Chapter 6: In the Eyes of All (1)

The guild had set up a player support center to help slayers rank and recruit slayers who hadn't registered with a guild. The first thing Cale did after getting off the train was to determine his rank.

Cale looked at the large sprawling building in front of him. It was modern architecture at its finest. Cale walked across the white marble and scanned his ID on the screen.

- Number 21. Please follow the blue sign.

At the sound of the robotic voice, a blue lighted path formed under Cale's feet. Cale followed it and arrived at the waiting room where the ranks were being measured. As he found a seat and sat down, he heard the nervous and excited voices around him.

"I'm sure my rank will be A and above. There's no way an elite like me was born with a third-rate talent!"

"Please make my rank at least D, please! Otherwise I can't enter the Black Tiger Guild."

"Rank E? Congratulations, my friend!"

"Thank you, at least I can get a job in a guild, even if it's not very good."

- Number 21 please come in!

Cale walked through the door that opened when his number was announced. Inside he could see many people tapping the ball in front of the officials and measuring their rank.

''Mr. Rayne, when your rank is determined according to the density of your mana, the orb will change color accordingly. As you know, there are ranks from G to SSS. There are ten ranks in total. Their colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and black in order from lowest to highest. At S level and above, the colors are copper, silver and gold.''

Cale listened to the young woman standing in front of him, bored but with a smile on her face, reciting the words by heart. He was already guessing what him rank was.

"Now please put your hand on the marble," she said, pointing to the sphere in front of him.

When Cale put his hand on the sphere, the colors inside the sphere started to ripple and spin. After ten seconds, the color red appeared on the sphere.

"Your rank is G, Mr. Cale. I would advise you to find a job other than hunting, because even the lowest hunter recruitment is E. Have a nice day," she looked at him with a smile. However, without further ado, he stood up and left the player support center.

Since he hadn't eaten since yesterday, he was hungry so he decided to go to a café. When he opened the door and walked in, the sound of the bell and the smell of coffee filled his nostrils. Although the café was not very big, almost every table was occupied.

Cale found a window seat and sat down. Soon after a waiter took his order, he left him alone after placing his coffee and breakfast in front of him.

As he ate, Cale felt relaxed for the first time since what had happened. Since his rank was the lowest, he had to decide what to do next. Cale actually knew why his rank was low because the mana in his body was contaminated with chaos energy from birth.

But Cale knew that he could advance even without mana because the skills the system gave him were even higher than those of SSS level hunters. He could improve himself in the dungeons, but it wouldn't give him the opportunities that the Hoop Academy did.

That's why he had to find a way to get into that academy. Even if he somehow found the money and paid for the academy, he would not have been accepted because G and F hunters had no value and could not be hunters.

"Status."

-----Status-----

Name: Cale Rayne

Age: 15

Rank: G

Power: F-

Agility: G-

Endurance: F

Intelligence: E-

Mana Capacity: G-

Charm: F+

Luck: E

[-Skills-]

---> Unlimited Void (Level ???) Lvl 1 [Active Skill]

It is a skill that allows a person to defend and attack without using weapons. As long as one uses this skill, no attack will penetrate, and when attacked, the opponent will suffer absolute defeat.

--> Mirror World (Level SSS--> Rank D+) [Active Skill]

The mirror world is a subspace of the universe in which the person exists. There one is in complete control and time moves faster than in the normal world.

--> Monarch Aura (Level ???--> Sealed) [Passive]

The person makes even those two ranks above him/her fear him/her as if he/she were a ruler and make them want to obey his/her orders.

---------------

''I need to increase my stats. If I improve my skills, I'm sure my rank will increase. Otherwise, a low-ranking person wouldn't be given such high skills.''

Although it was not known exactly how the skills were given, scientists had various theories about it. But Cale thought of the most plausible one. When the hunters awakened, the system would automatically grant them skills according to the mana and mana meridians in their bodies.

Each time the Slayers' bodies would have a breakthrough moment and rings would form around their mana cores. At level G, even with a mana core, a ring would not form. The hunters with the most rings were SSS level hunters with nine rings.

Cale ate his food and left the café. He put on his black baseball cap and mingled with the people. He had nowhere to stay, so he had to find a house. But with his current savings, finding a house in Armageddon would be a miracle.

Suddenly a siren sounded in the city and the people who had been walking down the street in a calm and pleasant manner were now looking at each other anxiously.

- Attention citizens, there has been a level E dungeon explosion. Please go inside the nearest buildings and close the door! Hunters will deal with the monsters as soon as possible. I repeat...

Cale watched as people rushed into the buildings, listening to the voice making the same announcement. Cale turned back and was about to enter the café when he stopped as a large white wolf attacked a man a little ahead of him. The man let out a horrible scream as the wolf, three times his size, sank its teeth into the man in its jaws.

With the man's scream, people panicked and ran screaming into the buildings, and a fight broke out at the gates between those who wanted to get in first. Cale wished the hunters would come soon as his way was blocked.

The wolf threw the man in its mouth to the ground covered in blood and when it raised its head, the wolf's blue eyes looked at Cale. Cale swallowed hard as he felt the wolf's bloodlust. When the wolf took a step towards him, all Cale wanted to do was run, and so he did.

When Cale turned and ran fast, the wolf ran after him, not caring about anyone else. Cale had to keep zigzagging to avoid the wolf that wanted to attack him. When he saw a table outside a café in his path, Cale stepped on the chair and then on the table and took a long-range jump.

The wolf jumped over the wall of the building to get close to him as he jumped off the table and clawed at him. When he saw Cale dodging his attack, he roared angrily.

"Damn it! When will these hunters come?"

Cale felt he was getting closer and closer to his limit. His stats were already less than perfect and he was lucky to have escaped the attack just now. Cale knew that if the hunters didn't come, this monster would be his dinner.

He was out of breath. The wolf came closer and closer to him. Just as it opened its mouth and was about to bite Cale's neck, Cale activated his first skill.

''Unlimited Void'' he muttered as the wolf formed an invisible armor around Cale, blocking his attack.

Cale had successfully activated his skill, albeit with little understanding. Now it was time to see what he could do.

The wolf roared angrily as its attack was blocked. Cale closed his fingers except for his index and middle finger. A blue sphere formed above his two fingers. The tables, chairs and paving stones around Cale began to merge under the gravitational pull of that blue sphere.

The wind blew around Cale like a hurricane and started to blow his hair around. Things were spinning around him and turning into a big ball with the effect of its power. Cale twisted his arm and the huge ball fell on the wolf.

Cale took a deep breath when he saw blood oozing from the wolf's body under the weight. Just then he covered his mouth with his hand when blood came out of his mouth.

''I think I pushed myself too hard. It must be because I don't have the body for my skill.''

As Cale let out his breath in relief, something hit his body and he tumbled through the air and fell meters away. Cale groaned in pain and tried to lift his head from the ground. His head was bleeding. Blood dripped from scratches on his nose and cheek.

He blinked his darkening eyes and tried to clarify his vision. When he forced himself to stand up, he learned sadly that the beast and the wolf were not the only ones.