The Author's Draft

Chapter 87 - 6: Evaluation I

# Chapter 66: Evaluation

Coordinator Hayes led the group of awakeners through the Hunter Association headquarters, navigating a maze of corridors that seemed designed to confuse anyone who didn’t work there regularly. They passed training halls where people sparred in reinforced chambers, administrative offices with staff working frantically at desks, and security checkpoints where guards scanned ID badges and waved them through after brief exchanges with Hayes.

The building was larger on the inside than it appeared from outside, with multiple floors dedicated to different functions. Aiden counted at least three separate training facilities as they walked, each one occupied by hunters practicing techniques or testing equipment.

"This way," Hayes said, turning down another corridor. His pace was brisk but not rushed, clearly expecting the awakeners to keep up without needing to be herded like the ceremony participants.

The group followed in relative silence. A few whispered conversations happened toward the back, but most people seemed content to just observe and wait to see what happened next.

Aiden walked in the middle of the group, the black demon mask still firmly in place. A few of the other awakeners glanced at him occasionally, curiosity or wariness flickering across their faces, but no one approached or tried to start a conversation.

After maybe five minutes of walking, they reached a set of heavy double doors marked with signs indicating it was a restricted evaluation area. Hayes pushed through without breaking stride, holding one door open for the group to file past.

The room beyond was massive.

It had to be at least fifty meters across and half that wide, with ceilings high enough to accommodate techniques that required vertical space. One entire wall was reinforced glass, thick enough that Aiden suspected it could withstand attacks from A-rank hunters without cracking. The glass was slightly tinted, giving it a greenish hue that made everything on the other side look faintly aquatic.

Training equipment lined another wall in organized rows. Combat dummies made of materials that looked far more durable than normal padding. Targets for accuracy testing. Weights for strength assessments that ranged from what looked like twenty kilograms all the way up to massive blocks that probably weighed several tons. Specialized apparatus for measuring speed, reaction time, and other metrics.

In the center of the room sat a raised platform, maybe half a meter off the ground, with various testing equipment arranged on its surface. The platform itself was marked with formations that glowed faintly with embedded mana, probably designed to contain techniques or prevent damage to the surrounding area.

But what caught Aiden’s attention immediately wasn’t the equipment or the platform.

It was the people already in the room.

About a dozen of them stood in a designated observation area near the reinforced glass wall, clearly separated from where the awakeners were filing in. They wore different uniforms, different insignias, different styles of combat gear that marked them as belonging to various organizations.

Guild representatives.

Aiden recognized a few of the emblems from news coverage and online research he’d done while planning his registration. Major guilds that operated across London and the UK, organizations with hundreds of hunters on their rosters and enough political influence to shape government policy.

The representatives weren’t just standing around passively either. Some had tablets out, taking notes or reviewing data. Others whispered to each other, pointing occasionally at specific individuals in the awakener group. A few watched with the kind of calculating expressions that came from years of assessing talent and making recruitment decisions.

Their presence added weight to the room, made the evaluation feel less like a bureaucratic formality and more like an audition with serious consequences.

’They’re here to scout,’ Aiden realized, watching one representative gesture at a muscular man near the front of the awakener group. ’Looking for anyone worth recruiting before they get snatched up by competitors or decide to stay independent.’

The thought was confirmed a moment later when one of the representatives, a woman in sleek combat gear with a guild emblem Aiden didn’t recognize, leaned over to whisper something to her colleague while very obviously staring at a young woman with enhancement abilities written all over her physique.

Then Aiden saw him.

Kane.

The Enforcer stood with the guild representatives, arms crossed over his chest, watching the group of awakeners file into the room with an expression that was simultaneously bored and intensely focused. He looked exactly like he had at Whitechapel, the same long black coat, the same angular features, the same amber eyes that glowed faintly even in the bright overhead lighting.

For a brief moment, their eyes met.

Aiden kept his expression neutral behind the mask, his body language casual, giving away nothing.

Kane’s expression shifted. Surprise flickered across his face first, quickly replaced by recognition, then settling into a slow smile that suggested he knew exactly who was standing in front of him and was very interested in what was about to happen.

