Caren found himself in a training room.
There was a running track that stretched from one end of the room to the other, measuring about 100 meters.
Rey was running on it, covering the distance in about one or two seconds.
She was incredibly fast, as if she could speed blitz Caren.
But something was off about her speed.
Caren couldn’t understand what it was.
He turned his head toward where Nero was training.
Caren didn’t expect it, but he was very polite with girls.
Nero could communicate with Caren very easily, so maybe he was just a little uncomfortable around girls.
The same was true for Caren.
He didn’t try as hard as Nero to be polite, but he was still a little uncomfortable.
The polite boy was firing small sparks of lightning from his fingers at the training targets.
Nero looked at Rey and blushed slightly.
Maybe he was interested in girls like Rey?
Who knows.
Atrin was leaning against the wall.
Her face was emotionless, which was kind of strange.
Every time Caren had seen Atrin, she had smiled.
But now she was cold.
It seemed that everyone tried to avoid her.
Rey had a frown on her face every time Atrin was around.
She didn’t try to hide her expression at all.
But Atrin didn’t care.
She was kind to Caren and sometimes to Nero.
Nero was polite around her, but his eyes were a little unsure.
Atrin hadn’t shown her Chosen Ability.
She was just standing there as if she didn’t even need to train.
Caren let out a sigh and closed his eyes.
He made his aura appear and then compressed the air.
Now he could fire compressed air, use it as a weak shield, or even boost his speed.
Caren had to go to the Water Core the next day, and he had to work with his teammates.
Caren wasn’t sure if they were a good team.
At least they were low in stamina.
Caren’s kill count was still one, so he didn’t have much aura.
He could use his powers only ten times, and that was a problem.
He had to make plans or deceive the others and catch them off guard.
Rey was physically weak.
She was stronger than a normal human, but even Nero’s sparks could one-shot her.
After that, she was just a peak human without any special abilities.
But she could increase her aura over time.
She just had to kill.
Since when could Caren use his powers just for killing?
Things were different for Nero.
He could fire twenty sparks, but even without aura, he could use the electricity stored in his body.
At least, that was what he had told Caren.
He could also make armor out of lightning, but it only lasted for one minute.
He could defend himself from an Upside Downer’s punch, which was way stronger than a normal human’s.
Caren didn’t know anything about Atrin.
She was mysterious, especially to him.
He didn’t know why people treated her like that.
Was she a murderer?
Or a famous thief?
Then why did they let her stay in the academy?
He didn’t know anything at all.
Atrin didn’t want to tell him.
He asked Nero about it, but he only answered with a polite smile and said that if Caren didn’t know, it was better for him that way.
But Caren was a little nervous.
His mind had been screaming at him all day to kill the others.
The more he denied it, the louder and more often his mind repeated it.
But whenever those screams grew stronger, Caren’s control over his abilities also increased.
Did all Upside Downers experience this, or was it only Caren?
He was successful in controlling himself.
Everyone was still alive.
Well…
except Ren and that boy.
Caren summoned Dead Guide, and a thin rope appeared around his hand.
He looked down and saw his little pet standing there.
Actually, Dead Guide was really smart.
It could do whatever Caren asked it to do, like running, jumping, or even biting someone.
It also had a very strong mouth.
It could eat metal, iron, and wood.
But it couldn’t grow.
It was always Caren’s small, cute, ugly, and disgusting pet.
It was also good with his other teammates.
Rey was not happy when Dead Guide was around.
What was so scary about it?
Nero didn’t care and sometimes fed it meat, so Dead Guide was happy around him. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Atrin was interested in it.
She petted it all the time, sometimes even hugged it.
She would walk around with it or play with it.
Caren wanted to train it as a fighter.
It could really help him.
Caren looked at his teammates.
“What if I tell Dead Guide to kill them?
Can it kill them?
It can’t kill Rey for sure, but Nero and Atrin…”
He shook his head and bit his lower lip.
“Please shut up.”
Caren looked at his hands.
They were trembling.
“I’m crazy, aren’t I?!”
He walked toward Atrin and leaned against the wall.
“What’s wrong?”
Atrin looked at him.
A small smile appeared on her face.
“Nothing.
I’m just not in the mood to train.”
Caren smiled back.
“If it makes you happier, I don’t hate you.”
Atrin sighed.
“I really appreciate that.”
Caren took a deep breath and then spoke.
“It would really help the team if you told us about your Chosen Ability, you know?”
Atrin hesitated for a second, then nodded.
“I know.”
Caren waited for her to continue, but she didn’t, so he just started walking away.
“I can control gravity.”
Caren stopped walking and turned his head toward Atrin.
“Thank you, Atrin.”
Atrin looked at Dead Guide, who was hugging Caren’s leg.
“Can I have it for a while?”
Caren looked at his pet and then shrugged.
“Sure.”
Dead Guide looked at Caren, then walked toward Atrin and hugged her leg.
“Lucky creature…”
Caren narrowed his eyes as Dead Guide proudly rubbed itself against Atrin’s leg.