Nelson was a recruiter with a good eye, but he had to admit that this was all luck. This kid was an absolute monster, even with the weight the Ogun name already carried. He looked back up at the young man in front of him. “Is he an illegitimate son of the Main Ogun family? How in the world is he in this part of the Pasture?” Nelson thought.


    “So there’s a cost for the entrance exam and for tuition are your finances in order for you to pay for that?” Nelson asked.


    Kenan nodded. “I planned on paying today if that’s ok.”


    “It’s fine, but first, I have to assess your abilities. What is your superior ability? Nelson asks. Then he leans in closely so he doesn’t miss a word Kenan says.


    “I can turn my skin into steel.” Kenan raises his hand, and a metallic coating starts covering his exposed skin, including his face. “My aunt says it’s a biosteel because it can’t be magnetized. It’s not just my skin but my whole self, if that makes any sense. I’m also a Sentient.”


    Nelson decompressed a little. “Ok, so he’s not from the real Ogun family. Most of their family members have a current superior ability. Either way, this kid still had an outright strong ability. Plus, he was Sentient; people like him are only found in the center of the Pasture. “I’ll get a promotion for recruiting this kid.”


    “That’s a great ability! Let’s go do some tests and then get your paperwork sent off. You’re already more than qualified to join since you’re a Sentient, but since you’re a superior too, we need to know what your limitations are for your ability. Nothing too extensive, just the basic need to know.”


    “Alright, sounds good, let’s do it,” Kenan said excitedly. “I should have tested this myself, but now’s as good a time as any.”


    They walked down 5 flights of stairs before they got to the bottom. “In a big city like this, you can’t be over-cautious when testing someone’s power. Kenan thought.


    Once they got to the training room, Kenan saw another teenager with a recruiter. He had visible muscles throughout his dark red, dry-fit shirt. Dreadlocks that touched his shoulder and a face that looked like he was lifting a heavyweight. If it wasn’t for the drone that melted away from his heat vision. Kenan would have thought the guy was taking a poop.


    He couldn’t contain his laughter, so he pointed and said, “Dude, are you alright? You look like you’re constipated.” Kenan held his gut from his laughter.


    Calvin and Nelson both couldn’t help but smile because what the kid said had some truth to it. The young man quickly regained his composure after realizing he looked like he was mentally straining himself too much.


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    “Shut your mouth before I shut it for you.” The young man snarled.


    Calvin put his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Cole, you did well. A range of almost 20 feet isn’t bad for your superior ability.”


    “That’s not likely to happen,” Kenan said. He clenched his jaw and gave a smirk.


    Cole shook his shoulder to get Calvin’s hand off of it. Then started walking over to Kenan. Cole was 6’ 4, and Kenan was 5’ 9, so Cole looked down on him and then pointed a finger at his chest. “You think you’re all big and bad because you come from money? My parents worked their butts off to give me an opportunity to join the Shepherds. Not everyone has the privileges of others.


    “I don’t come from money!? I live almost less than 10 mi from here.”


    “Really?!” Everyone in the room said.


    Kenan looked down at himself. “Are these workout clothes that expensive? I just bought what I thought looked good. I should be more responsible with my money in the future, " he thought.


    “Don’t touch me, I don’t even know you. Kenan hissed. Slapping Cole’s hand away.


    Both young men mean-mugged each other. Before any of them could say anything else, Calvin posed a question: “Why not the both of you spare? It would not only let the both of you blow off some steam, but we could also have a better understanding of your abilities in combat.”


    “Ugh, Calvin, I don’t think that’s a good idea because Kenan here is actually-”


    “I’m in,” Both young men said before Nelson could finish his sentence.


    Nelson puts his head in his hand. “Let’s pray to God that Kenan knows some level of restraint.


    ***


    Cole and Kenan were standing in front of each other, both in their fighting stances with their arms raised. “On my mark, you can begin. Do not forget that this is just a spare, and you’re not to kill your opponent. Before the match gets too out of hand, myself or Calvin will intervene. Do you understand?” Nelson said, looking between the two of them.


    The young men nodded, not looking away from each other for a moment. “This kid is such a liar with clothes like those there’s no way he’s living here in section three. I bet he thinks that we’re all a bunch of pushovers. My family has one of the most famous dojos here in this part of the city. There’s no way he’s on my level.” Cole thought.


    “BEGIN,” Nelson said. Cole was the first to attack, raising his leg for a kick faster than Kenan anticipated. “Dang, that was a pretty impressive kick. I thought those muscles were just for show,” Kenan thought. He started activating his ability. “AHH,” Cole screamed.


    He retracts his leg and wobbles backward while still keeping his hands up. “You have an elemental mimicry ability?! How do you have such luck? Unless there is another determining factor? Cole spoke.


    “Who is this kid, Nelson?! And where did you find him!? Cole demanded.


    “He walked in today. Moments for this other kid did.” Nelson replied.


    This time, Kenan charged Cole. “I probably could cripple this kid, but the point is to teach him a lesson, not scar him for life.” Kenan thought as he sent two straight jabs and an uppercut at Cole. To Kenan’s surprise, he dodges all of them. “He managed to dodge my uppercut? I might have to take this guy seriously.


    Before Kenan could send another combination to Cole. Cole’s eyes started to glow orange. Kenan was no genius, but even he could figure that this clearly indicated that a blast was getting ready to come out of his opponent’s eyes. Kenan followed Calvin’s line of sight, dodging his heat vision at the last second. “It’s pretty hard to control my reflexes directly. I need to train more with my new reflexes. But I definitely wouldn’t have been able to dodge that if I wasn’t.” Kenan thought. He counterattacks with a sidekick to Cole’s torso that lands.


    “Point,” Nelson says, pointing at Kenan. Rest for the next round. The next point that Kenan gets, he wins,” he says, reminding Cole.


    “It’s either he’s going easy on me, or it’s more difficult to turn his body into steel within a short time. Either way, this kid is the real deal. I thought I was the toughest kid my age. It’s a bigger world than I thought.” Cole thought as he held his side. “You better not be pulling your punches. I don’t need you looking down on me.”


    “Trust me when I tell you you want me to,” Kenan says with a straight face.


    Cole tightens his fist at Kenan’s words. “All of the hard work I put in just be looked down upon by someone with a better background. No, I’ve come too far. I will not let my parents down.


    Cole got in his ready stance and waited for Nelson to give the signal.


    “I can only send my heat vision 20 feet for almost 4 seconds if I’m lucky. But it’s the activation time that takes too long. My opponent knows as soon as my eyes glow, which is why he was about to dodge. So I should either delay it or shoot it within the moment they change. Either way, this guy is going down this time.”