As Mason turned to leave, a sudden pop-up notification appeared, freezing him in his tracks.
[You have successfully imposed your will on the third daughter of the Astora family!]
[You have levelled up!]
[Incubus Order Level 1 > Level 2]
[POTENTIAL HAREM MEMBER DETECTED!]
"What!?" He couldn't believe it, the system actually suggested that the spoilt daughter of the Astora family can actually be in his harem?
[Is there a problem master?]
'Is there a problem!? Yes! You're actually insisting that spoilt bastard can actually be in my harem!? Hell no!'
[Regardless of your feelings towards her behavior, she's almost compatible with your bloodline.]
'I don't give a shit-'
"Excuse me sir." A voice snapped him out of his conversation with the Incubus System, it belonged to the man he just saved from Lady Kaori's humiliating hands.
"Thank you for helping me, I deeply apologize if it caused you any inconvenience."
He rose to his feet, brushing the dust from his clothes with care. There was a quiet dignity in the way he moved, and in his measured speech and composed tone, one could easily discern the mark of a well-bred upbringing.
"If I may ask, why did you help me?" His question sent Mason into a contemplative silence. Until now, the issues of others had never pierced his thoughts—he had mastered the art of not caring. But something about this moment made him change.
But now it was a different story.
"Who knows, I guess like you, I'm just someone who will never tolerate the strong oppressing the weak just because they can."
"I see, you have my thanks once again."
With a quiet nod, Mason turned and made his way toward the main examination hall. But just as he could leave, the man's voice pulled him back once more.
"If I may ask, with an ability strong enough to effortlessly pin down a high profile individual, can I assume you're a B-rank Spirit caster?"
The crowd went silent, awaiting Mason's answer, after all with the power he displayed, his rank was bound to be questioned.
"No." He glanced over his shoulder, staring at the man. "Mason Harris — D-rank Spirit caster."
As he replied, he turned and walked away, leaving a stir of shock and disbelief in his wake. The man's eyes shot open—he couldn't accept it. There was no way that kind of power belonged to a D-rank spirit caster
"Wait!" He called out to Mason, but it was too late, he was already too far away to hear.
Lady Kaori remained on her knees, still trembling from the sheer force of Mason's power. When he revealed his rank, her eyes widened in disbelief. Rage surged through her, setting her blood ablaze, she refused to accept it.
'Impossible... Impossible! He made me bow? That D-rank nobody? Made me bow?"
She gritted her teeth furiously, her brows furrowed in rage as the very thought of what just happened made her skin itch uncontrollably.
'Mason Harris was it? If it's the last thing I do, I'll make you pay!'
[Master, why did you lie about your rank? With your level of power, you should be fairly above A-rank.]
"Lie? I don't see it as lying, after all I'm only this strong because of my bloodline abilities. My spiritual powers is still that of a D-rank Spirit caster, I think."
Just like they were told at the registration center, the participants arrived at the stupendously large hall. In that hall, more than 2000 Spirit casters were present, which made it a bit difficult to breathe.
This place is huge." Mason spoke softly, examining the entire hall and the participants.
"Of course, the Spirit caster's entrance exams is always held in the most prestigious academies in all of the kingdoms in the continent. Thousands of aspiring Spirit casters all wish to become hunters, because of that, the location changes depending on the numbers."
A voice spoke from beside Mason. Turning to glance at him, it was the same boy from earlier.
"Mason Harris right? We met earlier not long ago from the incident with Lady Kaori, nice to meet you, I'm Neo Tempest." The boy extended his hand for a gentle shake.
Out of courtesy, Mason shook Neo's hand out of courtesy, but he quickly noticed it was trembling.
"You okay?" Mason asked, his brows raised in confusion.
"Yeah, I'm just a bit nervous, aren't you? We are surrounded by thousands of strong, capable casters with one goal in mind, to pass the exams. It makes me wonder if I will be able to even compete, how do you remain so calm?"
"Well I try not to think much about it, at the end of the day, the results will be inevitable."
As the boys conversed, a feminine figure climbed the stairs leading to the gold encrusted podium on the stage in front of them.
"Dear participants, we welcome you to the start of the ,18th Spiritual casters Exams. I am Principal Selena of the caster's academy and the examiner for this year's exam, this year we are going to be doing things a little bit differently than the previous years."
She began, her voice resonating through the entire hall. Her gaze swept across the faces in the audience, conveying both authority and warmth.
"A bit differently?" One of the participants asked, unclear to what she meant by that.
"That's right, as you know the usual procedure for the exams are a total of 5 stages, given that this is the highest number of candidates we've had in years, it has been trimmed down to 3 stages. As a result the numbers of participants must be reduced drastically as well." The principal's words stirred a low murmur throughout the hall.
"R-reduced drastically?" Neo, along with some other participants stammered.
"Y-you don't mean.." Another participant stammered, their mouths agape as they realized what the examiner was asking for.
"Mass elimination." Mason spoke softly with his arms crossed, summarizing the principal's intentions in just two words.