In this type of society, those who didn't have abilities were seen as disposable people. They were at the bottom of the food chain and were regularly bullied by the strong.
So when the military woman said that Kye didn't have any ability, the reaction in the students' group was mixed.
First, there was Kye who gulped down and stepped forward to proceed with his test.
Then, there was Ambry, who began to laugh and trash talk Kye. He was already doing it before, but for fear that he was someone with strong ability, he hold back himself. But now that he knew that he didn't have any abilities, he just lashed at him. He said that he was the biggest tr*sh he had ever seen and that he should be dead instead of wasting their time.
There was also Kathia. She didn't say anything, but it was clear that she was surprised. Yugo, who obviously came from an influential family was talking to him as if they were friends. But now that she knew that Kye was just a poor level one, she didn't understand why Yugo was even batting an eye for him. It was rarely heard of. A high-level talking on friendly terms with a poor level one wasn't something common.
And last but not least, there was Yugo. He too was surprised. But he then quickly understood why Kye was like this.
'Is this why he was so afraid of me earlier? And is this why he didn't say anything even when Ambry was tr*sh talking to him?' He thought seeing Kye's back.
"Kye Vermillion, please come here," The woman said as Kye did what she told him.
She then put something out of a bag that was on her side. It looks like an orb. An ability orb. And to be more precise, it was the air ability orb. There were what seemed like winds that were dancing inside of it.
Seeing an ability orb in front of him for the first time, Kye got shocked. He didn't expect to see something as pretty as that. And unconsciously, something was drawing him toward it.
"Kye, would you like to obtain this air ability orb?" The woman asked.
Seeing the orb a little closer, Kye was about to accept, but after a moment, he thought of something. 'Wait, why are they giving me this for free? And isn't the military ability of predilection the air ability? Does that mean that I would need to stay with them if I have it?'
As Kye thought, the military had indeed the priority over the air ability. It was specialized in this element, so a lot of people in the military have this one. And if one wanted to upgrade its air ability, it needed to join the army because the latter had the monopole over this ability.
And Kye, even though was an orphan for a long time now, had a time with his parents too. And the thing that they had repeated to him multiple times until he knew it by heart was to believe in the principle of equivalent exchange.
Nothing was free in this world, and he knew it very well thanks to his parents. So he didn't think that the military would give him an ability without asking for anything in return. And since after having an ability, it was impossible to have another one, he decided to not take it.
Sure the air ability was strong, but now that he had a system, he decided to wait for a little.
So after a moment of hesitation, he finally said, "Thank you for your generosity, but I must decline."
"W-wait, what?" Everyone around the military woman said or thought the same thing
"I said that I must decline your offer."
"Why? I mean, are you sure?" She was perplexed, but she needed to continue the test because there were still other students to test after this group.
"Yes, I'm sure of it. And once again, thank you for your generosity," Kye even bowed his head a little.
"Well, it's normal, so you don't have to do this," She said, "Anyway, please begin your test now."
Kye nodded and began to head toward the strength area and prepared himself.
He then took as much momentum as he could, and punched the punching ball.
The numbers then began to slowly go up. Alas, it wasn't for long because Kye just scored a poor 3 points.
He then went to the agility area, and there, he did a little better than the last test since he had managed to score 5 points.
Last, for the endurance test, he got 4 points.
Seeing his poor result, Kye's mood was a little down but still went back to the group.
And seeing him come back, Yugo has a smile on his face. In the beginning, he was shocked that Kye didn't have any ability, but after he had refused the air ability from the military, he was quite proud of him. If he had accepted, he would have indeed been chained down for his entire life, and he wouldn't have been able to discover the world. Also, taking this ability didn't mean that his bullying would have stopped, so when he didn't take it, Yugo knew that Kye wasn't just a bullyable person. He was strong on the inside and just needed to be well surrounded and have a good ability.
So when Kye came back, instead of bullying him like most high-level people, he decided to praise him, "You did great Kye,"
"There's no need to lie. I did poor compare to you."
"Why are you even comparing yourself to me? Everyone has their quality," Yugo said with a little tap on Kye's back.
"If you say so..."
While they were discussing, Ambry keep tr*sh talking to Kye. As for Kathia, she stayed by the side, waiting for their results.
And they didn't have to wait for long because after discussing for a few moments, the military woman came to them.
"Alright everyone," She clapped her hands to attract the group's attention. "Here's your watch. Keep them well because you will need them in your academic life. And please, follow my colleague, he will guide you to the next area.
After taking and putting his watch on, Kye headed toward where the colleague was. He went alone, but Yugo catch with him quickly.
The latter looked at him to see his reaction, but Kye just continued walking with a neutral face. However, when he was looking at him, he remarked something.
"Wait Kye, can I see your lips for a second?" He said as both of them stopped for a second.
"W-why, I mean s- sure?" He answered with difficulty. His watch was indicating the number one, whereas Yugo's watch was indicating the number six.
"Don't be scared, I won't do anything. I even want to be your friend, to be honest, so let me check your lips," He didn't wait for an answer and immediately check them. And when he saw them he was a little shocked. Earlier, Kye's lips were bleeding, whereas now, they were fully healed.
"Please, stop making those jokes, I know that it won't be for long."
"Do you want to bet?" They continued their discussion while walking with another military man who was guiding them to a teleporter. The latter was supposed to teleport them directly to their designated academy. And obviously, since they were a group, the four of them were in the same academy.
"Sure. But I don't have anything to give to you if you win."
"How about you accept my friendship? Isn't it a good reward for me?"
"Why? I mean, why do you want to be friends with a level 1. I'm trash, so you being with me will only give us problems, nothing else."
"We can see that once the time will come. For now, let's just bet." Yugo said, smiling.
"No need, you can do whatever you want," Kye said a little reluctant. He was scared to be Yugo's punching human later, but for now, he seems genuine, so he decided to give it a try.
"Yay, please take care of me from now on."
"Sure, you too, take care of me."
"I promise, don't worry." Yugo finally said and entered the teleporter, followed closely by a smiling Kye.