Mech Arena : The Book

Common : Doom.

And that was how all thirteen awakened members of Region D completed their talent evaluation. Fortunately for them, another individual among them awakened a rare talent, which immediately stirred up another wave of excitement.

Though it wasn't as extraordinary as the mohawk-haired boy who had awakened an Epic talent, however; this individual possessed dual weapon affinities—close combat and sniper, which made him a highly sought out character.

The moment this was revealed, the remaining students of Region D lifted their heads high, with smug smiles spreading across their faces, as they stared at the C Region students.

Now, they were the ones looking down on the students of Region C with clear disdain, they clearly paid no attention to the other regions students, everything about their attitude was focused on proving that they were superior to Region C.

After that brief uproar, things settled. With two standout talents already revealed, the rest of the evaluations for the D region students proceeded smoothly, as the remaining eleven students of Region D were assessed to have Uncommon-tier talents.

Finally, it was time for Region E.

From where they stood, it was obvious that many of the high-ranking officials observing the process were growing restless, their attention kept drifting toward the Region D students, especially the two newly revealed prodigies.

It was clear they wanted to approach them immediately, to present offers that would be nearly impossible to refuse, but until the evaluation process was fully complete, they had no choice but to wait.

Instead, they turned their focus toward one another, silently measuring their competition, each trying to gauge who might present the most attractive offer once the opportunity arose.

Soon enough, the four awakened members of Region E stepped forward and completed their evaluations, and it didn't really take long.

All four were assessed to possess Uncommon-tier talents.

Seeing this, the high-level envoys especially from Region C couldn't help but sigh, they had been hoping that at least one individual from the lower regions would surprise them, someone worthy of extending an offer to join their cities.

But that hope… remained unfulfilled.

And this was because they had begun to realize they might lose out in the competition to acquire or outright poach the top two talents from Region D.

The envoys from Region D looked completely determined to keep their prodigies within their own region, and there was also the consideration that it was their home ground, so it would be extremely difficult to lure those talents away, unless the individuals themselves already had the desire to leave D Region.

Because of that, the C-region envoys had secretly hoped that at least one less exceptional awakened individual would emerge from Region E awakened students, someone they could easily recruit.

But after seeing that all four possessed only Uncommon-tier talents, their interest faded almost instantly, and their gazes shifted back toward the two standout talents from Region D.

To them, they already had more than enough Uncommon-ranked awakeners within their own region, and there was no need to acquire more who likely wouldn't amount to anything significant.

"Next."

The old man's voice rang out once more. At the front of the line, Aiden felt his entire body tense up.

At first, all he had wished for was simply to awaken, as he hadn't cared about the level of his talent, however; after hearing his teacher, Mr. Charles talked about the importance of talents, and witnessing how the two prodigies from Region D were being treated, something within him had changed.

Now… he wanted that too, so despite the nerves clawing at him, and the lingering wish that he didn't have to go first, he steeled his mind that there was no turning back, as he stepped forward, while lifting his head high.

Reaching the evaluation point, he placed his hands on the orb, a small sphere that seems to contain swirling water trapped within a confined space.

Seconds passed, then, the water shifted—turning a deep, dark blue, but it didn't stop there, within the orb, two distinct weapon shapes began to form.

Seeing this, the old man beside him immediately raised his hand, as if signaling for silence as he prepared to announce Aiden's results. 

Almost immediately they saw his actions, the entire hall fell silent.

"Talent Rank: Rare. Weapon Affinity: Assault and Missile." The old man's voice rang out clearly.

At once, several high-ranking officers and envoys from Region C leaned forward, smiles spreading across their faces as they fixed their gaze on Aiden, a Rare talent alone was enough to draw attention but having dual weapon affinities just elevated him even further in their hearts.

To them, he was now a prime candidate, their excitement was evident, they were already anticipating the end of the evaluation so they could approach him with offers.

"Next."

The old man called out again, as Aiden stepped aside, moving toward the group of those who had already completed their evaluations.

Gideon stepped forward next, however after completing the evaluation his result was far less eventful, he had an Uncommon talent with Assault as his weapon affinity, a standard outcome, one that barely stirred the crowd.

"Next!"

Finally, it was Jake's turn, he swallowed hard as he began walking forward, being the last to be tested meant every eye in the hall was now on him, and each of his steps felt heavier than the last.

By the time he reached the platform, it felt like an eternity had passed, as he placed both his hands on the orb.

Instantly, a warm, soothing sensation flowed from his palms into his body.

It was comforting—almost addictive.

For a moment, all he wanted was to close his eyes and sink into that peaceful feeling.

[> Ding! <]

[Detected affinity. Converted to 10,000 System Points.]

A notification appeared before him once again, one of the many things that set his system apart from the others, but this time, Jake wasn't thinking about how unique or intelligent his system was.

His thoughts fixated on a single word—Converted.

'Oh no… don't tell me it's what I'm thinking…'

His mind spiraled instantly, but there was nothing he could do.

The system had already acted, and he hasn't familiarized himself with the basic controls yet.

"Talent Rank: Common. Weapon Affinity: None." The old man's voice echoed out, and a wave of shock spread across the hall.

It wasn't just because Jake had awakened a Common talent, something that was rare in its own way as it was difficult for super soldiers to awaken a Legendary talent, but he was also unfortunate enough not to have any weapon affinity at all.

Now that kind of outcome was what they felt was even worse, as people looked at him, many shook their heads, already writing him off. 

Officially In their eyes, his path had been decided before it had even begun—mediocrity, with no real chance of rising beyond it, but Jake saw things differently.

Because of what was right in front of him.