"Sure." The young man said, touching a few things on a transparent screen beside him, "I can sign you up for the process right away. I'm sure you know how it goes."
He wasn't expecting much from Sin. After all, Sin looked like a run-of-the-mill teen coming from an average background. He had dealt with many of these types of folks, or so he thought.
"And your name?"
"Sin."
"Sin? Hmm... let's see here." The man scrolled through, "Sin Clemoth Falmerdic?"
"Yes, but I would like to update that name."
"Oh? Sure... what would you like it to be?"
"Sin... Alaric Dalroth." Sin replied. 'This system gave me another chance. I owe it... so I'll change my name for its sake to the name it thinks I have.' It was a token of gratitude, even if it was only in his own mind.
God knows if the system could actually tell Sin did this for him, or if it could feel emotions at all.
"Done." The man replied, "And for your Hunter exam," He paused, glancing at Sin's data.
---
[Name: Sin Alaric Dalroth]
[Age: 15]
[Background: Unknown]
[Spirit Energy affinity: A Grade]
---
His eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Sin, and then back at the screen again, "Damn..." He muttered under his breath, "Alrighty then... maybe I have gotten too conceited. I shouldn't judge a book by its cover." He whispered.
"What?" Sin said, confused and unable to clearly hear what the man had said.
"Oh, nothing! Your Hunter exam is available today actually, Sir." The man nodded at Sin, addressing him with a tone of respectful formality now all of a sudden.
"Wait, what?" Sin didn't notice the tone shift from the guy, just surprised to hear his exam was so soon, "Why today?" He noticed he sounded like he was complaining, "I mean, how today? I thought the wait was usually a lot longer."
"My apologies for the confusion, sir. For anyone with an A Grade affinity and above, their exam is placed on the same day. This way, we can have more effective units out there in the work field much quicker. B Grades usually take two or more days, C Grades take weeks or more, and D Grades and below are waitlisted until traffic is freed up and we have space for them..." The guy spoke more than he had to, overexplaining everything.
Now that he knew Sin was A Grade, he had to treat him with respect. After all, A Grades were rare. Every other A Grade he knew was a popular Hunter Group leader or powerful, respected figure.
If this guy was going to turn into that as well, he wanted to get on his good books.
"That's great then." Sin said, smiling slightly, "Where do I go to begin?"
The man turned and pointed at a door with his palm, "That is the waiting room for today's exam. It should be starting any minute now, so please go in and have a seat."
Sin nodded, following the guy's instructions.
The man bowed slightly as Sin left as a form of respect, trailing him with his eyes, 'To think... some people are just born with everything... tsk! And I'm stuck here with an F Grade Spirit and no power. Fuck sakes...'
Sin opened the door he was directed towards. He was met with several dozen eyes peering straight at him.
It was a long room, about 70 feet in length if he had to estimate. The width was close to 30 feet, with chairs stacked along the edges and none in the middle.
'Treating everyone with the same amount of courtesy...' Sin said as he walked over to an empty seat. 'The seating arrangements also allow everyone to look at each other, increasing tension. Although this is only the waiting room, I have a feeling the exam has already begun.'
Everyone in the room was of different size and shape. Men and women, strong people, and others who looked like they had never done a single push up before.
There were some with brighter colors on, and others with dull energies. Some who seemed like they were buzzing with power, and others who Sin didn't even notice were there.
'So all of these people are taking the exam today huh... there's probably close to 50 of them.'
The people must have either been strong enough to take it today or had finally gotten their chance after weeks or months of waiting.
Sin couldn't help but stare out at everyone. He wasn't afraid to do so, unlike some, who stared at the ground only.
Their body language was poor, their shoulders slouched forward and their head nearly touching the floor from bending forward so much.
Many of these individuals who Sin deemed as cowardly right away were twiddling their thumbs, their bodies sweating from the tension of the moment.
