494 Sorrow Of Low Talent
People from all over the solar system regardless of their location were excited about the 'greatest expo' in human history.
Almost 1 billion people were eager to watch this event live and billions more decided to watch it in their free time.
In fact, if the event wasn't preponed, there would've been more audience.
The biggest selling point of the expo was told not through glamorous models or intricate hologram designs, but through simple, plain, and even dull words.
'Improve talent and increase level'.
That was enough.
Like a tsunami sweeping away all the boats, this one line moved every human.
In this day and age, one's own strength largely determined their social standing. But how far one could reach in their divine path was restricted by two factors, other than the most obvious—hard work.
Talent and Resources.
The rich could afford the resources. They could train even their low-talented heirs to a respectable level by piling up resources.
Of course, that was actually rare as well.
Since polygamy was legal, the rich men or women would then have new partners and new children whose talent was satisfactory.
Still, the 'abandoned' rich kids at least had no problem with living a comfortable life.
But the rest could only rely on talent.
Thus, to almost every human, this potion was the object beyond their wildest fantasies.
"Aww! I still can't believe it?" A woman pinched her cheek as she stared at the holovid in her home.
Her home was in one of the affluential neighborhoods of a rich district. It wasn't too rich but rich enough to be considered luxurious.
As a level 7 telepath, the woman worked a safe and well-paying job in one of the large hospitals.
For the first time ever, she took a leave for two days—it was to watch the entire expo.
'I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy.' Misha told herself.
Perhaps she was, but the emotional baggage inside her didn't care if the action was crazy or if she was crazy.
Because this so-called gamma potion gave her hope.
A hope that her only son won't become like her brother.
Her brother used to be a happy and warm boy.
She didn't remember when things changed. Perhaps it was after his awakening, but it wasn't a drastic change that she could vividly remember.
It started slowly and subtly. By the time she noticed, it was already a norm.
First, their parents commented on his progress speed. They increased his training speed.
Apart from school, he spent nearly six hours practicing every day.
His friends eventually alienated him as they grew further and further away from him.
Then after a few more months, his girlfriend broke up with him.
Misha remembered accidentally overhearing their conversation.
"Why?! I love you! I'm serious! I will do my best to giv—"
"How many hours did we spend last week? How many dates did we go on?"
"I'm spending every minute I can on practicing so that we can be happy in the futur—"
"And you'll say the same thing in the future. You are a good person, but I can't be with a guy who doesn't spend time with me."
Misha could still vividly recall the apathy in the woman's tone and the despair in her brother's.
She was only 13 back then and didn't know much about the complexity of the adult world.
So, she initially thought her brother was in the wrong. But only after she grew up did she understand that her brother's girlfriend's real reason was something else. She simply looked down on him for his low talent.
She also remembered what happened later that night. It was even more vivid.
Her brother came home drunk, for the first time ever. And for that, he was severely punished by their parents.
It was so severe that even she started crying.
While she did, she saw something that probably was the single most impactful picture of all her life.
His eyes.
The light in their eyes dimmed and was replaced by a sense of desolation.
He knew that being drunk was only an excuse. Ultimately, his parents too were disappointed in him.
And from that day on, her brother went from a cheerful bright boy to a bundle of desolation and apathy.
As she grew older, she tried to mend ties with him but he rejected her thoroughly.
By the time she graduated from the academy, he was abusing materials and was under serious issues.
The last time she saw him was a year ago. Then, he seemed to have disappeared altogether.
Misha couldn't find him. But she decided to keep him at an arm's length to prevent him from influencing her son.
Like her brother, her son was also a low-talented individual. And the bullying already started.
His friends alienated him. His girlfriend broke up with him a week ago. Even her husband started to scorn him.
For Misha, it was the same story all over again.
She was scared that one day, her son too would become like her brother. As a mother, there was nothing scarier than it.
Unknowingly, she too started measuring things based on talent.
'If only he was born with a higher talent, then we'd have all been happy. My brother too…my parents were never happy after his incident. Urgh…is it my fault that he is born with such a low talent or is it his fault?'
Her thoughts were erratic and she didn't quite know if she was being rational or condescending.
But regardless of her own feelings, she was determined to prevent her son from following her brother's path. It's just that she didn't know how to do it.
Then, this gamma potion came as if it was a rescue from Heaven.
"The trials begin NOW!" The host announced and the holovid showed a large stadium.
In the midst of a huge spiral stadium were five floating arenas. The lowest floor had the hundred level 1 members and the highest had the hundred level 5 members.
Even though it was preponed, the spiral stadium was filled with people. At least 500,000 people were accommodated.
Thanks to its large structure and advanced facilities, it wasn't big of a problem.
"Now, we'll first verify the combat powers of each individual." The host announced.
Pop!
With a large pop, five large vehicles entered the five arenas and dropped off…abyssals!
Then, the abyssals, seemingly controlled by a telekinetic, floated to each one of the participants.
The huge arena itself was divided into one hundred small battle rings.
Now, each battle ring had a participant and an abyssal.
"YESSSS!"
"Kill them!"
"Son of bitches! Chop them to pieces!"
The cheers filled with the stadium as everyone shouted for the most brutal killing of the abyssals.
Just like how abyssals captured humans, humans also captured abyssals and used them for various...purposes.
Since they were rare and a military secret, no one thought they'd see their arch-enemy here.
But while everyone was emotional, Varian squinted his eyes.
'Something is very wrong.'
The abyssal was too still. His eyes had no focus and were white. But just as Varian was about to make a move, those plain eyes turned blood red.
A terrifying killing intent locked onto him and at that instant, Varian understood that he was facing an abyssal brainwashed into a killing machine.
"Fuck."
