An Unusuality

Enlarge his body at will? Jesse didn't see such thing when he inspected Maxwell's opponent.

Was it possible that he had a hidden ability - one that could escape the eye of the system.

"There are no healers today, so you'll have to stay like this for a while." Jesse sat beside Maxwell's bed in the hospital ward.

"Why would all the healers be absent on the same day? How long do I have to wait here in pain?!" Maxwell who had just woken up groaned.

"They're giving the students with healing abilities a chance to try out their powers." Jesse explained, "You'll be attended to soon."

In the silence, Maxwell breathed out a sigh of relief, "I won, didn't I?"

"Of course, you did." Jesse tapped his shoulder, causing him to wince in pain.

"Did you lose your memory of something?" Avila came in through the door, "I made a lot of money, thanks to you." She smiled, tapping him lightly on his head.

"You believed in me?" Maxwell's eyes twinkled.

"No." With a short laugh, she moved backwards, "I believed in your teacher." Keeping those words to herself, she waved them both before leaving the ward.

Maxwell sighed and rested his head on the pillow, "Right! Where's Aland?" He turned to Jesse.

"He went to get some food for you."

"Oh, how nice." Maxwell flailed his legs.

After a short moment of silence, he asked another question, "Do you know what Aland's ability is?"

"No." Jesse shook his head.

"Are you curious?"

"Not at all." Jesse shook his head again.

If he was curious, then he would have inspected him from the moment they met.

"Do you think he can do it? I mean, raise his ranks?"

"Yes... slowly." Jesse added, "That's why you'll be guiding him. Five rank at a time, he'll raise his rank slowly like that everyday till he catches up with us."

"What about you?" Maxwell implored.

"..."

Jesse remained silent - he wanted to enter the first hundred ranking so he could handle mission. Not only the first hundred but the top ten.

If his inspect skill couldn't detect a second ability in a person, it meant that he was still too weak, hence, going on missions and graduating faster will earn him a pass to venture outside the seventh wall - that way, he could easily grow his powers.

"I'm going for the top hundred."

"Ah! Sorry, did I make you wait to long?" A girl ran through the door, "I am the healer who'll be attending to you today." She bowed.

"..."

"..."

Her face turned red when she saw the surprised look on the face of her patient and his friend.

"It's fine." Maxwell waved his hand, "I didn't wait too long. See? They already cleaned up all the blood." Eager to dispel the awkwardness, he uttered a bunch of useless words.

The student healer closed her eyes and stretched out her hands - vines spring up from underneath the bed, wrapping themselves around Maxwell.

"Ack!" Maxwell yelped in pain when the vines tightened around his body.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The girl screamed, bowing down repeatedly.

Jesse chuckled at the messy sight, "You're a plant-based healer?"

"Yes...I still can't control my powers properly." She tucked her hair behind her ear in an awkward manner before stretching out her hands again - this time, letting the vines wrap around Maxwell gently.

A soft glow emitted from the numerous vines before they retracted and disintegrated into fine dust.

"Making it into a tonic works faster, but I had no time to prepare it. I'm sorry." She bowed again before dashing out.

"She's the girl from combat class." Maxwell said as soon as she left.

"I know."

"With those killer vines, she could probably do well in combat. Only that they're too soft, it felt like they could snap if they wrap any tighter."

Jesse looked away from the door - it was not his business anyway.

**

Progressing quickly, he had fought in numerous duels, intentionally losing in a few so as to fight with a higher ranker - and in no time, Jesse was in the first hundred.

However, during all his duels, he had noticed something - the stemming of a new ability in the middle of the fight, body part enlargement, speed and strength enhancement and even a strong resistance to attacks, therefore, the way he won most of his duels was by pushing them off the stage, as his opponents became stronger with every hit they took. But, no matter how many times he inspected them, he found nothing.

"-The duel will end when one party falls unconscious, falls out of the stage, or admits defeat-"

"-The last one standing would be proclaimed winner-"

The announcement snapped Jesse back into reality.

His opponent this time was the in the second fifty ranks, Rank 99.

"Lucky One! Lucky One!"

"Gehes! Gehes!"

The duel of two of the most famous people in the entire academy attracted almost all the students.

They cheered happily, calling out the name of whoever they supported. However, what was even more enticing was that neither of them had ever used their ability in a fight.

Jesse inspected his opponent again.

