Genetic Ascension

[1450 GTs bonus]

He had only been in the Trial for a little over a week compared to everyone else. Although he had killed, he wasn't used to people being so ruthless yet. That forced him into a situation where he had no choice but to display some of his real Physical stats.

His telekinesis grasped a rock by the side and it smashed into Carter's chin with 45 Strength, rocking the young man's senses. He might have made a mistake, but his reactions were fast.

The world swirled around Carter and he stumbled. He plopped down to the ground, unable to orient himself properly.

Sylas stood over him, holding up a head and allowing three tennis ball-sized stones to float above his hand.

"I just have a few questions."

Carter was much too disoriented at first to realize what was happening around him. By the time he could and his sights on Sylas sharpened, his gaze finally showed a hint of hesitation and fear.

This man not only knew what he had done, but he was so much stronger than him that he couldn't understand it. On top of that, Carter had never heard of telekinesis, so he thought that Sylas was using a Skill to levitate the rocks like that, and that only made him more shocked.

Who didn't know that Earth didn't have much Aether yet? How could he even use Skills in this place?

"First question," Sylas began, "are you the only Trial Taker you know?"

Carter blinked in confusion for a bit, seemingly still a bit disoriented before he shook his head and then nodded.

Sylas waited for him to clarify.

"I do not know anyone else, but I received a message…"

"A message?"

"Yes. After everyone came back, the government used the last couple days of good tech to send out a PSA. Not long after that, someone contacted me. It was weird, but I thought it was just bait. Probably the government trying to get me to expose myself…"

'A PSA?' Sylas thought to himself and then understood. 'The Browns probably cut it out and didn't let us see it. They don't want most of us to know that we're standing against the government just yet. That must be part of the reason why there isn't mass panic yet, though I'm sure if there were some, they would crush them as quickly as possible.'

'Plus, without the internet working properly, any unrest would be hard pressed to spread.'

Even so, Sylas didn't expect to get another interesting tidbit of information like this.

Carter was probably right that it was the government trying to suss out any stragglers. The first PSA was an open invitation, while the second was a hidden one for those that were less inclined to follow government orders. It would be two birds with one stone like that…

But what if it wasn't?

Lone Star was quite an important city, not only in Terranova alone, but across the world.

In Terranova, it was easily top three, with the other two being York City, his home, and Rosé. He wouldn't be surprised if these were the two cities Astrid and Malachi were sent to.

This was all to say that the Grimblades probably weren't the only ones who understood how much of a strategic piece it would be. Who could dare claim they were the only ones making any moves here?

"What did the message say, exactly?" Sylas probed.

"I can't remember, I tossed it in a dust bin. I thought it might have some tracking bullshit on it. Tech isn't working, but who knows what the government's got?"

Sylas shook his head and let it be. He thought carefully about his next question.

He didn't want to kill a kid if he didn't have to, so it was best he try to cover his tracks as best as possible.

"You probably have a pretty bad concussion right now, do you remember where you are?" Sylas asked.

"I wonder why," Carter mumbled. "I'm fine."

"Answer the question. I want to make sure your answers are well-formed enough to be trustworthy."

"This is the Farhaven community," he eventually grumbled out.

"In relation to where? Give me location and reference landmarks."

"I dunno man," Carter spoke out in annoyance. It seemed that his rebelliousness was overriding his fear.

"Okay. Seems I'll have to keep you for a while until your mind is good to go."

"Alright! Alright! We're like a 20-minute bike ride from downtown, there's the Moody Lake not too far from here and that's a good attraction, Lone Star State is a 20-minute bike ride the other direction and there are house parties around here all the time, satisfied?!"

Sylas nodded. He got exactly what he wanted after the kid mentioned Moody Lake. He had been there once before and knew it was near to the university. But mentioning the university itself was a cherry on top.

A 20-minute bike ride? He could probably get away with jogging that tomorrow. He'd go then.

As for tonight, he would just find the location of Moody Lake and then return. So long as he knew where it was, he could make his way back.

He asked Carter a few more perfunctory questions and then told him that he would have his eye on him before leaving.

…

Not long after Sylas left, Carter struggled to his feet and began to slowly make his way home. He was very cautious and took several detours, inwardly promising himself that he wouldn't go to the skatepark for at least the next month.

What he didn't know was that Sylas was watching him high up on a tree. The trees in his small trail weren't very large, but there were still some that dwarfed ten meters. He made the assumption that Carter's home wasn't very far from here, so he watched him from the foliage. With his current eyesight, he was able to follow Carter for quite a long while before he vanished from his vision.

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