Alexander's Ability

Jesse glanced at the message, his face scrunching up into a frown.

A match to the death; it was something that all students avoided—getting your fellow student's blood on your hands and risking your life.

Jesse stood to his feet and left the training hall.

What was Billy O'Malley thinking? He wouldn't recklessly expose himself to the entire world.

Jesse neither accepted nor rejected the request. It remained in his request tab for an entire month since Billy was quiet.

He also didn't see any sign of ceteorin among or consumed by any of the students; hence, Jesse decided to lay low and watch.

---

It was Jesse's second month in the academy and another day in combat class.

The class had yet to begin; however, Jesse came in first.

"Can I help you?" Alexander asked from the opposite side of the class, seated with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. His voice was devoid of the usual flowery warmth.

Jesse scratched his head awkwardly; he only came early to avoid the first class, which was the swimming lesson.

He admired the teacher's strength. Jesse doubted he could defeat him, even with his full power.

"No," Jesse sat opposite him, taking Alexander's stance by crossing his legs and closing his eyes.

Both remained silent for almost an hour until the other students trooped in, and the class commenced.

Like always, Alexander pointed at a student; however, he didn't engage in a fight this time. He walked to the wall and pressed his finger on a dark, square patch. The wooden wall's mechanism creaked, and it parted, revealing another room behind—filled with weapons of all types.

The students gasped in awe, and their teacher, Alexander, smiled.

He called the student he pointed to and asked him to pick out a suitable weapon for himself.

"We've reached a stage where you can now use weapons for your combat," he said, walking back to the middle of the class.

"Come here."

Flicking his finger at the student, he stood calmly on the stage.

The student, who had picked a long silver sword that seemed a little too big for him, rushed towards Jesse.

From the way he held his sword, it was obvious his ability was enhancement—strength, most probably. And like always, Alexander parried every attack smoothly, moving very slightly every once in a while. In no time, the student had dropped his sword from exhaustion, and the students cheered.

"You did a great job, Ben," Alexander patted the student's shoulder. "Knowing the weapon that suits your ability the most is a good thing, but knowing how to use it rivals everything."

He picked up the sword and swung it a few times. "Know your weapon as much as you know your own limb."

He handed the weapon back to the exhausted student before saying, "Pick a weapon of your choice, pick a partner, and have a friendly duel."

He moved to the end of the class and sat down as soon as he gave the command.

---

Jesse walked into the weapon room and scanned the various weapons that hung on the walls and lay on the floor.

Swords were not his thing, either long or short, so he walked past the wall filled with swords. There were no ammunitions since the ammunition that was made could kill an evolved infected, no less young humans who had just awakened.

Jesse was pushed by the crowd to the other side where melee weapons of various types were laid. He scanned through the pile and found a weapon—scythes, double thin, long scythes that lay against each other.

His lips stretched into a smile as he picked up the weightless scythes, their sides had magnetic lines which he pressed against each other, merging their stem into one, the blades forming a long circular arch.

The silver blades had a few parts that had rusted, but they cut the air perfectly well with each swing.

Jesse swung harder again, and the scythe elongated, slicing off a student's bangs.

"Ack!" In utter disbelief and crippling fear, the boy fell to the ground, clutching his chest.

"I'm sorry." Jesse apologized, holding back the urge to chuckle in excitement. He caressed the scythe's stem and found a ring-like button on both sides. When he applied force on it, the scythe either elongated or retracted.

Well, his little play caused all the students to run away from him, pairing with others instead. Even Maxwell had quickly paired up with someone else.

Jesse leaned on the wall, in the corner of the class, watching the students in combat while caressing the scythe in his hand.

"The lucky one has no partner, ran out of luck?" Alexander asked.

"Unfortunately," Jesse replied, not willing to argue about his luck like they used to.

Alexander motioned for Jesse to come forward. "Pick up your weapon. Anybody who falls first loses."

Jesse obliged, walking toward the center of the class. The scythe swayed as he moved, causing the students to scamper away.

Jesse took a deep breath, adjusting his grip on the scythe. The weight of the weapon felt perfect in his hands, and despite its long, menacing blade, it moved with a fluid grace that seemed to match Jesse's own rhythm. His eyes focused on Alexander, who stood calmly in the center of the room, arms crossed. The usual aura of warmth around the teacher was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating presence.

"Whenever you're ready," Alexander said with a bright smile.

Jesse tightened his hold on the scythe. He swung it once in a wide arc, testing the balance, the sound of air slicing filling the room. He charged forward, bringing the scythe down in a powerful diagonal slash aimed at Alexander's shoulder.

But Alexander wasn't there.

With barely any effort, Alexander shifted to the side, his movements so smooth it seemed like he'd anticipated Jesse's strike long before it began. Jesse quickly followed up, spinning the scythe in a reverse arc, aiming for Alexander's midsection, but again, his teacher stepped out of range, his movements precise and calm.

"Faster," Alexander said, his voice neutral, eyes sharp.

Jesse gritted his teeth and swung again, this time putting more speed and force behind the attack.

Their little endless fight went on for minutes until Jesse began to swing his scythe recklessly, leaving Alexander in a tight spot as he dodged each attack carefully without getting sliced in half.

The scythe lashed out, the sharp, glimmering blade cutting through the air as the students gasped, scurrying further away from the fight. Jesse's heart pounded in excitement—it was annoying that none of his attacks reached his opponent, but the sound of the scythe cutting through air and the intensity of the fight filled him with wildness.

[Steel Mentality has been implemented.]

The crazed smile on his face disappeared as his frenzied attacks ceased. He let out a soft sigh and shortened the scythe's stem, angling it behind him.

He rushed towards Alexander, swinging the scythe at him, and as the long-haired teacher made an effort to sidestep the attack, Jesse stretched out his free hand in the direction his teacher sidestepped to.

"Active tap; ability reaver." He murmured in that split second. The force of his dodged attack propelled him forward, and he tapped Alexander's arm.

[Tap; Ability Reaver has activated successfully.]

[You have copied Alexander Zephron's ability.]

He had taken a big risk in doing this, and it worked. The ten percent chance of activating the skill actually worked.

Jesse turned around and caught himself before he could fall.

Alexander moved to the left and blocked Jesse's arm; however, Jesse frowned. He hadn't attacked yet, but the teacher had already dodged the scythe by bending down. He also blocked Jesse's jab with his palm. An idea came to his mind as to why he saw this scene, but Jesse had no time to think about it as he attacked.

Trusting his instincts yet again, he swung the scythe, and just as he had seen earlier, Alexander bent his knees to avoid the attack. He stretched out his palm to avoid the incoming jab, but Jesse retracted his arm and bent down, kicking Alexander's bent knees with all his strength.

The students gasped in unison as they saw their teacher fall; however, Alexander quickly caught himself with his hand on the floor. He glanced at Jesse with a wry smile on his lips before sitting on the floor as if accepting defeat.

The students clapped and cheered as they watched Jesse stand above their all-powerful teacher.

Jesse had no smile on his face. Even with all his skills, the teacher had let him win. And from the little fight, Jesse could tell that Alexander's ability was one that allowed him to see the future. Hence, what he saw when he tapped his arm earlier was the future, even though it was just by a few seconds.

"Impressive," Alexander clapped and stood up. "Every one of you can do the same."

The students cheered happily at Alexander's words, even though there were nigh impossible.

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Note: Ability Reaver steals the ability of Jesse's opponent for a certain amount of time. Hence, their original users won't be able to use it during that period of time.