The Lupine System

Final Results

Within the room, several personnel could be seen. Each of them wore a lab coat with the symbol of the Eventide Academy on it. Around them were various measuring equipment and tools constantly taking in and processing data.

After the initial surprise from Mike's assessment ended, they immediately went to work as they reviewed the footage while checking in with their equipment.

"An exemplary performance. It's clearly an unrefined ability, but it's quite qualitative in nature, it seems." An older man spoke as he looked through the footage.

"Indeed," Another one spoke as they looked through the various equipment.

"Let's start with the output. The raw energy output he displayed was quite potent as it created a tangible effect on the surroundings, and this is only due to his apparent lack of control. If the wayward bits of aura could affect his surroundings so much, then it's likely that the boost he could get if he condenses it better would be intense. High-A– tier right off the bat." He spoke, and everyone nodded in unison.

"We have the activation cost and energy consumption next," A female said. "At a lower output, he seems to be able to maintain it for a considerably long period. However, at high output, he struggled to maintain it for more than a few minutes. So we can place it at a moderate-to-high energy cost. B-tier." She said, and everyone nodded in unison once more.

"Now for the passive increase in his different areas," A tall and pale male said. "Needless to say, even without his ability active, his senses, durability, speed, and strength are a step above what one would usually expect from people with abilities and the passive boosts they grant. However, the greatest emphasis is on his senses. All his five senses are boosted to such a degree passively, that it rivals prospects of the same level who have abilities catered towards sensory abilities. Factoring in his ability, the boost is even greater. High A tier." Again, everyone nodded at the assessment.

"Moving on, his combat utility," A short female with thick glasses started. "His performance in the tests related to speed, strength, agility, and durability was all high. And enhancement multiplies those attributes considerably. It isn't just one stat boosted either, but everything physical. It's easy to reckon that—with finer control—he could focus the enhancement on a singular aspect to magnify it exponentially. At its base, though, it can be categorized as a full-body enhancement with high adaptability. High B+ or low A-." She concluded, followed by the agreeing nods.

"Following that, we have control and stability," A tired-looking male said. "His ability to activate and deactivate his ability was nearly seamless and wholly at will with no loss of control or backlash. Despite the energy cost, the transition between on and off was clean the entire time. However, there were some reading software sudden emotional volatility upon activating the ability, so his emotional state may be heightened when it is activated, meaning that it is most likely tied closely to his emotional state. A- Tier." When he finished, there was a bit of a pause as his colleagues seemed to pomder on it for a moment, but they eventually nodded.

"Finally, we have the growth potential. As we noted, it's an ability that's quite versatile and highly adaptable. Frankly speaking, its growth will most likely depend on what he wants. But given everything we've seen thus far, it should have a high ceiling with a significant starting threshold. A- Tier." The person who seemed like the head of the group concluded, and everyone nodded.

With all of that said, they did a cumulative calculation, and eventually, they reached a general consensus.

"I believe grading it as High-A tier overall would be apt. With an emphasis on physical augmentation and even greater enhancement to sensory abilities. It has a large room for growth and is both adaptable and versatile, making it an ability that could go far if nurtured adequately." The leader said.

"Sir, while I agree with that assessment, will there be no comments on what looked like a high level of instinctual perception?" One of them suddenly asked, and they went silent for a moment.

"It was only a singular instance, so we can't come up with anything concrete. However, as he will be a student of this Academy, there will be far more opportunities to observe him. After all, it's unwise to assume we can't understand the ins and outs of a newly discovered ability. More things are bound to pop up as he advances and grows stronger. We will simply update our findings and continue to grade him accordingly." He answered after a moment of consideration.

This answer seemed to satisfy everyone.

A moment later, a digital document was uploaded to their database and sent to important people to review, as well as Mike, as it was his ability, after all.

The boy in question was currently in what seemed to be an interview room

It had the same white walls and marble floors as the rest of the place, with the badge of the Academy on each of the walls. He was pretty sure he was waiting for someone to come in and ask him some questions, judging by the other chair on the other side of the table he sat at.

As he waited, he thought back to the entire assessment. Just like they had been learning more about him, so had he learnt more about himself and how his ability worked.

He found it to be enlightening, and his mind was already spinning as he considered ways to improve the ability and apply it.

The part that caught his attention the most was the energy expenditure. Something about using his ability at its maximum output draining him in just a few minutes didn't sit right with him, if he was being honest.

'It should be a case of my lack of control again. My inability to stop the energy from escaping into the atmosphere so quickly is probably the biggest cause. What little improvement I've achieved in terms of control are still negligible in the long run. I need to get better. Thankfully, I happen to be joing an institution that will help me do just that.' He mused, then he felt his watch vibrate.

