Mister, huh? What a weird name.
It's probably an alias. At least, I hope so; otherwise his parents must be total freaks. We all followed Mister through the courtyard of the massive academy, awestruck by the cool abilities being trained everywhere. We were all familiar with ability usage, but since using your ability has a lot of restrictions when not on a training ground or battlefield, it was rare for us to see them being used this freely.
One guy flew right up to the third floor, and entered a classroom through the window.
I snickered. That's a pretty funny way to start off the school year. He must've been late. We walked around to an area to the left of the school, and found ourselves in a grassy area with six concrete platforms.
"Your entrance exam, as many of you know, is one-on one combat. Don't hold back; a healing specialist from the sick ward will be here to tend to your wounds. You'll be matched randomly. Don't worry, kids. This is just an assessment of your abilities. You'll take a test like this every other month."
A few kids grouped up and conversed while waiting for the first match. After about five minutes, the healing specialist, a pretty tan woman, made her way over to Mister who called out the first combatants.
"Miles Scoll, and... Mark Werner."
The two got onto the platform and stood facing each other, about six feet apart.
"You'll fight until one of you gives up, is incapacitated, or is knocked off the platform. Ready? Start!"
With that, the two leaped at each other. Miles' badge had a bronze "2" on it while Mark's had a red "1". Mark made the first attack, taking some dirt out of a pouch on his hip and throwing it in Miles' direction.
The dirt merged and hardened into two needle shapes, heading for Miles' torso, but a small semi circle of glowing energy appeared on Miles' arm and he easily deflected the dirt needles. The energy now wrapped around Miles' fist, he punched Mark in the jaw, rattling his brain and knocking him down.
While he was down, he was defenseless, and Miles simply kicked him off of the platform. Interesting. Although earth abilities were relatively common, forcefield abilities were on the rarer side.
A few more fights went similarly, the only ones of note being between a level 3 fire user and a level two electricity user, the electricity user ultimately taking the win, unsurprisingly. electric abilities were very rare. This kid must have been from a pretty wealthy family.
Finally, my name was called. I was up against a level one named Skylar. I walked up onto the platform and noticed my legs shaking a little. I didn't have the element of surprise this time- this was a fair fight.
Even Damien was just a fluke; he never trained properly and always skipped class, so he was probably closer to level two. Not only that, although my capabilities were above average, they probably weren't much higher than this level 1's.
On top of THAT, I couldn't use my electricity ability fully, as it would draw suspicion towards me and I could even possibly be extorted for it since I had no real background. Boy, I wasn't working with a lot.
Hey, Gamma, you've been pretty quiet. Any tips?
[If you manage to defeat this level 1 ability user, you'll be granted EXP. I doubt you can, considering how weak you are, but my only suggestion would be to try to make some use of your shock ability. You can use it if you're discreet about it.]
Great. That wasn't helpful at all. Thanks for trying, I guess.
"bla bla bla, START!"
Mister finished telling us the rules of the fight which we'd heard a million times and started the fight. The level one stayed back. He probably knew since I didn't have an ability I would have to use a physical attack, so it would be beneficial for him to keep his distance.
He unscrewed a bottle on his hip and lifted a sphere of water out of it. I charged forward, and he launched it at my face, trying to blind me. It worked, and I stopped dead in my tracks, only to be met with a punch to the gut.
Fortunately for me, his weak water ability wouldn't cause any lacerations in my skin, so nobody would notice my abnormal healing. This did allow me to recover almost instantly from his punch, though, counter-attacking with a punch to his face.
It was then that I realized I had no training. These kids knew martial arts, but I was a complete novice. I would have to use what I had to get ahead. He easily dodged it, and threw another ball of water at me. This time, I was prepared. I dodged, soaked my hand in the water, and placed it on his chest, wrestling to the floor.
While I was on top of him, I hit him with small shocks, hurting him more and more as he got wetter and wetter. To mask this, I just kept on wailing on him until he was unconscious. That zombie-induced strength increase sure was a blessing. He was only a level one, but it was a pretty exhausting fight.
I may be able to heal wounds, but I still get tired. I lumbered off of the platform, wiping the sweat and water off of my forehead, as soon as the match was called.
[Level up!]
"Nice match,"
Said the kid who I had sat next to. It turned out to be Miles, the forcefield user. I was surprised; usually kids like him with powerful abilities were spoiled rich kids, with a far more elitist attitude than he was displaying.
"Thanks. Miles, right?"
He shot me a thumbs up. I noticed Mister glaring at us, shushing us from the sidelines. For the rest of the entrance exam, Miles and I whispered to each other a little when Mister wasn't watching. It looked like maybe I'd finally made a friend.
[Who would want to be friends with you?]
Shut up, Gamma.
Mars' status:
[Name: Mars Valentine]
[Level: 3]
[Race: Zombie]
[Mutation Points: 0]
[Skill Points: 1]
[Skills:
Immortality (MAX):
*PASSIVE*
Bearer is effectively immortal so long as brain remains intact. Bearer will not age and all injuries will be healed rapidly.
NOTE: If bearer does not consume human flesh regularly, the effects of {Immortality (MAX} will be diminished, reducing healing capabilities of the skill.
Pain Tolerance(LVL 1):
*PASSIVE*
Increases bearer's tolerance to pain.
Mana Drain (LVL 1):
*PASSIVE*
Through consuming human flesh, bearer can harvest the mana within it and increase his capabilities with mana-required skills as well as increase his physical capabilities.
Charged Fingers (LVL 1):
*ACTIVE*
Electricity will run between the bearers fingers, electrifying anything touched by them.]
[Mutations:
Hunting Claws: Allows the bearer to grow retractable claws under his nails. 1.5 inches long. 0.1 mm wide edges.
Condensed Muscles: +1 Strength. Causes bearers muscles to remain more compact while becoming stronger.]
[Ability: N/A]
[Curses:
Zombified:
Bearer has been affected by a strange and ancient pathogen. No longer requires sleep. Buffs to all stats. After going long enough without eating, bearer will turn into an insatiable killing machine, out to consume human flesh.
G.A.M.M.A.: The incredible and powerful system known as G.A.M.M.A. has granted pity on the pathetic bearer and granted him new life as a zombie. G.A.M.M.A. is amazing, beautiful, and all around the greatest creation the universe has produced.]
[Capabilities:
Strength: 12
Agility: 7
Endurance: 5
Intelligence: 8
Mana: 7
???: --
???: --]