Chapter: 107. Classification of Abilities (4k2)
The artificial island where Ark Academy is located is divided into different areas.
Among them, the region used for ability and combat training is a training ground located underground in Area 11 of the artificial academy island, which is as large as two football fields, in addition to the experimental space in Area 0 at the center of Ark Academy.
This place is only open to special subject students.
Although the detection equipment in Area 11 is far less advanced than that in Area 0, it is equipped with more sophisticated combat facilities, self-discipline training bodies, and field projection devices, among other things.
When the students who visited here for the first time looked up at the hidden underground white dome, they couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.
What came into view was a scene that could only be seen in science fiction works in the past; people felt an unreal sense of a virtual fantasy breaking into reality—
Bright lights poured down from above, illuminating every inch of this oval training ground hidden underground, while the ceiling was filled with dense projection devices that occasionally cast blue projections into the air, displaying a large translucent interface in the empty space, brimming with a near-future technological vibe.
At the same time, this underground training ground was surrounded by thick steel walls and concrete structures, exuding a ruggedly practical aesthetic, where the dominant colors of luminous blue and silver seemed to merge modern technological aesthetics with a cold, hard industrial style.
“Awesome~ Who would have thought there was such a place in the school?” The special subject freshmen remarked in astonishment upon their first visit.
“Woooow! The feeling of a secret base is overwhelming—!”
“What, what are those pillars?”
“Hey hey hey! Could that be a robot? Amazing, I didn’t expect to see a humanoid robot with my own eyes…..”
……
The students instantly erupted with excitement; a few of them discovered the training bodies placed in the corners of the field and started dancing around joyfully.
However, the scene before her evoked a different feeling for Nagnai.
The light from the ceiling flickered across Nagnai’s eyes, and she vaguely recalled her first experience in a “training ground.”
Not from a gamer’s perspective, but through her own eyes, she saw the important facility called the “training ground” that only appeared in the “Stellar Pull 2” series, and memories influenced by the “Storm Authority” gradually awakened—
“Light-kun, it’s really amazing…..” The girl standing beside her at that time gazed at the outline of the training ground before her, unable to help but emit a soft sigh.
Her eyes, as blue as the sea, sparkled with dazzling light as she looked at Nagnai.
“If such a place could be mass-produced, maybe we could truly establish a school for ability users, and allow everyone to train here…..” She excitedly said, quickly walking up to Nagnai and then turning around.
“Then, we can definitely realize Light-kun’s dream, turning this world—”
“Little Nagi.” A call brought Nagnai’s consciousness back from her memories to reality.
Nagnai turned her head and saw Kanade, dressed in uniform, waving and jogging toward her.
“Kanade-kun?” Nagnai replied in surprise, “What are you doing here…..”
Her gaze crossed over Kanade’s shoulder and spotted a crowd not far away, which should be Kanade’s class.
“Today seems to be the day for a concentrated physical exam, so all the special subject students have to come over…..” Kanade explained.
Upon hearing this, Nagnai noticed the figures of Mana and Amane not far away.
At that moment, nearly all the special subject students had gathered underground in Area 11 of Ark Academy.
This scene brought up a pre-established event from the original “Stellar Pull 2” in Nagnai’s mind—
The opening of the “Academy League” event.
In the original “Stellar Pull 2,” this event occurs in the mid-to-late game when the protagonist joins the academy and is about to face the “Academy League,” where the academy organizes all students under the pretext of a physical exam and forms several teams to represent the academy in the combined competition with three major academies.
Although the Academy League was first initiated by the three major academies mainly to showcase each academy’s research achievements every year, it seems that the artificial academy under the Special Circle SEMA also imitates the three major academies by holding it annually as an extension of the campus festival.
— The events of the original “Stellar Pull 2”, the misunderstanding of the nameless beast…..
Nagnai felt a sense of unease as events that should only occur in the original were reappearing in a predetermined factual manner.
After Kanade waved goodbye and left, Ms. Leah’s introduction confirmed Nagnai’s suspicions.
