## Chapter 57
Yumaro couldn’t contain his irritation from the morning.
“Why are there so many people?”
The front of the Esper Association was so packed with people that he was already annoyed before even entering.
“Ugh, it’s because all these non-awakened ones are gathering here too. I should have come during the first round.”
Those who awakened with the cracks were called first-round awakeners. Since existing Espers were called first-generation, these new awakeners were called first-round awakeners of the second generation. While thinking there was no reason for special treatment since he wasn’t even first-generation anyway, he was annoyed that he had missed the first round and joined the second round.
First-round awakeners had already received their awakening tests quickly through the Association and entered training. Yumaro had awakened during the same period but could only visit the center now due to personal circumstances. Because of that, his visit overlapped with the second-round awakening tests, causing him no small amount of stress.
“Damn it, if that stupid dog hadn’t gotten hurt, I would have done this long ago.”
The day of the great change.
Yumaro was walking the dog for his busy sister when he encountered a crack.
Seeing that other people passed by without noticing it, he realized it was only visible to him. He pretended not to see it and took another path, only to face an even larger crack right in front of him. The suddenly appearing crack showed larger and more ominous ripples.
Instinctively, he knew it was about to burst. Out of natural fear, Yumaro’s legs wouldn’t move. Fortunately, his hands worked, so he let go of the leash and waved his hands to send the dog away. He had no intention of calling the dog by its name, which his sister had playfully made similar to his own.
He cursed at the dog to get lost, calling it a stupid mutt, but it just wagged its tail and wouldn’t leave his side. The moment he swung his hand forcefully toward the dog, it floated up and flew away, as if hit by some kind of wind attack.
While staring blankly, the dog rolled on the ground and yelped. Only then did Yumaro’s legs start moving in panic. He picked up the dog, which couldn’t get up due to an injury somewhere, and ran. Soon after, he heard the sound of an explosion behind him, but all he could think about was the location of the animal hospital.
He couldn’t leave the dog with its cast alone, so after taking care of it for two weeks, the second-round awakening test period approached. Though he was irritated enough to want to blow away all the crowds, he was satisfied with how familiar he had become with his new ability while stuck at home.
Contrary to expectations, Yumaro’s wait wasn’t long. This was thanks to the priority given to applicants classified as awakeners based on pre-registration information.
There were quite a few people who had applied as awakeners, but the line was visibly short, and somehow as soon as people entered the lobby, staff came out and picked out only the awakeners, guiding them to the examination center.
Yumaro too was guided by a staff member while briefly looking at the large electronic display in the lobby.
Seeing grades and partially hidden names appearing on the large display, it seemed they were announcing awakening statuses in real time.
‘Do they reveal more of the name as the grade goes up?’
“At this rate, my full name will be shown.”
Though his tone was irritated, his expression revealed undisguised expectation.
A chatterbox who had arrived at the examination room before Yumaro had boasted about his ability to the silent Yumaro. The result was B-grade. The same content as the lobby’s large display appeared on a small monitor installed in the examination room corridor. If an ability that merely created enough wind to push people was B-grade, then Yumaro thought his own ability to move various objects was far more impressive.
‘B-grade seems common.’
It was still morning, but already two had appeared.
Yumaro’s tension disappeared, replaced by rising expectations. As he waited for his name to be called soon, people lined up for the next test came in one after another.
“Wow, coming to the center is amazing, we even get to see Espers.”
“Seo Jaeyoon is handsome. He’s tall too. They say you become good-looking when you become an Esper, must be true.”
“Then maybe we… haven’t awakened…”
Yumaro found it hard to hold back a sigh at the conversation of the visibly excited trio of fools. He turned his head away and waited for staff to come out, but then heard something difficult to ignore.
“He is cool though. You saw it too, right? How he instantly blew away that illegally parked Mercedes that was blocking the installation of the awning.”
“No, he seemed kind of crazy to me. Does being an Esper make you rich or something?”
“It was no joke… His control was really… amazing…”
“Even so, he’s only B-grade.”
The three people’s conversation stopped at Yumaro’s irritated outburst. After a brief awkward silence, the examination room door opened and a staff member appeared.
“Mr. Yumaro, please come in for your awakening test.”
Inside the examination room, which he entered with unpleasantness erased and filled with expectation, the name he disliked continued to be heard.
“Mr. Yumaro, your ability is… Oh, telekinesis, the same as Esper Seo Jaeyoon.”
“No, it’s psychokinesis. Not some mysterious force, but the power to move specifically designated objects.”
He corrected with a frown directly at the researcher’s expectant face.
The mana test was conducted right away, and when the numbers came out quite high, the researcher visibly rejoiced.
“You’ll definitely be A-grade.”
“I thought so.”
