What a dream, Demund thought to himself. As far as he knew, his brother and father had been training every other day. When his brother was not outside swinging his arms or legs, he would sit with his mother and read books, most likely for education and such. Shaden had been able to steal a glimpse of the writing in his dream world, and once again, the books’ writings were all recognizable. A Guide To Basic Magic and Merchanting and Money were some titles he observed. He would lie in the baby cradle next to his parents’ bed more often now after his mother found out he wouldn’t cry even when he was left alone.

Shaden thought his parents were slightly scared as he didn’t make much noise, but he tried to alleviate their worries by waving his arms around or kicking his legs as a baby should. He couldn’t crawl yet—his whole body felt like jello when he tensed—but he could move his head around for a better view. His short-sightedness was gone too, and his vision felt even better than the one Demund had. Not that he had much too see. He was stuck in the house all the time.

It felt weird to be back in his old body again. He realized how much control he had over his teen body, but it lacked the flexibility that his baby one had. Coming back to the old world felt like returning home after a vacation in another country. A long vacation, in fact.

The dream is too immersive, Demund thought. It was fun to dream, but he was worried that he would forget some things in reality. He always remembered what he had thought the previous night when he awoke, but a day might come when his dream could interfere with his memories. But that didn’t really matter right now.

Today was the day he would send Jothan away.

He looked at his phone and saw that he had less than an hour until he had to be at Jothan’s house. “Time to go!” said Demund out loud. He quickly washed himself, dried his hair, put on some clothes, and headed downstairs for a simple breakfast. After brushing his teeth, checking his pockets, and saying goodbye to his parents, he jumped on his bike and cycled towards his destination.

When he arrived, Jothan and his family were busy packing Jothan’s final luggage into the back of their vehicle. His sisters were also outside, Alina looking through her phone and Clara watching nervously from the porch. The whole family was probably going.

Jothan spotted Demund, waved towards him, and yelled, “Come help me with the luggage! My dad says his back hurts!”

Demund promptly parked his bike and helped Jothan carry his luggage over from the house. His bags were massive. According to Jothan, they didn’t contain pillows or blankets as those would be provided in the Islands, but all his toys, clothes, shoes, and electronic devices were stuffed inside. There were four bags in total and they filled most of the space that was present in the third row of seats in the car.

“How am I going to fit there?” asked Demund after inspecting the insides of the car. “Everyone is going, right?”

Jothan closed the back of the car with a loud *cutunk* and pointed towards his sister.

“Clara will sit on top of my bags. She likes to do that.”

Demund looked at the nervous Clara who was hugging a stuffed animal tightly. Her untied, dark blonde hair trembled ever so slightly.

“I feel bad now.” He said.

Mr. Harken, who overheard their conversation, walked over to Demund and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to be,” he stated. “Clara is just sad because her brother is leaving—she always rides in the back when we go on trips.”

“Yeah, Demund. Don’t stress about it. You’re like a family to us!”

Jothan gave Demund a reassuring pat on the back and went to get his little sister from the porch. Having nothing else to do, Demund turned to Mr. Harken.

“Will you miss him, Mr. Harken?” he asked.

Mr. Harken released his hand and twirled the car keys around his finger. “Of course, I will. What kind of parent doesn’t miss their children? He’s only just starting high school, and he’s still a child in our eyes. We can only wish him the best. Your parents must be happy to have you stay home.”

“Ahaha, yes,” said Demund blankly.

After Jothan piggybacked his sister and helped her sit on top of the bags, the ride towards the Selection site began. Demund sat by the window, Jothan in the middle, and Alina on the other window. Mr. Harken was driving, and Mrs. Harken sat next to him.

Demund nudged Jothan on the shoulder. “Hey, did you tell your family about your power yet?” he whispered.

“Not yet,” Jothan whispered back, “I wanted it to be a surprise for everyone at the Selection. I heard you’re allowed to show your power to get better ranking points.”

“Makes sense. Did you bring your Nintendont?”

“Of course.”

“Sweet.”

