Ability Wielders

He also looked at the two"s corpse pictures that confirmed his initial conjectures of how both two men died. "This person is pretty smart… No traces at all, not even a single fingerprint… Well, but there is…"

Hayden"s eyes widened. "Gorilla hair? No, that wasn"t Evershifter… Impossible, right? It just doesn"t make sense at all…"

Hayden shook his head. From the accounts of the people that heard the two men victims" blood-curdling screams, or so they thought as fear perhaps exaggerated that for them, they similarly heard creepy laughter that they were sure belonged to a woman.

"White lady…" Hayden whispered to himself and thought of the communication link list of the two victims, cross-referenced the non-family members on each and removed those that didn"t have a common connection with the victim, removed non-direct family members off the list and strode out of the room. Going back, he asked the cop on the room, "Is there files of people in here that I can check their private information?"

"You"d need per…" Before the cop could even finish the words, Hayden bolted out of the evidence room right that instant and remembered that he was part of Puting Araw, a secret organization of wielders.

He"d ought to try his luck there first than the police department as this was an issue with a wielder… Or a cognizant. Hayden didn"t know what to think anymore and was confused.

Anyways, Hayden"s train of thought was that "they must definitely have some way of acquiring Ident.i.ty Numbers, right? Heck, even that Christopher, an a.s.sa.s.sin from Kamay ng Lagim got my Ident.i.ty Number, why can"t Puting Araw get others" Ident.i.ty Numbers?"

Moving on, Hayden rode his motorcycle to Liwayway Hotel and at 2:25, he was at Liwayway Hotel. Inside the secret facility, Hayden went to Ghost Unit division and talked to the man at the desk.

"Is there some way to get personal information on someone?" Hayden has taken off his mask and said.

"Depending on your answer, what are you going to use it for?" The man squinted his eyes, recognizing Hayden.

"Don"t answer that." A man"s familiar voice rang out behind Hayden. Turning around, he saw Zeke. "Ghost Unit division is not where you"d find that kind of information, Hayden. Follow me."

Without saying anything, Hayden followed Zeke.to another division of Puting Araw. It was the Azure Section of the Puting Araw, the main division of the intelligence gathering section of Puting Araw. You see, there are three main sections in Puting Araw, the Azure Section, the White Section, and the Crimson Section.

Azure Section was where the Blue Agent Division located and a few other that had connections in intelligence gathering, while Crimson Section was where the Ghost Unit division and all others related to fighting and all that were in. As for the White Section, it was in the middle of both sections that had facilities, including the cafeteria, the general Missions Board, sparring rooms, briefing rooms, and all that.

"Makes sense…" Hayden thought. He just didn"t initially go there because, well… "Yeah, what the h.e.l.l was I thinking? Of course these types of things would be found in the Azure Section. Tsk, idiot."

Hayden beat himself up for approaching the Ghost Unit division first prior to the Azure Section, where Blue Agents literally gather and research intel. He was even trained in here for his month-long Blue Agent training.

Finishing beating himself up over this minor mistake, Hayden talked to Zeke. "Let me ask, what"s your Ability?"

Why would he interact with Zeke this way? Well, for what it"s worth, Hayden could calculate that Zeke was a talented person such as him, however, based on the badge, Zeke was merely a Level 2 wielder and a First Rank Special Agent.

From Zeke"s weak composure, character and gaze of pusillanimity, Zeke was most definitely a person that was in Puting Araw for years; in the least, a year or two years. With this, Hayden could tell that Zeke wasn"t utilizing his Ability to its fullest extent. He just knows it, and understanding that, Hayden couldn"t let this go… His OCD doesn"t and would never, ever, let him!

In truth, he already recalled where to find such information. It was the Phantom Watch, the Blue Agent equivalent of Ghost Unit in terms of hunting, albeit information. It was the go-to of all Red Agents when it came to investigating anything at all.

"Umm…" Zeke rotated his head, glancing at Hayden. Hayden has this stone-cold face that emitted absolute nonchalance. "My Ability is weak, compared to yours. It is called the Peerless Brain. Despite it having such a good-sounding name, it simply enhances my information processing speed and dexterity."

"Disgusting." Hayden"s face contorted in ridicule. By now, Hayden has figured out that the name of an Ability is its most apt description. An Ability named Peerless Brain was, no matter what angle you look at it, it was something that would be impressive.

"People like you who limits their imagination to their own limits are the most useless and pathetic ones." Hayden added, his face revealing inherent rage.

Hearing this, Zeke was stunned and enraged. Stunned because Hayden was as Daniel described, literally no people skills and straight up insulting, enraged due to Hayden, well, slighted him directly to his face.

