Universal Power System

In the coming days as Mako was practicing his sword skills under Magnus and figuring out the first stage of unlocking mana manipulation, Bill and Erin were regularly visiting Professor Curtis' office at 9 pm sharp, learning and training on how to master the mutant gene.

Professor Curtis was honestly blown away after Bill revealed the fact that he had unlocked the second stage of his Earth mutant gene at his current level of power.

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"It is definitely a very rare case... I want you to tell me everything that happened that led to you unlocking this power, spare no details," Professor Curtis requested, genuinely intrigued as to what conditions could have led to such a remarkable change in such a young body.

Bill gave Professor Curtis all the details of their time in the recruitment test and during their first mission.

He explained how he managed to unlock the first mutant gene stage of his Wind ability during the recruitment test and how later on after suffering from a major loss unlocked the first and second mutant gene stage of his Earth ability simultaneously.

Since Commander Sable personally entrusted their training to Professor Curtis, Bill didn't feel the need to hide any details, especially since he was trying to understand better how they were able to unlock such power and how they could manage to control it.

By the end, Professor Curtis was left completely speechless as he heard all the details of the events that took place in the past few months.

'I see now, Sable... These kids are truly special... I understand why you wanted me to train them. Don't worry old friend, they are in very capable hands, I won't let you down.' Professor Curtis said to himself.

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"Alright, the first thing we have to take into consideration is the trigger that caused you to activate the mutant gene in the first place. Usually, it takes years of mental training to be able to unlock such power but you were able to unlock it in very intense and emotional situations." Professor Curtis began to explain.

"However, there is still a difference between the two of you. I believe that the conditions for the activation of your respective genes were based on different emotions."

"As per the details you shared with me, in Erin's case, the major emotional force contributing to her activating her mutant gene was anger while in Bill's case, the major emotional force that led to him unlocking his wind mutant gene was sadness,"

"In order for you to start mastering your mutant genes, you first would have to get rid of the emotional turmoil that has been linked to its activation because that will hinder your ability to sense and control the aura inside your body effectively."

"In a regular case, mutant gene activation could only occur after a person has gotten rid of any impurities in their thought that hindered their mind and senses from operating on their own body and now you shall have to do the same."

"Keep in mind, that your case is very rare and you will definitely feel less powerful after you have mastered control of the mutant gene as you will be able to regulate the expanding aura inside your body and not allow it to roam and ravage your body wildly. As you continue to get stronger and level up your abilities, the mutant gene will become stronger as well."

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This was the very first task that was assigned to Erin and Bill and that was to learn to activate the mutant gene on will without feeling any other emotion in the moment.

For Erin, this was a bit easy as after she had learned that Andrew was alright and had now reunited with him, the driving reason behind those emotions had gone away and she pretty much just had to practice clearing her mind before activating her mutant gene because she would still have to think some violent thoughts for it to activate.

For Bill, on the other hand, it was a bit tougher as the emotions that led to him awakening his Wind mutant gene were out of sadness after witnessing the illusion of your father created by that beast get destroyed. Even though he and his father were back on speaking terms, he was now enveloped by a stronger sadness that was very difficult to let go of.

After Bill described the condition of his Earth mutant gene and how it felt like he was containing a ticking time bomb of emotions and power inside of him that could explode at any moment, Professor Curtis advised Bill not to focus on his Earth mutant gene at the moment.

He explained to him that Bill's body unknowingly brute forced his Earth aura to expand and grow so wild so that he could attain the power necessary to defeat Victor; however, by using this method, the wild mutant gene absorbed the emotions that triggered it and now that things have calmed down, Bill's body isn't ready to hold the power of the second stage mutant gene inside his body.

This is why he was feeling such discomfort as his body was actively trying to suppress the second-stage mutant gene from expanding again and completely destroying his body.

The mutant gene was resonating those same emotions back into Bill's mind that initially led to its accidental activation, trying to break free from the weak confines of his core that barely held it inside.

Professor Curtis issued an intense core and body training program for Bill that would help him strengthen his body and core as well as his mana highways to be able to contain the mutant gene better.

Once his body is able to easily contain the second-stage mutant gene and override the mutant gene's will to become free and tear apart Bill's body, he could start training to control his second-stage Earth mutant gene.

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One day while Erin and Bill were training in one of the spare training rooms, Professor Curtis entered carrying a medium-sized briefcase.

He opened the case in front of Bill and Erin and took out two small objects that resembled handguns.

"Here, take these as a backup," Professor Curtis said as he handed both Bill and Erin a small handgun each.

The gun had a very unique design and looked completely different from any of the classical firearms that Bill and Erin knew of. It had no magazine and rather had a vial of green liquid stored clearly inside the chamber of the gun.

"What's this?" Erin asked.

"I am entrusting these two suppressing agents to you as a fail-safe in case Bill's second- stage mutant gene is ever activated again. This is an auto-injector that will inject the suppressing agent directly into the body and will neutralize all the mana inside the body, preventing him from using or activating any abilities." Professor Curtis explained.

"I don't understand, professor, is this really that necessary?" Bill asked, staring at the green liquid inside the injector with a bit of unease.

"It most certainly is, Bill. You could lose control at any time if your emotions are challenged too severely and without a prime target like Victor last time, you would just go on a rampage, creating havoc and destroying everything and this time you won't have Iris' power to save you from dying either." Professor Curtis explained.

"Iris' power?" Both Bill and Erin said simultaneously in shock.

Professor Curtis both stared into the eyes of Bill and Erin who were begging for him to

elaborate on his last statement.

*sigh*

After letting out a long sigh, Professor Curtis looked back into Bill and Erin's pleading eyes one more time before finally spilling the beans.

"After you explained everything to me, I talked with Sable again and checked your records and that was when I learned of an incident that happened during the recruitment test." Professor

Curtis began to explain.

"Bill, do you remember when Iris sacrificed her own life to stop you from dying which ultimately led to her getting disqualified on the verge of death?" Curtis asked Bill.

"Yes, I remember. I was hit quite hard and was about to be taken away as I was disqualified but Iris pleaded for them to stop and that she could heal me. They told me that she had used a dangerous healing technique to save my life." Bill recalled.

"Well, allow me to clarify what exactly Iris did to you on that day. She had accidentally used a skill that is forbidden among those who master the art of healing and that was Soul Healing."

"Soul Healing...?" They both said in confusion simultaneously.

"It is a secret art of healing where the healer transfers a portion of their soul into another body to help increase the body's ability to heal by a significant amount; however, this technique is extremely difficult as it risks the healer killing themself if they transfer too much of their own soul and in Iris' case she transferred 50% of her own soul into your body," Curtis

explained.

"50%!!!" Bill exclaimed with shock and wonder.

"She was extremely weak after she finished saving you and Commander Malik had to resort to very powerful healing techniques in order to save her life; however, the soul that she transferred into your body didn't just disappear after you were healed."

"Since she had no idea about what she was doing, she gave you a lot more of her soul than what was needed and the extra just remained dormant inside your body ready to heal any new injury that you may gain later down the line and it was her soul that protected your body from tearing apart when you used your second stage mutant gene for the first time,"