Standing before the biotechnological device, I paused for a second, my heart pounding beneath the weight of the numerous eyes fixed on me.
If I had to guess, the various tribal factions, gladiators, and even the Roman soldiers had been instructed by their respective patrons to keep a keen eye on my evolutionary stat assessment.
The realization sent a cold chill down my spine.
Valerius glanced at me, an annoyed expression creeping across his features. "Will you get in, or do I have to shove you in?" His gaze lingered on me even as he finished speaking.
Exhaling lightly, I forced a smile, shrugging as I stepped into the APG.
The next moment, before I could do so much as blink, the Aetheric Potential Gauge’s casing crept inward, enclosing me within. Numerous articulated arms flared to life, dotted with various sensory nodes in the form of red, glowing orbs. The sound of the biotechnological device coming to life resounded in my ears, my muscles tensing at its slow, rhythmic movements.
The analog readers displaying the various metrics — ranging from natural physical traits and genetic markers to bio-assessment data — slowly climbed, their readings increasing at a breathtaking pace. The sight brought smiles of glee to the gathered gladiators and Roman soldiers alike. The thought of being the one to deliver the auspicious news (intel) to their respective patrons — it was more than enough to brighten the mood of everyone present.
***
Azrael frowned subtly. "Was I wrong? Does he not have a means of hiding his latent potential?"
A moment later, his gaze hardened slightly, his eyes gleaming coldly as he gazed at the APG. "Doesn’t matter," he said under his breath. "If he can’t even find a way through this, then he’s of no use, irrespective of what the divination says.
***
Within the APG, I exhaled shakily, muttering under my breath. "It’s time..."
I could have countered the Aetheric Potential Gauge right from the start, but anyone with the least bit of sense — and, unluckily for me, everyone here was every bit smart and cunning(how could they hope to survive in this hell if they couldn’t even meet its most basic requirements for survival?) — would easily realize that something was off. How could the great prince of the Gracian Empire awaken a trashy ability? Even if worse came to worst, at the very least, I had to have awakened a decent ability.
And that was exactly what I would be showing them.
Visualizing inky, vibrating tendrils pulsing with the natural rhythm of my Darkness Soul Essence, I knew I had succeeded with the first step.
I gave myself no time to rest. As the APG’s readings continued to rise, the tension within the grand hall grew heavier.
Slowly, I tried to resonate with its frequency, sending out pulses of the opposite phase — something my Dark Soul Core was capable of producing. As the tension rose and the evolutionary stat assessment climbed, I felt a subtle force repeatedly crash against the resonance pulses I was sending out.
I clenched my teeth through the pain, realizing then that the second step had succeeded.
"Ugh!"
Groaning as another wave of intense pain shot through me, I forced myself to increase the strength of the counter-frequency ever so slightly.
My heart sank.
It didn’t seem to have any effect.
My face went pale as I watched the blurry readings flash across the display. However, it was at that moment that the APG slowly came to a stop, its displayed metrics decreasing ever more rapidly. Eventually, it stopped at...
My heart slowed for a second, eyes burning as I awaited the result.
"A+"
It was higher than I wanted, and would definitely raise some level of attention. But it was already the lowest I could manage, and even if I did manage to deceive the technological device by trying to force the readings any lower, the same couldn’t be said of other scheming humans.
"This was already the best I could’ve asked for."
Exhaling sharply, I watched as the APG’s casing slowly crept open, my vision blurring as I took a step out.
My vision spun out of control, an intense headache pounding through my skull as every word that came out of Valerius’s mouth sounded distorted, further intensifying the searing pain tearing through my head. However, it was at that moment that a figure caught me, pulling my arm around their neck.
The figure somehow managed to bear my weight as they took several measured steps forward, a faint, charming smile gracing their lips. I needn’t be told to know who it was.
Even as my vision blurred, those hazy, crystal-like eyes, which seemed to hold far more knowledge than one would expect of a teenager, were easily distinguishable.
"Hold on," he said softly. "Faint here and all your hard work will be for naught."
I knew he was right. However, even as I used every ounce of strength left within me to remain awake, the intense pain I felt only intensified. I knew I wouldn’t last long at this rate, a bitter smile creeping across my features.
Azrael’s expression seemed to harden, a cold glint flashing across his eyes. The next moment, I felt a familiar source of energy flow into me. An Atium shard...? My eyes widened at the sudden surge of energy.
How he had gotten his hands on an Atium shard, and how he was transferring its refined energy to me without being detected despite the numerous eyes upon us, remained a baffling mystery to me. However, I knew now was not the time for questions.
Clenching my teeth, I swiftly absorbed the energy contained within the Atium shard with every step we took back to our previous spot. However, I made sure to limit my absorption speed to the limit of what an S-ranked talent was capable of. No matter what, my latent potential had to remain a secret.
Moreover, I had a feeling that even this was under Azrael’s calculations. The Atium shard was a way for him to judge my absorption speed, through which he could get a definite estimate of my latent potential. I could be wrong, but it was never wrong to be cautious. Against such a scheming ally, I had to keep my guard up, be ready for a betrayal, and, more importantly, have more than enough backup plans to fall back on.
Eventually, by the time we arrived at our destination, I’d succeeded in absorbing the energy contained within the Atium shard, a light smile creeping across my features. Not only had I succeeded in hiding my latent potential- for now, anyway, I had also grown every bit stronger.
No wonder Awakened were so desperate for Atium Shards. I understood it theoretically, but only now did I physically understand why.
I could feel every inch of muscle beneath my skin tensing and ’exploding,’ growing stronger with every passing second. If I had a couple of those, I could easily defeat most Awakened.
Of course, I knew I was being delusional. Even lesser Roman nobles might not get to enjoy such privileges.
Sighing lightly, I was about to thank Azrael when a frown suddenly creased my features.
The various noble families’ vassals had finally begun making their respective moves.