CHAPTER 35: ENTERING GUIDANCE ROOM

Taking a breath, Rowen stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the tall glass doors of the Cornerstone. As he approached, the doors slid open with a quiet hiss, and the cool air from inside brushed against his skin.

The first floor of the Cornerstone was open to anyone. The wide lobby spread out with polished stone floors that reflected the glow of mana-lamps embedded in the ceiling. Transparent display boards hovered in the air, showing notices, monster alerts, and federal announcements.

Here, clerks sat behind a long reception desk, directing newcomers to the right place. On this level were several departments—records, disputes, trade permissions, and security offices—but the most popular were the guidance rooms.

Each guidance room was marked by glowing signs above the door:

Mage Department, Knight Department, Tamer Department, and there are many more.

Anyone could step inside to ask questions, but actual guidance wasn’t free. A person needed to pay in mana stones, and the cost depended on the depth of advice they wanted. Basic information might only need a few stones, while detailed guidance or entry-level training paths require more.

Rowen glanced around and saw several people moving between the rooms. Some were students like him, nervously clutching their bags, while others looked like mercenaries or hunters hoping to advance further.

For the first time, he stood in a place where the paths of Mage, Knight, and Tamer were laid out in front of him. Now, it was up to him to decide which door to step through.

Rowen spotted a tiny room at the far end of the hall. A glowing screen above the doorway read: General Guidance Room. Curious, he turned to one of the clerks and asked what it was for.

The clerk looked him over, noting he was about sixteen. "That room’s useful for someone your age," the man explained. "Originally, it was made for those who didn’t awaken during the awakening ceremony. Some people awaken late, or only after desperate attempts, so the government created this room to guide them after they awaken because they don’t know which path they were on or what their limit was."

Rowen was puzzled. So there were actually people like him—those who could fully awaken after the official ceremony? He hadn’t known that was even possible.

Anyone could step inside to ask questions, but actual guidance wasn’t free. A person needed to pay in mana stones, and the cost depended on the depth of advice they wanted. Basic information might only need a few stones, while detailed guidance or entry-level training paths require more.

Rowen glanced around and saw several people moving between the rooms. Some were students like him, nervously clutching their bags, while others looked like mercenaries or hunters hoping to advance further.

For the first time, he stood in a place where the paths of Mage, Knight, and Tamer were laid out in front of him. Now, it was up to him to decide which door to step through.

Taking a slow breath, he turned toward the far end of the hall. The General Guidance Room looked plain compared to the others, smaller and without a crowd waiting outside.

He walked over and placed his hand on the glass panel by the door. The screen lit up, and with a soft click, the door slid open.

The room was small and quiet, a sharp contrast to the busy hall outside. At the center stood a plain wooden table, and on it rested a crystal ball, faintly glowing from within.

Behind the table sat a middle-aged man in a neat uniform. He looked up as Rowen entered, his expression flat but not unkind.

"Assessment fee," the man said, tapping the crystal ball lightly. "Ten low-grade mana stones."

Rowen froze for a moment, surprised by the straightforward demand.

Rowen slid the ten mana stones across the table. The middle-aged man swept them into a drawer and then nodded toward the crystal ball.

"Place your hand on it. Don’t resist; just let your energy flow," the guide instructed.

Rowen swallowed hard. His palms were damp, but he stepped closer and pressed his hand against the cool surface of the crystal. At once, the sphere flared with a soft glow. Lines of light swirled and converged inside before a thin screen of text shimmered above it.

[Detected compatibility path: Mage]

Rowen froze, staring at the text above the crystal ball. Mage?

The guide blinked, frowning. "Hmm... this is interesting," he muttered. "You’ve awakened... or at least your potential is showing Mage compatibility."

Rowen’s mind spun. Inside his portal space, Fern had already confirmed he was awakened as a Farmer. Yet the crystal here in this guidance room showed him as Mage. Why?

The guide gestured toward the crystal. "If you like, we can assess your potential in this path. The crystal will measure just how far your aptitude goes."

Rowen placed his hand on the cool surface of the crystal ball. The sphere pulsed, light flowing from white to green, then yellow, as it measured his potential as a mage.

Though his heart raced, he remained calm. The mystery of why the crystal detected him as a mage rather than a farmer only made him more curious. For now, the guide saw only what the crystal revealed: Rowen as a potential mage.

The crystal ball pulsed again, this time assessing Rowen’s potential more deeply. Colors began shifting within its core, flowing from white to green, then yellow, orange, red, purple, silver... and suddenly gold.

The guide’s eyes widened in shock. "W-what...?" he stammered, taking a step back.

He watched as the colors continued to shift rapidly, bypassing silver and settling briefly on gold. Confusion clouded his face.

The crystal then flashed black, and a faint crack snaked across its surface. The guide’s hand flew up instinctively. "Impossible! No, no one should reach that level, even as a mage!"

The ball shuddered slightly, then broke with a sharp pop, shards of crystal glinting on the table. The guide’s face turned pale, panic replacing his earlier shock. "This... this crystal... it’s malfunctioned!"

Rowen remained calm, observing quietly. The guide continued muttering to himself, his hands hovering over the cracked sphere.

Rowen’s pulse remained steady. Relief and clarity mingled in his mind. The crystal’s chaos didn’t change the truth: his potential was strong, but not impossibly so. The malfunction was the only explanation for the impossible readings.

Rowen watched quietly as the guide panicked over the broken crystal, but his thoughts were elsewhere. A part of him felt a surge of excitement; if the assessment had been accurate, he could level up as a mage far beyond what he could imagine.

Yet confusion gnawed at him. Inside his personal panel within the portal space, he had seen something different. There, it had clearly indicated that he could develop another path as well; he wasn’t limited to just farming. But here, in front of the crystal, it had only recognized him as a mage.

Rowen frowned, tilting his head. Why? Why did the crystal see only the mage path?