Dario leaned back in the warm waters of the small pool he was currently occupying. He was in a public bathhouse so all around him were the naked and toweled forms of various men. This didn’t bother him considering his upbringing, but he wished they’d at least lower their voices. This was the problem with public bathing areas — people often used them for socializing. Luckily, no one bothered him while he reflected on his situation.
After discovering his newfound capabilities, he had spent the rest of the day testing and experimenting.
He found that he could only use his powers when he pulled on that weird inner energy he felt during the first instance of his power usage. It wasn’t limitless like he first thought, and after a while, he figured it was the source of his insomnia.
An overabundance of this energy prevented him from sleeping as it seemed to continuously power and rejuvenate his body. At first he thought of his condition as a curse, but the more he thought about it, the more he considered it a blessing. It freed up so much time for him to do things other than sleeping.
The average human spent a third of their entire lifetime sleeping, and now he had full access to that lost portion. The ramifications were astounding.
Dario lifted his foot out of the water and stared at his toes. Another surprising tidbit he recently found was that his body could also heal itself, and remarkably so.
When he was a small boy, he had been involved in an accident that resulted in the loss of his right pinky toe. He had been devastated, but he eventually got used to having only nine toes and even considered it endearing. Now however, it was back and in pristine condition, like it had been there his whole life.
If he were to consider the first day he stayed awake as the day his powers manifested, then his power fully restored his toe in about a week. Of course, it may have been faster, but he only just now noticed. He wasn’t willing to cut off another toe to see how long it actually took to regrow.
There were at least some clearer results during all his experimenting. Earlier in the day, he found that he could lift objects that were three times heavier than what he could normally lift, and could even punch dents in metal.
What’s more, when he actually used the hidden energy he felt inside him, he was capable of even stronger feats. He had spent several hours physically exerting himself to the limit and depleting his tank of energy. By nighttime, he was exhausted and in need of a good scrubbing.
There was still much for him to learn and there were many things he didn’t know as a newly manifested Superior. The general public didn’t know the specifics of how the Superiors functioned as they kept those secrets to themselves. In school, they didn’t really touch upon the subject apart from the basics of how they defended humanity by fighting monsters, and helped our civilization advance, whatever that meant. Only Superiors and the upper echelon had access to that information.
There were several avenues he could take to learn more, but the most obvious one was to simply go to the Superiors Guild. It was mandatory to register yourself there if you manifested anyways.
When he was a kid, he had once tried to sneak into the large building of the Superiors Guild, but was promptly booted out. Of the people in his life, only his mother and a few of her coworkers knew what was behind those doors. A person couldn’t enter the Superiors Guild without being proven as a fellow enhanced being.
Anytime he asked his mother about Superiors or what was inside the guild building, she’d remain tight lipped or play coy. He had a feeling she found a lot of his frustrations amusing. Well, now that he had manifested, he could finally figure out what was behind those vaunted doors.
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For most of his life, the Superiors were a mystery. Sure, he knew of them and the good things they did for society, but he didn’t really know anything specific. They were the mysterious heroes of the world, the resolute shining beacons that stood undaunted against danger. They stood tall above all others and protected humanity from the hordes of monsters that roamed the earth.
On the other hand, Superiors weren’t all stalwart defenders of the realm. Some were just regular hard working citizens who had a little something extra about them.
The blacksmith who lived near his home was a good example. To the untrained eye, he was a regular metalworker toiling away in his forge, but upon closer inspection, it would be clear that he was no simple blacksmith. The way metal melted with a touch of his hand and formed into desired shapes as if they were made of clay would be enough of a tell. The way he casually stuck his hand deep into the hot fires of a forge would make it clear to anyone that he was a Superior.
Dario knew of a farmer who had some form of super strength and was capable of completing tasks in mere minutes where other farmers would take days. He knew of a courier who could run much faster than any horse and could deliver letters quicker than any others. His mother also had capabilities that helped her in her own traditional profession.
In essence, Superiors were few but could live in a wide variety of ways as normal citizens and weren’t constrained to the role of hero or adventurer. However, for his purposes, he would focus on the latter.
All his life, he felt out of place like he didn’t belong or that he could do so much more. Now that he had powers, there was no way he was going to live a mundane existence. He wanted excitement in his life, to experience everything out there, and one way or another, he would get what he wanted.
But first, he had to go to sleep. Thankfully, he was actually tired for once.
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Dario approached the large intimidating building at the center of a big open courtyard. It was more of a castle mansion than anything else.
The Superiors Guild was located in the inner district of the city and was fairly isolated. The next closest building to the guild was over a hundred meters away. This left a broad open space in every direction around the wide circular structure and anyone who approached would be clearly seen from far away. With no one else around, Dario’s lone figure was definitely noted by the stoic figures guarding the tall wooden doorway.
Dario nervously walked towards the front doors before stopping halfway. He quickly composed himself and stood up to his full height before continuing on.
His mother always told him that confidence was key in everything. She told him that even pretending you knew what you were doing would get people to trust him more, so long as he did it with confidence. This mantra served him well throughout his life. His mother was one of the wisest people he knew and very skilled in social interactions so he tended to follow her example.
Dario walked up the marble steps before standing in front of the armored guards situated by the pillars next to the door.
“Halt! Only those with the requisite identifications can enter. State your business,” one of the guards demanded.
“I’m here to register as a Superior,” Dario calmly replied despite his nervousness. What would he do if they refused him entry?
“Another one huh?” The guard glanced at the other sentinel. “People come up here everyday claiming to be Superiors and end up wasting everyone’s time. They’d either be joking around or just plain frauds," he explained in a bored tone of voice. "We’ve turned away a dozen people today already, so what can you do to prove your case?”
“Isn’t it the examiner’s job to determine whether someone is a Superior or not?” Dario asked with a raised eyebrow. Of the few things he did know about Superiors and how they were registered, the examiner was definitely one of them.
“She’s been irate lately,” the guard grimaced. “Too many people falsely claiming to be Superiors and wasting her time have pissed her off. She said she won’t examine anyone unless they passed a preliminary test.” The guard smiled and stated, “We happen to be said preliminary testers, so prove your worth sir, or get lost.”
Dario stared at the guard and sighed in exasperation. Of course, why did he expect things to be simple for once? He pondered on his dilemma for a bit before he finally came up with a suitable solution that also satisfied his irritation. It was probably an impulsive, dumb idea, but oh well.
“Are you durable, sir? How tough are you?” Dario asked.
“If you’re asking if I can take a hit, then most definitely,” the guard replied, smirking.
“Good.” Dario nodded with a grin. “Then please, stand in front of the door and try to stop me.”