The aptitude exam continued. The next phase was the stat assessment test.

  The six main stats were: Strength, Planar Quality, Reflexes, Mental Power, Intelligence, and Charm. These indicated which areas you excelled in. If your Strength was especially high, you'd likely go the physical route. If your Planar Quality and Intelligence were high, you'd go the magic route. High Reflexes meant speed and ranged weapons.

  For the Strength challenge, examinees had to enter a gravity room, run through obstacles, overcome trials, lift weights, or test weapon handling. They'd punch a power measuring device. Those who focused on muscles or unarmed martial arts scored highly in the Strength challenge.

  Jinyo ranked in the middle, leaning toward the bottom. Meanwhile, Nephrin did excellently.

  She punched the power meter until it exploded. Her Strength value was 700—absolutely insane! Jinyo remembered when Nephrin introduced herself, she'd said she would open a magic school. But her Strength was 700. Had she been training muscles while reading magic texts?

  The Strength challenge took the most time. Next came the Planar Quality test. The procedure was simple—just compress concentrated Planar into a detection device resembling a giant crystal ball. The device would then analyze the Planar's concentration.

  In this challenge, Nephrin still ranked first. Her power capacity was very high, and her concentration was unmatched—Grade B, befitting a magic specialist. Jinyo was F+. Luciria and Theo were E+ and D respectively.

  Everyone viewed Nephrin as the most powerful examinee. She had the highest power values in two categories. They envied and admired her. As for Jinyo, barely anyone paid attention to him—except Joden, who cursed under his breath at the aptitude results. Jinyo's scores were middle-of-the-pack, leaning toward the bottom. Since this was the lowest-level Hunter exam, there were many amateurs mixed in. Some had power values at Grade G. That's why Jinyo's F+ wasn't dead last. If this were a higher-level exam, Jinyo would have been at the very bottom.

  For both tests, Joden was slightly above average. Everything at E+.

  But his confidence lay in Intelligence and Reflexes.

  The Reflexes challenge tested reaction and accuracy. Examinees had to enter a room with hundreds of ball-launching machines from three directions. The task was to dodge the incoming balls. The more you dodged, the better your reaction.

  In this challenge, Nephrin scored middle-to-low. But Theo did extraordinarily well.

  Theo achieved Grade A. Luciria Grade C+. Jinyo did well—he was assessed at Grade E, even though normally a Reflexes value of 172 would only be rated F+.

  The Intelligence challenge was like an IQ test—speed in problem-solving and skill usage. Jinyo had no problems. His Intelligence was Grade E, fairly above standard. Intelligence wasn't like Strength, Planar Quality, or Reflexes. The only way to increase it was through learning and refining one's consciousness.

  Like the difference between stupid and smart people—it depended on environment and education from childhood. Jinyo used to have much higher Intelligence, but it had decreased after he lost his power. Intelligence was practically the stat that determined almost all success. Whether using skills, learning skills, or improving skill proficiency—all required Intelligence.

  It was natural that most mages who focused on skill usage trained their Intelligence high. Even close-combat fighters had to raise their Intelligence as high as possible. Nephrin maintained high standards—her Intelligence was Grade A, same as her Strength, but about 10-20 points higher.

  Luciria wasn't bad either, but she was a swordsman and still young. Her Intelligence was only D, which was passable by standard measures but very high for her age. Unlike Theo, whose Intelligence was Grade F. It was pitiful. No wonder Joden mentally cursed him as uneducated.

  The next challenge was Charm.

  Charm was the stat expressing appearance. The higher your Charm, the stronger your aura and charisma. Among the six power stats, Charm was known as the most useless. No one wanted to waste time increasing Charm unless they were celebrities or models who wanted to look more attractive.

  Charm was useful for skills or techniques requiring appearance—like illusion magic or the Southerncross family's Song of a Hundred Flowers, which attracted attention and dominated consciousness. Hypnosis techniques and the like. Increasing Charm was difficult. It was like an innate talent from birth. You had to put effort into improving your appearance and taking care of yourself.

  Because it received no attention—unless someone had related techniques—no one invested resources and time into Charm. The Charm test was therefore the most boring. Examinees simply entered a room and underwent AI assessment. Just walk around and perform poses as the AI instructed, and it would calculate your Charm value.

  The person who ranked best in the Charm challenge was Jinyo.

  His Charm value was 411. Grade C.

  This result surprised no one.

  "Of course. He's a Southerncross. His Charm has to be higher than everyone else's."

