Brandon White stepped out, grabbed breakfast from a nearby shop, and greeted his neighbors with practiced ease.
Munching as he walked toward school, he noticed something strange on arrival.
Maybe it was due to his [Authority of Nature], but he could faintly sense everyone's emotions. Excitement, confidence, pride…
Even classmates who were usually shy or insecure now seemed oddly self-assured, their eyes shining with an emotion he couldn't quite place.
Describing it as "superior" wasn't quite right, but that was the feeling.
It was as if each person, knowing they were a main character, looked at everyone else as side characters—like they were the most special person in the world.
Jeez… Could it really be what he was thinking?
Brandon's eye twitched.
Were they also awakening some kind of power, and now believed they were the only ones? Did they think they were the "main character" of reality?
If so, they clearly hadn't read enough novels!
Just then, a familiar voice called from behind him.
"Hey, Brandon! Morning!"
"How'd you sleep last night?"
"…Okay, when did asking about someone's sleep become a normal morning greeting? Anyone overhearing might think I had some wild adventure yesterday."
Brandon rolled his eyes, then turned and smiled.
"Wei, I bet you were paying attention to the Seven Stars Alignment last night, right?"
Wyatt Zhang made a face at that.
"I'll never get over the name my dad gave me. You know, if I could switch my first and last names, I would. Tried to get him to change it, but he's stubborn."
"When he's old, let's see how he likes it when I'm the one making decisions!"
As a kid, Wyatt never really minded. But as he got older, he realized just how awkward his name could be.
Thankfully, classmates his age understood and kept teasing to a minimum.
Still, "Wyatt" wasn't a great nickname—but it beat the alternative.
After venting, Wyatt continued,
"I wanted to see the Alignment, but with the rain, there wasn't much point."
"But… have you noticed something different with your body lately?"
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"This morning while washing my face, I found I could control the water. I could even condense a little water orb out of thin air."
"It's not powerful, but I can feel the ability getting stronger over time."
Brandon's eyes lit up. Controlling water? Creating water orbs?
That was classic water element ability.
Not bad, Wyatt.
But he was puzzled.
"You're just telling me? Not worried about hiding it?"
Wyatt shrugged, unconcerned.
"I did hide it. Only told you."
"And honestly, I don't see any point in hiding it. I'd have to be crazy to believe I'm the only one who awakened something. The Alignment couldn't have given me powers and skipped everyone else!"
"There's no way my luck is that good."
Actually… there was. But only because the chat group needed a member—otherwise there'd be no spiritual revival and no awakened abilities at all.
But Wyatt's attitude was rare.
Most people, Brandon sensed, wanted to show off their new powers—but were too afraid of being caught and "studied," so they forced themselves to stay quiet.
They were all waiting, developing their abilities in secret, planning to make a splash when they were strong enough to protect themselves.
"Come on, let's head to class."
"I have a feeling we're about to witness something entertaining."
Brandon grinned, entered the classroom, and scanned the room.
He could practically see the words "excited," "want to show off but shouldn't," "chosen one," and "main character" written on everyone's faces.
Even with all the anime and novels these kids had read, their hearts were still so pure at this age.
It was hilarious.
Still, not everyone could resist temptation. If you got superpowers and didn't try to impress someone, were you even a teenager?
Sure enough, Brandon watched as a boy across the room couldn't help himself. He turned to the girl behind him and said,
"Hey, let me show you a magic trick."
"This is a regular eraser, right?"
"Watch… rise!"
The girl looked unimpressed, giving him that "I'm just here to watch you try and fail" stare—
But then the eraser slowly floated up off the desk.
It floated!
She froze. So did everyone nearby.
Even Brandon was surprised. Was that telekinesis? Gravity manipulation? Levitation? Or maybe wind element?
No, it probably wasn't wind or gravity.
With his own Nature Authority and sensitivity to elements, Brandon would have sensed those.
Levitation, maybe, but it reminded him of the Float-Float Fruit from One Piece.
More likely, it was some version of psychokinesis.
But full-blown telekinesis would be overpowered. That's basically "limitless" in most stories!
From what he could tell, this looked more like basic psychokinesis—same term, but a huge difference in scale.
The boy, seeing the stunned class, grinned and said,
"Well? Impressed, Lily? Bet you didn't see that coming!"
"How about it—am I awesome or what?"
Lily snapped out of her daze and, after a moment, shrugged.
"Not bad, but I think I can do that too."
With a flick of her wrist, a breeze swept by and the pencil on her desk floated into the air.
"What?!"
The boy stared at the floating pencil, utterly speechless.
He looked at Lily, then at the pencil, then back to her—his expression shifting to mock despair as he muttered dramatically,
"Every hero's journey needs a rival, but why… why does my nemesis have to be you!"
His sorrowful look was so over-the-top that Lily could only roll her eyes in disbelief.
(End of Chapter)
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