Run, Boy!

"Damn it, Athena! How do I get out of here?"

"This is the deepest part of your soul. You can leave whenever you want, just by thinking about it."

William thought he was in trouble, and in the blink of an eye, the scene before him changed back to his bedroom. He checked the clock. It was already 8:40, and he had twenty minutes left.

"Damn it, I'm going to be late!" With no time to waste, William put on his delivery uniform and rushed downstairs. He had a bicycle from the pizza shop. If he pedaled fast enough, he might still make it.

But as soon as he reached the ground floor, he realized his bike had been stolen.

The Sixth District, where he lived, was the roughest part of Brooklyn. Crime ran rampant and gangs ruled the streets. Even the police turned a blind eye.

If the rent here weren't so cheap, William wouldn't have lived in this dump.

He'd locked his bike to a tree last night, but when he checked that morning, all he found was the lock. The bike was gone!

"Oh, shit!" William ran a hand through his hair, feeling like his whole world had fallen apart. Not only would he be docked for being late, but he'd also lost the shop's bike and would surely get an earful from the boss. He might even get fired.

For William, who was already struggling to make ends meet, this was a disaster.

Time ticked by. It was already 8:45. Even if he ran, he wouldn't make it.

"Athena, I need help!"

"William, Soldier: 76's Sprint skill has been successfully unlocked."

Sprint: Boy, you're faster now. You can dash at high speed for a short time, allowing you to dodge enemy fire or rush into the fray.

Note: Jumping while sprinting lets you leap farther.

There was no time to think. William took off running. As he sprinted, he felt power coursing through his whole body. Every step propelled him forward with tremendous force. He was like an arrow loosed from a bow, the scenery whipping past around him.

"Mom, look! It's Captain America!" a little blond, blue-eyed girl cried, pointing at William as he raced by.

Her young mother immediately grabbed her hand. "Let's stay away from him. Anyone running that fast might be a thief."

Soldier: 76 and Captain America had both undergone super-soldier enhancements, giving them bodies far beyond ordinary human limits. So William knew that sprinting with this skill wouldn't be any slower than riding a bike.

"William, Sprint is a beginner's perk. You'll only be able to use future skills after you obtain new heroes or skills."

William rolled his eyes. He'd known there was no such thing as a free lunch.

With one minute left before his shift, he spotted the pizza shop's sign in the distance: Jonathan's Pizza Fast Food Restaurant.

When William reached the shop, he wasn't even out of breath. He'd been running at top speed for over ten minutes. The old him would have collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

No wonder this was Soldier: 76's skill. Back when William played the game, it had basically been used to run away.

"William, you're late!" As soon as he pushed open the restaurant door, he saw the boss glaring at him.

The boss was named Jonathan. That was right—the restaurant was named after him.

Jonathan wasn't originally from Brooklyn. He was an Asian immigrant. He wasn't a bad guy, really, just a bit of a cheapskate.

William looked down at him—literally. Jonathan was only five foot three, while William stood six feet tall. Jonathan had to tilt his head back to look at him.

"But you're only one minute late, so I won't dock your pay this time." Jonathan's stern expression broke into a smile. "We've got a lot of orders today. Make sure you do your job properly."

"Thanks, boss. I'll be more careful next time." William thought, I'm only a minute late, and you still want to fire me? But he kept his reply polite.

Before long, a restaurant worker pushed in a cart loaded with more than ten pizzas. They were stacked on top of each other, almost as high as a person's waist.

"You've got to be kidding me!" William couldn't help exclaiming. Even with his bike, delivering this many pizzas would have been difficult. And now his bike was stolen, so he'd have to carry them all himself.

"Sorry for the trouble, William. It's promotion day, so make sure they get there on time. Don't disappoint the customers." Jonathan patted William on the shoulder and spoke earnestly. It seemed the stingy boss wasn't about to let him off the hook.

The old William might have been at a loss. There were too many pizzas, and there was no way he could deliver them all in time. But this William was different. He had the Overwatch System's help. Even without a bike, he could deliver the pizzas on foot.

Using Sprint to make deliveries sounded simple, but doing it was another matter. Never mind whether the traffic cops would stop him—what if all those pizzas spilled while he was running at top speed with them in his arms?

William held the more than ten pizzas tight against his chest, making sure they wouldn't topple over. The top box nearly reached his chin, and he struggled to stick his head out above it.

So when he delivered the first pizza, he still didn't dare run too fast. He picked the nearest address and jogged all the way there.

When the customer saw William carrying a huge stack of pizzas, they were startled. What's going on? I only ordered one. Are all the rest free?

"Special event triggered. Hidden mission initiated!"

"Hidden mission: Marathon: Run 10 kilometers in Brooklyn without using any skills."

William had just delivered his first order when Athena's voice rang out in his mind.

Athena had said that hidden missions could only be triggered by special events. He hadn't expected delivering pizzas on foot to count as one.

The mission sounded simple, but he wasn't allowed to use any skills. That meant he couldn't use Sprint to complete it.

But William didn't have time to think about the mission. Delivering the orders came first. After delivering the second, third, and fourth pizzas, the stack in his arms had finally shrunk. He immediately activated Sprint and raced toward his destination at full speed.

On the streets of Brooklyn, a young blond man was running faster than a mobility scooter. Passersby stared in disbelief. Even the police officer by the roadside thought a lion had escaped from the zoo.

Once Sprint was activated, it continuously drained William's stamina. When he ran out, his speed would drop and the skill would end. He'd have to wait for his stamina to recover before using it again. In the meantime, he could only jog—and work on the mission while he was at it.

Before long, he'd delivered ten orders, leaving just one pizza.

William wiped the sweat from his forehead. He'd done pretty well today. Clutching the last pizza, he ran toward the final address.

As he passed a quiet alley, he heard a woman scream nearby. "Thief! He stole my purse!"

A young man in a face mask snatched a handbag from a middle-aged woman and sprinted away. She tried to chase him, but couldn't keep up. The thief ran straight toward William, shouting:

"Move! Get out of the way!"