What happens after a bombing? Refugees. But what if there are thousands of bombings? A chaotiumber ees. After the first Waves, no gover repared to receive more of them. Many survivors from Seoul fled to the US, hoping to find a better-prepared try.
However, a rge portion of the survivors were simply children. Many of these kids were without a single penny, a profession, or even a st his was the case for Oliver and millions of other children. At first, kindness and passio to help others. But when resources bee scarce, fingers are pointed.
“Why are you sharing resources with them? You should focus on your own people. We are also utack!” the people pined, not g whether they were right .
Soees bee the scapegoat for all existing problems. Those without a st name became Nameless; those who were less than citizens. Oliver had a hard time adapting to the new world after the VAT. Not having his family and being sidered a burden to society were two things that almost made him give up ohing.
But even whehing seemed lost, Oliver couldn't bring himself to give up. He was alive. Something that many who died in the first wave would have wished for with all their might. The kid couldn't think of ending his own life without imagining it as spitting in the face of every one of those people. Besides, he liked to imagihat, wherever his parents were, they would see that he wasn't wasting this ‘sed ce.’
"Up ahead is the Researd Development building.” The officer poio the building a little further ahead, almost 200 meters from where they had ducted the sed test. They had arrived at a two-story, white building except for a dark dome on its roof instead of a standard ceiling.
“There, you will take the third test. We will measure the amount of Energy your bodies have. I uand this subject is not always taught in schools, so raise your hands if you uand what Energy means." He tinued expining.
Among the 11 recruits, 9 raised their hands. Only Oliver and another boy kept their hands down.
"I will provide a summary of what is taught in schools. Upon ing into tact with a Z Crystal, a human undergoes a ‘forced evolution.’ A means of enhang the body beyond any biological limits," the officer expined as they ehe building.
"This evolution is highly depe on eadividual's geics, so two people may evolve in simir but not identical ways. However, there is always ohing in on: we all gain the ability to trol the natural energy of our bodies as well as the energy provided by the Z Crystal." As he tinued expining, the group moved further ihe building. Many rooms seemed locked, and the few open tained bizarre equipment too plex for any of them to uaually, the officer stopped in front of one of the rooms with open doors.
"However, each person has a base level of trol over Energy. This is exactly what we will be measuring today." The officer poio the room ahead of the group.
"Ihis room is a syic version of a Z Crystal. It is desigo measure your potential. Even if you’ve never ied with a crystal before, it won’t be difficult. When you eouch the crystal, close your eyes, and try to release as muergy as possible. Once you’re done, return to the end of the line while your result is announced."
The first to step forward was the boy who, like Oliver, knew nothing about energy. He didn’t seem strong or athletic. But if he had survived this long, he had talent. He walked until he reached the ter of the room, where there was a bck crystal, perfectly polished, capable of refleg the face of anyone roached.
Whe close to the crystal, the boy raised one of his hands and lightly touched it. As he made tact, a slight golden glow emanated from beh his hand. The boy then closed his eyes, and after a few seds, the crystal’s glow increased slightly. Even without moving, the recruit’s breathing became heavier, and his body appeared more fatigued until his hand finally left the crystal, aook a deep breath.
With a small bead of sweat on his forehead, the boy slowly walked to the end of the line.
[Evaluating …]
[Evaluated status: Energy]
[Grade: Pawn]
The officer made notes on his tablet and called the person in lihe didates stepped forward one by oually, it was Isabe's turn. She had previously e into tact with a Z Crystal and had even traio improve her trol. However, she still had a lot of difficulty trating on trolling her Energy.
It shone brighter as she touched the Crystal, but like the other recruits, it soon dimmed again.
‘Damn it,’ she thought. It was no different from what she had expected, but she hoped it would be easier.
As she returo the end of the line, she noticed that Oliver was o take the test. Looking at him, she said, "Good luck." The boy couldn’t hear her but read her lips.
As Oliver walked toward the crystal, he tried to recall his experience using the Ranger Armor but couldn’t remember using Energy.
As he got closer, every hair on his body stood on end. The sensation was like pure electricity surrounding him, but wheouched the crystal, there was no shock. However, he felt a profound exhaustion permeating his body.
"Ah! So this was Energy?" Oliver thought, recalling the shots he had fired using the Ranger Armor's pistol. The sensation of exhaustion was simir to what he had felt after firing multiple shots.
When he closed his eyes, he heard a familiar voice again.
[Wele back, Oliver][This is your sed time using the Z Crystal][For today’s test, you o release as muergy as possible][This will cause profound fatigue in your body. Do I have your permission to begiest?][Yes / No]
Oliver selected "yes" and began to wait. Around him, the crystal started to radiate an intense glow. Uhe others, it wasn’t a white light but a pale yellow. The exhaustion began to intensify until the weight of his arms became unbearable. It was undoubtedly worse than the run they had just pleted.
Instead of feeling exhausted from exercise or muscle pain, the energy depletion was felt in every part of his body, as if a ess was entering his veins and reag his heart.
Finally, Oliver's hahe crystal. Simply letting go was enough to help him recover.
As he walked back to the end of the line, Oliver noticed his nervousness had been so intehat he hadn’t realized the girl with the golden hair was standing behind him.
‘Tsk,’ Oliver thought, realizing again that he wouldn’t catch the girl’s name.
[Evaluating …]
[Evaluated status: Energy]
[Grade: Knight]
"Not bad. Not bad at all," the officer ented as Oliver walked past him. However, his expression ged pletely when the girl approached the crystal. It was clear he had high expectations for her result. Unfortunately, his expectations were disappointed.
[Evaluated status: Energy]
[Grade: Pawn]
Just as the officer's eyes had lit up with expectation, his expressiouro its cold rality upon seeing the girl's result.
Uhe other tests, it was finally evident that she was tired.
'Looks like even she is vulnerable to running out of energy,' Oliver thought.
However, he couldn’t analyze further, as his body refused to cooperate. As the girl passed by and stopped behind him, he felt he had lost trol over his basis. With his mind rag, he leased to have achieved a better result than hers but simultaneously wao turn around and ask her name.
Inside his head, Oliver was caught in an internal struggle. The boy tried to rationalize his emotions. "It’s a petition. She’s already won in two tests. It’s normal to be happy for winning."
However, he couldn’t find a rational reason to want to know her name.
While Oliver was having this internal flict, An, the st to take the test, approached the crystal. His steps were fident, and a slight smile appeared on his face. Even before toug the crystal, a faint glow began to emerge, and when he finally felt it, the crystal emitted the stro light Oliver had seen. In addition to being more inte had a red hue.
Befetting tired, An removed his hand from the crystal and walked to the end of the line.
[Evaluated status: Energy]
[Grade: Bishop]
The officer let out a soft whistle and ented, "We have our sed Bishop. An Aqui. hmm, it seems this group has potential."
