Luc woke up in the afternoon and tripped over a poorly folded box.

  "Ouch… I'm collecting scratches and bruises…”

  Luc inspected the various scratches he had gotten the day before and the new bruise.

  “Maybe I should clean up a bit…”

  The first target was to clean up his room.

  Every box got folded neatly and sorted. Every box that didn't need to be in his room got moved to the living room.

  His room got several stacks of folded boxes, each stack for each type of appliance or product.

  Empty deodorant cans and bottles of hygiene related products were placed in his room and bathroom as if they weren't empty.

  The living room collected stacks of tv boxes, laptop boxes, air humidifier boxes and other appliances, both objectively useful and subjectively useless.

  Luc looked at a vacuum cleaner box in his hands.

  “Maybe I should use this…”

  Luc cleared the floor of anything a vacuum cleaner couldn't deal with and started vacuuming after refilling the box.

  "How long has it been since I cleaned?”

  He couldn't remember the last time he did. His place had never been cleaned since he moved in a year ago.

  Luc hunted down any bottles or containers belonging to cleaning products and started to refill and clean.

  The residence of Luc which resembled a garbage dump slowly turned into something that resembled a space where a human being lived in.

  Everything a normal person would categorize as garbage was categorized neatly. The folded boxes were stacked against the walls. Wrappers had their own drawer or jar. Bottles were stored in large bags, each bag for a different type of beverage.

  Everything got sorted so he had an easy time grabbing ‘trash’ the nest time a horned man invaded his home.

  “I should have done this months ago.” Luc panted as he wiped his forehead and admired his livable space. “But maan, this is tiring… I suppose I should go to bed early.”

  It was late in the evening and Luc had over half his refill uses left so he started refilling some items in his pantry and fridge before getting something to drink and went to bed.

  Friday, one of Luc’s favorite days as he didn’t have to work on Fridays, effectively giving him a longer weekend.

  A strange sight met him as he got up; a clean room.

  He scratched his head and did the usual morning routine; dressing, breakfast and brushing his teeth.

  The ringing of the doorbell disturbed him, causing him to sigh.

  “I sure hope that's Genie else this is 100% going to be a garbage encounter."

  The door opened and one of the few women he hated was in front of the door.

  "Hang up my coat will you?”

  Luc's aunt said as she pushed her coat into his hands as she walked in.

  His 2 cousins followed and also pushed their coats into his arms.

  “Well isn't that interesting? Your garbage dump has transformed into just a mere pigsty.” He heard from the living room.

  "You're not welcome here, leave.” Luc said in a low voice.

  "I can't hear you if you keep barking from the corridor. Look Gerard and Travis, this is what happens if you fail to meet the Pashern standards!”

  "Disgusting!”

  "Very persuasive, mother. I will ensure I don't end up like Luc the rat, hahaha!”

  Luc controlled himself and witnessed how his cousins were burning his ‘trash’.

  “What are you doing?! I need those! Get out!" Luc yelled as he pointed at the door.

  “Make me!" Travis said as fire engulfed his lean body.

  Luc scanned the room to find something he could use but dropped the thought as he was in this situation because he wanted to hide his ability from his family.

  “So what did you come here to do, Dania?"

  "That is aunt Dania for you!” Dania said with a condescending look. “I came here to remind my sons of your trash life so they don't end up like you."

  “The message is clear, now leave." Luc said as he again pointed at the door.

  “Why hasn't this failure been banished from the city, mother?"

  “For moments like these, dear Travis, to serve as a reminder. By the way, Luc, my sister has arranged a program for you. I don't know why she keeps trying but she's convinced that you will awaken your ability this time, hahaha!"

  Dania threw a folder to the floor and kicked it toward Luc.

  “Anyway, we've lingered for too long, Lucas, our coats.”

  “The name is Lucius and grab them yourselves, use those hands of yours."

  An oppressive aura filled the room, as did the sound of crackling lightning. " I would mind the way I speak if I were you, rat!”

  Luc flew through the room as a lightning flash hit him, and caused him to crash into a wall.

  “Let’s go, lest his stench and incompetence will rub off on us.”

