It was Wednesday afternoon. A few days had passed since the strange event.

Jay sat in class, listening intently to the lecturer while pressing buttons on his calculator, just like everyone else in the room.

He was currently a fourth-year Electrical Engineering student at one of the most prominent universities in the region.

Even though a life-changing event had happened to him recently, Jay wasn't the type to neglect his existing responsibilities just to chase after the next big thing.

He believed that boons always came with a price, so he wanted to figure things out before everything else.

Over the past few days, Jay had made several observations regarding his supernatural ability, which he aptly named Identification.

Potential targets included inanimate objects and, surprisingly, living creatures.

However, he had to make continuous physical contact with the target to Identify it.

This was a significant limitation, considering that he wanted to use his ability as often and discreetly as possible.

Identification only worked for the target's entirety.

He couldn't target a specific component in isolation, despite touching the target only at the corresponding area of interest.

The definition of the 'entirety' of a target depended on the concept it embodied.

For instance, usage on a broken minute hand would target the clock it originated from since the hand itself was only part of that 'clock.'

The initial information gained from usage would always be about the target's origins, and subsequent usage would yield information about its physical characteristics.

Information was acquired immediately after the thought of usage was formed in his mind.

Contrary to his earlier assumptions, he didn't have control over which specific information to acquire, at least not yet.

This greatly diminished the utility of Identification, although it was still quite powerful in its own right.

Fortunately, the aforementioned limitations would eventually ease with enough effort and patience.

Repeated usage of Identification holistically improved the ability in small increments, but the degree of improvement remained unquantifiable.

Also, usage of the ability's improved version on a previous target would yield more information.

However, subsequent usage on the same target would not contribute to the improvement of the ability.

There seemed to be virtually no consumption of any form of energy and no downtime to the usage. Frequent and successive use was actually possible.

However, the sheer volume of information from excessive usage imposed a considerable burden on the mind, akin to the mental fatigue from hours of continuously solving math problems.

The final observation may or may not have been related to Identification.

Jay seemed to have become more curious about everything, detrimentally so.

He had noticed it when he was waiting for his takeout in an eatery one day.

People were having conversations over the table as usual.

Normally, Jay could easily filter out these sounds into the background.

However, at that moment, he felt a faint desire to listen intently and figure out the essence of their conversations.

Although he was able to resist this strange but weak compulsion easily, he was bothered by it nonetheless.

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Somehow, he was inclined to think that this aggravated form of curiosity came with the ability, as opposed to the possibility that his innate desire for knowledge was stoked by the reality that he now had the capability to 'know' everything if he truly wanted to.

This scenario was quite similar to one of the web novels he was currently reading.

The ability users in the novel had supernatural abilities with corresponding weaknesses.

The main difference was that their power system had a robust structure, which required the user to perform specific rituals with the necessary ingredients to advance in the hierarchy, whereas the power within him seemingly came out of nowhere and whether it was part of a mature system or not remained to be seen.

Perhaps this detrimental form of curiosity was the price for the boon, and it would most probably intensify the more his ability improved.

He wasn't deterred by it though. In fact, he felt that it was necessary to keep him grounded, lest he became arrogant and careless from his newfound power.

As for the source of the ability, he had no idea where to start.

He also didn't have the confidence to begin investigating, as he might attract attention that he couldn't withstand.

It seemed like he would have to keep this matter in the back of his mind for now, and focus on more immediate goals, such as self-improvement.

To facilitate the growth of Identification, Jay had incorporated its usage into his daily life.

He would try to use it on everything he touched, as long as it was convenient.

At first, he was burdened by the large volume of information accumulated in his mind.

However, his cognitive functions seemed to improve accordingly to accommodate his new habit.

Whether it was due to the natural adaptability of the human brain, the additional enhancement from his ability, or a combination of both, remained unknown.

He was already considered to be an intelligent young man, but the changes brought about by his ability elevated him half a step to another level.

Of course, he wasn't conceited enough to think that he had somehow surpassed those natural geniuses and accomplished scholars.

However, he was fully aware that his cognitive ability and knowledge reserves could go beyond the limitations of human potential.

He could keenly sense that he was getting closer to it, slowly but surely.

There were times when he had the urge to showcase his improvements to the world, just like any other young man, hot-blooded or not.

However, a short bout of thinking would always lead him to the same conclusion.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

There were countless reasons for him to remain inconspicuous.

A wrong move might lead to him being subjected to experiments due to his uniqueness, enslaved for his utility, or simply killed for the threat he posed.

He might even implicate his family, which had a high likelihood considering the lengths that some people would go to.

For now, he planned on improving himself quietly under the basic, but fragile, protection offered by society.

He also didn't plan on doing heroics anytime soon, as he didn't even have the assurance to keep himself safe, let alone his family and friends.

Perhaps when he became confident and powerful enough, he would think of ways to benefit society in his own way.

Until then, the world would have to wait.

-

It was nearing half past three in the afternoon, and class was about to end.

Jay had about four hours until the next class. He planned on using the time to head to a popular shopping mall one jeepney ride away from the university to do some 'exercise.'

Having several hours between classes felt restrictive, especially since successive classes would essentially free up the rest of the day for many other things, such as chores and grocery.

Fortunately, Jay's rented room was only a minute's walk away from the university gates.

Usually, he would head straight to his room for a proper rest during the long break.

However, he recently picked up a new hobby of ‘item touching,’ which he practiced in the nearest malls and markets whenever convenient.

Currently, he was in the department store of a popular mall in the heart of the city.

He would rub his chin and squint his eyes as he touched random products here and there.

However, he was often forced to smile apologetically and decline clerks when they wanted to help him, as it looked to them that he seemed to have a hard time in choosing.

After deflecting their attention, he would then go to another area, and the cycle would repeat once more, much to his embarrassment.

In the past, Jay would only go to commercial centers when he actually had something to buy.

He felt that he had to buy something when he went to such places, or else he would somehow feel guilty.

Interestingly enough, he didn't feel this way now as he touched random things here and there, while pretending to seriously consider the viability of each product.

Perhaps the only party he felt guilt toward was himself, knowing deep down that he should've been doing something useful instead of wandering aimlessly in a commercial center.

He had been doing this new hobby for a couple of days now, and his ability had shown significant improvement compared to its initial state.

However, the limitations from before were still there, but the quality of information had improved significantly, to the point where he was essentially an authentic psychic by now.

He could even support himself if he ever decided to make a living out of it, but that would just put a target on his back, which he wouldn’t quite like.

As he expected, the corresponding weakness, which he aptly named Nosiness, had also aggravated along with the improvement.

However, he was conveniently well-equipped to handle this flaw, as he was naturally cautious and steadfast, which made him significantly less susceptible to detrimental acts like overstepping social boundaries in pursuit of curiosity.

For now, he could gracefully handle such a flaw, but the same couldn’t be said for the future, so he didn’t dare to be careless anytime soon.

Although he had made great strides in nurturing his Identification ability, it still gnaws at his heart that he couldn't use it in practical applications.

To be precise, it wasn't that he couldn't, but he wouldn't.

He felt that he still couldn't guarantee his safety, which was his fundamental requirement in everything he did.

It seemed like things would remain this way in the foreseeable future, at least until a qualitative change occurred, particularly concerning the requirement of his physical presence during usage.

It would be much more convenient and safer if he could use his abilities remotely, ideally without the need for a medium that could be traced back to him.

That feature would allow him to have the capital to interfere with the workings of society.

In a good manner, of course.