Shadow Blood and Fire

When Insterion first introduced abilities to the human race, people quickly learned that some were far more powerful than others. With this came the introduction of the power level system. There were a total of nine different power levels, with Level 1 being the weakest and Level 8 being the strongest, and Level 9 almost unattainable. These levels also corresponded to the amount of mutant cells an individual's body could hold. Each level could be further divided into increments from 1.1 to 1.9, and so on for each level.

On the rare occasion that your ability broke through to Level 10, you became a Saint, a highly valuable asset to the government and world corporations. If you were in government, you would be made a General, in a Star Corporation an Usurper, and in a Mine Craft a Warlock, respected by a large portion of society and capable of destroying a small city. Even rarer was breaking through to Level 15, at which point you became an Saint King or what they call "Overlord", the peak of world dominance, respected and known by more than a dozen planets, more than a trillion people, and capable of destroying a massive city and causing planetary destruction.

There are five known Overlords: the Big Three, General Carter, and Olivia.

The Big Three:

Saint King Damian Blaze: Level 16 Emperor of the Azure Flame Sect, a large sect hoarding more than sixteen planets, wielding an Azure Flame of destruction which is almost inextinguishable. Once, A Head of Constellation offended him, a newly promoted Saint King at that time. Although both him and Damian were Overlords, Damian burned him to death in three breaths, leaving his station burnt and his planets uninhabitable and extremely hot, with some patches of still burning Azure flame. This battle happened three hundred years ago, and the casualties easily exceeded a billion people.

Saint King Melissa McCarthy: Level 16 Emperor of the Thousand Illusion Empire, popularly known as the Queen of Illusion. She is capable of drawing the consciousness of millions of people into a dream that can reap their lives and casting multiple clones and illusions indistinguishable from reality. With eighteen planets aligned to her empire, although she could be seen as the weakest, she is not to be underestimated and can easily escape if she is at a disadvantage. People would rather align themselves with her empire because she is not as ruthless as other Saint Kings.

Emperor Zeus Shanell III: Third Saint King of Lightning Valley, a Level 17 Saint King and a renowned genius in the Lightning Valley, as both of the last Saint Kings of Lightning Valley couldn't pass Level 15 before death. He is capable of weather and climate control and is in possession of twenty-one planets. He is the most ruthless Saint King.

General Carter Armstron: Level 16 Saint King, the only Saint King in the government who refused to claim the seat of Superior General from his father, Lucas Armstron, a Level 12 Saint. Carter is able to control crystal and earth and create them out of the atmosphere. He possesses the most intrepid physique, even Saint Kings would have a hard time cracking.

Saint King Olivia Venese: Queen of the Star Rift, a peak Level 16 Saint King holding twenty-five planets across the Star Rift. Her faction is responsible for 70% of all the crime that happens in space, including stealing, plundering, and enslaving planets without the protection of a Saint King. She is capable of unleashing devastating poison and taming ferocious star beasts by infusing them with poison. Members of her faction can also use poison-like abilities. She once controlled millions of people with her poison, making them puppets. The Big Three Saint Kings bound together to kill her but only succeeded in driving her to the Star Rift with a lethal injury. To their dismay, she didn't die but instead made a breakthrough to the peak of Level 16, just one step away from Level 17. The Star Rift could be best described as a wasteland, so the other Saint Kings turn a blind eye to her hoarding twenty-five planets.

Generally, ability books from level 1 to 5 were sold to the public. While giant corporations and the military kept the higher ones to themselves.

The second way to obtain an ability was if you were an Unknown. Unknown were the first people who had originally discovered the powers for themselves and decided to pass it down within their family.

There was no way for the government to measure its power because it wasn't public knowledge and most people try to avoid provoking an unknown as it's known information that they have more than one Emperor Level Figure.

Eli lifted up his hand to look at the watch which indicated his current power level was one. When he looked around, he noticed that everyone else's watches currently indicated the same number.

General Griff was currently standing in front of all the students and called names in groups of five.

These students would then be transported somewhere to take the test. 

General Griff made an announcement.

