I don’t know how much time passed, but eventually we were forced to leave. Turns out there is an entrance ceremony that we had to be ready for. Oh, and I still had to go see a healer about getting this bracelet removed.

  That was something I was looking forward to. It meant that I was going to get this damned bracelet removed. I didn’t realize just how often I had used mana until I couldn’t use it. Then there was the fact that I wanted to see what this power could do. Something told me it was going to be difficult.

  As for the drone. It was finished. Mostly. I had a hard time getting the app to work. Even Shar had issues. The system just didn’t want to talk to the drone. It was like one or the other was refusing to cooperate.

  In fact, given how the two systems seemed to fight and the random malfunctions that we had, I would almost say they were like a pair of kids pouting and throwing a tantrum. Not that such a thing was possible. They were just machines. No illegal AIs here.

  And it wasn’t like I could go back to the old system I had used to control it. I tried. The drone fried the damned thing. Which left me with a complete drone that I could not control. So, it would stay here, powered down and waiting for me to find time to fix whatever was wrong with it.

  Oh, and I found out that I got a little storage space inside whatever workshop I was working in. But only the one. If I moved to another workshop, I would have to give up and clear out the old space before I would be allowed to take a new one.

  Shar gave me a wave as she headed toward her room. While we had gotten used to each other, I found that there was a space between us that neither of us even bothered to approach. And that was fine with me. I tended to do better with machines than people anyway. Plus, Bert was the only friend I needed.

  And it wasn’t like we would have classes together. Even with how every person had the same classes this semester, no one was guaranteed to have the same class as anyone else. Not with the academy would likely run multiple classes concurrently thanks to the number of students attending this year.

  Bert turned to me as he finished giving his girl a hug and kiss. “You happy to be getting that thing removed?

  “You have no idea.” My words came out a bit harsher than I meant. Not that Bert called me on it. The guy probably noticed the stress that had been building for the last few days as a result of all the issues that I couldn’t just use mana to fix. Circuits I could feel out and modify without the need for some of the more bulky tools.

  Speaking of tools, I still needed to repair the damned things. So much to do, yet no more time to do any of it.

  The halls grew more and more crowded the closer we got to the elevators. We are talking of hundreds of people bustling around the place. Most looked like they were in a rush to get something done or to be somewhere. Some, if not most, were probably other students rushing to finish whatever they needed to before the ceremony.

  Even as we approached the hospital, the numbers only decreased by a small fraction. It wasn’t long before the healers were able to get me into a room and checked out. Other than a small warning about taking it easy and to come see them if there was any issue, they removed the bracelet and sent me on my way.

  One would think that something like that device being removed would have generated some sort of reaction. Caused my mana to flare up or even my power to activate. Yet nothing happened. I almost felt a little jipped as I made my way back to the waiting area where Bert was forced to stay. As I came out, I found that he wasn’t alone. It seemed the professor had found out about me being here.

  “Ah, Eli.” While my advisor was the one to speak, they both stood up and joined me as I made my way toward the door. “I see you got that cursed thing removed.” The way he shuddered made me think he had been forced to wear one, and he had hated it. I couldn’t say I blamed him either.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. Instead of letting him say whatever he came to talk about, I spoke up first. “Professor, I had a question about my power.”

  “Oh.” Both he and Bert looked at me in curiosity. Like they hadn’t expected me to ask anything.

  “Why were none of the systems able to see what power I have?” I lifted a hand to forestall his immediate answer. “Actually, why is it so hard for me to even tell I have a power. Even now I can’t feel it.”

  While the professor chuckled, Bert broke down laughing. “You don’t feel it because you have had it your entire life.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked as I smacked Bert on the back of the head. It wasn’t that funny, and if he knew all of this than why didn’t he ever tell me?

  “It is only as your power grows that you might start to notice it.” The professor continued. “Take your friend here, for instance. His power is strength.” He took a second to make sure he had that right. Bert gave him a thumbs-up as he was still finding it a bit hard to breathe. I wanted to smack him again. Not that it would do anything with how thick his head was.

