Chapter 52
Over the course of lunch, Claire talked excitedly about the new school and the Esper awakening ceremony that would take place soon; meanwhile, he was reviewing the description of the various skills that Elaisa sent me.
I could almost swear I’m forgetting something important. . . waiting.
′′Is there going to be an Esper Awakening ceremony at your school? ′′
′′ Of course, all those over 15 years old go through the ceremony; remember? ′′
Shit, I almost forgot, someone might wonder what this ceremony is that we are talking about; And that someone would not be very bright. I mean the name does not leave much to the imagination, it is assumed that after the age of 15 human beings have enough brain and body development to tolerate awakening; By using a special device to inject a specific amount of energy, they are able to stimulate a person to awaken their ability.
In a world where skill users are respected, this day is incredibly important to everyone; I just hope Claire awakens some good ability. . . but not too good.
It was no secret that the government monitored and even “invited” users with very special or very powerful abilities.
.....
′′ Claire, listen to me well; When you go through awakening, don’t show your ability to anyone. No matter what they tell you, just tell them that the process exhausted you and that you can’t focus to use it. ′′ I said in a very serious way.
′′because? As far as I know, people who go through what you said are because their talent is very low so awakening exhausts their body, usually their abilities are too weak or difficult to use afterward.′′ Claire expressed clearly confused with my intentions in asking this of him.
′′ That’s exactly what I want them to think, Claire I know you want to have an esper ability to have the power to protect yourself, but you have to know that powerful skills are highly regulated by the government. I know it will be difficult to fit in if people think your esper ability is weak, but it is not worth getting a little attention in exchange for exposing your secrets. ′′
I tried to explain my concerns regarding waking up as well as possible, I knew it wasn’t fair for Claire to make her look weak in a world where only the strong are respected; But I was concerned that if her ability was very strong or very useful to the government, the government would recruit her by force.
′′ I understand Desmond, I will do what you say. ′′He said with much less emotion than he had before.
′′ Sorry, Claire. ′′
′′ Don’t worry, it’s nothing; You’ve sacrificed so much more to keep us safe Furthermore, I also wouldn’t want to attract too much attention if it really awakened a powerful ability. ′′
As guilty as I felt, I was also happy that Claire understood my intentions and was so understanding about it. Still trying to cheer Claire up a bit, I started to think of ways to make her day.
′′ Claire I have been very busy with my training lately and you have been busy with your classes; How about we go out next week and we have a date? ′′
′′a date? ′′ Claire exclaimed taken by surprise.
′′ Yes, we have been dating for a couple of weeks and we have known each other for years, but we have never had a date as it should be; I think it would be nice if we made memories as a normal couple.′′ I said trying to sound like the idea didn’t make me a little nervous.
′′Yes, yes, of course; a date sounds perfect. ′′ Claire seemed much more excited now than she did when she spoke of awakening.
With a small smile, I left the dining room and began to review again the skills Elaisa sent me to study. The list was not as long as I expected, but I suppose I use certain parameters to choose them and go through a long process of analysis to choose these few. Once again, the enormous role that a hunter’s agent plays in the growth of the hunter comes to the fore.
Reading quickly, two abilities caught my eye: Mana Burst and Mana Reverse Spiral.
Despite what the names might suggest, the former was a movement ability and the latter was a defensive ability.