Chương 20: Rank

Ch 20 - Rank Only after Reid closed the door and his footsteps faded down the hallway did Evan finally let out a massive sigh of relief and collapse back onto his bed.

"Crazy... I think I almost pissed myself," Evan muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. To think Reid had shown up so suddenly and assumed he was a demon. Evan had been certain he would fail to convince Reid that he was really his little brother and end up with a bullet through his head for daring to possess his little brother's body. But Evan wasn't exactly a demon. Well... technically, he had possessed the other Evan's body, but that wasn't his fault, okay? The System had shoved him into this mess.

Which was why he had no idea what Reid would do if he ever learned the truth. Evan had a feeling it would involve Reid beating him half to death, healing him with Sacred Light, then repeating the process until the "demon" finally gave up. It sounded ridiculous. But there was precedent. Reuel had done exactly that in Chronicles of a Demon Hunter. The beating had lasted several chapters, with the author painstakingly describing every gruesome detail.

Most Demon Hunters couldn't have pulled it off, but Reuel possessed such an absurd amount of Sacred Light that he could heal his victims over and over until they wished they were dead. Evan pictured himself in that demon's place.

"I swear I don't know what happened to your brother's soul! The System shoved me into this body!" Reid would dismiss it as another lie, heal Evan back to full, then resume the beating. Again and again, until Evan begged for death. Even then, Reid would ignore his pleas and continue beating him, convinced the "demon" would eventually leave, even though Evan couldn't leave at all. Evan shuddered. No way. That was a fate worse than death.

The demonic energy clinging to Evan was no doubt the lingering result of being pumped full of it during the sacrificial ritual. Although he had burned off most of it while fighting the wyvern, traces still remained inside him. If he had been given more time, he would have tried to figure out a way to cleanse himself, but Reid had arrived unexpectedly before he had the chance. Then a thought occurred to him. He summoned his status window and glared at the new line at the bottom.

[Name: Evan Whitfield] [Age: 17 years old] [Status: Awakened] [Title: Transmigrator] [Status Effect: The Curse of ■■■■■■] [Skills:] [-Main Character Who?] [-You're Not Supposed to See This] [-Cry Later] [-That's Not How This Works] [Demonic Energy Essence: 50] Was that thing also responsible for Reid claiming he was soaked in demonic energy?

"System! I don't need this! Delete it!" Evan hissed, jabbing a finger at the offending addition. As usual, the System didn't respond, as though his complaints were nothing more than the wind.

"I know you're listening! This is going to get me killed! Why did you even give me this ridiculous, useless skill? Don't you know Reid's a Demon Hunter? There's no way he'll be okay with me walking around covered in demonic energy!" Silence.

"Aaaargh!" Evan grabbed at his hair in frustration. Great. It looked like he couldn't simply ignore this new ability after all. At this rate, he really might end up becoming a practitioner of the Demonic Arts. Evan's brain worked at full speed as he desperately searched for a way out of this mess. Twenty minutes or so passed before Reid returned with a freshly baked pizza. Evan, who had been staring into space with dead fish eyes, sprang to life at the smell of it.

"Took you long enough!" Evan said, holding out both hands expectantly. Reid smiled and handed the pizza box to Evan, who eagerly flipped it open and grabbed a slice. Gooey strands of melted mozzarella stretched from the slice as he pulled it free, while the pepperoni sat atop bubbling cheese. Evan took a huge bite. The rich tomato sauce and smoky pepperoni filled his mouth. It had been a long time since he had eaten a good pizza.

Back in his previous life, he could only afford the cheap convenience store slices, which were usually cold and stale. He finished off two slices before shooting Reid a question.

"You haven't told me why you were here, by the way. Did... Hye-jin tell you I got kidnapped?"

"She did, though I was already on my way here when I got the call," Reid said.

"I have several days off because a public holiday coincided with the weekend. I figured I'd come and give you a nice surprise." Evan cringed. And instead I surprised you by getting kidnapped.

"Sorry," he said.

"It wasn't intentional."

"I certainly hope you didn't intentionally let yourself get kidnapped," Reid said with an exasperated sigh.

"Though I suppose I should've expected you'd have your reckless teenage phase eventually. Still, chasing after that criminal by yourself? What were you thinking?" Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Evan protested internally that it hadn't been his decision at all. It was all the System's fault. Outwardly, however, he could only lower his head and accept Reid's scolding.

"But it's not all bad, really!" Evan said. Reid raised an eyebrow.

"I awakened!" Evan forced the biggest grin he could manage and tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

"You did?" Reid asked.

"Yeah. I only realized it after you left to buy the pizza. I guess that life-or-death situation finally triggered my awakening." Evan summoned his status window and gestured toward it. Judging by Reid's unfocused gaze, it didn't seem like he could see another person's System window the way Evan could.

"I think I even unlocked several abilities!"

"Really? That's quite rare," Reid said with a smile.

"They're, uh..." He glanced at the horribly named skills that didn't sound cool in the slightest.

