Leo stared at his status screen, the glowing interface reflected faintly in his eyes. Every line of text made his heartbeat quicken. His stats had jumped—every single one. Strength, agility, endurance… everything had risen to a level he never thought he'd see this soon. And on top of that, a new resource had appeared.
"Energy…" he whispered. "So that's the limiter."
Even without the system explicitly telling him, he could deduce it. His energy pool was the ceiling of what he could do. The more energy he had, the more times he could use his abilities before he collapsed. That meant training his energy control was just as important as improving his physical abilities.
He scrolled again.
Lightning.
Space.
Time.
His abilities were officially at his disposal.
For a moment, Leo's lips twitched upward. "I'm finally a tier 1 awakened," he murmured. "No more being a weakling."
He sat up straight, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. If he wanted to grow stronger, he couldn't waste a single second. He started with what he assumed was the strongest ability.
"Time manipulation," he said quietly. "Let's try."
He focused. He pushed his will outward—or inward—or whatever direction time was supposed to respond to. He imagined the world slowing down, speeding up, freezing… anything. He gritted his teeth, sweating from the effort.
After nearly a full minute, he finally opened his eyes.
Nothing. Not the slightest change.
He wasn't tired physically, but mentally he felt like he'd tried to memorize an entire physics textbook in ten seconds. His temples throbbed.
He checked his energy.
Energy: 150
"Nothing " Leo rubbed his forehead. "I didn't even do anything."
Still, he tried again. "Alright… space. Let's see if you're any friendlier."
He closed his eyes once more. He imagined bending the air, folding it, twisting the room, forming a portal—anything. Space, however, remained stubbornly unresponsive. Nothing changed. Not even a flicker.
His mental exhaustion doubled.
Leo exhaled slowly. "Okay… great. I can't move time. I can't move space. Wonderful."
His eye twitched.
He checked his energy again.
Energy: 150
A testament to his failure.
He nearly groaned. "Nothing seems to be working is there a mistake somewhere?" nothing
But he reminded himself: One step at a time.
Finally, he turned to the one ability he hoped he could actually use.
"Lightning… please don't be useless."
He held out his palm. He closed his eyes. He focused on the feeling of energy flowing through him. He tried to summon it again.
Nothing happened at first. Then, slowly… faintly…
A spark flickered.
Leo grinned. "Come on… come on!"
He forced more energy into his palm until the spark flashed brighter. But before he could celebrate, his watch suddenly chimed loudly:
[Ability detected. Student classified as Lightning User – Low Tier 1.]
Leo's smile vanished instantly.
"Oh no…"
The realization hit him like a truck.
"If the watch detected the lightning," he muttered, "then if I ever succeed with space or time…"
The Academy would detect that too.
His heart dropped.
He imagined the directors dragging him away to run tests on him, dissect his abilities, cage him "for his own protection." He imagined being monitored, isolated, used.
"No," he whispered. "Absolutely not. Space and time stay hidden. At least until I'm strong enough that no one questions me."
He forced himself to take a deep breath.
"…And all I made was a spark."
His status screen flickered again, showing his remaining energy:
---
The Celestial System
Name: Leo Stevens
Race: Human
Level: 1 — 0/100 EXP
Abilities: Lightning, Space, Time
Energy: 149
HP: 150
Strength: 15
Agility: 15
Endurance: 15
Skills:
• Insight
• Battle Master
---
Leo frowned. "I lost 1 points for that spark? Seriously? Fair enough"
He paced slowly around the room, rubbing his chin.
"How would this hold up in real combat? From what he could deduce using insight it would cost about ten points per lightning bolt means… what, fifteen shots before I'm empty?" He shook his head. "That's terrible. Unless I can make them stronger with less energy."
He remembered something from chemistry class back home—something about how lightning was formed naturally. The movement of charged particles, ionized air, sudden releases of electrical potential.
"Alright… think like a scientist."
Insight sharpened his thoughts instantly. He could almost see the atoms and molecules in his mind, imagine them colliding, building tension, reacting to his mana.
He held out his hand again.
"Visualize the charge… build the difference… mana as the catalyst…"
A spark formed.
It grew.
Bigger…
Brighter…
"Hold… steady…" Leo muttered, sweat forming on his brow.
The spark sharpened into a bolt.
"Yes—!"
The lightning erupted in his face.
"AH—!" Leo fell backward, hitting the bed frame hard.
His hair stood up. His eyebrows were singed. His shirt was smoking.
He groaned. "Ow… ow… ow…"
He quickly looked around.
The room was intact.
"Oh… right," he remembered. "The Academy reinforced the walls. Thank god."
He checked himself. No major injuries, just burned pride.
He checked his energy next.
---
The Celestial System
Energy: 139
---
"Ten points… again." Leo sighed. "Ten points for one lightning bolt. This is going to be brutal."
He slumped onto his bed, exhaustion hitting all at once. His body was tired, his mind was fried, and his emotions were all over the place.
He stared at the ceiling.
"Time won't respond. Space won't listen. Lightning is barely controllable. And my energy pool is tiny." He exhaled shakily. "I'm not even close to where I need to be."
He covered his face with his arm.
"Still… I awakened today," he reminded himself. "I became tier one today. I finished my daily quest. I made lightning."
His voice quieted.
"And the other two abilities… they'll come slowly. Just not now."
He rolled onto his side, curling into the blanket. His eyelids grew heavy.
"I'll take things…" he whispered, voice fading.
"…one step at a time."
And with that final thought, Leo drifted into sleep—ready or not for whatever the next day at the Academy would bring.
---