Chioma was excited to see her elder brother back after three months of hunting. She knew what his arrival would entail.
"Brother Eze, Delordi? (How are you) are you ok? Hope you didn't stress yourself too much…" just as she was speaking with a 'raised' sympathetic voice, Eze stopped her with a raised palm and replied.
"Cho cho cho… you talk too much. Is it not the bush meat I caught that is in your mind?"
Chioma giggled and ran to hug her brother
"But still, welcome back"
"Mhm" Eze grunted. He walked outside, finding only a few specks of blood from Ikenga's feasting. Not even a shard of bone was left. He walked to the backyard were a large bonfire was lit. His father had started roasting the meat, and so he came over to 'assist'. And by assist, it meant sitting down and watching as his father adamantly refused to receive assistance.
After a few hours of roasting, nighttime covered the sky, blanketing it with a full blue moon. Law, Chioma and Eze had a very sumptuous meal of roasted meat with pepper soup, a local delicacy. Just as they had finished eating, a loud whistling horn echoed from across the road, signaling the advent of the rationed power supply. Chioma screamed in delight as she dashed into the living room, turning on the TV. As Eze was to return to his room, his father spoke.
"Eze, come with me"
Eze did not question his father. He instantly stood up and followed behind him. They both walked out of town, into a small bush path and then climbing the hill that stood just at the border, thirty minutes away from the house. Lawrence did not say a word to Eze, and Eze did not move to speak to his father. It was a silence that spoke volumes.
They then reached an opening near the Cliffside, overlooking the lit up town. Lawrence looked into the distance and sighed.
"Eze, have you ever wondered why we didn't let you ascend all these years?" Lawrence asked, his aged eyes trained on his son. Eze nodded and replied.
"It is what mum told me to do before…" he stopped speaking.
"Yes, your mother specifically asked for you not to ascend until you had mastered the Three Hunting Tenets as a normal person" Lawrence then sat on the grassy floor, peaked a stem of grass and began to clean his ear.
"Now I want to ask you. Have you fully mastered the three tenets?"
The Three Hunting Tenets were a set of rules Benny, Lawrence wife and Eze's mother lived by. They were as follows:
All enemies, whether beast or human, as assumed to be prey for hunting.
Always hunt prepared
Be prepared to put down your life for a successful hunt.
These three tenets were things Benny infused into Eze's mind from a young age. His mother had given him explicit training into hunting of Evo-beasts and the like. She then made him swear an oath never to ascend until he had fully understood the importance of these three tenets.
"I'm very sure you have" Iron Law said, looking at the town downhill. The small specks of light littered the entire houses and apartments.
"Yes sir"
"Good. It is time!" Lawrence said with a heave and pointed at the cliff edge before him before he continued.
"Sit down and open your core. You should know how it's done"
Eze knew very well how to open his core. His two younger ones had done so in his presence. He sat at the edge of the cliff and closed his eyes. Hands on his knees, he focused his mind on his body. He focused on his heart rate, is breathing, and finally, to every vein in his body. This was a sign of a pseudo ascendant; people gifted with the ability of ascension.
The air around him began to tense, particles of bluish brown quatheric energy began to gather and cluster on top of Eze's head. Slowly, the flux of Quather began to condense into a spherical core, the size of a tennis ball.
Iron Law stood at the side, his hand under his jaw. A smile soon riddled on his lips.
"Ehen! 70% huh? Not bad. His siblings are still better off though"
What Iron Law meant was how much a person could circulate his Quather easily. Quather was made of both quantum energy, as it could be used as a valid power source, and an unfeasible and uncontrollable etheric essence, thus the name 'Quather'.
Scientist had proven that this energy, since the day of black Christmas, had omnipresent on the planet. Every child born from that period, or people who were contaminated with large amounts of quatheric exposure had a chance to ascend.
Most adults and children born of normal families usually had a 10% or less Quather rating; a rating that all but assured that the person would never be able to ascend.
