Chapter 180: Officially Becoming an Ascender [Part-2]
It didn’t take much longer for Alen to understand what the overall f*cking situation was. The greenish liquid inside the sharp syringe was nothing but a substance which would be injected straight into his body. It would detect any foreign, unnatural substances present inside his veins, form some kind of tracker to measure his overall power level, and constantly transfer that information back to the Association. They would continue to keep a record of him and measure his potential.
It meant his growth and progression would never remain hidden, at least not from them. If he attempted to do any unusual things or get involved in crimes, they could easily trace his exact whereabouts. His hidden skills and abilities would also be revealed to them, as his status window could be seen by their tracking devices.
’Shit! No, I can’t do that! I have to find some method to escape this place... But where can I run in their presence? Even if I tried, Sylvia is standing right there. There is no way I can run away in her presence...’
Alen looked at the greenish liquid with a complicated gaze as he clenched his teeth. He didn’t want to become someone who could be easily measured like a lab rat. He wanted to avoid being watched by others at all costs. There was only one hope he could believe in right now, and his eyes turned toward her.
Sylvia noticed his requesting gaze. She already knew this exact situation was going to come. As a person who had caused massive trouble and had been noticed by the Association itself, he wouldn’t just be able to live in leisure anymore.
"I think there is no need to use that thing..."
The front officer looked at Sylvia. He bowed slightly in genuine apology.
"I sincerely apologize, Lady Sylvia, but we got a direct order from the higher-ups to keep track of him... And on top of that, he is just a commoner. If he had been a noble or someone from a prestigious family, it would have been avoided... But right now, it is not possible..."
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. She looked at him sharply and spoke.
"Who is the one who ordered you to do that? Is it a general or a head general? I will talk with them. Just skip those terms and register him..."
The front officer sweated profusely at her cold tone. He bowed an inch more and replied nervously.
"It is not their order. It is the order given by...."
Instead of answering out loud, he stepped forward. He took out an envelope from his chest pocket and handed it to her.
Sylvia took the envelope and pulled out a sealed letter. As she read it, her expression turned to surprise. She closed it up and handed it back to him.
"Fine..."
Alen looked at the overall confrontation, and the fleeting hope in his eyes vanished. He couldn’t help but feel deeply conflicted.
’Who could be the one to send a special order just to track my power? Is someone actively chasing after me? Is it someone related to the guards I fought, or someone particularly unknown? Now I don’t have any way to run away... Sigh...’
The front officer stepped up and walked toward him.
"Mr. Alen, I request you to cooperate with us without any delay. We will start immediately."
Alen didn’t reject their words. The man pulled his sleeves up and pushed the syringe in. The eerie green liquid flowed inside his body. Alen felt a small pinch of pain, as if an ant had just bitten him, and the officer pulled back immediately after his work was done.
Alen felt a sudden sense of dizziness. Just as he thought that all of his deep secrets would be sent to them, his system chimes echoed brightly inside his mind.
[Ding! Your passive ability ’????’ has triggered!]
[Ding! Due to the restrictions placed by ’????’, your overall status, growth, and location cannot be seen, measured, or detected by others. A fake status has been sent to the Association.]
[Ding! As punishment for daring to sneak into your status as well as exploiting your privacy, their overall artificial system technology has been crashed!]
Alen stared at his system prompts, not understanding exactly what had just happened. But as he learned that his status couldn’t be seen by any other person, he couldn’t help but grin internally. Thanks to his overpowered passive ability, it had saved him again from a life-threatening crisis! Now he didn’t have to worry about them detecting him or recording his growth. He was free now, like a flying bird.
The officers nodded to themselves after the injection was over.
"Okay, now we will do the next test. It will only be physical. Actually, it is not required since you are already a Walker, but for the formality, we have to do it..."
Alen nodded as he cooperated with them. Time passed as the physical test was conducted, consisting of a long run as well as a few swings of whichever weapons he was compatible with. He chose the spear, as he was using it a lot by now. After that, he was also tasked to have a normal duel with an Association member, in which he expertly suppressed his power to 99%, as he didn’t want to showcase his real strength.
As the sun fell down and the long test concluded, his registration was finally over. It didn’t take much time as they used some kind of device to forge an Ascender card. He was handed one, and basic information was imprinted on it as he put it away in his storage ring.
"Congratulations, Mr. Alen, you are now officially an Ascender. You can walk on your path freely."
Alen nodded calmly, shaking hands with them.
’Bullshit! Do they really have to congratulate me after trying to make me their pawn?...’
After they were gone, Alen immediately looked at Sylvia and asked curiously.
"Who was the one who sent that letter?..."
Sylvia looked at him blankly as she spoke.
"You don’t need to know..."
Without waiting for his response, she turned around and left the training ground too.
As Alen stood there looking at her departing figure, several maids walked toward him to greet him and congratulate him.
Alen just nodded, forcing a smile as he thanked them. Behind them, two figures also arrived while looking at him.
"Oh, Mr. Charming. Have you now started to seduce the maids? I didn’t know you really were a scumbag..."
Alen ignored Azrael’s teasing words as he shook his head internally.
’Come to think of it, the officer said that it was not necessary to measure or track the members of a prestigious or noble family. Does that mean only common folks get measured and tracked? Damn, one more disadvantage of being a Commoner is added.’
After the long round of congratulations had passed, Alen walked away. As the night fell, he ate his dinner and returned to his room. He prepared to depart tomorrow morning.
There was no need for him to stay here now that the work was done. He would go attempt the next trial before he could stumble into another pile of trouble.
Now he understood the true importance of becoming a powerful, untouchable person—someone who no one could harm or control. And he decided to become exactly that.