  Luc’s family members disappeared as abruptly as they came, and Luc sat slumped against the wall with several electrical burns.

  “What am I even supposed to do against arrogant magic users like that… Why is my life so shit? Should I just escape? But where to?”

  Luc’s shaking hands reached for his pocket in an attempt to call his friend but noticed that his phone had been fried.

  “Stupid Dania, I liked this phone…now all my stuff is gone…”

  Luc tried to make the device work, but it appeared unsalvageable to him.

  “Should I ask Genie to fix it? But how do I contact him without a phone…”

  Luc glanced at the laptop on his table, which also had gotten hit by his aunt’s display of lightning magic.

  “I hate this… Time for plan B…”

  Plan B got put on hold as Luc’s body hurt and he had difficulties getting up. He knew that his aunt had gone easy on him but he had hoped she would have done such a bit more.

  His day had been ruined, just that visit worsened Luc’s mood severely.

  “Why can't they just leave me alone? I already removed myself from their lives…”

  The folder his aunt had thrown to the ground drew his attention and he moved his leg, trying to reach it. It took effort but his stretched out leg managed to get on top of it so he could slide it toward himself.

  “An ability awakening bootcamp? Mom, are you insane? Those things are expensive, dangerous and never work!” Luc said angrily as he threw the folder aside.

  His mother was like his aunt but possibly more devious. Whatever the outcome was of that bootcamp would be beneficial for his mother. He would either ‘awaken’ his ability or he would die and they would be rid of him and if he managed to survive without awakening an ability, he would owe his family a massive sum of money.

  To flee or to stay?

  The numbness in his body faded and he slowly got up and staggered toward the couch.

  “I sure am getting assaulted a lot…”

  The weakness in his hands persisted and he sighed before turning on the tv.

  “Just my luck I now have to watch another family member…”

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Luc wanted to watch the SAU fights, but his sister was currently starting her first round out of 3.

  Fire and lightning users were common in his family. Because of this, the Pashern family could be seen as an elite family but all Luc saw was a family of elite assholes.

  Anyone unlucky enough to be born without an ability got isolated or ostracized, and the ability users got put under watchful eyes to determine whether they would help his family or not.

  Luc wasn't aware of the atrocities his family had committed but he could understand that the were quite a few.

  His sister Jonelle was 1 year older than him, but he had heard that his mother’s first child was a boy.

  What happened to Luc’s so-called brother was unknown, as he never met him or heard of him. The rumor was going around that he was born without an ability and abandoned or killed before his first birthday.

  That was the type of people the Pashern family was, and Luc wanted nothing to do with them.

  His father had been married into the family but his ability was deemed useless when Luc was 7, and he got kicked out. No real explanation. His mother and aunt suddenly decided his ability wasn't good enough, and he got kicked out.

  The crowd cheered as his sister launched her opponent in the air and barraged the hopeless man while midair, granting her a swift victory for the first round.

  “Who even thinks he has a chance while fighting a Pashern…”

  Luc tried to curb his pity as the charred body of the poor fool got treated by ability users that could heal. He would get up as long as he didn't die instantly.

  There were other families like the Pashern, all families one shouldn't mess with, but Luc’s family was considered to be the most aggressive.

  Luc’s sister had such a condescending expression, which made Luc hate her even more.

  “Why don’t they just let her win, that poor man has to endure getting roasted again…”

  The next round started with Jonelle’s opponent all healed up and ready for combat.

  The fight started, and he instantly ran away, causing Luc’s sister to chase him. The man suddenly stopped, turned around, put out his arms and got wet.

  “That’s his ability? Getting wet?”

  The sea of flames engulfed the man who just stood there, arms outstretched and being wet.

  Luc’s sister scoffed and called for the healers but…

  The man emerged from the flames, nearly unharmed!

  The crowd got wild and t caught Luc by surprise but he knew this would be bad news.

  “He should have taken the loss, annoying my sister won’t end well…”

  The orange flames turned blue, and the man tried to surrender but was too late. Intense blue flames engulfed the arena, and a siren went off as staff members rushed in to put out the fire and extract the poor man from the flames.

