This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

After closing his eyes for what felt like only a brief moment, Kain was roused from the dreamy feeling he was experiencing.

With each breath, his mind grew clearer and clearer until he could sense the subtle changes within him—a latent power just waiting to be harnessed. However, he could tell that his gift was not one that he'd readily be able to use anytime soon.

As he stepped out of the pool and back onto the stone floor of the cave, he was shocked by the dense mass of floating bodies beneath the pool. It seemed as though he was in the spring for much longer than he'd thought considering he recognized many students much further down the rankings within the pool.

He didn't want to hog the properties of the spring, especially when so many others were relying on this chance as an opportunity to drastically increase their power. It was vital for everyone to have an opportunity to awaken their gifts, whatever they may be. He turned away from the spring, heading for the cave's exit.

As he stepped outside, the bright light of the sun momentarily blinded him. The area outside of the cave was alive with the happiness of the students who had just emerged from the spring. He squinted, taking in the scene: laughter, shouts of joy, and the occasional gasp of surprise floated through the air, mingling with the sweet scent of blooming flowers and fresh earth.

At the entrance, Kain noticed a group of professors standing vigilantly, likely to prevent any accidents from students unable to control their new gifts. Their expressions were a mix of concern and anticipation. Kain recognized Oliver among them, the unfamiliar serious and tense expression from before entering the pool now a lot more loose.

Presumably whatever goal he'd entered the spring with had been achieved.

Nearby, another student, a second year just outside of the top 5, was causing mischief by uncontrollably summoning flames, igniting nearby foliage and causing a commotion. Laughter erupted from the crowd as a couple of students dodged the fire, their expressions a mixture of shock and amusement.

"Be careful!" one professor shouted, waving a hand to extinguish the flickering flames before they spread.

"Are we supposed to stay here?" Kain asked Oliver, gesturing toward the exit.

"Depends…did you awaken a gift or strengthen your current one? Once everyone's out, the professors will conduct a brief session to help those who have awakened or strengthened their gifts," Oliver explained. "It's crucial that we help them learn to control it before letting them run wild."

Kain nodded in understanding and then went to an isolated area of the clearing to investigate the gift he'd awakened. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he was not one of the students who could have an instant sense of how to use his gift like the second-year pyromaniac who was still occasionally setting fire to random objects.

Kain opened the System and went to his profile looking for any changes. Finally, he found the new addition of a 'gift' section within his profile amongst all of his other stats.

"Traveller's Souvenir"

'Seriously System?! That's all the help you'll give me? That name tells me absolutely nothing!'

Kain tried to figure out what exactly the name could possibly mean, and possibly explore his body along those lines, but the name was just too abstract.

Just as Kain was about to lose himself in frustration, he spotted Bridge emerging from the cave. His brother looked a bit excited but mostly confused.

"Bridge!" Kain called out, rushing toward him.

Bridge turned, a mixture of emotions playing across his face. "Hey, Kain! Did you—"

"Did you awaken a gift?" Kain interrupted, his heart pounding with anticipation.

Bridge shook his head vigorously, then hesitated before nodding slowly. "I think I might have, but I'm not sure. I felt… different when I was in there. But now that I'm out, I can't really pinpoint what it is. I left because the spring didn't feel like it was working on me anymore."

Kain furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"I just… can sense something, but it's like it's hiding from me," Bridge replied, glancing back toward the cave as if expecting an answer to emerge from it. "I can't activate it like either of those guys. So that must mean I failed, right?" Bridge pointed at the guy who was still occasionally setting fire to things, and another first-year who exited the spring not long before Bridge.

His eyes kept suspiciously changing color and he's been sneakily passing glances over the chest area of a female third-year student for a while now.

As if on cue, another fire erupted in a corner of the clearing, and the fed up third-year student suddenly yanked the suspicious first-year with colour-changing eyes away with an exasperated expression. Soon the sound of loud, painful screams echoed back to them, causing Kain to wince.

'I guess nobody explained to him that not all gifts are able to be identified and used right away…'

"If you feel that something is different, that's a good sign. You probably have a gift, but just haven't met the conditions to activate it. Don't worry and take your time exploring it." Kain tried his best to comfort him despite also being frustrated by his own situation.

However, unlike Bridge, who had no leads to go off of or even a way to conclusively determine that he had a gift, Kain at least had a name for and confirmation that he had a gift.

"That's nice to know, but I wish I could figure out what this 'gift' is. It feels frustrating!" Bridge exclaimed, running a hand through his hair.

As more students continued to filter out of the cave, Kain and Bridge were greeted by their friends and acquaintances with varying expressions. While many students had awakened or strengthened a gift. The vast majority were still left with feelings of disappointment at not having a gift.