Level Zero

"For real? Zero?" One of the participants in the examination room couldn't help but comment.

"Does that mean he can't control Stellar Energy at all?" A young female also asked, feeling puzzled. 

These kinds of chatters soon spread through the room, reaching Aiken's ears like needles. However, he gritted his teeth and looked at the instructor on the side. "This has to be a mistake! I've never heard about a Star Affinity Level Zero! Let me test again!"

The instructor who was responsible for this test room finally snapped out of his stupor. He had been in charge of these kinds of exams for over thirty years already. "A-Alright... go ahead and test it again. I think it is a mistake too." Let alone Aiken; he had never seen or heard about a Level Zero either.

Aiken took a deep breath and placed his hand on a sky-blue orb in front of him. As mentioned before, everyone could feel the presence of Stellar Energy, even the normal humans from the past. It's just that no one from that age could manipulate it. Aiken, obviously, could feel it too. He tried to command that energy while the sky-blue Orb shined with the same color of light. 

Aiken felt that the Orb was driving that Stellar Energy into his body, making it circulate. It was quite a simple and straightforward test. The Orb circulated the Stellar Energy, and you had to fight against it. If you could Manipulate Stellar Energy, forcing it to stop shouldn't be a problem. Once you succeeded, the Orb would increase the power of circulation, and you would fight it again. 

That sequence would continue until you reached a point where you couldn't fight the circulation of Stellar Energy anymore. That's when your level would be displayed. Naturally, the more sequences you stop, the higher your level.

Yet, the very first circulation, which was so gentle and passive that it almost didn't move, continued without hindrance. In fact, the first three levels weren't much different than that. The alliance had even been discussing if the first three levels of the circulation test had any meaning anymore. That's because it has been over a thousand years since anyone with a Star Affinity Level Three had appeared, which was considered ridiculously low, let alone anything below that. 

Usually, Level Four was the lowest you would find out there, and these were truly, truly rare. You would find one in every billion inhabitants with such a low level of Star Affinity. It might sound strange, but these Level Four people have quite good lives. Why? Because they were rarities that had some commercial value.

Only at Level Five would it become more common, although Level Five was still rare. You would find one in every ten million. From Level Six, things finally reached some normality. Of course, Level Six was also considered low, but at this point, you would see one of them every ten thousand people or so.

The most common Level of Star Affinity in the Alliance was Level Seven, which over 80% of the population had. These were your normal and no one paid much attention to them anyway. Next came Level Eight, which finally could be considered above average. For this level, around 18% of the population qualified.

Yes, Star Affinities above Level Eight were only 2% of the population. These were the geniuses companies would be waiting outside, ready to recruit. Level Nine and Ten were pretty much guaranteed a great life. There was even the elusive Level Eleven, but these kinds of people were as rare as their Level Four counterparts. You would find only one every a billion or so.

So, in the end, you could understand the instructor's shaking when he saw Aiken's level. He obviously knew these percentages very well, so the Star Measuring Machine must be broken. He wouldn't believe it if Aiken was a Level Four, let alone Zero. He even thought that Aiken might be faking it, trying to not manipulate Stellar Energy on purpose. 

However, he immediately cast that idea away. Once you touch the Orb, you are forced to fight the circulation of Stellar Energy whether you want it or not. Stellar Energy Technology has come a long way, so countermeasures for these kinds of situations have long since been added. It was impoosible for Aiken to not use his Manipulation on the Orb if he had any.

Finally, a few seconds later, the same message appeared on the blue screen above.

-Aiken Faran, Star Affinity Level: Zero-

"Get to the side," before Aiken could even curse, the instructor shooed him away. Right after, the instructor put his own hand on the machine, and it started the test. The result came three minutes later.

-Lesly Orfine, Star Affinity Level: Eight-

-Manipulation Power Level: 21-

Lesly finally took his hand off, already knowing his own level. As you know, there are two measuring tests. One is the Star Affinity, naturally. The other is the Manipulation Power, which could be increased with diligent training over the years. In Aiken's case, because he had absolutely no Affinity, the second test didn't even start for him. Obviously, the machine wasn't broken... but Lesly still couldn't believe it, so he looked behind at the other fourteen-year-old youngsters.

"You, come forward. Give it a try."

A slightly chubby female stepped forward, putting her hand on the Sky-Blue Orb. The test started just like before, and her level appeared a minute later.

-Mia Fortui, Star Affinity Level: Seven-

-Manipulation Power Level: Three-

Mia took her hand off the Sky-Blue Orb, feeling somewhat disappointed. That was as normal as one could go. She was well within the average level.

