Chapter 2: The Taste
The Ironblood Academy didn't look like a place of learning. It looked like a fortress. Titanium alloy walls, polished to a brutal shine, reflected the perpetual gray of the city sky. Lines of seventeen-year-olds snaked towards the colossal gates, a river of nervous hope in drab, government-issued uniforms.
Kaelin stood in line, her own uniform scratchy against her skin. Last night's adrenaline was a cold sludge in her veins. Every Enforcer helmet she saw made her muscles lock. Her System ran a quiet, constant scan.
[Location: Ironblood Academy - Admissions Quadrant]
[Population Density: High]
[Threat Assessment: Elevated. Multiple Authority Signatures.]
She focused on her breathing. One Ability. Show them only one.
The line shuffled forward. She overheard snippets of hushed conversation.
"...heard if you manifest above Level 3, the Families might make an offer..."
"...just want a decent trade skill.Crystal refinement, maybe..."
"...my cousin got Thermal Sight.Level 2. He's on Wall maintenance now. Good rations..."
Ahead, the gates swallowed students in pairs. When Kaelin's turn came, a scanner beam washed over her, cold and intrusive. A chime sounded. The gate slid open.
Inside was a different world. Soaring ceilings, floors of polished black stone, and holographic banners of the Four Families Ironblood, Silvers, Stonehearth, and the Nightwind cycled on the walls. Enforcers stood at intervals, still as statues.
They were herded into a vast hall the Crucible. In the center stood a massive, crystal-topped dais connected to a console. The Taster.
A man in the severe gray robes of an Academy Proctor addressed them, his voice amplified and emotionless.
"You will be processed in alphabetical order. Step onto the dais. The Taster will isolate your latent Ability, determine its nature, and assign its preliminary Level. This determines your path. Your value. Your life. Obstruct the process, and you will be removed."
A girl with bright red hair was called first. "Aria."
She stepped up,trembling. Prongs extended from the dais, touching her temples. The central crystal glowed amber. Symbols flashed on a large screen above.
[Ability Identified: Pyrokinetic Ignition]
[Preliminary Level: 1]
The Proctor made a note. "D-tier. Combustion Corps or sanitation incineration. Next."
The dismissiveness was a physical blow. Aria's shoulders slumped as she was directed to a side corridor.
Names were called. Abilities flashed: Kinetic Push (Level 2), Enhanced Olfaction (Level 1), Low-Grade Telekinesis (Level 1). Most were Level 1 or 2. A boy manifested Sonic Shout at Level 3, and a murmur went through the crowd. He was directed to a different, better-lit corridor.
"Kaelin."
Her blood turned to ice. She walked forward, her boots echoing in the sudden silence of her own mind. The prongs were cold against her skin. She closed her eyes.
Just the energy. Only show the energy.
A vibration started in the dais. She felt a pull, an invasive tug at her core. Her System flared in panic.
[External Scan Detected!]
[Countermeasures: Available.][
[Recommendation:Partial Compliance. Channel Primary Ability Only.]
She focused on the familiar, electric tingle of Energy Manipulation. She let it flow to the surface, a steady, controlled stream.
The Taster's crystal flickered blue. Data scrolled.
[Ability Identified: Energy Manipulation]
[Preliminary Level: 2]
Relief washed over her. Basic. Useful for low-grade crystal tuning or grid maintenance. Unremarkable.
Then the Taster whined, a high-pitched frequency. The blue light stuttered. A spike of raw, foreign power the echo of last night' second, unknown ability leaked from her panic. Just for a nanosecond.
The crystal flashed a violent, confused purple before snapping back to blue.
The Proctor frowned, tapping his console. "Anomalous energy signature. Residual crystal interference, likely." He peered at her. "You. Are you a crystal scavenger?"
Kaelin forced a nod. "Yes, Proctor."
"Hmph.Dregs filth. Contaminates the reading." He made a note. "Energy Manipulation, Level 2. Marginally stable. D-tier. Proceed to Section D."
She stepped off the dais, legs weak. He wrote it off. It's okay.
As she walked toward the gloomy "D-tier" archway, a group of new students entered from another door. Her System tagged one instantly.
[Individual Recognized: Saba.][
[Affiliation:Red Bull Rebellion (Covert).][
[Status:Present as Cadet.]
He wore the same uniform, but it looked like a disguise on him. His eyes, sharp and assessing, swept the room. They passed over her, then snapped back. A flicker of recognition. Then, perfect blankness. He turned to a tall, wiry boy beside him and said something, a casual smile on his face. The other boy glanced at Kaelin, then away.
They were here. Infiltrating. And she was now trapped in the same cage.
A Proctor directed Saba's group toward the testing queue. As he passed Kaelin's corridor, his hand brushed against his leg in a deliberate, casual motion.
His fingers formed a quick, subtle sign: two fingers tapped twice over his heart.
A signal. A recognition.
Then he was gone, blending into the crowd of hopefuls, just another face waiting to be Tasted.
Kaelin turned into the dim corridor, the Proctor's words ringing in her ears. D-tier. Marginally stable.
But in the shadowed hallway, her System glowed with a new, persistent line she hadn't noticed before, born from the Taster's probe.
[Ability-2: Designation… Partial Data Recovered.]
[Class: SYSTEM-BREACH.]
[Status: Quarantined.][
[Analysis:Hostile to Established Protocols.]
The words sent a new kind of fear through her, colder and deeper than any Enforcer could inspire. They hadn't just tested her. They had awakened something.