Laying down on his bed, James watched the filtered sunlight dance between his fingers. It being a rest day, he would get scolded if he went to the HQ to get some training in, but after his declaration the night before, it felt weird to spend the day lazing around.
He had tried to play some games like he used to before he awakened, but his attention kept drifting away. His reaction time was miles ahead of what it had once been and the excitement that came from gunning monsters down simply was not there anymore, after spending so long fighting them in real life.
He had considered texting his friends, both old and new, but he was gripped by a nervous energy that wouldn’t allow him to simply spend the day enjoying himself.
Therefore, he had ended up turning to one of his other habits, sleuthing through forums dedicated to Awakeners in the hopes of getting some inspiration for his own path.
He had already memorized most guides that could apply to him, which was many, considering how his Talent seemed to be the amalgamation of several more common ones. Still, there was always the hope that someone would post something interesting.
A thread in particular had captured his attention. Antares was a website known to be prone to extraordinarily long and rambly discussions where experts in the field mixed with complete noobs to discuss the most inane things, but once in a while, something interesting came up.
One specific thread about the “willpower projection capacities in high-rankers” sounded very much like what he was doing. He was initially disappointed to find out it was simply a fancy way of saying ‘aura’, but had stuck around out of curiosity, which paid off.
A certain Dr. Robert M. Mulliger had apparently published a paper on the subject, positing that it wasn’t so much that people suddenly gained a new power after their third awakening, when they became able to impose their aura upon weaker beings, but rather that it was a new expression of the power they always had.
That paper had gone unremarked on for months, until an Antares user named StarryEyes had found it and written a thread on it, speculating that Dr. Mulliger’s conclusions meant that all Talents were simply an actualization of a person’s natural inclinations. Not that a person’s character might influence their Talent, but that humans always had the capability for it, which finally manifested when mana arrived on Earth.
Such an absolute statement, without any solid proof, had obviously brought a lot of ridicule and rage, alongside many other users dismissing the whole thread as bait.
James, however, had read between the lines and immediately sought out the original paper.
Dr. Mulliger’s work was dense, filled with jargon and scientific methods that James barely grasped, but he scoured through the files with great interest. If it could ever be proved right, the study would mean that the potential for such supernatural power had always existed in humanity and that mana’s arrival had brought it out, only to be coopted by the System. Not that the System itself had gifted the Talents to humans.
It had profound implications, both in the immediate and future, but until proof was found, it would simply remain an interesting bit of speculation. Still, a few questions lingered.
What if all Talents were, as StarryEyes had speculated, inherently capable of affecting the outside world simply because the user's will could only be expressed in that specific way? Or, even if that definition didn’t exactly fit everyone, could it still be applied to him, given his unique power?
A user named ShadowWalker reply was at the top of the thread, since mentioned a ‘rumored’ underground lab that had been trying to create Awakeners synthetically, bypassing the System somehow. The comment was immediately scoffed at and received a flurry of downvotes, with many users branding it as a ridiculous conspiracy theory.
It was absurd, James knew, but something about one of the replies made him pause.
Antares provided verification for average users, if they wanted to tie their real identity to the profile - something not often done, as the beauty of it was the anonymity - or to Awakeners, so that they could release official statements.
Not many did so, preferring to leave all PR-related matters to their Guild, or the AA. Still, some liked the notoriety that came from directly interacting with the general public, especially if they had a high enough rank.
ShadowWalker had not been verified as an Awakener. But someone else who replied to him had.
Ember, a recognized name among those who paid attention to the news, was a high-rank, independent Awakener who had often been approached by guilds for recruitment but had steadfastly maintained a solitary stance. He was known to operate in the Atlanta metro area, taking care of those dangerously close dungeons which the Guilds left fallow.
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Ember, with his glowing orange verification checkmark, had written in reply to ShadowWalker “Opposite direction. It’s not humans who are fucking with the System.”
This short and cryptic message sent shivers down James’s spine. It obviously was meant as a debunk of the conspiracy theory, but it had a galvanizing effect, spawning an entirely different thread which was shortly locked down by the moderators, as dozens of users had taken it to mean that something shady was going on.
Ember had not replied anymore, his profile showing that he hadn’t accessed the site since writing it, but the absence had only made people more curious.
Could the System be experimenting with humans? Was the government extracting powers from Awakeners to give them to others? It was impossible to know, but speculation abounded.
Wait, does this mean what I think it means? Is he saying that the System is the bad guy here?
It sounded… farfetched. Without it, there was little doubt humanity would have fallen. But Ember was not usually someone to spout nonsense.
Closing his computer, James sighed. He hadn’t learned much more from the rabbit hole he had fallen into, but at least he had gotten a few ideas to try out.
