My novel, The Bastion, was a rather dark piece of fiction. Humanity’s enemies were nigh-indestructible "gods" led by an even greater outer "god." The strongest human couldn’t even hold a candle to the weakest among them. Most of the world was dominated by their spawns and mutants, with only a small portion of it being controlled by mankind.
Among the monsters that roamed the earth, one of the worst groups were the Skincrawlers. Being able to disguise themselves and blend in with the population, they had nearly destroyed the Republic multiple times during its early days. While the problem had mostly been pushed to border towns and remote outposts, it wasn’t rare for higher-ranked Skincrawlers to occasionally slip through the cracks and carry out hit missions on high-profile targets.
Before the main plot began, there had been an attempt on Maki’s life by a Skincrawler due to her potential. Luckily, it was a diversionary attack by a weaker Skincrawler that had infiltrated through proxies and agents in the Academy’s staffing system. If it had been an actual attempt, there was no way Maki would have survived.
Well, it was supposed to be a diversionary attack. I didn’t know what effects my presence could have on the plot. Even if things went as planned, it didn’t mean I was safe. After all, a diversionary attack was still an attack. In the novel, Maki nearly died during the attack. It wasn’t even her powers that saved her, it was an artifact from the Sato Clan.
I didn’t have anything of the sort.
If I was a student in the Academy, it meant I had to be Gifted. So maybe, just maybe...
A grey, glass-like holographic window popped up in front of me.
[Potential: Computing...]
[Abilities : Error Sense]
[Error Sense: Nothing is truly perfect. Even the word itself is not, as its meaning changes with context and setting. By setting a baseline and definition of perfection, the user is able to detect flaws in objects they are in contact with.]
[Computing burden... Calculations complete]
[Burden]: [Cleansing]
[Cleansing: This world rejects the user, for they should have never been. They are an anomaly, an error, a virus, and a bug that will surely be cleansed. This cleansing manifests as an incurable disease in the user. Current effects: Nausea, fever, and weakness.]
Before I could even begin to process the information, another notification popped up.
[Potential analysis complete]
[Potential: [REDACTED]... estimating... SSS]
There was a lot to unpack, but I forced myself to only focus on what mattered at the moment. I’d focus on the rest when there wasn’t a potential Skincrawler gunning for my life.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any artifacts. I was also pretty sure that I didn’t come from a Gifted clan, or even a normal family at that. The lack of any surname was telling.
Most important though, was my Gift and ability.
I didn’t remember giving any character a Gift , and if the absurd potential was anything to go by, it was a very powerful one.
Sadly, potential wasn’t equal to immediate power. What was most important was my ability, Error Sense. Judging by its description, all I had to do was set a definition for perfection and it would tell me how "perfect" something was in comparison.
Activating an ability was a rather simple affair, one only needed to think about using it. The moment I did, I felt something. A buzzing, staticky sound similar to a corrupted signal on older TVs. I couldn’t so much hear it as feel it, and most of it was coming from my body.
’Strange... I haven’t set a definition for perfection.’
But it seemed my body was a massive error, according to whatever the default definition for this ability was. Which made sense in hindsight, looking back at my Gift.
I placed my hand on the bed frame. The buzzing immediately quieted down to a dull, faint hum. So the bed frame was considered normal.
I tried changing the definition of perfection. I imagined it as a single-piece bed frame, cast whole, with no welds, fastenings, or joinery of any sort.
Immediately the buzzing picked up, with the loudest sources of it being the ends of the frame, where I assumed the joints were located.
A rather stupid thought came to my head, and I couldn’t help but want to test it.
Gingerly, I removed my hand from the frame. Immediately, the droning shot up, very quickly becoming an actual vibration that rattled my head and worsened my nausea. I’d nearly spat blood before I was able to cancel it.
’Ugh... Yeah, no shit, of course I’m not a fucking bed frame.’
Note to self, never try comparing completely different things. Still, all this testing gave me an idea: if I could define perfection as a human without a parasite in their brain, then the Skincrawlers would definitely pop up when I tried sensing them.
I immediately put it to the test by imagining something of that nature, but there was no reaction from the ability. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel-fire.ɴet
’Is it because I’m too vague?’
I couldn’t say I had much knowledge of how Skincrawlers inhabited their hosts. I’d merely just written them to be parasites and that was it. My sloppy writing was still finding ways to bite me in the ass.
’Ok, let’s try something different. Lower-rank Skincrawlers aren’t the best at imitating human behaviors or bodily functions. If I base perfection on how normal a person functions and their body behaves, then the Skincrawler would likely pop up. Of course, there is always the possibility of it just being a weird person. But I’m willing to take that risk.’
I tried visualizing it, the normal behavior and bodily functions of a person. From regular breathing, to temperature, to their gaze, even facial muscle movement. There was an almost immediate reaction, as a faint buzz started emanating from my body.
’That makes sense. My body isn’t in the best condition, but this should work.’
I let out a sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t completely powerless.
From my peripheral view, I could see Maki staring contemplatively at me, but in the end she decided not to comment, much to my appreciation. I was actually of half the mind to test my ability on her, unfortunately it seemed we were out of time.
There were footsteps outside.