Proto-Esper

The training hall of Bastion Sector 3 was a vast metallic chamber, its walls lined with reinforced steel. The air was cold and sterile, humming with energy. Overhead fluorescent lights flickered slightly, almost as if responding to the raw power that lingered in the room.

Recruits—both seasoned fighters and fresh initiates—stood in disciplined rows, their eyes locked onto the elevated platform where Madam Irina presided.

She was a Seer, a woman of few but precise words. Her pale silver hair was cut neatly, her piercing gaze unreadable. She carried herself with eerie confidence, as if she saw far more than the present. Standing beside her was Director Noel, wearing his ever-present forced grin—the kind that never quite reached his calculating hazel eyes.

At the center of the platform, Irina held a rubber ball, about the size of a tennis ball. She rolled it between her fingers.

"This," she said, her voice crisp, "is a simple yet effective test. The way the Force interacts with an object reveals a great deal about one's nature."

She gestured to the first participant.

Erwin Hush stepped forward—a ragged-looking man with a bamboo sword strapped across his back. He moved with the quiet confidence of someone who had seen plenty of battles.

Taking the ball without hesitation, he coated it in Force and dropped it.

Thud!

The ball plummeted straight down, as if someone had replaced the rubber with solid iron. There was no bounce, no roll—just a brutal, weighty impact. The very floor beneath it seemed to tremble slightly.

Irina nodded. "That's a Geo-Kinetic reaction," she explained. "The Force compresses and densifies, turning even something light into an immovable object."

From the sidelines, Troy's eyes sharpened. Interesting. His mind whirred as he analyzed the effect. He'd seen raw power before, but this was different—an application of weight and density itself.

The next participant, Celia, a sharp-eyed blonde, stepped forward. With a confident twirl, she let the ball drop.

It bounced once.

Twice.

And then—boom!

The ball burst into flames, the heat brief but intense, disintegrating the rubber midair before the embers even touched the ground.

Irina remained unshaken. "A Pyro-Kinetic. The energy seeps into the material, heating it from the inside out. The ignition point varies, but the result is the same."

Celia smirked, tossing her hair back as she returned to her place.

Troy's fingers curled slightly. So it's not just fire—it's the ability to transfer heat into an object, storing and releasing it at will.

Next up was Njoubu Damvi, a tall man wearing a deep blue cape, his chest puffed out with obvious pride.

He grabbed the ball, infused it with Force, and let go.

At first, it seemed to fall normally—until it suddenly jerked left. Then right. Then left again. Almost as if invisible barriers were bouncing it between them before it finally hit the floor and rolled to a stop.

Irina's lips curled into a faint smile. "A high-level Tele-Kinetic with traces of Vector Control. A rare ability. Instead of merely pushing or pulling, you influence the trajectory itself."

Njoubu grinned, clearly pleased with himself. As he returned to his spot, he threw a glance at the others, daring them to top his result.

Troy, however, was more intrigued by the mechanics. He's not controlling the object directly… He's manipulating the space around it.

The last to step forward was Director Noel himself. His grin remained in place, unreadable as always. He took the ball with deliberate slowness.

Then, he dropped it.

Unlike the others, the ball didn't fall normally.

Instead, it began spinning in place, hovering millimeters above the ground, rotating faster and faster until the rubber emitted faint blue sparks. The air around it crackled.

Then, it suddenly snapped to a stop, leaving behind the faint smell of ozone.

Irina let out a slow breath. "Electro-Kinetic," she murmured. "One of the rarest types."

A heavy silence followed. Even the recruits who had been whispering before were now watching Noel with a mix of curiosity and unease.

Troy, meanwhile, was memorizing every reaction, every movement. His mind had already started connecting the dots.

So, the Force isn't just raw power—it's adaptable. It takes on different forms depending on the user's affinity…

The Proto Test Begins

Irina's sharp eyes scanned the recruits who had taken the prototype serum. Her expression was unreadable as she held up another rubber ball.

"Before we determine your potential, you will first learn to coat the ball in Force. Then, you will drop it—just like the official Aids did—to see what type of esper abilities you possess."

She smirked. "Now, who wants to go first?"

The answer was obvious.

Troy was practically vibrating in his wheelchair, barely holding himself back like a kid on Christmas morning.

"What are you, a child?" Melvina sighed, rubbing her temple.

Troy immediately turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "You talkin' to me?" he said, mimicking De Niro's signature squint.

Melvina rolled her eyes and turned away, clearly not in the mood for his antics.

Irina gestured to the official Aids. "Each of you will guide your non-esper partners through the process. Teach them how to coat the ball with Force."

