Talent Awakening Center III

As soon as Alden walked into the second floor of the building, he noticed a young woman already waiting for him.

The second floor was very quiet, unlike the busy ground floor. There were not many people around on this level.

The woman welcomed him kindly with a friendly smile and led Alden down a long hallway.

She stopped in front of a door and said, "I can only take you this far. You can go in now." Then she walked away.

Alden pushed the door open and stepped inside.

A man was sitting behind a table, and his eyes immediately locked onto Alden, as if he had been expecting him.

This was Orion, placed in charge of overseeing the affairs of this Registration Center.

"Junior greets you, Senior," Alden said respectfully, bowing slightly.

Alden stood near the desk, facing Orion. The man wore a big hat that covered half of his face, but his sharp eyes were clearly visible.

He didn't say a word, simply staring at Alden, which made him feel uneasy. Orion's presence was so strong that it felt like a heavy weight pressing down on Alden.

"Such a powerful presence," he thought to himself. Without a word, he already knew the man before him was extraordinarily strong.

Alden wanted to use his ability to scan the man, but as if sensing his intention, Orion raised his eyes and looked directly into Alden's.

Alden quickly stopped, afraid of being caught in the act, which might anger the man.

"Pass it over," Orion finally spoke, breaking the silence that had felt like an eternity.

Alden tossed the silver token in his hand over to him. Orion caught it and examined it briefly.

"So, you're the boy with the A-rank Talent," Orion said, tossing the token up and down in his hand.

"Yes, I am," Alden replied confidently.

Orion chuckled softly. "You're quite confident. I like that." He pointed to a chair. "Sit down."

Alden sat down facing him.

"Not bad, not bad," Orion said. "An A-rank Talent will really help our city. It seems like luck is finally on our side. This time, we've had several people awaken high-rank Talents, from C to A. You're the sixth person with an A-rank Talent."

Orion paused and looked at Alden closely. "But there's something I don't understand," he said.

"What is it?" Alden asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Sammy, we ran a quick background check on you and found out you failed the potential test at fifteen," Orion said, his tone curious. "How is it that you awakened a Talent? That has never happened before."

Orion's eyes were filled with curiosity. There had never been a case like this before. Once someone failed the first test, they were considered hopeless for life. Yet, here was a young boy who had awakened a Talent despite that—it was suspicious to him.

How would the Talent Registration officials not dig out information about the Talent Awakener? That is why it's called Talent Registration.

So, hearing the question, Alden wasn't surprised by it. Luckily, he had already prepared himself for scenarios like this.

Alden remained silent for some time, acting as if he were trying to remember.

"I don't actually know how I awakened, but somehow I found myself easily doing things I couldn't normally do."

"Easy enough to carry things I once struggled with, walking or running without getting tired quickly..."

Alden answered, his voice containing a hint of confusion, as if he too were shocked by his awakening.

Orion sighed, "Oh, I see. You must be lucky then."

Alden was a little taken aback. He had expected a series of questions but received a simple reply.

He felt like laughing inwardly. Did the man think he could deceive him? Deep down, he knew that the man did not buy the lies he had made up.

This was one of his primary worries in the first place. He felt a quiet joy that he had not revealed his real talent from the outset.

If not, the Talent Registration officials would go to any lengths to uncover how he awakened such power after failing his potential test, and in doing so, he would place himself in grave danger.

At this point, he also knew that the Talent Registration officials were going to keep a close watch on him and continue researching his situation.

"That aside," Orion waved it off. "Normally, there is a certain amount we give to Awakeners during their registration, depending on their Talent rank, to support themselves—like to buy weapons or other things that would increase their strength."

Alden nodded in satisfaction.

"For A-rank Talent Awakeners, they will receive 15,000."

Within Alden's heart, he was shocked. Fifteen thousand dollars was still a big amount of money to take care of some stuff.

Orion passed a device to him.

Seeing what was on the page, he quickly typed in his information as needed before passing the device back.

"Alright, you'll be receiving the money in your account later, and also, all the necessary information you need to know will be forwarded to your Tmail."

After finishing the registration process, Alden stood up, gave a polite nod to Orion, and left the office.

First plan completed, he would be going for the next one.

In the office, Orion reached for his communication device and placed a call to someone. After a few rings, a voice answered on the other end.

"Keep a close eye on Sammy Draven and also get the others to continue to find out more about him." With that, he ended the call.

Orion's eyes remained fixed on the empty seat where Alden had been sitting just moments ago. The atmosphere had shifted slightly, as if Alden's presence had left behind a mysterious shadow.

He couldn't shake off the strange feeling in his heart—a mix of curiosity and unease.

There was something about Alden that did not sit right with him, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

He leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowing as he tried to piece it together—surely there was a puzzle missing its key pieces.

Orion's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest as his mind worked on it.

He considered different possibilities that could cause a late bloomer to awaken a high A-rank Talent.

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to know how Alden had done it, but no answer came to mind.

"Strange..." he muttered to himself. "There's something about that that doesn't add up." He paused, his gaze hardening as he stared at the empty chair.

"Sooner or later, I'll figure it out. We'll get to the root of whatever mystery you're hiding." For now, all he could do was wait and watch.