Abilities

When Aiden read the response that the other party had sent him and realised there was no issue and all that was needed to complete the agreement was for both sides to meet in person, Aiden's mood immediately improved.

"Although I still have my concerns about how much Galactic Credits the other party is willing to pay for my services, at the very least, I might be able to buy a Grade C awakening serum for my daughter," Aiden muttered as he raised both his hands and stretched his body from his sitting position, his stiff bones from sitting all day releasing a few cracking sounds.

"Ah, that's nice," Aiden stated, feeling more comfortable now, before turning to gaze at the large hologram in front of him, which served as a monitor, to read the messages his contractor had sent again, beginning with the first.

"It would seem that, aside from the fact that they would require another individual in order to complete the job, the other party should have contacted me due to my ability. Perhaps this is the reason for the enormous number, but I still think it's a little excessive," Aiden mumbled, his stomach growling in response.

'Forgot I haven't eaten dinner yet,' Aiden thought as he used one of his hands to clutch his stomach before turning to look in a specific place in his study room.

A female human was standing in the direction he was gazing, unmoving, with a dazed expression on her face, yet this female human was not what she appeared to be. She was the Ai companion robot that Aiden's parents gifted him when he was a little child before they perished on their vacation together as a result of space pirates attacking their ship.

Aiden kept staring in the direction of his study, where his companion was stoically immobile as though nothing could move it.

The humanoid robot was made to look like a woman, with sleek red hair, blazing red eyes, and a dark complexion. She was so still in the corner of the room, one might have mistaken her for a statue if it weren't for the steady respiration that had been carved in her system.

"Hey, Alexa," Aiden called out to his robot companion, "could you prepare some dinner for me? I'm famished."

As Aiden's voice boomed across the room, Alexa, the robot, blinked to life and nodded her head. "Of course, Aiden. What would you like to eat tonight?"

Aiden thought for a moment before replying, "Hmm, how about some Neon Noodles? I'm in the mood for something light and refreshing."

The neon noodles Aiden spoke about is a dish of thin, neon-coloured noodles made from a blend of plant-based proteins and grains, served with a savoury and slightly spicy sauce made from fermented vegetables and spices. The dish is usually garnished with fresh herbs and crispy fried shallots for added texture and flavour. It's a popular choice for those seeking a healthy and sustainable meal that's also visually appealing.

Even though it wasn't a native food from any of the planets ruled by the Sagittarius Empire, its popularity among the populace made the residents of the Cassiopeia Empire, where the dish actually originated, appear to be imposters.

Although slightly overstated, this illustrates how well-liked the dish was.

Hearing Aiden's selection of food, Alexa nodded, remarked, "Very well," and then walked out of Aiden's study.

"Your Neon Noodles will be ready in no time," Just before she shut the door to Aiden's study room, the female robot, who acted like any other regular person save for her voice seeming flat, said this.

Seeing Alexa's actions, Aiden couldn't help but release another smile on his face.

Aiden did not mind that she was an older model Ai that was essentially out of date at this point because of all the things the newer Ai companions could accomplish that she could not as he felt fortunate to have her as his loyal companion.

She was the one who had actually stood by his side during his difficult times after his parents died and he was forced to drop out of school, therefore ending his regular and esper education.

Even after his wife passed away while giving birth, she was still the one who was there to support him with her presence.

In contrast to how most owners of AI companions nowadays would view their pets, he valued her greatly.

Aiden returned to the holographic monitor and resumed reading the messages from his contractor as he waited for his food to be made.

Aiden reasoned that one of the reasons the other party might have found him and offered a good price was because of his ability, [Energy Sense], even putting aside the fact that they urgently needed someone in their team considering the impression that the other party was in a hurry was evident from the message.

All espers have certain abilities as soon as they awaken.

The abilities could range from frequently encountered superhuman strength and speed to uncommon abilities like telekinesis and elemental manipulation to extremely strong powers like gravity control and teleportation, among others.

All espers have certain abilities once they awaken, and while there was no system in place to categorise them into categories like "common and weak" and "much more powerful," there were some abilities that, when compared to one another, required no explanation as to which was more powerful.

A great example of this would be enhanced vision and gravity control. Although the latter was undoubtedly more powerful, abilities weren't rated in the first place because they could evolve based on the user.

Abilities did not normally evolve in the sense that they would directly change into something new, but esper abilities evolve in the sense that the more an esper knows and uses his ability, the more powerful it gets in their hand.

An esper with super strength and an esper with fire manipulation ability are two good examples of this.

Due to the other party's advantage of being able to fight with long-range attacks while the esper with the super strength ability was only able to engage in close combat, and of course, the opponent wasn't going to allow that to happen easily, the fight was somewhat unfair.

This was the case for the majority of espers who possessed the super strength ability, but for espers who had this same ability and knew how to control it to the utmost degree, it was easier for them to send out long-range attacks to their opponents with pressurised air punches despite the ability not being one designed for long-range attacks.

This was a very regular occurrence throughout the universe, thus abilities weren't treated differently regardless of what they are.

Naturally, the situation where an esper with the super strength ability defeats espers with abilities capable of long-range attacks is usually only possible when the esper is sufficiently strong to deliver powerful compressed air punches, but knowledge of the super strength ability and how to precisely control it was also very important.