"Will the students, Eli Dengare Baxter, Cartl Taylor, Mayfair summer, Lilith Munrow, and Mazi Lionheart, please come to the front to take your test."

Eli was about to join General Griff at the platform when a notification popped up on his glasses. He blinked in confusion.

Do you want to regain your memories: 𐌌𐌀 𐌆𐌀𐌓𐌉 𐌔𐌀 𐌓𐌉𐌆𐌉𐌍𐌀 𐌌𐌀𐌓𐌀 𐌔𐌀𐌓𐌀𐌓𐌀

Yes: 𐌉𐌀

No: 𐌍𐌀

"What the heck?" The message was in a strange language, full of symbols and glyphs that he had never seen before. He tried to swipe it away, but it stayed on his vision, blocking his view. He tapped his glasses, hoping to clear the glitch, but nothing happened. He felt a surge of panic. What if it was a virus? A hack? A prank?

He glanced around, looking for help, but no one seemed to notice his distress. He heard his name being called out by his classmates, followed by snickers and jeers. "Looks like he's going to shit his pants!" "Damn, he was placed in a group with all the powerhouses. I would probably shit myself too!" "What better way for the pogue to learn he doesn't belong?" " Cartl Taylor heir of starry group, Mayor lionheart daughter, Mayfair the unknown or fist guy I think the pogue got scared"

He decided to ignore the taunts and focus on the notification. He scanned the message, looking for something familiar, something he could understand. He chose the first option. He pressed it, hoping it would make the message go away.

It did. But not in the way he expected.

He felt a sharp pain in his head, as if a needle had pierced his brain. He gasped and clutched his temples, dropping his glasses. He felt a wave of heat wash over him, making him sweat profusely. He staggered and fell to his knees, barely aware of his surroundings. He heard his name again, but this time it was not a mockery. It was a scream.

"Eli! Eli! What's wrong with him? Get on the platform!"

He had General Griff booming voice and struggled to the platform sweating like he did a marathon. He observed the people in his group from the projected holographic display.

Mayfair popularly known as fist guy looked a lot like a younger and handsome Kratos, the protagonist of the God of War video game series. He had had a muscular build, olive skin, and a shaved head. He had also had a distinctive yellow tattoo that had covered his left eye and had extended down his neck and arm. He had worn a black leather jacket, a white T-shirt, jeans, and boots. He was 6 feet tall and weighed 180 pounds. He had a confident and charismatic personality, but he also doesn't talk much.

Cartl had the looks of a model, slender and athletic body, fair skin, and blond hair that had been styled in a quiff. He had blue eyes and a charming smile. He wore a navy blue blazer, a white shirt, a red tie, khaki pants, and brown shoes. He stood 6 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 160 pounds. He had always been a popular guy with a vain and arrogant side.

Eli took a look at himself he was chubby 5 feet 11 inches tall boy with natural red and unkempt hair. He had a round face, freckles, and blue eyes. He wore a green hoodie, a black T-shirt with a funny slogan, cargo shorts, and sneakers. He weighed 220 pounds. 

Mazi looked like a beautiful and cold girl with a look of a princess. She had a slender and graceful body, pale skin, and long white hair that had been braided in a crown. She had violet eyes and a haughty expression. She wore a purple dress, a white fur coat, a pearl necklace, and high heels. She was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 120 pounds. She was a rich and elegant girl, but she also had a snobbish and aloof side. Mazi was the type of girl that turned all of the boy's heads. Her proportions were perfect, not too big not too small. The only problem was her facial expressions. Even when walking through the crowds of people, not once did her expression change. It stayed stiff and neutral.

Lilith had brown hair and a cute look. She had an athletic body, tan skin, and short brown hair that had been spiked up. She had brown eyes and a cheerful smile. She wore a red leather jacket, a black tank top, jeans, and boots. She was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 140 pounds. On her back, she was carrying a bow which surprised Eli, for not many people carried a weapon these days apart from a specific group of people called: Pure.

They were a group of people who chose to not have any abilities and used weapons instead but they were still very rare and Eli had never met anyone like that in his life, only heard stories about them.