Celia, hesitant and visibly nervous about what Troy might do with newfound power, crouched beside him.

"Alright, listen. It's fairly simple—focus."

Troy stared at the ball without blinking.

"…Okay, creepy," Celia muttered but continued. "Place your hands over it and think of embracing it with your soul. Slowly, let your Force wrap around it."

Troy tried.

He could feel the Force all around him, but it was like trying to cup water in his hands—it slipped away before he could properly grasp it.

Across the room, others were also struggling. Surprisingly, Erwin Hush turned out to be the best teacher. Under his guidance, Melvina was the first to succeed.

"POWAAAA!" someone suddenly shouted.

Troy turned to see a hikikomori-looking guy fist-pumping the air—he had succeeded.

Meanwhile, 'Princy' looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Keep your voice down, kohei," snapped short-stack Amelia, visibly struggling herself.

"Done," the jock announced casually, tossing his ball up and catching it like it was nothing.

A slow, dramatic clap echoed through the room. The goth girl was applauding with the enthusiasm of a funeral attendee.

Troy sighed. Jeez, who died?

Finally, it was Troy's turn.

Instead of forcing the Force like before, he let it flow—dipping the ball into the current rather than trapping it.

A moment of realization struck.

The ball in his hands began to float, rising slowly into the air.

Celia let out a relieved sigh. "Finally. For a second, I thought I was a bad teacher—but of course, that couldn't be the case."

Troy smirked, but deep down, he hated the phrase slow and steady wins the race.

He wanted to be the rabbit, not the turtle.

Then—pain flared through his body.

He didn't show it outwardly, but that brief use of power had drained him. His body felt weak.

Still, he kept up appearances.

Irina observed him sharply before turning to Noel.

"The serum seems effective," she noted.

Noel, ever-smiling, nodded. "Yes, Miss Seer. Good news for them… but bad news for us.

The faster we understand the serum, the more lives we can save"

Melvina stepped forward first. "Alright, now drop the ball."

The moment the ball left her hand, it bounced once before igniting in flames and bursting apart. No surprise there—she was a pyrokinetic.

Next up was the shut-in, who casually muttered, "Orewa is next," slipping some Japanese into his speech. He let go of the ball, and instead of bouncing or rolling straight, it veered sharply to the left before coming to a complete stop. A vector controller. Njoubu's eyes lit up—he finally had a comrade.

Then came Short Stack. She dropped the ball, and instead of bouncing, it hit the ground with a solid thud. It wasn't as heavy as Erwin's, but it was definitely noticeable. A geokinetic. That caught Troy off guard—he had pegged her for a fire user based on her personality.

The jock went next, grinning with confidence. When his ball hit the ground, it produced the same heavy thud—but this time, there was a distinct metallic ring to it, like a bowling ball dropping onto a steel plate.

Irwina's eyes widened. "We've got a specializer here. A metal kinetic."

Noel's expression darkened at those words, his usual composed demeanor breaking for a split second. He clearly had some sort of issue with metal kinetics.

"There are some kinetics whose abilities branch off into subtypes," Irwina continued. "Like Chad here—metal kinetics are rare.

Although there seems to be no sensory espers even here, how unfortunate" sensory espers where not rare, but high level mastery of it was an invaluable asset, especially one with potential to see the future, only 3 of these seers remained, all 2 protected ans affiliated with powerful organisations, fortunately these organisations showed neutrality towards human kind.

"Last but not least," Troy said, stepping forward. He had intentionally gone last to build up suspense.

He took a breath and released the ball. The moment it left his grip, his vision blurred, and his body swayed. Then—darkness.

"Troy?"

Noel was the first to reach him as he collapsed.

"Seems like he overexerted himself," the director muttered. Troy had tried to show off, hold on until the last moment, but his body gave out before his mind.

"All that speak for nothing," the melwina scoffed.

Irwina smacked him on the head. ". He's a disabled child—show some damn tact child. He is physically weaker than all of you."

But as they argued, something strange happened.

Celia, standing off to the side, was the first to notice. Her eyes widened, and soon, the others followed her gaze.

"Madam Celia… is this—?" Noel's voice wavered with disbelief.

"Yes," Celia murmured. "I didn't think any others existed. And for this to happen to a proto..."

Irwina wasn't shocked—she was awed.

The ball Troy had dropped wasn't lying on the ground.

It was floating.

Not mere vector manipulation. Not telekinesis.

"Aerokinesis…" Irwina mouthed the word, the name of a power so rare that only one other person had ever been known to wield it—Sergei Volkov.