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Chapter 51: The Awakened Association
🕑 Added 2025-08-14 00:48:29 +0000 UTC"Awakened Association, Titan City Branch"
The image that appeared before Owen was a modern, towering skyscraper. It was constructed from pitch-black glass and a polished metal frame that glinted in the late morning sun. Its design was simple yet exuded a sense of formidability and power, like a fortress of the new world watching over every life in the city.
And above the massive automatic entrance, a large emblem was prominently displayed. It was the "Shield of the Eye," a modern-style shield with a polished silver metal border. In the center of the shield was a wide-open eye, but instead of a normal iris, it contained a glowing five-pointed golden star a symbol representing protection, vigilance, and the five types of Awakened powers.
Owen took a deep breath to calm his racing heart before getting out of the car and walking straight to the entrance. The giant automatic doors slid open silently, revealing a lobby that was breathtakingly spacious and grand. The floor was paved with jet-black marble that reflected the downlights on the ceiling, which was so high it created a perfect mirror image.
This place was truly a hub for superhumans…
He scanned his surroundings and could feel the auras of various mana powers hanging in the air. He felt like a small fish that had just been released into a vast ocean. He saw all sorts of people.
A group of teenagers in high school uniforms stood in a circle, talking excitedly perhaps new Awakened who had just come to register like him. A burly man in light leather and metal armor looked like a Hunter who had just returned from hunting monsters in a dimensional gate, as his gear still had faint bloodstains and scratches.
And a group of businessmen in expensive suits were sitting in a corner of the lobby, talking intensely. Everyone was different, but they all had one thing in common: the "mana power" that radiated from their bodies.
Owen walked through the crowd to the white marble reception counter that stood majestically in the center of the lobby. A young female employee in a neat and tidy dark blue uniform looked up from a holographic screen with a professional smile. On her collar was a small pin in the shape of the "Shield of the Eye."
"Hello, welcome to the Awakened Association. How may I help you?"
Owen smiled back politely. "Hello, I’ve just recently awakened, and I'd like to officially register."
The employee's smile didn't fade. She handed Owen a modern-looking tablet. "Could you please fill in your basic personal information here first? The form will also ask about the situation when you awakened. You don't have to go into too much detail, just a general overview is fine."
Owen took it and quickly began to fill in the information. Name, age, address, awakened power, and so on…
When he pressed confirm and handed the tablet back to her, she gestured towards a young woman who was walking out from an inner hallway with a graceful posture. She was the officer who would be conducting Owen’s initial evaluation.
The woman appeared to be around 30 years old, with a tall, slender figure and a steady gait. She was in a perfectly tailored Association uniform that flawlessly accentuated her beautiful proportions. She had sharp, almond-shaped eyes, skin as fine and white as porcelain, and jet-black hair tied neatly in a bun, indicating she was from the land of dragons. The nameplate on her chest was engraved with the name "Meilin."
Owen noticed that as she walked past the group of loudly talking Hunters, they quieted down a little and instinctively made way for her. This woman was definitely not just an ordinary officer.
"Mr. Owen Marlowe, this way, please," she said in a voice that was soft yet held a hint of boldness, before turning and leading him down a long hallway deeper into the building.
The hallway looked simple but gave off a feeling of pressure. The walls were made of seamless, dark grey marble that reflected their two shadows. Underfoot, a beige carpet absorbed the sound of their footsteps until it was almost silent. They walked past several doors made of frosted glass, which obscured the view inside but from which the faint sounds of fighting and power explosions could be heard, reinforcing the fact that this place was truly the center for super-powered individuals.
She stopped in front of one of the doors and tapped it lightly with a keycard. The door slid open silently to the side.
Inside, the power evaluation room was simple yet modern. There was a white metal table with two chairs in the middle of the room. One of the walls was a solid black opaque glass, which Owen guessed was probably a two-way mirror with someone observing them from the other side. Or maybe he was just overthinking it; it could just be a normal projection screen.
Meilin sat down in the opposite chair with an elegant posture before gesturing to the empty chair. "Please have a seat, Mr. Marlowe."
Owen nodded and sat down, feeling the cold of the metal through his clothes. He sat up straight, his hands clasped politely on his lap, fully prepared for her evaluation.
"I am Meilin, and I will be your preliminary evaluator today," she introduced herself formally. "First, I need to explain the basic information so you can understand our system for classifying the Awakened. The Association's duty is to organize and support all Awakened. Understanding your own ability type is the most important first step."
"I understand," Owen replied in a flat tone, showing he was ready to listen.
Meilin nodded with satisfaction. "Good… To give you a clearer picture," she tapped her fingertip lightly on the smooth surface of the table.
Instantly, the solid black glass wall lit up, becoming a high-definition screen that impressively displayed the Association's "Shield of the Eye" emblem.
"The Awakened are divided into 5 types, according to the characteristics of their awakened power, which are represented by the five points of the star in the Association's emblem," Meilin said as she zoomed in on the golden five-pointed star. Each point of the star lit up, accompanied by a video that illustrated her explanation.
