After a long trek through the city, Kael finally arrived at the street he recognized the most—the one where his house was located.
The changes here were far less drastic compared to other places. It almost felt like he was simply returning home before the wave.
He quickly walked down the street until he reached a particular house: large, classic-looking, and modest. It was neither extravagant nor shabby, a perfect middle ground that hinted at a family that was neither poor nor excessively wealthy.
"It didn't even change a bit," Kael muttered to himself. He had expected his home to be crumbled or raided during his absence, but from a distance, it seemed untouched.
He approached the gate, which was usually open, and made his way to the front door. However, when he tried to open it, the knob wouldn't turn.
"It's locked!" he exclaimed, letting go of the knob. Kael paused for a moment, trying to recall where the spare key might be. After a moment of thought, he searched under the rock by the doorstep. To his relief, the key was still there, though slightly rusted.
Sliding the key into the lock, he managed to open the door and stepped inside. As he scanned the interior, he noticed nothing seemed different or out of place.
His house looked exactly the same as it had two years ago.
"I guess the old man hasn't been back since then," Kael muttered under his breath, slamming the door shut behind him. Annoyance flickered across his face as he trudged to his room to change clothes.
His old clothes weren't torn, but they carried an unpleasant scent he couldn't tolerate. After putting on a fresh set of clothes, he headed straight to the kitchen.
'Man, I'm starving,' he thought as he opened the fridge, hoping to find some frozen pizza he had left before the wave. But as soon as he opened the fridge door, a foul stench hit him like a punch to the gut.
Everything inside had gone bad—blackened, rotted, and emitting a putrid smell that almost made him retch.
Kael slammed the fridge door shut, stepping back as he held his nose. 'Of course, the gas in the fridge wouldn't last over two years... What was I even expecting?'
Still ravenous, he decided to order food instead. He retreated to the living room, sitting on the large glass table under the golden light of the chandelier. Flicking on his phone, he opened a food delivery app and froze when he noticed something strange.
The currency had changed. The familiar dollar sign was replaced with an unfamiliar symbol.
Kael stared at it, perplexed, until he remembered the money he had in his bank account. He quickly navigated to his banking app, his heart racing as he checked his balance.
Thankfully, the money was still there. However, it was no longer in dollars but in the mysterious new currency labeled as Diamonds.
Currently, he had only 560 Diamonds. A box of pizza, as he found, cost around 20 Diamonds.
Though he could afford it, Kael made a mental note to be cautious with his spending. For now, this was all the money he had to sustain himself.
After placing the order and filling in his information, he let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, his house location hadn't changed; otherwise, it would've felt like being a lost kid who couldn't find his way home.
With his food on the way, Kael turned his attention to the strange necklace he wore. It displayed his grade as 1.
He stared at it for a moment until a notification appeared before him. Thankfully, Kael didn't panic but instead read it calmly.
{The grade is invalid since your mutated cells and abilities cannot be calculated.}
"Mutated cells? Are you saying the necklace can't determine my grade because of my cells?" Kael furrowed his brows, trying to make sense of it.
{The necklace was designed to calculate the number of mutated cells in a body and estimate their strength into grades. However, your cells are not like the usual mutated humans. They are unique, which is why you received a grade of 1.}
At least Kael was relieved to know he wasn't completely powerless. However, the mention of "abilities" left him curious.
"When you say abilities, what do you mean? How far can mutation go? Are we talking about people flying?"
{Your imagination is limited. The potential of mutated cells could extend to bending reality itself. That is the extreme. Others may not reach that level but can still cause significant harm.}
Kael raised his hands above his face, pondering the possibilities. If the world had truly changed so drastically, he had to know:
"What's my ability?"
{Your abilities have not yet developed. For now, you only possess enhanced, superhuman capabilities.}
"Superhuman? Is that enough to rival other ability users?"
{Not by a long shot, but it's a promising starting point.}
Determined to test what "superhuman" meant, Kael rose from the couch and approached a wooden pillar in the center of the house.
He clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and prepared himself mentally. Punching wood at full strength—probably not the best idea, he thought, but he dismissed his doubts.
As motivation, he imagined the pillar as his worst teacher, Mr. Cromswell—the man who had once made his life miserable with endless homework.
Fueled by this memory, rage bubbled inside him. Kael assumed a fighting stance, inhaled deeply, and then hurled a powerful punch into the wooden pillar.
A loud thud echoed as his fist tore halfway through the wood before stopping.
Pain shot through Kael's body like a lightning bolt. His hand throbbed, his knuckles bled, and he leaped backward, clutching his mangled fist with a scream of agony.
His fist wasn't riddled with splinters, but the scratches and broken bones were enough to make him stagger.
Kael writhed in pain for a moment, pacing in circles, until he froze.
Shock spread across his face as he raised his injured hand to his eyes.
Right before him, his broken bones began snapping back into place with soft crunching sounds. The blood swirled back into his veins as the wounds closed up completely.
Within a minute, his hand was fully healed, leaving no trace of injury except for the dried blood.
Kael's eyes widened, his throat tightening as he choked out the words:
"Oh my God... The mutations are real."