Richard raised his fists and threw them towards Oliver. His fists, luckily, had no mana added to them, yet they still produced a loud whistling sound. Oliver stared at the fist that was approaching his face and thought about the best course of action. Truthfully, Oliver felt it would be more worthwhile to get hit by them and try to claim compensation. However, his eyes slowly drifted to Rika and the slight worry that was forming in her eyes.

Oliver watched as the fist slowly approached him, and he tilted his head slightly to the right. As a small cut formed on his cheek just from the wind pressure generated by the fist, Oliver's free hand quickly flew through the air and retaliated. Richard's body staggered a few steps back, and blood started to spill from his nose.

"Y-you bastard! I'll—"

"Alright, that is enough. Young White, is our existence a joke to you?" The examiner finally had enough and decided to end this little farce. Richard wanted to respond; however, the glare from the examiner made him close his mouth.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse us, I have business with that young man."

Oliver stared at Richard's rage-filled face and felt a new emotion start to sweep up in his heart. As the emotion was slowly taking root, he remembered that he was still holding Rika's waist. Although her slightly rose-tinted cheeks were adorable, he let go of her waist and didn't dare look her straight in the eyes. It was then he was escorted to another room with Rika, leaving Richard by himself in the lobby. However, he could feel the piercing glare from him hit his back.

In the room, the examiner started to go over the examination's results, yet, although his voice was still professional, his eyes were shining as he talked with them.

"I have your results here, Sir. Although, I have a slight suggestion for you."

"A suggestion?"

"Yes, although I hate to admit it. We attach too much importance to bloodline and background; as such, your status as an orphan is a weakness."

Oliver listened to his advice with a calm heart. Although the man had pointed out such a weakness, he had no way to solve it; moreover, he didn't care much for a family.

"While you might be right, however, I—" As Oliver was about to dismiss the examiner's advice, Rika suddenly interjected and voiced her own opinion,

"I can help with this!"

"Huh?" Both the examiner and Oliver let their confused thoughts out, and Rika quickly continued,

"He can take my last name! No one in this city would dare make trouble for him then, m-moreover, w-ww-wee..." Rika's voice became increasingly quieter near the end until it was inaudible. However, her rose-tinted cheeks and timid glances toward Oliver were anything but subtle. Although Oliver had a clue about her thoughts, he felt it was too weird. A girl he met not long ago suddenly had feelings for him to such a degree; it was too suspicious. Quickly he thought about what to do and decided to simply take the safe option here, not sure about Rika's true motives.

"That's quite alright, I'm fine with my orphan status. Anyway, can we continue with my results?"

"Ah yes, rather than me explaining, I'll rather just give them to you." The examiner handed Oliver a piece of paper detailing his results, while Rika's head went down at the quick refusal, although her eyes had a glint of an unknown emotion pass through.

Oliver read the paper, slightly confused about the results; however, he felt they were quite good.

[ Name: Oliver

Strength: 0.82

Stamina: 1.02

Agility: 0.84

Sense: 1.04

Mana: 7.0

Overall: His strength and agility are near the peak of a natural human, while his stamina and sense have already entered the realm of the supernatural. Although, the amount of mana he has is borderline scary, as with no training or resources, he already has seven times the amount a mage has. ]

Rika had taken a small peek at his results and exclaimed,

"What the hell are these results!?"

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"Haha, I'm just as shocked as you, Lady Amano."

"Uhm, can someone explain a little?"

"Sigh! A fine line separates the supernatural and the natural, yet most in the supernatural world are still considered natural. Of course, those like werewolves or vampires are born with already supernatural qualities, yet even then, they usually have a drawback like a weak constitution or weak mana."

"Yet, you don't seem to have that, Sir Oliver. Your mana is extraordinary, yet your overall constitution would rival a young werewolf, a race famed for their strong bodies."

Oliver listened yet found nothing that extraordinary about it. He tried to understand their surprise; however, considering his entire body changed to this overnight, he might never be able to understand it.

Seeing Oliver's impassive face, Rika explained to him,

"Most humans in this city haven't surpassed 0.8 in their physical stats; don't even mention 1.0. For instance, my highest stat from training since I was young to the age of 21 is 0.87 in Sense. While my mana has barely reached 2.0, and yet I'm considered a genius. Yet most of your stats are either near my highest or have greatly surpassed it."

Oliver nodded to her words, understanding a little more about how freakish his stats truly were. However, he didn't feel any sort of pride or superiority from it. He sighed and asked the examiner,

"Alright, so does that mean I'm good to go?"

"Yes, yes, that means you're good to go. I already have someone creating everything your strength entails." The examiner sighed.

Oliver let out a small hum of confusion, and the examiner continued, "Considering your stats, you have been delegated as a Rank 2 Associate. All information regarding your new rank will be detailed in the phone given to you along with your badge."

Oliver nodded; however, Rika felt his reaction was too tame compared to what he had just gained. She quickly began to inform him of what a Rank 2 Associate was,

"A Rank 2 Associate is considered a true supernatural and is given multiple discounts and certain immunities throughout the world. You are given a monthly allowance of $10,000 and are given access to Fissures."

Oliver, hearing that term again, rudely cut her off and asked about it. Although Rika gave him a glare, she still calmly explained,

"A Fissure is—" As Rika was about to explain, the examiner quickly cut her off and explained,

"A Fissure holds resources from out of this world. These resources are revolutionary and have been deemed essential for our society; as such, they are given hefty price tags. Moreover, they hold skills and techniques that are much more advanced than ours; some even have intelligent life forms that are able to form trade agreements with us. All in all, they are essential for our society in every area."

"I understand; however, how are they not known to the public?"

"They are masked by a veil of pure magical power; this veil can only be broken by those who have sufficient magical energy or physical prowess."

As they were talking, the door opened, and a small girl quickly came in holding a small tray. On the tray was a black card with two swords intersected and a scepter in the middle. Next to it was a sleek black cell phone that was the same size as the newest models. On the back of the phone, that same design was inscribed.

"The card here is your sign-on bonus. As with every Rank Two Associate, you are given a hefty sum of $50,000 and a private bank account attached to the card. All future deposits from us will be given to that bank account. The phone here has the latest technology along with being completely off the natural grid."

Oliver nodded and accepted the items. With everything he needed to do at the Mystic Association done, he was finally ready to explore the city. As he got up and was getting ready to leave, Rika quickly grabbed his arm and motioned for his phone.

"Here, I've put my number in there. Don't be shy about calling." Rika winked at him, and Oliver left the room along with the building.

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