  “That’s why you just concede if you hear you have to fight her…”

  Luc wondered how this even was a fair tournament with his sister in it but that wasn’t exactly his problem. The sponsors and management would probably have either no clue or some corruption going on and know she will win.

  “Does she really have to ruin the fun for everyone?! Why can’t my family act normal?!”

  Luc turned off the TV, frustrated, as watching the SAU was pointless if he knew that his overpowered sister would probably win.

  “Maybe a magic user of the Solaan family could stand a chance but… they don’t seem to like conflict and live closer to the water…”

  Luc’s only hope for having his sister get beat up was a strong water magic user but those were rare and didn't like to participate in these types of activities so the chance was near 0. The most dominant group were the ability users, who wanted to prove that they could be as strong or useful as magic users.

  Luc knew he stood no realistic chance were he to participate. If he were to face his sister even less, as she could just incinerate all the trash he was carrying.

  Luc tried to think of the perfect ability which could be strong enough to beat his sister but also win from others.

  “Maybe Genie could? But he would probably do something stupid and lose in the first few matches… Why is his ability so strong, yet often useless…”

  Luc sighed but wasn't jealous of his friend’s ability as he would rather have his own.

  He got the strength, got up and started patching himself up and cleaning up the slight mess his detestable aunt had made.

  “Ugh stupid cousins! Did they steal my glass bottles?!”

  Luc tried to find some fancy glass bottles he had put to the side but they were gone.

  “One day… one day I will get them…”

  An empty laptop box got refilled and Luc altered the settings on his new laptop to make it ‘Luc friendly’ and started to write an email to his friend.

  “Yoo, Genie! How are you and your hardware store doing? Do you have any interesting boxes for me? Also, when you have time, can I hop by? I kinda got injured…again. Aand send!”

  The email was sent, but Luc knew his friend. It could take a week before it got read and he got a reply.

  “I should get my shit together… how long will I hide from my family… is disappearing on them realistic? They could expend a lot of resources if they wanted to find me. Would they though? My mother and aunt are unpredictable, so maybe? Do I have other options? Get taken in by another powerful family? Hahaha no way that’s going to happen, why would they take in garbage like me? Hahaha!”

  The self-deprecating laugh died down and Luc clenched his fist.

  He was stuck, but had no idea how to get out. He wasn't living in a fairytale, so nobody was going to pull him out of this mess, he needed to take action himself but… how?

  “Is participating and winning the SAU the only option? Surely it isn’t right?”

  Luc dropped his head in his hands as he was unable to come with a solution.

  Winning the SAU wasn't the only option, but fame and money could help him a lot, both of which were attainable by participating. He didn’t need to win to gain fame, but money wouldn't become an issue for the top rankers. His sister obviously wasn't participating for the money as the family was backing her, she did it to gain fame.

  “Maybe Genie and his wacky ability can help.”

  Luc gave up on thinking of solutions and would bet on his friend to help out.

  “Since I've gotten in trouble twice within 2 days, I should consider practicing for when this happens again.

  Luc willed his sore body to move and made space in his living room.

  “The irons were a great idea.”

  2 boxes got refilled and Luc used the irons in his hand as if they were gauntlets and started shadowboxing.

  “Too bad I can’t turn them on but they should pack a punch!”

  The shadowboxing continued until his arms got tired and he was forced to take a break.

  “What else can I use? Fridges will always work but it would limit me and fridge boxes are quite large…”

  A memory popped up of where he threw a box like a frisbee and had it refill midair so he started practicing throwing folded boxes without refilling them.

  “My accuracy is fine. Just defense and close combat are the issue… I think Travis likes to fight close range. Do I even have something to protect me from my aunt's lightning?”

  Luc couldn't think of anything but he decided that it wouldn't matter as he probably couldn't react to it even if he could.

  “I'll just find some shoe boxes of rubber shoes, maybe my Trashformers gloves would work in addition to that."

  Luc wore his black working gloves which should protect his hands from almost anything.

  He resumed shadow boxing with the irins, then swung around curling irons and eventually arrived at his favorite: the toasters.