“Today, besides routine ability and physical fitness checks, we will also select the list of students who will participate in the Academy League on the spot. Interested students can privately sign up with me~ Those who don’t know what the Academy League is can observe a demonstration by the seniors from the upper years~”
After Leah finished speaking to everyone, she led them to the center of the training ground.
On the field covered with artificial turf, other students from several classes were already warming up or practicing their abilities.
“I believe everyone is very interested in what we call abilities, right?” Leah gathered everyone a little farther from the warm-up area, allowing them to sit on the grass: “But if we only explain with words and pictures, it could get a little dry and boring, right? So today, let’s watch them demonstrate their abilities while providing some teaching~”
Leah’s introduction elicited cheers from the crowd.
Those abilities that only exist in fantasy works are things that few high school boys and girls could resist.
Especially when they understood that they might awaken abilities and become part of the ability users, they naturally became curious about these so-called abilities.
“Starting from the most basic—”
Leah seemed genuinely intent on conducting class on the spot. As she waved her hand, several projection devices above projected luminous blue light in front of her, forming a translucent screen.
It appeared to be course material she would use in class.
“The so-called ability is a mutation of residual magical power within people. Individuals affected by extraordinary forces have their bodies and souls influenced by magical power, retaining it until one day, when the magical power mutates, transforming into an ability.”
— This is incorrect.
As a veteran player of the “Stellar Pull” series, Nagnai naturally knew the true nature of how abilities come into being.
What Leah said was the most basic explanation for abilities in the game’s original text, or rather, it was an explanation from the “Stellar Pull 1” era, a premise for the emergence of abilities; after “Stellar Pull 2,” the settings gradually improved, revealing the truth about the emergence of abilities—
That is, the void in the heart.
In the worldview of “Stellar Pull,” the concept of “nothingness” does not exist. For example, energy does not turn into “nothing” after being used up; instead, it forms “entropy.”
Similarly.
People affected by magical power, after suffering a significant blow, create a void in their hearts, and the existence that fills this void is magical power.
The amount of magical power is determined by the size of the void in the heart; the larger the void in a person’s heart, the larger the magical power will be, and conversely, the smaller it will be.
The magical power leftover in the body is like a spark, while the magical power in the void is like explosive gas; when the two first make contact, a violent explosion will occur, resulting in an ability. This is “awakening.”
The higher the magical power content during the first contact, the greater the effect of the explosion, allowing one to awaken a more powerful ability.
However, this is a pattern that cannot be disclosed to the public.
Even at the end of the first playthrough in the original “Stellar Pull 2,” the protagonist, having learned this truth, chose to bury it forever in the dust; otherwise, people yearning for power would produce “powerful ability users” through inhumane means.
To protect what one loves requires great power, but to gain that power necessitates sacrificing those one loves.
Such contradictions are woven throughout the overarching themes of “Stellar Pull” and “Stellar Pull 2,” and are one of the reasons they are not widely accepted by players, who consider them to be poor narratives.
……
“Back to the classification of abilities…” Unknowingly, Leah’s topic had drifted to the classification of abilities.
All the students present listened avidly, while Nagnai, already aware of all of this, had to pretend to be curious to blend in.
However, she had to admit that Leah was a good teacher; her vivid and engaging lecture style and simple, easy-to-understand words made attending class an enjoyable experience.
— It would be even better if she taught in her true form……
Nagnai thought to herself.
“Regarding the classification of abilities, in the past, we used a standard classification that was based on the essence of the abilities—” Leah said as she slightly tilted her body, allowing the students to see the upperclassmen using abilities behind her.
“For example, that student who is turning his body into something as hard as steel has a physical enhancement ability.”
“And that student gathering a small fireball in his palm has his ability classified as—”
“—Elemental System!” An excited student raised his hand to answer; he seemed to be a fan of shonen manga, displaying immense enthusiasm for this kind of elemental control ability.
And he wasn’t the only one with that sentiment.