  "All his other stats are low. I don't understand how someone with a 0.01% cultivation rate has forced himself this far. At best he'll barely pass."

  "Grade C Charm... He'd have a better future as an actor than a Hunter."

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Many criticized him in the same vein. Many Hunters with high Charm, after retiring, chose to work as models or actors. It wasn't easy to raise Charm to 400. Instead of doing dangerous work, working in entertainment would probably generate more income.

  Of course, if Jinyo truly wanted to make money, entering entertainment was an option. But what he wanted was to restore his family. Working in entertainment his whole life wouldn't help restore the family's glory.

  "Heh. Victory is mine."

  Joden laughed under his breath. The exam had progressed to this point, and he was confident he couldn't lose to Jinyo. What use was Charm? Would your handsomeness make monsters fall in love and kill themselves for you?

  The final challenge was the Mental Power test.

  Everyone's expressions went blank and their enthusiasm plummeted—no different from the Charm challenge.

  Mental Power was just as important as Strength and Intelligence.

  Controlling all power required Mental Power to some degree. If you wanted to fully utilize skills and all power stats, you needed Mental Power at a certain level. It was mental fortitude, concentration, and a reflection of the user's true self.

  But Mental Power was the hardest stat to increase. Statistically, only a few percent of people in the world could raise their Mental Power above 600 in their lifetime. Even high-ranked Hunters could only reach 400. Statistically, Mental Power of 200 was sufficient for life as a professional power user. Normal people were at Grade G and F.

  They weren't excited and didn't rush to train Mental Power. That was because if you encountered difficult situations and passed mental trials, Mental Power would increase naturally. No one was crazy enough to dedicate themselves specifically to Mental Power training. It was insane—because forcing yourself to increase Mental Power in a short time carried high risk of developing psychiatric disorders.

  "This feels awful."

  Nephrin walked up to an equipment resembling a square crystal. She placed her hand on it and channeled Mental Power in.

  "Nephrin, Mental Power 191, F+!"

  The official announced loudly.

  "As expected. Even Nephrin only has F+ Mental Power. How will anyone else survive?"

  Everyone shook their heads. This challenge lacked any heat. Everyone wanted it to be over quickly. Examinees were called one by one.

  Luciria hesitated. She placed her hand on the crystal and channeled Mental Power—

  "Luciria, Mental Power 49, G!"

  "Grade G? Luciria Halfrin?"

  "God, why is it so low? Does she have a mental illness?"

  "What do you expect from a twelve-year-old? This level of Mental Power is normal."

  "No, it's not normal! It should be G+ at least."

  Criticism erupted again. Luciria walked away with her head down. Her shoulders trembled slightly as she thought about the piercing gazes from all directions. Sven, standing far away, clenched his fist.

  "I thought Lucy must have issues with Mental Power."

  Sven still remembered clearly when Luciria was targeted by the Mantis Demon. His sister had frozen stiff like a statue. She couldn't handle the pressure—it indicated her weak mental state.

  "It seems I need to find a teacher skilled in Mental Power for Lucy."

  Unfortunately, even though Sven had good intentions, recruiting someone with Mental Power expertise was like finding a needle in the ocean. Sven and the audience continued watching the Mental Power test, but it remained disappointing. Nephrin, the star, only had F+ Mental Power. Where would they find someone with more?

  Gretel's face was dark. He wanted to cry.

  "Mom, I can't stand watching anymore."

  His father had gotten F+ in three categories! It was so bad Gretel wanted to vomit. How could he brag to anyone that his father had three F+ grades? Maybe a beggar on the street could do better than Jinyo.

  "Keep watching."

  Rina said nothing more. Her eyes fixed on Jinyo as he placed his hand on the square crystal.

  "Show it, Jinyo. Your true self."

  Rina murmured.

  Jinyo channeled Mental Power into the crystal. The crystal began vibrating violently—so intensely it seemed about to explode. In the instant Jinyo's eyes widened, his Mental Power surged to its peak. The entire grounds were pressed by an invisible pressure that made breathing difficult. The concrete plaza bustling with people was transformed into a graveyard of silence.

  Nephrin, who had no particular interest in anyone except Theo with his 79% cultivation rate and Luciria as the best candidate for a student—she looked up at the young man with a gentle, beautiful face who was creating dread in everyone.

  Why...

  Why was he so powerful!

  Joden's face went white as paper. He looked up at the number displayed on the screen that the official hadn't yet announced.

  "Jinyo, Mental Power 604, Grade B."

  Grade B!!!!

