Author’s note- Yeah, I know. Shorter than usual. Well, just like when I ended the chapter at 3483 words yesterday, I had to end this one earlier than usual. Mostly because the chapter wouldn’t really have a fitting name if I let it go on longer. I will be working on the next one after posting this one though, so it’s not really like your getting less than you should be. Just think of it as getting something more often, rather than all at once.

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Testing

I dropped Chloe off and went back home, sullen. How could I convince her that this was a bad idea?

No good answers appeared in my mind after a long time was spent pondering, and I rolled over in my bed, frustrated.

Checking the time, I noticed it was 4:03. The day wasn’t over yet, so I couldn’t go to sleep. Mom and dad usually didn’t have to work late on the weekends, so they’d be here around 6:30.

I decided to play around with my power a bit more, so I went to the back yard. I left Bella inside the house.

Going to an area with no grass, I had before me a couple of insects. Tests for my golden aura. So far, I had only used it on ability users. But would it have a different effect if tried on something without an ability?

Surrounding my hand with the golden aura, I tried to extend a part of my golden aura to the insect. The aura traveled and moved slowly, but at the end I discovered that I could extend it outwards from my hand about a foot away. It looked like a spike jutting out. However, doing this took all my aura concentrated on one point of my body.

I used a spike on one of the ants I had collected, and it just stopped moving. Retracting my golden aura, the insect started to disintegrate. The inside of the insect poured out like water, and turned into a gas. The exoskeleton was next, as it started to slowly lose its structure. Eventually, it deteriorated and was destroyed as well.

The effects seemed much more potent on the insect than it did on the ability user. Was my subject not big enough? Or was it because the ant didn’t have an ability?

I had no way to test this, as the only living things present in my backyard were me, and some insects. Except the rabbit that lived in the brush…

Looking over to where I had last saw it, the rabbit was sitting in an area devoid of grass. Perfect…

With a thought, I created a flame ring that surrounded the rabbit. Startled, the rabbit froze, not daring to go in any direction. I actually kinda felt sorry for it, but knowing how my abilities worked could be the difference between life or death. For example, if I knew I could jut out my aura like a spike, I wouldn’t of had to take that blow from the hulkish woman. Or if I had the flame point X10, I could of beat her way before she even got into close range. And even the flame ring would of helped, as it could've slowed down my fall, making things less perilous.

Surrounding the rabbit with my golden aura, the life faded away from its eyes. A small golden light appeared for a split second, and then went into my own. My aura extended a bit further afterwards. Then I retracted my aura and ignored the rate of deterioration.

Both the ant and rabbit either died instantly or were fully incapacitated when my aura surrounded them. So that means it has almost nothing to do with the size or the species. Somehow their ability seems to protect them from dying instantly like the normal things. And I couldn’t find ability users to experiment on, at least none that would be willing.

So that left me with two options. One was to wait for the opportunity. If they came after me again, and they were not strong enough to deal with me, heh. But this was a gamble; if I waited for them to come without increasing my strength further, then I’d probably end up in dire straits. Plus, the reason I’m getting stronger is to handle them when they come, so Chloe won’t have to get involved.

The second option, was an option I was hesitant even picking: asking an illusionist from the organization to simulate a battle. Like my battle with Blaze and Song, if he could replicate the effects of battle with more ability users like that, I could test the specifications without harming anyone. But there were serious problems.

Asking it from someone like Daydream would probably be ok, but I had no way of getting in contact with him. So the only other choice that I currently know of would be Mrs. Kim, the sadistic illusionist. Upon asking her, I would be putting myself at her mercy. And considering her relationship with the barrier girl, Viola, she would probably have reason to put me through torture. Not to mention I also didn’t have anything that could make her willing to do it for me.

Knowing that I couldn’t try much else with my golden aura, I decided to continue experimenting with my flame points. I had no real effective way to make use of the freezing effect that came with them against ability users, as I couldn’t take away their bodily heat. But what if I drew from the same area while making 10 points simultaneously?

With a thought, 10 flame points appeared around me, and my target, a piece of grass on the ground, didn’t look any different. Except it didn’t sway in the wind…

Getting a closer look, I went to touch a strand of grass in that patch.

Me- “Ah!”

It was so cold it burned my finger for the moment I touched it! And soon after, the piece of grass shattered into little bits. This had potential!

