Yan rose from the meditation mat. His steps were steady, but the fatigue in his eyes gave him away.
Rami approached the supervisor, Hojin, and spoke in a quiet but firm voice. "Sir, Yan is our friend. May we continue his evaluation?"
Hojin looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Proceed as you wish."
Rami and Selina exchanged a glance. They hadn't expected it to be that easy—especially from a man like him. But he said it. That was enough.
"Begin," Hojin said as he tapped something into his device.
Yan didn't argue. He reached for a cup of water. A faint white glow spread from his palm, wrapping around the cup. The light pulsed for half a minute before fading.
He handed the cup to the supervisor, who passed it to a staff member. She didn't speak, only nodded and walked away.
"What's his skill?" Selina asked under her breath.
Hojin didn't turn. "Waiting for confirmation. I have my guesses, but we need results."
Rami and Selina walked over to Yan, who sat quietly by the wall, wiping sweat from his brow.
"You look like you fought a dragon, not purified a cup," Selina joked.
"What did he say to you?" Rami asked, sitting beside him.
Yan let out a breath. "Purification."
"Purification?" Selina echoed, puzzled.
"He said it purifies materials—dust, bacteria, stuff like that. Might be linked to a sacred element, but he wasn't sure."
Before either of them could respond, the staff member returned.
Hojin was watching someone else's test—a weak fire arrow barely cleared a meter.
He wrapped up the test and returned with a sheet of paper.
"As I thought. The cup was heavily contaminated. After Yan's ability, the dust was completely gone. Bacteria were partially reduced. Viruses? Still present. Effectiveness seems to drop with complexity and scale."
Rami and Selina turned to Yan, waiting for a reaction.
But he wasn't upset. He wasn't frustrated.
"I won't be discouraged by that," he said firmly, looking at them.
"I'll get stronger. My way."
Selina placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled gently. "Don't underestimate it. One day, it might save us. Or kill poison."
Yan finally laughed. "Thanks."
A new voice cut through the moment:
"Mr. Rami, Miss Selina?"
They turned. A man in his mid-forties, black hair, formal suit, serious features.
"I'm Jin Wook, senior supervisor. I'll be overseeing the classification of your mana."
Rami stood at once and met his gaze. "An honor, sir."
Hojin and Jin exchanged a brief look. No one expected this level of respect from an orphan.
"Please, follow me."
The three of them did. Lin Tian joined silently from behind.
They reached the end of the hall. Reflective glass covered the walls—faces unseen, but eyes watching from behind.
At the center stood a massive metal slab. Cold, gray, platinum-like.
"Mithril," Jin Wook said.
"The strongest metal extracted from dungeons. Conducts mana... and reveals its nature."
They listened without interruption.
"Place your hand. Summon the feeling of awakening. You don't need to speak. The metal will."
Rami stepped forward first and placed his hand on it.
Silent moments passed—then a faint blue aura appeared. Calm, soft, but distinct.
"Mind type… enhancer," Jin said clearly.
Rami withdrew his hand without expression.
Behind him, Lin Tian clenched a fist.
Selina stepped up next.
It took only three seconds. Her glow was colder, clearer, brighter than Rami's. It lit the room.
"Emitter type. Ice element."
Selina nodded subtly and stepped back.
Then came Lin Tian.
He placed his hand.
A minute passed.
Nothing.
Another second.
Silence.
He pulled his hand away, staring at Jin Wook.
"Try again," Jin said.
He did. Still nothing.
This time, Jin placed his own hand on the metal.
The glow exploded on contact.
"That's unusual," he muttered to himself.
"Your class seems… unclassified. Undefined. For now."
Selina frowned. "Is it rare?"
"I can't say. Sorry," Jin replied immediately.
Rami glanced to the side. Nothing more needed to be said.
Lin Tian didn't like the feeling.
"I'll log it as unknown," Jin Wook said as he entered the data.
"Officials will decide how to handle your case later. Evaluation complete."
He shot a glance toward the glass.
The faces were hidden—but the eyes behind them felt like buyers watching a stock.
They left the hall.
None of them knew that from this moment on, the evaluation would no longer just be about class.
It would become a legend.
One told for generations.