The world had changed at a dizzying pace.
Hunter guilds became the new global superpowers.
The top Hunters were celebrities, billionaires, idols.
Dungeons were a part of everyday life.
Their colored entrances a constant reminder of the new reality.
Jax, now a newly-minted seventeen-year-old, was a ghost no longer.
He stood before the gleaming new headquarters of the Korean Hunter Association in downtown Seoul.
The line for registration snaked around the block.
Filled with nervous and excited young people hoping for a D or C-rank evaluation.
He was a ghost no longer.
He was a predator.
His face was a mask of calm indifference as he took his place in the line.
A stark contrast to the jittery teenagers around him.
He heard whispers.
He stole glances directed at his imposing frame and handsome, calm features.
He was just another hopeful teenager on the outside.
But on the inside, a monster was waiting to be unleashed.
He watched the faces of the hopefuls around him.
He knew some of their names, their future successes and failures.
The world had no idea what was coming.
They were about to witness the birth of a new legend.
The line moved slowly.
Soon it was his turn.
He stepped into the sterile, white room.
A slim, elegant woman in a pristine white lab coat smiled at him.
"Welcome. Please place your hand on the evaluation orb."
The orb was a smooth, crystal sphere on a pedestal.
It was designed to measure the user's inherent power and determine their Hunter rank.
He knew what it would show.
Most people who had an ability registered as F or E-rank at first—their power weak and undefined.
The most gifted were C-rank at best.
He placed his hand on the orb.
The orb glowed a soft blue.
Then a brighter green, moving through the ranks with dizzying speed.
It passed E, D, C, B, A…
And then it shimmered, pulsating with a blinding, golden light that filled the room.
The elegant woman gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
The orb didn't stop.
It thrummed with power.
The golden light turned into a pure, blinding white.
Then a violent, crimson red.
The orb cracked.
A notification sound echoed in the room, though only he could see it.
[Rank Evaluation Failed. Unable to compute unique energy signature. Please re-evaluate using a different metric.]
The woman was trembling.
"What… what was that?" she stammered, staring at the cracked orb.
Jax simply shrugged, his expression unreadable.
"I don't know."
Another man, a senior evaluator with a stern face, rushed into the room.
He took one look at the cracked orb and then at Jax.
His eyes widened.
He grabbed a small, portable device and aimed it at Jax.
The device flashed.
A number appeared on its screen.
A number so high it shouldn't have been possible for a new Awakened.
"This is impossible," the senior evaluator whispered.
He looked at Jax, his eyes full of awe and terror.
"You're... an S-Rank."
And so it was announced.
The Korean Hunter Association had its sixth S-Rank.
A boy named Jackson Lee Mercer.
A name that would soon be known throughout the world.
!END OF CHAPTERS FOR NOW!