Silas and Anna lay comfortably on the large sofa in the infirmary office, enjoying the rare silence that followed their intense lovemaking session. Anna rested against his shoulder, her eyes closed as she absentmindedly traced circles on the back of his hand. A blanket had somehow found its way over both of them, though neither could remember who had pulled it over first.

The room was dimly lit, the golden glow of the afternoon sun filtering through the windows and painting the office in warm colors. Neither of them seemed eager to speak. Silas leaned back into the cushions, one arm draped around her while the other rested behind his head. His usual guarded expression had softened considerably, replaced by a look of contentment that very few people ever got to see.

Anna shifted slightly, making herself more comfortable before glancing up at him.

"You seem suspiciously happy."

Silas chuckled.

"Do I?"

"A little too happy."

He smiled, and the expression immediately made Anna narrow her eyes. She knew that smile. It was the smile he wore whenever he was hiding something. Don’t get me wrong. Anna knew Silas the most in the academy. She had always been his go-to person, so they were close, and even closer now.

Slowly, she sat up and folded her arms.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

Silas laughed, the sound echoing softly through the office. He then turned toward her, his eyes carrying a hint of excitement.

"I’ve got a surprise for you."

Anna blinked. A moment later, curiosity began replacing her suspicion, and just like that, she was hooked.

"What is it?" She asked in expectancy.

"I..." Silas started and stopped, watching her eyes narrow cutely in frustration.

"You what? Come on, tell me!"

"Chill. Haha," He chuckled as she straddled him, ignoring the hard bulge poking her through the blanket. Though she bit her lips a bit.

"Okay. So what is it?" Anna asked again.

"You are cute," Silas’s reply made her blush so much that she almost orgasmed, surprising him.

"T-thank you..."

"That isn’t the surprise, though," Silas muttered, making her pout. She folded her arms under her huge boobs, making his little brother twitch, but he controlled himself from pouncing on her.

"I have awakened."

Anna stared at him for fifteen long seconds before she reacted.

"You’re kidding, right?"

Silas continued to stare at her, making her eyes widen in shock slowly.

"You really awakened?!"

"Mm."

"Ability?"

"Thread Manipulation."

"Let’s go to the evaluation center."

"So fast!"

"I don’t want anything to come between us with what I have in mind."

"What is it?"

"It’s a surprise."

***

Anna was already dragging him out of the infirmary before he could protest further.

"Slow down!"

"No."

"Anna."

"No."

"You’re literally proving my point."

"Still no."

Silas sighed dramatically as she pulled him along by the wrist. The excitement radiating from her was almost tangible. If someone didn’t know better, they would think she was the one who had awakened. Truthfully, she was almost as happy as if she had.

The Evaluation Center was located near the heart of Valecrest Academy, occupying an entire district of the campus by itself. As one of the top three academies in City A and among the ten most prestigious institutions in New Liberty, Valecrest possessed facilities that rivaled military installations. The building resembled a fusion between a research laboratory and an arena. Towering white walls reinforced with Rift-grade alloys surrounded the complex. Massive crystal panels lined the exterior, glowing softly with mana-conductive energy. Security personnel guarded every entrance, while advanced scanning arrays rotated atop the roof. Thousands of awakenings had been documented here, and countless talents had been discovered. Every year, the center produced reports that influenced scholarship programs, military recruitment, and even national rankings.

The moment Anna entered, she practically marched to the reception desk.

"We need an awakening evaluation."

The receptionist looked up lazily.

"Name?"

"Silas Ashard."

The man typed casually, but then he suddenly paused and looked up at Silas, then back at the screen, and at Silas again.

"That Silas Ashard?"

"The only one."

A strange look appeared on the receptionist’s face. The recent incident involving Damien had spread throughout the academy like wildfire. Silas noticed the change of expression, but he didn’t react to it. He didn’t care.

