Chapter 128: Too late (II)

Instead, he calmly allowed the testing force to complete its assessment.

At the same time, numbers began appearing on the pillar’s surface.

30…

40…

60…

The figures continued climbing at a steady pace, each new number causing Osman’s eyes to widen a little further.

70…

80…

90…

Finally, the numbers stopped.

For a brief moment, the room fell silent.

Then Osman practically jumped out of his skin.

“Absolutely impossible! You’re not simply at the Third Sequence. You’re already at the peak of the Third Sequence! How is this possible?”

His jaw nearly dropped to the floor as he stared at the number displayed on the pillar. He even rubbed his eyes, wondering whether he had somehow misread the result.

But the number remained unchanged.

The result was unmistakable.

Osman slowly turned toward Jackson. The suspicion and faint displeasure he had shown earlier had vanished completely. In their place was an expression of pure astonishment, almost as though he were standing before some rare natural wonder.

After all, Jackson had only become a Bronze-Rank hunter a month ago. Yet, in such a short period, he had not only advanced to Silver Rank but had already reached the absolute peak of the Third Sequence.

It was simply ridiculous.

Witnessing Osman’s exaggerated reaction, Jackson couldn’t help feeling a little smug. He casually withdrew his fist and examined the pillar once more.

“Now that you’ve seen it, you might as well take this opportunity and directly give me the Gold-Rank certification. As you can see, I’m not that far away from it.”

“Gold Rank!”

Osman’s eyes flickered.

For a moment, his expression became complicated.

He, too, had once been a promising young man. When he had first awakened, he had possessed considerable ambition and believed that he would eventually become one of humanity’s strongest hunters. He had imagined himself reaching the Fourth Sequence, earning his Gold-Rank certification, and standing among the elites.

But years had passed.

His youthful ambitions had gradually faded, buried beneath countless ordinary days at the Hunter Association. He was still stuck at the Third Sequence, unable to take that final step toward the Fourth.

For someone like him, becoming a Gold-Rank hunter was no longer a realistic goal. It had become little more than a distant dream.

Yet, standing before Jackson, he couldn’t help but feel a strange mixture of admiration and envy.

This boy…

A thought slowly took root in Osman’s mind.

I must cultivate a close relationship with him.

No wonder the young miss held him in such high regard. At first, Osman had thought she was simply showing some interest in a talented youngster. But now, after witnessing Jackson’s advancement with his own eyes, he finally understood that there was much more to it.

Hmm… The young miss.

I must inform her of this as soon as possible.

“Osman… What are you thinking?”

Jackson’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Seeing that the man had remained silent for quite some time, Jackson lightly knocked on the testing pillar.

Although he appeared carefree, he still had other matters to attend to. Standing around while Osman indulged in his thoughts wasn’t exactly part of his plan.

If the man could speed up the certification process, that would be even better.

Perhaps Osman could become a useful connection in the future, but for now, Jackson simply wanted to get his new badge and leave.

“Ah! My apologies!”

Osman hurriedly recovered his composure. He gave Jackson another look, this time with considerably more warmth, before arranging the necessary procedures.

The entire process took less than five minutes.

Soon, Jackson held his newly issued Silver-Rank hunter badge. Its surface was smooth and cool against his fingers, with the Association’s insignia engraved neatly into the metal.

He slipped it away without bothering to examine it further.

“Then I’ll be leaving.”

After exchanging a few words with Osman, Jackson turned and walked out.

Outside the testing area, the hunters who had been waiting in the registration hall immediately noticed his return. Several pairs of eyes followed him as he crossed the room.

Some were clearly curious about the result. A few even looked as though they wanted to approach him and ask what had happened inside.

However, none of them gathered the courage to do so.

After all, Osman had personally escorted the young man into the special testing zone. Whatever the result had been, it was clearly not something an ordinary hunter could casually question.

Jackson paid them no attention and soon disappeared through the Association’s entrance.

Osman remained where he was, watching the young man’s figure vanish beyond the doors.

Only after Jackson had completely left the building did he hurriedly return to his desk. He picked up his badge, searched through his contacts, and dialed a number.

Hundreds of kilometers away from Sector Sixty-Seven, deep within the vast stretches of uninhabited territory, lay an enormous ruin.

The remains of what had once been a magnificent structure stretched across tens of kilometers. From a distance, the landscape resembled a gigantic ridge, its jagged outline cutting across the barren horizon like the blade of an enormous sword.

The surrounding ground was uneven and scarred, with enormous fragments of ancient structures scattered across the landscape. Some ruins had sunk deep into the earth, while others rose like broken monuments against the sky.

It was a sight that would have been difficult to imagine without seeing it firsthand.

Above the ruins floated an entire fleet of aerial vehicles.

Every one of them bore the familiar insignia of the Hunter Association.

But they weren’t alone.

A closer look would reveal numerous other aerial vehicles hovering at varying heights around the ruins. Some carried the emblems of powerful corporations, while others displayed the crests of ancient families with considerable influence.

All of them had gathered here for the same reason.

An expedition was underway within the ruins.

Inside one of the Hunter Association’s aerial vehicles, a young woman was seated near the communications console. The faint sound of an incoming transmission had just reached her ears.

She listened quietly, her gaze drifting away from the panoramic view of the enormous ruins below.

It was a report from Osman.

After hearing the details, she let out a soft, intrigued sound.

“Reaching the peak of the Third Sequence in just two months…”

A faint smile touched her lips.

Sadly, this news had come a little too late.

If she had known about Jackson’s advancement earlier, she might have brought him along to explore the ruins below.

With someone like him accompanying her, her chances of obtaining that particular item would undoubtedly have increased.