Free Web NovelChapter 208: Chapter 207 - License
Point-of-View: Tara Williams
———————————————————————————
"Wow, you all really suck at this," I remarked with a frown, before muttering to myself, "Tch, maybe I was a bit harsh on the Outliers when I was training them, they were way better than this incompetent lot."
"Hey, there’s no need to be such a bitch about it!"
"Yeah, we’re paying for this, so you should be more professional!"
"You’re the worst!"
"Yeah, what they said!"
Ugh, I hate this so much. Today’s the 11th of October, and since things had finally calmed down now that the Monsters had been eliminated, the UN and several governments had begun taking measures to control the main pressing issue at the moment.
I’m talking about the fact that every single person in the world is now a Meta-Human, and can’t just be allowed to run wild with theit newfound powers. And so, as a measure to regulate the use of powers, several facilities had been set up in each country, in order to train people to use their powers.
The use of Meta powers in public has been outlawed unless the user is in possession of a special license to do so. Naturally, members of Harmony have been exempt from that law, though now we’re supposed to carry around IDs that say we’re affiliated with Harmony in order to prove that.
There are two requirements for normal citizens to gain a license to use their powers...the first being that they have to consent to being put in a trance using a Dark Skill technique and then be interrogated while in that state.
The interrogation is basically to find out what their intentions are for using their powers. If it turns out that someone being interrogated intends to use their powers for malicious purposes, they’re promptly banned from using their powers and can’t apply for a license.
And the second requirement is a training course for mastery of Aura and output control. If they successfully pass the course, they’ll then be given a license to use their powers.
However, if they use their powers to injure another person without justifiable cause or for other reasons like vandalism and whatnot, the license can be taken away from them.
So far, it was mainly law enforcement and the like that were being trained. And quite disturbingly, over twenty-five percent of them have failed to get past the interrogation part, since they expressed clear intent to misuse their abilities.
Naturally, some countries had to tweak their laws and regulations when it comes to their law enforcement, to fit with the requirements of this licensing process.
A lot of law enforcement officers have been fired too, thanks to some of the things they said during the interrogation. Dark Skill techniques to make people speak the truth have been used for those interrogations, so it’s a highly accurate and effective way to assess a person’s true intentions.
For the first few weeks of this process, we Harmony members have been tasked with carrying out assessments of both requirements for this process, until we’ve adequately trained people to replace us in these facilities.
All the Category 0s and several Category 1s have been assigned to this task, but we’re still tremendously understaffed. After all, there are over five billion people in the world who have powers now.
In a way, it’s a good thing that those two billion were killed by the Monsters and Deities, makes things a bit easier. Probably shouldn’t say that out loud though.
Harmony has put out instructional videos on Aura control and output control for each Skill type, and other basics too, but that alone isn’t enough for most people to learn from.
Going forward, Meta-Humans are going to be the norm in the world, the age of humans without any powers is over.
In the past, kids born from one Meta-Human parent and one normal human parent have always developed powers of their own, though those powers are unstable.
And now that everyone’s a Meta-Human, all babies born from now on will be Meta-Humans too. Personally, I don’t really care that much, I’m just glad Harmony has been able to maintain its autonomy.
I’d have hated it if we ended up under the control of the UN or any other government. Sure, we’ll help out when it comes to Monsters and Demons or any Meta-Human crimes too big for regular law enforcement, but we have no obligation to interfere with any political conflicts between countries or anything like that.
"U-uh, hey, aren’t we done yet?"
"I...don’t think I can keep this up for much longer..."
Hm? Oh, right, guess I’m about done with this group for today.
"Pathetic, that’s all you’ve got? Fine, whatever, you can go now," I remarked, as I suppressed my Aura.
All of them collapsed onto their knees, struggling to catch their breath, worn out looks on their faces. This is such a pain, and I’m still far from done.
I’m in a facility in London, and was currently training a group of over seventy people. Some of them were making okay progress, but the majority were pretty slow on the uptake.
I hate everything about this, damn it. But one of the main reasons why Harmony agreed to help out with this is to smoke out the remaining Eden members from hiding.
After all, they can’t freely use their powers now, and if they try to get a license, they’ll end up exposing themselves during the interrogation phase.
I understand and agree that this is necessary, I just hate that I have to be involved in the process. It’s so damn tedious and annoying, I hate training people. Well, whatever, at least I’m done for the day, so-...
"Uh, excuse me, Miss Williams? We have a last minute addition to the group you’re in charge of, we’re about to begin the interrogation, we’d like your presence there," Suddenly spoke up one of the staff, as he entered the training room.
"Huh? Hell no, I thought I made it clear that I’m accepting no additions once I start training a group, tell whoever it is to come back in a couple of weeks," I responded dismissively.
"Yes, we’ve been doing that, but this one’s kind of a special case. He’s already mastered Aura control on his own, you see," He informed me.
Hm? For real? If that’s true, I can’t ignore this...tch, what a pain.
"Is that so? Well...fine, I suppose I can give him a look, at least," I relented with a sigh.
I guess it’s natural that there’ll be some who have much higher aptitudes and proficiencies, those are the ones we need to be especially wary of. Just on the off-chance that any cases like Aurora turn up.
He then led me to the interrogation room in which the potential new addition was being kept, opening the door and letting me in as we got there.
"Hello, there. Nice to meet you, my name is Joseph Hayles, but please, call me Joe," He greeted me with a smirk.
He had sleek blonde hair, blue eyes and a thick stubble, with a well-built physique and a cocky, self-important look on his face.
He had his feet up on the table and was leaning back in his chair, and had some tattoos on his arms. He was wearing a black tank top and cut-off jeans that were about knee-length.
"What are you supposed to be, some kind of mafia big shot or something?" I inquired dryly, as one of our Category 1 Dark Skill users entered the room.
"Oh, nothing of the sort, I’m just a small time local businessman. My company manufactures and sells a variety of adult products, here’s my card," He replied, as he handed me a business card.
Looks like he runs sex stores, the logo makes that pretty clear.
"Not interested. Let’s just get this over with," I sighed, as I nodded at the Dark Skill user after tossing away the card.
"By all means," He responded, as the Dark Skill user walked behind him and placed his hands on his head.
"Any resistance?" I inquired, after a few seconds.
"No, not deliberately, anyway. He possesses the Dark Skill too, so he’s naturally resistant," Came the response. freewebnøvel.com
"Is that so? Good to know," He replied with a laugh, before a dazed look appeared on his face.
"Okay, it’s done. I’ll let you know if I feel any deliberate resistance on his part."
"Please do. Now, then...Mr Hayles, what do you intend to do with your powers if you receive a license?" I asked him, getting straight to the point.
"I want to...show off for women. In order to...raise my already high level of sex appeal. And please...call me Joe."
...that’s seriously his bluntly honest response? Guess his self-confidence isn’t just a front, it’s genuine. I hate him already.
"Would you ever use your powers to harm people?" I inquired, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Not unprovoked, no. I’d only use it against people for...self-defense and the like."
Tch, I was hoping he’d say that he would, that way we could deny him a license. Too bad.
"And would you use your Dark Skill powers to manipulate people? Like, women you’re attracted to?" I added with a frown.
"No. Where’s the...fun in that? That would only...hurt my pride in my...confidence towards my skills in...the art of seduction."
Oh, wow, I can’t believe he really said that.
"Damn it...I hate to say it, but he’s eligible," I sighed in disappointment.
Still though, he has the potential to be quite powerful...his Aura is perfectly suppressed, and based on the hue, it’s close to Category 0 level. I’m gonna have to keep an eye on him...
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
