[ The Palace Master just needs to sit down on the Self Reliance Throne and close his eyes. The mere thoughts of getting out should initiate your departure. ]
"What about returning here?" Chrome didn't forget to ask the one last necessary question. It was unlikely that he needed to eat an Awakening Pill each time he wanted to enter the Self Reliance Palac, but it was better to be safe than sorry by confirming his thoughts.
[ Just like the Palace Master can activate [Basic Lightning] through thought, Entrance and Departure both work under the same principle. ]
"Then… Do I have to enter here to use anything inside the palace?"
[ Negative. While most of the functions require the Palace Master's presence to be used, a part of them can still be used externally. The 'Self Assessment + Modification Scroll' can similarly be viewed through mental command, but only the Assessment function can be used in that manner. ]
"Well, does this place physically exist? Or is it just my consciousness that believes to be inside the throne room?" Having finished all of the important questions, Chrome finally blurted out the last doubt that had been weighing on his mind for a while.
[ Whether the Self Reliance Palace exists or not isn't a question that I can answer with a yes or not. However, I can say for a fact that the Palace Master's corporeal body does exist inside the palace at the moment. ]
'If this is true… Can't I use this as a great trump card? Is this limitless ability the reward I'm receiving as compensation for my counterpart's suffering?'
"See you later, I guess?" Chrome wasn't sure if this was something he could say to a floating quill, but it was finally time to leave the mysterious room and confirm his reality!
The magical quill wrote nothing in response as Chrome calmly walked towards the throne. He awkwardly tried to sit down only to suddenly get overwhelmed by another whirlpool of emotions. Chrome momentarily felt like an actual lord who had just taken his rightful seat, but all of that disappeared as soon as he closed his eyes.
[ Departing from the Self Reliance Palace. ]
The same mechanical voice emerged in Chrome's head, who opened his eyes to find himself in the exact same place and position he was standing in before entering.
'This is the moment of truth…'
The first thought that came to Chrome's mind was to confirm the very base of the ambitions that were building up in his head, the simplest of which was mental commands!
_____________________
Name: Chrome Blue
Age: 18
Energy Points (EP): 1/12
_____________________
Palace Points:
-------------------
...…
_____________________
'The first test is a success!'
The simple thought of viewing the 'Self Assessment + Modification Scroll' made a mini version pop up in his subconscious. At the very least, he didn't need to go in or out of the Palace to check his 'Status'.
At the same time, unless he went completely crazy, this also confirmed that his ability wasn't just a figment of his imagination!
'Now… For the real test.'
Mental Hallucination wasn't far-fetched considering that it could be a side effect from the merging of both his and his counterpart's minds, so there was only one way to truly confirm everything!
'Activate [Basic Lightning] through the right index finger, use 1 energy point!' Chrome's thoughts quickly condensed to one line as he wished to witness the presentable proof of his awakening…
Since he only had 1 energy point left after testing the scroll's modification function, Chrome controlled himself so hard not to test his new Superpower inside the palace. After all, having to wait for a while before he could test it outside would result in anxiety that he was better off without.
Zzzzzz…
Only a split second had passed before the sound of electrical discharge could be heard, allowing Chrome to see what the counterpart lying within him had wished for his entire life. A small ball of constantly moving electric charges formed at the top of his finger without burning or electrocuting him!
'Fire!'
The stable sphere of electricity shot out of Chrome's finger, reaching out for the wall in front of him.
Zap!
The impact between the thin electric beam and the wall was short-lived as the electricity went out with a thud, only leaving behind a scorch mark the smoke rose from shortly after.
'That actually worked!'
Although he was extremely excited, Chrome wasn't that impulsive to damage the house without worry. He had only used the environment as a mental trigger to test how much control he had over his ability. After all, while there was only so much you could contain in a simple mental command, many underlying thoughts could be added in the gaps depending on the speed of thought.
'This amount of damage with only 1 point of energy…'
The electric shot didn't persist for long just as he commanded it to, merely touching the wall for a split second. With these facts in mind, the effect of just burning a part of the pain no longer seemed negligible, this was all caused by investing a single point of energy!
Additionally, it was a Superpower that didn't possess any sort of side effect like self-electrocution. To Chrome, touching it felt no different from passing his finger through some sort of comfy cloth.
'It's not unrivaled, but this degree of damage can easily compare to the one produced by 'Generate Electricity', a Superpower on the high end of the offensive ability chart!'
This was merely something that his actual ability had given him on the side, but it was already on the level of a perfect pull for anyone, let alone someone who had been struggling to awaken his special ability like Chrome. Moreover, he could even improve this ability as long as he had the required Self Reliance Points!
'If it's like this, then it's worth a try.'
With full confirmation that he had turned to be the most special Awakener that he had knowledge of, possessing an ability that had no limits other than time itself, Chrome finally had enough reasons to take on the challenge that was originally too far away from his grasp! As long as persisted, his Superpower had the potential to guide him to the same that the few lucky ones only reach!
"Let's give the Extra Academy's admission test a try!"
Even though the Extra Academy only started accepting students three years ago, the students who managed to graduate last semester had achieved all kinds of fascinating feats that shocked the whole world within only one month from their graduation!
It had quickly become an unwritten fact that anyone who wanted to go far in their career as an Extra had to join the newly emerging Academy if they didn't want to suffer to climb up the ranks, that is. Even the rich 'Extra' families struggled to rival the Extra Academy's grooming!
All of these facts were deeply imprinted in Alter Chrome's mind, an 'Extra' geek who read up on rising Extras within the global rankings whenever he had time to. They were both the heroes and the successful figures that he looked up to and desired to stand beside. This desire was more than enough for Chrome to solidify his choice to take the test.
This was not only Alter Chrome's dream, but also Chrome's own underlying longing to live a life different from his unaccomplished one. The life of an 'Ordinary' that he lazily chose to live rather than being forced to…
'It won't be easy getting accepted with my low Exos rating, but awakening a special ability is still the main assessing criteria. Either way, it's more than worth a try,' Chrome finalized his thoughts as he started planning out his next code of action.