Evaluation Center, A Way to Become a Billionaire

The Evaluation Center felt more like a bank than anything else. Shiny floors. White lights. A security guy near every corner looking bored out of his skull.

We went through some form-checking, fingerprint shit, basic inspection—nothing too crazy—and then got directed to a waiting room. It looked fancy, but the cushions were hard.

Rosalyn sat down on the left sofa.

I didn't hesitate. I dropped my ass right beside her.

Kael followed a few steps behind and froze. No seats left on her side. The guy's eyes twitched like he'd just swallowed a lemon. I gave him the fakest innocent smile I could manage.

Noa just took a seat opposite us and pulled out her phone, tapping away.

A few minutes passed, and then the door opened.

A well-dressed old man walked in, rolling a sleek little device that looked like a coffee machine if coffee machines were made for billionaires. It had a glowing panel on top and a few crystal-like sensors attached to the side. Definitely the evaluation machine.

"Let's begin," he said, voice smooth and classy like he was born to lecture rich kids.

The guild handed over their crystals first. Each one got placed on the machine. A blue screen blinked and then—numbers.

74.3%

78.9%

83.2%

All solid results. The guy nodded after each one, like he'd seen this a thousand times.

Then Noa reached into her pouch and handed over the green crystals she'd picked up from the forest—ones I had extracted but didn't have space for in my inventory.

"I'd like to check these," she said.

I leaned forward, curious. Let's see how good I really was.

The old man took one, placed it on the reader… and the machine blinked.

0.0%

He blinked again. Frowned. Checked the machine.

"Error?" he muttered. He took another one.

0.0%

Another.

0.0%

The guy straightened up, staring at the screen like it had just insulted his ancestors. "What… in the world? How can this be…?"

Kael immediately pounced like a damn vulture. "That guy did it," he said, jabbing a thumb at me. "The masked one."

The old man turned to me, eyes narrowed. "You extracted these?"

There was no use lying. Everyone already knew.

"Yes."

The old man approached, his gaze sharper now. "What rank extractor are you?"

Rank?

I had no idea what he meant. I turned slightly and glanced at Rosalyn.

She was smiling. That calm, confident, slightly teasing smile.

"He's better than an S-rank extractor," she said.

Deadpan. No hesitation.

The old man's eyes widened. "Better than S-rank?"

The room went quiet for a second.

Kael, of course, couldn't shut up. "Better than S-rank but scored zero? Sounds like a scam to me."

I turned to him, real slow.

"You keep talking, but your crystals didn't break 85%. Maybe I should be judging you."

Kael's face stiffened.

Rosalyn held back a laugh.

I leaned forward, arms on my knees. "So... is something wrong with those crystals or what?"

The old man didn't answer immediately. He sat down instead, slow and deliberate like he was preparing to drop a fucking lecture. Which he did.

"What you've done here is quite... special." He started, voice calm, thoughtful. "Let me explain."

He launched into it.

"Mana crystals are formed from a monster's corpse over time. Weeks, sometimes months. Natural decomposition turns the mana-rich tissue into crystalline form. Extractors simply accelerate the process."

He continued. "That's where Extractors come in. We use our mana to manually speed up the process. Channeling it into the monster's body, filling the corpse with our own energy. If done correctly, the body burns away, and you're left with a crystal. That's what the evaluation machine reads—the mana stored inside the crystal."

Made sense.

"If the reading is 100%, that means the crystal is full—ideal. Anything between 70-80% is decent. 90% is great. 95% is rare. And 100% is legendary—only a few high-rank extractors can pull that off. Why? Because it requires total control over your mana, no impurities, full spread."

I raised a brow. "So basically, the extractor's mana is what powers the crystal?"

He nodded. "Exactly. The more precise the control, the higher the value. But boss monsters are different. Their bodies are massive. Spreading your mana into every inch of it is impossible, even for S-rank extractors."

Before I could say anything, Kael opened his stupid mouth.

"Okay, and? That's common knowledge. Why waste time explaining it?"

The old man turned to him slowly.

"If you open your mouth again, I'll personally throw you out of this building."

Kael's jaw snapped shut. I chuckled.

The old man faced me again, now more focused.

"Most mana crystals, even high ones, are single-use. Once drained, they're done. They power devices, fuel weapons, charge gear—like batteries. But they degrade."

He looked at the 0% crystal again. "Now this? This is something else entirely."

Rosalyn's gaze sharpened, and even Noa leaned in.

"This crystal wasn't formed by mana injection. No trace. That means it's a natural refinement. The corpse turned into crystal on its own—but instantly. That's not supposed to happen."

"Wait," I said. "So what does 0% mean then? That I failed?"

The old man shook his head. "It means it's untouched. Raw. Virgin-grade refined mana crystal. You didn't charge it with mana, so the machine thinks it's empty. But it's not. It's clean."

The old man wasn't done.

"Normal mana crystal? Worth ten dollars. This one?" He held it up, eyes gleaming. "Hundred bucks minimum. Each."

The room exploded.

Rosalyn blinked like she'd just won the lottery. Noa almost dropped her water bottle. Even Kael went dead silent. His face looked like someone had kicked his pride straight through a wall.

Even the old man's assistants exchanged surprised glances.

I looked at him. "So… these refined crystals… they're really that rare?"

The old man leaned in toward me. "These aren't just rare, kid. They're revolutionary. There's one company—just one—in the entire market that can produce refined crystals. They guard their method like it's national security."

He tapped the crystal on the table.

"If what you did wasn't a fluke, then you've just kicked open the doors to a billion-dollar monopoly."

He leaned in, smile widening.

"You just broke the system."

I stared at the crystal in his hand. That little green shard that looked so damn plain.

The old man placed it back down gently. "This... is history. And I plan to make this known to the world. Everyone needs to know there's a new method—a better one."

I don't plan to tell anyone how I do it, though. Fuck monopoly. It will be a duopoly now.

Kael, of course, was ready to punch a wall. The dude couldn't hide his expression even if you stapled it shut.

After the whole evaluation session wrapped, we sold off the guild's crystals and mine too. Of course, I wasn't given a single penny.

 The old man looked like he was already writing up ten deals in his head.

Rosalyn stayed behind with me while the others left. Kael stomped out like someone pissed in his cereal.

I pulled out the last of my haul and laid them out—green, and the blue one.

"Hey," I said, "I got more to sell. Including this."

Rosalyn raised a brow. "The boss crystal?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Blue one's from that big bastard I crushed."

She gave me a look. "Are you sure you want to sell it?"

I shrugged. "I need money."

"But these are Iron Fist's property."

"I don't care." I responded. "I risked my life for these. Had I died in there, would the guild have taken responsibility?"

"Uhh… did you enter the dungeon illegally in the first place?"

"Well…"

Rosalyn chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't rat you out. I personally don't care so you can have them all."

Oh man, she is such a good girl!

The old man's eyes lit up like I just handed him the Philosopher's Stone.

"This," he said, carefully lifting the blue crystal like it was sacred, "is going to be fun."