Adepts (known as Psychics in Japan) is the name given to a sub-species to the human race that appear in the Azure Striker Gunvolt series.
Details
Physically and mentally, Adepts are exactly the same as any normal human. What makes Adepts unique is their affinity with the 7th wave of the Lifewave, known as septima, which has only recently been discovered, with the first adept discovered in South America. Thus, the vast majority of Adepts tend to be young adults or children.
A kind of ESP, Adepts use septima to, at it's most basic level, bend various forms of energy to their will. This allows them to do unimaginable things like control of fire, insect swarms, and in general defying the laws of nature and physics.
There are different levels of power among Adepts, and the Sumeragi Group has a sparsely mentioned system for grading them. Both Gunvolt and Nova are graded as S+ (SS in the Japanese script), while their researchers speculate that Zonda is in the same tier due to free usage of septima while sealed by a Glaive. Despite only being a normal human, Copen with just his baseline shield, armor, and gun was also considered on-par with a mid level Adept.
Despite being glorified or reviled for their powers, it is implied that many Adepts possess underwhelming abilities. The low ranking members who make up the majority of the Adept supremacist group Eden, known as Pawns, are mostly Adepts who can't control their septima or possess abilities impractical for combat, and as such rely on conventional weapons to fight. One example of a weak Adept is one of the thugs who attacked Quinn when Gunvolt first met her. Prior to using the septima enhancing drug S.E.E.D., his plant controlling ability could only make flowers grow faster.
Adepts are mainly created through two methods. Either they are born naturally, or Septimal Inducers can be implemented into a normal human, gifting them with septima. The implanted septima may be removed shortly after its implantation, but is implied to become permanently bonded with the subject if enough time passes. This method's potential for success is dependent on the human's compatibility with the septima as determined by unknown factors. An incompatible subject may face lethal backlash when attempting to use the implanted septima, as is the case for the vast majority of Project Gunvolt test subjects implanted with the Azure Striker. Currently, only the Sumeragi Group has the technology required to perform this procedure, along with an unknown method for predicting a subject's compatibility with various types of septima. This method is somewhat unreliable, as Nova was predicted to have the highest compatibility with the Azure Striker since "Takefutsu", but almost died when attempting to use it. Meanwhile, Gunvolt was considered the second most promising subject after Nova, albeit a distant second, but he did prove to be compatible.
Another method is cloning, but this is even more unreliable than Sumeragi's implantation method. A clone of an Adept will generally have a different septima than the original's. In fact, it's more likely that the clone of an Adept won't be an adept at all.
Because of their powers, Adepts often faced intense discrimination and persecution and are either feared or hated by non-Adepts. In the nation of Japan, the Sumeragi Group hunted down Adepts on the grounds of them being a national threat, and performs experimentation on them, in hopes of using septima as an alternative energy source. Ironically, some of Sumeragi's highest ranking members are Adepts themselves, who's septimal powers are controlled by Sumeragi using Glaives. An Adept may also face discrimination based on the type of septima they possess, as many people believe that septima is related to personality. Viper was ostracized and became an outcast due to possessing Explosion, a septima also wielded by a criminal who attacked a mall.
It is unknown how Adepts are treated outside of Japan, however the backstories of The Seven imply it is very similar. In China, it is said that Adepts are hunted from birth, and in Korea, websites run by Adepts are banned.
However, there are examples of groups that fight for adept rights: QUILL, a former human rights group that does battle against the Sumeragi Group, and the far more extreme Eden, an Adept supremacist faction that threatened to wipe out all non-Adepts.
It has been mentioned that adept birth rates are on the rise, which may suggest they are a result of evolution, and may come to replace regular humans all together. This would come to pass sometime before the events of Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX, by which point Adepts had surpassed mankind in numbers, finally turning the tables on their oppressors, now known as "Minos".