It looked like that had been a guard, and he went around, announcing to the higher-ups that Alice, AKA, the criminal, was awake.
"The fuck! What's wrong with that guy?" Alice muttered and sighed.
She turned to look at her cell.
It was massive.
And there was even a bathtub at the end, with curtains that would ensure her privacy.
"Ah, if it's like this, I think I'll like the life of a criminal." She thought out loud but then remembered something. She touched herself and then her back but there was nothing. So gasped. "My money."
Her clothes had been changed and her money wasn't with her.
Her face contorted as she bit her bottom lip.
"Those fucking thieves." She cussed.
Then, her cell door opened and a man in black walked in.
His black shirt was tight fitted with a weapon strap that looked very much like a gun strap but it was for knives, around his chest. He had one fine chest, may she add.
But he looked serious. Too serious, in fact.
He held on to a serious gaze and cleared his throat, intending to start the procedure when Alice walked up to him and grabbed his collar, alerting the guards who were behind him.
But he raised his hand, stopping them from taking action and they could only stand on guard.
"What is the meaning of this, Miss Alice?" He calmly asked,
"Well, Mister 'I-don't-give-a-damn-what-your-name-is'," she called and his left eyebrow twitched, marking the break of his composure. "I don't care what's going on or what crimes I'm being charged for but I need my money back. That's all I ask."
"Your... Money?" He asked and Alice nodded. "You mean the brown envelope that was with you." He said and Alice nodded. "Unfortunately, I don't have it."
She frowned.
"Everything that was on you after you were brought in has been confiscated by the agency and is under investigation."
"Invest... Investigation? What for?" She asked but he did not answer to that. "Including my clothes?" He nodded. "Damn why?"
"You are a criminal as of now." He said, smoothing his shirt after Alice let go. "And until you own up to your crime and admit that you are an awakened, you will not be set free."
"Fucking hell, I'm not an awakened. Do you guys have some screws loose or something?" She cussed at them but he kept his indifferent expression. "What did that fancy machine of yours say? You know, that one used to determine ranks and grades?"
"That is where we are taking you to, Miss Alice." He said. "So, please comply and follow us to get your power tested." He moved his hand and the guards came toward with a few restraining items to restrain her.
"Is this really necessary?" She asked, biting her lip.
They put on power restraint cuffs around her wrists and a collar around her neck. It made her feel like a dog and it was not a pleasant feeling.
Having lived like a dog for so long, this made her feel uncomfortable.
"I am simply sticking to the procedure." He said, and Alice made a dissatisfied face. It wasn't like they could understand what she was going through so she just needed to get it over with.
"I'm getting my money back after this, right?" She asked and he answered,
"I assure you, once all charges of you are lifted, you will get back your belongings, including your money." He said as they started moving out and Alice's face brightened up a bit.
"No matter how long it takes, right?" She asked with a very suspicious smile but he could only respond sincerely and not think too much about it.
"Yes, no matter how long it takes. Don't worry, they are in safe hands."
'Ah, that means I can get to stick around in that heavenly cell for a while longer. But once they find out I'm not an awakened, won't they kick me out?' she thought but didn't care anymore.
As long as she would get back her money, she didn't care.
"So, what's your name?" She asked but he looked reluctant to answer, walking ahead of her as the guide he was positioned to be. "You can't be stingy about your name, can you?" She asked but he still did not respond and gave her the cold shoulder.
She looked at him like he was a petty thing.
"Fine, I'll just call you whatever I want." She said and he had no objections to that.
They got to the test lab where over a dozen personnel from the awakeners agency were waiting to see the results.
'Why do I feel like I've suddenly become a test rabbit?' she thought and stood before them.
"Miss Alice, please sit here." Her guide said to her and she nodded. She sat on a rolling chair and was suddenly rolled towards a mana tester machine. A very huge one at that.
"I think I could've walked on my own two feet." She said but he did not respond to her and turned to converse with a guy from the agency.
And then, she heard them call him Mark.
"So, that's his name." She muttered. "Tch, he didn't have to be so petty about it."
He came back to her and took off the restraints.
"Now, place your hand on the ball in front of you." He said and she asked,
"What ball?"
Then, the machine in front of her provided a ball. It stopped in front of her and she exclaimed,
"Oh, that ball." He nodded. "So, do I just place my hand on it."
"Yes, place your hand on the ball and let the tester do the rest." He explained.
Alice placed her hand on the ball and looked at the machine in front of her.
It was triangular in shape with smooth sides and beside it was a giant mana crystal used as its power generator.
It worked as a rank guide. Through the light it would produce from being touched by an awakened, they would be able to tell what class that person awakened as.
F-class was green. E-class was brown. D-class was purple. C-class was blue. B-class was yellow. A-class was orange. S-class was red.
And the darker the shade of red, the more likely an S-class awakened to be born.
"So, what happens when it turns white?" She asked staring at the thick white light emanating from the machine.
It got everyone stunned. They were so stunned that they could not understand what was going on and were out of their wits, marveled, to make calculations.
There had never been records of the mana tester emanating white light.
Then, all of a sudden, the machine overloaded and the mana crystal exploded.
"Um, I believe this is the part where I tell you," she turned to smile awkwardly at him. "...I think your machine's broken."