Getting a water bottle from the house, I poured it across a patch of dirt. And once the water was settled, I froze it again by making flame points in midair. The patch of land was now a mini ice skating rink!

I was unable to resist the urge to run and slide on it. But realizing this probably wouldn’t melt for a while, I decided to continue trying out other things.

The only usage of flame I hadn’t replicated as of now was the flame tornado. I tried to do something similar with the flame ring, but a ring could not focus the flame like the tornado could. The tornado focused the flame into a single point like a drill, rotating in such a way that has intensifying and piercing effects. While my flame ring condensation could create an explosion.

Trying it out, I made flame points along the path my tornado would spin. Then making them travel along that path, the flame tornado was created? Not really.

It didn’t look like the one in my dream; it was just a sorry imitation. What was I doing wrong?

On a moment of inspiration, I made 3 flame rings that each had a different amount of flame points. The largest had 4, the middle one had 3, the smallest had two, and the focal point was a single flame point. Then I slanted part of the flame rings so they connected with each other, and suddenly, I had a flame tornado!

It spun like a drill into the air, and when it fully converged onto one point, the point dispersed into a rotational flame that expanded outwards. Not explosive, but it was good nonetheless.

The flame tornado would be of use in further increasing my speed, attack, and defense. Like the flame ring, the flame tornado would be able to create streams of air that would assist my movement in certain directions. But the effect would be much better, as I wouldn’t be just relying on the fact that hot air flows upward. I would be guiding the air specifically, allowing my speed to increase further.

I would be able to use it in attack by piercing through a defense that say, my flame point X10 couldn’t break. The intensifying flame at the end of the tornado would work nicely for that. Plus, the flame tornado had less noticeability; if you didn’t see it directly, you wouldn’t notice. But my flame point X10 could only be used in isolated areas because it had a super loud noise. Using the flame tornado instead would be like adding a silencer to a sniper rifle.

As for defense, the tornado would have less use than the other two. Flame wasn’t exactly a material, so it couldn’t block things directly. But I bet it could still divert thrown projectiles to a certain extent. I’m not too sure about bullets though…

Unfortunately, my backyard wasn’t exactly the best place for testing out my flame tornado. Unlike the flame ring, these flames covered a much larger area, and I didn’t want to create a wildfire. That would probably end badly.

Deciding to play around with freezing water a little bit more, I grabbed some water bottles. I screwed off the cap of one and slashed out with it, creating a line of water in the air. Then I suddenly froze it, creating an ice blade that flew out in mid air.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t manipulate that ice blade further, making me doubt that my ability was telekinesis. And coming out of the water bottle like that, it probably didn’t have any attacking potential.

It landed on the ground and shattered into ice shards that were scattered across the ground. But that made me think of another usage. What if I… Froze all of the water in the water bottle except for the globe of water at the top. Would it fly out like a bullet from the instant compression of ice, like a water pressurizer?

I opened the cap just enough to keep water from leaking out, but enough that it would easily blow off. Then I prepared to create 9 freezing areas inside the bottle, while the tenth would be prepared for the water droplet that came out of the bottle.

Aiming the water bottle at the tree that stood in the corner of my backyard, I fired!

“Thunk.”

The water bottle in my hands was now a cylindrical pillar of ice with scraps of plastic coated on the ice, or broken onto the floor. And as I looked at the area I fired at, I saw a myriad of shards embedded in both the tree, and the wooden planks that made up my fence behind the tree.

Interesting… An effective mid range weapon. Too bad the container materials aren’t strong enough to fully focus the expansion of the ice forwards. That meant it was a single use per water bottle only, and the power was not as strong as it could be. But seeing as how most of them are embedded in the wood, I think it will be pretty effective against opponents made out of flesh and blood.

I decided to keep 3 water bottles with me at all times, to use in their appropriate situations. After all, adding the ice to my range of abilities made me more versatile.

I checked the time and realized an hour had passed while I was testing everything out. It was now 5:30. Not having anymore ideas, I melted the ice and tried to cover up the traces of what I did. Then I went inside to rest, not noticing that the rabbit had disappeared without a trace...

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Author’s note 2- Rip rabbit. He was so cute until Nathaniel got to him… See you guys later with another chapter!