As Eli was walking past everyone, he noticed that he didn't recognize one student there and it seemed like the others didn't either. Eli could only assume that this was done on purpose. No one knew who to befriend or who to look out for because currently, everyone's power level displayed 1.

The group had stopped just behind another group who were being transported to the testing area

Cartl felt his heart skip a beat as he saw her walk onto the platform.. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, with long white hair and piercing violet eyes. He recognized her instantly. She was Mazi, the daughter of the mayor, and the only person who had ever ignored his advances.

He had met her on a beast planet, where they had joined forces to hunt down an advanced tier beast. She had been wearing a full-body armor that concealed her identity, but he had sensed her power and grace. He had tried to flirt with her, but she had brushed him off coldly. He had vowed to win her over, but he never got the chance. She had left the planet as soon as the hunt was over, and he had learned that she was one of the privileged few who could study online until grade six.

He had wondered if he would ever see her again, and now fate had brought her to his school. He felt a surge of excitement and curiosity. Why had she decided to join the regular classes? What was she hiding under that armor? He wanted to know everything about her.

He wasted no time in approaching her, ignoring the stares and whispers of the other students. He smiled confidently and extended his hand.

"Hi, I'm Cartl, heir of the Starry Group. We've met before, in the Dune Shelter. Remember?"

Mazi looked up at him with a blank expression. She did not take his hand.

"I don't remember you," she said flatly.

Cartl felt a pang of disappointment, but he did not give up. He put his hand on her shoulder, trying to act casual.

"Come on, don't be like that. We're friends, right?"

Mazi's eyes flashed with annoyance. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. Cartl felt a chill run through his arm, followed by a sharp pain. He gasped and pulled away, looking at his hand in horror. It was covered in frost, and his fingers were turning blue.

Cartl did not expect Mazi to learn an ice ability, one of the rarest and most difficult to master. She had just used it on him, without any hesitation or remorse.

The commotion attracted the attention of the teacher and the other students. They all turned to look at the scene, with various expressions of shock, awe, envy, and admiration.

"Wow, she has an ice ability!"

"That's amazing! She learned it in grade six?"

"She's so cool! Literally!"

"Ice queen!"

"I wish she would ice me too!"

"Yeah, me too! Any way she wants!"

Cartl felt his face burn with embarrassment and anger. He had just been humiliated by the girl of his dreams, in front of everyone. He glared at Mazi, who looked back at him with a smug smile.

He swore to himself that he would make her pay for this. He would not let her get away with it. He would make her fall for him, and then he would break her heart.

He would melt the ice queen.

Griff noticed the commotion and started to intervene.

"Stop it you two, if you have that much energy then save it for the test."

Mazi immediately let go of Cartl's hand and slowly, Cartl's hand started to defrost. Cartl then went back in line to stand next to Eli.

"Can you believe her!" Cartl complained, "I nearly lost my hand."

Finally, Eli and the others were called forward and were told to stand in a circular platform. It wasn't really a platform but just white lines that had been drawn on the ground that was just big enough to fit the five of them in.

There was then a hooded man who stood just outside of the platform.

"Send them away!" 

As soon as General Griff gave the command, the hooded man placed both hands on the ground and the Platform started to light up, shining a bright purple color.

"Hmm Transportation huh, what a rare ability," Cartl said Just as the whole group suddenly vanished into thin air.

The next second they were teleported to another outdoor area which looked like an empty wasteland. There was no sign of life, no trees, no nothing. Standing in front of the group was a woman dressed in a black military uniform and by her side was another hooded man.

There was not another person in sight.

The woman held a Tablet in her hand and it looked like she was currently busy inputting some information. Once she had finished, she looked up at the group.

"Hi everyone my name is Jane, and I will be in charge of your test today. Once the test has been completed, I will update your information and your score will be reflected on your wristwatches."

Jane then started to look at the tablet.

"Now who should we call first?" Jane said as she checked the information that had been passed on from their previous schools.

"Now I believe there was a no ability user here," Jane said, "Eli is it? would you please step forward."

Eli did as he was told and stepped forward.

"Now Eli, what ability do you have?"