  He had better grip on them with his gloves and because he could grab it at the slots where toast was supposed to go, it felt more like a boxing glove.

  “These must pack a punch! But…”

  Luc put the toasters down and inspected them. " Maybe I should find sturdier toasters.”

  The toasters went back on and he tried to swing them, while also having the power cord act like weapons. It could become a weakness as someone could grab on it and pull him in.

  Luc had a lot of fun until embarrassment crept up on him and he put the appliances away.

  "I'm not a kid anymore, why am I getting excited over possibly beating someone up with toasters? I only practiced for 40 minutes. Nobody is going to lose to a random dude with 40 minutes of experience, swinging toasters…”

  Despite that, Luc went online and ordered a backpack that could carry more than would be logical, from the Lambert brand.

  “As expensive as ever… I havent been lucky to find a box of wrapping for it. But moments like these is what my savings are for.”

  Luc had money, a lot of money. Not because of his family by because he only had expenses whenever he wanted to. He hardly needed to buy food or go to the store to buy and replace old and broken stuff, which meant that he could save up money quite easily.

  The normal-sized backpack which had the volume of a car was almost as expensive as one. It even had variable pockets as he could set up how large each compartment was.

  “An insane product for an insane price.”

  Since it came with some accessories as well, the bag came in a box, which meant he had a limitless amount of these bags after delivery.

  One could say that he was paranoid to buy a backpack that could hold countless boxes but the truth was that he wasn’t paranoid enough. As he had seen on the news, strange things happen regularly due to ability and magic users being unmanageable in general.

  If his aunt went crazy in the city, shooting lightning everywhere, nobody could realistically stop her. There was also the fact that magic and ability users were carrying society on their backs, so they were also deemed as a protected class.

  What this meant for Luc was that he could find himself in an incident or get attacked randomly and unlikely to get justice if it wronged him. He had just been lucky that his incident with the horned man had been his first one ever.

  The delivery arrived 3 hours later and the doorbell went.

  Luc was cautious this time and looked out of the window, confirming it was the delivery man.

  “Delivery from the Lambert corporation, I need you to sign this.”

  Luc hastily red what the delivery man’s device said and concluded that it was proof that the product had been delivered. Luc signed the screen with a stylus and accepted the box.

  “Enjoy your product!” The delivery man tipped his hat, hosted a backpack on his back and ran off at great speeds.

  “An ability user that can run fast, eh? And was that the same sort of backpack I just ordered?”

  Luc was impressed by how this was set up. An ability user that could run fast could possibly deliver more products than a delivery van if he carried a backpack like he had just ordered.

  His order got unpacked, and he looked at a normal looking backpack. It had to be, else it would become a target of theft. Some of the accessories allowed him to change the appearance, as the default look of these backpacks must be known by now. All were made by ability users, so he read the small guide provided within to change the appearance of this new backpack to the one of his old one.

  “Perfect! Hmm, what’s this? A warning? ‘While this product offers seemingly endless space, the weight of the items inside only get reduced by 30%, so filling it completely may still lead to encumbrance.’ Oh, that shouldn't be a problem as I will mostly carry around trash, but that’s nice to know. ”

  Luc watched the screen of the watch it came with as it indicated for how much it was filled as Luc kept loading empty boxes and bottles inside, each having separate compartments.

  “What does this button do?”

  Luc pressed a button on his bag watch and a zipper opened and presented one of the items in that compartment.

  “No wonder this was so expensive… is this an automatic bag? The Lambert corporation is insane…”

  Luc kept playing, or more accurately, familiarizing himself with his new gadget, realizing it wasn't just a simple backpack with more space. Its price had always been attributed to the capacity in Luc’s mind, but that thought had been corrected.

  The box of this new product got neatly folded and stored at a safe place. As long as the box was safe, he could be a bit careless with his new purchase.

  Luc’s mood had improved, which instantly got turned over as the doorbell rang again.

  “I didn’t order anything else. Surely it isn’t another family member, right… Could it be Genie?”

  Luc peeked through the window and saw a woman in front of his door that he didn't recognize. “Who is that?”