My breath caught as my gaze swept the room beyond the translucent door of the white building.
There were hundreds of people gathered in the hall. Some were leaning on the wall alone, while others were with friends, talking.
For once since I altered my body, I didn't look out of place. Nearly everyone in the room was just as attractive as I was, though I was obviously still above them.
Although they weren't saying anything, I could feel their judgemental glares and the nervousness in their eyes.
They were all sizing each other up since no one knew who would awaken with the strongest unique skill and who would be left in the dust.
My gaze shifted from them to the figure that looked just like Jake Kim, standing beside Quincy.
Honestly, they looked like a couple from where I stood. Their stern, leader-like look made all attention fall on them.
I turned to Valentina, who was blinking and acting all cute, then clicked her tongue when no one was looking, cleaning the inside of her ear with her pinky.
I let out an exasperated sigh. 'In contrast, the two of us look like pretty idols who lost their way.'
Val looked up at me, stared for a second, then moved forward. "I will see you later~"
She bounced hurriedly and went toward a pillar, leaning on it and acting all mysterious.
I walked over to where she was and leaned next to her. "You don't expect me to stand alone, do you?"
"Nope, I knew you would follow me. I'm a royal goddess, hahaha!"
Everyone around us turned to her, and I felt like the earth should just open up and swallow me whole.
Before I could say anything to her, the entire hall went completely still. The door opposite the one we entered slowly opened, and a large number of guards swarmed in. Behind them was a face I never thought I would see so soon.
It was a face that had beaten the crap out of me for the past week, though it was just a simulation of her.
The one-eyed queen, Asura.
Behind her was the governor of the capital city, Benedict Roswell.
The temperature of the hall seemed to rise as Asura's gaze swept through all of us. Some students even fell to their knees under the intense pressure.
But her eyes weren't glowing, neither did fog escape her lips, which meant she wasn't even using mana at all.
'So this is a level 75.'
Someone that was over ten trillion times stronger than I currently was. It was no wonder she could oppress us with just her gaze.
If such a person wanted us dead, she would just use a single fingernail.
Asura tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Why are they all kneeling, Ben?"
Benedict wiped some sweat off his forehead with his handkerchief. "Your Grace, it seems your presence was too much for these young ones. I did tell you to wear the restraining wristband given by the Holy Church when you're around normal people or low ranks."
Asura nodded absentmindedly. "I understand, I understand!" Her voice suddenly rose as she raised a finger. "So the new generation are a bunch of weaklings, right?!"
"No, no, you're level 75. They are level 0. You can't compare your levels."
"Kids are meant to have grit, fatty. If they don't have this, how can they lead the future!"
Benedict was sweating profusely now. I could already tell that he was much fatter than he was now, but because of Asura, he was forced to slim down from stress.
Asura stepped in front of all of us and placed her hands on her hips. "Okay, you little kittens, today is the day when you start your journey of becoming real cats. Say goodbye to your old life, because whether you awaken a unique skill or not, your life is going to change."
She turned to Benedict, who cleared his throat. "Before we commence with the ceremony, I would like to clear up something."
He stood beside Asura, his earlier nervousness vanishing. Even though he acted shy around Asura since she was rightfully his senior, both in age and strength, he was still a level 47 hunter, a level most won't ever see.
"There has been a rumor going around that the government has been trying to control hunters, but I can assure you that none of that is true, and they are rumors spread by Aberrants."
Gasps and whispers filled the hall in an instant.
Even I knew what the term Aberrants meant. They were groups of hunters who, instead of using their abilities to help defeat the Abyss and close the rifts, fought other hunters, went against the government, and did evil things to mundane humans.
"I know some of you might not believe us, but do you think the government, the same ones who offer fog which is necessary to use awakened abilities, would need another means to control hunters."
'Huh? Why didn't I think of that before?'
I ran my gaze through the room until I found Jake, who had a confused expression on his face.
Why wouldn't he? Neither of us had thought of it before, but if what the governor was saying was true, did that mean that Lady Aoki was an Aberrant?
No, it was too far-fetched to be a possibility. There was a chance that she had just heard of a rumor and told Jake.
But she didn't look like the type to say something she wasn't absolutely sure about.
I placed a hand over my face. 'Well, I don't know much about her to begin with.'
However, even if she was indeed an Aberrant, she still taught me a lot. Besides, I wasn't a saint in the first place.
I was literally something of an aberrant in my past life.
One thing that I was certain about was that the government wasn't trying to stop people from awakening, since if they wanted to, they could stop distributing fog.
This, however, didn't mean I trusted them. Since Aberrants could get their hands on fog, that meant they could most certainly produce it too. And since that control method was slipping from them, the government might try another thing.
Benedict let out a long, heavy breath. "But we can't blame it all on the evil guys, since part of the rumor is indeed true. We have found a way to close the rifts, but it isn't for the reasons you all think."
He let the crowd's voices die down before continuing. "As you know, Her Grace is at level 75, and within two or three years, she would be at least level 76. With that power, she would surely be able to kill the Abyss Queen. But what happens after that? All rifts would close, and humanity would lose their greatest strength. So in order to combat this, we have created a new way of awakening. A special drug that, once taken, will allow you to awaken by taking your soul into the place that is most connected to you. This method is not only effective but also increases the number of awakened each year!"
'Blame the bad guys, take some blame, and show your real intention in the guise of good…'
Rounds of applause erupted in the room.
'Such a classic strategy. And it seems everyone has bought it.'
Benedict grinned. "Today will be a day that will be recorded in history books. The day humanity breaks free from awakenings caused by lowly demons and stand on our own two feet!"