He gently ran the tip of the pencil across his hand.
Then he made his aura appear.
It was black, dark, and unusual, but its owner seemed to be just a kind boy.
He made the tip of the pencil sharper and ran it across his hand again.
“Emm.”
His face twisted, but he was also smiling.
It was going well.
He didn’t know how to use his other Chosen Abilities yet, but at least he could use one.
He could make anything sharper.
So he would always have a weapon if he needed one.
“What if I use Object Sharpening on my finger?”
He let that thought go.
He didn’t know how to undo his ability.
It was like playing with atoms without being able to see them.
He leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath.
His forehead was covered in sweat.
“I really need to sleep.”
But he couldn’t.
He had to master, or at least learn how to use, his abilities before the Water Core.
They were supposed to be divided into fifteen teams.
In fact, only Teams One and Two were stronger, while the other teams didn’t have any particular ranking.
Caren didn’t want to be in Team One because he didn’t want to stand out, but maybe Team Two would be a good choice.
A place where his teammates were strong, but they wouldn’t attract as much attention as Team One.
“What is that Water Core?”
Caren hadn’t been able to gain any information about it.
He wanted to use the Internet to search for it, but the academy didn’t let new Upside Downers use computers, and normal people didn’t have access to the Internet yet.
It was like the whole world revolved around Upside Downers.
Hope of humanity and all this nonsense.
“How can they act like this?
Weren’t they human before Upside Down chose them?”
Caren let out a soft sigh.
Could he kill all the Upside Downers in this academy?
He could make things sharp, so…
Caren pushed that thought away.
“What’s wrong with me?
I can’t just go around killing people.”
Then he took a deep breath and focused on his Chosen Name.
He felt them again.
Atoms were moving.
They were everywhere.
He could sense them.
“Ehhh.”
He let his aura fade away.
There were so many things his brain had to process at the same time.
He didn’t even know how many atoms there were in the room.
Maybe he should use his abilities for shorter periods, at least until his mind was capable of handling all this?
Maybe he didn’t actually have the ability to shape atoms just to make things sharp.
His mind simply knew how because it was his Chosen Ability, and he could learn to move, shape, and control atoms in any way he wanted.
Caren was curious about what would happen if he mastered his abilities.
Or could he really master them?
There were almost infinite ways to shape atoms, and the human mind wasn’t built for this.
But…
he wasn’t human anymore.
He was an Upside Downer.
Caren clenched his teeth.
Of course he was still human.
Being an Upside Downer didn’t make him better.
“It’s just luck.
Upside Down chose me, and now I’m here.
Without that, I would still be a normal guy.”
He didn’t think he was better than others.
It was against his beliefs.
“But beliefs can change.”
Caren frowned and slammed his head against the table.
What a stupid thought.
He closed his eyes, focused, and made his aura appear.
Then he moved the atoms.
Or at least, that was what he was doing.
It was different this time, but familiar.
As if his mind knew what he was doing.
Something like breathing.
If someone had been there, they would have been confused about why he was moving his hands like a crazy person.
Caren shaped the atoms.
He moved them like it was the most normal thing in the world.
He moved the atoms on the desk and replaced some of them with other atoms from the desk. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
It was kind of strange.
Shaping something he couldn’t see or touch directly.
Caren opened his eyes and let his aura fade.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand and then placed it on the table.
But as soon as his hand touched the table, it slid slightly forward.
Caren’s eyes widened.
Then he stood up and looked at his hands.
They were covered in cuts from learning to use Object Sharpening.
“I…
I did it again!
I learned to use another ability!”
He was happy.
Like a kid who wished he had superpowers.
But he really had superpowers.
He had Death Cheater before, but it wasn’t as good as his new abilities.
He could learn how to use them, he had to shape them, and it was really great.
The only remaining one was Air Compression, and after that, he was ready.
But…
what were the other abilities?
What about that girl with red eyes?
Something related to blood…
because…
her eyes were red?
Could he beat Ren’s monster?
She wasn’t even a Starter, so it was obvious that Caren would be stronger.
Caren hated to admit that, but he wouldn’t be here if Ren hadn’t been there.
His desire for revenge had made him want to stay alive and try harder.
Caren sat on his chair again and made his aura appear.
The next step was learning how to undo the things he had done with atoms.
His abilities would be a problem if he couldn’t return the atoms to their normal forms.
Imagine what would happen if he had to make a part of his body sharp.
That was terrifying.
But he couldn’t do that without knowing how to turn his body back to normal, so he wouldn’t try it anytime soon.
He focused and started working seriously.
He was determined to learn it as soon as possible, and then he could…
sleep.