"1. Power-Type," the first point lit up, along with a hologram of a man punching a concrete wall until it shattered. "Are Awakened who have the ability to directly enhance their own physical performance, such as strength, power, speed, durability, senses, and so on. This is the most common type and the main force of the Hunters."
"2. Body-Transformation Type," the second point lit up. The image changed to a young woman whose skin was turning into reflective diamond. "Are Awakened who have the ability to transform their own bodies into other things, such as turning their body into rock, steel, wood, and so on. This also includes transforming into various animals, as well as transforming the body into elements, such as having a body of fire or water."
"3. Elemental-Magic Type," the image changed again, this time to an old man calling down a thunderstorm. "Are Awakened who have the ability to change their own mana into various elements such as earth, water, wind, and fire, and control them freely. For example, creating fireballs, creating windstorms, creating lightning spears, and so on. This is the type with the highest wide-area destructive power."
"4. Control-Type," the final image showed a young girl using psychokinesis to lift the wreckage of a car into the air. "Are Awakened who have the ability to use their power to control various things, whether they are living, inanimate, or non-living. For example, hypnosis, creating illusions, controlling objects, and so on."
Owen listened intently, while internally assessing his "power to deceive." Which category could his "Avatar of Asura" be placed in? It could be seen as a Body-Transformation Type, or perhaps a form of Control-Type.
Meilin paused slightly, her sharp eyes staring at Owen as if to read his mind, before the final, top point of the star flashed with a light brighter than the others. The image on the screen changed to static and symbols too complex to understand.
"And finally… the Special Type. These are Awakened who have abilities beyond the 4 types mentioned above, abilities so unique they cannot be placed in any of the four categories. It is the rarest and smallest type."
After she finished her explanation, the light from the screen went out. The glass wall returned to its pitch-black state, reflecting the faint shadows of the two of them. Meilin looked directly at Owen, her gaze as sharp as if it could see through to the essence of the power sleeping within him. "Alright, Mr. Marlowe… it’s your turn. Please demonstrate your ability for me in the testing room."
With that, she stood up and led Owen to another adjacent door, which opened into a wide, empty room with walls made of a strong, seamless grey metal. The two of them walked to the center of the room, where several training dummies were lined up. Each was made of a different material, from a flimsy-looking straw dummy, to a stronger wooden dummy, a durable stone dummy, and finally, a metal dummy that glinted coldly.
The ceiling of the room was filled with energy detectors and various sensors that cast a soft blue light, in order to meticulously measure the power values of the ability the Awakened displayed.
“You may begin when you’re ready. If it’s a combat type, please attack the straw dummy in front of you. If it’s a support type, you can just display it. You can give a brief explanation of its ability; you don't have to go into detail, as it’s normal for Awakened to hide some aspects of their abilities,” Meilin explained professionally.
Owen nodded. "Understood," he replied, before giving his prepared explanation. "My ability is to use mana to create a 'doppelganger' that looks like an Asura to help in combat."
Meilin gave a slight nod, her face still impassive. "Interesting. Please, show me."
Owen took a deep breath, concentrated, and drew out the mana in his body. Instantly, a dark red energy began to form in front of him. The air around him shimmered slightly before the energy condensed and took the shape of one Asura arm. With his small amount of mana, it was only a single arm. Even so, it still looked formidable and powerful.
Owen began to control the Asura arm floating in front of him with all his effort, until beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He commanded the Asura arm to clench into a strong fist, and then ordered it to attack the straw dummy before him.
FWOOSH!~
The Asura fist flew forward and punched the straw dummy with a speed equal to Owen’s own real punch.
CRASH! SHATTER!
The sound of the straw dummy being thrown back over ten meters and hitting the wall echoed loudly, followed by the shattering sound of the Asura doppelganger, which Owen could no longer maintain, causing it to dissipate into the air like a faint red smoke, after only a single attack.
Meilin watched the scene with the eyes of a professional evaluator, her gaze shining with clear interest.
"Hmm~ A decently powerful attack…" she said as she quickly recorded the data on the tablet in her hand. She then walked over to check the various values measured by the room's sensors. After nearly 10 minutes, she was able to evaluate Owen’s ability.
"...Considering the high concentration you need to control this ability, combined with the destructive power it released, even though you only awakened a few days ago, this ability is classified primarily as a 'Control-Type,' with a ‘Power-Type’ as a sub-component. Overall, your ability has no difficult or complex limitations, so it is classified as Rank B. By the way… what is the name of this ability of yours?" She tilted her head, asking with curiosity.
Owen crossed his arms and smiled with satisfaction. “It’s called [Avatar of Asura]!”
She looked up and gave him a formal smile. "Congratulations. The evaluation of your awakened power is complete. It is [Avatar of Asura (Rank: B)]…”
She paused slightly before continuing. “Next will be the overall performance test to determine your Awakened Rank… Please follow me this way."
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