Chapter 3:  God can be Unfair

The shock on both Randi and Brann's heart only subsided after a while. They couldn't help to! It was a Soul Manifestation after all.

A Soul Manifestation could only happen after a Soul Bearer broke through the first stage. But that won't guarantee you to be able to manifest your soul immediately. Everything was decided by talent.

Most people could only start manifesting their soul after breaking through the third stage. Geniuses could manifest their soul after the second stage. And only the peak genius of those geniuses could do the feat right after they break through the first stage.

What did this signify?

It meant that Tania had an absolute talent that's no lesser than those elites at the imperial capital! In fact, hers might be higher because of the fact that her Soul Manifestation was humanoid.

There're a lot of types of Soul Manifestation but they all followed the same rule, it had to be life forms.

Dragons, bears, dogs, trees, plants, one would have a chance to have a manifestation of them as long as it's a life form. From those manifestations, the humanoid-type stood out the most.

They would provide better support, lower consumption power, and even higher strength compared to others. Of course, not all humanoid-type manifestations were better. Some manifestations such as Dragons had a similar or even higher rank of power. Also, the higher the power, the rarer would it be. Every one of them was a precious resource for the human race.

"Tania... that's amazing..." Brann was the first to break the silence.

"A Soul Manifestation this early... That level of talent. You are a genius! Wait, when did you break through to the first stage? Didn't you have your awakening when you were ten years old?" Randi also spoke.

"Wait, that means she only needed two short years to break through to the first stage? God, that's just too unbelievable," Brann added.

Tania nodded, she indeed only started cultivating after two years ago. Usually, one would need three years to break through to the first stage after their awakening. It was another testament to her ridiculous talent.

The strange thing was, Tania awakened his talent when she was ten years old. Usually, people like her would have normal talent at best. The Alliance believed that the longer it takes for a talent to sprout the worse the person's talent would be. Tania should be having a normal talent, but she broke through unbelievably fast. It was something unprecedented, at least based on what's written in the books.

"Great... That's really great. You'll have a very bright future ahead of you. The Alliance will nurture you and you'll become one of the greatest experts in our human race," Randi said excitedly, but somehow when the word 'bright future' got out from his mouth, he felt a bit choked. There's a slight pain coming from his heart.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

What is this? Do I feel jealous? To my dear friend, on top of that?

Tania glanced at both of her friends. There was a bit sorrow hidden inside her eyes. "But I don't want that kind of bright future."

"But... why?" Brann noticed that there's something strange.

"When I first found about my talent, I was just as ecstatic as you guys are. But then I realized something, my talent is just too overwhelming. The Alliance will never let me go once they've known about it. They will bring me to the Imperial Capital, confine me in a pretense of keeping watch over me, and I will have to say goodbye to my current life. Being separated from you guys, facing the burden of my talent, meeting the expectation of everyone, that's just too much for me" Tania shook her head, there were tears apparent on the side of her eyes.

"That..." Even Brann was speechless. Now that he thought about it, it really seemed logical. Tania must have thought it through before telling them.

"Please... Don't tell anyone about this. Let me carefully think it over for the next two months. I think I can come up with an answer by then."

"It's okay. Just relax, we won't tell anyone. Maybe we really can come up with an idea before the graduation date." Randi noticed the awkward atmosphere so he hurriedly changed the topic, "We should eat the sandwiches, I think it has warmed up enough."

Tania and Brann nodded, there's still enough time left for them. At the very least, they should cherish this moment as much as possible, before anything could happen.

The tense atmosphere relaxed, but there's still a lot going on inside the children's mind. There were fear, expectation, and most importantly, unease.

...

After Tania and Brann left, Randi was left alone inside his father's workshop. Today, Dana had to go because of a certain matter, therefore, he left something for Randi to work on.

After closing the door, Randi went back to his desk. There were a lot of scribbles and instruments scattered. He didn't immediately resume his work, but instead, he only sat absentmindedly.

It was another huge blow for him. To think that his best friend would have an absolute talent that countless people would yearn for. Somehow, he could visualize the future. Tania would become a powerhouse that would take part in leading the human race and Brann would become an important figure by working hard after inheriting his father's business.

Him? What would he become?

A small time Soul Engineer whose name wasn't known by anyone. That was what he would become inside his visualization. It's not a matter of a low self-esteem, he just couldn't imagine anything else other than that.

Randi clenched his teeth. He didn't want to be this shallow. Yes, he believed that it was just because everything was too sudden. Given enough time, he would be able to accept it and move on. He would recover soon and be able to congratulate his friends sincerely.

He suddenly remembered his Mother. He knew that his mother didn't die just because of an illness. In the first place, that illness was caused by the attack of a Soul Beast. Ever since that time, he always held those despicable Soul Beast as his goal. That's the reason why it really broke his heart when he got the result of his talent's measurement. He knew that he would be powerless against them.

He started scribbling on a piece of paper atop his desk. He had to work harder, harder than everyone else because that's the only option he had. Without Soul Talent, he could only improve his knowledge and understanding of Soul Tools. That's the only way he could contribute to the human race as a whole. No matter how insignificant it is.

Unfortunately, Randi couldn't shake the thought away from his head. The truth is, he was also afraid. Afraid that his friends would drift far away from him.

Unlike Tania and Brann, he's destined to be nobody after all.

However, he still persevered. He kept working no matter how hard it is to concentrate. No matter how hard it is to ignore this suffocating feeling.

Ah, God can be unfair sometimes.