Realizing his words might have come off too harsh, Doir hurriedly softened them.
"Umm... how about channeling more of your mana to show the full extent of your skill? Give it another try, Zephyr, okay?"
Everyone waited, their eyes fixed on him. But Zephyr's response left them stunned.
"It's harmful. So, I can't."
Doir's eyebrow twitched at the bold words. Still, he responded calmly and patiently.
"Lad, don't worry. I have the power to disperse it, so use it to its full extent."
However, even then, Zephyr refused.
Everyone instantly assumed he was lying—what ability could be so dangerous that he couldn't even display it properly to others?
Many Espers training in the surroundings were even utilizing poisonous abilities, yet the instructors could easily dispel them! The newcomers scolded him inwardly.
Just admit it, man!
Your ability is simply weak!
No need to talk bullshit!
Nana stifled a laugh. Even as a B-rank, his ability seemed weaker than that of F-ranks!
It seemed she could easily dispose of him, making all her previous plans to interfere in his training so he would fail the final exams pointless. Looking at him now, she realized that this blind man would fail the exams on his own—no interference was necessary.
Her heart finally eased.
After all, how could Zephyr come between her and Erick or join their team when this man would never leave this training dome?
If only these people knew what he did.
Even if Zephyr told them, he knew no one present would believe him—they all would simply assume he had lost his mind.
The skill he had just shown them—
It was the same skill that had wiped out every single monster in an A-rank dungeon in mere seconds, leaving not even a single bone behind. It was so powerful that even summoning it could harm those nearby.
Corrosion Manipulation.
An SSS-rank skill.
Zephyr still hadn't fully understood it, nor did he know how to properly use it, but he had taken a deep breath, nearly stumbling in shock when he uncovered the name and rank of this skill from the vast information in his mind while searching for the dome.
Finally, Doir chuckled, trying to quickly disperse the speechless atmosphere.
"Okay, okay. I'll take your word for it. But remember, you need to use your powers during training—there's no point in hiding them. So, do you have any other skills?"
Zephyr nodded but kept to himself the details of his A-rank lie detection skill, as well as the fact that he had knowledge of many other skills stored in his mind—he just hadn't grasped that knowledge yet.
"It's… somewhat like Telekinesis."
Doir clapped his hands, relieved.
"Good! Good! That's not a dangerous skill! This time, Zephyr, try to use your full power so we can witness its true potential, okay?"
Zephyr blinked.
"How much mana should I use?"
Doir felt a twinge of unease suddenly but didn't dwell on it. Thoughtfully, he asked:
"What's your rank?"
"B-rank."
"Alright, then use about 80% of your mana to lift everything you think you can around you. I can handle that much easily."
Everyone watched as Zephyr closed his eyes, curious to see what he could lift.
After all, Telekinesis was a rare ability.
If truly powerful, it could easily serve both offense and defense, allowing the wielder to control any object in their surroundings.
Ignoring the watchful eyes around him, Zephyr focused on his mana—only to be met by that familiar, massive ocean.
He hesitated at using 80% of it.
After realizing he possessed an SSS-rank ability—a rank not yet even recognized by the entire world—he wasn't foolish enough to still assume that it was normal for every Esper to have a vast, deep ocean of mana.
He at least had some brain cells.
Taking a deep breath, he released just five percent of his mana. Unfortunately… even that was enough to trigger an earthquake!
Simply because he couldn't control it—it was the first time he had utilized such a vast amount of mana since awakening!
It spread across the ground like a blanket, and his heart nearly stopped—he knew he had seriously messed up. Only a moment had gone by, yet he was already breaking into a cold sweat as the mana swallowed the entire dome. Then it finally happened.
The very foundation of the dome quiver.
Zephyr's hands shook. He swore all he had intended was to lift a few inanimate objects around him by sensing them with his mana. How could he've imagined he would end up lifting the very dome many stood under...
He was still trying to control and disperse his mana when he heard Doir shout, as the middle-aged man lost his balance when the dome started trembling. Everyone around panicked, unaware that the cause of the chaos was standing right among them.
By the time he managed to disperse his mana, many powerful Espers had already gathered around the dome, thinking they were under attack or that a new dungeon had appeared nearby, causing turmoil.
For that, Zephyr silently apologized in his heart and quickly slipped to the back, trying to make himself as invisible as possible.
He had no money to cover the damage he caused, so it was better to pretend he had nothing to do with what was happening.
Hopefully, no one would ever find out.