Chapter 65: Shocking everyone

For a moment, the entire registration process came to a halt.

Every person in the hall had turned their attention toward Jackson. Hundreds of eyes followed his movements, waiting to see whether he would actually prove his claim or embarrass himself in front of everyone.

The person conducting his rank-up test was a woman dressed in a tightly fitted Hunter Association uniform. Her posture was straight, and an imposing aura seemed to surround her.

From the way the other Association employees treated her, it was obvious that she held a fairly high position within the organization.

Even Osman, who was usually arrogant and harsh when dealing with representatives from various corporations, behaved like a completely different person around her. He stood to the side with a respectful and almost submissive expression, clearly unwilling to provoke her.

Jackson couldn’t help but take a closer look at the woman.

She had an icy, almost emotionless expression, and her sharp eyes seemed capable of making anyone feel uncomfortable under her gaze.

Yet, for some reason, Jackson found himself inexplicably drawn to her.

The attraction felt strangely natural, almost instinctive.

He couldn’t quite explain why.

Before he could think about it further, he found himself standing in front of a large machine.

The machine was nearly as tall as an adult and had a smooth royal-blue panel embedded in its surface. Complex lines of light occasionally flickered across the panel, giving it a distinctly technological appearance.

Jackson looked at the machine for a moment.

What am I supposed to do?

As if sensing his confusion, the woman finally spoke.

"Place your hand above the spiritual-force meter."

Her voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

"This machine will measure your spiritual force. If you are found unqualified for the rank upgrade, prepare yourself for punishment for wasting the Association’s time."

She paused for a moment, her icy gaze settling on Jackson.

"In the worst-case scenario, your status as an Iron-Rank hunter will be revoked."

Her words echoed throughout the hall.

Cold.

Sharp.

Absolute.

They struck the silent crowd like thunder, sending a chill through the hearts of everyone present.

The previously noisy registration hall became completely silent.

All eyes remained fixed on Jackson.

Now, everyone wanted to know whether this young man had truly reached the Second Sequence or had simply made the most spectacular mistake of his life.

Several gasps echoed throughout the hall.

Revoking someone’s Iron-Rank status?

That was far too severe.

The only real advantage of being an Iron-Rank hunter was the access to discounted supplies and certain benefits that ordinary people couldn’t obtain. If that status were revoked, then what difference would there be between an ordinary person and a hunter?

It was simply too cruel.

Almost immediately, pity appeared in the eyes of those surrounding Jackson.

Not a single person expected him to succeed.

Most had already judged him to be nothing more than an attention seeker who had somehow convinced himself that he had reached the Second Sequence.

After all, Jackson was around the same age as them.

If someone like him could reach the Second Sequence in such a short period of time, wouldn’t that mean their own talents were inferior?

Absolutely not.

No one was willing to accept such an absurd possibility.

Albert opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but Mrs. Lionheart quietly raised her hand and stopped him.

There was no point anymore.

Things had already progressed this far. Whatever they said now wouldn’t change anything.

All they could do was hope for the best.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Jackson slowly extended his hand.

His palm hovered directly above the smooth surface of the machine.

The moment his hand entered the designated area, the royal-blue panel suddenly lit up.

Faint lines of light raced across its surface.

Numbers began appearing one after another.

Following the woman’s instructions, Jackson carefully guided a tendril of spiritual force toward the machine.

The machine immediately responded.

The numbers on the panel began changing rapidly.

They fluctuated for several seconds before gradually slowing down.

Then they decreased little by little.

Finally, the numbers stopped moving altogether.

A clear result appeared on the screen.

[Spiritual Force — 14.7]

Everyone present was an Awakened, and their spiritual force was already far beyond that of ordinary people.

Even so, the number displayed on the screen still shocked them.

Several loud gasps echoed throughout the hall.

"Holy cow... He’s the real deal!"

"He hasn’t just reached the Second Sequence. He’s already close to the Mid Second Sequence!"

"To make this much progress in just fifteen days... What kind of monster is he?"

