Oliver sighed to himself as he failed yet again to hire a new S rank into his agency. He had spent literally all of his saved up gems only to fail yet again.
"Looks like it's going to be another full month of grinding for gems... Gacha hell sucks."
He eventually placed his phone away and moved towards the computer desk in his room. He had a whole gaming set up with a nice computer at the centre of it all. After pulling out a notebook, he got to work.
He had finally received those answers from his friend!.
It isn't copying, it's called information sharing.
Oliver smiled as he finished up with the last answer and pulled out a sticky note to place on his computer. It was to remind him to buy school lunch for his friend when the week starts. So far, his day had gone well, and he had enjoyed some donuts for a late-night snack.
He watched a few videos on his computer before chatting online. Just the average weekend for him and he felt a yawn build up. After what was a long time, he couldn't resist anymore, and he moved to his bed. Whatever he had forgotten to deal with could wait till tomorrow.
And so Oliver slept at midnight.
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(The Next Day)
Oliver rubbed his eyes with his sleeve as he struggled to remain awake. His mother was washing the dishes beside him in the kitchen, a new toothpick in her mouth.
"Come on champ, can't have you spend your weekend without doing some chores."
"That's the problem though... it's the weekend."
He couldn't find much energy, it seemed. It was almost illogical. After all, what could be the reason he was still sleepy? It's not like he slept late at night...
{That's the damn reason, isn't it?}
He could only feel bitter about his stupidity and continued to scrub the dirty dishes. After everything was scrubbed and rinsed, Oliver tried to sneak out of the kitchen, only to bump into his dad.
The giant of a man appeared to be just as tired as his son. A messy head of black short curls and barely opened eyes. He scratched his recently shaved beard as he entered the kitchen to prepare himself breakfast. He didn't look like he had slept well.
"You alright, dad?"
"OH! sorry about that... yea, I'm just sort of tired."
A distant look was in his eyes as he forced a smile to appear fine. Oliver simply frowned before leaving the kitchen with an apple in his hand. He wasn't unaware, but simply acted unbothered. It was his fault, but he refused to hold himself back on his parents' account.
{Don't worry... I believe I'll come out unchanged. And become a hero.}
(After a few hours)
Oliver stood at the door while staring at his phone. He was running his free hand through his black hair while humming the theme song of his gacha game. After checking the time multiple times, he felt himself growing agitated.
"HURRY UP DAD!! THERE ISN'T MUCH TIME!!"
"SORRY!!"
Oliver's dad levitated to the door using his ability. He was wearing a suit with a badge pinned to his breast-pocket. A stupid smile was on his face as he hovered a bit off the ground and a slice of toast in his mouth.
"Just had to pick up a quick bite."
Oliver couldn't help but smile as he walked out the door with his father hovering behind him slowly. He was a B-rank evolved and one of the few people with the telekinesis ability. He could control the motion of objects surrounding him, including himself. It was such a special ability that he could even allow them to defy gravity and rise to the sky.
A quick tap on the shoulder and Oliver felt himself rise from the ground. He wasn't in control, however, and that always left a sinking feeling in his stomach. His dad smirked at his son's expression and slowly rose higher into the air, son in tow.
Their flight didn't go unnoticed and children playing stopped just to watch the two rocket off towards the UGS Sydney branch.
They rose higher and higher into the air and the oxygen got less. Temperatures dropped and Oliver got uncomfortable as he watched the terrain below him shift at terrifying speed. Eventually, his dad noticed and immediately slowed down and dropped altitude.
Although they couldn't speak well with the speed they were moving, Oliver gave a thumb up to signify he was fine now. In the distance was a giant skyscraper that appeared like a giant spire. It was an architectural masterpiece with multiple towers poking out of its top and lights decorating its lower floors.
It was the UGS building within the metropolis of Sydney. It acted as the head of operations for all UGS activities in what remained of Australia.
The pair dropped altitude immediately as they approached and the busy streets below became much more visible. They could not fly within 7000metres of the skyscraper and had to enter through the gate like everyone else.
It was a surprise for several as the two landed on the ground and walked towards the castle gates. There was a line, and Oliver's dad sighed as they waited for their turn. Once it was their turn, they produced identification papers and stated what they were there for.
With a minor delay, a military officer guided them towards the teleportation ring for the gene research tower.
There was a close watch of security as military officers frisked them and a B-rank evolved used their ability to detect any lies on what their purpose there was. After all the security detail, they were allowed into the teleportation ring and they flashed in sparkles of blue before reappearing in one tower.
It was a giant structure of a completely white design. The furniture, walls and even doors were a sterile white, and it almost hurt one's eyes. The pair walked towards the reception desks and thankfully, there wasn't much of a line.
They got their immediate admission and were led into a hallway by one of the staff. She showed them several of the labs and attractions of the gene research tower. Monuments of major contributors to gene research mainly occupied the tower.
Oliver and his dad enjoyed the tour and would often ask questions regarding gene research. It was a vast project that was considered highly classified and one of the world's top priorities. Of course, they shared general information, such as how often evolved genes could reoccur in a family with the public. But if one tried to dig deep, they would most likely end up dead before they found out the webs of truth.
Once the tour ended, the staff member led them to a recreation room and they could buy from the canteen. The test would start when they best felt comfortable.
Oliver bought a BLT sandwich with a can of soda. They handed him his sandwich on a foam plate and he sat down next to his father on a corner table of the room. The man was chewing on what looked like plastic salad and had a can of energy drink by his side.
"You ready champ?"
"No... not yet..."
Oliver kept glancing around the room, hoping to find his friend. They were supposed to meet up at the recreation hall and take the test together. They had even made sure their schedules matched up and allowed them time to meet up.
He frowned as he pulled out his phone and opened the chat with his friend. It seemed there were some missed messages and Oliver realised it probably sent them when he was struggling with that system app.
He called it the System App.
[Sorry mate... my dad's worried about the test so I won't make it tomorrow. Hope you do well and come back with something to brag to those useless blokes from school. ^-^.]
Oliver bit his tongue as he tried to find the words to text back. Eventually, he just settled on not typing anything. He would simply come to school tomorrow with an ability to show his friend.
{That's a lot better than texting.}
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