Finally, Lesly could only accept it. Aiken's level... was truly Zero! "Young man, come with me," Lesly said, knowing that this was a big thing. As an instructor, he was well-versed in the history of Stellar Energy Manipulation. He knew about the 'normal' people from over a hundred thousand years ago. They were all Level Zero, the original humans. If Aiken is really a normal human, could it be something was wrong with the Stellar Energy? He had to report it.

As he pulled Aiken out, he looked at the rest behind. "As for you all, continue the test. Someone will be here to observe in a few minutes."

While Aiken and Lesly walked through a corridor, Lesly asked a few more questions. "Just to be sure, do you have your Age Counter?"

Age Counter was something every single person received once they were born. One must not forget that at the age of fourteen years, five months, six days, ten hours, and forty-two minutes was the exact moment when a person would connect to a Star. This hasn't changed at all in the past hundred thousand years, so every baby had a chip in their body that counted that time. That way, one would be absolutely sure to only come to take the examination when the time was right.

Aiken then extended his arm, where the chip was installed beneath his skin. Lesly took out a piece of equipment with a small screen on it and put it above Aiken's arm. It was a simple but effective age check. Sure enough, Aiken was above that age. In fact, he was a few hours past the awakening time already.

First of all, Lesly didn't really doubt Aiken's Age. The Measuring Equipment always read the Age Counter before starting the test. If Aiken wasn't at the necessary age, the test wouldn't even have been initiated. That wasn't all. The awakening day was considered a huge deal for every single person. Parents would absolutely pay close attention to it to make sure they wouldn't forget, usually having a separate counter in their house for that very purpose. Once a kid got old enough, they would also understand the importance of this date and count the minutes to finally reach the age where they can Manipulate Stellar Energy too.

Lesly sighed and continued to walk the corridor. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to feel Stellar Energy all around you but not be able to control it. Worst of all was to see everyone around you using it as the most normal thing in the world. "Don't worry, we will find the problem."

Aiken had a terrible expression, but he couldn't say he didn't have a bad feeling from the start. The awakening happened instantly when a person reached fourteen years, five months, six days, ten hours, and forty-two minutes of age. Everyone would immediately begin to play with this new power, and it felt just like it was a part of their bodies. They all could control it without any hindrance, like some kind of telepathic power.

Yet, as soon as Aiken's Age Counter Reached that time, he felt nothing! He tried thousands of times already even before coming to the test. Still, he made himself believe that he was just doing something wrong and just needed to wait for the test. Yet, the reality was that.

Lesly and Aiken entered a different room, where a man was already waiting. That was Ikito Domilik, the Director of this specific Measuring Facility. "Is that him?"

Lesly nodded. "Yes, Director."

"Very well," the Director then pulled Aiken to a platform at the center. "Send us."

*Zush!*

Aiken and Ikito disappeared a second later. Aiken's vision blurred just for a second, and when it came back to normal, he was already in another facility. "What is this place?"

"The regional Stellar Research Center," Ikito answered. "We need to make sure you are truly a Level Zero or if there is some kind of error. This place has all the equipment necessary to test that."

"What if I'm truly a Level Zero?" Aiken couldn't help but ask.

Ikito scratched the back of his head. "We can talk about it when we are finished."

Later that day, Aiken was walking back to his home, looking more like a Zombie. The people in the Stellar Research Center put him through countless tests. Yet, they all appointed the exact same thing. Aiken was truly a Level Zero. No one could find out the reason, but there wasn't much any of them could do either. They checked all databases and confirmed that Aiken was the only person that day with this problem. In the end, all they could do was to let him go. One of the scientists there even tried to cheer Aiken up, saying that he could use his rarity to become a celebrity, just like those Level Four on the Stellar Network.

Yet, just as he was about to arrive at his home, a young woman blocked his path, seeming excited. "Are you the Starless?"

Aiken's mouth twitched. He knew that nickname because when he returned to the Awakening Facility, the people who had seen his test had already given him that. Many of them were even taking photos, so the news about his problem had probably already spread far and wide in the Stellar Network. That was true, though. Aiken was definitely trending at the moment.

"Are you here to mock me?" Aiken asked with some self-depreciation. "Don't worry; I'm mocking myself enough for both of us at the moment."

The woman then stood at his side and took a picture. "Great! Once you become famous, this pic will be worth a fortune! Thank you!"

The woman then ran away, not giving Aiken any time to complain. "Fine... perhaps being rich isn't exactly what I wished, but it isn't bad either. Let's just accept it."

A few minutes later, Aiken was finally back home. However, everything was dark, which took him by surprise. Considering he spent many more hours outside, it was already late noon, so his parents were supposed to be back already. Yet, no one was home.

*Tic!*

Suddenly, Aiken felt a sting on the back of his neck. Only Darkness followed after that.