Park Sung-Ji stood in the center of the Grand Appraisal Hall—a chamber that resembled a vast medieval fortress—inside the Awakened Association. He was surrounded by the chaotic clamor of hundreds of applicants. The scent of mana in the air made his head throb; the closer he got to the appraisal crystal, the more he felt distant, ghostly voices whispering in the back of his mind. Yet, he couldn't discern a single word from their cryptic murmurs.
"Next! Park Sung-Ji, 21 years old, no prior record," the examiner shouted with a bored tone.
Sung-Ji stepped forward with hesitant strides. He remembered nothing prior to waking up three days ago in a strange forest, surrounded by the carcasses of monsters he had never seen before. He felt profoundly weak and hollow, as if his body were "empty" of all vitality.
He placed his hand on the Appraisal Crystal. Everyone held their breath, waiting for a glow, an explosion, or even a faint flicker to determine his fate. But the crystal remained dead and dark. It didn't even vibrate.
"Result: Rank Unknown. Mana Level: -99," the examiner announced, stamping the papers with blatant mockery. "You are weaker than a normal human. You might as well be a walking corpse."
The hall erupted in sneering laughter. "Look at him, he's trembling with fear!" shouted a Rank-C hunter, pointing at Sung-Ji's hand, which was shaking violently.
Sung-Ji walked out of the hall, staring at his palms in bewilderment. He wasn't afraid. In fact, he felt something strange—a sense of absolute indignation coursing through his veins. His body wasn't trembling from fear; it was trembling from primal rage. It was as if a dormant beast inside him was incensed that a mere piece of glass had dared to measure his existence.
As he walked down the corridor, a "rift" suddenly tore through the air. An unstable Dungeon Break opened right in the heart of the building! A Rank-B Hellhound emerged, its acidic saliva sizzling and burning the floor beneath it.
Everyone recoiled in terror. The hunters who were laughing moments ago were now frozen by the overwhelming pressure. The beast looked around, then locked its crimson eyes on the weakest presence it could find: Sung-Ji.
The beast lunged at lightning speed. Sung-Ji instinctively closed his eyes, and in that split second, an image flashed in his mind: A man sitting upon a throne of skulls, waving a cold hand as an endless legion of legendary dragons bowed before him in absolute submission.
Without realizing it, Sung-Ji's hand moved. It wasn't the clumsy movement of a novice; it was a simple, regal gesture.
BOOM!
The monster stopped mid-air. It crashed to the ground, whimpering in pain, and began to back away in sheer terror—not from Sung-Ji's physical strength, but from the dark "Aura" that flickered behind him for a fraction of a second. Then, without warning, the beast imploded, its blood splattering across the walls.
Sung-Ji opened his eyes in shock. "What happened? Did… did one of the hunters kill it?"
Fortunately, the corridor was completely empty at that moment. No one had witnessed the event. Had anyone seen this sight, their blood would have turned to ice. They would never have believed that a Rank-B monster could be obliterated by a mere wave of a hand from someone with "No Mana"—a man labeled as "Unknown."