Chapter 26: The Instructor With Two Faces

Unfortunately, no matter how many times Dr. Rinko restarted the machine and ran the test again, the result refused to change.

[Error! Error!]

[Rank: Unknown.]

But for some reason, instead of feeling frustrated, Dr. Rinko seemed even more excited to find out what was going on with Summer.

"Miss Beaumont," Dr. Rinko began excitedly, moving closer to her. "Sometimes, we can learn more about an ability through a biopsy. If you consent to it—"

"I don’t." Summer cut her off so quickly that Dr. Rinko froze.

The doctor blinked. "What?"

"I don’t consent."

Dr. Rinko gasped in surprise. "Miss Beaumont, please think about it more carefully! If we perform a biopsy, there’s a much higher chance that I can discover what your hidden ability is. Besides, this is the first time we’ve ever found a Guide with a hidden ability!"

"I’m not interested." Summer answered without even taking a second to think about it.

She had already spent enough of her previous life lying on operating tables.

They had cut her open, put her back together, then cut open again.

She had absolutely no intention of letting anyone put her through that again, no matter how interesting her ability might be.

"And if my ability is still hidden, then so be it," Summer added with a shrug. "If I’m really meant to have it, I’ll get it someday."

Dr. Rinko stared at her strangely. She genuinely couldn’t understand this girl.

Normally, if someone found out there was a hidden ability sleeping inside their body, they would do almost anything to find out what it was.

A biopsy? Most people wouldn’t even hesitate.

But Summer... she didn’t look tempted at all.

Dr. Rinko stared at Summer for a few more seconds before finally letting out a long sigh. "This younger generation is really too apathetic about everything."

Summer decided not to comment on that.

"If you really don’t want to do the biopsy, then I’m afraid I can’t give you an accurate rank either," Dr. Rinko continued. "For now, I’ll put your rank as ’Unknown’ in the system until I get more data from your other evaluations. Is that alright with you?"

Summer nodded without hesitation. "Sounds good to me."

Once again, Dr. Rinko looked at her as if she couldn’t understand how Summer could be so calm about this.

Summer, meanwhile, genuinely didn’t see the problem.

Unknown was fine. At least it was better than F-Rank.

Dr. Rinko eventually gave up trying to understand her and turned back to her terminal. She entered everything she had gathered into Summer’s medical records, including the machine’s repeated failure to read her rank.

Summer thought she would also undergo her physical and mental evaluations here, but apparently, she was wrong.

Once Dr. Rinko finished updating her records, Summer learned that she had to go somewhere else for the next part.

More specifically, she had to go to the training ground located in the basement of the building.

"What kind of physical strength is that?! Even my grandma can lift it!"

That was the first thing Summer heard the moment she stepped into the training ground.

Well. What a warm welcome.

"Again! Lift it!" The same male voice echoed through the entire room.

Summer walked toward the railing and looked down. The training ground was much bigger than she had expected.

The whole place was divided into two levels, with the upper floor built like a large observation deck. Meanwhile, the lower level looked more like a battlefield than a training ground.

Several arenas were separated by transparent barriers, each designed for a different test. Some had obstacle courses. Others had weights, weapons, or strange machines and then there were the combat arenas.

ROAR!

A massive mutated bear suddenly appeared in the middle of one.

Summer instinctively straightened her back and for half a second, she thought someone had actually released a polluted creature inside the building.

But a moment later, she noticed the faint blue light flickering across its body.

It turned out to be a hologram.

Interesting.

The creature looked almost completely real. Its fur moved, saliva dripped from its mouth, and even the floor seemed to shake beneath its massive paws.

A young Sentinel inside the arena immediately raised his weapon when the bear charged toward him.

BANG!

The bullet tore through its shoulder, causing part of its body to scatter into blue particles before forming again.

Summer’s eyes lit up. Now this was interesting.

The holograms weren’t simply moving images. They could react to attacks, copy the movements of real polluted creatures, and even fight back.

The bear suddenly swung its paw, and the Sentinel barely managed to dodge.

BOOM!

"Too slow!" That terrifying voice came again.

Summer turned toward it and saw a tall man standing near the railing on the upper floor, staring down at the Sentinel with his arms crossed.

"You had three seconds to react!" he snapped. "Three! Were you planning to ask the bear to wait politely while you made up your mind?"

The Sentinel gritted his teeth and got back into position. Strangely, however, Summer didn’t see any anger on his face.

Actually, none of the people being trained by the man seemed particularly upset with him. Even when he cursed someone’s entire bloodline, they just shrugged it off.

A few minutes later, the test finally ended.

[Evaluation Complete.]

The holographic bear disappeared, and then something even stranger happened.

The terrifying instructor immediately relaxed and formed a bright smile on his face. "Good work!"

Summer tilted her head. Was this really the same man?

He even walked over and offered his hand to the exhausted Sentinel, helping him back to his feet.

"Your reaction speed improved a lot compared to last week," he said, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. "You just need to stop hesitating so much. You already know what to do. Trust yourself a little more."

The Sentinel let out a tired laugh. "Easy for you to say, Instructor."

"I know." The man grinned without an ounce of shame. "That’s why I’m the instructor."