The morning atmosphere at Cheongju High School in South Korea felt ordinary enough. Sunlight streamed through the windows of Class 10-B, illuminating the neat desks. In the far corner, a boy sat alone, his head slightly bowed over a book. His unique white hair glowed in the sunlight, but he always hid it under a slightly slouched cap. His blue eyes were fixed on the page, as if he didn't care about the noisy chatter of his classmates around him.
Classmate 1 (pointing at Ryu): "Hey look, that white-haired Chinese kid's reading alone again. Seriously, he's like a soulless ghost."
Classmate 2 (laughing): "Yeah, he still doesn't have any power at all. Just a regular human in a school full of superpowered people."
Ryu just let out a quiet sigh, not wanting to pay them any mind. His thoughts drifted back to Malaysia, to his childhood when he'd always been bullied too for having no power. He remembered his father's words that always encouraged him...
A few hours later, all the students gathered on the school's large field. In the middle of the field stood a big silver device, shaped like a cube with a holographic screen on the front. It was the Power Meter Version 7.0 – the latest tool that could measure a person's power level up to the very top.
Teacher Kim (loud voice): "All students, today we'll be remeasuring your power to select participants for the National Power User Competition! Come forward one by one, don't be shy!"
One by one, students stepped up. First was Park Min-ji, the popular girl with fire-control powers.
Park Min-ji (smiling proudly): "Wait till you see, my power's definitely gone up!"
She touched the device's surface, and the holographic screen lit up with a bright number: LEVEL 47 – MEDIUM-LEVEL FIRE POWER.
All students (shouting): "Whoa, that's so cool, Min-ji!"
Next was Lee Joon-ho, the school gang leader with wind-control powers.
Lee Joon-ho (bowing his head slightly): "Let me show you what I've got!"
He touched the device, and the screen displayed: LEVEL 52 – HIGH-LEVEL WIND POWER.
His friends (cheering excitedly): "That's awesome, hyung!"
More and more students stepped up, numbers flashing on the screen one after another. Some were level 20, some level 35 – all had clear powers. Until finally...
Teacher Kim: "Ryu Arion! Please come forward!"
The teacher's voice made the entire field fall silent for a moment. All eyes turned to Ryu, who slowly stood up from his place. His cap slipped a little, revealing more of his white hair. He walked with slow steps, his face blank and expressionless.
Classmate 1 (whispering): "Him? He doesn't have any power at all, why's he even coming up?"
Classmate 2 (laughing): "Maybe the device'll show zero! Hahaha!"
Ryu stood in front of the device. His slightly trembling hand touched the silver surface. And just then...
BZZZTT!!
A loud buzzing sound rang out. The device's light grew brighter and brighter, until it blinded everyone. Then...
CRAAASSHH!!
The Power Meter suddenly shattered into pieces! Metal fragments flew in all directions, its holographic screen smashed into shards, and black smoke poured out from inside.
EVERYONE WAS SHOCKED! Some students stumbled back in surprise, Teacher Kim stood frozen, his mouth wide open. Only Ryu remained calm, his hand still hanging in the air.
Ryu (to himself): "Ah... damn it. Just a broken device, right? Like always, I really don't have any power at all."
He was about to walk back to his place, but Teacher Kim suddenly shouted in a trembling voice:
Teacher Kim: "R-Ryu Arion... you... you're on the competition participant list!"
Ryu stopped for a moment. His body tensed slightly, but his face stayed blank. Inside, a wave of shock he couldn't hide washed over him.
Ryu (to himself): "What? Why? The device broke... that means I don't have any power... right?"
All the students were still too shocked to speak. Their eyes stayed fixed on Ryu as he slowly walked back to his seat, his cap back over his white hair. Under the cap, his blue eyes stared at the ground, his mind filled with unanswered questions.
END OF CHAPTER 1