2 "A Strange Boy Crashes Through My Window"

That all happened exactly one year ago. I'm now in my sophomore year of Acolyte High School. I'm 16 years old now, and I'm much different than how I was that day one year ago; the day that I found out I'm a Boost Acolyte, more commonly known as a "booster" in this city.

Acolytes are humans that have much better physical capabilities than any regular human, no matter what kind of Acolyte you are, and they make up 50 percent of the human population. As for what determines your Acolyte class, it depends on which one of nine superhuman abilities you gain at the age of 16. The type of ability you will have can be determined when you turn 15, though most people just wait until they're 16 to actually find out.

The nine types of acolytes are Fire Acolytes; acolytes that can use the power of flames, Cube Acolytes; acolytes that can use the power of cubes, Hover Acolytes; acolytes that can use the power of hover circles, Beast Acolytes; acolytes that can use the powers of various animals, Spike Acolytes; acolytes that can use the power of spikes, Laser Acolytes; acolytes that can use the power of lasers, Force Acolytes; acolytes that can use the power of a literal pushing force, Hard Acolytes; acolytes that can use the power of hardening, and finally Boost Acolytes; acolytes that can enhance someone's physical capabilities, and the power of an acolyte's ability.

At Acolyte High School, status is determined by how well you can use your power, how strong you are. If I had to give an example of how boosters are treated at that high school, I'd say that half of us are treated like those creatures in gacha games that are used specifically for exp for the other units, and the other half is treated like the lowest ranking units in the game. Boosters are the most common type of acolyte, making up half the acolyte population, which is why we're not even treated as actual acolytes high school, hence why we're just called boosters instead of Boost Acolytes.

We boosters are treated like absolute shit at Acolyte High School by the other acolytes, in the form of bullying, being used like tools left and right, and just downright being treated like slaves sometimes. At any other school in Sufmiota, acolytes are treated respectfully no matter what kind of acolyte you are. I have no one to blame but myself for how I'm treated in this school. Acolyte High School is the school I chose because even as a booster, the opportunities that await you at the end are endless. Even with all the bullying and harsh treatment, at the end of it all, at least there's some kind of great opportunity waiting at the end of it all, so it'll all be worth it.

I grab my uniform out of my closet, tossing the white pants and white button up on my bed, and freezing up as I hold that white blazer in my hands. Today's my last chance to get out of this situation. When an acolyte has had their ability for six months, there's a chance that a special type of creature will appear before them. These creatures are like an acolyte's own personal booster, but only for their abilities rather than both physical traits and superhuman abilities like an actual booster multiplies. These creatures are known as lytes. The acolyte researchers say that acolytes that have lytes appear before them are destined for greatness, and are treated as such in Acolyte High School.

If I were to have one appear before me, even as a booster, my life in high school would finally turn around. "Who am I kidding..? Less than five percent of all acolytes have a lyte appear in front of them... If I became a booster with a 50 percent chance of becoming another type of acolyte, then there's no way I'll get a lyte with less than a five percent chance..." I sigh, clenching the blazer in my hands tightly and I think I might start crying, but something flashes in the corner of my eye before any tears form. "What..?"

I look out my window to see a bright white light heading right for my window. "No way... No way no way no way!" I open my window and spread out my arms to catch what I assume is my very own lyte. "My life might actually turn around! I'm actually getting..." I pause as I hear a screaming sound coming from the light. "Wait a second...that thing's...not slowing down is it..?" I smile nervously and my eyes widen as I finally see the figure of a boy in the light, screaming as he flies through the air. "Holy crap!" I shout and quickly drop to the ground, covering my head with my hands as the boy crashes right through my window.

"Owwwww..." The boy groans.

I sit up slowly and gape at the massive hole where my window used to be. "M-My window! Wait, now's not the time to be worrying about my window!" I quickly look over at the boy who just crashed into my room. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm good..." He sits up and rubs the back of his head. "Gosh...my head..!" I can't help but stare at the guy for a second. He's wearing some kind of gi and his dark brown hair with streaks of red is a mess. He's got some muscle to him, but not much, and his skin is almost as pale as mine. What really grabs my attention is the flame symbol on the front side of his gi.

"A-Are you..." I'm about to ask him something, but his eyes suddenly shoot open.

"Holy crap! I'm so sorry!" His honey gold eyes seem to glow in the radiant sunlight that shines in my room now. He jumps up and runs over to the hole he created. "Oh goooood..! I'll fix this right away I promise!"

I blink a few times. "You can fix that?"

"Yeah! I just need a few tools and supplies. But don't worry! It won't cost you anything I promise! I'll buy everything myself." He grins.

I stare at him, baffled. "Who...are you..?"

"Huh? Oh, name's Gentarō, Boost Acolyte at your service." He crosses one arm over his stomach and the other behind his back and bows a perfect 90 degrees.

"Heh...must be nice to be able to admit what kind of Acolyte you are so easily..." I mumble quietly.

"Hm? What's up?" He stands up straight and tilts his head.

"I asked if you're a Boost Acolyte, how come your gi has a fire symbol on it?" I lie.

"Ohhhh, well that's just the symbol of the dojo I trained at. Once my training was complete, my master literally sent me flying out of the dojo." He laughs like he didn't just crash through my window.

"I guess that explains why you came flying through my window just now... Where's the dojo located?" I ask, looking out the massive hole.

"On top of that large mountain." He points to the tallest of Sufmiota's famous mountains.

"W-What?! How did you survive?!"

"I told you, I'm a Boost Acolyte silly." He snickers.

"E-Even so, to be sent flying off a mountain that tall and all the way down to the city without so much as a bruise..." I stare at him in shock.

"Well, I trained my boost ability quite a bit up there after I awakened it. I've been training in martial arts up there since I was ten. After I awakened my boosting power, we focused only on that for the past year."

"Wow... So I'm guessing that means you're an emanator?"

"Yup! Why? Are you a fabricator?"

I giggle nervously. "Yep... Pretty sad huh? Not only am I a booster, but I'm also a fabricator..." An emanator is an Acolyte whose power manifests from their bodies, while a fabricator manifests their power outside of their bodies.

"What's wrong with being a booster?" I frown, not saying anything. His eyes then land on the white blazer on the floor. "Oh! You go to Acolyte High School?! How lucky am I?!"

"What do you mean?" I tilt my head.

"I'm actually going to that school too, starting today!" He grins. My eyes widen a bit, and an overwhelming amount of pity wells up inside me. I don't have the heart to tell Gentarō what kind of school he's joining, nor the will to tell him this may be the last day he ever acts this energetic and happy again. "Care to lead me to the school my friend?" He asks, still wearing a bright smile.

"Sure... I hope you don't mind walking though. I don't...take the bus..."

"No worries. First thing's first, I'm gonna go get the stuff to fix this wall." His hair and eyes turn white and glow, though the red streaks in his hair stay red, showing that his hair is dyed. "Be right back!" He jumps out the window and dashes off.

And just like that, instead of getting ready for class, I'm waiting for an emanator class booster named Gentarō to come back and fix my window after getting ready for school. "Thank god my parents aren't home right now..."