Zenil was currently sitting on the hospital bed, looking outside through the window. The sky had changed to an orange hue, and gentle gusts of wind blew, creating a peaceful evening as the sun dipped below the horizon, making way for the white moon to rise in the sky. Flocks of birds were flying back to their nests.
"You are one son of a gun," Ryong said while standing with his back against the wall, he was barely visible in the dimly lit room. "How are ya feeling?"
A slight smile appeared on Zenil's face. "I pass, right"
"Yup, you do. I'll be taking you as my student. But, in order to become my disciple, you'll need to pass another test."
"What?"
"You see, being my disciple means I'll have to give you everything I have, and for that you'll need to prove yourself in a harder test. I'll still be teaching you the basics."
"That's great."
"Cool. Well, rest for now, tomorrow you are officially going to become one of us." Ryong said before leaving the room.
Hearing this, Zenil felt elated yet a little confused.
Soon the sky turned black, and the hospital lights turned on.
Suddenly, Zenil's phone rang.
"Hey," Zenil said after picking up the call.
"Dexter just called, damage has been dealt to Autumn Grove." Cyrille said from the other side, "What now?"
"Amazing. Lay low for now, let Amroh react. Also, do the thing with the tent in a few days."
"Hmm, anything else?"
"Oh, and yeah, I won't be coming to school for a few days."
***
The next day, when Zenil woke up, Glynn was in his room, looking at him with a smile on his face.
"Good morning, Zenil."
Shocked by this, Zenil quickly sat up and looked at the man he had only met once with confusion.
"Go-Good Morning."
"Don't be surprised, I am here to take your information, so that we can register you as an Empowered."
"O-Okay," Zenil muttered as he slightly nodded.
"What's your full name?" Glynn asked as he looked into his laptop.
"Zenil,"
"What's your surname?"
"I don't have any."
"Okay, what's your age?"
"Fifteen,"
"What's the name of your parents?"
"My father's name was John, and my mother's name was Jane."
After that, he asked a few other basic questions like birth date, phone number, address, and other things.
"Okay, now which core are you at currently?"
"I don't know that."
"Ah, yes, I forgot you were recently discovered," Glynn said as he closed the lid of his laptop. "Time to give you a crash course."
"We call ourselves Empowered or Awakened, unlike mundane humans, we can use supernatural abilities, with the help of an energy found in our surroundings called Marma, or Marmic Energy," Glynn said.
"Now, us power wielders strive to peacefully co-exist with mundane humans, while protecting them from the danger that's lurking around us. Monsters are a reality, and so are rifts which lead us to dungeons filled with the monsters." Glynn continued.
"As in those Korean webtoons?" Zenil asked.
"Precisely that, and we kill these monsters, to protect our fellow humans. Now, every person has seven Marmic Cores or Chakras, and as you unlock each of these cores you grow stronger. Each core will provide you with a substantial increase in your strength along with unlocking a part of your power you had no idea existed." Glynn said.
"Now, there is also Marma itself, I am not talking about the Marmic Energy, but, Marma, it's the thing which stores and absorbs the Marmic Energy within your body."
Zenil nodded to all the information he had just received.
"I am sorry for the inefficient info dump but, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. I am Glynn Paradyme, from Diamond Clouds. It's the Empowered organization that controls this part of the country. We welcome you to the world of Empowered." Glynn said as he stood up.
"Nice to meet you as well," Zenil said with a smile.
"We will conduct your strength assessment once you are better." He said before exiting the room.
***
[Zenil's POV]
"Hey," I said to the girl who had just entered the hospital room.
She had short black hair, deep blue eyes, and a beautiful face.
"Hi," Ayana replied and then sat down on the chair next to the bed.
After that, an awkward silence ensued. We both just sat there, looking at meaningless things in the room, our just fidgeting.
"I am sorry." She said breaking the silence about a minute later.
"No, I am sorry," I said genuinely, "I shouldn't have performed such-"
"It's okay, you took advantage of my personality, and, I don't hold a grudge against you. Someone more mature wouldn't have reacted the same way I did."
What the fuck is she on about?
It's not about maturity, but composure. The way she was acting in front of her dad, clearly depicted just how spoilt she was.
Ayana was a girl as reactive is potassium or sodium. She was sheltered. She might be physically strong, but mentally I am in a league of my own.
Having been alone for a long period of time, I have learned how to maintain composure in most situations, I have learned how to see through most people, and I have learned how to manipulate people into doing certain things. Though my manipulation is not on par with the likes of those anime protagonists, I can make people do certain things.
That's exactly how I had survived till the start of high school. If only I hadn't met her back then. My life would have been better.
"As you are forgiving me, I'll give you a piece of advice, it's not about maturity but composure."
She slightly nodded.
Then she extended her hand for a handshake, "Let's cooperate from now on!"
I accepted it and shook hands with her, "Sure!"
So childish.
"Now, when are you getting ready for training?"
***
A few days had passed since I left the hospital.
I have been hitting the gym, have been running five kilometers, and training with Ryong, and Ayana.
In this short amount of time, I have learned a lot of stuff. About how the world of the Empowered works, and about the progression system.
Currently, I was in the basement of Ryong's house and was meditating to circulate the marma around my core, so that I could break through to the second stage.
The first chakra grants you the ability to absorb the marma in your surroundings and utilize it without any other influence.
The second chakra creates your marmic core, or marma, the place in your body which stores the marma in your body. It also provides a substantial rise in your overall strength.
"You done?" I heard a familiar voice.
It was Kairos, Ayana's older brother. Unlike Ayana, he didn't train with me, but, would still come to check and correct me here and there. He didn't train at all, but it wasn't that he was weak, no far from that. Whenever I see him, I would get that familiar animalistic instinct that I felt when I met Ryong for the first time, albeit it is weaker.
From what I have gathered so far, it seems that he is content with the power he currently holds, and wants to become successful in the world of mundane humans. All he does is either study, or spend time in front of his laptop going through the share market, or his various online businesses.
"Yup," I said with a smile as I sat up.
"You have to get your physical assessment done tomorrow."
"Glynn called?"
"Yeah,"
I slightly nodded.
Tomorrow's gonna be a heck of a day I guess.
***
[Narrator's POV]
"Cyrille, that's what you get for fucking with us," Amroh said as he kicked the head of a youth lying on the cold floor.
He was currently standing in one of the schools which fell in the territory of Aurelian Academy.
A smirk erupted on his face, "We are going deeper into their territory. We'll at least take their Bastille."
He and his group of hundred thugs had already taken care of two schools that fell under Aurelian Territory and were now headed towards Unison Blue Academy. This school was on the eastern side of their territory and was on the border between Aurelian Academy and one other ranked school.