Leo woke up with a jolt. His head had stopped ringing and he was feeling very okay. For a second, he forgot what actually brought him here. Tracing back his memory from when he was last conscious, he remembered what happen during Tai's combat class.
Without searching too much, he knew he was in the hospital wing. He was a regular visitor. The hospital wing was like a second dorm to him. Rightly so, he was always a target of bullying. The other high ranking students in the academy would seek him and other weaklings and line them up for target practice.
Leo was born without a quirk, unlike seventy percent of Earth's population now. He was what everyone called The Impossible, because he has absolutely no special powers. Not even a passive quirk. Him being part of the thrity percent made life a living hell for him.
But he was not going to dwell on his weakness any longer. He wanted to become strong enough to avoid being bullied. That was the main reason he'd decided to take Tai Fung's combat classes very seriously.
Like him, Tai Fung, the combat teacher was also not born with an ability. But whoever was going against Tai in any form of combat must think twice. He might not be able to project elemental powers from his palms, but he could slice and cut through just about anything with his katana and his rusty gauntlet. Tai became respected with his S-ranked combat skills. And that was what Leo was going to do.
'Quirks and powers are overrated. I'll become a master of swords.'
Something flickered in his vision at that moment.
[You have a higher chance of being a blacksmith than being master of swords.]
"What?!" Leo practically yelled. He was seeing things again. "Am I still bonkers?"
[You might be. Your willpower stat is so low.]
"Stat? Willpower?" Leo tried to wave the runic screen off his face, but his hands only phased through the phenomenon.
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DISPLAYING HOST'S STATS:
Name: Leo Votan
Race: Beastling
Bank Status: Utterly broke (Emergency situation)
---
Morph ability: E
Willpower: D
Carnage capability: E
Humor: A (upgraded for host's survival)
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"Holy shit. This is the same thing I saw before I passed out. What the hell is that?"
[Your stats!]
"And why is a screen answering me?"
"Hey, shut the hell up there, you dimwit!" someone hushed him from a separate ward. "Little wonder you ended up here."
'You probably got beat up also,' Leo thought but kept it to himself. He wouldn't like to be beaten in the only safe place he knew in the academy.
Leo wondered why the academy never took a drastic step in curbing the act of bullying among the students.
He yanked the thin sheet that was spread over him away, and stepped out of the ward. There was no nurse in sight, so he decided not to sign out. He's signed out too many times already that the nurses have grown to recognize his name and signature. No need reminding them again.
'I need to clear my head. I'm imagining things. Asides me being weak, am I also schizophrenic? The last thing I want is for someone to catch me talking to an imaginary screen.'
'But this screen looks too real.'
[Because I am real.]
'There it is again. I need to go beg Technical Kid. He might help format my memory. That fat fuck does not need payment. He loves experimenting on people.'
[Geez, this is a dumb host.]
"Leo Votan!" A deep but playful masculine voice called him as he made to step into his dorm building.
Leo walked over to the male teacher, Steph. He was a fine man, blond of hair, a clean shaven face, and an attitude as greasy as his hair. Leo was pretty convinced that Steph hated him intentionally. But taking a good look at Leo's life, it seemed everyone hated him intentionally. He was just a bad luck magnet.
"Walking free now, huh?" the teacher asked, smiling coyly. "What about the student you killed? Got anything to say to yourself?"
Leo seemed lost in thought.
'I killed a student?'
"Also good at playing dumb, huh?" Steph reduced the width of his smile. "The council awaits you."
"But, sir..."
"NOW!"
'I think I'll kill this man someday.'
Leo kept a safe distance between himself and Steph till they got to the staff quarters. It was moments like this that reminded Leo of how large the landmass of the academy was. His legs were already aching by the time Steph swung the large oak door of the staff quarters open with a swagger.
The room was dome shaped, wide and almost empty save for a few chairs, a large meeting table, and the mini statues of some of the legendary figures of the academy.
There were five teachers in the room, and a tabby cat which was perched on a small piece of towel.
Leo is a freshman, so he had an excuse for not knowing the teachers by name, even though every other student was done with that assignment. He knew Steph though. He just had to know Steph.
Steph joined the other teachers and posed like Leo had a shutter stick with him. They all stood still, looking painfully photogenic. They were like a gang.
"Leo Votan," the oldest teacher finally spoke, and every other person loosened up instantly. It was like they escaped a trance. "What are you?"
"Huh?" That question caught him off guard. He expected everything but that.
"I don't know what he is, but he's surely disrespectful," Leo heard Steph say. He was squinting, taking a good look at the name tag on each of the teachers.
