Game of Higher Hands - A Place Without Answers

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The Ability Evaluation Center is busier than I expected.

People are everywhere.

Some look excited.

Some look nervous.

Some look like they are afraid of the result.

I stand in the line quietly.

Interesting.

Two months ago...

people were just trying to survive.

Now?

They are starting to understand this new world.

Abilities are no longer something impossible.

They are becoming a part of society.

A staff member calls my number.

"Next."

I walk inside.

The room is simple.

A machine.

A screen.

Several sensors.

The worker explains.

"Please place your hand here."

I do it.

The machine starts scanning.

A few seconds pass.

Numbers appear.

The worker looks at the screen.

Then looks at me.

His expression changes slightly.

"..."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Bad result?"

He shakes his head.

"No."

"Just..."

He looks at the screen again.

"Your level is higher than expected."

The result appears.

Level: 9

I stare.

Level 9.

"Huh."

That's it?

I expected something more dramatic.

Maybe a warning.

Maybe an alarm.

Maybe people suddenly running away.

Nothing.

The worker clears his throat.

"Your ability type..."

He pauses.

"Multiple categories detected."

"Some parts cannot be fully identified."

I smile.

"Sounds complicated."

The worker doesn't answer.

Probably because he doesn't know either.

I leave the room.

Outside...

I look at the result again.

Level 9.

Interesting.

But the question is...

How strong are other people?

Charly?

The Chosen Team?

The people who were selected?

If I'm Level 9...

what level are they?

Especially Ethan.

A person with two abilities.

And Charly...

I don't even know how to measure someone like him.

A normal level system might not work on people like that.

I put the result away.

Numbers are useful.

But numbers are not everything.

A person who knows how to use Level 5 power might defeat someone with Level 8.

Experience matters.

Thinking matters.

After leaving the center...

I continue moving toward the border area.

The map is still expanding slowly.

I want to know more about this area.

The border between countries has always been complicated.

Now?

Even more.

After walking for several hours...

I find something.

A building.

Small.

Almost invisible.

At first...

I think it is just an abandoned warehouse.

But then I notice the symbol.

A government research mark.

"..."

A research station?

I walk closer.

The door is damaged.

No guards.

No lights.

No people.

I enter.

The inside is quiet.

Too quiet.

This place isn't large.

Actually...

it feels strangely small.

Like it was built quickly.

Like nobody expected it to last long.

A sign hangs on the wall.

First Generation Forbidden Zone Research Station

I stop.

First generation?

So this place existed at the beginning.

Before people understood this world.

I continue exploring.

The computers are destroyed.

The screens are covered with dust.

Some still have broken files.

The walls are covered with notes.

Whiteboards.

Equations.

Research records.

Most are impossible to understand.

There are drawings of monsters.

Ability data.

Maps.

And warnings.

I walk deeper.

A room at the end catches my attention.

Inside...

monster bodies.

Dead.

Some look like they were killed by weapons.

Some...

by abilities.

There are explosion marks everywhere.

A fight happened here.

A serious one.

I look around.

No survivors.

No messages.

Nothing.

Only evidence that something went wrong.

I find a computer in the corner.

The screen is broken.

But one file remains.

A final record.

I open it.

The text is incomplete.

Only one sentence is left.

Someone typed it before everything ended.

I read it.

We were wrong.

I stop.

That's all.

No explanation.

No details.

No answer.

Just those four words.

I stare at the screen.

"..."

Wrong about what?

The monsters?

The abilities?

The forbidden zones?

The world?

I don't know.

And somehow...

that makes it worse.

I slowly close the computer.

This small research station.

This forgotten place.

It feels like a warning.

Not a record.

A warning.

I leave the building.

The wind blows across the empty land.

I look back once.

A tiny abandoned station.

Almost meaningless.

Almost forgotten.

But inside...

someone discovered something.

Something they were not supposed to discover.

I continue walking.

The world still has too many questions.

And every answer...

seems to create more.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OAwqyAovY

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