After Griff woke up his lackeys, they all scooted away from the scene with their tails tucked between their legs. Ryan, Buck, and Jack took one last look at Patty when they left. They didn’t see what happened between the fight between him and Griff, but the fact that he was still standing still while Griff was going home depressed told them all they needed to know. Somehow, Patty was even stronger than they thought.
Soon after they left, Patty walked towards Grammo and touched his neck. Using his copied powers of Griff’s Sunverk Explosion Teqx, Patty was able to reverse-engineer the fire symbol imprinted on Grammo’s skin. Griff wouldn’t detonate it, because if he wanted to he could have, but Patty still decided to remove it.
At this point, Grammo wasn’t even surprised that Patty could do this. After the feat of destroying a Fiendish Armament without even using his hands, copying Griff’s Teqx felt like the least impressive thing Patty could do. It was truly mind-boggling to see. He thought Patty was just some run-of-the-mill lazy guy who got lucky a few times, but as it turned out Patty was some kind of genius monster with powers that even the top students would be envious of.
Sometimes, he felt like he got extremely lucky that he asked Patty for help. If he had asked someone else, they would have been destroyed by Griff. If not for Patty, this would have turned out very differently, and he was probably already expelled.
As Patty was removing the rope that tied his arms to the chair, Grammo asked him a very interesting question. “How…are you…so strong?”
“I don’t think I’m that strong,” Patty said as he casually ripped out a double-braided steel rope like he was tearing out a page from a book. “...Maybe I’m stronger than most people.”
“How did you get so powerful? Is this your innate talent and you just didn’t show it before? Did you inherit it from your family? Did you find a recluse master who gave you majestic powers just as he dies? Did you reincarnate from a different world where Teqx and powers like this were just fantasy? Are you from the future who dies from a very strong villain and you woke up back in time with all the powers you had then? Are you an author and you were suddenly transported into your own world so you know how to get all these overpowered skills? What did you do? How did you get it?”
Grammo overwhelmed him with questions. Some of those things were realistic, but untrue, while some of them were weirdly specific and very fantastical. He felt like some of those questions were some of the things he read in fantasy novels of the past. But no matter how creative they were, it was still untrue.
Patty just decided to tell the truth. “I was lazy.”
Grammo was speechless for a second. “You were…lazy? COUGH…What does…that even mean?”
“I meant it like I said it. I was lazy. I got my powers because I was lazy.”
Technically, Patty was telling the truth. Because he was lazy and wanted to stay at home instead of going to internships with Sam, Patty was suddenly hit by a meteorite that turned out to be a Teqx that gave him a system. Then, everything that happened after that was all because of the system and the rewards it gave.
Grammo couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the truth. Patty definitely wasn’t lying; he was too lazy to make up some fantasy story. Which meant that Patty truly became an impossibly powerful student who could destroy Fiendish Armament without even touching it, all because he was lazy! If anyone ever heard him say that, they would say that he was lying and trying to cover up his secret training technique. They would never believe that Patty could get stronger by being lazy.
Patty believed that he was lazy. Every move he made was lazy, every decision was infused with the intent of being lazy. His whole life was without direction, with his only instruction was to be lazy. At this point, Grammo believed that Patty became the embodiment of laziness itself. He was so lazy that the universe itself believed him, and gave him these powers as a result. Grammo believed that was the reason why Patty became as strong as he was now.
“It all…makes sense now,” Grammo said.
“What makes sense?”
“Everything…”
Patty didn’t understand what he was saying and just shrugged. He was too lazy to think about things he didn't understand and didn't want to understand. And after he finished removing all of Grammo’s restraints, he looked at him with a serious face and asked;
“Are you fine now?”
Grammo nodded. “My throat still…hurts like heck, but…at least I can…talk a little better now.” When he touched his throat, he could feel a lump near his Adam's apple. This was the poison sac, which was now fully integrated into his body. He still couldn’t sing because of it, but at least he could talk now.
“Aside from…my throat, I wasn’t…really all that…roughed up…thanks for asking…”
Patty might have been lazy, but sometimes, he showed great care for his friends. It was one of his admiring traits. Grammo appreciated that Patty asked him if he was okay after all of that. After all, he was kidnapped and beaten, got his dream destroyed, forced to relive his traumatic past, and the guitar his sister gave him was destroyed into pieces. He went through a lot and he deserved to have peace and relaxation.
“Good.” Patty nodded. “Now get my rolling chair and push me home. I’m exhausted,” he said as he pointed at the rolling chair a few meters away from him.
“I spoke too soon.”
—------
The four organizers had their heads down as they faced Dione, who had his gaze looking out the window and over the garden below. He had been silent for at least an hour after they reported their failure in securing Patty as his personal student. They were ashamed.
“My apologies, sir Dione. I thought he wouldn’t need too much persuasion because all students would jump at the chance at working in our company, much more being a personal student of a big shot,” the leader said, with his head down.
