Caroline tested her abilities again. Her body felt lighter than before. Running and jumping took almost no effort now. Her speed had shot up. She checked her powers too. Her energy felt fuller and brighter, and her ice blade was tougher than ever. But the biggest change came when she turned water or ice into steam. This time, the steam was hot. Before, she had wondered why her steam wasn't that warm—just a bit hotter than normal air. Now she finally saw the difference. If the temperature were high enough, the steam could actually be used as a weapon. She grabbed a thermometer and ran a test. When she changed water into steam, the temperature reached about 175°F. When she turned ice straight into steam, the temperature jumped to about 250°F! Steam that hot could burn a person or an animal—unless they had some kind of special skin or fur. Caroline laughed. "Does this count as a new ability? And one I can use anytime?" While she was still testing, she heard a loud splash beside her. "Pfft!" Silver, who had just woken up, tried to flap her wings and fly. But the little bird lost balance and dropped right into the wooden barrel headfirst. Jet happened to wake up at that same time. The first thing he saw was Silver falling into the water. His feathers puffed up instantly. "Human! Human! Something's wrong!" Caroline rushed over to check. She touched Silver's body and found she was burning. "Wait! Is Silver mutating?" She had always thought Silver's only ability was her speed. It seemed she was wrong. "Don't be scared. Just stay with her," Caroline said, calming Jet down. Who would've thought that Jet, of all birds, was an obsessive lover? He slid right back into the barrel, fluffed up his wings, and carefully propped Silver up so she floated on the water surface. Then he scooped up some spring water and gently fed it to her, one beakful at a time. Through the whole process, Jet was gentle and careful with Silver—almost like he was scared of hurting her. Caroline flicked Jet lightly on the forehead. "Don't tire yourself out." Raven woke up a moment later, his fur glossier and darker than ever. But before Caroline could celebrate, Raven suddenly wobbled and collapsed right onto the floor. She touched Raven and found his body burning. Caroline's eyes widened. Was his ability upgrading? Or was a new ability forming? She had always suspected that Raven might have two abilities. Back in the storage space, he had eaten two different colors of energy. Unlike Jet, who only ever ate the blue kind. To be fair, Jet wasn't paying attention back then. He was too busy fighting Raven, pecking at whatever he grabbed first. Raven, on the other hand, rushed toward anything new just because it was a different color. Moments like this truly showed the difference in IQ between those two. Caroline lifted Raven and set him back into the tub, feeding him more spring water. Pinky finally woke up. She blinked her big round eyes at Caroline. Since Denton was still holding her, Pinky didn't dare to move. Caroline stared at Pinky, amused. She reached out and gently squeezed her soft ear. Pinky looked at her with her big eyes, ears twitching twice. The moment she touched Pinky, the Zero System suddenly vibrated. Caroline froze. "Wait, Pinky awakened an ability too?!" Caroline quickly pulled up the system interface. Lines of text appeared on the screen. Special Ability: Big-Mouth Echo Note: Open your mouth as wide as physically possible. This creates an ultrasonic blast that leaves your enemy dizzy, confused, and briefly out of their mind. They may even see illusions. Caroline got this ability from a tiny, adorable creature. She got lucky, but activating this ability won't be easy. Available Uses: X5Caroline's mouth twitched. She read it again and again. Open my mouth to the maximum? What did that even mean? This is a total trap! Another ability that would be socially embarrassing to use in front of people. A full day later, everyone finally woke up. Only Silver and Raven were still feverish and sleeping. Then came another surprise; the tiny pony awakened an ability too! But, well, nobody knew how to feel about it. Caroline reached out and touched the pony. The Zero System shivered and displayed. Special ability: The Little Match Girl Notes: This is a passive ability. All female characters will instantly feel pity and affection for the user. They will refuse to harm the user and may even want to give them a warm hug. But will Caroline use this ability to take advantage of those cute, kind-hearted women? Of course she will! Which means Caroline is the Little Match Girl! Available Uses: X5