"Mimi, do you know Sir Adrian?"
Ailin ducked her head slightly, voice lowered to a whisper, her eyes gleaming with excitement as she looked at Mize.
The tone was clearly expectant, like she had just stumbled onto a juicy secret and was hoping for confirmation.
Mize, still feeling deeply uncomfortable, shook his head immediately.
"Ummm… no."
His lips curled slightly, as if he was on the verge of tears.
It was subtle.
But Ailin caught it.
And the moment she did.
Her entire demeanor shifted.
"Ah—it's that kind of situation?"
Her voice softened, her expression quickly turning sympathetic.
Mize nodded, pouting slightly, his dislike toward Adrian written all over his face.
And that was all it took for Ailin's eyes to widen in shock.
Her hand flew to her mouth, muffling her gasp.
Because.
This was Adrian.
The Prodigy of the Region.
A young awakener who was already ranked among the country's top rising talents.
A future powerhouse.
A genius.
Most people would jump at the chance to associate with him.
And here was Mize, blatantly rejecting him as if he were just another annoying guy in the crowd.
It was crazy.
Unbelievable.
And yet…
Ailin glanced at Mize again, properly taking in her appearance.
Then, suddenly.
It made sense.
'Well… this one has the capacity to say no on her own.'
'Mimi is so beautiful... I think she's worthy enough to be on the top 10 list already'
Mimi, or rather, Mize, was absurdly beautiful.
She wasn't just "cute" or "pretty", she was on the level of someone who could easily appear on international beauty rankings.
'It's natural for someone like Adrian to try and pursue her.'
And if she was this stunning, then she had every right to be selective.
Just as the murmurs and thoughts were beginning to spread, a sudden movement came from the front.
The mysterious City Lord slowly stood from his seat.
Then, with an almost weightless grace, he descended downward, landing gently beneath the massive spinning blue orb at the center of the hall.
And then.
His voice rang out.
Like a deep, resonant bell.
A voice that cut through the air, as it attracted everyone's attention.
"The ceremony begins now." The entire hall fell into silence.
On cue, one of the officials standing among the students gave a nod.
Then, he turned, motioning for the first participant to step forward.
A young man stood from his seat, taking a steady breath before carefully walking toward the orb, guided by the officials.
Mize's eyes lingered on him for a moment.
The guy looked young, average-looking, maybe around Mize's age.
He had a medium build, short black hair, nothing about his appearance stood out much, except for the fact that he clearly came from a wealthy family.
When he finally reached the center of the hall, he gave a respectful salute toward the City Lord before stepping beneath the orb's glow.
The City Lord's voice echoed once more.
"The rules are clear. Each profession awakened will have a grade, determined by its rarity."
His voice was calm, steady, and yet strangely difficult to place.
Neither fully masculine nor feminine.
As if the sound had been deliberately distorted, making it impossible to guess the speaker's identity.
"The grading system is as follows:"
"White rarity"
"Followed by Green, Blue, Purple, Red, and finally… Golden."
As he spoke, the massive orb began to spin, glowing with an increasingly intense radiance.
The young man standing beneath it.
His expression flickered between anticipation and fear.
Even though he was from a wealthy awakener family, he knew.
Bloodline meant nothing when it came to awakening professions.
The Warp's selection process was fair… but ruthless.
Your background didn't matter.
Only fate and luck determined the outcome.
And despite having a potion to boost his luck, he still felt tense.
After all, there had been cases before where even the best luck potions failed to influence the results.
He clenched his hands tightly, lowering his head slightly.
"Please… let it be something good."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"If I get a worthless profession… I won't be able to inherit my father's company."
The orb spun faster.
Wisps of light began to descend, slowly merging into the young man's body.
His muscles tensed, his breath held.
Waiting.
Then.
The color of the wisps shifted.
From blue…
To white.
The moment the color locked in, a sudden gust of wind erupted from beneath the young man's feet.
A powerful force surged outward, but before it could disrupt the surroundings, a hidden formation activated, suppressing it immediately.
For a full minute, the light continued to glow, the wind swirling within the contained space.
Then.
The City Lord spoke.
"White grade. Common profession. Wind Elemental"
The moment the words left the City Lord's mouth.
A wave of exclamations swept through the crowd.
"Oh! It's white grade! But it's an elemental type! That's still good!"
"Yeah, getting a combat profession at all is already a win."
"Even if it's just white, having an elemental profession gives him an edge."
"Exactly. If I can get even a white-grade profession, I'll be satisfied."
"Mmhmm. Aiming too high isn't for people like us."
"We're just a lower-end city, after all."
Despite being only a white rarity profession, the young man's expression visibly brightened.
It could have been worse.
Much worse.
At the very least, it wasn't useless.
He quickly bowed toward the City Lord, his steps much lighter as he left the orb's glow and returned to his seat.
With that.
The ceremony had truly begun.
One by one, the students took their turns, stepping beneath the massive orb under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
For a while, the results were consistent.
