Her sweet yet stern voice coupled with her aura made every Ascender instinctively listen carefully to what she was saying. Kaya had always been very charming even though she usually treated everyone around her with aloofness.
However, she had what many lacked, the attractive presence that easily grabs one's attention without trying. She was naturally talented in such situations which made her perfectly work as a teacher.
Kai knew that fact himself but he never saw it before so he could only be impressed by how easily persuasive her words were.
"Before we start, I would like to warn you all. Learning about Origin is going to be really hard. Even Divinity still didn't completely unfold its mysteries and greatness so there are things that we don't know yet. Since you're the first generation, you're required to learn more about it and explore it as much as Divinity and the world needs." She exclaimed, her voice echoing in the whole classroom. "So, please keep that in mind as we go."
Although this warning was in some way true as Origin still had secrets that even the most seasoned of Origin Users didn't know, these secrets weren't, however, that important in directing the path of these news Ascenders as many would expect. So, what Kai realized quickly from these brief words was that Kaya had been told what to say and what not to say according to what Divinity wanted people to know.
After all, in the eyes of the public, Origin had been discovered merely a year or two ago and so if Divinity suddenly revealed everything it knew about Origin, people would start questioning the credibility of their words.
'Let's see how much is truth and how much is mere lies that Divinity wants to tell these idiots.' Kai thought to himself.
Seeing that everyone understood what she said, Kaya nodded her head and turned around before she walked to the blackboard and started typing on it.
"The first question we will start with is: What is Origin?" She asked. "As many of you might assume, Origin is a superpower of some kind. However, I'm sad to say that that's wrong. Origin isn't a superpower but a form of energy that is hidden from our senses. Each human is born with something called a 'Talent' inside of them. This talent stays dormant as long as the human is living unaware of Origin. This talent can't be seen unless it's activated and to activate it, one requires to get in touch with Origin."
Kaya's words shocked all the Ascenders. All of them had the same notion that Origin was the superpower itself. That was also what the whole world assumed was the case.
"Origin is simply a form of energy in the air around us that we can use to activate these talents and strengthen our bodies. Think of it as fuel, fuel doesn't create electricity alone, but it is the catalyst for that reaction."
Writing down the explanation on the board, Kaya turned around and pointed at the students. "Now that we understand what Origin is? We naturally would want to know how it works. But, sadly, we still didn't reach a complete answer to that. It's something that requires more time since the reaction that happens between Origin and our bodies is like nothing we've ever seen before." She explained.
To see Origin, some very special machines are required and those are still rare to this day. So, most scientists use their eyes and senses to do their experiments. As for the interaction itself, the truth was that scientists only knew that Origin would get absorbed by the body through the Origin Veins and then it would slowly circulate around, reaching the seals to activate the talents themselves.
How that happens on a microscopic level, however, is still a mystery.
So, moving on from that topic, Kaya continued.
"Now, let's talk about the meat of today's class and the first part of your course to learning how to use Origin and that is the different types of talents that exist. As I already mentioned, Origin can activate powers known as Talents which are the superpowers you see now. Talents are abilities bestowed upon users from birth or gained through practice and learning. The ones gained naturally after being born are called 'Main talents'. The ones that you can learn are called 'Inherited talents'." She wrote those two words on the black board before she circled them.
"From what we know, Talents are more versatile than Origin itself. The potential abilities one can gain are theoretically endless. But, to make it easier for users to comprehend their own abilities, they were dissected into 4 main categories." After that, she wrote down 4 main points that she also circled as she started explaining them one by one.
"There are four types of Origin Users as far as we know now. The first ones are the most common and are called 'Manipulators'. Talents of this category are capable of manipulating things around them such as elements, people, animals, or even inanimate objects. They can be users of fire, wind, water, earth, or anything else physical around them." She explained. "The second type is called 'Enhancers'. Enhancers' talents are capable of increasing or decreasing their own physical capabilities or the physical capabilities of targets around them (inanimate or not) to make them stronger, sturdier, faster, etc... They are mostly close combat fighters except for some exceptions. They are also pretty common as they are only a more advanced form of the normal effect Origin has on one's body."
Since Origin automatically increases the physical abilities of the User, Enhancers are in a sense talentless people if one would ignore this aspect of their abilities. That's why many Origin Users looked down upon this particular group and saw them as an inferior group.
"The third type is called 'Creators'. Their talents are capable of creating objects or creatures out of Origin to use as weapons, summons, etc. They can be very rare as we only verified the existence of only a few dozen of them in the world."
Hearing those words, Ascenders naturally started thinking about their powers. They all wanted to be in the rare category since it seemed to be quite powerful.
"The fourth and arguably the rarest type is called 'Specials'. The Special talents. These talents do not fall under any of the previous categories and so they can only be put in a category of their own. These abilities have no particular point of similarity nor do they abide by the laws set for the other categories. They are particularly rare and in most cases extremely strong. These powers are extremely unpredictable and hard to counter."
The Specials are quite powerful in their own right and their strength stems from their unpredictable strengths. Every person born with a special ability was bound to be strong. People like Kai and Aria whose main talents are completely against the rules of the world. They're extremely strong individuals.
"Damn, Specials sounds great! Sadly I'm not one of them." One Ascender said.
"Tsk, it is what it is, didn't you hear what Miss Kaya said? They're very very rare. We're lucky enough to even know they exist."
"I'm special!!" Suddenly, an Ascender stood up and yelled in an excited tone, catching everyone's attention.
"Ohoh, your name?" Kaya raised an eyebrow as she asked.
The boy blushed slightly before he smiled widely. It was clear from his eyes that he felt important being talked to directly by this incredibly attractive teacher.
"Keith Nayl."
"Keith Nayl? Let's see." Kaya then pulled out her work tablet and started scrolling through it.
"You're the Ascender with the ultra hearing ability, right?" Kaya asked casually.
"Yes! That's me! That ability belongs to no category of what you said so I'm most certainly special!" He repeated.
"Is that what you think?"
'This idiot…' Kai sighed internally as he watched what was about to happen. If he knew Kaya well and he most certainly does, she was someone who hated liars, arrogant assholes, and people who think they're greater than who they actually are. This guy was part of the third category.
"Sigh, listen to me, Mr Keith. I acknowledge your excitement. But, sadly, I have to say that your power is very common. It's in fact an Enhancers type."
"What?!"
"Enhancing your hearing isn't a special talent. As I just described it, it enhances your hearing."
Hearing those words, everyone exploded into laughter at the boy. His funny behavior turned from amazing to stupid in a matter of moments. Keith's face turned red with embarrassment.
"Hey! Silence! Did I allow you to laugh at him? His power isn't bad. In fact, I think he is better than some of you. Everyone here is still learning so the fact that he got the courage to speak is already a good spirit for learning. Unlike some of you." She lashed out at the laughing students, silencing them.
"The only thing you should do is to focus on learning rather than laughing at other people."
When Kaya said those words, everyone immediately felt ashamed. As for Keith, he had a touched look on his face. Without even saying a word, Kai knew that Kaya had gained herself a new loyal fan.
"Now, let's continue and I don't want a word."