Chapter 20
The students, witnessing this display of casual power, could only stare in utter amazement. It was unequivocally clear that the bald man was no ordinary individual.
Perhaps it was precisely because of his immense strength that he commanded this group of military personnel, who seemingly followed his every instruction without the need for him to even utter a single word.
Whispers began to ripple through the students, as they commented on what they had just witnessed, their voices hushed with awe .
"I'm not dreaming, right? That sound… it was made by him just flicking his fingers?" one of the students whispered, his eyes wide with disbelief.
He had heard so many incredible stories before, but never anything quite like this. How was it possible that someone could achieve such power with just a mere flick of a finger?
"No, you're not dreaming; I heard it too," another student corroborated from the side, equally stunned.
"I think you guys are focusing on the wrong thing," another perceptive student chimed in.
"It's not the sound that you should be scared about, but his strength. You see that right there? That's no ordinary punching bag; it's a specialized training bag used by most of the factions to train their elite members.
"Not only is it incredibly resistant to hits, but it also accurately measures the precise force of the individual who strikes it."
"So? What are you getting at?" one of the bewildered students asked, eager for clarification.
"My point is," the perceptive kid explained, "the difference between this punching bag and a normal one is that no regular human, even at full strength, can hit this bag up to a high number of twenty, no matter how strong they are. Yet, he was able to hit it to seventy with just a weak flick of his fingers!"
The first student's eyes widened in realization. "Then, doesn't that just mean that he might have used his Mutated Abilities? It has to be it, right? I mean, it would perfectly explain the high hit number on the screen and the loud sound we heard. Super strength… it has to be his mutant ability!"
What he said made perfect sense to the others around him.
Although it was true that a Mutated Human was inherently stronger than a normal human, they couldn't believe the extent of the difference was to the point where what a mutant could achieve casually with a flick of a finger, was impossible even with the full concentrated strength of a powerful normal human.
Therefore, this seemed to be the most logical and perfect explanation. The bauld man used his mutant powers.
"I wasn't done talking," the insightful teenager chimed in again, his voice firm.
"The bag, it does not record any number if you use strength from your mutation ability...except, except if the settings are changed. Which I doubt is the case right now. "
Hearing what the student just said caused a ripple of deeper understanding regarding the bald man's astonishing strength.
His statement meant that the immense strength the bald man had just displayed was purely his innate physical power, completely independent of any abilities derived from his mutant core.
This implied he had yet to tap into his core, nor was the power borrowed from any of his mutation powers. It even made them wonder, if this was just a result from a casual flick of a finger, what number would appear if he were to strike at full force? Would the bag even survive such an impact?
That was a question that they could not get an answer to, at least for the moment.
After his demonstration, the bald man began to speak again, his voice resonating with authority.
"For this stage, all you are required to do is to hit the center of the bag like I just did. If you are not able to make it up to thirty, then you will be disqualified on the spot."
For some inexplicable reason, hearing the bald man say these final words sent an undeniable shiver down the spine of every single student there.
However, the students who where from the city of Veridia were even more terrified. They still harbored vivid memories of how he had disqualified their friends for the simple act of being late.
So, when they heard him utter the word "disqualify" again, they knew he wasn't merely issuing an empty threat; his words carried the weight of absolute finality.
"For this stage, there is only one rule, and if you don't respect this rule, you will be disqualified," the man stated, a slight, ominous pause before he spoke again. "You are not to use energy from your core to enhance your strength, just the inherent strength of your natural mutant body."
The man's declaration left most of the students utterly bewildered. They struggled to comprehend what he meant.
Wasn't the energy from the mutant core constantly flowing through their veins? Were they supposed to somehow stop the flow of this energy, or was it something entirely different?
The students were visibly confused, especially those who had just recently become mutants and were still grappling with their newfound abilities.
Fai, on the other hand, had nothing to worry about, at least when it came to the mutant aspect of the rule. This was due to the undeniable fact that he wasn't a mutant; he wasn't even truly human to begin with.
Therefore, the machine was not going to detect any trace of mutant activity from him.
So, in this specific regard, he had absolutely nothing to worry about. Right now, though, he was deeply contemplating whether he should absorb the pill he possessed or if he should keep it for later.
'Should I consume the pill now?' Fai asked himself, his gaze drifting towards the small, spherical object clutched in his hand.
The reason for his contemplation was strategic: he wanted to use the pill as an element of surprise during a more critical moment of the assessment, something that would provide a significant, unexpected boost to his strength.
He didn't want to simply expend its power here. Furthermore, there was an inherent chance that the boost in strength might not be permanent; perhaps it would only last for a few hours.
If that were the case, he wanted to conserve it for when it was truly necessary.