had endured by his hands. I quickly rushed home after that, eager for some rest before going out again, but not before cursing my fate one last time for sticking me with Samuel, of all people.