Talent Awakening! Every Legendary Summon Grants Me Assassin Attributes-Chapter 45: Detour! Catching the spy.

The Evaluation Hall was massive, stretching nearly eighty meters wide and a full hundred meters long. A wonder it even fit within the building’s structure.

The ground was laid with thick white marble, polished to a mirror sheen. The walls were forged from a glowing white stone that emitted a faint, sterile radiance, and even the ceilings reflected that same cold brilliance, making the entire hall feel both grand and suffocating.

This was the Evaluation Room, where Awakeners came not only to receive their Rank badges, but more importantly, to be scouted as individuals.

It was built to hold up to a hundred participants at once.

Yet, at the moment, there were barely over twenty present, not counting the tutors stationed around the hall like silent sentinels, observing every movement, every struggle, every flicker of potential from both new and old Awakeners.

Oliver could hear them.

Their grunts. Their strained breaths. Their desperate groans as they pushed themselves beyond their limits. All in the hope of achieving a higher rank, securing a position in one of the great guilds.

After all, this was their chance to be chosen.

But Oliver didn’t share that ambition.

He had no interest in earning a high rank just for the privilege of being bound to an organization. Yes, it came with benefits, power, resources, protection.

But also chains.

And restraint was something Oliver had long since learned to live without... in his first life.

So to him, this was nothing more than—

’An exam to get my ten thousand credits.’

His evaluation officer finally approached him. A woman with short brown hair, dressed neatly in office attire, holding a clipboard in her hands.

"Shall we begin, Mr. Mori?" she asked.

Oliver didn’t waste time. He simply nodded.

Moments later, he was led across the hall to one of the testing stations.

An obsidian rock stood before him, dark, jagged, and humming faintly with latent energy. It was designed to measure magical potential.

Oliver stepped forward and placed his hand on its surface.

The reaction was immediate.

The rock throbbed violently.

A deep, thunderous sound erupted from within it, rolling across the entire hall like a shockwave. The marble beneath their feet seemed to tremble ever so slightly.

Every head turned.

All eyes locked onto him.

Even the evaluation officer faltered, her hands tightening around her clipboard as her composure cracked.

’I have never seen the Shard react like this... just who the hell is this man?’

Oliver calmly pulled his hand away and looked at her.

Then he smiled.

"What’s next?"

Displayed clearly on the obsidian rock was a single letter—

A.

His Mana Level had been ranked at A.

Hera, who stood off to the side of the training room, swallowed hard, her gaze fixed on Oliver.

’How is his Mana level so high? Even pro players who have been active for years don’t reach this level...’

Her teeth pressed lightly against her lower lip.

What she didn’t know—what no one in the hall knew—was that Oliver’s mana had always been abnormal.

It was the effect of the Scale of Judgement.

An existence that constantly exuded an overwhelming aura—one that only high-ranked players, likely above level twenty, could even begin to perceive.

[Ding!]

[Scale of Judgement is observing]

[Your punishment remains the same: 1000 lives for full restoration]

Oliver groaned softly and dismissed the notification immediately.

He turned back to the examiner, who still seemed lost in her thoughts.

"Are you alright?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her face and snapping her out of it.

"Sorry, I was—... never mind. Let’s proceed to the ability test," she said quickly, turning away and leading him onward.

Oliver followed, already knowing why she had frozen.

News traveled fast in the world of Awakeners.

What had just happened with the Obsidian Rock? That wasn’t staying contained for long.

By now, the Association had already been alerted.

And likely... several organizations as well.

As he walked, Oliver could clearly see her tapping lightly on her earbud. Receiving instructions, updates... probably even live bids.

Organizations would compete for him.

They would place offers through the Association, each more absurd than the last, until the highest bidder earned the right to recruit him.

That was how the system worked.

A complete waste of money.

Because Oliver wasn’t interested.

And even if he was...

He lifted his wrist, glancing at the time.

’I don’t even get to exist after thirty minutes.’

---

"What a pain..."

Oliver groaned quietly.

He stood atop the rooftop of a building several dozen meters away from the towering Awakeners Association headquarters.

His body was cloaked, hidden beneath both his Stealth skill and the Cloak of Assassins. To ordinary perception, he didn’t exist.

Still, he wasn’t careless.

Just in case someone could pierce through his concealment, he had kept his distance and remained completely still.

Up until now.

He opened his system interface and summoned the Dark Crow.

A large figure, forged entirely from writhing shadows, materialized a few meters away.

Even then, Oliver didn’t move. He didn’t even look at it.

His gaze remained fixed on the Association building.

The Crow, however, began circling slowly.

It paced around him, not too close, not too far. Its sharp eyes scanning the ground, its movements deliberate, searching.

Waiting.

And then—

It found something.

Completing a full circle, it let out a sharp caw.

A signal.

Oliver exhaled and finally turned.

His eyes scanning his body briefly then a faint smile formed.

"I finally got rid of that shadow."

He rubbed his eyes, then turned back toward the building.

Where the other him had entered.

"I knew something was wrong... the moment I came back from the realm and noticed my shadow was missing."

His jaw tightened slightly.

"Controlling someone’s shadow is already insane... but giving that shadow awareness?"

That was something else entirely.

Something far worse.

Oliver swallowed and opened his status screen, staring at the skill that had allowed him to escape.

[Decoy: User can create a thirty-minute clone of anything. Disclaimer: clone can only withstand light attacks. Duration capped at thirty minutes. User’s power is split in half.] [A Rank]

He had used his evolution point to push the Decoy skill to A-rank.

Then, upon reaching the Association building, he activated it.

Hand pressed against his chest—

Skill triggered.

At the same time, he activated Stealth and equipped the Cloak of Assassins, retreating immediately after creating the clone.

A risky move.

One he wasn’t even sure would work.

Activating all three abilities at once had taken a heavy mental toll on him.

So he withdrew.

Waited.

And now—confirmed.

The shadow was no longer attached to him.

Oliver exhaled slowly, his expression tightening.

"All this planning... just to evade one shadow?"

But his thoughts quickly shifted.

To the one behind it.

Someone who could manipulate shadows without direct contact.

Someone who could grant them awareness.

His gaze drifted downward... to the countless shadows cast by the sun around him.

The implications were terrifying.

Just how powerful was that person?

Oliver clenched his jaw slightly.

He needed to grow stronger—and fast.

With his summons, his skills, his stats... it still wasn’t enough.

He was being hunted.

By something... Someone, far beyond ordinary comprehension.

And without a doubt...

The same entity was likely responsible for the S-Rank Disaster.

A slow, dangerous smile curved across his lips.

"Let’s see who wins this little game in the end."