While getting skills beyond those granted by the System during an awakening was not possible, one could still get better at and find new ways to operate them.
Just like what Mr. Bethany had told them about attributes, skills could also benefit from dedicated training beyond simple usage. His Talent was peculiar, but if it truly was a pure manifestation of his willpower, as the name suggested, and not just a straight enhancement type, then perhaps there was more he could draw from it with proper understanding and experimentation with what high-rankers did with their own aura.
The similarities were plainly obvious. He had a skill made exactly to counter such oppression, after all. That meant that he could draw inspiration from the greats.
Thinking back to the most egregious examples, James looked at the poster above his desk. Towers, the Son of War, was an S-rank awakener known to be among the world's most powerful.
Videos of him mowing through mobs of powerful enemies received dozens of millions of views online, and James had watched a few enough times to be able to replay them in his mind.
Towers’ tactics were simple enough, at first glance. He used his overwhelming physique to bulldoze through the crowds, and from there, it was a slugfest as he swung his enormous Warhammer to significant effect.
The strength of his blows was such that even powerful A-rank monsters were pulverized, turned into a fine red mist by the passage of his mighty weapon.
But at times, when he was needed elsewhere or when one of his companions required his help, a wave of power would leave him, washing over his enemies and breaking their minds.
It was aura in its finest form. An attack so raw and intense that nothing could withstand it. But more than that, he could selectively prevent his companions from being hit.
That was what James was interested in. That level of control was absurd if one considered aura a simple AoE skill.
Not even great mages like the White Crane could boast such perfection. That meant aura was something else entirely. A power closer to what he was doing than an extension of specific Talents.
If Thakinesis operates the same way that aura does… It should mean I have a much, much higher ceiling for control and versatility.
In a way, he had already confirmed it. His exploding blows, where he’d push significant amounts of mana into his limbs and release it all at once, were not something normal Warrior-type Talents could boast about.
His Talent was meant to be limited to close range, at least before his second awakening, but he had bypassed that entirely. And to continue breaking down the preconceived ceiling of his abilities, James had to look beyond the established wisdom.
Was mana simply the method through which his inherent ability manifested? Had humanity been like a man who thought himself blind, only to realize that he had been living in darkness?
James extended his arm, fingers splayed wide, focusing on the air around him. He attempted to mold it, not with the physical application of his power, but with sheer intent. Nothing happened.
He frowned, concentration knitting his eyebrows.
Again, he tried. He willed strength to flood his limbs without directly moving his mana. But even the simplest, most basic application of his power escaped him. His frustration grew, but then, from the depths of his vexation, a thought nudged at him.
Aura, Thakinesis, all the powers Awakeners wielded... they weren't physical. They didn't operate under the same laws that ruled over physics and chemistry. No, they were somehow both less and more; a mingling of the tangible and intangible, bridging the corporeal world and something else.
Perhaps James had been thinking of his power in too much of a linear, physical way - that is, as a mere manipulation of forces or energy. But if Dr. Mulliger's paper held any water, and if there was any truth in the speculations of StarryEyes and even in the cryptic statement of Ember, then maybe Talents were truly more about will made manifest rather than a set system of rules dictated by the physical world or the System.
He thought about how Towers would let his aura flare - it was never with strain or physical effort but with resolve, a potent, indomitable spirit that refused to be quelled. This overwhelming force was not simply energy exerted but an expression, a declaration of his will forcing everything in the vicinity he considered an enemy to bend to it.
Closing his eyes, James didn’t try to move the mana in his veins or attempt to physically manipulate anything with his mind. Instead, he gathered his thoughts, resolve and will, focusing them into a single point of undeniable intention.
The room remained silent, undisturbed, yet something within him shifted. His thoughts didn’t scatter as they usually would have. They remained steadfast, as his firm purpose let him stay on track.
He opened his eyes and stared at his outstretched hand. There was no visible change, no tangible evidence of any progress. But something in the air seemed different. It was as if, for a fleeting moment, the world around him had paused, acknowledging his will before moving on. His hand had felt a tiny bit stronger for a moment, but looking at his status showed no mana had been used.
This wasn't a breakthrough in the traditional sense. James hadn’t unlocked a new power or discovered a hidden application of his existing one. But in that moment, he’d glimpsed something beyond the structured, regimented logic of the System.
A sensation lingered, a barely-there touch on the edge of his awareness. James had tapped into something great, and though he could not draw from it yet, at least not in a manner that could be useful in real life, knowing it was there filled him with a calm and determined hope.
James had very little doubt that his selections at the next awakening would be affected significantly by the discovery.