  Everyone's worldview shattered. They felt numb from head to toe. Countless eyes slowly turned to look at Jinyo with expressions different from before. They were terrified. This man had Grade B Mental Power at this age. How far could he develop his Mental Power in the future?

  "Impossible... Grade B?"

  Nephrin had tried to train Mental Power but failed. Yet a man around her age hadn't just surpassed her—he'd left everyone in the dust without a trace.

  Grade B Mental Power. She didn't want to imagine what enormous advantages Jinyo would have if he developed his other stats in the future.

  "The machine must be broken. I don't accept this!"

  Joden protested. Grade B Mental Power! This truth alone was enough to kill him. All important techniques in training, besides Intelligence, required high Mental Power. At Jinyo's current level compared to his age, he wasn't an ordinary human—he must be a psychic.

  "Chief, should we send staff to check the equipment?"

  Inside the control room, chaos erupted similarly. They were just as shocked as the other examinees and thought it was equipment error.

  "No. The machine isn't broken. The test result is real."

  Antonio raised his hand to calm everyone down. They hadn't recovered from the shock and began looking at each other.

  "Then he really has Grade B Mental Power?"

  "What kind of life has this man lived?"

  Everyone wondered. What kind of unstable person would dedicate all their time to training Mental Power? Of course Mental Power was important, but not as important as Strength, Intelligence, and Planar Quality.

  Antonio watched his old friend's son through the monitor. Suddenly, his chest ached with a stabbing pain. Training Mental Power meant facing painfully difficult mental trials. Such as life failures. Losing important people. The mind had to be shaken. When you recovered your mental state, your mind would become stronger.

  If you wanted Mental Power to increase, you had to face even more painful tragedies. Overcome despair to stand up and fight again, time after time. That was how to increase Mental Power. Training Mental Power was far more difficult than anything else.

  Normally, as people lived their lives—as long as they didn't hide at home—someday they would face cruel mental trials through friendship, crisis, and choices. Everyone would grow into adults with minds that could handle more pressure naturally.

  However, what Jinyo had done was force himself to face crisis, tragedy, and pain. He must have experienced more life hardship than others to have Mental Power this strong now. Antonio saw Jinyo's age of just 28 and couldn't help but feel moved. He shook his head thinking about how Jinyo had more Mental Power than some forty-year-olds.

  "Mom! Mom! Look! Bro Yo isn't getting yelled at anymore!"

  Gretel jumped up and down. Finally, Jinyo had created ripples that shook the testing grounds the way he'd wanted to see. Mom was right. The sun was still the sun. No matter how you tried to hide it, it couldn't be covered completely.

  However, when he looked up at his mother, he found that her eyes watching his father weren't rejecting—she was shocked and trembling with fear inside.

  She knew Jinyo had high Mental Power, but she hadn't expected this much.

  Her Mental Power was only 318, but Jinyo had 604. Did that mean he'd passed more mental trials than her—someone who'd risked her life fighting for many years as an officer?

  Rina began considering the possibilities. Mental Power was the only stat among the six main stats that could increase without cultivation techniques.

  Throughout the years she hadn't contacted Jinyo, Rina didn't know what he'd been doing, where he'd been, or what he'd experienced. A chill slowly pierced her heart.

  Jinyo, who had created a sensation and received public attention, thought there was no need to hide. If he didn't create some distinction for himself, who would dare enroll in his academy?

  The officials stood stiffly before Jinyo. To them, Jinyo was no longer a pampered young master from a collapsing family. He was a respectable man deserving of respect.

  Mental Power was unlike other stats. Throughout your life, there was a possibility you wouldn't even train it to 300. Anyone could increase Strength and Intelligence. But Mental Power—mental fortitude—normal people couldn't do it.

  They suspected Jinyo might be a psychiatric patient who had destroyed himself over and over. But the look in Jinyo's eyes was sharp, brimming with wisdom and clarity.

  He was more like a sage who understood the truth of the world than a madman who'd lost his mind.

  Jinyo was proud of the Mental Power he'd displayed. Because he couldn't cultivate, he had dedicated his entire life to training his mind. Of course, no matter how much Mental Power you had, without Planar it was useless. The Mental Power Jinyo had trained over the years might have been worthless.

  He'd simply believed that someday his efforts wouldn't be in vain, and he'd have a chance to fight again one way or another.

  And this was the result of his efforts during the time he was nothing but trash in the power-user world. The final heir on the verge of collapse... The result was: once Jinyo trained his other stats to equal everyone else's, no one at the same level would be able to compete with him anymore.