Tsukuru, Vorden, and Quinn all looked at each other, and began to make their way towards the platform. The meek, brown-haired boy who had been standing directly to Quinn's right, the aforementioned Peter Chuck, also began to walk with them. As they walked, Tsukuru noticed that Peter was looking around constantly, like a skittish deer. As he looked down at him, the System's vector appeared over his head. Like usual, a line extended to the left of it, before going upwards and leading to a square that showed a close-up photo of his face.
Text appeared under the square.
[Name: Peter Chuck
Race: Human
Ability: None]
Seeing Peter's actions, Tsukuru grit his teeth in anger. It reminded him of how much he DESPISED the world's caste system. He subconsciously gripped his hand around the dog tag around his neck. He realized Peter wasn't like him. Peter was probably part of one of the countless families too poor to buy Ability Books, and thus forced to remain as the dregs of society.
'God, I cannot WAIT for this whole system to burn itself down.' Tsukuru thought bitterly. 'Eventually, that PIECE OF SHIT, Jack Trudream, will die. And then, this whole caste system will come crumbling down.' He thought, his eyes narrowing. 'Oh, how I look forward to seeing those at the top being eaten alive by those they treated like filth for years.'
Of course, Tsukuru knew he couldn't voice any of these thoughts. If he did, he'd be deemed an "Agent of Pure", the "terrorist organization" that opposed Abilities and the Military's rule, even despite his entire family serving in the military, with his older sister even being a high-ranking sergeant. The creation of Pure must have been SO CONVENIENT for the Military. Anyone who stands up to them could just be accused as being "a member of Pure", and be locked away. As Tsukuru and the rest of the group reached the platform, they stopped behind another group that was currently being transported.
As they waited, Vorden used this time to walk around and greet every member of the group, just like he had done with Tsukuru and Quinn. As Vorden was very polite, the other members of the group accepted his greetings. Well, except for the blonde girl. As Tsukuru looked at her, the System's vector appeared over her in his vision. A line extended from the left of it before going up, and leading to a square that displayed a close-up photo of the girl's face.
Text appeared beneath the square.
[Name: Erin Heley.
Race: Human
Ability: Ice Element
Ability Level: 5]
The vector then auto-locked on the girl next to her, a girl with brown hair and a bow on her back, as she was also in Tsukuru's vision. Due to Erin's information still being on the "screen" of Tsukuru's vision, her photo and information was shown on the right of Tsukuru's vision, similar to that of the "Raten Blade" personality within Vorden.
[Name: Layla Munrow
Race: Human
Ability: Telekinesis
Ability Level: 2]
Tsukuru watched as Erin brushed off Vorden's handshake.
"Hey, don't be like that!" He said, as he put his hand on her shoulder. The next second, Erin grabbed his hand, and twisted it. Ice began to crawl up his hand, freezing it. Upon seeing her displaying her Ability, various people around them began to pipe up. However, as it seemed none of them had anything worthwhile to say, Tsukuru tuned them out.
"Stop it, you two!" Sergeant Krow barked. "If you have enough energy to pick a fight, save it for the test!" Erin immediately dropped Vorden's hand, leaving him gasping in pain. His hand began to defrost. Tsukuru quirked an eyebrow at her.
'What the hell's HER problem?' He thought to himself. Meanwhile, next to him, Vorden and Quinn were having a conversation.
"Can you believe her?" Vorden complained. "I almost lost my arm!" As Tsukuru watched them, he noticed there was a change in Vorden's information. Below the
"Ability Capacity: 1" line, there was another set of two lines, indented forwards, almost like bullet points. It read:
[Ability 1: Ice Element
Ability Level: 5]
Seeing it, Tsukuru raised an eyebrow.
'Ah, so THAT'S what the Copy Ability does.' He mused.
"You can't just go around touching people without their permission." Quinn shot back.
"Yeah, I know." Vorden replied. "She's lucky I didn't wipe the floor with her just cause she's a pretty girl!" Tsukuru watched as Quinn began to step back away from Vorden, as the people around him started to get rowdy from Vorden's words.
'Simps.' Tsukuru thought to himself. It was at that point that the group was called forward. There were two figures on the platform. The first was a figure whose hood completely hid his face.
The second was a middle-aged woman in a lab coat who appeared to be emotionally void. However, every time she looked at Tsukuru, an anxious look appeared to crack her emotionless mask. In her hands, she held a tablet and stylus like a clipboard.
"When I call your name, step forward." She replied. "Once your information has been recorded, wait in that square until all the members of the group have been processed." She jabbed her finger at a white square on the ground, looking as though it was made with chalk. "Now, let's see here…" She muttered to herself, as she studied her clipboard.
"Hmm, it appears we have a few Level 1s. Peter Chuck, step forward." The nervous boy did as he was told. "What is your Ability?" She asked. Peter looked away.
"I don't have one." He replied. The woman gave him a bored expression, as if she had heard that sentence a million times. The man next to her conjured a book, likely the Earth Ability Book possessed by the Military. She took the book, and handed it to Peter.
"Take this." She replied.
"Really?" Peter asked, his eyes brightened. "Thank you!" Peter clutched the book in his arms tightly.
"Study the book, and you can re-take the test once you've made some progress." She replied emotionless without even looking up from her clipboard. "But in the meantime, I'll have to temporarily give you a Level 1 status." As Peter took the first spot in the square, the woman turned to the others.
"Quinn Talen, step forward." Tsukuru watched as Quinn did as he was told. "What is your Ability?" Quinn took a deep breath.
"I don't have one." He replied. Like before, the man produced a book and handed it to the woman, who in turn handed it to Quinn. However, as she did, a System message appeared in front of Quinn. But, he was not the only one who saw it; Tsukuru did, as well.
[Unable to learn this Ability. Would you like to convert the Level 1 Earth Ability Book into 10 Exp?]
Tsukuru's eyes narrowed.
''Unable to learn the Ability'?' Tsukuru thought. 'What kind of System makes you incompatible with Abilities?' Tsukuru was broken from his musings as he saw Quinn give the book back.
"I'm sorry, but I don't want it." Quinn said. The woman raised an eyebrow, and stepped aside, likely to report Quinn's actions and receive orders from her superiors. A few minutes later, she returned. She then turned to Quinn.
"Although you don't want the Ability Book, you're still required to take the test." While Quinn found this bizarre, Tsukuru's jaded world view made him let out a bitter snort. The sound made Vorden glance at him.
"Of course he is." Tsukuru muttered to no one in particular. It didn't take a genius to realize that this was a stunt. The military wanted to make Quinn feel small and insignificant for "rejecting their generous gift". As Quinn stepped into the square to join Peter, the woman looked down at her tablet for the next name.
When she did so, her eyes went wide. She let out a cough, clearly on edge.
"Hikiko Tsukuru." Tsukuru glanced over at her. "Normally, we test all of the Level 1s at once." She looked away. "However, due to the…paperwork error…you would normally have been the first person tested in the next group. Therefore, you will be tested last."
Despite it being a statement, her shaky tone made it seem almost as if she was asking permission. Realizing this, Tsukuru let out a sigh. He sometimes forgot that Shizuka's shadow always loomed over him like a shadowy devil, especially around military officials. He waved his hand dismissively. The woman let out a sigh in relief.
She turned to the others
"Layla Munrow, step forward." She announced. The brown-haired girl with the bow on her back stepped forward. As Layla stepped forward, Jane looked at her. "What is your Ability?" She asked.
"Telekinesis." Layla replied.