  “As such, his body had been stronger than another human with comparable muscle mass.” He waved his hand around as if to point to the various people milling around us. “This has been true since his birth. It was only as he got older and the amount of mana inside of him increased that his power increased.”

  I could vividly recall that day, even now. It had started as all others did. Neither of us wore anything different. If anything, he seemed happier given that his birthday was coming up.

  Everything changed when we went to PE and found that everything he did had a bit more of a kick to it. And try as he might, he didn’t have control. If anything, he couldn’t control it because he was too afraid of the power. A few kids got hurt, and instead of helping him, the school chose to punish him.

  They suspended him until his parents took him to a training center to learn to control his powers. A training center the school refused to pay for. And he wasn’t alone. I watched as other kids around me experienced similar episodes. Yet never me. Not once did I show any sort of power.

  So was it wrong of me to assume I didn’t have a power? But, wait, what about all the times the city scanned me? Surely they would have picked something up. “Why did none of the various machines used by the city not detect anything?”

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  “Ah, those.” The professor let out a little sigh as he gave a passing student a nod. “While they are great at their job, they are not equipped to handle some powers.” He took a second to think of something. “Most powers exude some mana. Every machine designed to determine what power a person has relies on analysing this mana. Even the testing machine we used on you does this. Only, instead of reading the mana around you, it reaches in and grabs a chunk directly out of your pool.”

  “But that didn’t work on me.” I pointed out. “And somehow it still managed to figure out what power I had.”

  “Not in the way it was supposed to.” He sighed. “There are a few powers that work differently. Powers that absorb or connect to mana rather than emit it. I am sure you have heard of Charlemain and her power Mimic?”

  We both nodded. She had the power to copy a person's power and use it, albeit for only a short time. There were even a few rumors that her power could copy monster abilities. But even if that wasn’t true, her power was one of the more versatile out there.

  “The only reason she knew she had a power was due to the fact that most powers didn’t hurt her. At least, not in the way they should have. Heat still burned, lasers still cut. But it took longer or cost more mana to get the job done. Still, knowing she had a power didn’t mean she knew what it was. And it wasn’t like any of the scanners in the various cities could read mana from someone whose power is all about adapting to other powers. After a bit of negotiation, she agreed to come here in exchange for getting tested. Unlike you, the machine managed to get her power without putting her in any danger.”

  He let all of that sink in before continuing. “So, you are not alone. In fact, there are some estimations that, throughout the entire range, a handful of people graduating every year have powers they know nothing about.”

  While that wasn’t many every year, the amount would continue to grow year after year. Surely there was a way to fix this design flaw. “If there are so many like me, why not figure out a way to upgrade the various sensors to detect said powers?”

  “There are nowhere near enough people with this issue to justify the cost. Compared to the rest of the population, this is merely a rounding error. A margin that can be ignored.” He lifted a hand and flapped it in the air as if to dismiss the whole idea that such a small number mattered. “Nothing but an error in the baseline really.”

  So me, and everyone like me, were nothing but an error in their data? How was I not surprised?

  “Then why?” I asked, a touch worried about the answer. Worried that I was nothing more than someone they were forced to give an offer to meet some quota. Or even worse, to be a subject in someone’s experiment. “Why was I even offered a chance to come here? Was I brought here to satiate someones curiosity or for some other reason?”

  “Believe it or not, your power was only a small portion of why you were invited.” His words surprised me. And judging by how Bert looked, he was just as surprised. “There are times in which a professor is allowed to request a specific individual be invited to attend. Most of the time this is used for those that catch our attention. People that the tests missed for one reason or another.”

  “And I was one of those people?” While I asked that question, I had a feeling that my mother had something to do with all this.

  “In part.” He gave me a nod. “Your mother was one of my best students, and she was the one who asked if there was a way for you to attend.” Something told me that the two of them had been working on something like this for quite a bit. “I agreed so long as you managed to get a few certificates.”

