Awakening (4)

Alexander stared blankly at the numbers, wondering what on earth was happening.

Ross may not have been the only one to have such a record, but the instances of something like this being seen were rare.

Even with the size of the Human Empire that spanned billions upon billions of light years, values like this didn't come very often.

Another point to note was that Beings who had values within the extremes of their awakening had the highest chance of becoming ultimate powerhouses known to humanity.

Eein looked at his brother and smiled with pride. Ross had always been a bit of an oddball in their family, even for One-Horned.

Hearing the murmurs of his brother's feat, something even he didn't achieve, nearly brought tears to his eyes. 'Looks like you've taken the first step to becoming our family's powerhouse, ' he silently thought.

After bathing in the glow of his record, he moved on to the speed test, and just like before, had a record close to the extremes: 161 km/h.

Now the only thing left for him to try out was his ability. Moving to the space allocated for that, Ross took a deep breath to regulate his energies.

Immediately upon awakening, a person discovered their ability to sense the flow of mana within them.

Ross channelled the power within him to his right hand and then pointed it outward. Almost immediately, his palm began to glow red until a flame was produced. 

To no one's surprise, nearly everyone who knew him had more or less guessed the same. His brother possessed a similar ability with flames, after all. Generally, members of the same family tended to develop a comparable set of abilities. 

The temperature in the space quickly increased as the intensity increased. But Ross continued channelling his mana to see how far he could push it.

His flames grew in size, and he moulded them into the desired shape of a small ball with some difficulty. After testing his skill, he stopped channelling his mana and stepped out. 

"Aren't you impressed?" Ross posed, waiting for his mates to comment.

"Show off," Alex scoffed before adding, "I always knew you were a weird one, never thought you'd be across the board. Now, you're just a monster."

"Of course. I'm awesome like that," replied Ross with his arms spread wide, basking in the glory of his awakening. 

"I'll go next. Look forward to being impressed," Julia stepped forward to conduct her tests. Ross's display had ignited her enthusiasm. 

With a determined look on her face, Julia went to measure her strength level, while Alex quietly observed her actions with an amused smile.

'She's feeling competitive. I can understand that.'

He thought before turning to look at Ross, who was waving at his brother. As if noticing his gaze, Ross turned to Alex and asked, "What?"

Alex shook his head, returning his attention to Julia, who had already taken a stance. The two boys closely watched her actions, waiting for the moment.

BOOM...!

Julia stepped back and looked at the display with fiery eyes, awaiting her results. Back at the spectator section, James closely watched the Young Miss's display with no hint of anxiousness in his demeanour.

If one were to look closely at his eyes, one could see lenses recording everything. Whether it was a live feed or a recorded video, only the parties involved knew.

Soon, the result of her punch was revealed, and although it wasn't as remarkable as Ross's, it was still in the realm where one could be deemed a genius.

[552 units]

A further wave of surprise swept across the floor. The onlookers were curious about the identities of the youngsters.

"Were newly awakened kids always this powerful?" Someone couldn't help but ask curiously. 

"You wish. They are probably from some powerful families." Another commented.

"Then why would they be awakening here?"

"Beats me. Whatever the case, these kids are about to take the empire by storm."

...

Julia was pleased with her results. She understood how rare it was for newly awakened humans to achieve such extraordinary results.

People like Ross were rare exceptions. She quickly moved on to take the speed test, and again, exceeded expectations.

Once inside the space for her ability reveal, Julia took a deep breath to calm herself. A family as large as hers, with all its branches, could awaken any ability and was not explicitly tied to one specific type and its variants. 

The Knight princess channelled her mana into her palms and manifested her skill. A cold breeze blew around her as the temperature plummeted to ambient levels.

Slightly above her palm, an icicle began to form. This icicle gradually lengthened as she poured more mana into it. 

A smile appeared on her lips as she lifted her head to glance at Alex and Ross, noticing them giving her a thumbs up. 

'Is it a coincidence or what?' Alex silently mused to himself. The way she described her personality and the colour of her hair suggested she was destined to awaken an ice skill.

Julia made her way out and approached the duo. "Told you I'd impress you guys." She said with a brilliant, cheeky smile.

Even with her records overshadowed by Ross's, she displayed pride in her own. Alex noticed this and was once again impressed by the kind of person she was.

"Indeed. Now I'm the only one left." Alex nodded, preparing his psyche for whatever he would showcase.

His friends gave him their encouragement as he slowly moved forward. From the spectator's area, his family cheered him up, watching as Alex made his way to the first test area.

'It's show time.' Alex breathed out loudly and took his stance, feeling quite anxious. 'Why am I even nervous?' The performance of his friends had created an unseen pressure on him.

However, he knew that, regardless of his results, his family would still be proud. Momentarily closing his eyes, Alexander abruptly opened them, his gaze flashing a dark hue before fading away.

"Here goes nothing," He silently muttered and threw a punch forward.

BOOM...!

"Eh?"