"Heh, stop being angry at me and start being angry at yourself." Hayden coldly smiled and tapped Zeke"s chest as he walked by. "Sometimes, self-hate and crippling self-consciousness is good fuel for improving yourself. Be creative, moron, think outside the box, free yourself from the shackles of what you think are the limits."

On that note, Hayden was already five meters away from Zeke, who remained in a state of confusion. Hayden"s words, though totally offensive, were right and actually… wise. All these years, he suffered from the nightmare of possessing such a weak Ability.

Fifteen meters away, and Zeke started to chase Hayden. "What do you mean by that? Be creative?"

Hayden continued his walk as he talked. "Think about it, all names of Abilities are appropriately named, Scarlet"s Blade Terpsich.o.r.e that can summon countless small blades and, if you think about it, she can do a dance of blades."

Zeke bobbed his head in understanding. Hayden resumed, "Daniel"s G.o.d Eyes that lets him change his eyes into different colors and manipulate part of the world. My Divine Perception that allows me to perceive the world for what it is, turning me into what can be called a "perceiver of the divine." I have all these powers for the reason that I will not be a "perceiver of the divine," if my brain cannot process it, can it? Working on that premise, what do you think an Ability called "Peerless Brain," would do?"

Zeke"s eyes squinted and he asked. "But why is it that most Blue Agents have the same power with their Ability? All of them have the same effects as mine. How can you explain that?"

"Let me ask, have you ever asked the names of their Ability?" Hayden stared into Zeke"s eyes. A second later, Zeke"s eyes gained this glint of realization and enlightenment. "Exactly. Don"t let that double-edged insecurity get in the way of your Ability"s potential. An Ability named Peerless Brain will not be "peerless," if you think that narrow-mindedly. Be peerless in terms of intelligence and fuel it with your insecurity instead of letting it consume you, moron."

"Stop calling me moron." Zeke motioned his hand, appearing extremely offended. "We"re not close enough for you to call me nicknames."

"Okay, moron." Hayden took Zeke for granted and arrived at the huge Azure Section, going to the Phantom Watch division.

Zeke subconsciously ignored Hayden decisive pace towards a direction, following him without hesitation whilst muttering to himself. "Mhm, Peerless Brain, huh? Peerless means unparalleled… Supreme, unmatched, could it be…?"

"Yes, it is, moron." Hayden responded to Zeke"s self-imposed question. "You"re Ability is unrivaled. Do what I do, learn martial arts, learn everything, you"d be at least be as intelligent, if not more, than myself. Go to college, absorb as much intelligence as you can, do sports since you are still a wielder, someone with stronger than average physical capability."

"No, that last one is an exception." Zeke interrupted Hayden"s words. "You"re physically stronger than any Blue Agent-oriented White Agent I"ve ever seen. I can only lift up to 150 kilograms and up to a measly 450 kilograms with essence energy enhancement. I"ve seen your progress in the six months whenever you exercise here, and your last exercise here, you can lift 150 kilograms as a Level 1 wielder. You"re much stronger than I am."

"Tsk, even then, you can do so much more, moron." Hayden didn"t stop calling Zeke moron. "Learn how to cook, bartend, draw, you"re handsome, why not start lifting and get more buffed? You should know that exercise helps wielders" physique improve faster, why do you think we have a gym? There"s so much the world has to offer, yet you"re in here, rotting, wallowing in self-despair, letting that self-despair swallow you instead of using it to go out and fathom everything that the world has presented to you. h.e.l.l, Anthony is a Red Agent, why is he the president of the Grand Hotelier Conglomerate? You can be much more successful than Anthony! Or you can do music, or medical studies, or basically anything. The possibilities are endless… Moron."

This time, Zeke was absolutely astounded of Hayden"s words, incapable of uttering a single word in. That speech was… Mind-opening, as well as mind-numbing. He didn"t expect that his close-mindedness and principle of not using his Ability outside of his responsibilities in Puting Araw would be this restricting.

"So this is why Daniel"s eyes have this admiration for Hayden whenever he talks about him, huh?" Zeke internally said, forgetting the fact that Hayden called him moron and was younger than him. "This line of thinking… Is he really a mere high school student of the same line of school?"

Zeke couldn"t help but admire Hayden as they arrived on the division of Phantom Watch. Hayden approached the counter and spoke to the woman behind it.

"Can I have a piece of paper?" Hayden asked. The woman was wide-eyed and gulped, mindlessly giving Hayden a piece of paper and a pen. Writing a few Ident.i.ty Numbers and their names down, Hayden handed the list to the woman, "Can I get a full background check on the people in this list?"

