A comfortable silence fell between the two roommates, but Austin’s coughing occasionally broke it.

Still lying down, he turned to Dale. "Man, so much for not being battle-oriented." He laughed dryly.

Even though he was doing an awesome job of hiding it, Dale’s attack had really shaken him to his core.

Not only because of the attack but because it had landed when he was already weakened from repetitive use of his ability.

"It felt strange after you made contact with me. Like my skin started to burn from contact with air, my blood started to run in the opposite direction and my muscles involuntarily contracted. Everything in my body went... wrong."

Dale paled a little, hearing Austin’s description of the effect of his ability on humans.

It wasn’t that he was scared of harming a human, he had harmed quite a few in the slums but rather, he was worried he had actually hurt Austin.

While Dale hadn’t had the best life, it didn’t mean he was a sicko who enjoyed causing pain and torment to everyone around him.

... well, he did but only when they had wronged him and Austin hadn’t done so.

Austin shifted slightly and turned to him. "You know what my ability skill description reads?"

[Kinetic Thrust(Active)]

[This skill allows you to produce a single concentrated pulse of unidirectional force.]

He faced the ceiling. "I could’ve easily joined a moving company or something yet I didn’t because no ability is useless. All of them. All of it matters on the owner’s creativity and application." Then he fell quiet.

Dale pondered his words. The description of [Energy Pulse] was quite straightforward.

[Energy Pulse(Active): Release a pulse of energy into any item or object to affect their operation. Requires physical contact]

’Affect their operation’ had already been vague enough as a phrase. The description hadn’t said control or ruin or activate. Just to affect it.

And by all indicators, the human body — like all living organisms — was nothing more than a system with nerves and muscles instead of wires and fibre.

So by all means, this wasn’t a secret niche of his ability but was in fact part of its primary function.

The clues were always there, he just had to understand them, and now that he did, he was beyond impressed with his skill.

Had he secretly hit the jackpot? It seemed like luck was finally smiling upon him after years of hating unnecessarily.

With the newfound knowledge on the descriptions given by the AIDE, an idea crept into Dale’s mind.

He glanced at his roommate who was still trying to get his bearings, "You are still only using your ability to a limited extent."

Austin’s eyes drifted to Dale, and the former raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Dale didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pointed up, then down, left, right, diagonally, and in every single direction he could think of.

"See where I pointed to? Those are all directions, they are each a possible direction." He hinted, hoping the redhead would catch on but he didn’t.

Dale sighed loudly, "If I want to bring something to me, I’ll pull it. Pulling is dragging an object in a singular direction." His explanation was far more detailed. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Austin’s eyes widened as he finally understood. What Dale was saying was that he could always use his ability skill to pull someone to him... or push himself out of danger.

Speed aside, if Austin had "pulled" himself back, Dale would’ve never made contact.

Normally, he wouldn’t have told anyone the possible applications of their ability especial if the knowledge took away his only means of beating them but Austin was different.

Not only did he help him see the truth about his ability but he also seemed like a genuine person... a lot like June.

He shook the memory of her away from his mind. Now wasn’t the time for mourning.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t even sure what time it was. The entire boot camp seemed to lack any windows, their rooms included.

A headache flashed through his head, making him wince. The last time he had been hit that hard was when he stole a loaf of bread.

The memory almost made him smile... but with the idea of food came hunger.

Dale’s stomach audibly grumbled, startling Austin.

The latter forced himself to his feet and turned to the former. "You’re hungry? Me too, follow me to the cafeteria."

The two of them walked out of the sparring room and walked down the hall. The hall had a modern design with a startling gold and silver lining the walls.

At regular intervals, the gold converged to form the golden eagle atypical of their insignia.

’The Utra nation... truly a unique place.’ He wasn’t sure himself though how unique it was. He was considered lucky to have attended school so expecting actually capable teachers was just too much.

Eventually, they made it to the cafeteria. The large double doors opened to reveal a large set of tables surrounded by chairs.

It seemed to be packed to the brim as dozens of eyes fell on them, scanning them... well, scanning Dale.

While Dale wasn’t one to go around drawing attention to himself, he wouldn’t bow his head. As with the gang leaders in the slums — or wolves, as he had heard — it would lead to you being that way for the rest of your life.

So he raised his head and walked in.

Each step he took was callous and indifferent. Austin leaned a little and whispered, "Dale! Why do you look like you own the place?"

Dale raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer. ’He might have a point but it is already too late.’

His eyes landed on the only free seat in the cafeteria and he sat in it.

A wave of gasps passed through the crowd watching him.

Austin didn’t follow and instead tried to tell him something but before he could, a voice called out to Dale from the door.

"Why are you sitting on my chair?"