“Apparently, not him. Or else, he would be here right now and starting his lessons with me.” Dione casually said. He had his arms behind his back, and he wasn’t facing the organizers. This terrified them because they couldn’t see his expression. Was he angry? Was he disappointed? Was he about to fire them?
“I suggest that we force the school to leave Patrick in our care, like an on-the-job training,” one of the organizers said. “If we make a sizable donation to the school, they will surely agree to our terms.”
The other organizers nodded to themselves and agreed to this suggestion. This would be the easiest way to get Patty to join their organization. It would be a win-win for all parties: Atlas gets a talented recruit, the school gets a new source of funds, and Patty gets to nurture his talent at a company that has the resources to do it.
“No.” but Dione quickly shot down his idea. “This is too big an action. People will start to ask questions. I don’t want anyone to get wind of this diamond in the rough.”
As far as he knew, there was no one else who knew about Patty’s real potential. If the Atlas company splashed around in the pond, predators will get attracted to the sound and start to investigate. Soon, they’ll find the reason why and take Patty for themselves. He can’t have that. Patty was integral to his plans for Atlas Inc.
“Have you sent out the investigators?” Dione asked.
Immediately, as if to make up for their mistake, they took out the folder from their suitcases and gave it to Dione. “This is what they found on Patrick Patterson.”
The informational background about Patty must have been 100 pages long, including his history, his hobbies, his grades, his favorite pastime, his day to day activities, and so much more. His background was actually much shorter than others because Patty didn’t do much in the day and he always stuck to his routine of going to school, going home, sleeping, and going to school.
But they were also caught up in recent events. “The Sunverk Company sent him an internship invitation?”
Dione’s words were quiet and calm, but they could feel the mountain shaking. They could tell he was angry, like a volcano about to explode.
“He has rejected their offer!”
“Did Sonny know?” Doine asked them.
“No, sir. As far as we know, this was all done by his son, Griff Sunverk, as a prank.”
Knowing the truth, Dione calmed down. Although the Sunverk Company wasn’t as big as Atlas Inc, Dione knew that if Sonny had his hands on Patty, he could quickly turn the situation around and have the Sunverk Company at the top in just a few years.
“Good,” Dione nodded. “For now, we move quietly. Unnoticed. Have someone planted in the school and act as our ears. We help him little by little, and build up our good reputation with him.”
“How, sir?”
Dione smiled. “When Patty has a problem, we solve it.”
After Griff woke up his lackeys, they all scooted away from the scene with their tails tucked between their legs. Ryan, Buck, and Jack took one last look at Patty when they left. They didn’t see what happened between the fight between him and Griff, but the fact that he was still standing still while Griff was going home depressed told them all they needed to know. Somehow, Patty was even stronger than they thought.
Soon after they left, Patty walked towards Grammo and touched his neck. Using his copied powers of Griff’s Sunverk Explosion Teqx, Patty was able to reverse-engineer the fire symbol imprinted on Grammo’s skin. Griff wouldn’t detonate it, because if he wanted to he could have, but Patty still decided to remove it.
At this point, Grammo wasn’t even surprised that Patty could do this. After the feat of destroying a Fiendish Armament without even using his hands, copying Griff’s Teqx felt like the least impressive thing Patty could do. It was truly mind-boggling to see. He thought Patty was just some run-of-the-mill lazy guy who got lucky a few times, but as it turned out Patty was some kind of genius monster with powers that even the top students would be envious of.
Sometimes, he felt like he got extremely lucky that he asked Patty for help. If he had asked someone else, they would have been destroyed by Griff. If not for Patty, this would have turned out very differently, and he was probably already expelled.
As Patty was removing the rope that tied his arms to the chair, Grammo asked him a very interesting question. “How…are you…so strong?”
“I don’t think I’m that strong,” Patty said as he casually ripped out a double-braided steel rope like he was tearing out a page from a book. “...Maybe I’m stronger than most people.”
“How did you get so powerful? Is this your innate talent and you just didn’t show it before? Did you inherit it from your family? Did you find a recluse master who gave you majestic powers just as he dies? Did you reincarnate from a different world where Teqx and powers like this were just fantasy? Are you from the future who dies from a very strong villain and you woke up back in time with all the powers you had then? Are you an author and you were suddenly transported into your own world so you know how to get all these overpowered skills? What did you do? How did you get it?”
Grammo overwhelmed him with questions. Some of those things were realistic, but untrue, while some of them were weirdly specific and very fantastical. He felt like some of those questions were some of the things he read in fantasy novels of the past. But no matter how creative they were, it was still untrue.
Patty just decided to tell the truth. “I was lazy.”
Grammo was speechless for a second. “You were…lazy? COUGH…What does…that even mean?”
“I meant it like I said it. I was lazy. I got my powers because I was lazy.”