During a big portion of the ride, Demund and Jothan tapped on their devices furiously to defeat the waves of enemies they were fighting against. They had planned to finish the game before the ride, but then Mrs. Harken noticed poor little Clara looking anxious and bored at the back of the car. She scolded the boys for wasting their final, precious moments together on games rather than talking with family. Jothan rebutted but was ultimately defeated with facts and logic. Afterwards, the ride was spent playing the slapping game (banned again), spitting contest (banned instantly), some talking, and finally, sleeping. Jothan suffered the most as Clara decided to crawl out of the back and sleep on Jothan’s lap. By the time they arrived and hopped out the car, Jothan was limping slightly and exclaiming, ‘pins and needles.’

The building the Selection was taking place in was ginormous. The complex stood at over 20 stories high and stretched for around half a kilometer on its longer side. Its perfectly white walls gleamed in the morning light, and already, rows of cars were driving up to the sides of the rectangular building. The building was labeled from A to C—section B was around five times bigger than section A, and section C was around ten times bigger than section B. Higher ranking powers took longer to manifest, so it made sense that section C was much bigger than A or B as powers of C had to be demonstrated. It was optional for class A or B to demonstrate their power.

Mr. Harken spotted section B and drove towards the entrance. He dropped the family off there and went back to look for a suitable parking spot in the area. Demund and Jothan carried one bag each while Mrs. Harken and Alina carried the other two. The entrance was similar to that of an airport, so they had no problem getting inside.

The inside of the building was also whitewashed. Many families were being led by holograms to certain regions of the building. The white reception desks lay in neat rows, and even those were manned by holographic humans. Cameras hung from the ceiling along with screens and signs.

Jothan motioned for his family to follow him to the closest empty B+ reception desk. The hologram manning the desk was a pretty lady with a holographic headset and a holographic tablet in her hand. She smiled sweetly at Jothan.

“How may I help you?” she asked.

“I’ve come to take the Selection,” replied Jothan.

The hologram stared at Jothan for a few seconds.

“Jothan Harken, rank B+. Registered. Would you like to demonstrate your power?”

“Yes, please.”

Mrs. Harken looked at Jothan in confusion. Even his sister looked a little shocked at Jothan’s statement.

“You can already use your power?” Mrs. Harken asked.

“It’s a secret, mom.”

Jothan turned to the hologram again. The holographic lady smiled.

“Please take two steps away from the desk,” she said.

Everyone did as she said. The floor in front of the desk started to split in the middle and open up, revealing a small disk the size of a plate underneath. The disk started glowing with blue light, and soon, the same reception desk lady was hovering/standing above the disk.

“Please follow me. Leave your belongings here at the counter,” the new hologram said. "They will be delivered to your room at the Preliminary Islands, so take what you require with you.”

Jothan nodded. He placed the three largest bags in front of the desk and took the smallest one in his hand. “I’m ready,” he told the hologram.

“This way please.” The hologram motioned for Jothan to follow her. “I will be your guide until your departure to the Islands. All matters regarding your Selection will be processed automatically. After your demonstration, you may decide at what hour you will depart. If you have any questions, please ask.”

“Where will we be going now?” Jothan asked.

“Currently, we will be going to room B0821 for your demonstration. Your family may accompany you until you leave for the Islands.”

Jothan, Demund, Alina, Clara, and Mrs. Harken silently followed the hologram through the crowds of people. The holograms had positioned themselves so that one group wouldn’t crash into the other, making their travel efficient and safe. Demund was amazed at how all of the people were evading past each other, like schools of fish, led only by a hologram that was a small disk at their feet. They soon reached an elevator and traveled to the eighth floor in silence. There weren’t any buttons on the elevator.

“The building was created so that you can only travel if you are accompanied by a hologram,” the lady explained, “so be sure to stay by my side at all times.”

They were led through a series of hallways until they reached room B0821. The door slid open automatically, and inside, a spacious room with a dummy at the end lit up in response to their arrival.

“The dummy will measure and record your power, and it’s perfectly fine to destroy it,” said the lady. “Everyone else besides Jothan, please join me behind the wall for safety.”

