Chapter 103: A New Hunter. Or something worse
Around him, nobody looked particularly interested in forgetting.
People were still talking.
Still recording.
Still checking the videos they’d taken.
But eventually, the crowd began settling back into place.
David and April were redirected into the line.
Thankfully, the reshuffling meant they weren’t sent all the way to the back.
They landed somewhere around the middle.
David looked at the line ahead.
Then behind them.
He nodded faintly.
’I’ll take it.’
The line began moving again.
Slowly.
People stepped forward one by one.
The Association returned to its normal rhythm with almost insulting efficiency.
David couldn’t help staring at the registration desks.
A few minutes ago, two S-Ranks had nearly torn apart the lobby.
Now people were filling out forms again.
It was almost absurd.
But eventually, the noise faded into the background.
The line moved.
And moved.
Until finally—
"Next."
David stepped forward.
April looked at him.
"Good luck."
He glanced back.
"It’s just an assessment."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You say that like you weren’t just standing ten meters away from two S-Ranks."
David paused.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
He stepped through the doorway.
The noise of the lobby disappeared behind him.
The assessment room was quieter.
Much quieter.
There were only a few Association employees inside, along with several pieces of equipment arranged around the room.
At the center stood a large crystal mounted inside a metal frame.
An Association staff member gestured toward it.
"Place your hand against the crystal when I tell you."
David nodded.
She checked something on the console beside her.
Then looked up.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
"Go ahead."
David placed his palm against the crystal.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
A faint pulse of light traveled through its surface.
The machine hummed.
The woman looked at the reading.
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But David noticed.
She looked at the screen again.
Then adjusted something.
"Hold still."
David frowned.
"I’m not moving."
"I know."
She ran the assessment again.
The crystal pulsed.
The machine displayed another reading.
The woman’s brows slowly drew together.
David watched her.
"Is something wrong?"
She didn’t answer.
She adjusted the machine again.
Ran the assessment a third time.
The same result appeared.
This time, she stared at the screen for several seconds.
Then looked directly at David.
"When did you awaken?"
David’s expression remained neutral.
He had no idea what answer she was looking for.
More importantly, he had no intention of explaining the System to a random Association employee.
"A few years ago."
She stared at him.
"A few years ago?"
David nodded.
"Pretty sure."
Her eyes dropped back to the machine.
The confusion on her face deepened.
She checked the readings one more time.
Then slowly looked back at him.
"According to the metrics..."
She stopped.
David waited.
Her eyes moved between him and the crystal.
"...you shouldn’t have any power."
David went still.
The woman looked at the crystal again.
Then back at him.
Her voice was quieter this time.
"You shouldn’t even be here."
David stared at her.
’That’s probably not good.’
He slowly removed his hand from the crystal.
The machine stopped humming.
The woman didn’t move.
David glanced at the crystal.
Then at her.
"So..."
He waited.
"Does that mean I failed?"
She blinked.
"No."
"Good."
David relaxed slightly.
Then she shook her head.
"You didn’t fail."
She turned toward the console.
"You broke the assessment."
David’s eyebrows lifted.
"I didn’t touch anything."
"I know."
She pulled up the previous readings.
Numbers filled the screen.
Then disappeared.
She entered another command.
The machine responded with an error.
She frowned.
Tried again.
Another error.
David watched in silence.
’This is taking longer than it should.’
The woman looked increasingly uncomfortable.
"Have you ever undergone an official assessment before?"
"No."
"Never?"
David shook his head.
She stared at him for another moment.
Then reached for the phone beside the console.
David’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Who are you calling?"
"The supervisor."
That got his attention.
"Is that necessary?"
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
David glanced toward the door.
He could already imagine how this looked.
He’d walked into the room for a simple assessment.
Five minutes later, someone was calling a supervisor because a machine couldn’t figure out what he was.
’Excellent.’
The woman spoke quietly into the phone.
"Yes. Assessment room three."
A pause.
"I need you to come down here."
Another pause.
She looked at David.
Her expression changed again.
This time, it wasn’t confusion.
It was caution.
"The reading is inconsistent."
David’s eyes narrowed.
She listened for a few seconds.
Then said,
"No. I already recalibrated it."
Another pause.
"Three times."
David looked at the crystal.
’That doesn’t sound promising.’
The woman hung up.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then David broke the silence.
"Can I leave?"
She looked at him.
"Not yet."
David sighed.
"Of course."
The door opened.
A middle-aged man stepped inside wearing an Association uniform.
He looked at the employee.
Then the machine.
Then David.
"He’s the one?"
She nodded.
The man walked over to the console.
"Run it again."
The woman hesitated.
"Sir, I already—"
"Again."
She obeyed.
David placed his hand against the crystal once more.
The machine came alive.
A pulse of light traveled through the crystal.
The screen flickered.
Numbers appeared.
For one second, everything looked normal.
Then the entire display went blank.
The machine emitted a sharp tone.
