Next day, I wake up early in the morning and leave without waking up Tom. Now that I'm not a porter, I need to get a new source of income. 'I regret lying to Tom yesterday, but this is going to change our lives.' Of course, I'm referring to mana. Yesterday, when Natalie was interrogating me, I could feel her mana. Despite being a fighting type hunter, she is still an A rank one. Hunters are people who can manipulate mana, the higher their compatibility with it, the more they can use. As an A rank hunter, Natalie's amount of mana is monstrous.
Normal people like me can't detect mana. 'I couldn't figure out what the ring did to me until Natalie got closer. As soon as she sat down, I felt a shiver go down my spine.' I may have dropped out of college, but I'm not stupid. By focusing a bit, I could see the mana around her clearly. A thick mist was oozing out of her pores, a colorless and airy substance. Still, I could see it only because of her insane amount of mana. Even now, there is mana in the atmosphere. With the appearance of the dungeons, mana began to spill out of them and fill the planet, but I can't see it nor feel it. If I can't detect the mana in the air, my abilities must be very poor.
My compatibility with mana might be low, but even becoming an F rank hunter would be an improvement. 'It might be an improvement, but I still don't want to be and F rank. It's the lowest possible rank.' Making my way to the hunter's association, a realization hits me. 'If I miraculously awaken right after the incident, they might think I stole something from the ruins. Not that they'd be wrong…' Without being able to take the exam immediately, Tom and I will suffer with the lack of income. Yet, it's still too risky to hope they won't get suspicious.
'I know!' I change direction and make my way to the hunter's shopping district. Once I arrive, I hurry towards a consumables shop. When the attendant sees me enter the shop, I hear him click his tongue. 'Oh, I do look a bit like a beggar. That's still very rude of him.'
"Welcome…, sir" he says reluctantly.
'Can't you at least hide it better?' I keep these thoughts to myself, shops like these are known to refuse rude customers. Not only that, but plenty of laws also protect business owners from rowdy customers. Particularly with customers who are hunters. After gaining power, some people can become quite entitled.
"H-hi. cough! Hi, I am looking for an awakening stone," I say, as normal as possible.
When the attendant hears me say that, he clicks his tongue once more. Now that he knows I'm not even a hunter, he loses all pretenses.
"Kid, awakening stones are expensive. Can you even afford one?" he says in a mocking tone.
Usually, comments like these wouldn't bother me. As a porter, I was always surrounded by those arrogant hunters, and they never held back on insults. But for some reason, hearing him say those words, my face turns ugly.
"Excuse me? If I'm asking for one, it means I can afford it. And as an employee, you are to treat customers with respect!" I bark.
I catch myself, stopping any more words that could come out of my mouth. 'I've never spoken like this to anyone. Why did I get so angry?'
"Ah, y-yes, sir. I apologize, let me go get the stone." The attendant says that while looking surprised at my outburst.
He then scampers into the back room and I get quite embarrassed. 'I sounded like a Karen right now. Whatever, he really was being rude.' After waiting a couple more moments, the attendant returns with a small box in his hands.
"Here's the stone, sir, I am obligated to give you a warning though. Awakening stones are far from a guarantee, most people fail to awaken with them."
'I know'. If becoming a hunter only required some cash, everyone would become one. Awakening stones only act as a catalyst for mana. If the person using them is truly incompatible with mana, no amount of stones would awaken them. Also, once awakened, these stones won't improve your abilities either. All in all, you could say they are like a key to unlock the door. If the door isn't there in the first place, they are useless. If the door has been unlocked already, they are also useless. In fact, there is nothing in the world that can improve a hunter's mana compatibility.
'I've awakened already, all I need is an excuse for it.'
"It's alright, I'll take it anyway." I say smiling.
"Okay, sir, that would be $5,000." The attendant says, returning my smile.
'Jesus!' I try my hardest not to vomit blood after hearing the price. 'Why didn't I come up with a better idea? Should I just risk the association's suspicion?' Shaking my head, I forget those thoughts. I don't want to put Tom at risk, they might lock me up for theft. I put on a brave face and pull out my phone, opening my banking app. From the corner of my eye, I see the attendants face twitch, as if he is holding back something. 'Bastard, I know my phone is trashy!'.
5k is most of my savings, I was going to use them for Tom's college tuition. 'Wait, what is wrong with me? This money is for Tom's future. Wasn't I arguing about this very thing with him yesterday?' I hesitate. 'Aren't I gambling? I don't even know if I'd be a good hunter, what if I really end up as an F rank? Maybe I imagined the feeling of mana.' My phone starts ringing, interrupting my thoughts. Tom's face appears on the screen, he's calling me.
"Sorry, I have answer this." I say apologetically.
The attendant nods and I exit the store to pick up the call.
"Hey, Tom."
"Hey, where are you? Why'd you leave so early?" Tom says with suspicion.
'Ugh, isn't he the one with powers? How come he always knows when I'm up to something?'
"You know, just ugh, jogging?" I say unconvincingly.
"You are such a bad liar. You are doing something dangerous again right?" Tom sounds angry.
"What? No of course not I- "
"William! Didn't you agree to stop being a porter because it was dangerous? What's the point of doing that if you go jumping into danger again?" His anger is superseded by concern now.