Those at 11% to 20% had a chance to ascend to a maximum of D-class
21%-40% was C-class
41%-60% was B-class
61%-79% was A-class
80%-90% was S-class
And finally, 90%-100% Quather ratings were known as World level ascenders. Most ascenders born with these ratings didn't essentially mean they would automatically become the class they were assumed to get. Instead, a process known as condensation took place. All ascendants would start from D-class and slowly grow into their maximum potential.
Eze was an anomaly amongst ascendants. Most pseudo-ascenders would usually ascend at a young age, from ages 8-15 so as to maximize their potential. But Eze, even as old as he was, had a high growth index of 70%.
Slowly, Eze's core condensed even more, causing the quarter around him to erupt and surge towards him. This sudden turn of events threw his father's speculations of the charts.
"71%, no, 76… 79%... almost at 80% just a little bit more"
Just then core shimmered, before descending into Eze's head. Soon his body began to shimmer in an unearthly blue light, before dimming into an ebb. After that did Eze open his eyes. They seemed even clearer and sharper than normal. Eze took a sharp breath and then frowned.
"It seems my nose became even sharper… I can smell almost everything in a 1 km radius now" he muttered to himself.
"Chukwueze, how do you feel?" his father's voice came from behind him. Eze sighed and replied.
"Very good; and very terrible. I can now smell almost everything I don't want to smell" Eze frowned slightly. His nose twitched as his nasal senses went as far as 2km, catching almost every whiff of nature's body-odor.
"Yuck!!!"
"Eze, remember what we taught you. Focus on your core in your head and reel the excess energy in" His father reminded him. Eze quickly focused his mind on his brain, reeling in the surge of energy flowing into his head. This energy swirled, before silently coming to a halt. Finally, Eze's sense of smell stabilized.
His father smirked, nodding at his speed of comprehension, before walking back two steps backwards.
"Congratulations. Now it's time to see what abilities you awakened. Try letting your Quather flow through your body and see"
Eze stood to his feet and huffed. He began to use the same method he used earlier to channel Quather into his body. His blood surged, revolving at an astonishing rate. His heart pumped blood and his pore slowly began to emit steam. His brown skin began to burn beet red, his eyes almost glazed over. Then he took a step forward and dashed towards his father.
"Twenty meters! That's a good start" Lawrence mused to himself. Eze had thrown a punch directly towards his side at such an inhumanely fast speed, but he was unfazed by it. Turning his palm outwards, he seemed to want to catch the speeding fist. Eze instantaneously removed his fist and turned to throw a kick, only to fling himself into the air. With a bang he crashed into a tree.
"Bahahaha! A small child who just learnt to crawl trying to run. Take it easy my boy, life na jeje (slow and steady)" Eze's father said, as he took a step back and began to leave.
"Don't leave until you can fully master your Quather"
A few seconds later, his figure disappeared into the forest. Eze groaned heavily, a smile that wasn't a smile cut through his lips. This wasn't the first time he'd seen this happen. When his younger siblings ascended, they had the same problems as he did; the lack of Quather mastery.
"This stems from my lack of knowledge on my Quather Talent. Most likely I'm an inborn Charger."
Quather talent was a system used to classify the different type of ascendants based on their abilities.
Chargers: These were Ascendants who enhanced mainly their physical bodies with Quather, gaining overwhelming strength, agility, speed and reflexes. These made the bulk of all ascendants as most never unlocked another talent than this.
Elementalists: A set of Ascendants who could control their Quather to wield the will of the elements. They were divided into Mainline Elementals who wielded the basic abilities of water, earth, fire and wind whilst Esoteric Elementalist wielded high tier elements such as lightning, light, dark and so forth. They are as much as Chargers who unlock this talent.
Energizers: These were Ascendants who could transfer Quatheric energy from themselves to others, causing the reinvigoration of others bodies, increasing regeneration in others. These people were tagged "Healers" and "Energy Banks" amongst ascenders and were sought after even in their little numbers.
Callers: These were Ascendants who had the ability to tame and control Evo-Beasts. They could then 'Call' these pets of theirs through a summoning technique known as 'mini-gate opening'. With the aid of these tamed Evo-Beasts, on could turn the tide of battle and use them as meat shields.
