The alarm clock ringed, waking up a short brown-haired boy, Arthur. Life had been hard for him, and he wasn't in the mood for celebrating his birthday, so he slapped the alarm clock.
"Shut up, stupid alarm," the room turned silent again, and Arthur got lost in thoughts. Why it had to be him, the one without an ability? Almost everyone had one, and he always thought he was different from others. Special. At least it was what his mother said to him before she died.
"Today is the entrance test to the academy. How on Earth will I pass without an ability? I'll be a laughing stock, damn it."
The Stragorn Battle Academy accepted students every year. Crowded as one of the best among the best, the academy was the go-to to every aspiring student who wished to master their ability and rise in the military rank.
Having an ability was a must to enter the academy, but Arthur would try it anyway. He washed his face and tried hard to find his pair of glasses. The clothing he had on wasn't that good, but it suited well on him.
Arthur lived in the city of Hrigdrora. It wasn't big as the capital, but it was big enough. The entrance test for the Stragorn Battle Academy would take place in the academy itself, so Arthur had to take a three-hour bus to get there, and the only reason he had the money to pay for it was that it was free. The academy paid for the transport and accommodation to all of its students, and your privileges inside the academy would vary, depending on your ability level.
Every ability had its natural limit. It was hard to reach the apex, and humans were not completely sure if that was the end of it. Humankind didn't know a lot of things about the abilities, and who knows when will they ever.
"ID, please," a uniformed man asked Arthur. He was the representative from the academy and would inspect every person who comes inside the bus.
"Arthur Bell," you can come in.
Arthur walked towards the bus door, but before he managed to enter, the representative hand grabbed Arthur's jacket.
"Wait a second. It says here you don't have an ability. Is that correct?" Arthur knew that he wouldn't pass without them noticing that detail, and there wasn't much he could do, except tell the truth.
"Yes. I don't have an ability," he said.
"Look, kid. I know that there are no prohibitions for those without an ability to participate in the tests, but don't waste your time kid. You're not gonna make it," the representative said some words that hurt Arthur, but deep down he knew the man was telling him the truth. He just couldn't accept it.
"I know, I know," Arthur laid his head down after saying these words, but somehow he got the courage to look into the representative's face, saying, "But I have to try."
"If you say so kid, go for it. I admire your guts," the man released Arthur's arms and continued to call the other students.
The bus had plenty of space, and Arthur was one of the first students to enter it, so he had the option to choose any seat he wanted. Of course, he decided to go for the last.
Arthur always had been shy since he was little. He preferred to sit alone, far from everyone.
"Isn't that the skilless Arthur? What are you doing here? HAHAHA," it didn't take long before the students started to mock Arthur. They were all from the same school, so everyone knew that he didn't have an ability.
The mockery entered in one ear and left the other. Arthur had endured the mocking for so long that it didn't affect him anymore.
Among all that mockery, a voice entered Arthur's ears, and it was something he wasn't expecting.
"Is this seat taken?" a beautiful lady asked Arthur, who was shocked by her appearance.
"No, it's not. Why would you think that? Didn't you notice that everyone inside the bus is mocking me?" he said, adjusting his rounded glasses.
"Not everyone is mocking you. I'm not," she didn't wait for Arthur's response and sat at his side.
"I'm Heather btw. What's your name?" Heather moved her hand, asking for a hand-shake.
Arthur was taken by surprise by the actions of that girl, and he went silent for a few seconds before realizing that was happening.
"I'm Arthur. Nice to meet you," he shook hands with her.
And it was at that moment, that something strange happened. Something that Arthur couldn't predict.
[Congratulations User]
[ Absorption System Unlocked]
[ Name of the host: Arthur Bell]
"What?" Arthur blinked his eyes non-stop. He couldn't believe the message that appeared in front of his eyes.
"Is everything all right, Arthur?" Heather noticed his strange behavior and asked if everything was ok.
"Oh, sorry. Yes, it is. I was just lost in my thoughts," more and more notifications started to pop in front of his eyes, and Arthur was starting to understand what was happening.
"My ability!!!"
Arthur tried his best to hold his tears. All those years of suffering would vanish, and he would finally be able to achieve greatness.
[Name: Arthur Bell] [ Level: 0 ]
[Strength: 1]
[Agility: 1]
[Endurance: 1]
[Free points: 0]
[Ability slot: Creation Ability level 1]
[Please level up to unlock more Ability slots.]
Arthur analyzed his ability, and if his guess was correct, it was overpowered. It seems that he was able to level up just like in games and upgrade his attributes to make his body stronger. Another thing was that his ability enabled him to absorb other's people abilities. He had at that moment a Creation Ability level 1, which he guessed was from the lady he just touched hands.
"So Heather, I don't know if it's rude to ask but, what's your ability?" Arthur wanted to make sure if her ability was the same that appeared on his system screen.
"It's okay. You would learn eventually inside the academy. It's a Creation Ability. I can create a sort of magical weapon or anything that I can imagine. I usually create a bow. I need to learn how to use the weapon or else it will be useless, and right now, I only know how to use a bow. I can create larger things, a house for example, but it requires too much power, and I don't have it yet. I'm currently rank 3 in the ability." Heather explained a lot of things to Arthur, and he was surprised that she exposed herself that much.
Humans separated abilities in rankings, according to what proficiency you had. Heather's parents for example have the same ability as her, but instead of a rank 3, they could be rank 10 or more.
Inside the system, it says Creation Ability level 1, which probably meant the same as rank 1.
"That's a lot of things. Aren't you afraid that I may hurt you?" Arthur asked.
"You don't seem the type to do that. Anyway, can we talk while we are on the road? It's so boring here," Heather said.
"Of course, I agree on that."
They both talked during the trip, and the bus eventually stopped. Arthur wasn't afraid of failing the test anymore, because now he had an ability, and he would show everyone what he was capable of.