White-grade professions, one after another.
The streak continued, and it was enough to keep the mood light.
Even the City Lord himself seemed pleased.
It wasn't that white-grade professions were particularly impressive, but for a city of this level, it was still a steady success rate.
At the very least, it meant that no one had failed so far.
But then.
A sudden shift occurred.
A new student stepped forward.
This time.
It was a tall, handsome young man with a confident stride.
The kind of person that, at first glance, looked exactly like the typical second-rate villain in a novel.
Mize gave him a brief glance before losing interest almost immediately.
'He's got the smugness of an extra.'
He was ready to ignore this one like all the others.
But then.
Something changed.
The mist around the boy's body churned violently.
It swirled and shifted.
Then darkened, twisting inwards.
Most people were expecting it to turn white, just like the others before him.
It would have been the ideal outcome.
But instead.
BOOM.
A sudden, fiery aura erupted from the boy's body, bursting outwards in a surge of heat.
And above him.
A faint silhouette emerged.
Three times his size. The room gasped collectively.
"No way!"
"Green grade?!"
"And it looks like a rare profession at that!"
"Look at the figure behind him, is he a summoner?!"
"No, it looks like a projection."
Mize's attention, previously detached, finally snapped into focus.
His eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze locking onto the faint figure hovering behind the boy.
"Projection? Summoner?" he murmured, curiosity piqued.
"And it's a green grade at that."
It wasn't just a good result, it was rare.
As he observed the projection, another thought drifted into his mind.
'I wonder what Liam's profession grade is…'
'Blue? Purple?'
It was just a passing thought.
But somehow, he had a feeling it was much higher than that.
The City Lord's voice rang through the hall once again.
This time, his tone was noticeably more pleased.
"Green grade. Fire Dharma profession. Not bad."
There was a hint of approval in his voice.
And the important figures at the front?
They immediately stirred.
Even though none of them outwardly reacted, it was clear they were paying closer attention now.
Some were already evaluating their chances of recruiting the boy.
Many of these individuals were recruiters from major forces in the Warp.
They had been sent to various cities, tasked with scouting potential talent.
And now, seeing a green-grade awakening, they were already mentally preparing their offers. The boy, basking in the newfound attention, let his gaze sweep across the crowd.
He was proud.
Proud to be the first in this ceremony to break the white-grade streak.
And as his eyes wandered, they suddenly landed on Mize.
For a moment.
A flicker of something unreadable flashed through his expression.
A mix of longing… curiosity… desire.
But it was only for a brief second before he quickly masked it and turned away, returning to his seat.
Mize sighed internally, he naturally noticed the gaze.
'Alas…'
'Being a big beauty really is a profession of its own.'
'Coveted by everyone.'
He wasn't thrilled about the newfound attention, but at this point.
He was used to it.
The ceremony continued.
One by one, more students stepped forward.
For the most part, the streak of white-grade awakenings persisted.
Occasionally, there would be another green-grade profession, but still, no blue.
By now, the recruiters and important figures had already tempered their expectations.
This was a lower-end city, after all.
Finding even a handful of green-grade professions was already considered lucky.
With proper training, these green-grade awakeners could grow into respectable powerhouses.
That was good enough.
Finally.
It was Ailin's turn.
She stood up, taking a steady breath before stepping beneath the orb.
Mize watched as the process unfolded.
The light swirled, descended, and then.
It settled into a white glow.
White-grade profession.
"Sword Controller."
Ailin's face brightened instantly.
It wasn't spectacular, but it was more than enough.
As long as she wasn't stuck as a mortal, that was all that mattered.
With a cheerful smile, she returned to her seat, clearly satisfied with her result.
And then.
Finally.
It was Mize's turn.
A worker approached carefully, their professionalism momentarily faltering as they took in Mize's appearance up close.
But they quickly corrected themselves, resuming their duty with a polite tone.
"Miss, please follow me."
Mize nodded lightly.
"Mmm."
Then, as he rose from his seat.
The entire hall reacted.
The moment Mize stood up, dozens of gazes snapped toward him.
Some subtle.
Some not so subtle.
But either way, all eyes were drawn to him.
Mize pretended not to notice.
His expression remained cute, innocent, natural.
His steps were light and graceful, the fabric of his dress swaying softly behind him.
The cascading waterfall of his dark hair shimmered under the light, glossy, smooth, weightless.
And as he walked.
His eyes occasionally drifted around the hall, unintentionally meeting the gazes of several young men.
Each time.
They would instantly look away, flustered.
Some even visibly blushed.
It was such a brief, natural interaction, but the effect was deadly.
'Tch. The princess effect is still going strong.'
Mize kept his expression perfectly neutral, though inwardly.
He was already sighing.
He didn't have time to deal with more admirers right now. But having some points farming here and there wouldn't be bad.
For now.
His focus was on one thing only.
The awakening.
With a final step, he exited the seating area.
Gradually approaching the orb.