Ben's hands were shaking. He'd finally turned a drop of water back into a fingernail. Just once. Now, he couldn't do it at all. His head hurt. He felt completely empty, like a battery with zero charge left.
He stared at the drop of water on his thumb. 'Come on. Be a nail again.' Nothing happened. The water just sat there.
"You're done."
Ben jumped. Korin was suddenly there, standing a few feet away. He didn't hear him come in.
"I'm not done," Ben argued, his voice tired. "I just need to try again."
"Trying with nothing left is just wasting your time," Korin said. His voice was calm but left no room for argument. "You're running on fumes. You can't control essence if you don't have any strength. Go to the cafeteria. It's lunchtime. Even the strongest fighter needs to refuel."
The idea of facing everyone in the crowded lunchroom made Ben want to stay in the empty gym. But his stomach was growling, and his body felt weak.
"Go," Korin said. This time again, the word wasn't just heard; it popped directly into Ben's mind, clean and clear. It was an order. Ben felt like every time Korin used that trick, his body had no choice but to obey.
He left the gymnasium and made his way to the school's canteen.
The main cafeteria, known as THOE Hall, was enormous and noisy. It was nothing like the quiet gym. The ceiling was made of glass, letting in bright sunlight. The air smelled like good food.
Ben immediately saw how it worked. The best students, the A1 and A2 classes, sat in a special raised section at the far end. They had the best food, like restaurant meals. That was the Apex Terrace.
Most students sat in the big middle section, C2 to B1, the Commons. Their food looked great: burgers, pasta, big salads.
Then, near the kitchen doors, sat the D-Class, the underclass. The food there was simple and plain: oatmeal, protein bars, basic veggies. It was meant to motivate them to become stronger, to claw their way up from the bottom.
Ben, in his sweaty training clothes, stood out. He felt people looking at him. He heard whispers. "That's the guy who lost it on Jax." "Yo, that's the Crush-Out."
Face hot with embarrassment, he went to the buffet near the A-Class section. A young woman stood behind the counter of steaming food. She asked him for his school ID.
Ben reached into his pocket and handed it over. She looked at him, then down at the ID.
"You're handsome, but you don't look that strong," she said with a playful vibe. The rudeness wasn't shy; Ben felt it in the air. He couldn't let it slide.
"What do you know about me?" Ben said, with dominens, while looking her up and down, holding her gaze as if waiting for an answer.
"I guess not a lot," she replied in a laid-back manner, like she didn't take offense.
Ben handed her his tray while examining her features. She wasn't a student, probably. She didn't look that young, but she still had a teenager's body.
"So, does 'Mister Rank 1' have a name?" the girl asked.
Ben didn't mind the small talk. Matter of fact, he was nervous. The sudden, changed attitude had struck a chord. He was, after all, at that age. "My name is Ben," he replied confidently. "Do you study here?" he asked soon after. His mother always told him to never ask a girl her age, but it didn't mean he couldn't fish for answers.
"Oh, no, I work here," she said, her nerves showing.
"But you're so young," Ben stated, probing for more information. While thinking, 'She was interesting to him,' the nervous tone may have given her away.
"I-I actually dropped out the moment I could. I'm sixteen now, so… I wanted to pursue my dream of being a chef. So I got this job. I-I really hope you like it. I take my food very seriously." The nerves weren't just a word; the sentence was full of stutters. A lot of people had clowned her dream, and she didn't want Ben to do it, too.
But Ben was actually the opposite. He respected that a lot. Chasing your dreams. Ever since he lost his mother, all he'd done was chase one dream: to become a hero, to continue the legacy of his parents. But that wasn't his dream. His dream was to put the people who took his mother away from him. He hadn't lost sight of his main goal. For that, he must become stronger.
Ben was lost in thought when he noticed he was still standing in front of the line, his tray now fully served.
"I'll be your taste-tester," Ben smiled, taking his leave as the lunch lady watched him go.
As Ben arrived at an empty table, pushed a chair in, and sat down, he realized one thing: 'I forgot to ask her name.'
"That looks… healthy."
Ben looked up. It was Adin from his class. Adin had a tray from the luxury buffet as well: a perfectly cooked chicken breast with mashed potatoes and vegetables, all seasoned like a Thanksgiving meal.
