Ferris couldn’t help but frown as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
The more he thought about it, the less any of it made sense.
A person carrying a VIP classification personally coming to a Third District branch for a reassessment?
It was simply illogical.
Although he knew very little about Hunters beyond S-Rank, he understood one thing perfectly.
Their branch wasn’t qualified to assess someone of that level.
In fact, they could only conduct reassessments up to A-Rank.
As for S-Rank reassessments...
Those were overseen directly by the Association’s central division.
A tiny branch like theirs simply lacked the facilities, personnel, and equipment necessary for such an evaluation.
The odds of an S-Rank Hunter ever appearing here for a reassessment were already close to zero.
Someone beyond that?
That possibility had never even crossed Ferris’ mind.
Just as he was drowning in his own thoughts, the receptionist hesitated before speaking.
"Director..."
"I think you’ve misunderstood something."
Ferris turned toward her.
"What do you mean?"
She looked slightly uncertain before replying.
"He’s an F-Rank Hunter, sir."
"...What?"
Ferris stared at her blankly.
For a moment, he genuinely wondered if he’d heard wrong.
The receptionist repeated herself.
"I said... he’s currently registered as an F-Rank Hunter."
Silence.
Ferris simply stood there.
His brain seemed to stop functioning altogether.
An F-Rank Hunter...
With VIP clearance?
What kind of ridiculous combination was that?
His first instinct was to suspect an error within the Association’s system.
But that possibility disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared.
The central database couldn’t make mistakes.
Every classification issued by headquarters went through multiple levels of verification before being approved.
If this person’s profile carried that clearance...
Then headquarters had personally authorized it.
Which only made the situation even stranger.
"What exactly..."
Ferris muttered under his breath.
"...Who is this person?"
...
Completely unaware of the commotion unfolding behind him, Kael calmly followed the signs leading toward the reassessment area.
After walking through several corridors, he finally arrived before a pair of reinforced metal doors.
The doors slid open automatically the moment they sensed his registered Hunter ID.
Beyond them lay a spacious room lined with rows upon rows of sleek VR pods. Each pod resembled a futuristic capsule, its polished metallic surface reflecting the bright ceiling lights overhead.
Kael walked toward one of the pods.
He tapped his Hunter ID against the scanner mounted beside it.
Beep.
[Identity confirmed.]
The pod unlocked with a soft mechanical click.
Since the receptionist had already completed his registration, the reassessment protocol activated immediately.
Kael climbed inside before pulling the VR helmet over his head.
The transparent cover slowly lowered.
The interior lights dimmed.
The next moment...
His consciousness blurred.
His vision darkened briefly before light returned once again.
When Kael opened his eyes, he found himself standing inside a completely white room.
There were no walls.
No ceiling.
No floor.
Just endless white stretching in every direction.
Almost immediately, a mechanical voice echoed through the empty space.
[Registered Hunter ID detected.]
[Scanning physical body...]
A faint blue light swept across him from head to toe.
[Registering Life Rank...]
[Registering abilities...]
The scan continued for several seconds.
Then...
[Registration complete.]
[Equipping registered physical strength...]
[Equipping registered abilities...]
A few moments later, another notification appeared before him.
[Welcome to the Hunter Association Reassessment Program.]
[Please select the examination rank you wish to challenge.]
Several options materialized before him.
Kael glanced over them before his brows gradually furrowed.
He didn’t immediately choose.
Instead...
He lowered his head and quietly clenched his fist.
Something felt wrong.
His fingers tightened before he slowly released them again.
"I feel... weaker."
It wasn’t simply a drop in physical strength.
It felt as though a huge part of himself had simply disappeared.
Closing his eyes, Kael carefully examined his current condition.
Several seconds passed before realization dawned on him.
"So that’s it..."
His expression turned thoughtful.
The VR system had successfully replicated his body’s basic attributes.
However...
It had completely failed to reproduce the effects of the Primordial Genesis Sutra.
He could no longer sense the endless stream of Earth Energy that constantly flowed inside him.
The familiar connection had vanished entirely.
Even worse...
His skills also seem to have failed to load into the simulation.
It wasn’t that they had been sealed.
The system simply couldn’t register them.
Kael frowned slightly.
"It seems this machine isn’t nearly as advanced as I thought."
Thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t all that surprising.
The Primordial Genesis Sutra wasn’t a normal technique.
Furthermore, both of his skills were SSS-Rank, a classification the Association may no5 even be aware of.
Expecting ordinary VR equipment to perfectly replicate them had probably been asking too much.
Kael let out a quiet sigh.
With so much of his arsenal unavailable...
Completing the higher-level reassessment would become considerably more difficult.
For a brief moment, he considered simply canceling today’s examination and returning another time.
Then...
His eyes drifted back toward the available options.
A-Rank.
That was the highest difficulty amongst the options provided.
Kael silently thought it over.
If this had been an S-Rank examination...
He wouldn’t even consider attempting it in his current state.
Without his strongest abilities, the gap would simply be too large.
But, A-Rank...
That was still manageable.
Without hesitating any longer, Kael reached out and selected it.
The instant his choice was confirmed, the peaceful white space was suddenly flooded by crimson warning notifications.
[Warning!]
[Selected examination rank greatly exceeds registered Hunter Rank.]
[Recalibrating recommended examination difficulty...]
The system paused briefly.
A second later...
[Recommended examination updated.]
[E-Rank Trial.]
Another notification immediately appeared.
[Would you like to proceed with the recommended E-Rank Trial?]
[Or ignore the recommendation and continue with the selected A-Rank Trial?]
Kael didn’t even need to think.
"Ignore."
The system immediately responded.
[A-Rank Trial selected.]
A brief pause followed.
Then another warning appeared.
[Warning.]
[Failure will result in a three-month restriction from participating in another reassessment examination.]
[Do you still wish to proceed?]
"Proceed."
His answer remained unchanged.
The system accepted the command.
[Selection confirmed.]
[A-Rank Hunter Reassessment Trial will begin in...]
[5.]
[4.]
[3.]
[2.]
[1.]
[0.]
The white world instantly twisted.
Space folded around him before everything dissolved into countless fragments of light.
By the time his vision stabilized once more, the empty white room had completely disappeared.
Instead...
Kael found himself standing within a massive stone arena.
Towering walls surrounded the battlefield while countless empty spectator seats stretched into the distance.
The arena radiated an ancient, oppressive atmosphere, as though it had witnessed countless life-and-death battles throughout history.
Yet Kael paid none of it any attention.
The very instant the simulation finished loading...
His eyes locked onto the creature standing several dozen meters away.
It resembled a tiger.
Its body was nearly three meters long, every muscle beneath its crimson fur rippling with explosive power. Jagged black claws dug into the stone beneath its paws while fiery red stripes stretched across its body like molten lava flowing through cracked earth.
Each breath escaping its nostrils carried wisps of scorching flame.
The beast slowly raised its head.
Golden eyes filled with savage intelligence met Kael’s calm gaze.
Kael recognized it immediately.
"An Emberfang Tiger..."
Among high-ranking magical beasts...
It possessed a rather infamous reputation.
Unlike ordinary monsters, powerful beasts gradually underwent mutations as they continued growing stronger.
Some awakened the power to manipulate fire.
Others gained control over lightning, wind, poison, telekinesis, ice, or countless other supernatural abilities.
Those mutations transformed already dangerous monsters into nightmares capable of slaughtering entire Hunter teams.
The Emberfang Tiger was one such existence.
It had evolved an affinity for fire.
Every claw.
Every bite.
Every movement.
Carried terrifying destructive power, making it far more dangerous than an ordinary beast of the same rank.