Lucius stepped out of the room and immediately found Lia, Skull, and Bruce waiting outside. Lia quickly rushed to his side and took his hand, her earlier anxiety vanishing the moment she saw him again.
Skull, however, barely acknowledged her. His eyes remained fixed on Lucius, while Bruce stood silently beside him, staring at the boy as though he were looking at something that should not exist.
Only now did Bruce truly take the time to examine Lucius properly, his gaze moving slowly over every detail of his body, from his face down to his arms and legs. His eyes eventually settled on the torn section of Lucius’s clothes, revealing the X shaped scar across his chest.
"Where did you get that scar?" Bruce asked.
Lucius’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at it. The moment his gaze settled on the scar, fragments of memories flashed across his mind. The sensation of something piercing his chest. The memories came so suddenly that goosebumps spread across his body, but Lucius quickly suppressed his reaction before either of them could notice anything unusual.
"A mutant beast plunged its claw into my chest during the tide," Lucius lied, keeping his voice as steady as possible.
Skull immediately paled at those words, while Bruce’s expression became contemplative.
"You survived that?!" Skull blurted out, unable to hide his disbelief.
"Of course he did. He has already proven to possess super strength and high invulnerability, accompanied by strong regenerative capabilities." Bruce rubbed his chin while continuing to study Lucius, as though he were piecing together an increasingly strange puzzle.
"I do?" Lucius asked, genuinely stunned.
It was his turn to stare at Bruce in confusion. According to the system, the only Talents he possessed were Devour and Hand of God, so where had these abilities come from? He had never awakened a Talent that granted him regeneration or extraordinary durability. Almost immediately, however, the system provided him with an answer.
[Your human genes is fused with Xenovian royalty genes. What they consider a talent is simply traits of Xenovian. It is not a unique talent.]
Lucius’s eyes narrowed slightly as he absorbed the information. So his enhanced physical strength, durability, and regeneration were not Talents at all. They were simply natural traits inherited from his Xenovian bloodline. To the people of this world, however, those traits were apparently extraordinary enough to be mistaken for separate Talents.
"Second Lieutenant Skull... I think you just brought in America’s first Dual Talented Guardian." Bruce extended his hand toward Skull, a faint smile appearing on his face. "I would call it triple talented, but I will just lump the regeneration in with his physical strength and invulnerability."
Skull’s face lit up like a candle. He immediately grabbed Bruce’s hand with both of his own and bowed repeatedly. "Thank you, Sir... Thank you!!!" His excitement was almost impossible to contain.
Lia, on the other hand, stared at Lucius with genuine shock in her eyes. She had always known her brother was different, but she had never imagined that he could become this important overnight. Only hours ago, they had been Dregs working in an aether mine, barely considered human by the people above them. Now, people were calling Lucius a potential elite Guardian.
Ainsworth reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a black card before passing it to Skull. "This is a recommendation card for the American Guardian Academy. With this, you don’t need to go through the formalities. You will be allowed into the Noble District, and he will be accepted into the academy immediately and given a place of residence." This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Skull accepted the card with genuine shock written all over his face. He stared at it for several seconds before looking back at Bruce. "But, Sir, won’t you test his Talents?" he asked, clearly confused that Bruce was already making such arrangements without completing a proper evaluation.
"It’s already late, and I have a hot date tonight. But I will make sure to conduct tests with him soon." Bruce slipped his hands into his pockets as he continued speaking. "As for now, I have sent out a mail to all government agencies announcing the arrival of a potential S+ rated Guardian joining the fold."
Skull’s jaw dropped.
His knees actually buckled under the shock, forcing him down onto one knee. His stunned gaze remained fixed on Ainsworth, who had already begun walking away as though he had not just dropped a bombshell on the entire situation.
"S+!!!!!!" Skull yelled like a madman.
Bruce did not stop walking. "I would prefer you go off duty and stand in as his private security in his new residence until we have everything sorted out. I know your team is contracted by the Gates family to guard their Pennsylvania mine. Don’t worry about it. I’ll speak to them on this matter personally."
