Micah remembered Baldas telling him that he estimated a silver coin was all he needed to awaken his ability. Micah had gotten a bunch of bronze coins from Rego and Bunt and then from defeating Dennis and Chris. But he hadn’t been sure that he would be able to get a silver coin since he had to absorb the bronze coins when fighting Artholomew.

Artholomew wouldn’t have been the group’s strongest person if he was the type to save his pol, so Micah didn’t think he would get a lot from defeating him, which was why he had tried fighting him without absorbing his pol at first. But Artholomew’s kick had shown Micah that it wasn’t possible without taking major damage. And if he got severely injured, Micah couldn’t properly subdue the remaining thugs.

So, when he wiped his blood on his pants, Micah absorbed the pol in his pocket and used the slight increase in strength and speed that absorbing seventy-nine coins gave him to tackle Artholomew. If he didn’t win over Artholomew, Micah knew that it would be a lot harder to gather enough pol to form a silver coin in the future, so he prioritized Artholomew’s defeat over saving his coins.

And, thanks to all the thugs and spectators donating their pol, Micah managed to gather enough pol, even after absorbing all his pol during his fight with Artholomew. It didn’t even matter that he absorbed the pol he got from Artholomew in case the thugs decided to gamble on being able to defeat Micah.

There were so many spectators that Micah didn’t even need to take a share from Rego’s bookmaking in order to form the silver coin. He even had enough to reward Rego.

Now, with one silver and a few bronze coins, the only thing Micah had to do, was to ask Baldas to awaken his ability. He didn’t really know how it was going to go or what would happen. But Micah was a little excited at getting his own superpower, despite his age. However, Micah quickly decided that age was irrelevant since he had already died and people could suffer for eternity in Hell if they were unlucky. And even if it was, Micah was practically a newborn.

Curious about what his ability was, Micah walked with a slight bounce in his steps toward Pride’s Mansion. Since he had absorbed enough pol to start reaching beyond the limit of a human, Micah walked faster than before, and he quickly arrived at the top of the slope that led up to Pride’s Mansion, where Baldas was impatiently waiting for him.

Baldas flew up to Micah as soon as he arrived and circled him with a scrutinizing gaze.

“You took your sweet time, didn’t you? So, did you find anything useful?”

Micah smiled and considered teasing Baldas, but Baldas’ eye shook, and he burst out before MIcah could say anything.

“You!”

“Me?”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Weren’t you going to look for gardening tools? Why did you come back with so much pol?!”

“What do you mean? I had this much from the start.”

Baldas only glared at Micah’s innocently curious face.

“Stop it with the jokes. With this much pol, I might be able to force your awakening.”

“Then, what are you waiting for?”

“Your approval.”

“Sure.”

Micah nodded and pulled out the coins he had in his pocket. Among the bronze coins was a slightly larger shiny grey one with the same hourglass symbols on it as the bronze ones.

“So, how do we do this?”

Baldas appeared to be deep in thought, but he still responded to Micah’s question.

“Basically, humans get a chance to awaken their ability when their bodies are sated with pol, which means that there is enough pol to awaken their abilities. But, I should be able to concentrate the pol inside you and make your soul reacts to it in order to awaken your ability. However, your ability won’t come as naturally as if it had been awakened the regular way.”

“So, I won’t be able to use it, or what?”

“You will. With the help of the HRPS.”

“System.”

“What?”

“Call it the system.”

“Why?”

“Do I need to spell it out for you?”

“Yes, but now’s not the time. Focus on the coins and follow the sensation.”

Micah still hadn’t gotten an apology from Baldas for receiving a system with such a name. But as Baldas said, now wasn’t the time.

Micah, with slight reluctance, followed Baldas’ order as he closed his eyes and focused on sensing the coins in his hand. It didn’t take long until he felt the coins melt and disappear into his body in a stream of warm energy that slid through his body.

Baldas didn’t say anything, so Micah just let his mind follow along as the stream of energy traveled through his body. From his right arm to his right leg. And from that leg to the other before it reached his other arm. After passing through his limbs, the stream of energy took a lap around Micah’s torso before taking a turn upward to Micah’s head.

The stream of energy felt uncomfortable and intrusive as well as comfortable and soothing at the same time. Micah also felt how the stream attracted the pol he had absorbed in his body and grew larger as it traveled through him.

The stream of pol settled in his head for a few moments and spun in place before leaving to go another lap through Micah’s body. That was the first feeling Micah got that things weren’t going as well as he thought they would. However, he didn’t entertain the feeling and just concentrated on following the sensation of the pol traveling around his body like a stream of hot water.

But after the stream completed a total of three laps around his body, Micah couldn’t help but grow a little suspicious. Shouldn’t something have happened by now?

“Baldas…?”

“Quiet.”

However, his attempt at asking Baldas was less than successful, and Micah didn’t bother opening his eyes. Things were obviously not going so well. And it seemed like the only thing Micah could do was stay focused. However, he briefly wondered if Baldas’ estimation had been off. Maybe a silver coin’s worth of pol hadn’t been enough?