"Why haven’t I heard about him before?"

The crowd’s discussion quickly threatened to spiral out of control.

Before that could happen, Osman suddenly shouted a single word.

"Silence!"

His voice echoed throughout the hall, instantly suppressing the growing commotion.

Just like everyone else, Osman was shaken to his core.

But unlike the others, he was acutely aware of the woman standing nearby.

If these loudmouths said something that offended her, the consequences could be severe.

For the first time since arriving, the woman showed a slight reaction.

Her icy expression changed almost imperceptibly as she stared intently at Jackson.

It was as though she were trying to engrave his appearance into her memory.

Jackson remained calm under her gaze.

A moment later, however, her expression returned to its usual indifferent state.

She looked toward Jackson and spoke in a low, emotionless voice.

"Assessment passed. Awakened, you are now qualified to become a Bronze-Rank hunter."

"Your privileges and authority level have been upgraded. From now on, you can enjoy a twenty percent discount on all items sold in the Hunter Association store."

"Please collect your upgraded badge from the registration counter."

With those words, she turned around.

She didn’t linger for even a moment and quickly walked away, leaving the stunned crowd behind.

Jackson watched her departing figure for a few seconds before shifting his gaze toward the registration counter.

Only then did the reality of what had just happened truly settle in.

He was now officially a Bronze-Rank hunter.

"This..."

Jackson stared ahead with a dazed expression.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself for this moment, the reality still felt somewhat dreamlike.

It had only been two weeks since the world had labeled him a failure, someone destined to remain at the lowest rung of society with no hope of ever rising again.

Yet today, he had proven them all wrong.

Thinking about everything that had happened over the past two weeks, Jackson’s thoughts inevitably drifted toward Grace.

He wondered what realm she had managed to reach by now.

But after a moment, he shook his head.

It didn’t matter anymore.

Whatever path Grace had chosen, it had nothing to do with him now.

Just as Jackson was about to leave, someone approached and handed him his upgraded hunter license.

It was Osman.

There was no real need for him to personally deliver the license, but he had decided to use the opportunity to get closer to this newly emerging talent.

"Young man, don’t get too full of yourself. Bronze-Rank hunter is merely the beginning."

Osman gently tapped Jackson on the shoulder as he spoke.

He wasn’t saying it to belittle him.

He was simply telling the truth.

There were far too many Bronze-Rank hunters in the world. Jackson’s achievement was certainly extraordinary, especially considering his age, but becoming a Bronze-Rank hunter was only the beginning of the journey.

It would be better if Jackson didn’t allow today’s success to go to his head.

Jackson understood the man’s intentions and gratefully accepted the license.

"Thank you."

After exchanging a few more words, Osman returned to his position.

There were still thousands of Awakened individuals waiting to complete their registrations and assessments. Even if Osman wanted to stay and chat, he couldn’t afford to spend too much time away from his post.

The moment he left, Albert completely forgot why he had come to the Hunter Association in the first place.

He rushed toward Jackson with excitement written all over his face.

"Man, you really hid yourself well. To think you’re already a Bronze-Rank hunter!"

Albert looked at his friend as though he were seeing him for the first time.

"Who would’ve believed this?"

He shook his head in disbelief before suddenly remembering something.

"I wonder what expression that girl would have if she knew about your current achievement."

Albert couldn’t help grinning.

He was genuinely happy for his friend.

He had watched Jackson work day and night in the gym.

He had also been there on the day of the awakening ceremony when Jackson had awakened a mere five-resonance talent. At the time, even Albert had been shocked by the result.

But now, just two weeks later, Jackson had completely overturned everyone’s expectations.

Mrs. Lionheart and Diana stood quietly to the side, watching the two friends.

Neither of them spoke.

Their minds were still struggling to process what had just happened.

Diana’s previous judgment of Jackson had been completely shattered.

The young man she had considered an attention seeker had actually reached the Second Sequence.

And he had done it in just fifteen days.

For the first time, she couldn’t help wondering just how much she had underestimated the new neighbor....