All eyes were fixed on Kieran. This was the first ti the orb crystal had ever shone so brightly.
The academy Dean stood, his hands trembling as he considered the possibilities.
'Is this it? A student who finally managed to get an SSS-ranked talent!' The old man's hands shook with excitent; he couldn't wait to see what the orb would display.
Standing amidst the crowd, Frank felt a knot tighten in his stomach as anxiety crept into his bone marrow.
'It can't be! This is the first ti the orb is shining so brightly... don't tell it's it... it can't be. If he gets it, then my life will be more miserable than death.'
The thought left him sweating like a pig about to be slaughtered. He clenched his teeth tightly, waiting for the result of the test.
The once rowdy hall beca as quiet as a graveyard as the light grew brighter and brighter with each passing second.
Jane, who had been leaning against the wall, stood up straight, shocked by the event.
They all held their breath until the final results were displayed on what appeared to be a screen.
[Kieran Marcoth.]
[Talents: Hidden.]
[Rank: SSS-rank.]
[Class: ???]
The information flashed on the screen, and gasps of shock escaped from the crowd one by one.
Then, with a loud shout, the hall erupted in chaos.
"He got it! An SSS-rank talent!"
"Hell! This is the third ti in history such a talent has appeared!"
"Fuck! I'm so jealous. I should've been best friends with him! Who would even dare co up to now?"
One by one, the children in the hall scread at the top of their lungs.
It was an unexpected event.
Even though the orb had shone so brightly, no one could have assud it was an SSS-rank talent. Finding one was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
The probability of discovering such a talent, even in a millennium, was nearly non-existent.
This was an instant promotion to being a world-class treasure. All the factions would be begging to get their hands on soone like that.
While the students scread, so jubilating over their classmates' success, the teachers looked at each other with deep frowns on their faces.
The dean of the academy had an even deeper frown etched on his face.
'A hidden talent?'
He wished he could understand the aning behind those words.
Unfortunately, even after years as the dean, witnessing countless talent awakenings year after year, this was the first ti he had ever seen such a thing.
He wasn't alone in his confusion. The other teachers gathered there shared his astonishnt.
"Quiet!" His voice thundered, silencing the rowdy crowd of students.
"Kieran Marcoth," he said, his voice grim yet tinged with sympathy.
"S-Sir..." Kieran, who had been lost in a daze, regained his composure and turned to face the dean.
He hadn't expected much—he had set his sights on at least an S-class talent or even an A-rank.
Those alone could assure him a peaceful life, one where he could earn far above the normal standards.
But instead, he had received sothing far better than he had ever imagined.
Kieran montarily tore his gaze from the dean, scanning the crowd until his eyes landed on Frank's pale face.
Frank felt a cold chill run down his spine as those devilish eyes landed on him. His hands sweated behind his back.
'It's over for if I don't get sothing similar,' Frank thought. But deep inside, he doubted the possibility of that ever happening.
Thankfully, Kieran's gaze didn't linger on him for long. Instead, it shifted to the woman not too far away.
'Finally! I can make her proud!' he thought, his eyes brimming with determination as he looked in her direction.
But as his eyes t hers, it wasn't the reaction he was expecting.
'Why? Why is she looking at like that?'
Kieran wondered, a feeling of dread creeping into his chest.
Jane held her head down, she could tell from just one glance what it could possibly an, and after seeing the deans expression, she knew her guess couldn't be wrong.
Knowing that, she couldn't bring herself to match his gaze.
The dean, who had stood quietly for so ti, finally spoke.
He understood the gravity of the matter, and he took a mont to calm himself before addressing the young boy.
Kieran, still confused, turned to face him, noticing the sa look in the dean's eyes as Jane's.
"What is it? Did I do sothing wrong?" Since the dean was closer, Kieran decided to ask him directly.
"Boy," the dean paused, drawing a deep breath. "Look at the screen again," he stated.
Kieran's heart thumped as he heard the dean's grim tone. Still, he turned to look at the screen displayed by the orb.
His eyes scanned the notification until his gaze fell on sothing—sothing that seed off.
Even for him, this as the first ti seeing such a thing, and he too had never heard anything about a 'hidden' talent
[Talents: Hidden.]
At that mont, the other students noticed it too, and their whispers filled the hall as they began making guesses about the strange notification.
"What does it an?" Kieran asked, swallowing hard.
His mind already whispered possible explanations, but he wanted to hear it from the dean himself. He didn't want to believe what his instincts were telling him.
"Kieran, I'm sorry... but a hidden talent can only an that you're yet to fulfill the conditions for your talent to surface," the dean explained grimly.
Kieran's eyes widened, and the world seed to fade around him.
He could only hear the dean's voice while every other sound dulled.
If a talent was hidden, it could only an one thing: conditions had to be t before the talent could be unlocked.
If those conditions weren't t, then despite being an SSS-rank talent, it would remain useless.
And then, he heard it—the dean's final words.
"...In essence, you have no talent until the conditions are t."
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