4: Rank Beyond Human

CHAPTER FOUR

"YOUR complaint is being processed, Rushton. We'll just call you if we have any updates regarding this matter," the officer said upon returning snapping Gale from his daze.

"Thank you, Sir," Gale replied, bowing slightly to show his respect as he stood before leaving the station.

While walking, Gale decided to check on the notification from the weird system that seemed to be inside his head. He was staring at it earlier, clueless, when the officer interrupted him.

Now that he's alone, he can check on it while walking back to Lexington Academy campus.

[System Sync Complete]

[You are now ranking up]

[Ranking Up Status: 2%]

Gale frowned upon reading the notifications again. He's really confused about this system thingy as it seemed to be loading all the time.

'What's the use of it when it's always like this?' He complained in his mind and decided to close the system as it only hinders his line of vision.

After more than thirty minutes of walk, Gale finally arrived at the Academy Campus. But as he approached the school's main gate, a shrill siren of a police car blared behind him. The vehicle screeched to a halt, and three police officers leaped out, one of them shouted at him, "Mr. Gale Rushton, come with us quietly!"

The officer drew a gun and pointed it at Gale. Unable to react as everything seemed too fast, the other police personnel had already pounched at him and forcefully pim him to the ground and slapping cold handcuffs onto his wrists.

"Officers, w-wait. What did I do?" Gale stammered as he tried to get away from the officers grip. But because there were two officers holding him, he couldn't get away from them.

"Stay quiet if you know what's good for you," the officer snapped, yanking him to his feet and shoving him into the police car.

"This is illegal! What am I being arrested for? Do you have a warrant?" Gale's protests fell on deaf ears as he was roughly manhandled into the back seat.

"Shut up!" the other officer growled, slamming the door shut behind him. "We know the law better than you."

Defeated, Gale sat in stunned silence, his heart pounding as the car sped towards the police station. What could he have done to deserve this?

But this question will be soon answered as, after several minutes they arrive at their destination.

At the station, the officers dragged him out of the car and entering through the dimly lit corridors to the office of the police chief. Inside, Gale's eyes fell on Gin Lopez, seating beside a middle-aged man who exuded authority in the seat in front of the city chief of police. The man looked at Gale from head to foot disdainfully.

As expected, the Lopez family was now flexing their power. Gale's heart pounded with a mixed of anger and nervousness but he braced himself.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Mr. Rushton," the middle-aged man began, his tone dripping with formality. "I am Attorney Cris Napier, Associate Legal Counsel for the Lopez Group. We received a report about a police blotter you filed against Mr. Gin Lopez. However, we found your statements defamatory compelling us to file a complaint of oral defamation and slander, supported by sufficient evidence, which led to the issuance of your arrest warrant. That's why you're here."

"It's the truth!" Gale's voice cracked as tears welled up in his eyes. "Gin knows what he did to me."

"You'll have the chance to prove that in court, Mr. Rushton," Napier replied with icy calm. "For now, you'll be staying behind bars."

"No! Please, sir! I'm innocent! Gin knows I'm the victim here!" Gale plead in desperation as horrible thoughts started to fill his mind about what would happen if he were to be detained.

But his pleas were ignored as he was escorted to the detention cells.

"Quiet!" the officer barked, dragging him away.

"Please, sir! Have mercy! I'm the victim!" he cried, his voice echoing down the hall as the cell door clanged shut.

Left alone in the cold, damp cell, Gale sank to the floor. Despair gnawed at him. His future, his education, all seemed lost now. He had stood up against a powerful family, only to find himself crushed under the weight of their influence.

From the shadows of the cell, a calm voice spoke. "Relax, kid. You'll eventually get out of here."

Gale turned to see two men, shirtless, sitting on the bare bunks. They watched him with a mix of curiosity and pity.

"What are you in for?" asked a thin man with a mustache.

"Slander," Gale replied, wiping his tears. He didn't want to appear weak fearing that maybe these detainees would took advantage of this, even though they seemed nice.

