The Rise of Max bladeheart

Chapter 8 - A Revelation

Chapter 8 - A Revelation

[Does the host wish to extract this Xeon Ability - Yes/No?]

Max’s eyes widened as he read the notification hovering before him.

"Extract… Miss Raelyn’s ability?" His thoughts spiraled into chaos.

"Yes… No—wait…!" He hesitated, his heart pounding.

[Host has chosen to extract this Xeon Ability.]

[Initiating Powerflow Extraction…]

"What?! I said no!"

His mind reeled. The raw power he had sensed from Miss Raelyn’s ability flashed through his thoughts, and for a split second, he had instinctively agreed. But the realization hit him like a thunderclap—she had never wronged him like the others had.

"Oh no… what have I done?" Panic gripped him as another notification appeared.

[Extraction in Progress: 0% / 100%]

Max’s breath hitched. Desperately, he tried to think of a way to stop it. His gaze shot to Miss Raelyn, who still held onto his arm with a firm grip. He pulled back with all his might, hoping that breaking contact would halt the process—but it was like trying to wrench his arm from steel restraints.

Miss Raelyn’s expression remained unreadable, but her eyebrows twitched slightly, as if sensing something.

"She’s going to lose her power if she doesn’t let go!" Max tugged harder, but she held on effortlessly.

Then, something strange happened.

"Wait… why isn’t the percentage moving?" His gaze darted to the floating notification.

[Extraction in Progress: 0% / 100%]

Seconds ticked by, yet the process refused to advance.

"Huh?" A new notification replaced the old one.

[Powerflow Extraction has failed.]

Max blinked. "Failed? Why?"

He barely had time to process this before murmurs from the classroom drew his attention.

— "What is Miss Raelyn doing?"

— "Why is she taking this long to inspect that reject?"

The whispers seemed to snap Miss Raelyn out of her trance. Her grip loosened, and she let go of Max’s arm, her sharp gaze locking onto his.

For a moment, it felt as though she was peering straight into his soul.

Max swallowed hard, trying to keep his face neutral, but inside, he was screaming.

"She knows! She must’ve sensed it! The Xeon System has finally gotten me killed! I was just given a little hope only to die right after—she’s going to obliterate me!"

His panicked thoughts were interrupted by her voice.

“Huh?” He hadn’t caught her question.

“I asked… how did you channel your power through the third flow point?” Miss Raelyn repeated.

Max stiffened. “Eh?”

A stunned silence filled the room. Even the other students reacted with disbelief.

— "Third point? Him?"

— "Miss Raelyn must be mistaken!"

— "No way a failure like him could ever do that!"

Max himself couldn’t believe it. He opened his mouth but hesitated, uncertainty gripping him.

Miss Raelyn’s gaze darkened. “Oh? So I’m mistaken?” She turned back to him. “Is there something new about your ability that you couldn’t use before?”

"New ability?"

His mind raced back to when he had checked his Xeon System interface.

“Does this count?” he muttered.

His skin rippled. A wave of shifting pigment spread from his face to his hands, darkening his complexion in mere moments.

Gasps filled the room.

— "Didn’t his ability only let him change his hair color?!"

Miss Raelyn remained unfazed. “Max Bladeheart has successfully demonstrated his powerflow through the third point. Next time you assume I am mistaken, I will personally correct your lack of discipline.”

Her icy glare swept across the class. Several students shrank in their seats, their faces turning pale.

“You may return to your seat.”

Max nodded and strode back to his desk. Even as he sat, he could feel his classmates’ lingering stares.

"Even if I reached the third point, they still think I’m nothing." Their thoughts were almost tangible in the air around him.

Yet, Max was just as shocked as they were.

"My powerflow has already reached the third point?"

The realization hit him like a lightning strike.

"Then… this ability is real!"

His fingers curled into a fist. The moment replayed in his mind—his successful transformation, the system’s messages…

"I can actually steal abilities!"

Excitement surged through him. But then, another thought surfaced.

"Why didn’t it work on Miss Raelyn?"

He quickly opened his system interface, pulling up the Xeon Awakening section.

— » Xeon Awakening - Level 1

— (Allows the host to extract and merge abilities if the requirements are met. Applies to Zeta-Rank abilities [D–F Rank].)

"I knew it!" His eyes locked onto the limitation.

"I can only extract lower-ranked abilities… for now."

His gaze then flicked to the skill level.

"If this is Level 1, then upgrading it must let me steal stronger abilities!"

A grin spread across his face, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous glint.

"It’s all real."

His gaze swept across the classroom, his expression darkening.

Each person who bullied me will suffer because of my revenge. I’ll make them pay."

—

Miss Raelyn occasionally looked at Max while she continued teaching her classes.

"That boy… something about him feels different."

She immediately detected a change in his energy when she entered the room. She needed additional time to examine him because of it.

Her surprise went beyond his achievement of reaching the third flow point because he stood dangerously near the fourth level.

"His power might not be as worthless as everyone assumed."

The transformation power that he possessed kept playing in her awareness.

—

Max walked home after school with a steady pace as he departed from the academy.

His thoughts continuously revisited everything that had happened throughout the day.

"The XAO entrance trials are in six months."

His eyes showed both nervousness and anticipation.

"How much stronger will I be by then?"

He remembered what the XAO officials had said to him earlier.

—

"If you intend to enter the trials, add your name to the registry."

"Only those who reach Zeta Rank before then will be eligible."

"The exact date and location will be announced later."

—

Max recalled the day when XAO officials visited Class Three for their inspection. He had failed, as expected. The selection process had picked only a small number of candidates for immediate admission.

He completed the participation form without any delay when the time arrived.

His mind replayed the shocked expressions of his classmates who witnessed his decision.

A period of six months will find me achieving something to ridicule their expectations.

Then, another thought struck him.

"Since this is all real… that means I have to complete my daily system tasks."

His lips curled into a smirk.

He saw a fresh direction in front of him and planned to follow it completely.