While the officer was waiting to see which Talent rank Alden would awaken to, the same couldn't be said for Ranno and his group.
They weren't waiting to see Alden's rank but were watching to see how he would disgrace himself and get kicked out into the street, where they believed he belonged.
To them, Alden was nothing more than a weakling who could never become an Awakener.
Meanwhile, Alden stood calmly, his attention focused on a System notification that only he could see.
[Ding! An external object detected trying to probe your Talent!]
[What do you want to do? Block it off or release a fake Talent rank?]
He smiled inwardly. 'Excellent.'
This was exactly what he wanted at a time like this.
It wasn't that he didn't want to reveal his real rank, but he wanted to avoid bringing trouble upon himself.
If everyone knew about his true Talent, many would envy him and some might even try to harm or kill him.
Alden understood these stuffs very well. He didn't want to take the risk… not yet, at least.
He needed to grow stronger first so he could protect himself. Keeping his real strength hidden would also help him catch his enemies off guard later.
[You chose the second option.]
Another prompt was revealed before him as he selected his option.
[Which Talent rank do you want to reveal?]
'A rank,' Alden immediately replied in his heart.
[1 CP was deducted for this feature.]
[Successful! it's going to take effect now.]
A few seconds passed and nothing seemed to happen. The officer in charge grew impatient, thinking Alden was wasting his time.
"What is the meaning of this" the officer said coldly.
But Alden remained silent and calm, not even glancing at the man.
Ranno turned to his friends with an excited grin. "Hehe… the idiot is about to get what he deserves."
His friends didn't respond. Instead, their faces were filled with shock as they stared at something behind him.
"What are you guys looking at?" Ranno asked, confused. He turned to follow their gaze and saw the last thing he expected.
The orb Alden had placed his hand on was glowing brightly and even brighter than Ranno's had during his own awakening.
Ranno's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but no words came out.
Even the officer, who had been ready to scold Alden, was stunned into silence. As someone who had overseen hundreds of awakenings, he knew this was no ordinary Talent. Sweat formed on his forehead despite the cool atmosphere.
The people nearby stared at Alden in awe.
"Who was this young boy?"
"Such a lucky person to have awaken a good talent."
"I wish I can also get an A rank Talent."
Alden removed his hand from the orb once it stopped glowing.
[Name: Sammy Draven
Rank: A-rank Talent Awakener]
Immediately, a holographic screen appeared above the orb, displaying his results.
This time, the officer took a proper look at Alden's face.
It wasn't an easy feat for someone to awaken an A-rank Talent in a tier-3 city.
"Congratulations, young one! You've passed!" he said in a friendly tone, recording Alden's result. The officer earlier cold attitude was gone.
Ranno and his friends froze in place, unable to believe what they were seeing.
An A-rank Talent? How was this possible?
The Sammy they knew was a weakling who couldn't even defend himself.
Was this really the same person?
Of course, they didn't know that Alden was now in control of Sammy's body.
Alden turned to them with a mocking smile. They had been waiting to see him fail, but now the tables had turned.
Ranno and his group felt a deep sense of shame, wishing the ground would open and swallow them whole.
Worst part was that none of their Talent ranks could compare to his.
Ranno, in particular, his heart became filled with jealousy and frustration. He couldn't explain the bitterness in his heart.
Alden sneered, as if they were no longer worth his attention and turned back to the officer.
"Isn't it just a Talent rank?" Ranno blurted out, trying to save face.
Everyone turned to look at him, confused by his outburst.
"I'm sure he doesn't even know how to use his Talent," Ranno continued, shrugging. "That doesn't mean I can't continue to beat him."
Those around him, including his friends, knew he was just making excuses to cover his embarrassment.
"Young one, take this token and go up to the second floor. Someone will be there to guide you," the officer said, handing over to Alden a silver token.
Alden didn't ask any questions. He already had an idea of what this meant.
As he walked toward the stairs, he slowed down near Ranno and his friends.
"How was the show?" Alden asked in a low voice, smirking. "If you're done ranting and have recovered from your shock, you know where the exit is."
Ranno clenched his fists, tempted to lash out on him but he remembered where he was and forced himself to calm down.
Alden couldn't help but laugh at the pained look on Ranno's face. "Oh, calm down. Is the almighty Ranno upset by the words of a 'weakling' like me?"
There was a hidden meaning in his words that made Ranno and his friends even angrier.
"Just because you awakened a high Talent doesn't mean you can use it," Ranno shot back, trying to sound confident. "A weakling will always be a weakling."
"Bold words," Alden replied with a shrug. "But you're not worth my time anymore."
With that, Alden walked away, leaving Ranno and his group behind.
To Alden, they were nothing more than annoying flies. He had bigger things to worry about now.