Chapter 7: The Brighter Stars
While we were having dinner Roland suddenly asked us a question.
“Hey, how do the rankings here work?”
Upon hearing this Vivian looked at Roland with both concern and surprise. The Ranking system for psychics was standardized practically globally with only a few countries having not adopted it.
“Roland is from Ameriac where they use a grade system rather than the letter system,” I explained to Vivian.
‘She’s kind of cute.’
“Oh, I guess that makes sense,” Vivian said, nodding in understanding. I smiled at her before returning to Roland and said “I’ll explain it to you.”
“The Ranking system starts at F-Rank which usually applies to newborns and babies, the strongest of them can lift fully grown adults. This is where the newborn test comes in, they test you a few days after your birth to check your potential. Their highest level is the 50-pound weight which signifies an extremely high potential. Everyone here should have lifted the 50-pound weight so we were all considered potential future A-Ranks or even S-Ranks.”
Roland nodded. “At least the weight test is used in Ameriac.”
“Mhm. Now the next rank is D-Rank. This applies mostly to young children to teenagers. At this point, the strongest of them could lift a car for a few moments. Most of them though would only be able to lift a few fully grown adults.”
“Next is C-Rank. This is the average where most adults lie. At their strongest, they can lift a medium-sized house. Most however are only capable of lifting an 18-wheeler and this would require a huge amount of effort. The majority of heroes and villains are of this rank since the only difference between a criminal and a villain is that a villain uses psychic powers very often.”
“After that is B-Rank where all of us applicants are. By this point, we can be considered dangerous individuals and are capable of causing decent destruction. The weakest of us could lift a mansion and the earth beneath it.”
“At A-Rank one could be considered truly elite. They can lift and throw skyscrapers multiple times causing massive damage across cities. Out of the 57 billion people that are alive in this world only 1 million of them are A-Rank.”
Roland once again nodded. “So that’s the highest then?” he asked.
“No, although I could see why you would think that. Back in the Great War, it was indeed the highest but after the Great War they decided to add more ranks, and another one was added about 70 years ago for that man.” Roland nodded with a morbid understanding on his face. It made sense, that man had changed many things in this world and there was no one more feared than him.
“The next rank is S-Rank, they have enough power to turn an entire city into nothing but rubble singlehandedly. For reference, most of them would be able to destroy the city of Las Angels, the second largest city in Ameriac. Only 1000 individuals have this rank in the entire world.”
“The next is SS-Rank, the same rank as Principal Sever. They are considered divine beings blessed by the gods. Their power is comparable to that of an entire country and many villains in the past have singlehandedly overthrown a country in just a few weeks. Merely approaching them while they release their psychic aura could potentially cause a person to be crushed a suffocate under their power. There are only 99 individuals with this rank.”
I paused for a moment to let the power of the SS-Ranks sink in. Everyone at the table was silent during this time. After all, the S-Ranks were deserving of incredible respect and fear, and the SS-Ranks were considered divinely blessed, chosen ones of the gods. Even the villains of the SS-Ranks had been given the gods' blessings to grow to a strength of unimaginable might. And yet… there was still that man.
“The final rank is SSS-Rank. This is currently held by only one person, that man, also known as The Cursed One. His name is hidden from the public because it began to develop an effect similar to when we pray to the gods, it began to invoke a presence of power. He is the strongest psychic in history and was stated to be capable of challenging the superpowers of the world alone. Currently, he is missing following the battle with 60 SS-Ranks, 40 of which died, 9 of which were left severely injured and 11 of them were permanently disabled. Their battle led to the complete flattening and loss of life of everything in the Himalayan Mountain Range which covered 230,000 square miles. Merely information on his whereabouts is worth several hundred million dollars from the United Globe.”
He was a power that this world had never seen before and couldn’t even comprehend. His mere presence alone was stated to be capable of killing people while only releasing small portions of his psychic aura. There was nobody in the world who was believed to be capable of even challenging him.
The room itself grew dark as though the light feared the concept of him. No, it seemed to have gotten colder as well. Such a thing wasn’t impossible, he had been a student at AGH in the past before becoming a villain, and some of his latent remaining psychic energy from all those years ago could be lingering and responding to us. While there had been decades for the power to dissipate if there was anyone capable of doing such a feat it was The Cursed One. Many believed he was a god descended, for even the blessed of the SS-Ranks couldn’t even compare to his might.
“Well...” I said clapping my hands together, “That's enough of a downer. Now it’s time for dessert.”
Vivian and I left to the fridge and pulled out a special cake we had prepared for today. It was covered in colorful frosting, and sprinkles and was made of ice cream. Ice cream cake. Lining the sides were strawberries, set up perfectly straight up, their red skin glistening with juice.
Placing it down on the table Vivian and I looked at Roland and Violet hopefully. They were certain to live luxurious lives considering their status but we hoped they would at least appreciate the effort we put in. Luckily, we saw them looking at it hungrily, as though they were ready to jump at it at a moment's notice.
