The Display

'There is a lot to unpack here; for starters, I have no idea what a particle grade is, but it's set to none, meaning I…don't have any particles, whatever the hell that means…wait a second, the starter dialogue said something about preparing for Alpha Particle adaptation and increase. Ah, that's why I have a tag stating I am assimilating Alpha Particles.' 

As I analyzed the information and made conjectures, out of pure habit, I flopped onto the couch beside my father's recliner. 

'That info alone allows me to conclude that these particles must be some type of energy, like Mana in Western fantasy or Qi/Ki in Eastern.' Approvingly nodding my head, I continued. 

'Since my status shows me having "None," yet assimilating these Alpha particles, it's safe to assume that I should eventually obtain something akin to a Mana Grade or Tier.' Feeling the telltale signs of a headache budding, I stopped that train of thought and shook my head.

'Either way, I should move on; for now, there is still too much to review.' Taking a slow and steady breath, I moved away from the Particle grade and down to the Race line. 

'My race is listed as basic human; from that, I can assume there must be higher forms…especially if you add in the race rank, which is at "First Classification," and from that alone, I can determine that First Class isn't the top of the chart, but instead the bottom.' Then my eyes trailed down another line, and a giant shit-eating grin spread across my face.

'Talent, Psy-Kinesis, this is a can of worms, though, because it didn't call it telekinesis but instead opted to call it Psy, which I assume stands for psychokinesis. So either I have a mind control talent, or I can move stuff with my mind.' 

'Either way, I don't give a rat's ass; HELL YEAH, I've got a superpower!' However, before I could be overcome with excitement at this development, my brain came to a screeching halt as I read the following line of dialog. 

'Talent Potential Grade: Beta, no, it couldn't mean what I think it does…right?' slowly, reality began to set in as the sounds from the news broadcast drifted to my ears. 

"The results are finally in; after testing everyone in the studio and collecting their Status, we have determined that the Talent and Talent Potential Grade of everyone appears to be different and predetermined."

"Although inconclusive, as we don't have much to work with, we here at Hound News have discerned some important information."

"There seems to be a correlation between the Scale which Talents and what has been labeled as Particles with the Greek Alphabet; thus, it isn't much of a leap to assume the Grades are in a standard ascending order, With Alpha being the lowest level, and so far the highest we have found in the studio being Gamma."

"Allow me to preface since this is still a developing story; everything we have stated is to be considered conjecture, and as we learn more information, we will bring it to you as soon as possible."

While the news anchor continued babbling on and repeating himself, as the media tends to do, my father and I were utterly silent for two vastly different reasons. 

In his case, he was utterly confused about what was happening. In contrast, I was falling into a pit of never-ending depression as I had already come to conclusions of my own, which, although baseless, were logical. 

'Fuck…fuck fuck fuck, leave it to my shitty luck to give me a trash-tier Potential grade, fucking BETA UGH!' I screamed internally.

'There are two to three leveling systems in play here, the first being the particle grade, which if compared to all the System and Cultivation novels I have read, can be considered my Cultivation/Tier ranking.'

'Alpha, as in Alpha Particles, that's what Earth is being subjected to, and for now, I will consider that to be the peak power we can reach. Or that's how I believe it should work. Still FUCKING BETA GRADE!!.'

'It's as if the universe is telling me the most I can amount to is being a fucking Beta-Male, and I, for one, DON'T FUCKING ACCEPT IT!' Unconsciously clenching my fists and gritting my teeth, I moved my eyes further, down the list bypassing a couple of things as my pupils trained in on the lackluster numbers. 

'What…the actual fuck am I looking at here. Physical Offense and Defense, Meta Physical Offense and Defense… where's the STR, DEX, and shit? The only one that even remotely resembles pop culture franchises is the Intellect…, which is my highest stat.'

'Also, WHAT THE FUCK! Basing this shit on basic weeb knowledge, if 1 point is an average human male, then why the fuck is my shit so low?'

'I get the meta-physical shit; that is pretty obvious since I don't have any magic to use or anything, but COME ON, 0.1 Physical Defense, 0.7 Physical Offense!'

'I literally trained in MMA, Brazillian Jiujitsu, and Wrestling for all my childhood until my training accident in the Air Force! I should at least have higher stat points; there is no way I have let my body degrade THAT much!' I complained to no one in particular.

Feeling an impending mental breakdown scratching at the back of my mind, I forced myself to take several long, deep breaths before glancing over at my father.

"Have you followed the news and checked your Status, Dad?" I asked, startling the elderly man out of his thoughts.

"Yes, according to this golden list thing, I am stupid and weak but have a pretty good offense number. The news stated that the average number they see in the studio is 1-1.5 in both physical numbers and Intellect." Wearing a slightly bewildered expression, my father looked up at me questioningly. 

"But it seems I am below their average numbers in all but one of them, with 0.9 Intellect and 0.1 Physical Defense, but my Physical Offense is 1.2, so that's good, right?" Unsure of himself, my father rattled off his numbers, causing my already bad mental state to practically fracture entirely.