Under a large tree, Kiba closed his eyes and rested his back against the trunk of the tree. He hasn’t used much power but he was mentally drained after overcoming the urge created by his powers.
If it was other time, he would have tried to play with his slave - Ruby- but now he was dozing off. Ruby was sitting next to him, her head resting on his shoulder.
They both looked like a couple who were in love despite the dangerous environment.
Behind the tree, Amir and others were resting while Ashlyn was sitting some distance away from them, cold and aloof.
After they ran from the habitat of lizards, she didn’t say a single word to any one of them.
Seeing traces of blood on Ashyln’s lips, Mina walked to her to offer her a recovery pill, but Ashlyn refused without stating any word.
Mina was surprised but not startled. From the days she has known her, Ashlyn has never accepted any medicinal pill from anyone.
It was either she didn’t need medicine or she didn’t trust anyone of them when it comes to drugs. The second seemed to be an obvious scenario, and Mina understood this so she backed off and returned to Amir.
"She is a strange one," Mina said before falling asleep.
"Yeah," Amir nodded as he observed Ashyln and recalled the battle between her and the blood blade a few hours ago.
While he was obviously happy to see the blood blade being extinguished by her, it also worried him as the leader of Blue Cliff Group.
For any leader, the most frightening possibility was having an extremely talented and powerful member with the ability to surpass him. This was especially true in a place like Desolate Blood Forest where the hearts of everyone filled with greed.
Ashlyn was a temporary member just like Kiba and Ruby in the group. Amir didn’t think either of the three envied his leadership position.
That wasn’t what worried him. He was worried the temporary members would betray him at a crucial moment. This seemed especially true for Ashyln who has shown far superior skills in battle.
So far, Ashyln has followed his suggestions as per the agreement, and has shown no signs of rebellion, but who was to say this behavior would continue in the future?
"Just what level of a mutant is she?" Amir wondered in his heart.
Mutant.
A simple word referring to any creature having extranormal powers and abilities.
Superhuman, extraordinaire, metahuman, freak, quirk, blessed one, and so on. There were around hundreds of names to refer to such superior beings with powers.
No matter the title, the common factor among people sharing such titles was the existence of a special gene, also known as the divine gene.
The gene was called divine due to the alien genetic matter which brought the age of evolution on Earth - Divine Particles.
These supreme particles created a mystic biological phenomenon throughout the world by acting as a catalyst for evolution.
While even the top scientists couldn’t truly explain the workings of the phenomenon, there was one thing which everyone agreed on: The particles stuck on the genetic data of an individual to create divine gene.
From one generation to another, the reproductive cycle continued to ensure the existence of this gene.
A gene whose very existence made one different from an ordinary person. A gene which gives one the right to be special and look over the world as long as one can tap in its infinite power.
Just the existence of the gene was nothing extraordinary though, given more than half the population on Earth were mutants.
What makes one stand out amongst the others was the nature of the abilities and the mastery.
Flight, energy projection, accelerated healing, enhanced physical strength, and agility were the abilities which most population was blessed with. This didn’t mean such abilities were supposed to be looked down just because they were not rare.
The worth of a mutant depended on the extent by which one can use his or her abilities.
This was even true for those with rare abilities such as telekinesis, telepathy, foresight, elemental control, teleportation, plant manipulation, shapeshifting, and so on.
But there were mutants whose worth never depended on their mastery. They might be noobs with no sense of their powers, and yet, they were considered truly special and extraordinary.
Such mutants were the rarest of rare, and it would be hard to find one even among million mutants.
Why?
Because these mutants were blessed with abilities which could theoretically defy the rules of the world and pose a risk to the planet’s existence.
Reality warping, metaphysics manipulation, time and space, superior psionic abilities, control over the matter and energy, and so on.
Mutants with such abilities were the ones with the most powerful genetic potential. Their very existence could lead to deaths of thousands if their powers were not checked.
Thus, given the complications of varying abilities and mastery, it was rather difficult to classify mutants into one broad category.
Yet a global standard was needed. To meet this need, the world government introduced classifications which were accepted even by top organizations and revolutionaries.