Technically, Patty was telling the truth. Because he was lazy and wanted to stay at home instead of going to internships with Sam, Patty was suddenly hit by a meteorite that turned out to be a Teqx that gave him a system. Then, everything that happened after that was all because of the system and the rewards it gave.
Grammo couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the truth. Patty definitely wasn’t lying; he was too lazy to make up some fantasy story. Which meant that Patty truly became an impossibly powerful student who could destroy Fiendish Armament without even touching it, all because he was lazy! If anyone ever heard him say that, they would say that he was lying and trying to cover up his secret training technique. They would never believe that Patty could get stronger by being lazy.
Patty believed that he was lazy. Every move he made was lazy, every decision was infused with the intent of being lazy. His whole life was without direction, with his only instruction was to be lazy. At this point, Grammo believed that Patty became the embodiment of laziness itself. He was so lazy that the universe itself believed him, and gave him these powers as a result. Grammo believed that was the reason why Patty became as strong as he was now.
“It all…makes sense now,” Grammo said.
“What makes sense?”
“Everything…”
Patty didn’t understand what he was saying and just shrugged. He was too lazy to think about things he didn't understand and didn't want to understand. And after he finished removing all of Grammo’s restraints, he looked at him with a serious face and asked;
“Are you fine now?”
Grammo nodded. “My throat still…hurts like heck, but…at least I can…talk a little better now.” When he touched his throat, he could feel a lump near his Adam's apple. This was the poison sac, which was now fully integrated into his body. He still couldn’t sing because of it, but at least he could talk now.
“Aside from…my throat, I wasn’t…really all that…roughed up…thanks for asking…”
Patty might have been lazy, but sometimes, he showed great care for his friends. It was one of his admiring traits. Grammo appreciated that Patty asked him if he was okay after all of that. After all, he was kidnapped and beaten, got his dream destroyed, forced to relive his traumatic past, and the guitar his sister gave him was destroyed into pieces. He went through a lot and he deserved to have peace and relaxation.
“Good.” Patty nodded. “Now get my rolling chair and push me home. I’m exhausted,” he said as he pointed at the rolling chair a few meters away from him.
“I spoke too soon.”
—------
The four organizers had their heads down as they faced Dione, who had his gaze looking out the window and over the garden below. He had been silent for at least an hour after they reported their failure in securing Patty as his personal student. They were ashamed.
“My apologies, sir Dione. I thought he wouldn’t need too much persuasion because all students would jump at the chance at working in our company, much more being a personal student of a big shot,” the leader said, with his head down.
“Apparently, not him. Or else, he would be here right now and starting his lessons with me.” Dione casually said. He had his arms behind his back, and he wasn’t facing the organizers. This terrified them because they couldn’t see his expression. Was he angry? Was he disappointed? Was he about to fire them?
“I suggest that we force the school to leave Patrick in our care, like an on-the-job training,” one of the organizers said. “If we make a sizable donation to the school, they will surely agree to our terms.”
The other organizers nodded to themselves and agreed to this suggestion. This would be the easiest way to get Patty to join their organization. It would be a win-win for all parties: Atlas gets a talented recruit, the school gets a new source of funds, and Patty gets to nurture his talent at a company that has the resources to do it.
“No.” but Dione quickly shot down his idea. “This is too big an action. People will start to ask questions. I don’t want anyone to get wind of this diamond in the rough.”
As far as he knew, there was no one else who knew about Patty’s real potential. If the Atlas company splashed around in the pond, predators will get attracted to the sound and start to investigate. Soon, they’ll find the reason why and take Patty for themselves. He can’t have that. Patty was integral to his plans for Atlas Inc.
“Have you sent out the investigators?” Dione asked.
Immediately, as if to make up for their mistake, they took out the folder from their suitcases and gave it to Dione. “This is what they found on Patrick Patterson.”
The informational background about Patty must have been 100 pages long, including his history, his hobbies, his grades, his favorite pastime, his day to day activities, and so much more. His background was actually much shorter than others because Patty didn’t do much in the day and he always stuck to his routine of going to school, going home, sleeping, and going to school.
But they were also caught up in recent events. “The Sunverk Company sent him an internship invitation?”
Dione’s words were quiet and calm, but they could feel the mountain shaking. They could tell he was angry, like a volcano about to explode.
“He has rejected their offer!”
“Did Sonny know?” Doine asked them.
“No, sir. As far as we know, this was all done by his son, Griff Sunverk, as a prank.”
Knowing the truth, Dione calmed down. Although the Sunverk Company wasn’t as big as Atlas Inc, Dione knew that if Sonny had his hands on Patty, he could quickly turn the situation around and have the Sunverk Company at the top in just a few years.
“Good,” Dione nodded. “For now, we move quietly. Unnoticed. Have someone planted in the school and act as our ears. We help him little by little, and build up our good reputation with him.”
“How, sir?”
Dione smiled. “When Patty has a problem, we solve it.”
