Young Elithian was born powerless. He had no superpower, nor a fighting technique that he could use as an advantage. His mental fortitude was weak, as well as his physical state. He truly had nothing. Or so the people who observed him thought.

Yet, despite this, he had motivation. ‘What is the greatest superpower?’ One could ask, but if it was Elithian, it would be motivation.

Elithian hadn’t always been like this, though. He had fallen victim to the ‘motivational’ speeches that the world concocted. It devastated him. It almost costed him his life. He almost took it himself.

2043 - Endan District. Elithian’s house.

Elithian sat on his chair, staring at his computer in the dark. He was a full blown neat. And he was fine with this. ‘What would I ever amount to?’ He would think. While the thought process was mentally toxic to his well being, who would stop him? It was none of their business.

“How to attain superpowers without being born with a defect” It read.

Defects were what allowed humans to achieve superhuman feats. Running as fast as a sports car, jumping higher than skyscrapers, and punching with a force so powerful it broke the sound barrier, just to name a few.

There was a 80% chance that you would be born with a defect. This was caused back in 2025 when a mining group broke into a vein of Mallicore. It spread through the air, though that wasn’t how it was contracted.

When it reached the ocean, it reacted with the vast amount of plastic and caused a chemical reaction that allowed it to transform from its gas state to that of liquid. Civilizations had no warning as both the gas & liquid were invisible, and the solid mallicore didn’t seem to irradiate anything dangerous. It was mistaken for poorly generated coal. It could only be seen with a black light. By the time it was discovered, it was already too late.

Pregnant women around the globe had already birthed their defective children, and it was the start of a new era. An era that changed the world as we knew it forever.

“Mmchh” Elithian sounded with his mouth.

“What the hell! Forty bucks for a pound of concentrated mallicore?! You’re practically asking me to pay fifty dollars for snow. It’s so abundant there’s no point!” He yelled.

Elithain leaned back in his chair, still looking at the screen. He leaned so far back that he fell on his back. He cursed himself, and returned to his seat.

‘I’ll have to ask for money from my parents. Ugh, they’re gonna make me get a job…’ He said, shivering at the thought.

‘Or I could steal it… yeah, they won’t mind… probably…’

Just then, he heard a knock on the door.

“Elithian! Your spicy chicken and rice is done. Come and get it.” A sweet voice said outside of the door.

“Just leave it in front of my door, mom. I’ll get it later.” he said.

His mom turned around and began walking towards the stairs.

“Such a nuisance” Elithian said, making sure his mother heard him.

His mother had a defeated look. Her face wrinkled, and it was obvious she was displeased.

“When he was just a little boy, he was so pure. What happened to him? I wish he was lucky enough to receive a defect… I should have been a more competent mother” She said, a tear forming in her eye.

Before it gathered enough water to fall, she wiped it away.

Two days later.

Elithian sat on the couch, staring at the TV, which was a rare site for a neat who rarely left his

room.

“Welcome to the morning news at 9. Today, we’re covering Pride High, who has recently attained the ability to accelerate the curriculum for its students. As you all know, it takes three years to achieve a Hero’s license, but Pride High is breaking this with new permission from the government allowing students who get a grade of A+ with an ability grade of S- on the final exam during the last quarter of their first year to graduate early.”

“Wow, what a way to rub it in my face that I don’t have a superpower, world” Elithian said, looking off to the side.

Just then, the door opened. It was his father.

‘Why’s he gotta have his off day today? Ugh, time for another lecture…’

“Son, what are you doing? Didn’t I tell you to go look for a job? When you turn 18 I’m kicking you out!”

“I have three years so chill,” Elithian said, groaning.

“You’re still gonna get a part time summer job!” His father said, a piercing look in his eye.

Just then they both heard a knock on the door.

“Mailman here. Anyone home?” He said, his voice muffled by the door.

His father looked over to Elithian, and said “I swear to god if you used my money to buy something…” he said, growing red.

Elithian hopped up from the couch, opened the door and grabbed the package before quickly running into his room.

“Loser!” He screamed, before entering his room. He then locked it, just to make sure his father wouldn’t get in to spout more lectures. He never had beat him, worst he could do was turn off the wifi, but Elithian had his phone so he didn’t care.

His father shut the door, and the mailman stood there puzzled at what kind of family drama he had walked into.

“I don’t get paid enough,” He said, returning to his delivery truck. He could’ve sworn he heard soappoper music playing when he entered his delivery truck, but he had taken ‘medical’ substances before his job. He amounted this to that.

Elithian opened his package, and it was a pound of mallicore. His smile stretched from cheek to cheek as he began to rip off the plastic. A smell of metallic filled his lungs as he grabbed a glass of water off his desk. He took a knife that was placed on his desk and scraped off some mallicore over the glass of water. He sat the mallicore underneath his seat then began stirring the water infused with mallicore with the knife.