Frozen Flame of Dawn - Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Chapter 54: Crisis and Unstable Territories_2

Everyone’s have different expression, but were mainly intrigued by the number.

“However,” Megan continued, “we suspect there are still many who haven’t come forward to register, either because they haven’t fully realized their abilities or because they are hesitant.”

She paused, scanning the room before delivering the next revelation. “What this means is that—at the bare minimum—one-sixth of our total population has already awakened. And this number is increasing day by day.”

A heavy silence followed her words as one-sixth that was an alarming ratio and it wasn’t just a few gifted individuals anymore—awakening was becoming the norm.

Megan let the weight of her statement settle before continuing. “We’ve also observed that children below the age of 14 have not exhibited any signs of awakening yet. Based on this, we can theorize that the ability to awaken only manifests after crossing a certain age threshold—which, as of now, appears to be around 14 years old.”

Aiden leaned forward, resting his chin on her hand as he absorbed the information. “So, this spiritual energy isn’t just affecting a handful of people—it’s influencing everyone. And if this trend continues, eventually, almost every person here will awaken at some point after they reach 14.”

Megan nodded. “That’s the most logical conclusion at this point.”

Aiden exhaled, rubbing his temple. “It changes everything as the we aren’t just dealing with a world where a few strong individuals emerge but moving toward a society where nearly everyone has powers.”

A heavy realization sank in as this wasn’t just about training soldiers anymore. It was about reshaping civilization itself.

Megan pressed on. “Now that we have conducted a thorough assessment, we have officially categorized the awakened individuals into three primary groups. This classification helps us understand their abilities better and organize training more efficiently.”

She turned to the monitor as Ezzie displayed a chart summarizing the data and turned around the table, ensuring everyone was following before she continued. “The first, and by far the largest group, consists of those who have awakened one or more elements. We refer to them as Elemental Awakened, and they make up roughly 70 to 80 percent of all registered cases.”

She gestured toward the monitor as a pie chart appeared, highlighting the dominant elements in different colors. “Among them, the most common elements are Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Lightning—these individuals have direct manipulation over these forces, though their level of control varies.”

Aiden’s expression remained neutral, but he took note of the statistics. He was already familiar with elemental abilities, having trained alongside many of them in his unit.

Megan continued. “However, there is a smaller subset—roughly 10 to 15 percent of Elemental Awakened—who have awakened uncommon elements. These include Ice, Metal, Light, Shadow, and Darkness.”

A murmur rippled through the room at the mention of these rarer elements. It made sense that the common elements would outnumber the rare ones, but knowing the exact figures added weight to the discussion.

Bella, who had been listening in silence, finally spoke. “We need to closely monitor those with rare elements. While they might be fewer in number, their potential could be significantly higher.”

Megan nodded in agreement before shifting to the next category. “The second group consists of those who haven’t awakened any elemental abilities but have instead developed enhanced mental and cognitive abilities. We refer to them as Mental Awakened.”

A new list populated the screen, showcasing the various abilities they had identified so far.

“The tricky thing about this category is that their abilities vary widely. Some are incredibly rare, and we don’t fully understand their potential yet.” She began listing examples. “The more common ones include telekinesis, illusion manipulation, and enhanced sensory perception. But there are others with more… abstract abilities that we’re still evaluating.”

She hesitated for a moment before continuing. “For example, we recently discovered a teenage girl with the ability to alter the emotions of those around her.”

This immediately caught everyone’s attention.

“She can subtly sway moods—make someone feel happy, sad, angry, or calm, depending on her focus.”

Aiden frowned, rubbing his chin. “How strong is the effect?”

Megan exhaled. “Right now, it’s limited—she can only influence a small number of people at once, and the effect isn’t absolute. The stronger the target’s mental energy, the harder it is for her ability to take hold.”

Amira’s eyes darkened slightly. “Abilities like these can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands.”

Megan nodded. “Exactly and that’s why we need to track all mental awakeners carefully. Their abilities don’t just pose a physical threat, but also a psychological one.”

Aiden exhaled sharply but said nothing. He was already thinking about the potential risks.

Megan shifted to the final category. “The last, and the smallest group, are those who have undergone physical enhancements instead of awakening an element or mental ability. We refer to them as Body Awakened.”

She gestured toward the monitor as a new list displayed various known abilities. “These individuals experience drastic physical changes—some develop superhuman strength, others gain enhanced speed or reflexes.”

She elaborated. “For instance, some have developed bodies strong enough to withstand bullets, while others have achieved unnatural agility and reaction times.”

Aiden couldn’t help but think of the few soldiers he had seen who had insane regeneration rates—men and women who could heal from deep wounds within minutes.

Megan continued. “One interesting observation is that those who awaken enhanced speed seem to develop a gradual increase in durability as well. Their bodies naturally adapt to handle the strain of moving so fast.”

Tommy smiled from his seat. “So even the speed freaks end up tougher than normal humans?”

Megan nodded slightly. “Pretty much. Their bodies aren’t as durable as those with superhuman strength, but they’re still far more resilient than regular humans.”

She glanced around the room, then summarized. “Now, as Captain Amira has pointed out before—just because someone doesn’t awaken an element, doesn’t mean they can’t use elements.”

Everyone already knew this as Amira already told them about it, but they let her continue. “By training their spiritual energy control, even those without elemental affinity can manipulate fire, water, earth, etc. But their proficiency will never be as high as those who naturally awakened those elements.”

She paused, then added one final challenge. “Unfortunately, we still have no reliable method to measure affinity levels accurately. That means we can’t determine who is best suited for which training path.”

Amira leaned forward. “Then we’ll have to keep relying on trial and error until we find a way.”

Megan took a deep breath, placing her notes on the table before locking eyes with everyone seated around the conference room now the discussion about the classification of awakened individuals had concluded, and now she was about to shift into another topic—one that could dictate their long-term survival.

“Now that we’ve categorized the awakened, let’s move to our next topic which is food.” The seriousness of her words made the room quiet because classifying abilities was important, but sustaining the population was just as crucial.

Megan continued, her voice clear. “Previously, we had a considerable amount of food stored within the town and there were also several hidden greenhouses and farmlands that provided fresh produce.”

She paused, flipping through her notes. “However, as everyone knows, our numbers are growing daily. The more people arrive, the faster our supplies deplete. If we don’t act now, we’ll face serious shortages in the coming months.”

Amira, who had been listening attentively, leaned forward. “What’s our current status? How long can we last with the food we have?”

Megan glanced down at the documents before responding. “Given our current population of 60,000, the maximum we can sustain without crisis is around three months. But that number is based on our current intake rate. If our population continues increasing—and we know it will—this window could shrink considerably.”

Aiden folded his arms, his expression turning serious. “Three months? That’s cutting it dangerously close.”