'Many of these nervous types have probably been waiting for a very long time. I can just imagine the stress they are feeling. To fail after waiting this long... their entire livelihoods likely depending on their performance today. The weight of the anxiety must be like a crushing boulder on their heads.'
On top of that, many figures in the room had an imposing, almost dominating aura to them.
They were clearly strong, or wealthy, or both. Having the eyes of these individuals judge you like you're just sitting there naked and vulnerable also added to the stress.
Even Sin was feeling this. He was looking around but noticed only a few other people doing the same as him.
Most were minding their own business. A minority was nervous and looking at the ground. And finally, another minority was bravely making eye contact with everyone and eyeing them up and down.
After Sin sat down, he noticed the eyes that were looking at him before had mostly stopped being glued onto him.
However, he noticed one guy continue to stare at him.
It was a young man, probably only a couple of years older than Sin himself.
The young man had luscious, golden hair--like the rays of the sun itself. His eyes were a pristine blue--as sharp as the northern lights and as dazzling as the crisp sea.
He wore an opulent golden robe embroidered with patterns resembling sunbursts.
A high collar framed his neck. His belt was crafted from interwoven gold and black leather, clasped with a large, polished emerald.
His shoulders were adorned with decorative pauldrons engraved with swirling patterns that shimmered in the light.
Black lining along the cuffs and hem added a sharp contrast, while golden thread stitched elegant designs down the sleeves. The outfit wasn't just clothing—it was a statement of power and wealth.
Just looking at him made Sin feel inferior out of nowhere. So, Sin continued to stare at him.
'Who does this guy think he is?' Sin said to himself, 'Sitting there in his awesome clothing and cocky stare...'
Out of nowhere, the golden-haired young man made a condescending look. The side of his top left curled upwards as his nostrils flared slightly, his chin raising to look down at Sin.
Sin furrowed his eyebrows. The unspoken tension was high out of nowhere.
'What the fuck is going on right now.' Sin couldn't help but think to himself.
But at that moment, the door to the waiting room opened again.
His gaze glanced at the door, looking away from the golden-haired guy.
There, he saw the guy he had punched in the guild just yesterday step inside.
This time he was alone. He also had a bandaid across his nose.
Immediately, Sin hid his face to the side.
The golden-haired guy noticed this, his eyes narrowing with slight confusion, 'Oh? He's hiding his face because of that noble brat. Dreli was his name, right?' He thought.
'Shit!' Sin exclaimed inwardly, 'What the hell is he doing here? He's also taking the exam today? I guess it makes sense. His affinity was B Grade after all... Still, this is horrible news for me.'
Sin decided to take a peek again, but noticed that Dreli had decided to sit right next to him of all places.
Sin's head immediately ducked to the side again as he coughed into his hand, covering his face completely.
'What the hell!? Why is he sitting right here? I don't want to get into another fight... especially not before the damn Hunter Exam. That would mess up a lot of things.'
Dreli looked over at Sin with a confused expression, 'Why is this guy turning away from me? And why is he coughing so loud?' He thought, finding these things a bit out of place.
He raised his hand, 'Who the hell is this guy?' nearly touching Sin on the shoulder. His hand came an inch away from touching Sin before he was abruptly interrupted.
"Ahem!" The golden-haired guy loudly cleared his throat.
Everyone's heads suddenly darted toward him.
"When is this exam going to start?" He crossed one of his legs over the other in a flashy way, "How much longer are you going to waste my day?"
Despite the guy sounding like a dickhead, no one batted an eye or spoke up.
Even Dreli sighed and placed his hands in his lap, glancing over at Sin one last time, 'Maybe he has some bad coughing disease, so he is making sure it doesn't spread. If thats the case, I'd rather him look away... poor idiot got bad luck to get sick on the exam date. By the looks of it, he's some random who had to wait for months too. Pfft...' He scoffed inwardly.
"Attention!" A voice came from the speakers above. "Everyone who is taking the Hunter Exam today is present. The exam shall now commence..."