Many students influenced by spirited action manga revealed expressions of longing and excitement upon hearing “Elemental System” abilities.
Because in countless fantasy-style works, elemental abilities often represent great power.
Nagnai recalled her experiences from being misled in the original “Stellar Pull” and couldn’t help but grin wryly.
This notion is not entirely correct, or rather, it’s only half-true in the worldview of “Stellar Pull.” Elemental abilities are regarded as exceedingly powerful by ability users, but this conclusion does not stem from the power of elemental abilities themselves; instead, it is because a savior who stood at the pinnacle used elemental abilities— the “Elemental Overlord.”
In reality, there are many varieties of elemental abilities, most of which are rather ordinary; for example, merely being able to fire a fireball qualifies as an elemental ability, just as being able to conjure a handful of dirt.
Not all elemental abilities can achieve the control of wind like Fuu or possess the strength equivalent to Mana’s fictitious royalty.
However, in the past, elemental abilities were often scored higher when evaluating the strength of ability users, leading to many absurd situations, and the same joke would apply to “conceptual” abilities.
Therefore—
“That’s right, elemental abilities, but to be honest, that term is very outdated.” Leah first affirmed the student’s answer but then shrugged and explained, “According to the new standards for classifying abilities, we no longer classify them based on essence but instead by their intended use.”
“….. Use?” Her answer left many students perplexed.
“Exactly, intended use. For instance, that student’s ability to steel his body is now officially called ‘Physical Enhancement System.’ Doesn’t it sound like there’s not much change at first glance? This is because the intended use remains the same.”
“But that student controlling the fireball is now referred to as ‘Control System.'”
Control System.
As the name implies, it can “control” a certain existence, either through contact or ranged methods, be it an element, weapon, or even a concept—like Alice’s blood control, Fuu’s wind element control, or Amane’s shadow control, all now fall under the “Control System.”
This classification has a significant advantage: although there might be slight overlaps in essence, it allows for an accurate understanding of how that ability can perform in combat based on its actual use.
Following this, Leah introduced several other classifications based on the abilities demonstrated by the warming-up students—
Cursed System.
As the name suggests, it can produce effects on others or oneself in some manner, such as the “death god is coming” state of the “Illusory Monster – Doppelgänger,” which falls into this category.
Perception System.
Enhancing senses or perceiving the world or other existences through other means, while also altering others’ perceptions qualifies as well.
Creation System.
The ability to create new abilities, weapons, etc., through one’s own intention. Although this sounds similar to the Control System, the key is the act of creation itself, rather than control. For instance, Mana’s “Imaginary Royalty” is classified as a “Creation System,” even though what she creates is quite special, being the royal authority to create other abilities.
…..
…..
Leah’s explanation of abilities closely aligned with the knowledge Nagnai possessed from the original “Stellar Pull”; these two classification methods actually correspond to the classification systems between “Stellar Pull 1” and “Stellar Pull 2.”
In “Stellar Pull 1,” due to the unreasonable classification of abilities, players voiced significant complaints, especially when they came across a rare “conceptual” ability that turned out to be useless.
Therefore, in “Stellar Pull 2,” under the auspices of Special Circle SEMA and three major academies and other official ability user organizations, a reclassification of all abilities was implemented—
“Truly worthy of the Elemental Overlord….. I didn’t anticipate such a reasonable classification system would be conceived……” After hearing Leah’s introduction, the students learned about a savior named the “Elemental Overlord” and the “New Ability Classification” he created and promoted.
“Indeed, it was the Elemental Overlord who ended the chaotic and disorderly era, paving the way for the stable, comprehensive, and beautiful new era we know today.” Leah expressed high praise in this regard and then added in a low voice, “So everyone, remember to write down his name in your exams later, okay?”
“A new era…..?” Although Nagnai appeared just as excited as everyone else on the surface, deep down she couldn’t help but quietly retort.
“If I truly bring about a beautiful new era for this world, why will everyone ultimately want to label me—”
