Chapter 14: Surface Tension

(Cadel's POV)

I watched as Kaede, her face tight with concentration, launched a plasma ball the size of a watermelon at the Boobot from near point-blank range.

“WOOMPH!” The Boobot shot across the room, tumbling across the floor and screeching to a halt on the opposite side. Kaede glanced back at me, grinning with satisfaction.

I nodded in approval. “Good shot,” I said, flicking my head in the direction of the Boobot to signal that it was already getting back on its feet.

I observed that she performed well in close range, as that requires less precision. Raw, reckless power is usually enough to get the job done at that range, and that was what I believed Kaede currently excelled at.

Kaede steadied her hand and squinted, concentrating as her palm glowed purple. Precision and control were her biggest weaknesses, so I doubted she would be able to hit the Boobot from this distance. Sure enough, her shot dispersed wildly halfway before it hit the bot.

“Damn it!” Kaede cursed. “It’s so hard to aim—the plasma’s way too volatile!” She fired another shot, this one also missing completely.

I then had an idea. “If you’re struggling to control that much plasma, maybe you should release less at once,” I suggested.

“Huh? So I shoot with less power? That would make the attack pretty weak, wouldn’t it?”

I shook my head. At the same time, I froze the Boobot, which was charging towards us, in its tracks, giving us time to discuss. “No, I mean converge it into a point before releasing it.”

“It’s a bit hard to aim with my palm like that,” she admitted. “There’s no real point on it where I can converge the energy and aim it from there.”

“Then don’t use your palm,” I said. I made a gun with my index finger and thumb and pointed it at her, pretending to fire it.

Her eyes widened in realization. “Ahh, okay, got it! Let me try!”

I repositioned the Boobot back at the far end of the room with my Ability before releasing it from its immobile state. It continued its charge.

I watched as Kaede’s brows furrowed in concentration. She mimicked my gesture with the finger gun and aimed it at the Boobot. This time, only the tip of her index finger glowed purple.

Pew! A more distinct sound emitted from her hand. A small, thin plasma beam soared straight at the Boobot. It tried to dodge, but the beam still connected with the side of its neck, twisting it around.

“Yes!” Kaede exclaimed as she pumped her fist into the air, turning to face me. “It actually worked!”

She was beaming so happily I couldn’t help but smile in return. “Great job!” I encouraged. “Maybe use more fingers this time?”

She did as I asked, converging her energy into her index and middle fingers before once again releasing it at the Boobot. This time the plasma beam was thicker, but it barely missed the Boobot.

Kaede grimaced. “Well, at least there was progress. With a little bit more practice, my aim should improve.”

I watched as she continued firing beams of light at the Boobot, which was actively trying to dodge some attacks, albeit rather sloppily. Kaede was getting more consistent with her shots, connecting them more regularly against the Boobot.

Suddenly, I had a curious thought. We had always been focusing on precision, but what about pure power?

“Kaede,” I called.

“What’s up?” she panted. I sensed she was getting a bit exhausted.

“Before we take a break, I want to see how big of a plasma ball you can make. Don’t worry, I’ll help you hold it together.” Once again, I froze the Boobot in place, giving her time to build up her ball.

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“You sure? Er, okay. Here goes nothing.” She shut her eyes and created a space between her hands, conjuring a mass of plasma. Slowly, it grew to the size of a watermelon, then past it. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead as she concentrated on keeping it stable. I helped to condense the energy near the middle of the ball, almost hijacking her power in a sense.

The ball was now the size of an exercise ball.

“I… I can’t keep it together anymore,” Kaede heaved.

“Don’t worry about keeping it together; I’ll handle that. Just focus on pouring more plasma in.” Honestly, we were getting sidetracked. I was selfishly curious about how big of a plasma ball we could make.

Soon, it was the size of a car—a gigantic swirling mass of plasma, threatening to burst any time. It was quite the sight. I was practically salivating at the temptation to absorb it all, but I held myself back.

Kaede was swaying a bit now. “I think… that’s enough… I can’t… put in more…” she managed. Her hands were trembling from the pressure. “You’re gonna have… to throw it…”

I assumed command over the humongous plasma ball. “You can relax, Kaede. Now watch this. This could be you.”