  So that was why she had asked me to get those three things. But, wait, I failed one of them. When I pointed that out, he just laughed. “Of course you did. It was a master level certification. The fact that you even got as many of the questions right as you did was a testament to how much you managed to learn from your mother.”

  That was – why didn’t I realize any of this sooner? He continued. “And if you had passed it, I would have told you to just not come here. To go get a job, as you would learn more out there than in any classroom.”

  “So you asked for me to be invited because I failed your test? And the academy agreed to it?”

  “To them I pointed out that the government was sure you had a power and that it was likely that they were going to try and force it out in one way or another. That it would be best for you to come here and get tested. For you to be here to learn how to use your power. At least here you would be allowed to choose your path rather than get stuck as a pawn of the rich and powerful.”

  “But, wait,” I narrowed my eyes in confusion as I recalled everything surrounding my invitation to the academy. “What was with all the odd events surrounding the testing?”

  “Like?” Both he and Bert looked interesting. Something that didn’t make sense until I recalled that he had left me on my own at the end of that last test.

  “A few of my tests were outright blank, while various other parts were either locked by something or someone so that they were hidden from even the person going over them.” Bert looked confused while the professor started to look a little worried. “I didn’t even get an offer until the next morning.”

  I expected the professor to say that something was wrong, given how he looked, but between one moment and the next, his face cleared up as a neutral expression took its place. “I am sure that a few of the administrators felt the need to verify that you had a power, albeit one that was hidden, before extending you the offer. Probably just someone trying to find a reason to deny me my request.”

  That sounded reasonable, but something told me there was more to it. Still, if he wasn’t going to say anything, then there was no reason to worry about it. At least, not yet. Maybe if I get bored or find that he has hidden something from me, I will do a bit more digging.

  “Speaking of your power.” Subtle professor, subtle. “Do you have any idea what it might allow you to do?”

  I tried to think back and see if there were any times that something weird or unexpected happened. Unfortunately for both of us, nothing came to mind. “Not really, no.”

  “Well, that isn’t helpful.”

  “Surely the academy has some information on his power, right?” Bert asked.

  The professor shook his head. “I took the time to go through what I could, but other than a few hints here and there, I found nothing about your power and its uses.”

  That was a bit troubling. “But surely there is something…”

  He shook his head. “Not always. Not when a power is either really rare or if it is a version that never makes it to the academy. Something that evolves and changes before the person is even invited to attend. If I had to hazard a guess, given how you didn’t even think you had a power, your power is in the latter category.”

  The professor took a second to glance at his pad. With a shake of his head, he gestured for us to move a bit faster. “We need to get going, or you will both be late for the entrance ceremony.” Neither of us spoke as we rushed to keep up with the professor. And just like every other time I tried to keep up with Bert, I was out of breath before we got all that far. Thankfully the elevator bank wasn’t all that far.

  Instead of heading up to the surface, the elevator delved further into the earth. With every floor we passed, I felt the energy in the air increase. From the light hum of simple machines and life, to the constant buzz of fans and other systems meant to keep the air moving.

  Finally, the elevator reached the bottom floor, where nearly everything gave off some energy. The mana flows and energy circulating from place to place, machine to machine, caught my attention. I just couldn’t look away. Something about what I was seeing was pulling me in. Asking me to look and listen. Begging me to join it.

  With a hard shake of my shoulder, I found the scene dissolving. I turned to find that the professor was gone, leaving just Bert and I to find our way. Not that it would be all that hard thanks to the streams of people and the multitude of signs plastered across the place.

  “Everyone, please find a seat in the designated sections.” A voice called through speakers hidden somewhere along the ceiling. “The opening ceremony will begin shortly.”

  The smile that split my face couldn’t have been bigger if I had tried. I doubted that the one on Bert’s face was any different. We were both here. We had made it into the academy.

  If someone had asked me if I thought any of this was possible a year ago, I would have laughed at them. Now? Even if I didn’t fit in and I found myself struggling to keep up, something about being here felt right. Like this was where I was supposed to be.

  Neither of us said a word. With just a nod, we moved toward the auditorium. Toward our future, no matter where it took us or what we would find when we got there.