White light engulfed my body, flooding the entire room.
"This..."
Even Branch Head Roman was stunned by the sudden surge of light. But it didn't stop there.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the altar beneath the purple crystal began to shake violently, but before the commotion could get bigger, I decisively pulled my hand back and the crystal abruptly stopped releasing light.
The radiance vanished, and everyone slowly regained their sight.
Moments later, the crystal projected the results onto a red holographic screen.
[Time of Awakening: Approximately one week before turning 18]
[Potential: Mythical]
"Woohoo! As expected of my son! Congratulations!!!"
My mother cheered from the side, while Roman stared at the screen in disbelief.
"M… Mythical?!"
The word burst from his mouth as he rushed toward me with excitement written all over his face.
"Ren! Is it real? Did you really awaken a full week before turning eighteen?"
Before I could answer—
"Are you doubting my son? I told you, didn't I? You'd be shocked."
My mother stepped forward and spoke first calmly with a hint of playfulness which instantly poured a bucket of cold water over Roman, forcing him to steady himself.
"This… this goes beyond shocking."
He then turned toward her and bowed slightly.
"Forgive me, Matriarch, for my unprofessional conduct. As you instructed, I will keep this matter confidential until you choose to disclose it."
"Hehe, no need to apologize. And this is only the beginning—the shock isn't over yet."
Understanding the implication behind her words, cold sweat formed on Roman's forehead. He wiped it away, but the smile on his face only grew wider.
After all, he was one of the Shimizu family's own. The brighter our future became, the more secure his position would be.
Taking a deep breath, he shook his head, regained his composure, and patted my shoulder with genuine enthusiasm.
"Congratulations! Congratulations, my dear Ren! You are truly the star of this era."
"Thank you."
I replied calmly with a soft, composed smile, as though none of this meant much to me.
Seeing this, my mother nodded in satisfaction, while Branch Head Roman spoke again.
"Now stand on that altar and try using your ability."
"Alright."
Standing atop another altar at the corner of the hall, surrounded by overlapping magic circles and strange, camera-like magical devices, I took a deep breath and activated my ability, Phantom Step.
Immediately, a dense array of mana rays swept across my body from the outside, scanning my body and the fluctuations of Mana when my ability was activated.
It wasn't uncomfortable like the Mana Circuit check, nor was there any blinding light. However, the moment the mana scan receded and the results were processed, a loud siren echoed throughout the entire Association building.
Inside the hall, the three of us ignored it completely, because we already knew about it, and it was exactly what we had intended.
After all, that siren only sounded when an Infinite Potential Ability was detected as each such individual was simply a national treasure.
[Ability: Infinite Potential]
At the same time, the results were displayed.
Roman was clearly shocked, though not as much as before since he had already braced himself for something abnormal.
Even so, his excitement was impossible to suppress.
More importantly, this was the first time my mother had confirmed the existence of my ability.
Until now, because the abilities granted by the system were unsuitable for public disclosure, I had only told her that my ability possessed unlimited potential, deliberately keeping its nature secret.
And though she believed me, the confirmation of seeing it with her own eyes relieved her.
Besides, now that the cat was out of the bag, she was genuinely curious, and so she couldn't help but ask.
"Ren, can you show me your ability?"
I nodded, and as I activated my ability and took a step, I disappeared in front of their eyes, only to appear behind my mother almost a few milliseconds later, who immediately reacted and turned towards me.
"Wonderful."
This time, her amazement was even more evident. She had realized that my ability carried a space attribute, making the value of my ability even greater.
Roman wasn't much different, but in my mother's presence, he wisely kept quiet. He merely escorted us as we prepared to leave the hall and do the rest of the formalities for registration.
When we exited the hall, a large number of Association staff were already waiting outside, eager for news.
Roman wisely disclosed only what my mother allowed him, and for the rest he said he couldn't disclose it for the sake of privacy.
Still, as we left to do the formalities, the commotion quickly spread throughout the building.
Due to the limited information released, all that was known was that I, Ren, the son of the high-ranking Hunter, Storm Empress Hana Shimizu, had awakened an Ability with Infinite Potential, and my Mana Circuit had matured before I turned eighteen.
No one knew the details, but even that much information was enough to throw the crowd outside into chaos.
By the time we completed the formalities and came outside, the uproar hadn't subsided. Everyone already knew it was me.
Fortunately, my mother simply grabbed me, wrapped mana around us, and flew us all outside.
We escaped cleanly before the Hunters and reporters who had appeared at some point could surround us.
Even so, while flying away, I deliberately released a faint wisp of mana in a certain direction, deliberately making that bitch of a heroine, Yuzuki, notice us.
When she saw me flying high without even sparing her a glance, her expression twisted with greed and fury.
She muttered something, definitely something not pleasant to hear.
Maybe she even thought of surpassing me someday, of grinding me into the dirt and making me kneel before her.
But to that delusion of hers, I could only say one thing.
'Who would make whom kneel… only time would tell. Hehehe.'
I giggled inwardly, and we left.
Our plan was to go out and enjoy the occasion of my registration, but the plan couldn't keep up with changes, and because of a sudden outbreak of a Dungeon Crack, my mother had to rush to provide support, leaving me all alone.
Not long after, I was back at home, in my room. I immediately jumped onto the bed and lay there, staring at the ceiling, thinking of the future.
The Academy would start in about a month. In the original storyline, I could have entered even with mediocre potential, let alone now.
There was also no need for an entrance exam. I had no intention of playing that childish game in the first place.
What I really needed to think about was how to deal with the heroines and eliminate the protagonist as soon as possible.
My plan was simple and direct: steal every opportunity that belonged to the protagonist, target the heroines one by one, uncover all of his weaknesses, and then eliminate him in a single decisive move.
Speaking of stealing the protagonist's opportunities, there was one in particular that I wanted before the Academy started. With that in hand, trapping that bitch Yuzuki the moment the academy began would be easy.
And that opportunity was within a Hidden Dungeon crack.
It was my next target.
But taking that opportunity could wait. There was something far more important I needed to do first, and that was to savor my mother's delicious body… I mean to enjoy some quality time with my mother.
I exhaled slowly, and a faint smile appeared on my lips.
'Then let's start tomorrow. From tomorrow onward, the official plan of targeting my mother will commence.'
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Sorry for the delay in uploads, was busy planning and starting the sequel for my Doraemon fanfic, already started uploading it on P@treon, so the upload will come as usual from now on.
You can also read this book's advance chapters there too. Link in my bio, or you can check my Fanfic's synopsis, you will find it there.