Chapter 5: Abilities and Power Levels
When the newfound abilities were unveiled to humanity, it became abundantly clear that some individuals possessed powers far more potent than others. To establish some order amidst all these, a system known as power levels was devised. This system stratifies abilities into ten distinct levels, ranging from level 1, denoting the weakest, to level 10, representing the strongest. Furthermore, each power level is subdivided into grades , such as 1.1, 1.2, and so forth, to delineate varying degrees of proficiency within each level.
Now, there are two primary methods through which individuals acquire these extraordinary abilities.
First, during the massive war against the chaos race, folks with extraordinary abilities decided to share their knowledge and powers with the rest of the world. They penned down their experiences and created these awesome ability books. These books, ranging from 1 to 5, were made available to the general public, while the more powerful ones were kept under lock and key by the military and big corporations.
The second way to obtain an ability is if you're gifted. The gifted ones, are the individual who were the very first to discover these powers, decided to pass them down within their family. Some chose to share their powers with the outside world, while others kept it within their bloodline. The gifted ones, usually have the strongest abilities, even beyond level 10! . Their power levels are so top-secret that the government can't even measure them. It's like they're on a whole other level! .
Tristan has always been a level 1 ability user, and there are a couple of reasons holding him back. First, he doesn't have any family to support him, so he couldn't afford one of those fancy ability books. And second, his family doesn't possess any abilities themselves, so he's not considered as one of those gifted ones. It can definitely be tough when you don't have the same resources or background as others.
When Tristan got the box, he thought it might be an ability book, but it looked totally different from the ones he'd seen before. But, he had this gut feeling that it held something extraordinary. Tristan always dreams of having one of those books, now his wildest dreams actually came true! . He now has one of those amazing abilities! but it seemed unique. He never thought a day like this would come and never even did he knew of an ability book like this existed!. But now that he's got some knowledge about the system, he knows it's going to be tough for him.
Tristan glanced at his watch and saw that his power level was just one. Totally curious, he looked around and noticed that everyone else's watches were showing the same power level. Sargent Kongo made a grand entrance and stood right in front of all the students. He called out a group of ten students and split them into two epic teams: Alpha and Bravo. But that's not all, the rest of the students were also assigned to these teams. Each team of five students would be transported somewhere super mysterious for a thrilling test!.
Tristan was really hopeful about leveling up his abilities during the test. But then he got a message saying
"[task completed (4/5)], and the task was to [avoid sunlight for 18 hours]."
And there is a punishment , if he failed, the system would reset and he'd lose access of the system for two whole days! . That's a major bummer. But Tristan didn't want to go back to square one, so to avoid the system reset he had to complete that final task in just two hours.
Just a couple of hours before it was time, Tristan started feeling super weird all of a sudden. He was feeling extremely cold and burning up within at the same time, and his eyes felt heavy. He remembered this feeling from when he first got the system. It was tough for him to focus and he was sweating profusely. Things seemed really tough but he was determined to push through and keep his body in check.
Then , a stranger standing right next to him asked if he was alright.
Tristan encountered a stranger named Dennis who had slick black hair, hazel blue eyes, and a chiseled face with a sharp jawline. He was quite tall too, standing at 188cm while Tristan was 170cm. It seems like Tristan usually avoided people like Dennis at his previous school because they attracted a lot of attention, and he didn't enjoy being in the limelight because he was bullied by this kind of people too.
Dennis took a moment to observe Tristan and noticed that Tristan had an average body size. Dennis thought that Tristan might be the type of person who was often targeted by bullies at school, which could explain his nervousness.
Dennis felt a sense of pity for Tristan. If Tristan was a level 1 ability user then nothing would change here either when he took the test. It's tough when people make assumptions based on appearances.
Dennis, reassured Tristan and let him know that he's got his back. He assured Tristan that he's strong and would protect him if anyone tried to mess with him. Dennis had a warm smile on his face as he spoke, trying to ease Tristan's worries. Tristan felt deeply touched by his words, and he could feel his body returning to normal.
Tristan, didn't usually clicked with this type of person but he found something amusing about Dennis and felt a connection with him. He never felt this way before because he never really gets along with anyone in school back then.
So, Dennis introduces himself and stretches his hand out for a shake. And Tristan, for the first time in his life, someone offers him a handshake. He looked at the stretch hand for a while and thought to himself maybe he will just turn out to be like them . Tristan thought to himself, "this might be the first time someone offered a handshake but if he know that I'm a level one ability user , he will just treat me the same way they did." But for once he decided to push it behind and decides to go with the flow .
He then introduces himself as "Tristan", reaching out for Dennis's hand.
Just as Tristan shook his hand, his receives a notification from the system about an unknown ability being detected. That must have been quite unexpected and made him worried. The system said that the unknown ability is trying to infiltrate his body and Tristan hesitates for a while. He doesn't understand what the system is trying to say because Dennis is the first person who has been nice to him.
He noticed that Dennis still hadn't let go of his hand. Then the system repeated the message once again.
" use of an unknown ability has been detected. "
" Ability has been declined"
"Phew, that must have been a relief!, what the hell what that?" Tristan thought.
Tristan immediately let go of Dennis's hand . Tristan realizes that the system was rather trying to let him know that Dennis was using an ability on him. Dennis, with a puzzled look on his face, asks Tristan about his ability. Tristan takes a moment to think and decides to be honest. He reply Dennis,
"no ability, I'm level 1 ability user at this moment." Tristan wants to know Dennis's true nature, so he's being cautious about revealing too much.
Dennis hearing that answer, thought that will be the best explanation for his situation but just as they're about to continue their conversation, Sergeant Kongo makes an announcement.
"the following names of students mentions, Tristan Gad, Dennis Razor, Mike Jones, Doreen Williams and Helena Smith , should step forward to take their test ".
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