"Shadow Veil! Yeah, that one seems like a stealth skill, though I haven't tried it yet. I also have Indomitable Will. That sounds pretty cool, right?" Reid gave him an encouraging smile.

"Looks like you're going to become very strong." Evan scratched the back of his head sheepishly and pointedly ignored the System's comment about him changing the names of his skills. [(≖‿≖)]"That's... not all, though," Evan said.

"I also have another one. It's called... Fiend Form." Reid frowned.

"What does it do?"

"It says here..." Evan swallowed.

"... that I can transform into a more powerful form. But it also says I need to gather Demonic Energy Essence to activate it." He didn't dare look at Reid, whose expression had become noticeably stiffer as he spoke. This was a gamble, but Evan figured it was better to tell Reid about the skill now. Reid had already sensed the lingering demonic energy on him and had even mistaken him for a demon. It was better to avoid another misunderstanding in the future.

Given Evan's terrible luck and the curse hanging over him, there was no way he wouldn't eventually find himself in a situation where he had to use this skill. If Reid discovered it then, today's disaster would simply repeat itself. Better to defuse the bomb ahead of time. Reid remained silent for nearly a minute.

"Evan..." He reached out and grabbed Evan's shoulder, forcing him to meet his gaze.

"No matter what happens, never use that skill, okay? Promise me." Evan could only nod.

"That skill is dangerous, and you should stay as far away from anything related to the Demonic Arts as possible," Reid said, his dark eyes briefly flickering gold.

"I don't want you getting hurt."

"Yeah, I promise," Evan said. Reid stared at him for a long moment before finally letting him go.

"Since you've awakened, I'll schedule a visit to the Assessment Center. Hopefully they have an opening before I have to return to District 1." The two finished off the pizza, and Evan decided to take a nap. After the emotional roller coaster he had been through since waking up from his life-and-death ordeal, his body was utterly exhausted. When he opened his eyes again, it was the next morning. Rubbing the sleep from his crusty eyes, he spotted Reid speaking with a doctor near the door.

It looked like he was arranging Evan's discharge from the hospital. It probably wasn't difficult considering Reid was an A-rank Healer. With his discharge approved, Reid brought Evan home. The first thing Evan did was take a long, hot shower, letting the steaming water wash away the lingering hospital smell and the last traces of exhaustion. After drying off, he changed into a fresh white T-shirt beneath a soft black hoodie, pulled on a pair of loose gray sweatpants, and slipped into comfortable white sneakers.

Soon afterward, the aroma of breakfast drifted from the kitchen. Reid had prepared thick slices of French toast dusted with powdered sugar alongside fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and a bowl of fresh mixed berries. Evan's assessment was scheduled for the evening, so he had several hours of free time. He used the time to catch up on the classes he had missed.

His teachers had already heard about his kidnapping and certainly wouldn't fault him for not turning in his homework, but he figured he should at least show some sincerity and finish it. He also contacted Yuyan and Marcus to ask for the notes from the classes he had missed. When it was nearly time for the assessment, Reid took Evan to the Assessment Center on his motorcycle. There, they were greeted once again by the balding Assessment Specialist.

The man gave them a bored glance before asking Evan a handful of routine questions. Once the interview was over, he directed Evan to the mana assessment chair, where the assistant attached sensors across his body. Evan sat quietly, wondering what rank he would receive. Judging from the Assessment Specialist's thoroughly unimpressed expression, however, he doubted it would be anything particularly high. Once the measurements were complete, he was taken to another room.

Unlike the evaluation chamber Reid had used, this one was simply a large open space with reinforced walls.

"Please use your skill," the Assessment Specialist said, barely looking up from his tablet. Evan's eye twitched at the man's dismissive attitude. Sure, he wasn't a Healer, one of the rarest and most sought-after Awakener types, but did the guy really have to look like he'd rather be anywhere else? Annoyed, Evan activated his stealth ability, completely cloaking himself from sight. Reid, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow as Evan vanished completely.

Grinning to himself, Evan quietly walked over to the Assessment Specialist, who was still typing away on his tablet, and snatched it right out of the man's hands.

"Hey!" the Assessment Specialist shouted. His eyes widened as the tablet began floating in midair. He adjusted his glasses and squinted. Evan stuck out his tongue, knowing the man couldn't see it.

"Interesting," the Assessment Specialist said, holding out a hand.

"Would you kindly return that? If you break it, you'll have to pay 6, 450 Credits." Evan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. That much?! That's like... over three hundred pizzas! He carefully placed the tablet back into the Assessment Specialist's hand before hurriedly deactivating his ability. With the skill test complete, the three returned to the Assessment Specialist's desk, where the man glanced over the preliminary results.

"Before we get to your rank," he said, "let me say that your Stealth skill looks quite promising. I can see it being useful in a number of situations." Evan frowned at the man's roundabout approach.

"What's my provisional rank?" The Assessment Specialist scoffed.

"I was getting to that." He looked back at the report.

"Based on the preliminary data, you've been assigned Rank F. Congratulations." A vein throbbed at Evan's temple as he caught the faintly mocking smile on the Assessment Specialist's face.