Yumaro believed he knew himself accurately. While taking care of the dog, he had watched videos of Espers who appeared constantly on TV until he could recite them by heart. Among them, B-grade Esper Seo Jaeyoon’s videos were quite destructive. Everyone was captivated by Kwon Haeil’s flashy use of fire, but Yumaro couldn’t take his eyes off the scenes where Seo Jaeyoon broke walls and compressed cars with invisible force.
After awakening, Yumaro, who had been repeatedly lifting and putting down all the objects in the house, succeeded in levitating a car visible from his window.
After such an easy task, he wanted to try lifting something bigger.
He was certain that people who were enthusiastic about Seo Jaeyoon would soon turn to him instead. Moreover, that guy only destroyed things. Thinking that his own ability was limitless as he gently placed the vehicle back in its place, he believed if only his timing had been better, he would have been in that position. Or he might have even become friends with Seo Jaeyoon. But he was merely B-grade. His frequency of power use was significantly lower than Yumaro’s. After demonstrating a few times, he said he would refrain from using his ability to prepare for unexpected situations.
The fondness for Seo Jaeyoon in Yumaro’s heart was quickly erased. He was ashamed of having imagined teaming up with a half-baked Esper to defeat monsters. It was also unpleasant that he had momentarily admired a mere B-grade Esper.
Daesung’s influence must have played a role. Wasn’t it all rigged anyway? It was obvious they had selected a good-looking Esper to put in front.
Yumaro, who had many complaints about this unjust world, was filled with irritation, but he believed things would change when he, who was much better, went to the center.
That mixture of irritation and expectation made him annoyed by the frequent stories about Seo Jaeyoon he heard even at the center where he had arrived for the awakening test. It was ridiculous how people praised Seo Jaeyoon, whom he already considered beneath him, or raised him up saying they would soon catch up to him.
After finishing the ability test, a researcher came with the results and exclaimed with admiration.
“Mr. Yumaro. No, Esper Yumaro. Ability test result: psychokinesis B. Mana measurement result: confirmed A-grade.”
“My ability is B?”
The researcher added, telling Yumaro not to misunderstand as he frowned and showed his dissatisfaction.
“It’s a grade that combines understanding of your ability and the number of times you can use it. Separate from the mana grade, it’s difficult to even get C in the ability test during early awakening.”
“…What about Seo Jaeyoon?”
“Ah, you’re interested because you’re in the same category, right? This is before information is opened, but since you’re A-grade anyway, you’ll be able to access the information…”
The content the researcher whispered softly wasn’t much.
With an ability understanding of A-grade or higher, he was skilled at using power even with just C-grade mana quantity, showing output no less than A-grade. Even so, his absolute mana was only C-grade. Yumaro’s sneer deepened, thinking how they had promoted him as B-grade and paraded him around.
He considered himself the same as Seo Jaeyoon, who only demonstrated his power, and himself, who practiced alone at home. When deployed in the field, he would clearly show the difference in grade.
As this simple but certain plan was established, ease returned to Yumaro’s heart. As he went back the way he came, one of the staff guarding the corridor approached and greeted him with a broad smile.
“Esper Yumaro, congratulations on awakening as A-grade. I’ll guide you for your future training schedule and information about the center.”
“I can go by myself.”
“No, you’re essentially a first-round awakener and A-grade, so people might crowd around and tire you.”
At this natural statement, Yumaro followed the guide with an excited feeling.
While following the staff member out to the lobby, he deliberately erased his smile pretending to be indifferent, but people’s attention was elsewhere. In the middle of the still crowded lobby, there was a particularly dense area of people. Surrounded by people, Seo Jaeyoon’s head popped out, answering people’s questions one by one.
“Can you lift people with telekinesis too? Can you show us?”
“It’s a bit different from my ability, so it’s difficult. And inside the center, ability use is not possible due to the mana control device installed.”
“Where is the mana control device?”
“The location is confidential, so I ask for your understanding.”
“Isn’t Kwon Haeil coming?”
“Esper Kwon Haeil is currently investigating a gate.”
As the Esper they had only seen on TV responded kindly, questions poured in all at once, making it difficult to answer.
From asking if he had a girlfriend to requests for arm wrestling, Seo Jaeyoon remained calm without showing any discomfort to all sorts of useless questions. While answering intermittently, he guided the gathered people to form a line. Seo Jaeyoon’s actions showed skillfulness just enough not to make others feel bad.
Yumaro didn’t like that either. How could a fraudster who used tricks to register as B-grade with an ability that was only C-grade smile while receiving everyone’s affection and trust?
Few were looking at the “A” proudly displayed alone on the large electronic display. Yumaro was greatly annoyed by Seo Jaeyoon’s presence that continued to grate on his nerves.
“An Esper making people stand in line. As expected, B-grade suits this kind of work.”
His tone was openly confrontational.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
