"You need an ability test." Muttered Marco as he came to this realization.
"That's right. An ability test. It's the only way I can now where I stand. And you're the only one I can trust with this." Responded Ray as he sat on one of the chairs. Marco moved towards one of his tables, and pulled out an orb.
This orb looked foggy on the inside but as soon as Marco held it, it started to glow a bluish color. This was the ability test orb. Depending on who touched it, it would change colors. It would be difficult for one to tell the extent of their powers but with an ability test orb they could get an idea. The only problem was that all orbs were from the government and every test would signal to the government its results & location. A bricked orb was needed to test anonymously and these were expensive. Marco was one of Ray's trusted friends who had access to resources that allowed him to have one of these.
Marco brought the orb "You know what the colors mean right?"
"Yes" responded Ray "Blue for Forma's, Red for Alters and Gold for Uniques. And of course if you have no power the orb won't glow."
"Ready?"
"Let's get this over with." Said Ray he was feeling impatient. And so, Marco gave him the orb. The orb was cold to the touch. He had seen this orb for so many years in the military however he never thought he would be the one getting tested one day.
The orb first glowed red, then blue before finally glowing in a clear gold color. Making both men gasp.
The forma, this was a general term for people who had powers that could affect only their body. A good example of a forma ability is Beast Mimicry. Individuals who could 'transform' into various beasts. Whatever the power it only usually affected the power holder. This was a forma ability. And by extension its users were known as the 'forma'.
The Alters were people who had abilities that were external, and could 'affect or alter' the environment. A good example of an alter ability was someone who had a power to wield fire and hurl it away to burn things. And by extension, these people were known as the 'alters'
A Unique was someone who had a combination of Forma & Alter powers, or put simply these people could affect both themselves and the environment. In the situation where one had the ability to control fire and bend it to his will, they could also turn into a flame and render themselves hard to hit physically. And often time's many Alters were just an enlightenment or an evolutionary step away from being a Unique. However what made Unique's special was that they usually held a great amount of stamina in terms of ability usage and also many had what seemed to be enhanced versions of Alter abilities that's why Fire users of all 3 ability types were not equal. Unique's were simply on the stronger side. This didn't mean that all abilities themselves were equal too. There were plenty weak unique holders out there. However a large number of Unique's are said to be built different. A properly trained Unique was a terrifying thing. But then again, All trained ability users were called the Elite's. These people were deadly in the combat types they chose to specialize in.
Rayleigh was surprised. As old as he is, it had been a very long time since something surprised him as much. He felt like he was dreaming. One of the reasons why he left the military was because he was a human. In an environment where 97% of the people had abilities. He faced a lot of disrespect, discrimination regarding his status. Now he had gained abilities too, and a unique one at that, but what was it? And honestly it had come many years too late.
In the continent of Eclid. A person with abilities could become rich, famous if they wanted. In the end the competive nature of the military was a place where all the upper rank soldiers over time were replaced by efficient individuals, who naturally were ability users.
Ray having been a decorated soldier, was an outlier. He was at his time one of the only still non-ability users. And this rubbed alot of people the wrong way.
Marco on the other hand had different thoughts. 'The lord is now a unique, this could be dangerous. In the whole kingdom there is only ever been under a thousand registered Unique's since the inception of the kingdom. Unique's are a rare resource for any kingdom and are the backbone of the country. The army will come sniffing around here. Worse still the lord was dangerous without abilities, but now with an ability....'
"Well, that's that. I must leave." Said Rayleigh. Marco was broken out of his thoughts. Believing his lord had come to the same conclusion as him.
"Sir…Lord…Umm Ray, Where are you going? Where have you been? Everyone's been looking for you." Said Marco. Rayleigh suddenly resigned his position and disappeared like the wind. Marco was one of the people who looked for his lord for quite a while before he gave up. Thinking of this, he also felt a bit resentful.
Rayleigh sighed " Didn't you say you won't ask me anything? How long do I have?" 'if I were a normal ability user, they wouldn't have minded this anonymous test. But now this could get complicated' Thought Ray.
"That's was a bricked orb. I'd say an hour at best before they start snooping around." Said Marco. 'Maybe even sooner' he thought to himself.
"There are sick people outside, if I spend too long here it will be problematic for you, we can't talk right now. Is there a good inn around here?"
"East side of the district there is an Inn called the Sleeping Rabbit." Said Marco as he rubbed his face.
Ray nodded and said "Right meet me there at the bar maybe. After work, then we will talk."
Rayleigh got up and left. He tossed a gold coin towards the lady on his way out of the clinic. She was surprised, the services here barely costed as much as a gold coin. She understood she had underestimated him.
Ray left the clinic and quickly went east to find the sleeping rabbit inn.
Elsewhere in the Lagrange city.
Priest like men in long white and blue robes were running around. A few minutes ago they had detected the power of a Unique thanks to the Golden Veil. The golden veil was a kingdom wide defence system that carried out a lot of activities. It housed a spirit that communicated with these people. This organization was known as the Round Table. The round table dealt with many matters of the kingdom, among these matters the security & defence of the kingdom.
"Where was it detected?" asked an old man. He was standing before what looked like a golden curtain, situated within a large spacious hall. This was the golden Veil system. It shimmered with magic as a monotone voice sounded from it. The voice could be heard all over the room.
"Lagrange, Eastern Region. Residential district."
The old man sighed, "Anywhere specific?" the residential district of Lagrange was home to the middle citizens of this particular city. There were too many places where this could've happened. And it would take too much time searching through that place.
"Unable to identify specific location." Said the Golden Veil.
"Alright." The old man began to walk away from the veil, when one of the workers ran towards him.
"Sir we managed to locate the signal, to somewhere close to the market at the eastern district."
"Good. Do we have anyone operating there?"
"Yes, we have members of the 3rd Division close by. We understand that the captain of the 3rd division is at Lagrange on important business with a noble."
"Slifer? Good let him know."
"Yes sir."
When the worker left. The old man caressed his beard. 'If we can obtain a decent Unique. Even the Elysium kingdom would begin sweating.
He smiled in delight.