Within minutes, they were escorted deeper into the facility. A team of evaluators soon arrived, consisting of three technicians, one examiner, and one awakened specialist. It was standard procedure. The lead examiner, a middle-aged woman with silver-rimmed glasses, adjusted her tablet.

"Awakened within the last twenty-four hours?"

"Yes."

"Ability known?"

"Thread Manipulation."

The stylus in her hand stopped moving.

"Thread Manipulation?"

"Yes."

She wrote something down, though her expression suggested she had never heard of such an ability before. The first test was physical. Silas entered a reinforced chamber, and a metallic pillar rose from the floor. It was the Strength Evaluation.

"Strike it."

Silas shrugged and punched it.

BOOM!

The entire pillar shook as numbers exploded across nearby screens. The evaluators straightened instantly as they read the numbers. What they had recorded was approaching the levels of the legendary S-Rank.

[Physical Strength: Exceptional]

[Potential Growth Index: Abnormal]

The second test measured speed. Silas sprinted through a holographic obstacle course while sensors tracked every movement. The evaluators exchanged glances. This one, too, was beyond normal.

[Movement Score: Elite]

[Reaction Score: Elite]

The third test measured mana capacity. A crystal sphere larger than a person was wheeled into the room. Silas placed a hand upon it, but nothing happened for three seconds. Then the crystal lit up. First, it was silver, but then it turned brighter and brighter. Cracks appeared on it, making the evaluators immediately stand. The sphere was never supposed to crack unless it was S-Rank or beyond. For S-Rank, it was possible. They didn’t know about anything beyond S-Rank power.

[Mana Density: Unknown]

[Classification: Recalibrating]

"Recalibrating?"

"What does that mean?"

"I’ve never seen that before."

The final examination began. Ability Manifestation. It was the most important test. That was what determined the actual rank of the person, though they all had their thoughts on what was going to be. The room was replaced with a combat arena specifically designed for awakened individuals.

Silas stood at the center with several scanners surrounding him. The examiner spoke through a speaker.

"Manifest your ability."

Silas nodded and focused on his ability. Instantly, he saw them: Threads. Thousands of them. They were invisible to everyone else, flowing through the arena, the walls, the equipment, and through the people watching him. A silver thread appeared around his finger, and the scanners activated.

The numbers began rising and kept rising.

[D-Rank Signature Detected!]

[C-Rank Signature Detected!]

[B-Rank Signature Detected!]

The room became silent. Anna stopped breathing.

[A-Rank Signature Detected!]

The examiner stood up.

[S-Rank Signature Detected!]

Nobody spoke or moved as the machine continued processing for nearly ten seconds, an eternity in evaluator time. Then the central screen flashed.

[AWAKENED ABILITY CONFIRMED!]

[ABILITY: THREAD MANIPULATION]

[CLASSIFICATION: CONCEPTUAL]

[POTENTIAL RANK: S-RANK]

The room exploded.

"What?!"

"S-Rank?!"

"A Conceptual Ability?!"

"Impossible!"

"He’s seventeen!"

"That’s not possible!"

One of the technicians nearly dropped his tablet. Another immediately reran the scan. The third time, every result remained identical.

S-Rank.

Anna covered her mouth while her eyes became misty. She understood exactly what this meant. Every awakened knew, every citizen knew, and every government knew. S-Ranks weren’t merely powerful: They were pillars, national assets, individuals whose names could influence entire regions. The overwhelming majority of awakened people would never even meet one during their lifetime.

And now, one stood in front of her. The lead examiner swallowed hard and looked at Silas not as a student, or a teenager, definitely not as some troublemaker from Valecrest, but as something entirely different. A future powerhouse. A future legend.

Silas just stared at the screen quietly and calmly. Unlike everyone else in the room, he had already seen something far more terrifying. The system was right. The most the evaluation could tell was S-Rank, but he was far more powerful than just S-Rank. If anyone could hear his thoughts, they would jump him in seconds. You don’t attribute just to an S-Rank.