"Pfft!"
"Hahaha!"
Brandon White couldn't help laughing out loud at the scene. His laughter seemed to break the tension, and soon the whole class was laughing with him.
What a way to start the morning—
Pulling a "magic trick," only to have the rival turn the tables, and then going so far as to call them your "archenemy." Hilarious.
Wait a minute—when did these two learn magic tricks? And why did their tricks seem so… unnatural?
Sean Summers, still not getting what was really happening, looked at everyone in confusion.
"What's so funny?"
"We're laughing at you, of course. You actually called Lily your archenemy! That's a first," Brandon joked.
"Come on, it's just a magic trick. Who can't pull off a few tricks these days?"
"Watch this—let your buddy Brandon show you how it's done."
Brandon reached out and grabbed the floating eraser. Within three seconds, it shimmered, as if coated in gold dust, and began to glow a bright golden color.
"Huh?"
Sean's eyes widened, his expression turning from confusion to complete shock.
Brandon couldn't help but chuckle again at Sean's stunned face.
Thanks to his Authority of Nature, he could manipulate the elements of the natural world—gold included.
He wasn't all that strong yet, but the sheer variety of elements at his disposal more than made up for it.
Even better, he could feel his powers growing stronger at an astonishing rate, simply by being in nature.
As long as he was on Earth, his abilities would keep growing fast. Off-world, the growth would slow or stop, but he'd still be able to use what he'd already learned.
He'd learned all this from the chat group last night, after logging off.
"Ahem. Since things have gotten this far, I might as well drop the act."
"I wanted to blend in as an ordinary student, but all I got was distance."
"Here's the truth—I'm a Flame-Flame Fruit user."
"Fire—ignite!"
A classmate stood up. A flame suddenly appeared in his hand, the temperature in the room rising as everyone felt the heat.
"If you're all done pretending, then so am I."
"I never thought there'd be so many people with powers in a single class. But I'm no ordinary guy either."
"If you're all coming out of hiding, then I have no choice."
"Honestly, I was hoping to keep my head down and grow stronger in secret, but now I can't."
"The world's changed too much for me to keep my identity secret."
"With thunder, I'll shatter the darkness!"
"Winter is here—ice, unyielding and eternal!"
"Seriously, are elemental powers that common now? Why did I get beast transformation instead?"
"Wait—you're a guy and your power is turning into a rabbit? That's a waste of good luck!"
"Oh, come on! Like I had a choice!"
With Brandon and others showing off their powers, the classroom turned into a scene of wild excitement.
Those who'd awakened abilities couldn't hold back any longer, eagerly displaying their new talents.
Telekinesis, wind, fire, ice, lightning, beast transformations—elemental abilities seemed to be the most common of all.
Sean, who had thought he was the "chosen one," was completely floored. His excitement and smugness faded into disbelief, then gloom, and finally pure resignation.
"So… you've all awakened superpowers?"
"This isn't how the story was supposed to go. I thought I was the main character!"
"Are superpowers really this common now?!"
He slumped over his desk, embarrassment coloring his cheeks.
He wasn't just failing at being cool—he was suffering total social defeat. Out of everyone, he was the only one who couldn't hold back and ended up being the joke of the day.
"You really haven't read enough stories. Don't you wonder why you awakened powers at all?" Brandon teased.
"It's obviously the Seven Stars Alignment from last night," Wyatt Zhang chimed in, laughing.
"A cosmic event like that couldn't possibly bless just one of us—especially someone who didn't even see it in person."
"It has to be something affecting the entire planet."
Wyatt couldn't stop laughing. He'd wondered last night if any classmates had awakened abilities too, but never expected anyone to use "magic tricks" as a cover—only to be exposed immediately.
The whole thing was just too funny.
Sean, already feeling defeated, slumped even lower.
He wasn't alone—other classmates who'd secretly thought they were the main character also glanced away in embarrassment, thankful that at least Sean had drawn the attention.
Who could've predicted that powers, once thought to exist only in fiction, would suddenly become so widespread?
Most had probably believed they'd be the "chosen one."
After all, they were just high school seniors. With so little time for entertainment or reading, their imaginations were still pure.
Wyatt and Brandon were different.
Still, as embarrassing as it was for some, the ones feeling most out of place were those who hadn't awakened anything at all.
Watching classmates show off real powers left them in disbelief.
What was happening?
Wait—these weren't magic tricks? This was real?
Did the Seven Stars Alignment really awaken superpowers? But why didn't I get one?
Was the world changing without me?
Brandon glanced around—out of forty-three students in the class, about fifteen hadn't awakened any powers. The overall rate of awakening was actually quite high.
As for why some didn't awaken? That was just the way it was—where some gain, others do not.
It wasn't something to worry about.
"I'd guess about half the class has powers now," Brandon said.
"And like Wyatt said, it's thanks to the Seven Stars Alignment."
"In stories, something like that usually signals the recovery of spiritual energy—not just for humans, but for the whole world."
"So, without a doubt, we're entering a brand-new era—a global era of evolution."
"We're the witnesses, maybe even the pioneers, of this new age."
"If you think about it, we're actually pretty lucky—to be alive to see something like this."
The class president couldn't help but comment, his eyes bright with excitement.
Everyone with powers felt the same.
They were all filled with anticipation for the future, eager to carve out a new era for themselves.
For those without abilities, there would always be ordinary people in any age.
Perhaps for them, life would simply continue as before.
But the future held endless possibilities.
No one could say for sure what tomorrow would bring.
(End of Chapter)