Curious, he tapped it and pulled up a holographic screen of a message he'd gotten, and to his surprise, it was a document detailing what was learnt about his ability from the assessment and the given rank, and needless to say, he was surprised.

[Eventide Academy: Agility Evaluation Report.]

Subject Name: Mike

Registration ID: EVT-2025-071

Evaluation Date: 19/01/4556

Evaluator(s): Senior Analyst Committee, Department of Awakening Sciences.

Location: Core Assessment Chamber 6

ABILITY DESIGNATION

Assigned Codename: Vertex Aura

Classification: Full-Body Aura Type

Source: Self-Reported Ability Orb Absorption

Current Tier Rating: High-A Tier.

ABILITY OVERVIEW

Vertex Aura is a reinforcement-based ability centered around physical and sensory augmentations through the release and manipulation of internal aura. The subject displayed potent enhancement of strength, speed, agility, durability, and all five senses with and without conscious activation of the ability.

The ability manifests as a mist-like aura with can affect the immediate environment at high output. Even without activation, it appears to have permanently increased the physical performance of the subject outside of manifestation. Further analysis suggests a high level of compatibility with the subject, implying potential for rapid growth and possible evolution.

PERFORMANCE BREAKDOWN

1. Raw Energy Output.

• Tangible atmospheric pressure and visual effects upon manifestation.

• High intensity can influence a wide area despite minimal control and effort.

• Grade: A–

2. Activation Cost/Energy Efficiency

• High stamina drain at maximum output. Is observed to be more sustainable at lower levels.

• Usage at maximum output is approximated to about 2–3 minutes under full release.

• Grade: B

3. Passive Enhancement Effects

• All five senses exceed the standard Baseline for ability-enhanced senses.

• Passive physical stats are also higher than ability users at the same level.

• Grade: A+

4. Combat Utility

• Amplifies all physical stats to a somewhat equal degree, hence the Full-Body enhancement distinction.

• Potential for specialized amplification for certain stats is hypothesized.

• Grade: B+ to A–

5. Control and Stability

• Clean on/off transition with no visible backlash.

• Emotional connection detected. Potential psychological links to activation.

• Grade: A–

6. Growth Potential

• High adaptability and possible augmentation pathways noted.

• Current state is considered unrefined but greatly promising.

• Compatibale with advanced combat styles and personalized application.

• Grade: A–

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Subjects' instinctive reaction to speed and tracking suggests possible latent traits or supplementary sub-ability within the ability. Not enough data for formal designation.

• Suggested observation period: First Semester will be designated for moniter for the emergence of any extra traits or possible evolutions.

FINAL ABILITY RATING

Assigned Tier: High-A Tier

Primary Traits: Physical and Sensory Augmentation

Potential Subtype: Instinctual Perception

Growth Ceiling: Significant

Monitoring Status: Active.

Report Filed By:

Dr, H, Velez, Lead Analyst

Eventide Academy, Awakening Sciences Division.

Reference ID: EVT-ABIL-X037

Mike read through the document a few times and blinked before his expression turned weird.

'... System. Do you have an explanation for this?' He asked the silent ethereal construct as he read through the document. 'Wasn't its assigned Grade B+? Why am I seeing High-A tier?' He was confused.

He wasn't perturbed by the assigned name. They naturally didn't know it was really called the Primal Surge Aura. Moreover, Vertex Aura sounded cool, even if he didn't know what Vertex meant.

[Answering Host. It would appear that the ones in charge of grading the ability designated as Primal Surge Aura have a bit of a misunderstanding concerning the abilities the Host possesses. They believe that the naturally high physical capabilities of the Host without his ability active are a result of passive augmentation from the ability, which isn't the case, as the Host is simply that durable and perceptive. Moreover, the potency of the ability at this level is more potent in your hands due to your high physical and sensory abilities. Without them, not only would the backlash faced when using the ability be higher, but the total output would also be weaker. This is also why the Host was able to kill the original user. Despite being cited as B+ grade, in a weak vessel, it's not that effective at a low grade. To summarize, the Host's Lupine nature increased the effectiveness of the ability to the point where an outside observer would believe it's graded higher than what it should be.]

Mike hummed inwardly at the lengthy explanation. Still, that made a lot of sense.

He hadn't noticed Primal Surge provide anything tangible when it wasn't activated. But an outside observer wouldn't know that. At least, not unless Mike told them. So, it was a reasonable—albeit inaccurate—assessment to those unaware.

Then he got a thought.

'Hold on, I can bring out more feom the ability due to how strong my body is naturally. What would happen if I transformed...?' His thoughts were cut off when someone entered the room.