Theo's Hunter Examination

The entrance lobby of the Hunter Association's Hangzhou Branch was modest but professional, with white marble floors, clean signage, and a rotating digital board listing the most recent high-ranking hunter deployments.

A few awakeners sat scattered in the waiting area, but heads began to turn as the sliding doors opened.

The assistant manager at the reception desk blinked, immediately standing straighter as he caught sight of the approaching figure.

"Sir! Superintendent Qin?"

Qin Dongzhi gave a polite nod. "Good evening."

The assistant hesitated, glancing at the tall boy beside him, masked and wearing a baseball cap low over his eyes, then quickly bowed.

Dongzhi's voice remained composed. "I need to speak to the branch manager. It's a personal matter."

"Yes, of course. Right this way."

Theo followed in silence, staying just half a step behind his grandfather.

The halls were quiet, but the tension in the assistant's pace was telling. Only a few people had the kind of pull that allowed them to bypass protocol like this.

Soon, they arrived outside a sleek wooden door with gold-lettered signage: Branch Manager Liu Meiyun.

The assistant knocked once and cracked the door open.

"Manager Liu, Superintendent Qin Dongzhi is here to see you."

A beat of silence. Then…

"Let him in."

The door opened fully to reveal a woman in her early forties, dressed sharply in a tailored blazer.

She stood with grace, her expression warm and respectful.

"Mr. Qin," she said with a genuine smile. "What a surprise. Please come in."

"Thank you, Meiyun." Dongzhi nodded and stepped inside. Theo followed, keeping his face covered until they were seated on the couch opposite her desk.

Only then did he pull off his mask and cap, revealing sharp features framed by slightly messy dark hair and striking grey-blue eyes.

The manager blinked, caught off guard. "This is…"

"My grandson," Qin Dongzhi said casually. "His name is Theodore."

Liu Meiyun looked closer, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Is he from your eldest son's line?"

Dongzhi chuckled. "No, my youngest's boy. You can probably tell he's half-Chinese."

That made her pause, more from the surprise that Qin Dongzhi was openly admitting that than anything else. She opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, but Dongzhi waved his hand with a small laugh.

"No need to be awkward. I'm here because I need a favor."

"A favor?" She raised an eyebrow. "In person?"

Dongzhi gave her a meaningful look. "Yes. That should tell you how important it is."

She straightened.

"My grandson wants to become a hunter," Dongzhi explained. "But his father… doesn't approve. Because they are from a free city, it became tough for my little boy to register himself. So I've brought him here myself. First, I want him registered as an awakener using my name as guarantor. After that, I want him to take the hunter's test immediately."

Manager Liu turned to Theo. "That's a serious step. Is this what you want?"

Theo nodded. "Yes, ma'am. It's what I want."

Her eyes lingered on him for a second longer before turning back to Dongzhi.

"That can be arranged. But even with your name, Mr. Theodore still has to go through the proper assessment. We can't waive that."

"Of course," Dongzhi said smoothly. "I'm not asking you to break protocol."

"One more thing," he added, and his tone turned just a bit more serious. "After he passes, I want his real identity locked down, leaving no public record, no automatic data entry. No visibility to police or media unless a judge or a police commander files a specific request."

Meiyun blinked again, taken aback for a second time.

"That… will take some clearance," she said slowly. "But I can make it happen."

Dongzhi smiled. "I knew you'd understand."

She looked back at Theo, studying him more closely now. "Then I'll have the assessment team ready within the hour."

Theo nodded, eyes calm and focused. "I'm ready. Anytime."

*

After a while, the double doors of the testing chamber slid open with a soft mechanical hiss, revealing a pristine room dominated by a circular apparatus at its center: a massive crystal orb suspended by steel arcs and pulsing softly with light.

Several staff members in uniform stood by, clipboards and scanners in hand. The moment Manager Liu entered, they straightened.

"Standard awakening protocol," she instructed. "We're testing a new candidate. Special clearance."

Qin Dongzhi and Theo stepped in behind her. Theo's eyes briefly scanned the room, the orb, the cables, the observing eyes, but his expression remained unreadable.

"Place both hands on the focus node," a technician said, gesturing toward the orb. "When you're ready, pour your mana into it slowly."

Theo nodded.

He set down the violin case he'd been carrying, approached the orb, and pressed both palms against the cool surface.

Silence fell.

For a moment, nothing happened. But then, the orb pulsed once. Then again. The internal lights flickered…

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Suddenly, a red light flashed on the side console. Then another. Alarms chirped. The screen on the machine next to it blinked rapidly, and then:

[ERROR: POTENTIAL EXCEEDS SYSTEM PARAMETERS]

"What!" a technician frowned. "Malfunction?"

"No…" Liu Meiyun's breath caught in her throat as she stepped closer. "No. This only happens when either someone's mana reserves potential exceeds Tier-2 or their ability rank surpasses rank A. The system defaults to error if it can't calculate a ceiling."

One of the junior staff glanced up, wide-eyed. "We've never had that happen here before in Hangzhou City…"

Theo slowly pulled his hands away.

Before he could speak, the senior technician came forward, breaking into an uncharacteristically earnest smile.

"You don't need a guarantor, young man," he said, clasping Theo's hand with both of his. "If you don't have any criminal record, we'd be honored to sponsor your registration. Hunters like you… You're very rare."

Theo blinked, taken slightly aback by the man's sudden warmth.

Qin Dongzhi gave a quiet chuckle behind him, exchanging a glance with his grandson.

Manager Liu exhaled slowly, still studying the orb. "Let's proceed. I want to know what kind of power just set this machine off. Whether it is the mana reserves potential or the ability rank."

They moved to the adjacent testing area, a space resembling a private training room, with reinforced walls, padded flooring, and mana-reactive sensors scattered throughout.

Theo carried the violin case with him.

"Do you have any weapon?" Liu asked, curious.

"Not exactly a weapon," Theo replied calmly, kneeling down to open the case. "Just a normal violin."

Inside lay a sleek, darkwood violin. It is a simple, custom-made violin that his dad gifted him for his music career, but it could be used as a weapon too.

Theo positioned the violin under his chin, lifted the bow, and began to play.

The first melody drifted into the room like a soft lullaby, a gentle, wistful melody, each note carrying a slow, deliberate weight. Within seconds, one of the nearby staff members began to sway… and then slumped gently to the floor, fast asleep.

Even Qin Dongzhi, arms crossed as he observed, had to shake himself lightly, a fog creeping into his mind.

Manager Liu blinked rapidly, resisting the pull with effort, her fingers clenching against her skirt. "Sleep… inducement," she murmured.

Theo's expression remained calm as the tune shifted, transforming from lullaby to something sharper this time, fast, urgent, and pulsing with intensity.

The shift was instant.

A rush of heat surged through Liu's body this time. Her breath quickened. Her muscles tensed, and her senses sharpened.

An artificial adrenaline burst.

She staggered back a half-step in shock. "It's a power boost."

Theo lowered the violin, letting the final note hang in the air before fading into silence.

He let out a slow breath and explained. "Right now, I only have two modes. One induces drowsiness. The other enhances aggression. I'm still refining both because of the lack of guidance. I'm more of a self-taught."

"What's the ability called?" Manager Liu asked, recovering her composure.