This was the initial impetus behind the establishment of schools exclusively for espers. They were designed to help espers learn about and comprehend their abilities.

Knowledge was still able to separate people from the ordinary masses in the galactic era.

Apart from this, abilities may evolve in the sense that, in addition to espers having knowledge about their power and how to finely control them, abilities could also get stronger as the esper grows stronger.

This was self-explanatory.

An example of this would be a tier 1 level 1 esper with the telekinesis ability being able to control anything in a five-metre radius, then at level two, the area of influence increases to six to eight metres depending on the esper talent and control, and as the level of the esper increases between tiers, the ability becomes more powerful to the point that if an esper with the telekinesis ability could reach a terrifying tier level, it was not impossible for them to pull apart warships with their abilities.

This was also another factor in the lack of significant discrimination against abilities of all kinds.

The main advantage certain abilities have over most abilities that fall into the category of being powerful is that they were already so powerful when the esper awakened them that it produced a wide disparity in power for espers in the same tier and level.

In the human race, there are different power tiers, and each tier has five levels, so tier 1 has sub-tiers from level 1 to level 5. In the same way that tier 2 had sub-tiers from level 1 to level 5, so did the tier above it.

When tiers are not mentioned and an esper is referred to as level 8, it is a tier 2 level 3 esper.

This was Aiden's current power level.

Aiden might be considered an expert in a tier one civilization, the planetary civilization, but in the location, he was in and the empire he belonged to, a tier 3 intergalactic civilization, tier 2 espers were somewhat common and not really valued, though this did not necessarily imply that they were not valued. They weren't just significant to the empire for them to receive special treatment.

However, the situation was different for tier 4 and tier 5 espers. No matter where they were or what level of civilization they lived in, those people were truly valued.

Of course, as a tier two esper in his mid-thirties, it was uncertain whether he would ever be able to achieve that level in his lifetime, which would be very long given that his lifespan had risen as an esper in addition to the genetic solution he had been injected with as a child.

The genetic solution mentioned here was created a century after humans first came into contact with an alien society as a whole and it was given to every kid shortly after birth in order to modify their genetic code. It not only corrected genetic issues but also increased lifespans on average.

Since the average lifespan of individuals nowadays is 200 years, someone like Aiden, who is only in his mid-thirties, is considered young by society.

Leaving this aside, Aiden thought that his [Energy Sense] was truly what really drew the other person to contact him because of how valuable it was.

Putting Aiden's esper level aside, his ability had been one of the things that had aided his mercenary business and had landed him many jobs in the past and up until now.

Aiden's [Energy Sense] ability allows him to perceive and detect the energy or aura that surrounds all things. This includes living beings, inanimate objects, and even supernatural forces like mana, ki, qi and so.

With this ability, Aiden can sense the presence, location, and strength of energy sources around him, including other Espers and their abilities depending on the energy they emit even if it's little.

With [Energy Sense], Aiden can also sense the emotions and intentions of others by reading the energy they emit. This makes it an incredibly useful ability for detecting hidden enemies, analysing situations, and gathering information.

This was a relatively powerful ability with the only drawback being that it was a support-type ability with limited use to one's combat prowess, but it is said that some powerful Espers with [Energy Sense] can even use it to manipulate energy and create powerful attacks or defences.

Aiden had seen such an expert on a job before and could see he was still a long way from reaching something comparable, but putting that aside, it was easy to see why Aiden assumed the other party must have contacted him because of his ability.

Someone like Aiden with his [Energy Sense] was similar to a human cheat tracker in an uncharted area, especially in a ruin with lots of wealth to discover.

Aiden only needed to utilise his ability to explore through the ruins to see what artefacts were producing the highest quantities of Energy and take them, while others had to work hard to find something of worth among the ruins.

Aside from determining the worth of artefacts in an unknown environment such as the ruins, he could also use his ability to navigate through the ruins to substantially reduce the amount of time he'd have to waste roaming around in the ruins with no sense of direction.

As Aiden considered how useful his ability would be in the ruins and whether it was worth the GC he had been offered, his starcom vibrated, pulling him out of his thoughts.

'Who's calling?' Aiden pondered as he lightly tapped his starcom on his right wrist with his left palm, ejecting a little hologram from it.

A phone call logo and the word "Alexa" were written underneath the logo on the hologram that was hovering above his starcom.

'I wonder what she wants,' Aiden thought as he opened his mouth to say "Accept call," wondering why Alexa had bothered to use her neural link to reach him.

"Alexa, what's the problem?" As soon as Aiden accepted the phone, he inquired, and not long after, a familiar, flat but endearing and soft voice responded.

"Your meal is ready, Aiden. Would you like to come outside and eat it, or would you like me to bring it to you?"

Aiden noticed that it was indeed close to the time his dinner should have been ready after hearing Alexa's explanation for phoning him, so he informed her that he would eat his meal outside and that he was on his way before hanging up.

"I should also take a shower after I eat. After all, tomorrow is a big day," Aiden said as he got up and left his room, wondering what would happen when he meets his contractor tomorrow.

"Hmmm"

"Why do I feel as though I just made a choice that would alter my life?" With a quick chuckle, Aiden pondered as he shut the door to his study.