His voice continued thinning the farther he walked, until he eventually disappeared around the corner without even looking back.
Meanwhile, Skull was left hyperventilating in the corridor, clutching the black recommendation card like it was the most valuable object he had ever possessed. Lucius stared at him in confusion, genuinely wondering why this man seemed more excited about his success than he was.
"You are my lucky charm! My golden goose!" Skull screamed with so much excitement that he began kowtowing uncontrollably, repeatedly slamming his forehead toward the floor as though he had just discovered a treasure beyond his wildest dreams.
Lucius frowned at the ridiculous display, but Lia suddenly began laughing lightly. The sound immediately drew his attention, and when he saw how amused she was by Skull’s hysterical behavior, Lucius’s expression softened. If this was enough to make Lia happy, then he supposed he could tolerate the lunatic for a little longer.
"Hurry up and tell me what it means to have S+ rated potential," Lucius said after a while.
Skull froze.
He slowly raised his head before hopping back to his feet and gesturing down the corridor. "I will explain on the way out," he said, still struggling to contain his excitement.
Lucius nodded, and the three of them began walking.
"Guardians are rated from D, C, B, A, S, S+ and finally Special Authority," Skull explained as they moved through the corridor. "In America, we possess four Special Authority rated Guardians who went on to form the four most formidable families in the history of mankind, known as the Big 4 families. And that is why we are the greatest nation on the planet!" Read the latest chapters at novelping dot com.
Lucius rolled his eyes. "We are that great, but we haven’t recovered all our territories from monsters. Spare me that bullshit."
Skull did not even seem bothered by the comment. He simply reached the elevator and pressed the button. A moment later, the doors opened with a loud hiss. He stepped aside and allowed Lucius and Lia to enter before following them inside.
"Master Bruce, who you saw earlier, is from one of the Big Four families. The Ainsworth family, to be exact. They are the ones responsible for the technological breakthroughs of this apocalyptic age. Everything you see, they built!" Skull continued, his voice filled with pride as he spoke about the family.
This time, Lucius’s eyes flashed with surprise as Bruce’s image appeared in his mind. The man had not come across as particularly strong. In fact, Lucius could have sworn that the man was Talentless. He was almost certain he could rip Bruce apart in seconds if he wanted to. The fact that someone like that belonged to one of the four most powerful families in the world only made Lucius more curious.
"That reminds me. Why are normal humans here?" Lucius asked. "I thought only Guardians and talented humans were allowed to live within the city walls."
Skull shook his head. "That’s impossible. People are still needed to run the country. You can’t expect a Guardian to serve as a receptionist, a construction worker, a banker, or a maid. These people are usually handpicked. Most are brought in by noble families who find them outside the walls and choose to take pity on them. Master Bruce is the one who brought me in."
Ding!
As soon as the elevator doors swung open, Lucius was shaken by the sight that greeted him. A vast number of people were kneeling outside the elevator with their heads lowered, their bodies pressed close to the ground as though they had been waiting specifically for his arrival.
"Welcome, Great Guardian!" they screamed at the top of their lungs.
Lia quickly hid behind Lucius, while Lucius himself jerked backward in surprise. He had expected to walk out of the elevator, not to be greeted by what looked like an entire crowd waiting to worship him.
Ka cha!
The sudden sound of a gun being cocked immediately caught everyone’s attention. Skull stood beside Lucius with his weapon raised, his expression suddenly becoming cold. He did not even need to say anything. He simply gestured with the gun, and everyone immediately moved aside.
Nobody wanted to be the person who got shot while supposedly interfering with the protection of a future Guardian. If Skull killed someone in the name of protecting Lucius, nobody would question him. In fact, there was a good chance he would be rewarded for it.
"This way, Sir... Don’t pay heed to these gold diggers. I’ll protect you from them!" Skull claimed with a wide grin on his face as he motioned for Lucius to follow.
Lucius stared at him for several seconds before looking at the crowd and then back at Skull. He genuinely did not know whether to laugh or cry.
After all, the biggest gold digger among them was none other than Skull himself.