Chương 138: Chapter 137: The Awakening Center — Where the Scanner Blue-Screened

By the next morning, the main hall of Seoul's Hunter Association was already packed. At the center of the hall, a fourth-generation quantum scanning platform — fifty million dollars of titanium alloy and bulletproof glass — pulsed with waves of brilliant blue light. A seventeen-year-old in designer athletic wear stepped into the measurement chamber and placed a hand on the crystal sensor sphere. WHRRM! A three-meter column of blue light shot upward.

The massive electronic display on the ceiling immediately lit up in gold text: [BIOENERGY MEASUREMENT RESULT] Mana Index: 420 points Growth Potential: RANK A! The whole hall erupted in cheers. Recruiters from Guild White Tiger and Guild Divine Knight shoved past each other to thrust business cards forward.

"A once-in-a-century talent!"

"Sign exclusively with us! Five hundred million won signing bonus!" Standing at the back of the line, Lucian, in his oversized black overcoat, sipped calmly from a hot coffee.

"We can issue a provisional identity after interview and sponsor review. The adults in your party can arrange a bank account and lodging once their own checks clear."

"Better yet, under Korea's 2026 Hunter Tax Law, first-time registrants can claim a limited starter deduction on declared dungeon income."

"Applicant number 408! Lucian Vance!" The center's speaker system called out. Lucian handed his coffee to Sylvia to hold and walked calmly into the quantum scanning booth. The examiner, in a white lab coat, sat behind the control desk, tapping the keyboard, voice flat with fatigue.

"Insert your index finger into the mana sensor slot on the right. Hold still for three seconds." Lucian placed his right index finger into the metal scanning slot. He didn't channel any mana. He just let his body's natural background flow make contact with the fifty-million-dollar machine's sensor. The scanner's route-signature reader flickered as it compared Lucian's foreign mana pattern against its local database. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road.

Please report it. BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... The center's quantum computer suddenly let out a rapid, irregular string of beeps. Every indicator light on the machine's frame snapped to red. The side cooling fans shrieked like a jet engine, and white smoke began pouring out of the vents. The main display flickered with an error message: Scanning... [INCOMPATIBLE LEGACY PROTOCOL DETECTED] Device cannot translate source signature Safety threshold exceeded Recommendation: Abort scan and request manual review Click.

The scanner performed an automatic safety shutdown. The examiner stood up and smacked the titanium casing twice with the flat of his hand.

"Damn it, did the brand-new German gen-4 scanner just blow a fuse?" He pushed his glasses up and peered through the glass at Lucian, standing there looking perfectly innocent.

"Kid, were you even using mana? Or do you have literally zero energy in your body — is that why the machine can't read you?" Lucian pulled his finger out of the slot, expression the picture of sincerity. The examiner turned to the registration clerk.

"He is an unregistered foreign student with an unreadable signature. Put him in the provisional queue and order a supervised retest." Ting! The Unified System V2. 0 panel appeared: [LOCAL DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS] Cause: incompatible protocol and overloaded translation buffer No local rank assigned Lucian looked at the smoking scanner. Then he looked at the replacement-cost notice taped to its side.

"Next! Eleanor Solaris!" Eleanor, in her elegant beige trench coat, stepped into measurement booth number 2. The girl suppressed a brief pulse of holy power before the public sensors could classify it. BZZZT! Booth 2's warning lights flared. The sensor saturated, its protective fuse popped with a sharp crack, and the panel shut itself down under a curl of harmless smoke. Eleanor flinched back half a step, blue eyes wide with confusion as she looked at Lucian through the glass.

"Lucian... I think their sensor stopped. Do I have to pay for it?" Lucian leaned his head out of booth 1, answering flatly.

"No equipment handoff form was ever signed. No damages invoice. Just stand still." The examiner looked at the two scanners—one in safe shutdown, the other with a blown protective fuse—and let out a long, exhausted sigh. As an emergency fallback, the clerk printed Lucian a provisional card and marked Eleanor's file for separate manual review.

[NAME: LUCIAN VANCE — PROVISIONAL RANK: F (UNKNOWN SIGNATURE)] The Hunter guild recruiters nearby caught sight of the gray plastic cards and immediately waved them off, turning away. One provisional F-rank kid and one unreadable manual-review case. What a waste of time. Let's check the Rank B section. A public auction kiosk lit up beside the waiting area. [NEW LISTING — MUNICIPAL DUNGEON CLEARANCE CONCESSION] Five-year exclusive operating term Starting bid: 1.

2 billion won Buyer must satisfy licensing, safety, and beneficial-ownership review Lucian held the gray plastic F-Rank Hunter card in his hand. He slid it into his wallet and walked out through the Awakening Center's revolving door onto the neon-lit expanse of Gangnam Boulevard. The autumn night wind swept through his black overcoat. Lucian smiled at the words starter deduction.

"F-Rank Hunter..." He tucked his hands into his pockets and started toward the hotel.

"Means a limited deduction on declared dungeon income—and maybe enough savings for lunch. Excellent."