After Raphael’s statement, the health officials immediately began working.
The head official barked out several orders, and within minutes, Raphael found himself being transferred to another room.
Vanessa followed them without hesitation.
Rather than walking, she floated lightly above the ground, her boots never touching the floor. As she moved, she complained about the lack of mana in the hospital, openly criticizing the environment as though the entire building had personally offended her.
Raphael felt a pang of embarrassment.
She was not even trying to keep her voice down. Every official they passed could hear her.
The woman moving beside them was clearly powerful. Overwhelmingly powerful. Even without understanding mana, Raphael could tell that Vanessa was different from ordinary Awakened. He could already imagine what everyone was assuming.
If a summon is this powerful, then the summoner must be a true monster.
At one point, Raphael noticed one of the female nurses looking at him with sparkling eyes. She appeared to be staring at some savior sent from heaven.
Raphael almost shouted at her.
Girl, can’t you see my condition?!
A glance from Vanessa silenced the thought before it could become words.
Raphael immediately faced forward. Soon, they entered a room filled with what Raphael could only describe as machines and cables.
He did not know the names of most of the equipment, but he understood their purpose. The devices would scan him thoroughly to determine whether he had truly awakened and, if so, what rank he possessed.
The room was much larger than he had expected.
At first glance, it resembled a laboratory.
Metal platforms occupied the center of the room, surrounded by thick cables and strange machines covered in glowing screens. Several transparent panels floated in the air, displaying numbers and symbols that meant absolutely nothing to Raphael.
However, the equipment was not what caught his attention most. It was the people waiting for him.
Five individuals stood on the opposite side of the room. Unlike the medical staff, they wore formal black suits. Their expressions were serious, and each person had a small metallic badge attached to their chest.
The badge carried three words.
AWAKENING EVALUATION BUREAU [AEB]
Raphael had heard of them before.
The Awakening Evaluation Bureau was responsible for officially evaluating awakened individuals. They determined attributes, ranks, abilities, potential, and other information that could affect a person’s future.
One of the men stepped forward. He appeared to be in his fifties, with short gray hair, thin glasses, and a tablet held in one hand.
"Raphael Matthews?"
"Yes."
The man glanced at his tablet.
"According to the information provided by the medical center, you are a twenty-one-year-old non-awakened individual with no recorded mana core, attribute, or ability."
He looked up.
"Is that correct?"
"That’s what I’ve been told my entire life."
The official hummed. He did not look convinced. Neither did the others.
A woman standing beside him folded her arms.
"We’ll begin with the basic mana examination."
Raphael nodded.
"All you have to do is stand on the platform," she explained.
Raphael stepped forward. Vanessa followed. The moment she entered the testing area, several evaluators instinctively tensed. The woman immediately looked toward her.
"She cannot remain during the examination."
Vanessa’s violet eyes narrowed.
"No."
The answer came so quickly that the evaluator visibly frowned.
"This is an official examination."
"I care little." Vanessa’s gaze shifted toward Raphael. "I was summoned by him. I will remain by his side."
The room fell silent. Raphael covered his face with one hand.
Why does she have to say everything like that?
The gray-haired official stared at Vanessa for several seconds before releasing a tired sigh.
"Fine. But she cannot interfere with the equipment."
Vanessa gave a small scoff.
"As if your equipment could measure me."
The official’s expression twitched, causing Raphael to almost laugh.
She isn’t even trying to be nice.
He stepped onto the platform, and the machines activated. A deep vibration filled the room.
A faint blue light spread beneath Raphael’s feet. Several rings of energy formed around his body as the evaluators began entering data into their tablets.
"Mana circulation test commencing," one of them announced.
Raphael stood still. He had undergone similar examinations his entire life. Every test had produced the same result.
Zero mana, no core, and no awakening.
He expected the same thing now. The machine beeped. The evaluator frowned.
"His mana output is... zero."
Raphael was not surprised. Then the machine beeped again. The blue rings beneath his feet suddenly turned white, causing the evaluator’s expression to change.
"Wait."
Numbers began rapidly climbing across the main monitor.
[Mana Output: 1,200...]
[2,500...]
[5,000...]
[10,000...]
[20,000...]
The machine began vibrating.
"What the hell?" one of the evaluators muttered.
The woman stepped closer to the monitor.
"Stop the test!"
"It’s not responding!"
The numbers continued climbing.
[50,000...]
[100,000...]
[250,000...]
The entire room went silent. Then the display flickered.
[ERROR!]
The machine released a sharp mechanical screech.
[MANA OUTPUT: UNDEFINED!]
One of the evaluators stared at the screen.
"Undefined?"
"That’s impossible."
"Run the calibration."
"We already did!"
The gray-haired official stepped forward.
"Run it again."
The machine restarted.
Raphael waited. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then another warning appeared.
[MANA OUTPUT DETECTION ERROR!]
The evaluator’s face became pale.
"His output is exceeding the machine’s measurable range."
Someone swallowed.
"How high is his mana capacity?"
"We don’t know."
"Potential?"
"Running the test now."
Another machine activated. This time, a massive transparent sphere formed around Raphael. Golden letters appeared across the surface.
[POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT]
Raphael felt something stir inside him. For a brief moment, the air became heavy- then the machines began to shake. Then the sphere screamed.