He didn’t say anything. Didn’t approach. Didn’t call out or signal to Hayes or do anything that would draw official attention.

He just watched, that knowing smile playing at the corners of his mouth, arms still crossed.

Aiden looked away deliberately, turning his attention to the evaluation setup as if Kane’s presence meant nothing to him.

’He knows,’ Aiden thought, his mind racing through implications. ’He recognized the mask immediately. But he’s not making a move. Why?’

The answer came quickly. Because Kane was smart. Calling out the masked vigilante in the middle of a formal evaluation, surrounded by guild representatives and Association staff, would create a scene that might backfire spectacularly if Aiden could prove he was legally registering.

Better to wait, to watch, to gather evidence during the evaluation itself before making accusations.

’He’s playing this carefully,’ Aiden realized. ’Which means I need to be even more careful.’

Coordinator Hayes moved to the center of the platform and turned to address the group.

"Find a spot along the wall and wait," he said, gesturing to the area opposite the guild representatives. "We’ll be processing evaluations one at a time. This will take a while, so get comfortable."

The awakeners spread out, some leaning against the wall, others sitting on the floor, a few remaining standing with arms crossed. Aiden found a spot near the middle where he had a clear view of both the platform and Kane’s position.

A woman in her forties emerged from a side door, wearing official Hunter Association administrative uniform with a badge that marked her as senior staff. She was carrying something carefully in both hands, a large crystal orb about the size of a basketball that pulsed with faint internal light, like there was a heartbeat trapped inside the glass.

She set it on a pedestal in the center of the platform with practiced care, adjusting its position slightly until she was satisfied with the placement.

Behind her came a man in his fifties, salt and pepper hair, glasses perched on his nose, wearing a formal Association uniform with rank insignia that marked him as high-level administration. He had the tired look of someone who’d been working nonstop since the crisis began, bags under his eyes and tension written in the set of his shoulders.

But his bearing was authoritative, the kind of presence that came from decades of experience and the confidence that came with senior rank.

He approached the platform and addressed the group, his voice carrying clearly across the large room without needing amplification.

"Welcome," he said. "My name is Administrator Voss. I’m in charge of hunter certification and rank assessment for the London branch of the Hunter Association."

He paused, letting that sink in, then continued.

"You’re here today because you’ve awakened through non-standard means. Some of you awakened through contracts with constellations. Others awakened through circumstances we don’t have official records for. A few of you awakened years ago but never bothered with registration until it became mandatory."

A slight edge entered his tone on that last part, though his expression remained neutral.

"Regardless of how it happened, we need to establish official rank classifications and ability assessments before you can be properly registered and deployed. The process is straightforward."

Administrator Voss gestured to the woman, who pulled out a stack of small cards from a case she’d brought with her.

"You’ll each receive a number. When your number is called, you’ll approach the platform and demonstrate your abilities for evaluation. You’ll also place your hand on the testing orb, which will measure your mana capacity and give us objective data to supplement the practical demonstration."

He nodded to the woman. "Proceed with number distribution."

The woman moved through the group systematically, handing out cards without ceremony or conversation. Each card was simple, just a number printed in large black text against white background, nothing fancy.

She worked her way from one end of the room to the other, distributing cards to awakeners who took them with varying degrees of nervousness or confidence.

When she reached Aiden, she handed him a card marked "16" without even glancing at his face, then continued to the next person.

Aiden looked at the card, then did a quick count of the room. Forty-five people total, which meant they’d be here for a while if each evaluation took more than a few minutes.

He settled in to wait, watching as the woman finished distributing numbers and returned to stand beside Administrator Voss.

"Once your evaluation is complete," Voss continued, addressing the group again, "you’ll be directed to the registration desk to complete your documentation. After that, guild representatives may approach you if your abilities show promise for recruitment."

He gestured toward where the dozen representatives stood watching.

"Participation in guild recruitment is entirely optional. You’re under no obligation to accept offers, though I’d encourage you to at least listen to what they have to say. Many guilds offer resources and training opportunities that independent hunters struggle to access."

A pause, then his expression became more serious.

"Any questions before we begin?"