A transparent wall had come up from the ground and created space behind it for bystanders to watch the examinee. Demund and the rest followed the hologram into the designated space. Then a look of horror came over Jothan's mother's face.

“Oh no!” exclaimed Mrs. Harken in panic. “We left your father downstairs! He won’t be able to come here!”

“We will be heading back downstairs after the demonstration, so please don’t worry,” said the hologram. “Would you like our staff to notify your husband?”

“Yes please,” said Mrs. Harken. “But I think he would like to see our boy’s power…”

“Rule has it that a hologram can only accompany the examinee. But if you’d like, we can send a recording of the demonstration.”

“That will be perfect.”

Jothan waited for the conversation to die down then took a deep breath. Now that he knew the gist of what his ability could do, he would try to show the very best he could manage. The room was spacious, around fifteen meters to the dummy. Jothan walked to the center of the room and looked around. His mom waved to him while his sister stood next to her, her arms crossed.

Jothan concentrated his mind and imagined that the room he was in was enveloped in a snowstorm, the scenery he had the most experience with. The floor suddenly became covered in snow, and a blizzard roared into existence with Jothan at its center. Jothan was used to seeing the bubbly particles now and could clearly make out the countless dots and shapes that enveloped the room. This was what he had imagined. He was confident in his power.

Meanwhile, Demund and the rest stood there worried. Jothan still hadn’t done anything noticeable, and all he was doing was looking around while smiling.

“My, my. That’s quite an impressive power. The range is around 10 meters, perhaps?” commented the female hologram. She wrote some scribbles down on her tablet with her pen. Demund wasn’t sure why she had to do that.

“Excuse me, is he doing anything right now?” asked Mrs. Harken. She was trying very hard to look for anything that might indicate her son’s power, but all she saw was Jothan waving his arms around by himself. Likewise, Clara was squinting her eyes at Jothan.

“Yes. He’s creating a blizzard. An illusionary one, in fact,” answered the hologram. “The protective barrier is blocking out his influence on us. Our dummy is perfectly filming and picking up the signs of his power, so you’ll see what he is doing on video.”

“Can’t we see what he’s doing right now?” complained Alina.

“Indeed. We have measures for circumstances like this.”

The hologram of the lady disappeared. A view of the room Jothan was in replaced her, and everyone could now see the swirling blizzard around Jothan. Its strength had increased further, making it seem like the walls were cracking apart from the cold.

Clara and Alina looked at the scene in awe. They were even more surprised when lava suddenly started spewing from the ground and covered the whole place.

“Won’t he burn from that?” questioned Alina. The lava and blizzard were existing in an impossible harmony, and neither was losing its power due to the other. “Actually, never mind. You said it was an illusion. Of course it won’t hurt.”

“It hurts a lot, actually,” commented Demund, “but Jothan himself isn’t affected by his illusions.”

Alina turned her head towards Demund. “You knew about this?”

“No fair,” Clara stated while pouting her cheeks out.

Demund shrugged. “It was a secret.”

They returned their gazes to the hologram. Meanwhile, Jothan believed he had demonstrated enough, but he still wanted to end it off with something cool. After posing his arms, he ceased all thought and snapped. At that moment, everything disappeared. Clara clapped furiously while Alina stretched herself. Mrs. Harken was also clapping at her son’s performance. Demund stood there.

The protective screen sank down into the floor. The hologram lady reappeared and made her way to the front of the door. “That was a marvelous demonstration,” she noted. “You will definitely place high in the Islands.”

“Oh, you’re exaggerating,” replied Jothan shyly. “Will you lead us downstairs now? I bet my father is waiting.”

“Absolutely. Please follow me. I will lead you to Mr. Harken.”

Jothan and his group swiftly walked behind the hologram and traveled through the hallways, down the elevator, and between the crowds of people. Clara was holding onto her brother's hand tightly and almost bounced up and down in excitement. Alina was furiously typing things into her phone.

Soon they saw Mr. Harken sitting on a bench sipping a cup of coffee.

“There you are!” called out Mr. Harken. “So, what did I miss?”