The classification was on levels I to IX. The levels, in turn, depended on the nature of ability and control.
A mutant who has just awakened his ability, with no superior power, was not even considered to be level I. Such people were called mutants to denote their difference from an ordinary person, but otherwise, they were at the bottom of the rankings, no place at all.
A mutant with reasonable control and plenty of power to defend or harm was considered a level I. From level II onwards, the control and the power needed to be amplified.
Obviously, it wasn’t easy to judge the level of a person just by looking at his or her ability in action. After all, one can always hide the true extent of powers.
To overcome this complication, scientists have created machines capable of reading the aura of a person and judge the level.
Of course, such machines were very costly. Not to mention, their sales were limited and only those with influence could purchase them.
If Amir had such a machine, he obviously wouldn’t be in a dilemma about the powers of Ashyln.
He might not know Ashyln, but he was aware of the general powers of beasts here.
Like Crazy Rampage King, the giant beast, who made the entire team of Blue Cliff Mountain dread in fear was a level IV existence. Such types of beasts were a strong opponent even in the core region of Desolate Blood Forest.
To further help the classification, the world government has considered a batch of three levels as a rank. This was strictly to warn of the power and the threat.
Generally speaking, a mutant from Level I to III was considered as a Gamma rank mutant. Such mutants were strong but not strong enough to pose a risk to the general mutant population.
People from Level IV to VI were considered as Beta mutants who have the power of harming a sizable population.
Then there were Level VII to IX, called Alpha mutants. They were dangerous lots with the power to destroy even cities.
"The legends say there is another rank to classify those who have the power to exterminate the world - Omega!"
Amir thought of the rumors he has heard during his lifetime as an adventurer.
"But they must be just rumors, a product of someone’s vivid imagination. Otherwise, how can the world be still safe and ruled by the government?"
Amir believed for existence as sacred as Omega, nothing could be more humiliating than be ruled by a bunch of old fools through the government. Such a supreme being should obviously establish a governing system of his own in which he would be the ruler!
"So Omega is just a legend! It is not real!"
If Rhea - Holy Seer of Atlantis - was asked about this legendary rank mutant, then she would definitely agree that such mutant existed.
She has seen one such person in her visions of the future! (Chapter 55)
In her prophecy, Delta City has lost all its colors. Everywhere there was nothing but an ominous gray.
In such an environment, her phantom from the past witnessed the movements of a man whose every step resulted in the deaths of thousands.
The steps of this man were slow as he walked towards a mystic giant existence.
Rhea has felt a familiar aura from the giant existence, and she believed it was someone from the world which has long ceased to exist.
Yet, the gray man invoked such fear in this giant being that it was fleeing for its life!
And just then the enigmatic man looked at Rhea, defying the very rules of time and space, and made her very soul tremble.
When the man locked his eyes on her and attacked her with a vortex of gray matter, she believed he has the power to exterminate the world...
Amir shook his head and chided himself for thinking about such legendary ranks when all he has to think about Ashyln.
"At most, Ashyln should be a level IV mutant - a Beta, otherwise, she would have fought Crazy Rampage King," Amir contemplated based on his limited knowledge of hers. "Her face is pale but it wasn’t when she destroyed that blade, so there must be some side effects of using heavy powers."
Amir then turned sideways and brought his eyes on Kiba and Ruby.
Currently, Ruby’s head was resting on Kiba’s lap while his right hand was on her chest. If Amir wasn’t sure that Kiba was asleep, he would have assumed Kiba was a deviant.
But from the breathing pattern, Amir was 100% sure that both Kiba and Ruby were in deep sleep. So he believed that most likely Kiba’s action of placing a hand on Ruby’s breasts was involuntary and unintentional.
"Kiba should be a level III mutant," Amir thought.
He judged everything based on what he has seen and heard from his other teammates who went to the cave of lizards.
"And he is a fool who is deeply in love with a fellow adventurer!" Amir’s lips curved up in a sly smirk. "He should definitely be easy to manipulate and control!"