The middle-aged man’s expression changed.
"What happened?"
"I don’t know."
The crystal flickered again.
This time, something appeared on the screen.
Not a rank.
Not a power measurement.
Not even a numerical value.
Just a single line of text.
[ERROR: UNIDENTIFIED AWAKENER]
David stared at it.
The woman went pale.
The supervisor didn’t say anything.
David slowly removed his hand from the crystal.
The screen went dark.
Silence filled the room.
Then the supervisor looked at him.
"When did you awaken?"
David stared back.
He gave the same answer.
"A few years ago."
The man’s expression hardened.
"That’s impossible."
David raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently, the machine agrees with you."
For the first time since entering the room, the supervisor didn’t look confused.
He looked concerned.
And David had a feeling that was much worse.
The supervisor’s expression didn’t change.
But David noticed the way his eyes moved toward the woman.
Then toward the door.
That was enough.
"What?"
The supervisor looked back at him.
"Your assessment needs to be reviewed."
David frowned.
"Reviewed by who?"
"Research personnel."
David stared at him.
"For what?"
The man hesitated.
"To determine the cause of the abnormal reading."
David’s expression flattened.
"So you want to study me."
The supervisor didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
David looked at the crystal.
Then at the door.
’Yeah. No.’
He had no intention of becoming a research project because a machine couldn’t figure him out.
"I’ll pass."
The supervisor’s brows drew together.
"You don’t understand."
"I think I do."
David slipped the registration card into his pocket.
"You don’t know what I am, so you want to find out."
"It’s standard procedure."
"Then I’m sure you can do it without me."
He turned toward the door.
"David."
He stopped.
The supervisor’s voice had changed.
"You’re not being detained."
David looked over his shoulder.
"Good."
"But we strongly recommend that you remain here."
"Why?"
"Because until we understand your condition, we can’t guarantee that you’re safe."
David stared at him.
There it was.
The careful wording.
The polite tone.
The part where a recommendation slowly became something else.
"I’m fine."
"We don’t know that."
David turned fully toward him.
"And I don’t know that you’re going to let me walk out once your researchers start asking questions."
The room went quiet.
The supervisor didn’t deny it.
David’s eyes narrowed.
"Thought so."
He stepped toward the door.
The woman moved slightly.
Not blocking him.
Just enough for David to notice.
He stopped.
"Don’t."
She froze.
"I wasn’t—"
"I know."
David looked at the supervisor.
"Move."
The man stared at him.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Then—
The door opened.
A man walked inside.
David didn’t know who he was.
There was no reason he should have noticed him immediately.
He wasn’t wearing anything particularly impressive.
No armor.
No weapon.
Just a dark Association uniform.
But the moment he stepped into the room—
David felt it.
His body reacted before his mind did.
The air suddenly felt heavier.
His breathing stopped for half a second.
Every muscle in his body tightened.
The hairs along his arms rose.
Something massive pressed against him.
Not physically.
It was more like standing beneath something enormous that he couldn’t see.
David’s eyes widened slightly.
’What the hell...’
The man didn’t say anything.
He simply walked past the supervisor.
The pressure followed him.
David forced himself to breathe.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He didn’t want them to see how strongly it affected him.
But the man stopped a few meters away.
And looked directly at him.
David felt it again.
That overwhelming presence.
It wasn’t killing intent.
It wasn’t anger.
It was simply there.
And somehow, that was worse.
The supervisor immediately straightened.
"Sir."
The man raised a hand.
The supervisor stopped talking.
His eyes remained on David.
"You’re David?"
David swallowed.
"Yeah."
The man’s gaze didn’t move.
"Then there’s no need to study him."
The supervisor hesitated.
"But his reading—"
"I saw it."
Silence.
The man glanced toward the crystal.
Then back at David.
"He isn’t a threat."
David raised an eyebrow.
’That’s a surprisingly confident statement.’
The man turned toward the supervisor.
"Let him leave."
The supervisor looked like he wanted to argue.
He didn’t.
"Yes, sir."
Just like that.
The pressure in the room eased.
David drew in a slow breath.
His body finally relaxed.
Only slightly.
The man looked at him one last time.
"You should probably learn how to hide that."
David frowned.
"Hide what?"
The man gave him a strange look.
Then walked past him.
David turned to follow him with his eyes.
"Hey."
The man stopped.
David hesitated.
He wasn’t sure why he had called out.
Maybe curiosity.
Maybe the fact that this was the first person in the room who seemed to know something.
"What did you mean?"
The man looked back.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Then he said,
"You’ll figure it out."
And walked away.
David stood there.
He stared at the doorway long after the man disappeared.
’That was helpful.’
It wasn’t.
Not even slightly.
But one thing was clear.
Whatever had happened during his assessment... Someone powerful had noticed.
And apparently, that person had decided David was better off outside the Association than inside it.
David wasn’t sure whether that was reassuring.
Or terrifying.