The oldest man with bright eyes and short, grey scruffy beard was named Prof. Alabaster. Leo guessed he was the head teacher. Not that all the teachers weren't introduced when the freshmen got in.
"From the result taken after analysis before admission, you were supposed to be a D-rank student, right?"
The next older person, Mrs. Joanna asked. She adjusted her circular glasses while resting casually against the table. She looked older than forty but younger at the same time. And well endowed at that. She'd ordinarily pass as a MIL—
'Shit, I'm over thinking.'
"Yes ma'am. I am D-ranked."
"How then," the other female at the table stepped forward with practiced fluidity, her hands joined together in front of her breast, "...were you able to perform a phantom evasion during your combat session with Kreen Hampton?"
Her name tag read, "Miss Guro". Leo enjoyed how her long black hair flowed all the way to her waist in wavy pattern. She wore brown mini skirt to match her coat, and Leo could only stare at her long, straight legs. Leo found her overwhelming. 'Attractive' was not enough to describe her.
He gulped.
It might have escaped him, but it came flooding back now. He had indeed performed a move that could only be performed by an S or A-ranked warriors.
Leo decided to lie.
"I—I did not perform a phantom evasion. I only moved too fast when I couldn't counter Kreen's attack."
It might have been a lie, but Leo believed wholeheartedly that it was the truth. There was no logical reasoning for him being able to perform such move. A move he hadn't ever attempted in his life. A move warriors train for years before they could master. It made no sense.
All five staff turned in the direction of one other staff named Bastien, a young man in his late twenties, his face partially covered by his long messy hair. He was dressed in dusty brown, patched drapes that gave him the appearance of an impoverished super hero. They all stared at Bastien as if waiting for an answer.
Bastien paused for a while and shrugged, his expression unchanging.
The other teachers turned away after getting the subtle answer they needed from Bastien, some heaving a sigh of relief.
Leo knew what just transpired. He'd been in a similar situation once with someone like Bastien.
Bastien as it seems, had the ability to detect lies. They must have brought him to tell if Leo was telling a lie. And judging from the look of relief from the other teachers, Bastien had told them Leo was telling the truth. That, or what Leo said wasn't really a lie.
A door swung open to Leo's right, and Tai Fung stepped into the room.
"I told you," the Eastern man said triumphantly, his foreign accent think and hard to ignore. "I told you it wasn't a phantom evasion."
"Hold it, Tai. That only solves one thing." The last staff, Mr. Inkling said, cutting Tai off. "Forget the phantom evasion saga now. How do you explain the explosion that occurred after Kreen attacked Leo. And how did Kreen's icicle backfire to impale him? There's more to this boy than it meets the eyes, I can tell."
Tai sighed heavily. "I have told you, Ink. I was the one who blocked Kreen's icicle using one of my family's ancient counterattack technique. It was my mistake because I should not have used such technique against a student. But Leo was going to die if I stood still. I acted on impulse. I can't let a student die."
"Well, Kreen is half dead now, fighting for his life in the ICU," Steph said with a sly smile. "Are you sure you didn't let a student die? You should have just let him kill the weakling. Why waste an A-ranked student with a bright future in the military to save the life of a worthless D-ranker?"
Mrs. Joanna gasped, adjusting her round glasses.
Prof. Alabaster stepped forward. "That's alright, Steph. There is no need to say something so mean in front of the boy. We've heard all we needed to hear. The boy is innocent for now. Further investigation will follow. And we will decide on what to do with Tai Fung. The meeting is over."
Everyone dispersed except for the tabby cat on the floor. It's amber eyes stayed glued to Leo's figure unblinking.
Leo exited the staff quarters. He breathed a deep sigh of relief.
'What the hell was that? I almost died from the tension in that room.'
Leo found his way to a deserted spot to catch a breath.
'Tai Fung,' he thought. 'Why is he taking the blame? I'm sure as hell he did not use any technique to stop Kreen. Kreen's attack backfired before he could even get close. Also, the explosion sent Tai flying in the air. Why did he lie?'
'How the hell did I even survive Kreen's icicles?'
[Will you believe the system now?]
'Shit, I'm hallucinating again.'
[Pathetic. I'm wasted on you.]
Leo was about getting up to leave for his dorm when he received another notification from the system. This time, it was imposing and really hard to ignore.
[A basic tier Beastling detected! Subdue to receive a special ability.]
Leo looked around. There was no one in sight. He was about to dismiss the message when he saw the teacher with the mini skirt—the same one he'd been crushing on—walk swiftly into the thick forest a few distance away.
"What? Miss Guro is a beastling?"
For once, he decided to obey the system, and followed Guro's track into the forest.