Liam's mother stood in the doorway, her eyes filled with concern as she asked, "Liam, why didn't you come to school yesterday?" Her voice was laced with a mix of worry and frustration. Liam's gaze remained steady, his expression unreadable as he replied, "I just wanted some time alone, mom." His tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.
His mother's eyes narrowed slightly, her brow furrowed in skepticism. She opened her mouth to press the issue, but Liam's impassive demeanor seemed to deter her. With a sigh, she turned and left, leaving Liam to his thoughts.
As Liam got ready for school, he opened his system, his fingers moving with a mechanical precision. He saw that he had awakened his mana core, and his eyes flicked to the system store. He browsed through the items, abilities, and other features, his gaze scanning the options with a calculating intensity.
His attention landed on the ability section, where he saw a list of skills that ranged from the mundane to the extraordinary. Some abilities were priced exorbitantly high, but one caught his eye - telekinesis, listed at 25 soul points. Without hesitation, Liam purchased the ability, his expression remaining cold and detached.
As soon as the ability was activated, Liam felt a searing pain coursing through his body. Everything around him began to float, including his own body, and he stumbled backwards, his vision blurring. He fell to the ground, his breath knocked out of him. When he finally caught his breath, he wanted to test out his new ability.
Liam focused his mind on his phone, willing it to move towards him. He felt a strange sensation, as if he had an extra limb that was reaching out to grab the phone. The device floated in the air, moving towards him with a jerky motion. Liam's eyes lit up with a cold, calculating interest as he realized that he had indeed acquired telekinesis.
He spent the next few minutes testing the limits of his ability, determining that he could sustain it for 10 minutes with small objects and 1 minute with heavy objects. His mana, currently at 50 points, seemed to be the limiting factor. As he experimented with telekinesis, Liam noticed that his abilities could level up. Both telekinesis and dash were currently at level one, and he made a mental note to improve them.
When Liam arrived at Scarlet High School, he saw two police cars parked outside. His expression remained impassive as he entered the school auditorium, where a group of police officers were gathered. One of his teachers, Mrs. Johnson, looked up and wrote his name in a book, her eyes flicking towards him briefly.
Liam took a seat at the back of the auditorium, his eyes scanning the room with a detached interest. One of the police officers stepped forward, his voice booming through the microphone. "You have all heard the news, and you know what happened. I noticed that the killer had the same school uniform as you, so I came to do a check and see if he is among you guys."
The police officer who had spotted Liam earlier began to make his way towards him, his eyes locked onto Liam's face. Liam's expression didn't change, but he knew that things had taken a turn for the worse.
As the police officer approached him, Liam's gaze remained steady, his eyes never leaving the officer's face. The officer's expression changed from one of curiosity to one of shock, and he said, "Liam, young man, you are under arrest for the murder of three civilians."
The room fell silent, with all eyes on Liam. He paused, his mind racing with the implications. He guessed that the police had already checked the fingerprints on the body, and this was a setup. Even if he hadn't come to school, they would have still come to his house.
Without a word, Liam stretched out his hands, allowing the police officer to cuff him. He was taken outside into a car, the gang members watching with anger and cursing as they followed the police car. Throughout the ordeal, Liam's demeanor remained cold and emotionless, his eyes fixed on some point in the distance.