"That-that will be 50 credits per person…" The woman woke up from her daze and stuttered. "Please scan your payment on the terminal on the table."

"Okay." Hayden agreed, taking out his phone and pa.s.sing 1000 credits to Puting Araw. "How long will it take?"

"About 10 minutes." Although the woman fully regained her composure by this time, she couldn"t remove her eyes off of Hayden, clearly recognizing him. "You"re Hayden Emperador, right? The basketball player?"

"That"s me." Hayden nodded and scanned his DNA on the counter when it popped up so that the investigation would be registered to Puting Araw"s database and sent to his phone directly. It was a convenient system which Hayden never got to use until now. "Thank you very much."

Without saying anything else, Hayden left, with Zeke keeping on tailing him. "Where are you going? I thought you didn"t know of Phantom Watch?"

"I"m going to the cafeteria. I"m on a mission." Hayden said, ignoring Zeke"s second question. "Why are you still following me? I"m finished with the Azure Section."

"Well, I have nothing to do, so… Can I ask you questions? I heard from Daniel that you taught him…" Before Zeke could finish his words, he felt t.i.tanic pressure falling upon him as Hayden stopped and turned to him.

"What did Daniel tell you?" Hayden was seriously getting increasingly vexed at this best friend of his. How many people did he tell what his Ability can do?

"S-something about y-you helping him t-to think outside of the box…" Zeke caved in and trembled from the pressure that Hayden emitted. What the h.e.l.l was this guy doing the past six months to acquire this kind of power? Simultaneous to Zeke"s rising fear, he was also excited on finding Hayden for advice.

If a simple few words could open his eyes to such endless possibilities, what if Hayden was to be his mentor? It would simply short of a dream!

"f.u.c.king…" Hayden sighed. He was rethinking whether trusting Daniel with his Divine Perception was a mistake or not. Activating Divine Perception, Hayden calmed down and had an idea. Acting maddened, Hayden sighed. "Fine, come with me."

Zeke tailed Hayden to the cafeteria, with Hayden ordering a mango milkshake on the counter. "You? What do you want?"

"Strawberry milkshake please?" Zeke said mindlessly. As he was taking out his phone, Hayden paid already, making Zeke wordless. He was the one asking for a favor and Hayden treated him? He wasn"t only dumbfounded; he was back to wondering how rich exactly Hayden was that a 3-credit milkshake didn"t faze him.

Taking his mango milkshake, Hayden sat in an available table. Zeke silently went along with Hayden, receiving his strawberry milkshake with him. Sitting down, Hayden got straight to the point, "What do you want to ask?"

"Peerless Brain, at the first level, allows me to have faster information processing and dexterity. The dexterity part is not precisely described. Do you think we can discover its limits?" The second Zeke finished his sentence, his enthusiasm reached rock bottom, antic.i.p.ating Hayden"s scathing declination.

"Sure." On the contrary, Hayden"s answer was filled with eagerness and his eyes had a tint of excitement in it, even to the point that Zeke witnessed Hayden smile for the first time. A single old-era coin appeared in Hayden"s hands. "First, activate your Ability and attempt to replicate this."

Where did Hayden get this coin you say? Well, in the past six months, other than cooking, Hayden was learning different hobbies, such as… Coin tricks because he believed it was cool, and some other useless s.h.i.t that he wanted to learn for amus.e.m.e.nt, such as juggling, calligraphy, which is why his teachers praise him for such good writing, photography, whittling, digital art, exploring his video editing, the guitar, which was now stored deep in his closet when he got bored with it, mimicking acrobatic stunts, pen spinning, etc.

You won"t believe how much free time Hayden got on his hands during his six months training, to the point that he mastered 50+ skills, including the coin tricks he was about to perform. Previously, he didn"t have enough time, now, he had a surplus of time, questioning how unchallenging it was to learn all these within hours and get bored with it.

A few seconds later, Hayden executed a sick coin trick with absurd dexterity and speed. It was as if the coin was flashing, to the point that it left afterimages. In spite of that, Zeke was in full-focus mode and saw everything that Hayden did effortlessly.

It was as if everything was slowed down in his mind. At that moment, Hayden stopped, pointed the coin towards Zeke"s face and flicked it. Fortunately, Zeke reacted and swiveled his head to the side. "What the h.e.l.l man?"

"Nice, fast reaction time, check." Hayden nodded his head in approval. "Hey, don"t get angry. This was an unexpected attack and is the best way to accurately measure your reaction time."

Breathing in deeply, Zeke chose to disregard Hayden"s incapability of interacting with another human being normally. "How about the coin?"

