At two in the night, every human in the world suddenly felt their bodies become noticeably lighter. This strange phenomenon made headlines everywhere. When people woke up, they discovered they could unleash a mysterious power—yet no one knew the cause.
This power came to be known as a **"Blessing."** Some people awakened with one, while others did not. Because of this, the government created a special academy to sort Blessed individuals and classify them from weakest to strongest, all in order to protect the nation.
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After finishing breakfast, Jun grabbed his bag from the sofa. It was his first day at the academy—he felt nervous about meeting new people, but he had no choice. He needed answers about these powers.
"Are you leaving now, dear?"
Jun's mother, Arani, noticed him hurrying to the door, but she simply gave him a warm, gentle smile.
"Yes, Mom. I'm heading out…"
Jun said goodbye to his mother, then ruffled the hair of his eight-year-old sister, Lily.
"Your Blessing is copying, right? That's so cool! Big brother must be super strong! You can defeat all the enemies!!" Lily said excitedly.
"Haha, you're exaggerating. Yours is just as cool—use it to help our family someday."
"Okay, big brother! I won't forget your advice!!" Lily nodded eagerly.
*My true ability isn't Copy, but a similar one. It's an illusion, and it's very troublesome and has its drawbacks. I have to make others think of my power in order to activate it.*
With that, Jun left the house and ran toward the bus stop. As he got closer, he noticed the bus already there, so he sprinted faster.
"Wait for me!!"
He kept running until he reached the front of the bus. A girl slid open the window and pouted.
"Hurry up! I don't want to be late on my first day."
"O-okay!!"
Jun climbed onto the bus and looked for an empty seat. He spotted one beside a girl and approached.
"Excuse me…"
He sat down next to her. The girl kept her eyes fixed on the window. Jun wondered what she was thinking about—but something else weighed on his mind even more: *Did she have a Blessing? If she did, what kind?*
"My Blessing is mind reading. I suppose that answers your curiosity."
Her flat tone startled Jun. She slowly shifted her gaze toward him and continued in the same monotone voice.
"My name is Anna. And before you ask—I'm not going to that academy. My power is too useless."
"N-nice to meet you. I'm Jun…" Jun replied nervously, unable to hide how pretty he found her.
"Yeah, nice to meet you. You're probably wondering what my power is—like I said, it's mind reading," Anna repeated plainly.
"Isn't that amazing?"
"I can't even use it in combat," Anna sighed.
"But you could use it to figure out an enemy's strategy."
"How is a woman supposed to go to war?"
As they talked, the bus suddenly stopped. A middle-aged man boarded, and in the next second, a pistol formed in his hand—clearly his Blessing. He pointed it at the driver.
"Don't move. Hand over your valuables!!"
Passengers panicked. Some screamed, some froze—regular humans with no Blessing. Yet a few stayed calm, especially Anna.
*"Anna, can you hear me?"*
Jun spoke through his thoughts, hoping she would pick it up. He was forming a plan to deal with the hijacker.
*"If you can hear me, nod your head."*
Anna turned to him and nodded.
"My Blessing is Illusion. It depends on what someone believes. I don't have time to explain—just think as hard as you can that my power is teleportation…"
Anna nodded—then, because she believed Jun could teleport, Jun suddenly appeared behind the hijacker. Her eyes widened in surprise. In an instant, Jun struck the man, knocking him unconscious. He quickly tied the hijacker up and closed the door.
"Please continue driving the bus…"
The bus resumed its route, and the atmosphere slowly returned to normal. Jun sat back beside Anna, leaving the tied hijacker near the front. After several minutes, the bus finally arrived at the academy—**Ubers**, the hero school.
As he stepped off, Jun glanced back.
"Anna, I'll leave the rest to you."
Jun headed into the school, while Anna handed the hijacker over to nearby officers. Afterward, she walked to a quiet spot—where a man appeared with a sly grin.
"From the look on your face, I'd say you met someone interesting, Anna…" the man said.
"Yes… he reminds me of you."
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