Marcus led Aryan down a heavily guarded corridor beneath the Guild. The Rank Re-evaluation Room was a massive circular chamber made of reinforced, enchanted steel. It was designed to withstand the attacks of A-Rank Hunters without a single scratch.
In the center stood the 'Titan Core Scale'—a monolithic crystal artifact that measured a hunter's raw physical output and mana density.
An elderly examiner with glowing spectacles looked up from her clipboard, scoffing at Aryan's torn, blood-stained clothes. "Guild Master, this is the F-Rank porter from the Silver Fang squad. Why bring him to the Titan Core? A simple, cheap mana stone would suffice."
"Just run the test, Elara," Marcus ordered, his arms crossed, his sharp eyes never leaving Aryan.
Aryan stepped up to the massive crystal.
"Place your hand on the Titan Core and release your maximum mana," Elara instructed, sounding completely bored. "Then, strike the center pad with all your physical strength. The artifact will calculate your overall rank."
Aryan looked at his fist. He didn't even know how to release mana properly yet; he just knew how to hit things really hard.
Let's just use 10% of my base physical strength, Aryan thought. He didn't want to accidentally bring down the entire building.
He pulled his fist back and casually threw a punch at the center pad. No magical aura. No glowing skills. Just a raw, basic, physical strike.
BOOM!
The sound barrier shattered. A deafening shockwave ripped through the chamber, blowing the examiner off her feet and forcing Guild Master Marcus to slide back half a step, his heavy boots grinding against the enchanted steel floor to keep his balance.
The Titan Core Scale, an artifact that had survived the full-power attacks of elite Guild Masters for decades, groaned in agony.
Deep, jagged cracks spiderwebbed across the monolithic crystal. The glowing letters on the display screen flickered wildly in a panic—jumping from F, to C, to A, to S—before turning a blinding, warning red.
[Ding! Host's physical output exceeds the artifact's maximum threshold.]
CRASH!
The entire massive crystal exploded into a million glowing fragments, raining down on the room like glittering snow.
Dead silence filled the chamber.
Elara, the examiner, was trembling on the floor, her glasses cracked, pointing a shaking finger at the empty space where the million-gold-coin artifact used to be. "T-The Titan Core... It maxed out... It couldn't even measure him..."
Marcus's jaw was practically on the floor. His Level 45 aura was completely chaotic. He looked at the boy like he was looking at a living deity.
Aryan casually dusted the crystal fragments off his knuckles and turned to the dumbfounded Guild Master.
"Oops," Aryan said, his voice perfectly calm and slightly amused. "I think you need to buy a better machine. So, am I still an F-Rank, or do I get a promotion?"