"That's nothing. Thirty days tops, or pay bail and you're out," said the muscular man with tattoos, trying to reassure him.

"But I'm telling the truth. They beat me up and threw me into a lake. It was an attempted murder," Gale insisted.

"Are they rich?" the tattooed man asked.

Gale nodded. "The Lopez family, of this very city."

"No wonder," the tattooed man said. "The justice system in this country is rotten. The rich and powerful made the laws, so, naturally, they don't know what it's like to be poor. Therefore if you're up against those rich families, don't expect to win. As it is said, justice is just for the wealthy."

The mustached man nodded. "That's right. Just look at me, I was caught cutting down a few dead trees to sell for firewood so my family would have something to eat. They arrested me for violating RA 3571 and PD 953. Meanwhile, illegal loggers cut thousands of trees and get away with it because they can pay off the authorities. But how about us? I got punished for trying to survive saying that what I did may harm the nature. But they didn't think about that same reason when releasing a permit to those big mining companies, who destroyed mountains." The man added.

"In my case, I had accidentally sideswiped an LTO officer at a blind curve while driving my tricycle," the tattooed man chimed in. "I was arrested on the spot, beaten, and charged with reckless driving. Meanwhile, there was this rich guy who deliberately runs over a security guard. And what did he get? An appearance in the press conference with the authorities trying to clear his name to the public, instead of jail time."

"Do you see how the men of justice toyed us, poor people?"

As Gale listened to their sentiments, anger was bubbling up inside him. The justice system was skewed against the poor. And it turned out that he was just another victim in a long line of injustices.

"Quiet down in there!" a policeman barked as he approached their cell. "Stop filling the kid's head with your nonsense."

"We're just telling the truth, sir," the tattooed man said calmly. "We're all victims of this unfair justice system."

"Enough!" the officer snapped, opening the cell door. "You two are being transferred to the Provincial Jail now."

"So soon?" the mustached man said, slipping on his shirt. "Guess our ten days are up."

As the men were cuffed and led away, the tattooed man turned to Gale. "Don't lose hope, kid. If justice on earth fails, remember there's still divine justice, it would never fail."

Gale nodded, watching them leave. Left alone, he sat on his bunk, contemplating their words. Justice was indeed flawed, and he was just caught in its harsh reality. But how could he fight against such overwhelming power?

In frustration, Gale gripped the iron bars of his cell and tried to shake it to vent his anger. To his astonishment, the bars bent under his hands.

"What...?" He stared at the deformed metal bar in disbelief. "How was this possible?"

But then, a notification sound that only he can hear came answering his question. Thinking about the weird system again, it immediately displayed before his eyes.

[Ranking Up Status: 100%]

[Ranking Up Complete]

[Congratulations! You are now in a rank beyond human]

[User: Gale Rushton]

[Rank: Half Gile]

[Level: 1]

[0/100 Exp for next level up]

[HP: 10]

[Strength: 10]

[Agility: 10]

[Stamina: 10]

[Skill 1: Locked - User needs to reach level 2 to unlock the skill]

'What is this? Why does it felt like I'm in a type of a game? And what's a Half Gile mean?' Gale asked unable to comprehend everything that's going on.

But in his mind, he somewhat wants to believe that he is now in a rank more than human as there was something that's currently surging in every veins of his body giving off a warm refreshing feeling.

Thinking that this could be the reason why he can bend the iron bar in his cell, he decided to try it to find out whether it's the case or not. He then focused his strength, gripping the bars again. And as he moved his hands he saw that the bars he's holding was easily bent, creating a gap wide enough for him to slip through.

Suddenly, in the midst of shock and disbelief about his unbelievable strength, an idea came in Gale's mind: he created a gap in the bars just wide enough for him to go out, should he use this opportunity to escape?

####

So it seems that this system has really improved Gale's strength.

What do you think are the other capabilities that he can do from here on?

Read on to find out.

But please don't forget to vote and comment.