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
A crack spread across the transparent barrier. Everyone jumped backward.
"What happened?!"
"Potential measurement failed!"
"Again?!"
The woman stared at Raphael.
"Impossible..."
The gray-haired official looked down at his tablet.
"Run a manual assessment."
A younger evaluator shook his head.
"Sir, the machine is already detecting values beyond its database."
"Then use the highest classification."
The evaluators attempted to do so. The result appeared almost immediately.
[Potential: ERROR!]
[Potential: UNMEASURABLE!]
Nobody spoke. Raphael looked around awkwardly.
"So... is that good?"
No one answered.
Vanessa stood beside him with her arms folded, her staff floating just out of reach. She looked almost amused by the confusion.
Raphael glanced at her.
"What?"
Vanessa turned her head.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
She continued staring at him for another moment before looking back toward the evaluators.
The examination continued.
They tested his strength, agility, endurance, mana control, reaction speed, ability compatibility, and elemental affinity.
Every test produced the same result.
[ERROR!]
[UNDETERMINED!]
UNMEASURABLE!]
[NO DATA!]
Eventually, they reached the final examination. The Tier Assessment.
This was the test used to officially classify awakened individuals as F-Tier, E-Tier, D-Tier, C-Tier, B-Tier, A-Tier, or S-Tier.
Raphael stepped into another machine while the evaluators watched from behind reinforced glass.
"Beginning Tier Assessment," the technician announced.
A wave of mana passed through Raphael’s body. For several seconds, everything remained normal. Then the machine went completely dark.
Everyone froze.
"Did it fail?" someone asked.
The technician stared at the screen.
"No."
"Then why isn’t there a result?"
The technician slowly looked up.
"Because..." He swallowed. "There isn’t a tier it can assign."
The gray-haired official approached the display. A single line of text appeared.
[AWAKENED TIER: UNKNOWN]
Raphael’s eyes widened.
"Unknown?"
The woman shook her head slowly.
"This has never happened before."
"Can it be S-Tier?" another evaluator asked.
"No."
"Why not?"
She pointed toward the screen.
"Because the system isn’t saying he’s S-Tier. It’s saying it can’t determine what he is."
That explanation was somehow more terrifying.
The officials began speaking among themselves.
"We need higher-grade equipment."
"How much higher?"
"Military-grade."
"That’s classified."
"So is he."
The gray-haired official finally turned toward Raphael.
"Raphael Matthews."
"Yes?"
"Until we can determine exactly what you are, you will remain under observation."
Raphael frowned.
"Observation?"
"You survived an attack from a creature with a highly probable S-Tier classification despite having no previously recorded abilities."
The official’s expression hardened.
"Your mana output exceeds our current measuring capabilities. Your potential cannot be calculated. Your awakened tier cannot be determined."
His gaze shifted toward Vanessa.
"And you possess a summoned being powerful enough to make our equipment malfunction simply by standing nearby."
Vanessa raised an eyebrow.
"Your point?"
The official ignored her.
"We cannot simply release you into the public."
Raphael sighed.
"Am I under arrest?"
"No."
The man shook his head.
"You are a potential national asset."
That sounded significantly worse.
"Until your actual rank is determined, you will be assigned an A-Tier Awakened guard."
"An A-Tier?"
"Someone strong enough to protect you if something goes wrong."
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
"I will protect him."
The official looked at her.
"We’re aware."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Then why assign another?"
"Because you are the subject of our investigation as much as he is."
Vanessa’s expression became colder.
Raphael could practically feel the temperature dropping.
He quickly stepped between them.
"That’s fine."
Both Vanessa and the official looked at him.
Raphael gave an awkward smile. "I don’t want to cause any more trouble."
The gray-haired official nodded.
"Good."
He turned toward the other evaluators.
"Prepare the observation order."
The woman beside him immediately began typing.
A few moments later, a final document appeared on the main screen.
[AWAKENED EVALUATION RESULT]
[Name: Raphael Matthews]
[Age: 21]
[Awakening Status: Confirmed]
[Mana Output: Unmeasurable]
[Mana Capacity: Unmeasurable]
[Potential: Unmeasurable]
[Ability: Unknown]
[Attribute: Unknown]
[Tier: UNKNOWN]
[Threat Level: Undetermined]
[Evaluation Status: Incomplete]
[Further Testing: Required]
[Recommendation: Continuous Observation by A-Tier Awakened Personnel]
Raphael stared at the screen. So much for having a quiet life after resurrection.
He had not even been awake for a full day, and already, the government believed he might be something beyond S-Tier.
He sighed. At least they had not discovered the system. That would have been a much bigger problem.
Then a translucent panel appeared before his eyes. Only he could see it.
[Evaluation complete!]
[Congratulations, Sovereign.]
[Your existence has been officially classified as: UNKNOWN.]
Another message appeared.
[New Title Acquired: Unknown Sovereign.]
He stared at it.
"Seriously?"
Vanessa glanced toward him.
"What is it?"
Raphael shook his head.
"Nothing."
Her eyes narrowed.
She clearly did not believe him.
And somehow, Raphael had the feeling that keeping the system secret from Vanessa was not going to be nearly as easy as keeping it secret from the government.