And finally…
Specialists: These ascendants, though rare in the old days, were quite common nowadays. They were usually ascendants who ascended and awakened two or more traits. These were quite common with most ascenders awakening chargers as their secondary trait. Specialists were the only class that was divided into grades. Grade 1 specialists usually had only one secondary trait, all the way to Grade 3 with three traits.
Eze lay on the floor, looking at the starless sky. He pondered upon his fate so far; was made to ascend later than all his siblings, had to be at home most of his life mastering one skill whilst they went abroad and made a name for themselves.
The Next Day
Eze woke with a stir. He was extremely exhausted, weak and hungry. He'd spent the entire night acclimatizing with his new found powers, trying his best and succeeding in getting a full grasp of his abilities. He could dash up to thirty meters with his enhanced body, could lift above three hundred kilograms with ease and finally, he could react faster than ever.
This was actually very normal for ascended who started up as chargers.
"Time to leave. I'm really hungry" Eze said to himself, before picking himself from the floor and taking the beaten path home. When he got home, he took a bath that refreshed and rejuvenated his body and mind.
He soon was greeted by a knock on his door. He sniffed the air and noticed almost instantly that his sense of smell had been enhanced a lot. Previously he'd only be able to sniff out vaguely who the person behind the door was. Now it was more distinct; defined even. It felt like he could see the silhouette of his sister behind the door.
"Brother Eze, Nnam is calling you" the small voice of the young girl sounded from behind the door.
"Eh, I dey come"
Eze quickly put on some clothes and went to greet his dad this morning with the news. He wore a grey t-shirt and a pair of brown khaki shorts. This was due to the heat in the middle of August due to the August break. He went towards the open verandah outside the house, turned left and made his way to the family garden east of the house.
"Ajai sir!" Eze greeted his father as soon as he saw him. His father seemed busy tilling the soil, Ikenga brooding over next to him as always.
"Dei'leh?"
"Nkomah ohh. You called sir" Eze asked after exchanging greetings with his father in his traditional tongue. Ikenga barked in response, as he walked over to lick the young man's hand.
"Ike, you and food eh! What happened to what I brought yesterday?" Eze asked jocularly. The giant Evo-beast dog whimpered before turning its head away from Eze and facing a pile of bones heaped at the edge of the garden. Eze wasn't too shocked at this scene. He knew he had to go procure meat again in a week's time so Ikenga would have to wait.
"Nnam, you called" Eze asked after a few minutes of silence. His heart clenched and his curiosity peaked. Whenever his father was this quiet for a long time, it usually was something very serious.
"Eze my son…" he started off as he stopped tilling the soil. He dropped the hoe in his hand and cracked his neck a few times. Then with utmost gravity he spoke.
"Go to my room, bring the file on top of the cabinet for me"
Eze walked very quickly to his father's room and picked up a thick brown paper file. He didn't dare tamper with it and proceeded to walk back out. Upon reaching his father, he instructed.
"Open it"
Eze did with all seriousness. But what he saw lifted his mood to cloud nine.
It was an international passport with an unrestricted travel visa only meant for Ascended. On its detail section was his name and passport photos he took a year prior.
"Sir, is it… is It really t…t…time for me to…" Eze began to stutter. His father cut him off with a curt smile and replied
"You look at the ticket before you start celebrating"
Eze did and he saw that his flight was in three days from then, on a Friday. The destination was the T.E.R.S, the new merger country formed when most and southern Europe merged with Russia to stop the Evo-Beast gate incursion that destroyed most of the middle-east and Eastern Europe.
"Go and start packing up now. But before that, take some cash and buy breakfast. Mama Ochuko should have started selling her groundnut oil akara"
Eze snorted. He and his siblings had a lot in common with their father. But if there was one thing they didn't share, it was their tastes.
"What about Mama Twin's akara, at least indulge me and Chioma now"
"You can buy from her, I'm not interested in that chewy red oily mess"
Eze nodded and went to get the money to buy breakfast. That day, he ate with such vigor than he ever had. This was a dream come true for him as he'd been waiting to be let loose by his father. Now he could apply his mother's hunting principles to actual Evo-beasts. On that Thursday, Eze slept and dreamt of days to come.