Thaleus woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. Kip and Derek had actually woken up before him for the first time. They had met up with Alice and all pitched in to get Thaleus something that only he didn't have out of the four of them. (I forgot to mention that as they got to the academy each student was given a bracelet which stored credits as students they receive 500 credits a month.) Thaleus had been saving his credits because he was always used to being in poverty and saving up his funds to go eat nice once every few months. (He received 100 credits a month as an orphan to support the bare minimum lifestyle he lived before the academy.)
Alice, Kip, and Derek were coming up to Thaleus's door when he opened it yawning. Kip held a parcel in his hands and started when the door opened unexpectedly. Thaleus opened his eyes after his big yawn and was face to face with Kip "Oh Shit! Man, why are you standing outside my door this early in the morning!" He started.
"We were coming to grab you for breakfast and were gonna put this on your bed, we thought you were working out again." Thaleus peered behind Kip to see Alice and Derek standing behind Kip. He narrowed his eyes "Uh, what's going on guys?"
"Honestly wanted to give you something for helping me out with getting stronger and these two wanted to help me get it for you." Kip lifted his hands to show Thaleus the parcel he was holding.
"Oh that's for me?" Thaleus's face brightened up. Other than the watch that was left by his parents he had never received a gift from anyone.
"Yeah, we noticed that you never spent the credits the academy gave you when we got here and Kip remembered that you didn't come to the academy with anything which gave us an idea that you're use to saving your credits out of necessity." Derek chimed in.
Kip pushed the parcel into Thaleus's hands "Let's go get breakfast. You can open it in the mess hall cause I'm starving." Kip promptly reversed himself and started booking it to the mess hall. "Last one there's a Ragnor's sheddings!" he yelled over his shoulder.
"Oh it's so on" The other's yelled as a mad dash for the mess hall ensued. (Ragnors shed their skin once every few years as their wings grow. No one knows why it isn't just subject to their wings, but if you're lucky enough to catch one while it's shedding this is when they are the most vulnerable.)
The group had reached the mess hall and were currently digging into their meals when Thaleus stopped and pulled the parcel out of his pocket. "Since you guys have been so kind to me I've made a decision." He glanced up from the parcel looking at his friends expectantly. His tone carried a weight to his words causing his friends to stop eating to listen.
"I'm sure that you guys have figured out that I do indeed have an ability."
"WHAT!" Derek yelled causing everyone to stop and look at their table. "Quiet down I can't have other people hearing this." Thaleus glanced at Derek murderously.
"sorry, it just caught me off guard."
"I think all of us are taken back a bit." Alice replied angrily. "Shouldn't you have told us already considering we're friends."
"I understand you guys may be angry however my ability isn't like other abilities."
"Are you sure about this?" Dom echoed in his mind.
"Yes, if I can't trust my friends who can I trust?"
"So first things first, my ability didn't come in the form of a pill, it was injected into me after a family memento was broken. It also seems to be an advanced AI as I can actually level up and level my abilities up and it can coach me through all of it."
"Hold up, so you're saying that your ability is pretty much it's own entity?" Alice asked.
"In a sense yes, but it's more of a voice to guide me on how to unlock my full potential. It's also the reason I've gotten so strong so fast because every time I level up I can dish out stats to make stronger faster and harder to hurt. Not to mention it can give me quests to earn more rewards."
"Dude that's insane, isn't that pretty much cheating to get stronger?" Derek spoke next.
"I guess you could call it that if that helps you understand it better." Thaleus replied
"Um, wh- what exactly is your ability?" finally Kip asked the question that the others had been wondering.
"I have the power to manipulate time."