I glanced at Azrael, his relaxed expression intensifying the unease rising within me. My mind blazed as it ran numerous simulations, all in an attempt to come up with the most plausible scenario in regards to hiding my latent potential.
’Shit!’
I panicked. If it were back at home, there would be numerous artifacts and technological devices capable of achieving said effect. But... in this barren hell, even if such a thing existed, how could I possibly hope to get my hands on such an advanced piece of technology.
Preoccupied with my thoughts, I turned them over in my mind. Little by little, a notion began to take shape — one that soon blossomed into an idea.
My eyes gleamed softly, my fists tightening as resolve settled within me. ’Risky, but certainly worth it.’
Besides, it was not as though I had any other choice in the first place.
Unlike the wave absorption principle, destructive interference was more useful in this scenario. I knew the APG’s frequency, and I could produce a counter-field with the opposite phase. The problem, however, was maintaining it. I had to somehow constantly match the APG’s frequency and synchronize with its pulse, and keeping the field active for too long would strain my neural pathways, causing severe headaches or tremors — and making it more likely that I would be discovered.
Exhaling slowly, I glanced at the podium as Awakened rushed to and fro, mostly the newly Awakened individuals. After all, the older gladiators had already undergone their evolutionary assessment. Although there were chances of an Awakened’s ability evolving, the chances of that happening were slim — a one in a million chance, I’d say.
Despite that, almost every single gladiator was anticipating it. Even if it were only for the off chance of their ability evolving, the greater part was because no one was stupid enough to reject free Atium shards.
"Scared?" Azrael asked, chuckling.
I glanced at the young Terrisman and shrugged off his words.
Seeing that I was in no mood to converse, the young Terrisman smirked and fell silent. For a while, he said nothing and simply took in the surroundings. Eventually, he spoke.
"Do you know why the Roman nobles conduct this assessment, especially with so much importance attached to it?"
I said nothing. Several seconds passed in silence before he continued.
"To recruit the less talented and weed out the threats."
His words were more or less what I already had in mind. After all, there was no reason for the Roman nobles to attach so much importance to this, unless that was precisely the point. Recruit those who couldn’t threaten their rule, and crush those who could. Hah... how Roman-like.
A wry smile tinged with indignation crossed my face.
For a while, we both said nothing, silently observing the assessment and the politics that went on in this abyss. In this... hellhole. Gladiators found to be slightly talented — those who had a shot at becoming Ascendants — were sought after by the various political parties and tribal factions. Those with even greater talents, although only two had appeared so far, were approached by Valerius.
According to Azrael, those found to possess such talent- A-ranked talent, were assured of a spot in the Elite Romans’ assessment.
The sight stirred something within me, tempting me to reveal a tiny bit of my latent potential. But then again, not only was I a great threat to the Roman Empire because of my royal status, but revealing even a tiny fraction of my latent potential could make things far worse. Besides, if I were to eventually come across a paranoid Roman noble, I wouldn’t be able to offer even the slightest resistance if such a person saw through my facade and decided they wanted me dead. So basically, it wasn’t worth it.
I shook my head, a voice pulling me from my thoughts.
"My turn," the young Terrisman said, his hand fiddling with the strange coin as he stepped toward the APG.
"Good luck," I said softly, even if I doubted he’d need it.
Somehow, I had a feeling this wasn’t even close to the extent of what he was truly capable of. Whatever rank he had at the moment was nothing more than a charade. Why he chose to hide his abilities, though, was something I was quite curious about.
An SSS-ranked ability? I wondered. But then I shook my head. If it were so easy to awaken an SSS-ranked ability, the world would be filled with hordes of them. The only reason I could awaken such an ability was most likely due to my genes. In simpler terms, my parents and my lineage. If I had to guess, even among the Roman Great Families, finding a noble with an S-ranked ability was as difficult as scaling a frigid mountain as a mere mortal.
Raising my head, I glanced at the young Terrisman shrouded within the Aetheric Potential Gauge, taking note of his stats.
"B-rank," I muttered under my breath.
Unless they knew of his true identity, whatever that was, no one would be suspicious of his displayed ability. After all, such a rank meant he had a shot at becoming an Ascendant, no matter how slim that chance might be.
The intense flare of light finally faded, the casing of the APG slowly opening. The young Terrisman smiled and stepped out of the Aetheric Potential Gauge. He glanced at Valerius and nodded slightly before walking toward me. I frowned slightly at the interaction but said nothing.
Before long, a few tense minutes passed, and eventually, it was my turn.
"Good luck."
Without glancing at the young Terrisman, I nodded.
I exhaled, my hands clenched tightly as I walked toward the APG, each step intensifying the fear rising within me.
Step. Step.
With every step, the panic within me grew stronger. At that moment, I knew I could only do my best. The rest... even if I hated to admit it — was left to the indecipherable clutches of fate.