Once the 6 students heard their names being called, each of them began to make their way towards the sergeant, who was waiting for them in front of the crowd. Quinn had a slightly brown curly hair with dark brown eyes and a sharp jawline.He stood at a height of 5 '11. On the other hand Vorden had slick blonde hair and hazel green eyes with a chiseled face and sharp jawline. He stood at a height of 6'2 and he was roughly taller than Ken. There was another boy in their group. Peter looked to be the most nervous among anyone there. He would constantly look around him and couldn't stop fidgeting either. His body frame was quite small, but it suited him for he wasn't that tall either. Quinn looked at him and it had reminded Quinn of himself. A small frame with glasses and scruffy brown hair, he was not much for a physical attraction.
The other two members were both girls. Layla had short brown hair and a tall figure, she was carrying a bowie on her back, which surprised both Ken and Quinn since not many people carried a weapon these days apart from a specific group of people called Pure. They were a group of people who claimed that abilities were a blight upon humanity and instead opted toi use weapons. However, they were very rare and both Ken and Quinn had never met anyone who belonged in the faction during their life. Quinn had merely heard stories about them while Ken was completely clueless.
Erin, on the other hand, was the type of girl whose beauty turned necks. Her proportions were just perfect, not too big and definitely not too small. She had long silky hair black with a magnificent golden hue. The only problem with her beauty were her facial expressions. Even while walking through the gathering of people, not once did her expression change. It stayed stiff and neutral and made her appear cold. The awe on the faces of the other kids was lost on hers. As Ken was walking to the front, he looked at Quinn and recognized him as the kid who was sweating buckets back at the large bus at the apartment block he lived in. With the rest of the students he couldn't recognize them and it seemed like the others were not familiar with anybody either. Ken assumed that this was done on purpose.
Their group soon stopped just behind another group that was being transported to the testing area. Vorden walked around and greeted each one of the people in his group with a handshake and a confident smile. Vorden was very polite, so most of them accepted his greetings. When Vorden approached Ken for a handshake Ken politely said that he wasn't in the mood for a handshake. Vorden had clearly seen through his lie but carried onto Erin. As Vorden approached Erin for a handshake, Erin merely stared at Vordens hand when he offered it to her, she then turned her gaze away after a second.
"Come on, you don't have to be like that," Vorden said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Vorden made a terrible mistake. Erin moved faster than anyone could react. She grabbed Vorden's wrist and twisted his hand. Specks of ice started to crawl up his hand and began to freeze his arm. Erin was making a scene, and everyone gleefully watched. "Woah, she has ice abilities?!" one of the boys said in amazement. "Isn't that very rare?" "I would let her freeze me up any day." (Note from author "Calm down man why you gotta be that thirsty.") Several students expressed their amazement in unison.
"Stop it, you two!" Griff barked at their little fight. "If you have that much energy to pick a fight, then save it for the test!" Erin immediately dropped Vorden's hand, leaving him gasping in pain. Slowly, his hand started to defrost. He scrambled back to the line and stood behind Ken, his face flushed with embarrassment.
"Can't you believe her?!" Vorden complained, "I nearly lost my hand!!"
"Maybe, try not to touch others without their permission," Ken replied with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I know. She's lucky I didn't wipe the floor with her just 'cause she's some pretty girl." As soon as those words came out of Vorden's mouth his words were creating enemies for him. Many of Erin's admirers felt disgracing Vorden might earn them points with the beautiful girl. Looking at the people around them, Ken could tell what the others were thinking. It was practically on their faces at this point. Ken lets out a small laugh in amusement, "Seems like your words are creating enemies for you Vorden."
At last, Ken and the others were called forward and were told to stand inside a square, drawn with white lines on the ground. The space inside of it was just big enough to fit the 6 of them even though it was drawn just to fit 5 people. One could see that outside of the square, there was a hooded man who was standing nearby. "Send them away!" Griff ordered. As soon as Griff gave out the command, the hooded man slammed both of his hands onto the ground and the square started to light up, shining with a bright purple color.
"An ability to transport others, huh." Vorden said, leaning forward to speak into Ken's ears. Ken sighed and moved slightly away from Vorden. "What a rare ability." Vorden said as he leaned forward to speak into Quinn's ears. "Quit speaking into my ears like that" Quinn said in discomfort. The plain fields faded from their sight and their visions were thrown into a whirlwind of colors. The very next second, they found themselves in another outdoor area, this time empty. There was no sign of life nor greeneries.
Two people stood before the group. A woman dressed in black and next to her another man whose face was hidden beneath his hood. Ken could not make out the badge on the arm of either of their uniforms, making it impossible to tell what rank they possessed. The woman held a tablet in one of her hands, busing thumbing through it. She ignored the group that had appeared before her and continued till she was done. Once she was finished, she then shifted her gaze to the students and began to speak.
"Hello, I am Jane and I will be the one in charge of your test today. Once the test has been completed, I will be updating your information and your score will then be reflected in your wristwatches." Ken and the others noted that her face appeared to display the same emotional range as Erin's. "Now, who should we call first? Oh, it looks like we have a couple of previously levelled ones?" Jane noted as her eyes ran across her tablet screen. The tablet seemed such a delicate thing to hold in this place where the once beautify city was now out of sight. The information the woman received were the ones that had been passed down from their previous schools.
"Ken Talen, step forward." Jane said in a commanding tone. Ken confidently stepped forward as he had been told. Quinn on the other hand was confused and surprised. "Ken..Talen.." Quinn thought He has my family's last name. I thought I had no remaining relatives. Quinn then made a mental note to ask Ken a question after they had completed their test.
"What is your ability?" Jane asked.
"I have a Original ability. I hadn't named it yet but it's related to controlling my energy," Ken answered.
Jane was intrigued as she never heard about an ability related to controlling your own energy. The group behind Ken now understood why he was so confident as he approached Jane. Having an Original ability was quite a one in a lifetime opportunity.
"Do you mind giving us a demonstration?" Jane asked with a hint of interest in her voice.
"Not now but you'll see me in action during the test" Ken answered back.
Jane nodded her head in approval "You can go now," As Ken heard this he turned around and started to walk back towards the group.
"Peter Chuck, step forward." The nervous, small physique Peter did as he was told, looking even worse than before. Quinn thought that he appeared unsightly, yet he looked to be in perfect condition if you were to compare the two. At least Quinn was able to stand up, whereas Peter looked like he would fall at any second.
"What is your ability?" Jane asked.
"Eh, I don't have any ability," Peter answered quietly. The group now understood why Peter had been so nervous. Having no ability wasn't rare at all. Because of the war, many children ended up as orphans like Quinn. This usually meant that there was no chance for them to buy an ability book.
"Don't be afraid Peter," she said, "Here, take this."
The hooded man, who was standing beside Jane, suddenly conjured a book in his hand and held it out quietly. Jane took the book and handed it over to Peter. "F-for me? You're just giving me this for free?!" Peter asked with utter excitement in his voice. "Thank you!"
"Study the book in your own free time. When you finally learn to use it, you can come back to redo the test, but for now, I'll have to temporarily award you a level 1 power status."
Even though Peter received a level 1 power status, he didn't care about it. Because at this moment he only felt hope. His life could finally turn around due to the book he had just received.
"Quinn Talen, step forward," Jane ordered, looking at him.
Quinn did as he was told.
"What is your ability?