The system world had disappeared by now, the domain replacement moving me back to an empty classroom, seated on my desk. The time still read 12pm, which meant we were still on school hours.
Everyone was probably in the cafeteria.
All the while, my eyes hadn't moved from Amelia. She remained silent however, looking like she was unsure of what to say. Enough confirmation that she was definitely hiding something. I was going to insist that she start coming clean when she began to speak,
"Alright, fine!" She said in surrender. "Your ability awakened a week ago, when that guy intoxicated you."
"You mean Sancho?"
"Yes. Literally, his ability was supposed to kill you. The critical damage behind his venom was too high. Even a high tier won't be able to withhold that kind of attack for a minute or two before they're knocked unconscious." Amelia's summary sounded like a mystery to her herself. "But somehow, you managed to endure it for more than three minutes. It could have been either one of two things."
"What two things?" I asked.
"It was either you survived by your determined will to live. Noradrenaline even, needs stamina to enforce. And your stamina was too weak to endure that kind of pain." Amelia paced around, her fingers on her chin. "My second guess was that something in you was deflecting the attack on purpose."
"Yeah. Your antidote did." I shrugged, earning Amelia's judging scowl.
"You aren't following, are you now?" Her eyes lowered at me. Then, with a loud voice. "I'm saying that your ability was what deflected the poison, dummy!"
"My ability?" So, apparently, this whole awakening thing happened as a last resort defence, not a cool climax as I'd always imagined? "So, does that explain why Kyon's punches couldn't reach me?"
"Your ability grew quickly over time, although it only comes as a tremor you don't know how to control yet." She explained. "It responded even during your fight against Ember. It was feint, but it was stronger."
"And why didn't you tell me all this earlier?" I asked the obvious question. "You played dumb with me, acted like you knew nothing about the question marks."
Amelia was quiet again, looking like she was trying to pick the right words from her mind box. Whatever it was she was going to say next, I knew she was going to try to hide a hint of truth from it.
"Ren, you saw what it read yourself. A plus. That's not a coincidence." She said eventually.
"What does it mean?"
"The highest rank the system can estimate is an A. And when it reads as A plus, it can only mean exactly what it says." Amelia paused, as if intending the suspense. "Ren, you're a—"
"Guys. Outside. Now!" Her last word was deafened by the excited yelling of a random student. "Axel and Blake are fighting on the soccer field!"
A stampede followed immediately. Cheerful noises of students who were running out of the halls to catch an epic fight.
Axel and Blake. They were both the most troublesome terror in Silvic High. Friends or enemies, no one really knew where they stood. One minute, they were hanging out and playing best buddies. In the next minute, they were throwing abilities at each other— trying to see who would kill who first.
And the reason why everyone ran out of the halls like a crazy herd on the chase? Well, that was because Axel and Blake were high tiers. If anything, fighting was a normal occurrence in Silvic High. It was an everyday sport. But when two high tiers decided to fight out in the open, that was a different story.
I walked out of the hall, joining the multitude of students who stood at the edge of the soccer field. Of course, I wasn't too sophisticated to sit behind and act like I wasn't interested in watching the fight happen.
THUMP! A mighty crash sound welcomed me as I scurried my way to get a better view. Axel. He'd created a large rock midair, and his failed attempt to smash it against Blake, the rock hit the ground and caused a small earthquake.
Blake was the red-haired dude. Angry guy. Every one of his aimed fireballs at Axel was blocked by a rock barrier. Axel's hands morphed into rock form until they replicated Tyler's hardening powers. Easy for defence, fast enough to punch hot fireballs out of the way.
WHOOSH! One fireball reached for my face the moment Axel punched it off. I ducked quickly, but it still left a smoke line where a few strands of my hair had been.
Everyone exclaimed as more fireballs swept past our way. Thankfully, it wasn't Axel's meteorite-sized rocks or we all would have been crushed to death. Axel seemed like the calmer one, obviously, he was the one who'd started the fight.
And whatever he'd said to Blake, that guy wasn't taking it lightly. He'd begun spurring a giant fireball in the air. Avatar mode. One blast of that, and one would definitely be burned to a crisp.
And just when he was about to throw it at Axel,
"That's enough, guys." The voice was loud, authoritative, and irritatingly familiar.
The moment Cael appeared behind us, the whole excitement died. Those who'd been cheering earlier began to stutter words they couldn't quite find.
"Return to your classes." He said with an exhausted sigh. Like someone who was getting tired of maintaining order.
Everyone scurried past him nervously, heading back into the halls and towards their respective classes. Well, everyone except me. I just remained standing, glaring at him and busily hating his guts.
"Suit yourself." He said with a shrug and walked past me. "You're just one in a million. Doesn't really make a difference anyway."
While I was still trying to understand what he meant, he just walked into the football field, staring at both Blake and Axel, giving them the older brother look.
"He started it!" Blake quickly said, pointing fingers of blame at Axel. "He called me a redundant fool."
"Well, you are a redundant fool, fool!" Axel's chin hardened.
Cael sighed again. Then he threw his hands in his pockets and turned away from the two of them.
"You two, come with me." He said, authority in his tone.
But then, maybe an authoritarian voice just wasn't enough for the Jack of Silvic High, Axel didn't move a foot. Likewise, he also threw his hands in his pockets and glowered at Cael.
"I'm not going anywhere, Cael." Axel insisted. "If you're gonna make your judgment, then do it right here."
Cael didn't immediately reply. His eyes scanned around the school environment. Students watching curiously from their class windows. I, a random guy just watching everything unfold from a distance. Then, his eyes refocused on Axel.
"Are you sure? It's quite the audience here."
Axel threw a smirk at Jack. Hard eyes. Stiff arms. I could see he was already positioning himself for endurance. He was scared. And he was doing a really bad job trying to conceal his fear with a smirk.
"I won't let you have your way easily anyway!" Axel shot his hands out, a sheer attempt to form something out of his ability.
I waited for something to happen. Maybe a boulder or a cluster of rocks. But nothing happened. Axel's hands just remained midair. His teeth ground, and he grunted, as if trying to get a hold of his own limb.
Cael's lips etched a small smile. "You were saying?"
Axel continued to grunt, as if he'd found words but was struggling to put them out in vocal arrangement. And just like that, CRACK! His arms twisted, his knees dropping as he groaned loudly.
And when he fell, his face went flat to the floor. Apparently, he wasn't in control of himself anymore. Cael was. He was twisting his bones in ways that inflicted total discomfort on the guy.
"Do you still feel like a hero now?" Cael walked up to Axel, apparently enjoying every second of his pain. "Rules are rules, Axel. Next time, try not to get ahead of yourself."
He turned and began to walk away, and without warning, Blake followed diligently behind him. When he walked past me, I could swear I read the expression in his face like clear words.
'Same goes for you, Ren.'
.
.
.
Extra'
Name: Blake
Ability: Fire
Rank: B (High Tier)
Fortitude: 6.3
Name: Axel
Ability: Rock Manipulation
Rank: B (High Tier)
Fortitude: 6.4
Name: Cael Voss
Ability: Usurp
Rank: A (High Tier)
Fortitude: 7.2