Chapter 6: Receiving an Ability Book.
As the five students heard their names being called, they made their way to the front where Kongo was waiting. Tristan and Dennis were among them, along with a nervous boy named Mike. Mike seemed really on edge, constantly looking around and fidgeting. Unlike Tristan, he had a smaller frame, but it suited him well since he wasn't that tall either.
Then there were these two goddess with their impressive looks, Doreen and Helena.
Doreen had these awesome curly short black hair and a tall figure.What really surprised Tristan most was that she had both a bow and a saber strapped to her back. It was quite rare to see someone carrying weapons these days, except for a special group called the cent. They're a unique group of people who choose not to have abilities and rely on weapons instead.
Tristan had only heard stories about them, so encountering One of them was quite unexpected for him.
Then here comes Helena. Helena was the kind of captivating girl who caught everyone's attention especially among the guys. With her perfect proportions body size, not too big or too small, and she had a stunning , long brown hair. it's no wonder she caught everyone's attention. However, there was one thing that stood out about her - her facial expressions. Even as she walked through bustling crowd of students, her expression remained unchanged, stiff and poker. It's like she had mastered the art of remaining composed no matter what . she had this mysterious aura around her.
As Tristan walked through the crowd of students, he made an effort to try and spot familiar faces among the students. However, to his surprise, he couldn't recognize a single person, and it appeared that others were facing the same dilemma. It seemed like this lack of recognition was intentional and well planned. No one knew who to befriend or who to be wary of because everyone's power level was displayed as 1 at this moment.
To make the process goes smoothly and efficiently. Sargent Wilson has been assigned to handle bravo company while Sargent Kongo takes alpha company.
In Alpha company, the group came to a halt just behind another group who were being transported to the testing area.
As soon as Dennis laid eyes on his comrades in the same group, he greeted each one of them with a friendly handshake. Most of them accepted his greetings, except for Helena. When Dennis offered his hand to her, she simply stared at it and turned away, Dennis look puzzle at her reaction.
"Come on, no need to be like that," Dennis said, placing his hand on her shoulder.
But boy, oh boy, that was a mistake! In a flash, Helena grabbed Dennis's wrist and twisted it, causing his hand to freeze and turn icy cold. Everyone stopped to witness the commotion unfolding at the front. some were whispering among the crowd.
"Wow, she's got ice abilities?"
"Isn't that super rare?"
"I wouldn't mind being frozen by her any day!"
"She is really scary and deadly "
"I don't really want to get in her bad books "
"Yes , I pray so too"
Kongo, noticing the commotion, stepped in to intervene. "Cut it out, you two! Save your energy for the test, if you two have that much."
Helena immediately released Dennis's hand, and slowly but surely, his hand began to defrost. Dennis returned to the line, standing next to Tristan.
"Can you believe that pretty two face ? I almost lost my hand," Dennis complained.
"You bring it upon yourself. You can't just go around touching people without permission, I hope you know that?" Tristan replied back.
"Yeah, I know. She's lucky I didn't show her a little bit of my strength just because she's a pretty girl."
Unfortunately, some of the boys overheard his words and decided to make him their enemy. They thought that if they could somehow humiliate Dennis, Helena might take notice of them or at least glance their way.
As Tristan glanced around at the people surrounding them, he could sense their thoughts and intentions. With a quick step away from Dennis, Tristan hoped to avoid being misjudged as a close friend of Dennis.
Not long after, the group including Tristan, was called forward and instructed to stand on a designated area marked by black lines on the ground. It wasn't an ordinary marked area , but rather a magical set-up with the ability to teleport five people at a time.
Then, there was this mysterious man in all black and had his face covered under a hoodie , who stood just outside of the designated marked area.
"send them away!" kongo command.
As soon as kongo gave the command, the man placed both hands on the ground and the designated marked area started glowing and emitting a bright blue light.
"Holy smoke, isn't that Transportation power huh, what a rare ability? ," Dennis exclaimed just as the entire group suddenly disappeared into the thin air.
Just in a blink of an eye they were teleported to a desolate outdoor area , that resembled an empty Westland . No sign of life, no trees, there was emptiness more like a desert. Standing in front of the group was a female soldier in a black military uniform and by her side stood another man in all black and had his face covered under hoodie.
It seemed they were the only two people in this place.
The female soldier was busy typing away and inputting information into her palmtop PC . Once she had finished , she looked up at the group and started to speak.
"Hi everyone , don't be afraid. I will introduce myself to you, my name is Rebecca , and will be in charge of your test today. Once it's done , I will update your information and your wristwatch would generate a score and your power level will be reflected on it."
Rebecca then took a look on the palmtop PC and continue.
"Now who should we call first , It seems like we've got a couple of previous power level ones here. Mike step forward for your test."
Nervous little Mike walked slowly forward and he looked even worse than before. Tristan thought he looked bad but comparing him to Mike, he is in perfect condition. Despite his situation, Tristan managed to stand tall, while Mike appeared like he could fall over at any moment.
Rebecca asked Mike about his ability and he replied quietly, "Please ma'am, I don't have any ability," his face fixed on the ground and feeling downcast.
Tristan and the others suddenly understood why Mike was so nervous and insecure. It wasn't uncommon for children like them, who had lost their parents in the great war, to not have the means to afford ability books. Mike's fear of being treated differently for not having an ability was completely understandable. The lack in ability was not something rare.
"Don't be afraid, Mike," Rebecca reassured him. "I have something for you."
The hooded man standing beside her suddenly teleported a book into his hand.
Rebecca took the book and handed it to Mike.Rebecca said "have this".
Mike's eyes widened with excitement as he exclaimed, "Wow, seriously? You're giving me this book for free?! Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!"
Rebecca smiled warmly and replied, "You're welcome, Mike. Please take your time to study the book whenever you're free. Once you've learned how to use it, you can come back and redo the test. For now, I'll assign you a level 1 power status."
Even though Mike had received a level 1 power status, he didn't mind. He felt like his life could finally take a turn for the best because of the ability book that was gifted to him.