CHAPTER 30: ADVANCED REGISTRATION TEST

Upon entering the 3rd gate, Lucian was greeted by several employees, dressed in clean, ironed suits. They stood lined against the door, acting as guards for both — the individual and the others.

They formed clean lines along the passage, making way for hunters to pass through without any worries. Behind them stood hundreds of different men and women, each looking towards the small window televisions installed on the ceiling at every step.

Unlike the Association employees, their demeanor felt lacking, as if they knew nothing about cooperation. Intrigued, Lucian sharpened his gaze and looked closely only to notice something peculiar.

’Unlike the stern, confident gazes of the employees, their eyes are glinting with nothing but hostility towards one another.’

"Recruiters," he muttered under his breath, realizing their presence.

Recruiters.

The affiliates of the big and small guilds who act on the possibility of mutual interest. Flocking around Hunter’s Registration Hall, poaching young talents to join their associated guilds under false promises of potential growth—that was their job.

In a sense, they were but fraudsters who acted in broad daylight, committing frauds within the scope of the law so it wouldn’t bother them or their associates.

Of course, there was no point for Lucian to meddle himself with parasites as such. He simply followed the employee guiding him towards the examination room.

On his way, he saw 3 individuals sitting in luxurious chairs and sofas. Countless different-suited men surrounded them, some even massaging their legs and attending to their food with a bittersweet smile on their faces.

’I guess they’re the dogs of some big-shot guilds,’ he smugged, then shook his head.

Before he could know, Lucian stood in a gigantic room. Its walls were reinforced with hundreds of layers of steel and armored materials—the kind he had never seen before.

Within the room, a giant machine shone at the center. One of its parts stretched out, connecting to a small crystal ball. In the middle of the machine, a screen was set, glowing.

Around this machine, a bunch of humans stood draped in long white coats—similar to those of the scientists.

Looking at all of this, Lucian was simply astonished and, at the same time, concerned.

’To think humanity would evolve this much—using materials that no one had ever seen before and technology that just sounds straight out of sci-fi movies—it sounds too far-fetched and, of course, unrealistic.’ He raised an eyebrow, scanning everything as he followed the employees towards the machine.

Reaching the destination, one of the employees quickly broke from their group and hurried to one of the older scientists and began explaining the situation to them in faint whispers.

At the same time, others turned around, and a man standing in the middle came forward. "First of all, we’d like to apologize to you for the discomfort our incompetence caused you some moments ago." His voice was sharp yet polite, matching the confidence burning through his eyes.

Lucian nodded silently, knowing that the employee was apologizing for something he hadn’t done.

"It’s fine; where are we though?" Lucian spoke, trying to lift the heavy mood.

"Oh, we are in the advanced examination hall." The man replied, his voice steady and calm.

"But this looks pretty different from the rooms those recruiters were looking at...?"

"Ah yes, the ones those recruiters were looking at were the ’standard’ examination halls meant for the lower-level hunters that are ranked-B or lower. The advanced examination hall is a restricted area open to only A-ranked hunters."

Hearing his response, Lucian’s expression grew slightly unsettling. "A-ranked hunters..." He repeated, "Then why am I here? I haven’t even passed the test meant for B-rank yet...?"

Lucian stared at the employee with a rather stern gaze, almost as if he was trying to confirm something.

"I see, so that was your worry." The employee beamed, almost laughed, and said, "Well, I believe you do not know this, but the first and only criterion for one to be considered an A-rank Hunter is that they must be able to manifest their mana outside their body. And you achieved doing that not too long ago. Thus, as per rules and regulations, letting you attempt any test lower than A-rank would be nothing but an insult to your powers."

Hearing his answer, Lucian couldn’t help but wish to be able to plunge his head into the ground just like an ostrich and pretend not to exist in the world.

’This too... How much... Just how much have you copied, you darn system!’ He cursed in his mind and quickly regained his composure.

"The preparations are done!" The employee who had gone to talk with the scientists called out loud, signaling that the orb was now ready to be used.

The man in front of Lucian nodded to the employees behind and quickly showed the way to the testing site with a polite gesture.

Lucian followed without uttering a word, and just like the employees instructed, he quickly stepped on the small circular metal platform near the machine.

Mere inches away was the watermelon-sized crystal ball, completely transparent and still just like it was supposed to be.

The employees moved closer, and the scientists quickly took hold of the 4 small computer screens that surrounded the machine from a distance and controlled its inputs through thick, long wires.

"Your test is simple." The elder scientist from before, who stood the nearest to the machine, spoke out loud, "Just touch the crystal ball and pour out as much Mana as you can. The machine will then determine the concentration of the mana present in your body, and according to that, it will calculate your innate potential, which will allow us to rank you and officially register you as one of the hunters."

The explanation was heavy, yet on point.

Lucian nodded and smiled.

"Potential, huh?" He let out a soft chuckle and nonchalantly put his hand over the crystal ball.

"Well, too bad, mister, because I have infinite potential."

*Crack!*