After the test ended, Erie couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't adding up. His system had analyzed Gene and classified him as a hybrid, yet it found nothing when it checked for an ability. That didn't make sense. If Gene's ability was indeed water, then the core should have registered it immediately, picked up on his energy reserves, and categorized it like any other ability user—but it didn't. And yet, Erie had seen it with his own eyes. Water followed Gene. It moved with him, responding like an extension of his body. When he threw a punch, the water struck, too, forming around his fists as if it had a will of its own. And there was something else—something Erie hadn't noticed at first. The water was darker than usual, not the clear, flowing liquid he was used to seeing. It clung to Gene's movements too naturally, as if it wasn't just being controlled but was somehow a part of him.
"Was that even water?" Erie thought, his brows furrowing as the realization settled in. He remembered how casually Gene had pulled the liquid from the air, offering it like it was nothing. "He told me I could drink it… but if that's true, why didn't the core register his energy signature? He says he can control water, but the system doesn't see it as an ability. Then what is it?" The thought lingered uncomfortably, gnawing at the edges of his mind, but Erie had no answers.
The uncertainty pushed him to finally ask, "Hey, Gene, is water manipulation something you can just do? Is it a part of you?" But before Gene could answer, Jake walked past Erie—through him. Erie's body locked up, every nerve jolting as if something had just glitched inside him. His breath hitched, and for a second, everything felt off—his limbs, his heartbeat, his very sense of presence. "What the—" he gasped, stumbling back as his body shivered from the unnatural sensation. But Jake, as always, said nothing. He turned around, eyes locking onto Gene, then onto Erie, expression unreadable, gaze unwavering.
Erie swallowed hard. He had no idea what just happened, but one thing was clear—something about both Gene and Jake wasn't normal.
Gene's mouth dropped, and he stared at Jake and Erie for a long, silent moment. "What?" was all he could say.
Jake didn't move, didn't blink, didn't react. He simply stared at them both, unblinking, watching. Erie exhaled and shook his head before forcing himself to focus back on Gene. "I'm just going to ignore him," he muttered.
Gene finally responded. "Right, but what makes you think it's part of me?"
Erie crossed his arms. "Well, for one, you pulled water out of the air, and it didn't seem like you were activating an ability. It just… happened." He mimicked Gene's previous movement, slowly waving his hand as if commanding something unseen. "You weren't trying to control it—it was already following you."
He hesitated before continuing. "And my sys..." He caught himself. He wasn't about to reveal that he had a system. That wasn't something he was ready to share. Instead, he skipped over it, choosing his following words carefully. "The next thing I noticed is when you placed your hand on the core, and the core never registered your energy. Then, when you went in to attack the dummies, the water around you activated on its own."
Gene frowned slightly. He hadn't even realized the water around him had reacted. It had just happened. That was normal to him. But Erie saw it, understood something was different, and Gene had to give him credit—out of everyone, he was the only one who recognized what was happening.
Most people assumed that anyone with a water-based ability could manipulate water freely. Still, no one expected Gene to be unrecognized by the core, his energy signature completely absent.
Erie finally leaned in, lowering his voice. "Are you a hybrid?"
Jake moved. He stood straight and turned his head toward Gene.
Gene's eyes flickered—just barely for a second, but Erie caught it. A faint glow, almost imperceptible.
Gene exhaled. "Could be the sunlight," he muttered, brushing it off.
But Erie wasn't so sure.
Gene didn't answer the question. He just smiled at Erie. Slowly, his eyes shifted from blue to black. His hair darkened instantly, then turned a deep shade of blue.
Erie's stomach tightened. Whatever Gene was—it wasn't just a hybrid.
no one really knew where abilities came from and why humans evolved, making more terrifying abilities. However, one thing: erie did know that skills and certain traits stayed in prominent families. They called them the 1st.
When the test was finished, the entire stadium began to flash. At that moment, Private Carl started speaking. "Everyone, please gather in your groups! You will now be transported to your private locations! And new rooms will be assigned!"
**********************************
A deep hum reverberated through the fields. It wasn't just loud—it vibrated inside Erie's bones. The frequency climbed higher, turning into an unbearable ringing. He clenched his teeth, covering his ears, but the sound drilled into his skull, blurting his vision.
"Is it supposed to be this intense?" Erie thought, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
The noise became defining, and he couldn't even hear himself speak. A moment later, he heard a loud snap. For a moment, everything went dark, "am I dead?" erie wondered.
Erie stumbled slightly as he adjusted, his vision still hazy. His surroundings had changed completely. Instead of the open field, he was now in front of a large building, standing among forty other students who were just as disoriented.
"What the hell was that?" He barely had time to process before a voice called out behind him. "Where are we?"
A wave of relief washed over him briefly before Alex gave him a strange look.
"Where have you been, bro?" Erie asked, crossing his arms.
"I never left your side," Alex said, " but I backed off because that guy wouldn't stop staring at you."
Alex's eyes narrowed slightly, and he jerked his thumb in the direction behind Erie. "I was watching him!"
Erie blinked a few times and followed Alex's gesture, and he locked eyes on Jake. Erie jumped. Not only was he standing behind Erie, but he was standing too close to Erie. As soon as Erie spotted him, he appeared a few feet back. "Did you just?" Erie paused.
"Seriously, Jake, you're creeping me out," Grier said aloud.
"Attention!" a voice said, allowing. Enough chatter! Fall in line while we take you around the facility!" The man's name was Levi. He wore skin-tight armor with lightning patterns flowing through it. His name was on his back, lined across his shoulder.
He immediately turned around and began walking. While walking, he started pointing to the description of the facility, and as he explained, he grinned, proud of the city's growth.
"You see, we worked hard to build what we have! This is why we are on the top!" he said excitedly. "We worked together building this, and we will teach you all teamwork here!"
A moment later, the students began to scramble around, greeting each other. They were looking for the more popular students who displayed more promising levels.
"If you all look on your watch, it'll display your ranking!" Levi announced. Erie looked down and saw his name and ranking: Erie Sunheart, Rank Tripple F.
Erie sighed. "Great, this is a trap." Alex looked over at Erie's watch and the ribbon on his arm. He saw that Erie had a bronze ribbon and FFF on his watch. He looked at his own, and he had a silver ribbon on his arm and rank DD on his watch. Alex slowed down a little, falling behind Erie. someone walked up to Alex, slightly below him at a rank D. "Hey, I'm Jarvis!" he said to Alex. And like that, Alex fell behind.
Alex looked over and saw Jake staring at him from a distance. " It's Jake again. This guy is creepy, " he thought to himself. I probably need to stay away from Erie to save face."
As Erie walked, he looked around and took in the facility. He ignored that he had FFF ranked; Erie didn't care much about ranks, and he soon heard a voice calling out for him. "Hey!" Erie looked around for a little while. He saw Jake walk along with him. As Erie stopped, Jake stopped. "Hey, Erie!" Jake!" the voice grew louder.
"I found you guys!" Gene called out. Hey, was that Alex guy?" Gene asked. Erie looked around, and Jake was staring at Alex. "Erie looked, and he saw Alex walking with four other people. Jake looked back at Erie. Erie shook his head, and he just put it off as Alex wanting to make new friends.