The Heroic Rings

"Aaa..ccc.ross, the cosmos?! What's a cosmos? Is it dangerous?!" Latch asked in terror.

"You know what? You're right, Latch. Too much too soon isn't good for anyone. So let's talk about the heroic rings. You're wondering what's so special about them, right?"

Latch and Ubaid nodded their heads together.

"Fine, then there's someone you boys need to meet."

The boys looked at one another, unsure about the Chief's words.

"Who do you want us to meet?" Latch asked.

"Both of you, close your eyes. As you close your eyes, think about the ring on your finger, and as you think about the ring, slowly turn your image of the ring into a door. Now, knock on the door two times."

<Whose there?>

"Doctor," The Village Chief said.

<Doctor who?>

"Dr. Universo!" The Village Chief cried out.

<But, that's impossible!>

The boy's mind turned hazy, and they heard the boastful voice again as they opened their eyes.

"FOR I AM DR. UNIVERSO!"

A man dressed in black shoes, black slacks, a white button-up shirt with a Doctor's coat, mask, stethoscope, and majestic cape appeared!

The boys were stunned by the strangely dressed man. However, this man's appearance wasn't the most shocking thing they saw. Two mountains appeared; one Mountain was grander and taller than the other. These mountains were slowly spinning, and around the mountains, giant gray men stood chained together to the mountain. Some of those men were dressed even more flamboyantly than Dr. Universo.

Latch looked at the strange men chained to the Mountains. Then, he looked at Dr. Universo, and again, he looked back to the mountains. His eyes began to water. His legs began to shake until you could hear them knocking together. Then, throwing back his head, Latch released a mighty roar to the heavens!

"VILLAGE CHIEF, UBAID, SAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!"

After screaming, Latch fainted. The Village Chief, Ubaid, and Dr. Universo looked at the unconscious Latch. Dr. Universo's expression changed to a thoughtful one.

"This must be the sidekick," he said. The Village Chief and Ubaid shook their heads no. Dr. Universo jumped in surprise.

"Well, that's just silly!" He said.

Latch eventually woke up. He raised his body and saw the village chief, Ubaid, and anicely dressed gentleman enjoying snacks and drinks. The nicely dressed gentleman was reading something. It looked like it was some paper.

"Latch, welcome back. Come and join us." The Chief gestured to a chair next to him. Latch stood up and sat in the chair. He looked around and found the environment so appealing. They sat in chairs beneath a beautiful tree as the wind gently caressed their faces. Taking a deep breath, Latch released the air with pure satisfaction. The smell was bliss.

"I would like to introduce you to my good friend Dr. Emanuel Carlos Michael Roberto Ray Ray Johnson Mendoza Sanchez Angel Rodriguez Martinez." The Chief said.

"Wow, those are a lot of names!"

"It's like the old saying: a name is a blessing, and many names are many blessings, and with many blessings comes a good life." Dr. Rodriguez Martinez said.

"Which reminds me of the saying: Having too much of a good thing is like having too little of a bad thing."

Dr. Rodriguez Martinez thought for a moment but couldn't puzzle out Latch's meaning.

"I don't understand; what does your saying have to do with my saying?"

"Nothing, it's just that your saying reminded me of my saying. I thought I made that clear," Latch responded.

"This is the best you could find?" Dr. Rodriguez Martinez said as he looked at the Village Chief.

"He's a very good candidate," The Village Chief said quietly.

"That's what the last Village Chief said about you, and what happened? The first girl you meet, you marry and take her back to the village. You lasted what, a year as the Hero?"

"Well, it was slightly more than a year, and during that year, we fought a lot of injustice," the Village Chief said.

"Village Chief, you were a Hero?! I never knew this," Ubaid said in amazement.

"He probably didn't have the face to tell you since he completely lacked any commitment for the job. Oh well, love is important too," Dr. Rodriguez Martinez said with a gentle smile.

"Latch, I need to explain how things work. Do you think you can handle it if I show you what you saw earlier but smaller?"

"Yes, sir, Dr. Rodriguez Martinez. What happened to that crazy-looking fellow from earlier?" Latch asked as he looked around.

"Don't worry about that, Latch; he had something to take care of. He asked his good friend to explain things to you. Now, please listen carefully," the Village Chief said with a chuckle. Dr. Rodgriguez Martinez was not amused.

"Oh, Okay, sorry." Latch looked at Ubaid, who focused on a butterfly that landed on the table.

"I hoped to spend more time with you, but I'll keep this short. I have a patient I need to get back to.

The two mountains appeared once more, but this time the mountains weren't much bigger than a cat.

"This spinning Mountain is called Hero Mountain, while the smaller one is Sidekick Hill. Notice the men attached to the Mountain and how there are levels and each level has fewer men?"

"Yes." Latch and Ubaid answered together.

"These represent the different levels of heroes from across the multiverse. The base of the Mountain is the weakest level of heroes. Each level you ascend on the Mountain, the heroes become more powerful.

The heroes at the very bottom are at the peak of human capabilities. There are twelve ranking levels. From Weakest to highest, the ranks are Initiate, Hero, Guru, Formidable, Exalted, Dynamo, Celestial, Boundless, Astral, Supreme, Supreme Superhuman, and Sublime Supreme Superhuman.

All heroes start at the Initiate level. The gap in power between each level is immense."

"Why are all of these people gray?" Latch couldn't help but ask.

"It means that they aren't available to you. None of them are available because we haven't finished our orientation.

Once we finish, all of the heroes at the Initiate level will no longer be grayed out."

"Who are these people between the different levels?"

"Ah, those are the Transitional or Bridge Heroes."

"Bridge Hero?"

"Yes, it means you must choose a bridge hero before you can move up a level. The Bridge Heroes will remain gray until you gain enough experience and expertise at the Initiate level. "

"I don't understand," Latch said.

"Don't worry about it, the Village Cheif can give you a more detailed explanation, and I'll also give you a book explaining everything you need to know in detail.

The book is 'Everything You Need to Know In Detail About Ascending Hero Mountain By Dr. Universo With Dr. Emanuel Carlos Michael Roberto Ray Ray Johnson Mendoza Sanchez Angel Rodriguez Martinez and a Foreward by Sterling Stevens.'

"That's a long title," Latch said.

"It's a long journey you're embarking on," Dr. Rodriguez Martinez responded.

"Here's the important thing. Do you see who's standing at the very top of the Mountain?"

Latch and Ubaid looked very close and were surprised.

"Isn't that the strange-looking guy from earlier?" Latch asked.

Dr. Rodriguez Martinez seemed put out but answered Latch anyway.

"Yes, he's the last Hero, the only Hero to choose. Once you finish with him, the hero ring will be passed to the next Hero."

"But Dr. Rodriguez Martinez, what happens to me?"

"What happens to you? Well, you become the new Hero at the top of the Mountain. You become your new Hero."

"What?"

"If you think that's interesting, look at the top of Sidekick Hill." The Boys looked and were even more surprised. At the top of Sidekick Hill stood Ubaid, with different styles of fantastic clothes changing constantly.

"What does this mean?" Ubaid asked.

"It means that when you reach the top of Sidekick Hill, You become a Hero and your Sidekick ring becomes a Hero ring!"