"Rough morning?" Adin asked. He didn't wait for an answer, just sat down across from Ben. "Professor Vence is killing us with that essence-output crystal. I tried to hold two at once. One blew up in my face. I had to get my eye checked." He said it with a dry smile, like it was a shared joke.
Before Ben could say anything, a big shadow fell over the table. It was Zane. He dropped his tray, which held two huge sub sandwiches, loudly onto the table and squeezed onto the bench.
"I controlled three, and I want to know how you did what you did," Zane said, looking Ben over. "You look tired. What you did back at the arena. What is it? Some secret power technique?"
"It's just… control stuff," Ben said, not wanting to explain.
Zane laughed. "Sure, keep your secrets. I'll find out in one month." He took a massive bite of his sandwich.
Ben looked over at Adin, confused. "What happens in one month?"
Adin didn't wait for the opportunity; he loved to explain about school rules. "You see, in one month, students get the opportunity to challenge each other for their spot in the academy's ranking system. With you being Rank One, you'll have no one to challenge, but everyone will be able to challenge you. Talk about a busy day."
Then, quietly, someone else sat down next to Ben. It was Zoe. She had a small, beautiful bowl of fruit and yogurt from the Apex Terrace section. She looked at Ben, not at his face, but at his shaking hands.
"In one month, the Fourth Hero of Essence will show up in Arctura for a talk show," she said excitedly. "It's much more interesting. It will also become a stepping stone for you guys." She ate a piece of pineapple while winking at Ben, "After I beat you for the first rank. You will have to take me."
Ben was too tired to care. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Sure. Let's see what you got."
He now realized he was surrounded by rivals, but it was nice not to be sitting alone.
Ben finished his food, the rich flavors a testament to the meal the girl from before had cooked. The conversation ebbed and flowed around him, Adin's dry commentary, Zane's loud boasts, Zoe's celebrity crashes. He was part of it, yet still separate, the knot of his secret keeping him one step removed.
As they stood to leave, a familiar, unwelcome prickling sensation crawled up Ben's spine. He glanced toward the other side of the Apex Terrace. Jax was there, of course. Not eating. Just standing at the shimmering barrier, his gaze fixed on their table. Not on the group, but on Ben. His expression was still that placid lake, but Ben felt the weight behind it. A calm, patient watchfulness.
Zane followed Ben's look and grunted. "He's been doing that. Creepy, right?"
"I think he wants payback. You'd better prepare yourself for the rank shuffling in one month," Zoe commented with a warm smile, gathering her things. "I know I will."
The air turned cold. Adin took the last bite of his food; it had suddenly gone cold. Ben wasn't just a curiosity or a rival. He was an enemy in someone else's equation.
And they were all coming for him. There was no denying it.
The group split up at the hall's grand archway. Ben turned not toward the old gym, but toward the library wing. He had some time left. Korin had said rest, and his body agreed, but his mind was churning.
Suddenly, he saw a flyer hanging on the wall: "A Conversation with a Legend: Guest Lecture by Hero Donem, the Fourth of Essence." It was scheduled for "the evening of the shuffling games."
One month. Challenges. A public talk show with a top Hero. He had a reason to get stronger, and so he would.
But first, he needed to understand what he was walking into, what they all thought his "Origin Power" could do.
The library was a fortress of quiet. He found a terminal in a secluded carrel and brought up the academy's only books that mentioned "Origin Power." It wasn't much, but it was enough.
Origin Power
Noun
An Origin Power is a rare and advanced form of essence manifestation where a user's control is not over a broad element or concept (e.g., "fire," "telekinesis"), but over its most fundamental, microscopic component.
Precision & Versatility: This allows for extremely precise and varied applications that defy standard categorizations.
Ben read aloud to understand the words better. 'What if I use my supposed Origin Power to mask my Crimson Blood powers?' he thought. 'Then I could upgrade my power, control all forms of blood, not just the one I took. Better than that, what if I can find the Origin Power of Crimson Blood? It could have totally different abilities I could use.'
Ben just realized he had infinite options. And he would use every single one of them to make his dream come true.