"I- I'm sorry. But I need to do this." I stop any attempts at deceiving him.
"I know… I trust you. Can you at least be careful?" Tom says this, anger can no longer be heard in his voice.
"Huh? You mean it!? Then, I promise! I'll be very careful."
Tom sighs and says, "You better be." then hangs up the phone.
I reenter the store and walk up to the counter.
"Sorry about that," I say smiling.
"No problem, will you proceed with the purchase?" The attendant speaks doubtfully.
"I trust you." Tom's words resonate in my mind.
'I won't let you down…'
"Yes, I'll buy it," I say, placing my phone on the register.
beep
The $5,000 dollar purchase immediately appears on my bank movements. I start sweating slightly. 'It's okay right? Yes, yes, it must be.'
"Would you like a bag, sir?" the attendant asks.
"No thanks, in fact, I'm going to use it now," I reply.
"Alright, sir, you can use one of our rooms. They are complimentary, no need to worry about any fees," he says with a smirk on his face.
'He probably thinks the awakening will fail.'
Once we enter the room, he hands me the box. I open it and grab the awakening stone. 'The internet said you are supposed to put it in your mouth but not swallow it. It looks like the colorful pebbles of a fish tank and it's about the size of my thumb.' I place the blue stone into my mouth and it slowly dissolves…
WHOOSH!
A surge of mana sweeps through the room. The attendant's face drops in disappointment. I on the other hand, couldn't be more confused.
"Congratulations on awakening, sir," he looks like he ate a lemon as he says this.
'Congratulations!? How is this possible!? I could already feel mana, that means the stone should've been useless! Was I imagining it before? It doesn't matter, I can become a hunter now!'
"Right, thank you. I'll be leaving now." I say dismissively.
Barely holding myself back from sprinting, I hurry towards the hunter's association. Once I arrive in front of the building, I realize something. 'I can feel the hunters' mana.' Observing the people coming in and out of the association, I notice most of them release an aura of mana. Yet none of them compare to Natalie's. 'Even in a hunter hot spot like this, A rankers are rare. Wait, does that mean I really awakened thanks to the stone and not the ring?' Getting rid of those pointless thoughts, I enter the building and walk towards the reception desk.
"How can I help you, sir?" The receptionist asks respectfully.
"I was wondering where I could take the exam," I reply.
"All tests are done on the third floor; the elevators are over there." She points behind me.
I thank the receptionist and go towards the elevators. Someone had already pressed the button so all that's left is to wait. 5th floor, 4th, 3rd… the atmosphere slowly changes, the air gets heavier. 2nd floor, I feel anxious.
Ding!
The doors open and I find myself staring at the floor. It's hard to breathe. Judging by the silence of the entire lobby, I'm not the only one feeling like this. A massive weight sits on my shoulders.
"Move."
A command is directed towards me. Before I know it, I've already moved out of the way. The overwhelming presence passes beside me. Its heading toward the building's exit. When it finally leaves the building, I can feel myself breathing again. Mumbles and whispers rise throughout the lobby.
Clicking his tongue, the guy besides me says, "Bastards like him should learn to hold back their aura."
'His pride must've been hurt.' Arrogance is common in hunters. Even E ranks feel superior to others, this guy seems to dislike being shown otherwise. 'Anyway, is that what an S rank hunter feels like? The pinnacle of strength? No, I'm sure that's just what it feels to be around them, I cannot imagine what it must be like to be on the wrong end of their weapons.' I look towards the exit, trying to catch a peek of whoever it was. Despite not being able to see their face, judging by their body, they're a man. Tall, skinny and with unkept hair, one wouldn't think much of them.
'If it's a man, then it must be James Brown.' His gender is all I need to identify him because the U.S only has 2 S rank hunters. James Brown and Lenna Donovan.
"Hey kid, are you going to enter or not?" Asks the guy that was beside me.
"Oh, yeah, thanks," I snap out of my thoughts and enter the elevator.
Soon enough, the elevator arrives at the 3rd floor and I get off. There is another reception desk that I make my way to.
"Hello, sir. Are you here for testing?" asks the man behind the desk.
"Yes. I just recently awakened," I reply.
"Do you have an appointment, sir?"
"N-no, do I need one?" I ask nervously.
"Not at all, it just means you'll have to wait in line. Would you hand me your ID please?" He raises his open palm towards me.
"Yes, here it is," I place my ID on his hand, he looks at it and begins to write my info into the computer.
"All set, you just have to wait a little. Please, take a seat," he gives me back my ID and motions towards a set of chairs near the wall.
"Alright, thanks."
After a couple minutes of waiting, an employee comes out of the testing room and calls my name. I stand up and follow behind them. Upon entering, I see a massive mana crystal sitting atop some machinery in the middle of the room. The crystal is about the size of an adult man. Its taller than it is wide, with six sides and a red hue. 'It looks expensive.'
"All you have to do is place your hand on the crystal and the machine will output your corresponding rank," says the employee.
"Is it accurate?" I ask.
"Very accurate, you don't have to worry about being improperly ranked," he answers.
I walk up to the crystal and place my hand on it. 'Please don't be F rank. Please don't be F rank. Please…'
Beep!