Evan stepped forward, his expression steady but his movements deliberate, and took a silver case from the inside of his coat. The metal was dull rather than polished, scuffed in places from use, and its small latch clicked softly as he opened it. Inside sat a single pill, black with faint golden veins that pulsed at slow intervals, like it was breathing.
He held it out toward Ren. "Take this, Hector. If you've got nothing to hide, then swallow it and write down your skills."
Ren's brow rose. "Huh. Of course… but after this, you'd better treat me like a VIP, you fucker."
Before Evan could reply, Ren reached out and snatched the pill. He tossed it back without so much as a pause for inspection. The capsule slid down his throat in one clean motion, and he exhaled as if it were nothing more than a sip of water.
The reaction was immediate—not from the pill, but from the people watching. Several Hunters blinked in surprise. A few shifted their weight, exchanging brief glances. No one had expected him to take it so easily.
The System's voice cut through his head like a private aside.
You have resisted the Truth Tablet.
Ren's mouth tugged in a faint smirk.
Veyra stepped closer, the corner of her mouth curling upward. "Now that you can't lie," she said with a falsely sweet lilt, "tell me, Mr. Naked… am I beautiful?"
Ren smiled back at her, and it wasn't a pleasant one. "My nutsack has fewer creases than your old face, you hag."
A choked sound escaped from Elias, and Evan's lips pressed together hard enough to hide the twitch at their corners. Both men turned slightly away as if trying to suppress a laugh.
"Brother Ren," Master Lu's voice was a measured rebuke, but the thin smile tugging at his mouth betrayed it. "Language."
Armand, who had arrived at some point and chosen to observe in silence until now, let out a sharp exhale that could have been a scoff. "Disgusting power, and a disgusting mouth."
A faint vein pulsed at Veyra's temple. "Mr. Naked, that wasn't very nice."
Ren shrugged. "The Truth Tablet's making me honest. Don't blame me."
Veyra narrowed her eyes. "I'm in my twenties. Does this guy's ballsack really look that smooth or something?"
"Alright, enough," Evan said quickly, cutting through the tension with a hint of amusement he couldn't quite hide. "No more fighting. We're here for the skills, remember?"
He pulled a folded sheet of paper and a pen from his inner pocket, then set them on a nearby table. "Write on this. You can be vague about the descriptions, but I need the rank and level for each skill. As for stats, just list your two highest. That should give us enough to determine what kind of class you have."
Ren eyed the paper, then looked back at him. "You planning to show my skills and stats to everyone here?"
"At first, yes," Evan admitted. "We thought it would be a chance for you to get recruitment offers from the guilds. But if you want to change that, we can."
Ren tapped the table once with his finger. "Then only show it to Brother Lu."
Before Evan could respond, Elias spoke up, his voice smoother now, almost coaxing. "Oh, come on, Mr. Hector. My guild is full of researchers. You could say we focus on the academic side. It's perfect for someone with abilities like yours. Please forgive my earlier disrespect—I only pushed to test your level so I could make you an offer that fits."
"Fuck off."
Elias' mouth closed without further protest.
Veyra tilted her head, golden eyes narrowing in faint challenge. "Hey, Mr. Naked. My guild is full of assassins and warriors of the darkness attribute. Your power fits well with ours. We could teach you more darkness skills. Why not reconsider?"
Ren gave her a deadpan look. "The weak-ass darkness I can destroy with my hand—no, my tentacle? What am I supposed to use it for? Wipe my ass?"
Veyra's eyes sharpened like blades. "Do not insult the darkness."
Ren stepped half a pace toward her. "Want to go again, bitch? One-on-one this time. I won't lose."
"Enough," Evan said, but his voice was drowned out for a moment.
"Hahhh…" Master Lu's sigh cut through the rising tension. "Stop it, you two. Can't you act like adults?"
Elias leaned toward him slightly. "Master Lu, his power is too interesting to ignore. He destroyed my chimeras and Veyra's shadows with no effort. It's as if he's our natural enemy."
"That's exactly what makes him dangerous," Veyra added without taking her eyes off Ren. "We don't want someone like that as an enemy."
Lu's reply was calm, but his eyes were firm. "Then you shouldn't have attacked him in the first place."
Armand, silent until now, finally spoke. "That's a different matter. The skill he activated—the suppressing force—it carried the same aura as a Calamity-rank monster. It triggered the natural reflex of every Hunter in this room."
The words settled like a weight across the group. Even the Hunters at the edges of the hall, who hadn't been involved in the earlier fight, shifted uneasily.
Evan clapped his hands once, sharply enough to draw every gaze back to him. "Alright, enough. We can talk about recruitment later. For now, we focus on the skills and stats."
He gestured toward the table with the paper and pen. "Hector. Let's get this done."
Ren didn't move right away, but his gaze swept across the room—from Veyra's narrowed eyes, to Elias's thinly veiled curiosity, to Armand's cold scrutiny. Finally, his attention landed on Master Lu, whose expression was as steady as it had been since the start.
"Fine," Ren said. "Let's see how much you people can handle."