Chapter 1 - Today's the Day
"Ken-Chan?! Get up, today's the day and you're still in bed!" Kenji tossed to the side as his older sister Taiku yelled at the top of her voice at him to get out of bed.
"Just like you…to give up on your dreams just because you're damn lazy!" she wanted him do get up for his own good.
Rememebering what he had been waiting years for, he jumped out of his sleep saying, "Oh shit! You're right!"
Today was the day after Hashira Kenji's eighteenth birthday and he had been looking forward to this day. The effects of human activity on the planet had gone too far for any fast changing results and this led to the rapid deterioration of planet earth and as such, there was a need for a way to save humanity.
Five hundred years into the past, an astounding Japanese scientist specialising in astrology had made a life saving discovery: the finding of other habitable planets all over the galaxy. As soon as this news got out, the world of science went into a frenzy. All attempts to create ships that could travel through the cosmos had failed, leaving them to find another option.
Engineers all over the world pooled their knowledge to find a better alternative until one was found a year after: the development of interdimensional portals which utilized biotic tracing to find oxygen on other planets and use this technology to travel from earth to these other planets, it was a breakthrough for all human kind.
The program was immediately put in place and all went smoothly for a year, humans now had the option of taking up residence in other planets, until a day came when a foreign beast came through a portal, ravaging the entire city in which the portal was set up, it took almost all the military's artillery to contain the creature and this called for a return to the drawing board.
Thus the invention of 'The System' was introduced a few years later. The studying of the beast gave the inspiration to create this technology which allowed robotic replication of the beast's cells which could be then used in the mutation of human cells which gave them abilities that far exceeded the norm.
Those who were gifted these abilities were called Users. The usage of the system was advanced when the first Users discovered other beasts and it went on for a long time with no detrimental effects to those who remained on earth.
Today was the day Kenji would become a User.
Humans had the choice of becoming a user upon reaching the age of sixteen. Poverty had been virtually eradicated over the last century and this gave every single human being the ability to enter whatever profession they pleased. Becoming a user would entitle one to have the higher ups take care of their families and all they had to do was fight to the best of their ability, sounds like good deal right?
"Come to the bottom floor," Taiku calmed down as she shifted her black hair behind her back, "your breakfast is on the table."
After she left, Kenji put on a white shirt he had left on the edge of his mirror. "This is it man," he spoke to his reflection as he rustled his messy black hair after which he took the metal stairs down to the bottom floor.
He was greeted with a table laid out with enticing breakfast foods but only took a single slice of bread before heading out.
"I'm taking the motorcycle Onee-Chan!! I'll be back soon!" he shouted as he pressed a button opening the sliding front door, she didn't even bother to answer, she just kept her back turned to him as she started up the dish washer.
Kenji soon entered the garage where he spotted his favourite vehicle in the left corner, the red motorcycle had a paint job of patterned electricity and it appealed to him more than the many other cars his family owned. Both his parents were elite Users but they always made sure that he and his sister were living the best life they could.
After finishing his slice of bread, Kenji mounted the bike, unlike motorcycles of the vintage age of the 21st century where a throttle needed to be flipped to start the vehicle, a button was clicked and it was running.
The motorcycle was almost silent and the only sound that was heard was the sound of concentrated energy from that of a video game, yet another advance in technology. After taking in the entrancing sound of technology which Kenji loved, he set off, heading straight for the User Assignment Agency stationed in his city.
He arrived in front of the massive building in less that ten minutes. Parking the vehicle in a rotating lot, he entered.
"Why good morning young man," a tall woman in a lab coat approached Kenji wearing a wrist band which projected a tablet into her hand, "You're quite early, I presume you're here to become a User?"
"Yup! I'm ready!" Kenji's eyes showed utmost determination as he nodded his head quickly.
"Alright then," the scientist giggled under her breath and led Kenji to a white room, "We'll do the inspection here, this will see if you've met the requirements to become a User."
Kenji had expected this, he spent most of his teenage years getting information on the process of becoming a User, one would need to be of a specific genetic and physical aptitude to pass.
"Just stand still young man, this'll only take a minute, anytime you're ready," the scientist said as she walked over to Kenji after switching her screen to a different page.
Nodding again, Kenji initiated the testing to commence. The scientist pressed an icon on her screen and both her eyes changed from the dark brown to a bright green colour, mechanical wheels turned in her iris as she scanned Kenji's body and as she had previously stated, she was finished in precisely one minute.
"Great! You got perfect score!" she commended him as she returned her eyes to their normal colour, "Come with me please,"
Kenji was led to a room with a metal bed standing in the center, many computer screens lined the room and there was a cabinet with many needle-less syringes.
"Please choose the system category you would like to acquire," her tablet seemed to have disappeared as she leaned over a holographic keyboard.
The system a User could specialize in was spread out into three categories namely:
Evolution: Which changed the very chemical and biological makeup of the User so they could acquire the superhuman abilities other beasts possessed.
Constitution: Which focused on enhancing an attribute the User already possessed, giving one very specific abilities. Superspeed as an example.
Sorcery: Which allowed the User to manipulate the elements of nature in supernatural ways.
Kenji had already made up his mind and decided to choose the Evolution category, since he always fascinated with being another species which was greatly influenced by the many fantasy novels he read.
"Very well, now come here and choose a specific one," the scientist used a finger to beckon him over to her after she selected his category.
"Hmmmm…" Kenji scrolled through the many options with his hand at his chin, he hadn't looked much into the specifics and thought he could choose one that appealed to him. After a scrolling for a while, something peculiar caught his eye, "what's this?" he thought with a cocked eyebrow.
After the system of
The scientist was watching him closely and she too seemed confused, "I suggest you look at the preview before choosing," she warned.
Kenji clicked the system and to both he and the scientist's surprise, it held nothing, only a large, blinking question mark.
"Must be a glitch, please choose another one…" the intelligent intuition of the scientist kicked in as she urged him to pick another but Kenji, being as mischievous as he was thought otherwise.
"I'll take this one!" he firmly stated with a wry smile which shocked the scientist.
"…Ar-are you sure?" she asked with a shaking voice but Kenji wouldn't change his answer and pretty soon she had to oblige.
She instructed him to lay on the metal bed while she prepared to install the system into him. He did just that while she typed in a command to the computer, she walked over a while later holding a syringe that was made so that the liquid couldn't be seen.
"Please keep your right eye open," she instructed as she activated her metal eyes once more, "you'll lose consciousness from this but that's just a side effect, when you wake the system will be fully operational."
Kenji was so eager to become a User he had already stopped blinking, he could hardly lay still, "I get it, just hurry up," he ordered.
"Very well," the scientist wasted no more time and approached him. She held his head in place and held the syringe over his eyes, injecting him a few moments later. The feeling of metallic liquid running straight to his brain made Kenji feel immensely dizzy.
And in a few seconds he passed out.