The lightning bolt collided with the metal dummy, disintegrating a large chunk of its body. The rest of the metal clattered to the ground, lightning still sparking from it.
Mouths fell open left and right, staring at him with wide eyes as the entire room went deathly quiet.
'Ai…' Theo thought, grimacing. 'I overdid it.'
He shook his hand lightly as he stared at the aftermath.
'Let's hope they won't make a problem out of this,' he thought. 'I still haven't found a reason to explain my affinity after all.'
"What the hell?" the examiner muttered beside him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He stepped forward slowly, staring at the remains of the target.
The metal dummy had been designed to withstand Bronze Core attacks, and since they didn't test Silver Cores… that should've been enough.
"What spell did you use?" the examiner asked, glancing back at Theo.
"A basic lightning bolt spell," Theo replied calmly.
The examiner stared at him for a moment, an incredulous look on his face.
"That amount of damage from a basic spell…" he mumbled. "What rank is your affinity?"
"It isn't that great," Theo replied, scratching his head with an awkward smile.
The examiner's face lit up. "Is your lightning element mutated by any chance then?"
Theo raised an eyebrow, caught off guard.
'Mutated?' he thought.
A very small percentage of people awakened elements that displayed properties different from their standard form.
A simple example would be a red flame turning blue and carrying far greater power than an ordinary fire.
'I haven't had the chance or money to test that,' he thought, closing his eyes for a moment.
Naturally, the chances were pretty high that it was the case. But he'd heard that SSS-rank affinities were super strong in general, making him uncertain if it truly was mutated.
'But I can still use it as a cover for now though.'
Theo nodded once, forcing a polite smile onto his face.
"You caught me," he said. "I do apologize, though. I never expected it to be able to break it."
The examiner quickly waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't mention it," he answered. "I'll register you as a Low-Class Hunter right away."
Before Theo could even thank him, a card was pushed into his hand, a flashy name on it with a phone number written just underneath.
"My name is Marco," the examiner introduced himself. "If you ever need a group to earn merit, please contact us first."
Momentarily dazed, Theo glanced down at the card silently.
'Hunsung Hunter Group?'
He had never heard of the group before, but seeing how they got someone to scout for talent at simple exams, he doubted it was a small group.
"We aren't a simple group," Marco continued, patting him on the back. "Our leader is just a little merit short of becoming an Expert Hunter."
Envious gazes bore into Theo's back as low murmurs echoed from the chairs.
Even Theo didn't know what to say, simply staring at Marco with wide eyes.
There were a total of six hunter ranks, going from Low-Class Hunters all the way up to Grandmaster Hunters, who were practically national figures.
And an Expert Hunter? They were people with a Platinum Core or even a Diamond Core, which was practically the top strength of a city.
"I'll… have to think about it," Theo said, stashing the card into his pocket.
"Of course," Marco said, nodding lightly. "You're still young. Go discuss it with your parents."
They slowly walked to the front of the room under everyone's gazes, while Marco continued with some small talk.
"Anyway," he finally said, coming to a halt. "You've passed both tests now. You can get your hunter card at the reception."
"Thank you," Theo nodded with a smile.
Marco simply waved, turning around as he pointed at another examinee to follow him.
Theo remained standing there for a moment, sorting out his thoughts and excitement.
'I did it,' he thought, a grin forming on his face. 'I can actually earn money now.'
Suddenly, it didn't seem so far-fetched to earn enough to afford a down payment on an apartment for his family.
Theo exhaled slowly and finally moved.
The excitement in his chest hadn't faded yet, but he forced himself to stay calm as he walked down the stairs toward the reception desk.
After waiting for a few minutes, he finally reached the front of the line.
"Name?" the receptionist asked without looking up.
"Theo Lane."
She typed for a few seconds before sliding a small black card across the counter.
"Congratulations. You're now officially registered as a Low-Class Hunter."
Theo picked it up carefully, a faint smile on his face as he stepped away from the reception.
[Theo Lane]
[Low-Class Hunter]
[Affiliation: None]
For a moment, he just stared at it.
'Let's go home,' he thought, sliding the card into his pocket.
Just as he wandered toward the exit, a massive digital mission board stretched across a section of the lobby caught his attention.
Theo walked closer, his eyes moving line by line.
Three missions in particular stood out, shown in a deep red color.
'I should stay away from those,' he thought, quickly moving down the list. 'Anything related to the Black Covenant is far too dangerous.'
As he continued scanning, several missions caught his eye, ranging from simple resource collections to exterminating creatures near the city.
Finally, Theo paused at a listing.
'The military put in this request?' he thought, eyes widening slightly.
[Coastal Patrol — Entry Level — None to F-rank Threat Level — Reward: $500 per day — Maximum Participants: 1000]
The mission itself wasn't too strange, considering the danger a beast tide from the sea could pose if it wasn't detected early.
'Five hundred dollars a day though?' he thought, exhilarated. 'Just for checking something that rarely ever happens?!'
Not to mention, he could kill any F-rank creature that wandered out of the sea as training while not having to worry about other creatures coming from behind the trees like in a forest.
'And even if a strong creature comes out, I can just run and request backup from the military.'
There was no doubt about it. A mission like this was perfect for his situation.
Theo pulled out his phone immediately, searching up the Hunter Association's website and logging in with his new hunter card.
'That's the mission,' he thought, quickly selecting it. 'Now, before all spots are gone…'
He pressed confirm, locking in the mission.
[Registration Successful. 48 Slots Remaining.]