Latent Abilities

When Milena awoke, the bright moon pierced her eyes. She was in a cornfield and human voices could be heard in the distance. For a while, Milena was in a state of absolute confusion. But it was not because of the change in her environment. From her training, Milena knew that there was a chance that falling asleep in an unstable reality will cause a reality jump to another reality. Diver's Manual Section 6, Subsection 9R.

However, human voices? That had to mean she somehow ended up in a constructed reality made by another Afferent or Sentient. If it was an Afferent, her chances of survival are now 87%. If it was a Sentient, let's just say it's less than 8% with the state she is in.

"Check over there. My chaos meter indicates a warp-in" one of the voices said.

"Careful. If it's an Afferent, we are in for some trouble" another replied.

Milena's heart sank. She was doomed. This was a Sentient Lair and there was no way she was getting out alive…

Planting her face flat against the ground, Milena tried to reduce her silhouette as much as possible to avoid detection.

"Nothing here, look over there. I think I saw something move by the tree on the hill" another voice chimed in, much closer within Milena's radius.

Milena steeled herself and held her breath. Good, they haven't seen her yet. And they are now going to investigate the hill away from her. This might give her the time she needed to escape.

During dive rehearsals, the trainers back at the academy emphasized one important lesson. Warping through realities is a randomized event for most, and trainees should not expect the pace of reality to suit their needs. Instead, one should adapt to the situation dynamically, and constantly try to experiment with different ways to manifest their latent abilities. The sooner a trainee gets control over reality, the higher the chances of success to restore order and erase chaos, bringing them out alive. Between running away and discovering one's abilities, the latter should take priority.

With this in mind, Milena started her mission to find out more about her abilities as she laid flat on the dirt ground.

First, can she jump into other realities easily? That is the most commonly manifested trait Afferents present with. Those who manifest such abilities are called Jumpers, and are usually attached to scout units.

Exhaling, Milena composes herself and visualizes a new world opening up before her. With all might, she wills herself to leave this world behind and make a jump for it. One…Two…Three! Jump!

Nothing happens. Milena tries again. And one last time just to be sure. Same result.

Okay, so she can't traverse through realities like a Scout.

Maybe she is a combat type.

Most combat types start off as Strykers. By creating small but numerous openings into other realities, Strykers can swing a punch through these realities sequentially, essentially creating a "strike from multiple dimensions", greatly amplifying the strength of the initial swing.

Channeling her strength into her now clenched fists, Milena lightly punches the ground. With this move, she simultaneously visualizes multiple realities opening their doors at her fingertips. Ouch. That hurts. The sharp rocks cut into her knuckles.

Nothing happens to the ground. Milena tries again for good measure just to be sure. Ouch. It stung. Maybe third time's the charm?

Milena takes a deep breath and swings with all her might.

Nothing happens.

Okay, so no melee combat. Next up, ranged combat. She could be like a battle mage, able to warp reality directly as a combative tool from afar.

Milena flips her body over and stares at the night sky littered with purple and blue nebulas and cosmic dust.

The best way to test for ranged combat is to try and create slashes through the air using only the fabric of reality. Milena frowns intently and wills herself to become a puppet master to reality. Concentrating with all her might, she imagines the fabric of reality to be soft like a piece of cloth, draped around the palm of her hand.

With this fabric, she wills this cloth to move diagonally across the night sky, fast and swift like the sharp edge of a blade.

Nothing happens.

Maybe portal opening?

Nothing happens.

How about weapon enhancement?

Nothing happens.

Soul tracking?

She could see no one but herself. This one was obvious.

Reality construction?

Nope.

Milena ran through her checklist over and over again as they taught in the academy. She did all the tests as they have taught her and as she had practiced over the past six years.

If her results were reliable, this can only mean one of two things. Though exceedingly rare, trainees sometimes either find themselves devoid of any latent abilities, or have a unique ability that renders them vastly different from others.

If Milena was to survive potentiation, she needed to find her ability fast…

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