Chapter 146: The Test
"But you... you are different. Your Core Essence is nothing like a human’s. It’s strong and domineering. It doesn’t try to adapt to an environment, instead, it forces an environment to adapt to it. And there is even more in there. Other Core Essences that aren’t a part of the main Essence. And one of them is the same Essence I feel from my own people. The Core Essence of a Dragonborn. Are you... one of us?"
Riyala looked up at Jason once she was done talking. There was a seriousness in her eyes that told Jason she was genuinely curious, and Jason had to wonder just how much information he was really giving out from his mana alone. If it was this easy for Riyala to notice what he was just by reading his mana, then it’d be just as easy for a stronger opponent to do the same.
’I need to learn how to control this.’
This thought passed through Jason’s mind and his eyes narrowed as he spoke to the system.
’Is there a way to hide my Core Essence?’
[The Core Essence is a part of every species’ biological makeup. There is no known method for masking it and only those species with specific biological traits that allow them to mask their Essence are capable of it.]
The system’s message was clear and Jason clicked his tongue quietly before shaking his head. Jason knew that the changes in his Core Essence was happening because the Magic Crystals he had been eating were changing his biological makeup and giving him skills, so he didn’t need to think too much about the reason behind the changes. But he needed a way to make sure people weren’t picking out his abilities from only a glance. The best course of action might be to find a new skill that would allow him to mask his mana and Core Essence. Once Riyala saw Jason narrow his eyes, she immediately tried to apologize since she thought that she had made him mad at her, but Jason stopped her with a small grin.
"It’s fine, I’m not angry. I’m just surprised you were able to pick out my Core Essence so easily. You must’ve worked really hard to learn how to do that. But no, I’m not a Dragonborn. I’ve never even been to Radagan."
Jason turned back to the burgers and Riyala calmly watched him flip them over before she finally had to ask.
"If you aren’t a Dragonborn, then can you tell me what world you are from?"
Jason’s eyes narrowed at the burgers.
"My world doesn’t exist anymore."
Riyala blinked in shock at the revelation and she immediately looked away in shame. Riyala was no stranger to the atrocities that happen in the Primordial Expanse. There were many worlds out there that had gone extinct simply because some stronger world decided they had to be destroyed. And there were even more worlds that were destroyed by internal conflict and greed. Riyala didn’t need to know which one of these two possibilities caused Jason’s world to be destroyed. All that mattered was that Jason was alone.
"I’m sorry."
"Don’t be. I barely knew most of my people and that was a long time ago. That’s behind me now. Come on, the food’s ready, eat up. There’s more in the pot, so you can take some if you get hungry later. Gina should be back soon."
Jason cleaned his hands on the apron once again and began walking away with a smile and Riyala watched him go with a calm gaze. Even though Jason was smiling and acting like he wasn’t affected by what they spoke about, Riyala could tell that he was actually hurt. No one would be happy knowing that their people were extinct.
’I shouldn’t have asked.’
Riyala berated herself as she turned back to the burgers in front of her. But once she got a whiff of it, her stomach grumbled again and she blushed in slight embarrassment. Jason laughed from behind her as he said a final goodbye and left the house and Riyala decided that she needed to deal with her hunger before anything else!
’I’ll find a way to apologize when he comes back.’
...
[The SMD Building]
The sound of loud chatter could be heard coming from every street leading up to the SMD building! The path leading up to the building entrance was literally packed with people. On one side, there were reporters and bloggers gathered together with flashing cameras and microphones as they gave their reports to those watching from home, and on the other side, there were hundreds of guild representatives who were either on the phone with their guild or talking to each other as they anticipated how the day was going to go!
The reason behind such an enormous crowd was because today was the one day of the month when the public would be getting a clear view of the next generation of Superhumans that would soon be joining the Guild Forces. The assessment day was seen as a big deal every single month due to how many promising new talents could be seen, and since the SMD allowed some of the more reputable guild representatives to enter the building and scout out the promising young talents, the reporters were also curious to see if any of the new superhumans would be joining any of the large guilds!
Vroom!
The sound of a car alerted all the reporters and guild representatives to the arriving Superhumans and they all turned their cameras to the large bus that arrived on the scene! The bus opened and many young teenagers began to emerge from it with wide eyes that looked around in awe!
The reporters went wild!
"Over here! Kids, over here! Give us a smile for the camera!"
"And behind me, you can clearly see the next generation of superhumans who will be taking their Superhuman Assessment test today! It is yet to be seen whether or not there will be some drama to unfold, but from what we can see so far, it appears that our lives are in good hands."
"The superhumans have finally arrived on the scene, chat! Can you believe these kids are going to be entering Gates soon!? They looked like lambs going to the slaughter!"
A beautiful girl wearing pink accessories and large cat ears spoke up from the side while bouncing excitedly and flashing her assets toward her phone camera.
"Hey, hey, star nation! It’s your star girl here coming live to you from the SMD building nya~! The superhumans are here and they’re all so beautiful and handsome! Oh my goodness, look at that boy, if I was still sixteen, I would have gobbled him up nya~! So handsome~!"
"Look over there, it’s Henry!"
"Shit, it’s really him! They said he was the highest graduating student from his set in Core City!"
"His Gift is amazing! He can control water like it’s a part of him!"
"Yeah, I even heard he beat up one of the superhumans from Japan in the final exam! It was shown on national TV!"
The crowd slowly began to zero in their focus on one single boy who was walking ahead of all the other teenagers in the crowd. He was an effeminate-looking boy with a pretty face. He had long blond hair tied in a ponytail behind his head and dark purple eyes that seemed to glitter under the sun. His face was set into a cold mask and he didn’t bother turning to give anyone attention as he headed straight for the entrance!