"Here." One more coin materialized in Hayden"s hands, leading to Zeke questioning in his head why Hayden has a coin in his s.p.a.ce Ring. "Don"t ask why. I learnt useless s.h.i.t over the past six months."

Receiving the coin, Zeke gave Hayden a look of "okaaay?" and attempted to replicate Hayden"s feat of rolling the coin across his knuckles, flipping it and create the illusion of tracing it with his fingers while flipping, and many others.

"See, adoptive muscle memory." Hayden took the coin off Zeke"s hands and flipped it without looking at it. Without shifting his head a single inch, Hayden pinched the coin midway with his index and middle finger and threw it towards Zeke.

Zeke caught the coin with his index and middle finger, flipped the coin, and imitated Hayden"s act. "Enhanced hand-eye coordination, check. Increased inherent calculative capability, check. Answer this within a fraction of a second, 6,274,013 times 9,821,547."

"61,620,513,558,111." Zeke did indeed answer within a fraction of a second.

"I see… Focus, okay?" Eyeing his surroundings, Hayden fished out his phone out of his pocket, keyed in something, and flashed his phone in front of Zeke"s face. "Did you see what I wrote? Say it ad verbatim."

"Thorough jolly-goat is black-red?" Zeke was confused while Hayden nodded as if he got something from that. "Can you do a backflip? Somersault?"

"No, not really…" Zeke has never tried that. Hearing his response, Hayden stood up and did a perfect backflip. "I"m not going to do a backflip."

"Are you scared?" Hayden probed.

"Of course I"m scared! I"ve never done a backflip in my life!"

"Adoptive muscle memory, mate."

"Eh…" Zeke was speechless and uncertainly standing up. Bending his knees downward, he jumped, letting his newfound trust on his Ability do the rest. He executed a perfect backflip.

Finishing that, Hayden and Zeke sat, with Hayden speaking again. "Can you hear their conversation with the use of your Ability?"

"No, not at all," Zeke shook his head.

"Can you remember everything you"ve done ever since you awakened? Did you notice I"ve been doing this all this time?" Hayden looked at his left hand which has a raised middle finger.

"Yes, and no. You were doing that the whole time?" Zeke was shocked with Hayden"s straightforwardness.

"Okay, turn off your Ability." Hayden a.s.severated, not entertaining Zeke"s question. "Do the coin trick again."

Zeke didn"t open his mouth this time and simply took the coin in Hayden"s hands. Staring at the coin, Zeke seamlessly performed the coin tricks that he did earlier, surprising himself in the process.

"And we"re done." Stealing the coin in Zeke"s hands, Hayden put it away and gave Zeke his conclusion. "Your Ability, Peerless Mind, solely affects your mind, and confers you higher focus than mine, though this focus is… flawed. Why? If it wasn"t, you would have caught me in the lie of when my left middle finger was raised at you the entire time."

Zeke rolled his eyes. He admitted it was uncanny for Hayden to determine this much information, yet, holy s.h.i.t, man…

"Next," Hayden endlessly talked. "Your Ability gives you more than just dexterity and enhanced information processing. As you"ve seen, intuitive learning, muscle memory, slowing down time due to accelerated perception, boosted memory capacity, powerful reflexes, and enhanced focus. You should work on your focus thing as it will be detrimental for you to not be aware of your surroundings in focus mode, it may be your downfall in the future. The second thing to work on is your fear of doing things and your trust of your Ability. Lastly, you should temper your advantages of capability of learning to its fullest extent. Learn everything you"ve ever wanted without holding back, crazily absorb knowledge. Also, you should really learn how to utilize your essence energy enhancement of the senses, it"s pretty useful. Oh yeah, what"s the Level 2 power of your Peerless Brain?"

...

Random World Lore: Adamant Alloy is an alloy that is the closest real world replica of the mythological Greek alloy, Adamantine, and is the hardest metal alloy ever created. It was a mixture discovered by Achille Dragoumis, a Greek materials scientist that obsessed over the creation of the hardest alloy, and with perseverance, created the absolutely expensive yet preposterously tough Adamant Alloy. Adamant Alloy was expensive due to it being a mix of carbon, tungsten, chromium, and t.i.tanium in a very specific ratio that even the single slightest error on its mixing process would make all of the alloy mix redundant and simply be a more powerful version of steel, not even on par with Shojin Steel. On top of its very specific ratio, it uses a special cast invented by the same person to aid in his conquest of the creation of Adamant Alloy, and succeeded in creating it. Despite it being expensive, the World Government sought Achille to oversee the construction of thick Adamant Alloy support beams in the Beneath Development Project that resulted in the 16 Underground Strongholds all throughout the world, or so they"re called by the World Government, with the public referring to them as Underground Cities.