‘Phew. Looks like we did a good job.’
We sliced up the cake and handed one to each person. We lifted it to our mouth and savored it. The ice cream and frosting chilled our bodies and mixed with the sweetness of the strawberries creating a wonderful sensory experience. The sprinkles provided an extra crunch to contrast with the relative softness of all the other foods as well, there was beauty to be found in contradiction, even in food.
Following this and a short clean-up session, we all left for bed and slept, preparing ourselves for another day.
…
‘So, you decide tonight to be quiet huh?’
‘...’
‘Tch… well if you aren’t going to say anything this time then just leave me in peace.’
‘...’
‘No, even if I could do that day over again, I wouldn’t have saved her. And I certainly wouldn’t have chosen to not do that thing. If there’s one thing I don’t regret doing, it’s that…’
…
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“ALL APPLICANTS EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY, VILLAINS ARE ATTACKING! ALL APPLICANT EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY, VILLAINS ARE ATTACKING!”
I woke up with a fright from the speaker system blaring throughout the room. However, due to my sleepless night as a result of him, I was unable to correctly process the events happening around me. As I looked around and tried to get a grasp on the situation I felt a pat on the back.
“Mark we have to go now!”
Roland successfully brought me out of my drowsy state and I immediately got out of bed and began rushing downstairs to the main area. The speaker system was still blaring and there were red flashing lights everywhere.
‘Damnit… who would try to attack this place? AGH definitely has multiple powerful psychics protecting this area, only the strongest individuals and factions would dare to try and attack it.’
Thoughts began to fly through my head as I thought of the different individuals or groups that it could be. While I couldn’t pinpoint any singular group or person, I knew that they had to have at least one S-Rank and multiple A-Ranks to even consider attacking.
Downstairs I saw Vivian already up and holding open the door. I looked outside the hallway and saw the door at the end of it closing slowly as other applicants rushed towards it to get out before it sealed them inside.
BOOM!!!
Suddenly an explosion happened from a far away distance, but it was still clearly audible. The entire ground shook for a moment and everyone stumbled as the power of the explosion power ran through the ground.
‘There’s no doubt, an attack is happening right now.’
I looked around at my roommates and was about to tell them to run when I suddenly noticed someone missing.
“Vivian where is Violet!?!”
“I don’t know! She must still be sleeping!”
“In this environment?”
Another explosion rang out and the door at the end of the hall began to close even faster. There wasn’t enough time for us to grab Violet and make it through the door on time. I felt Roland grab me and turn me towards him, his face fully focused as he began to shout orders at us.
“Mark come with me, you and I will hold the door open. Vivian grab Violet and get to the door as fast as you can.”
With that, Roland ran out the door. With no other plans Vivian left to grab Violet and I followed Roland down the 5000-foot-long hall. By this point, most of the psychics had evacuated so we were able to run directly to the door without obstruction.
Once there, Roland and I placed our backs to the door and our feet to each other, pushing both of us up against the door without touching the ground. With our legs almost completely straight we channeled as much psychic energy as we could into our legs and began to push against the doors as much as possible. We heard the motors of the door suddenly start making strange noises under the new pressure but it didn’t stop closing, leaving Roland and I in a situation where we could be crushed.
I saw Vivian charge directly through the door, causing it to fly off its hinges and jam itself into the other side of the hall. She immediately began to run as fast as she could while holding Violet on her back who remained asleep.
Behind us, the doors themselves began to buckle in the location where our backs were and the walls connected to them began to crack. Yet Roland and I were still getting pushed together.
‘What kind of door is this? It’s pushing both Roland and me together despite us being B-Ranks. Gods… just give us a little bit more time and strength.’
I began to feel a pain in my spine as Roland and I got closer and closer with us now being able to hold hands. We were forced to begin placing some psychic energy to increase the strength of our backs out of fear that we might suffer a spinal injury, in which case, we wouldn’t be able to push with our legs anymore.
The last of the other applicants exited through the door but Vivian was still halfway down the door. Roland and I began to feel our limit as the door around us began to completely dent in and the walls around it had begun to shake.
‘Damnit. They’re not gonna make it.’
There just wasn’t enough time left. With Roland and I about to collapse, we simply couldn’t hold it.
…
I felt time slow around me to a halt. I couldn’t move anymore. But my mind was thinking as though nothing had changed. The shadows began to lengthen and the walls distorted. The colors were desaturated and yet were filled with an unimaginable vibrancy. I saw a figure appear next to me and the entire world began to vibrate as he spoke to me.
‘...’
‘...’
‘...’
‘No. I will never use you.’
‘...’
‘It doesn’t matter if they die or not here. You are never getting out.’
‘...’
‘NEVER!!!’
…
I felt a sharp pain in my back and my legs were beginning to buckle. At that moment, I saw a hand grab the door on Roland's side. Another applicant had begun to pull back against the door. Another one joined my side and began to pull. I heard the motor begin to work even harder against us just as Vivian was only a few doors away.