[Name - Gary Husef]

[Race - Human]

[Status - Awakened]

[Ability - Flight]

[Tier - Intermediate]

[Level -3]

'Hopefully, there was nothing to worry about.'

"-Begin!-"

The horn blew off, signifying the beginning of the match.

The horn's blast echoed through the arena, and the crowd's cheers swelled in anticipation. Jesse's gaze remained locked on Gary - who stood with an air of confidence.

Gary's feet lifted off the ground in a flash, his ability to fly granted him a clear advantage in movement. With effortless grace, he hovered above the stage, eyes gleaming with pride and a sense of surety that strangely kept Jesse on edge.

Jesse crouched low, his eyes scanning Gary for any opening. Though Gary's ability was known, Jesse's experience in fighting opponents who hid something beneath their abilities kept him wary. He didn't know if Gary possessed any secret strengths, but he wasn't about to take any chances.

Gary struck first, darting through the air like an arrow. Jesse rolled to the side, dodging the initial assault. The crowd roared as Gary swooped back, this time delivering a powerful kick aimed at Jesse's midsection.

Jesse barely managed to block, his feet sliding back as the force of the hit reverberated through his arms. "Strong," he muttered under his breath, but his opponent wasn't done. Gary shot back into the air, gaining height before diving down again, fists clenched, aimed directly for Jesse's head.

Jesse sidestepped, knowing that dodging wouldn't win him the match. He needed a strategy. His inspect skill told him that Gary's only ability was flight, but something felt off. The strength of his attacks seemed beyond what should be possible for a mere flight user.

Gary taunted him from above. "What's wrong, Almighty Jesse? Too slow?" He darted around in the air, circling his opponent like a hawk ready to strike.

Jesse couldn't afford to be distracted. If Gary had some hidden enhancement, it was likely similar to the other duelists he'd faced—something the system couldn't detect. He couldn't let Gary wear him down or play to his speed.

Gary charged again, fists glowing faintly with energy as he descended. Jesse ducked under the blow, and as Gary came in close again, Jesse made his move. He dashed forward, ignoring the crowd's roars and leaped high into the air, aiming a spinning kick toward Gary's exposed side.

But Gary reacted faster than anticipated, twisting in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the kick. "You're going to have to do better than that!" he shouted, flying back up to regain his advantage.

"I know." Jesse muttered to himself. He'd been holding back, but now was the time to test his theory.

Gary lunged again, his fists crackling with energy. This time, Jesse didn't dodge. Instead, he met the attack head-on, grabbing Gary's wrist at the last second and pulling him down. The crowd gasped in surprise as Jesse slammed Gary into the ground, using his own momentum against him.

A cloud of dust rose from the impact, but Jesse didn't let go. He pressed his knee into Gary's chest, pinning him to the stage. He banged Gary's head on the stage repeatedly, until a dent formed and blood spilled from Gary's head.

Jesse stood up slowly when Gary remained unconscious.

The crowd cheered, hailing Jesse as they shouted his praises.

However, it was easy. Too easy even. A second fifty ranker would never go down that easily.

-Swoosh

Jesse ducked down as soon as he noticed a slight unusual distortion of the wind flow. And as soon as he ducked, a human figure traveling at an unusually high speed collided into the other side of the stage, leaving behind a deep human-sized hole.

The students gasped in shock as Gary emerged from the hole. He stretched out his hands, taking a deep breath with his eyes closed.

And in less than three seconds, whilst still levitating above the crowd, he opened his eyes.

Jesse gazed at his opponent - that was it, the unusual strength, enhanced speed, and the uncanny unwillingness to give up.

[Do you wish to use the skill, Pure Ceteorin Search?]

The system dinged, and Jesse muttered a yes underneath his breath.

[Pure Ceteorin Search activated]

[...]

[Semi-processed pure ceteorin has been detected 10 metres above you]

[...]

[Your opponent has consumed a large amount of semi-processed pure ceteorin]

[Semi-processed pure ceteorin has spread to 8% of your opponent Gary Husef's body]

[Your opponent will transform into an infected once pure ceteorin spreads to his brain]

[Ding]

[You have received a main quest]

[Extract the pure ceteorin from Gary Husef's body before he turns]

[4 minutes and 33 seconds until transformation]

************

Note:

Rank 1 to 50 are called the first fifty.

Rank 51 to 100 are called the second fifty.

Rank 101 to 200 are called the first hundred.

Rank 200 to 300 are called the second hundred.

Rank 300 to 400 are called the third hundred.

Please, do not misunderstand.