Right there, in front of everyone, Axel had openly absorbed his own body. He hadn't really thought about the complications of his corpse just vanishing all of a sudden, he had simply acted on impulse and because, well, he didn't want to die a second time.
"The hell just happened?" someone asked, pointing at the spot where his body had disappeared.
"He… disappeared. Thought he didn't have an ability," another answered.
"Well… maybe it was a prank someone pulled off. Maybe no one died after all. I mean a last day of school prank isn't uncommon, right? a female student standing right next to Axel suggested.
Axel just shot her a sharp stare but said nothing.
Surprisingly, everyone agreed with the girl's theory. Within moments, they ruled it out as a last day of school prank. The music volume went up and the drinking resumed, and laughter replaced the earlier tension. Within seconds, everyone had forgotten about it.
It was a partial win for Axel though. If people believed it was just a prank, no one would question it when they saw him alive and breathing all of a sudden, everyone except Kaze of course. Still, the chances of running into Kaze were slim. Kaze lived in one fancy part of the city so he should be safe.
Looking back at the holographic screen, Axel noticed the reward from completing his quest. He had received something called Soul Essence.
He immediately figured that it had something to do with absorbing his body. He had never heard of an ability that lets people absorb dead bodies. That should have been disturbing to him, but it wasn't. He was more bothered by his reward
'But I only got 10 Soul Essence for absorbing my former body Seriously? That's how much I'm worth?' He frowned at the screen.
He hadn't realized it yet, but night had already fallen. The Oval Corp scouts sent to recruit his sister must have already arrived at their apartment. He had promised her he would be there before they came, but he was… busy. As soon as he realized—
"Crap!"
He turned around sharply and bolted down the hallway, sprinting toward the school gate, he kicked off the ground, planted his foot against the brick wall, and scaled over the fence in one fluid motion. This wasn't new to him because he had done it a hundred times before.
Axel's luck never seemed to run out when it came to emergency escapes because the moment his feet hit the pavement outside the school's perimeter, Gary's transport vehicle screeched to a stop right in front of him. Without wasting a second, he jumped in.
Within minutes, they reached his apartment complex. Axel dashed up the stairs, barely catching his breath and shoved open the door to his small apartment.
"Kris?" he called out, his voice ragged. "You in here?"
No response. He hurried into Kris's room, but the moment he stepped inside, his heart sank. The room was empty and her things were gone.
She was gone, and he hadn't even said goodbye.
"Bloody hell, Axel. You had one job. Just one. And you failed," he muttered in frustration.
Closing the door, he walked back into the small living room and collapsed onto the worn out cushion. Disappointment pressed heavily on his face, disappointment in himself for failing his sister.
After their parents were killed in action during one of the battles with an alien race, different from the Skavverns, it had been just the two of them. They'd moved from shelter to shelter until eventually settling in a government housing unit, one reserved for people who had lost their families in service of the planet.
Ever since their parents' deaths, Axel had taken care of Kris, even though she was the one with an ability. It was kinda his job.
They both knew that eventually, they'd be shipped off to their respective academies and would probably never see each other again. Today was that day… and he'd just missed his chance to say goodbye.
Or had he though?
Axel's face lit up slightly as he suddenly remembered the system. He recalled that he needed to reach Level Two to unlock an ability. In that case, it meant he was no longer an ordinary human, right? He might actually be a mutant, and there was only one way to confirm it.
Before being shipped off to the Oval Academy or the Collectors Academy, every student underwent a test to prove the existence of an active mutated gene.
Not every human on Earth possessed an 'awakened' ability, the mutant cell sometimes skipped a generation and was passed down to the next, sometimes, it skipped entire bloodlines.
Research and countless experiments led scientists to conclude that every person was born with the mutant cell, but in many cases, it remained dormant within the host. A section of the Oval Academy was established to help those individuals awaken their dormant abilities.
In rarer cases, a person never awakened their ability at all, and was rendered 'useless' for the rest of their life. Those people often became Collectors, serving under top organizations and powerful families.
Axel, now possessing a system that promised to grant him an ability, might not need to join the Collectors Academy after all. Perhaps he could join the Oval Academy instead.
Looking back at the system screen, Axel noticed his Soul Essence and EXP had increased.
[Soul Essence: 10/50]
[EXP: 50/100]
He didn't know what Soul Essence meant or what it did, but he knew that EXP was used to level up.
Axel then realized there was one tab he hadn't opened yet, Evolution.
[Evolution]
[You will evolve at Level 2]
[Next Evolution: Unknown]
"Well, that's vague," he muttered. "What would I evolve into? A freaking Goblin or maybe a Vampire. Maybe I will get wings?"
He chuckled quietly, but the thought of drinking human blood or flying around with wings like some sort of night demon made his stomach turn. He decided not to dwell longer on it.
The next day came quickly. Axel had spent the night studying the system before eventually falling asleep on the couch.
Morning came, and the alarm of the apartment complex blared ever so loud. Everyone in the building woke up almost instantly, including Axel.
The moment he opened his eyes, he heard the familiar ding in his head and the system popped up.
[Rise and shine, user! It's a good day to gain some EXP and level up.]
[Daily Milestone: Walk 500 meters.]
'What?'
Axel didn't even have time to process the message when a loud banging came from his door and he opened it without hesitation.
A man stood on the other side, tall, broad-shouldered, and imposing. His full beard was as intimidating as his cold, dark eyes. He was clad in the full Oval Corp uniform.
"Axel Vaelon?" the man's deep voice echoed across the apartment. "Where were you last night when the test was being conducted?" he demanded, his gaze pressing heavily on Axel.
"I was, uh—"
"Never mind. We don't have time for that," the man cut in sharply, not even giving Axel a chance to finish.
Axel glanced at the name tag on his uniform. It read 'CROSS.'
Sergeant Cross dipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small handheld device. It was a scanner used to detect any active mutation within human cells.
He motioned for Axel to place a finger on the scanner. They waited in silence until it beeped. But the result wasn't what either of them expected. It had neither confirmed nor denied that Axel had an active mutated gene.
"Hmm." Cross's brows furrowed. "Do you have an ability, boy? Is it awakened?"
"Yes," Axel replied quickly, too quickly. He realized his mistake the moment the word left his mouth. Technically, he didn't have an ability yet. Not until he leveled up so he should have just led with unawakened."
"You're going to have to show me a demonstration, then," the Sergeant said, stepping aside with folded arms.
'Shit! I don't have an ability yet. What am I supposed to do?' Axel panicked internally.
He scrambled for an idea, anything that could pass as proof. That was when he remembered how he had broken down the locker room door the previous night. All of a sudden, he had just remembered.
Without hesitation, he readied himself. Drawing a deep breath, he pulled back his arm, clenched his fist tightly, and slammed it against the concrete wall of his apartment.
The moment his knuckles connected, pain shot through his hand, his bones cracked audibly, but the wall gave way, splintering under the force of his strike.
Axel quickly pulled his fist back. 'Damn, that was a hard hit.' His hand throbbed painfully, but he forced himself to stay composed. Showing weakness now wasn't an option.
Sergeant Cross observed him closely. His eyes flicked between the cracked wall and Axel's reddened knuckles, assessing both the damage and the boy.
"Wonder who's gonna pay for that."
Finally, he scribbled something in his notepad, then looked up with a grunt.
"Let's move it, boy. You're going to the Oval Academy."
***