She read the information there once again.
’So this is what a Superhuman defect looks like.’
Kaely had heard about such rare occurrences before, but had never seen one in person... until now.
Superhumans were beings that possessed endless potential for growth in talents considered impossible for ordinary people.
But a defect was one whose growth had stalled, stunted and forever trash, until the day of their death. They were rare, and barely any of them ever made it as far as the academy, the way Thors had.
Kaely could only watch. It was pitiful. "After all, there’s no future for him here. He’ll likely fail the third test as well."
Seoul turned to Kaely, his eyes lifting in curiosity. "What does that mean?"
Kaely, realizing she’d said that out loud, forced on a fake smile, ready to brush Seoul off. But when she saw the curiosity spreading across the faces of all the other students, Layla included, she knew that wouldn’t be so easy.
She sighed painfully. ’You just had to open your big mouth and speak.’
"Well, he’s a defect," Kaely began, and just as the words left her mouth, some of the candidates’ faces lit up with a flicker of satisfaction.
"Using his ability hurts him, and he can only produce three lightning charges in total," Kaely finished.
At this, all the students went silent, every eye turning to Thors as he struggled his way toward the third platform.
One of the boys let his lips curl proudly. "C’mon, you bastard defect! Stop wasting our time! I couldn’t do it — so how’s a failed Superhuman supposed to?"
"Yeah! Just stop already and let’s be done with the test," another yelled.
Seoul Larynx parted his lips slightly, ready to say something, but held himself back...
Through all the vile words the two had shouted, Thors did not hesitate.
Seoul only watched the back of the retreating figure grow smaller and more distant as he made his way toward the platform. It felt strange...
"Would you two shut up!" Seoul snapped at the two before they could throw any further insults.
At this, the boy rolled his eyes. "What, we’re only saying the truth, aren’t we?"
"We’ve all heard the stories. Defected Superhumans are useless. He doesn’t even belong here," the girl said.
Seoul bit his lip slightly. "Then let him prove it. Not you two."
Kaely watched them argue and turned back to Thors, the young man already at the steps leading up to the platform.
She hated to admit it, but the two weren’t entirely wrong. This was the awakening rock, passed down from the earlier years of Superhuman history — one that only those deemed worthy were meant to touch...
Not a defect. Not the most impure kind of Superhuman there was.
’Damn it... Will I just enter the academy only to be judged as utter trash all over again?’ Thors thought, climbing up onto the third platform.
He hesitated, his gaze finally settling on the enormous obsidian rock, which shimmered like glass while still remaining jagged and rough like stone.
This was it, the third test, and the strange rock that had already thrown aside others far stronger than him.
Thors gritted his teeth at the sight of it and then began to approach.
’I trained so hard for this...’
He closed the distance between himself and the rock, his eyes settling on its surface as he paused for a moment, reading an engraving carved into it.
"...Are you worthy?"
He whispered the question to himself, the words echoing in his ears like a premonition...
He was a defect...
An impure Superhuman...
Of course, by all of society’s standards, he was unworthy...
Nothing but solid trash next to what the pure-bloods could accomplish without even trying.
And yet! He persevered!
’I don’t care if I’m worthy in the eyes of the gods or not! I’ll desperately claw my way to the top no matter what!’
Thors planted a foot forward and raised a hand high into the air, pouring into it every ounce of his force, his frustration, and his determination.
He brought his hand down onto the obsidian rock...
In the next moment... he was... was...
Not thrown away.
Instead, something strange happened in the room.
A loud, thunderous sound tore from the obsidian rock, and then a violent gust burst out of it like a tidal wave, slamming into Thors with enough force to threaten to hurl him off the platform.
"What?!" Kaely shouted through gritted teeth as the violent gust of wind crashed into her, tearing her cap clean off her head and sending her staggering before she regained her footing.
The same happened to the other students, all of them struggling against the violent wind pouring out of the obsidian rock.
"What’s happening?" Thors muttered to himself, his gaze narrowing at the rock before him.
He could feel it.
An energy surging out of it and pouring into his entire being, circulating through him like some kind of living creature, tearing him apart and rebuilding him again and again in an endless, punishing cycle.
"Arggghhh!" Thors screamed at the top of his lungs, the process, whatever it was, flooding his entire body with a pain he never knew was possible.
The excruciating ordeal dragged on for what felt like an eternity before, finally, the wind came to a halt, and Thors’ hand was barely able to slip free from the obsidian rock.
The entire room fell calm, and the expressions on the faces of every candidate present shifted to disbelief and confusion.
But for Kaely, her mouth hung wide open as she stared at her colleague, whose face wore the same shock as her own.
Whatever had just happened... was... unbelievable.
’How could a defect command such power?’