I levitated the plasma ball into the air and flung it at the Boobot.

The ensuing explosion was the loudest one I’ve heard yet. The whole world turned white as the pressure released all around us, the force of the impact pushing us back. I could barely hear Kaede shriek over the noise—the sound was deafening. I had to create a shield to protect us from the shockwave, which rattled the Dome itself. The walls of the room, also made of Abizium, were scorched but still intact.

As for the Boobot, it was lying in a scattered heap on the floor. It looked like it was being sold for spare parts. I was surprised it wasn’t completely vaporized. Abizium was Abizium, I guess.

I turned to face Kaede. She was staring dumbfounded at the Boobot wreckage. After a few seconds, I noticed tears well up in her eyes.

“Hey, what’s wro—” I started.

“Nothing. I’m just… a little overwhelmed,” she choked back her tears. “I never knew… there was so much power… from… that I was capable of this,” she whimpered.

I watched as she tried to control her overflowing emotions. “Once you can better control your power, you’ll be capable of much more.” I firmly believed it. Being even able to output and sustain this amount of plasma was already an incredible feat. It would put her among the highest tier of plasma users. She just had to learn how to control it. In the back of my mind, I knew Kazen was already capable of something similar.

I thought back to the battle between him and Zoey in the Colosso Dome. He had lost after the teacher-referee had deemed him unable to defend himself from Zoey’s onslaught of supersized punches. Kazen would not have been able to create a giant plasma ball at that time, simply because it took time to charge up such an attack, and he did not have the freedom of time to do so. If he had, he might have used it on Zoey. With her giant size, she should be able to survive it, but she would be instantly incapacitated.

Kaede gritted her teeth. “Thanks, Cadel. I've been so lost. Finally, it feels like I have a direction to take.”

I took out another Boobot from the wall and input the same details as the previous one. I would once again have to inform the school that I broke another Boobot. I hoped I wouldn't get into trouble.

We took a short break before continuing with her practice. Kaede was attacking more determinedly than ever. Slowly but surely, she was improving.

After about an hour, I decided to call it a day. We packed up and headed back to our dormitory.

“Thank you so much for today, Cadel,” Kaede said softly. I looked at her, but she wasn't making eye contact with me. While I appreciated her gratitude, I admit it was fun for me to guide others around.

My thoughts were interrupted when we saw a boy running haphazardly up the road in front, near the lake. It was Spencer. He was repeatedly scanning his surroundings, as if he were hiding from something.

Suddenly, the air beside him rippled, and out stepped the Horizon High students. Spencer screamed and fell backward. There were five of them in total, Golden Hair among them.

“Miss me?” he leered. “Don’t think you can just get away like that.” He raised both his hands. As he did, lava sprayed out from them, searing the grass on both sides of Spencer, who scrambled backward in terror.

“Who are you? What do you want from me?!” Spencer cried.

“Who am I? I guess there’s no harm in telling you. Ignar Maximus, from Horizon High Academy. It’s my DISpleasure to meet you,” he sneered. I noted that he did not say his rank, nor were there any golden stars displayed on his collar. Given his Ability and attitude, I doubted he was anything short of a 5-Star though.

“Cadel!” Kaede whispered, urgency in her voice. I did not want to interfere unnecessarily, but this was clearly an act of terror. More importantly, I did not want to betray the trust Kaede held in me as well.

As such, I walked up to the group, making my presence known. At the same time, I absorbed heat from Ignar’s hands. In fact, his hands turned so cold that the water vapor around them condensed into ice crystals, literally freezing his hands.

He swiveled around, eyes locking on me. He smirked, his voice slow and menacing. “Looks like we got ourselves a new toy.”

“Cadel!” Spencer yelled. Now it was his turn to call my name, and I wished he hadn’t revealed my identity.

“Let him go,” I instructed.

Ignar laughed. Lava simmered from his hands, melting the ice off. “Or what?” he asked. His goons stepped forward, but he held them back. “I haven’t actually done anything to this kid, you know?” he continued, gesturing at Spencer.

“Come on now, it’s obvious what your intentions are. I’d appreciate it if you leave us alone,” I replied.

Ignar snorted. “Yeah, nah.” Without warning, he flicked some lava in my direction.