‘DAMNIT! PLEASE JUST GIVE US A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME!!!’
Then another set of hands joined me and Roland. Then another… and another… and two more sets. We all began to pull and push as hard as we could against the door and it finally stopped moving.
Vivian jumped through the door now, sending both Roland and me flying to the ground on the other side. I lay there, my sweat forming a puddle beneath me. My chest rose up and down fast as I struggled to catch my breath. I felt my heart through my chest, palpitating as though it was about to suffer a heart attack.
I looked around, there were 7 other applicants here with us all of them heavily panting from pulling back the door. I got up and said to everyone through my breaths “We need to go.”
“That won’t be necessary future stars.”
I turned around in fear that an enemy psychic might have found us only to see the principal standing in front of us.
“All of you did absolutely wonderful today.”
At his words, the lights, sirens, and the evacuation notice ended immediately. I looked around confused at what had happened.
“Principal…” Vivan asked through her panting. “What are you talking about?”
Principal Sever formed a large smile on his face as he began to applaud us. “Future stars this was a test of your heroism. And I’m very glad to say that you passed with flying colors.”
‘Huh?’ I looked around some more and realized that besides us applicants who were on stage, the others were inside another room with a one-way mirror. We could see them but they couldn’t see us. Those inside the room all looked confused as they were unable to find an exit, soon however proctors from the first section of the application appeared and calmed them down.
“You see future stars, this was a miniature test of your heroism. Most of the others ran out without even considering what might happen to the other applicants.”
The principal's eyes began to twinkle as he said this.
“But you on the other hand…” The principal turned towards Roland with a smile.
“Roland, you effectively took command of your friends and led them through an efficient course of action while putting yourself at risk. I award you 30 points.”
Roland's jaw dropped in surprise. Now he could be nearly in the top 10 applicants. Roland closed his jaw and began to blush slightly, flattered that such an incredible person would praise him. Now the Principal looked towards me.
“Mark, you went along with Roland and held open the door, buying valuable time for your friends to make it through while putting your body in harm's way. I award you 20 points.”
I blushed deeply at his compliment, just like Roland. Never did I expect to have been complimented by someone of his status so warmly.
“Thank you, Principal Sever.”
The principal nodded and turned towards Vivian.
“Vivian you allowed yourself to be placed in the most dangerous position, had you not escaped in time you would have been trapped. You showed your bravery and selflessness in this moment in an attempt to save your friend. I award you 30 points.”
Vivian blushed even more red than me as she looked down at the ground and shuffled her feet extremely shyly, her hands placed behind her back.
‘Kinda cute…’
“As for the rest of you,” the principal said with his arms spread open, looking at the other applicants here, “You all did excellent as well, choosing to stay behind and assist rather than leave. You should all be proud of yourselves. You all get 10 points.”
Everyone in the room began to give each other high fives and congrats on their performance.
“Now everyone, it is now 5 am so I’d recommend you head to breakfast.” A door opened on the side of the lecture room that showed a giant hall with a large breakfast buffet full of high-quality food.
“As a bonus to your performance, you all get to go in first. Congratulations future stars. Oh and don’t worry about how hard the door was to resist, ever since you’ve been in here we’ve been suppressing or draining your powers.”
With that and a wink, the Principal once again vanished from view, not a hair left behind.
‘So that’s why the door was so difficult to push back. It must also be why Vivian took so long to run down the hallway.’
I turned back towards the other applicants and bowed.
“Thank you for your help. My name is Mark, this is Roland, Vivian, and the one sleeping is Violet. May I ask for your name?”
“Please don’t bow man. The name’s Tarkif. It’s nice to meet you all.”
I straightened up from my bow, grabbed Takifs hand, and gave a firm handshake. With that, he left for the breakfast hall along with the other applicants.
Turning back towards my friends I saw Violet begin to wake up from her slumber. She slowly began to stretch out her body, slowly open her eyes, and look towards the ceiling.
“Ms. Woo.”
“Mark Tran.”
I turned around and found myself facing two men. One of them was the bodyguard who had kicked me earlier. The other was Arthur, the proctor whom I had nearly punched in the face during the first section. The bodyguard began to speak first.
“Ms. Woo, your father would like to speak with you. You are to come with me now that you have entered your free time. It took quite some convincing for the school to allow me in and my time is limited so please be quick.”
Violet slowly got up and looked at the guard. I was about to say something to her when I stopped. Her face was cold and dead, as though she had never experienced emotion in her life. She walked towards the bodyguard and together they disappeared.
“Well Mark, it’s me Arthur again. The principal would like to speak with you privately.”
I felt my jaw go slack at the thought of a one-on-one conversation with an SS-Rank psychic. To listen to him talk to me was already amazing but to have him engage in conversation with me privately??? Whole different level.
“Why? Did I do something wrong?”
“Unfortunately I don’t know. But he does seem very excited to meet you.”
I saw Arthur move towards me and he placed his thumb on my forehead, causing me to once again sink into unconsciousness.
End of Chapter 7