Cassian received news that his application for a hunting license would be delayed due to his current situation.
Meanwhile, Roy managed to create a fake identity for Cain. He pulled some strings through his connections to make it happen.
Cain is now becoming a rising star in the Guardians. It's been a week since the issue arose, but it's still a hot topic.
Cain is also gaining popularity online, thanks to his good looks and his flawless execution of missions.
"Cain is so handsome and cool."
"Cain should apply to be a hero. He's got real potential."
"He's amazing. I think people with abilities should be like him."
"Damn it... Why am I suffering like this? I can't even take on any missions. If I can't earn money, what will happen to our mother if I can't get her the special-ability serum?" Cassian complained.
"Is there anything I can even do to waste time? I can't apply for any job because of that issue, and my application as a hunter got delayed too," Cassian said.
Hearing this, Roy suggested, "Why don't you train? Since we can't do anything right now, wouldn't it be better if you got stronger?"
"Train? I don't train. I need to fight to grow stronger," Cassian replied.
"How can you maximize your potential or even understand the fundamentals of fighting if you don't train?" Roy asked.
"Come on. Don't we only grow stronger by leveling up or defeating stronger opponents?" Cassian said.
"Level up? Defeating someone stronger?" Roy repeated, confused. "You mean some sort of breakthrough? Ah, I get what you're trying to say. We can only level up during real fights because our bodies go into emergency mode, adapting to survive and overcome the opponent. That's common among ability users."
"But still," Roy continued, "to develop techniques and master our skills, we need to train. Not every moment is a breakthrough moment."
"Remember when we first injected the ability-serum? Didn't it take weeks or even months before we could actually use our powers? It's the same with mastering them—it takes time and training."
"Wait... it takes weeks or even months before an ability user can use their powers?" Cassian asked in confusion.
"Isn't there some sort of system—like a game—that tells you how to use your ability? Maybe an AI support system or something?" he added.
Roy was flabbergasted and laughed. "Hey, do you read too many novels or play a lot of games?"
"If someone had that, they'd be totally overpowered! He might as well be the main character of this world," Roy said, bursting into laughter.
"There's nothing like that, Cassian. All of us ability users have to spend months training to control our powers. We train over and over to become who we are now," Roy said seriously.
"Wait... does that mean no one else has the system? Does that mean I'm the only one who does?" Cassian thought to himself.
"Then why do I have it? What's the origin of this system? Why did my father leave me that ability-serum?" he wondered.
"Since we're talking about abilities, can you tell me everything you know about it?" Cassian asked.
"Sure," Roy said. "This is common knowledge. The ability-serum was developed three years ago to fight back against the monsters."
"When the monsters first appeared, they were able to breed with almost any creature, mutating land animals."
"The terrifying part is, they can breed within weeks because of the energy in their bodies that enhances their biological functions."
"The disaster happened six years ago, but the monsters appeared five years ago. In just two years, their population grew so rapidly that they killed millions of people."
"The monsters also evolved to the point that they developed high intelligence. Then, a group of scientists went public and introduced the ability-serum."
"At first, they didn't sell it. They gave it to volunteers. I was one of them."
"The first batch of volunteers received physical-type abilities. The second batch got elemental-type abilities. As you can see, my power is wind—so I have an elemental-type ability."
"At the time, there were only two types of abilities. Physical types involved transformation or bodily enhancements. They were strong in close combat. Elemental users had destructive attack powers but lacked physical prowess."
"But five months ago, a new kind of power was invented—special-type abilities. These don't fit neatly into physical or elemental categories. They either or neither possess the traits fro. both, or some sort of power that doesn't fit into any category."
Cassian was stunned. "Wait... then what about my power? I don't have physical reinforcement or transformation, and I don't control any elements like Cain. But I can grow stronger with stat points... does that mean I'm a special-type user?"
"But my father gave me the serum three years ago... and special-type abilities were only discovered a few months ago."
"Just what kind of secrets are you hiding... Father?"
----
Meanwhile
Somewhere in a university in Pampanga, Mia was studying for a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Science.
Since the school year had only started a few weeks ago, Roy had also pulled some strings to get her enrolled there.
But Mia felt lonely—she didn't know anyone. What made things worse was the recent issue involving her brother.
In a CCTV footage that went viral online, she appeared alongside Cassian, pulling him away from the scene—clearly indicating that she knew him.
This sparked curiosity among her classmates. Eventually, someone discovered that they were related.
From that point on, her college life became a living hell. She was constantly bullied and gossiped about. The students didn't even try to hide it—they said things loud enough for her to hear.
Even some teachers joined in, gossiping about her and her brother.
"Is this how their parents raised them?" one teacher said while talking to a colleague in the department office.
"Isn't it disturbing? What if she's just like her brother—violent?" the other replied.
Mia heard everything. She had been standing outside the office, tasked with delivering some documents.
She knocked and opened the door.
"Oh… it's you. You can leave that here," one of the teachers said casually.
The room was full of teachers, all giving her judgmental looks.
Mia left the room in silence, and the gossiping resumed. Even the students were bold enough to gossip openly in front of her. She heard everything.
Later, as students began heading home, Mia returned to their house. Gloomy and depressed, she carried the weight of the past week's mistreatment.
She didn't want to tell her brother. She was afraid it would make things worse. She worried he might confront the school—something that could escalate the situation even further.
And if that happened, he could lose his chance to work or his license might get revoke. They might not be able to save up for their mother's treatment.
Mia was stuck in a painful situation. She didn't know what to do. So, she cried silently in their room—until she eventually fell asleep.