The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 179: What rank are you currently?

After another minute of speaking over the phone, Lily finally ended the call and slowly turned back toward both of them, placing the phone back onto the table.

Her expression turned apologetic as she spoke.

"I’m sorry, Sir... but we can’t register you right now."

Both Lucian and Seraphina frowned slightly.

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"No... not exactly."

She paused for a brief moment before continuing.

"It’s just that we don’t currently have the equipment or the necessary procedures to register someone who’s already an awakened with an established rank."

It had only been a few months since the apocalypse.

Naturally...

The Association wasn’t prepared for every unusual situation that could arise, especially one like this.

Not only were they already awakened, but they had somehow remained completely unregistered all this time.

Although Lily had a strong hunch that they belonged to one of the hidden awakened families, even so...

It was still nothing more than a hunch.

"So... nothing can be done now?"

Seeing the faint disappointment on Lucian’s face, Lily instinctively wanted to say something reassuring.

However, before she could think of anything—

"When can it be done?"

Seraphina’s calm, icy voice interrupted her thoughts, speaking for the first time since they had arrived.

Lily immediately shifted her attention toward the pale-skinned woman.

The moment she met those cold, icy-blue eyes...

She answered almost instinctively.

"You can come back tomorrow.

We’ll make sure everything necessary is prepared by then."

Seraphina silently nodded.

Beside her, Lucian fell into thought.

The situation was somewhat disappointing in his opinion, since he had wanted to enter the dungeons as soon as possible, but it seemed that wouldn’t be possible for now.

’What a hassle...’

He let out a quiet sigh, inwardly grumbling for a moment before giving a small nod.

"Fine... we’ll come back tomorrow."

Lily secretly heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that he hadn’t tried to make a scene.

Considering how many awakened had become increasingly arrogant after gaining power, she had honestly expected things to become far more troublesome.

After a brief silence...

"Is there anything else we need to know before we come back tomorrow?"

Lucian’s question immediately drew Lily’s attention again, and after thinking for a second, she nodded.

"I’d like to know your rank and a few other details that I can note down first."

She picked up her pen before pulling a fresh sheet of paper toward herself.

"How long has it been since both of you awakened?"

Lucian thought for a moment, trying to count the days... though that was somewhat impossible.

The months spent inside Bloodveil had completely thrown off his sense of time—not to mention his training under Valentina alone had lasted nearly two months, at least according to her.

"Over three months," he answered vaguely.

’Almost the same time since the apocalypse began.’

Lily silently noted the information down.

"And what rank are you currently?"

Honestly...

There wasn’t much point in asking.

If they had awakened only three months ago, then the overwhelming majority would still be at F rank.

Someone exceptionally talented, perhaps, could have already reached E rank—aside from those supported by the Guilds.

Guilds earned far more resources, allowing talented awakened to receive significantly more monster cores based on their abilities and potential.

"..."

Only silence answered her, causing her to slowly lift her head in confusion.

Lucian looked at her for a brief moment before letting out a faint sigh.

"E rank."

He answered in a calm voice.

"Huh... ah... ohhh...!"

Several emotions rapidly flashed across Lily’s face before her eyes widened with unmistakable surprise as she looked at the young man standing before her.

Lucian didn’t respond with the same enthusiasm.

Seraphina faintly narrowed her eyes as she glanced toward him.

She knew perfectly well what his actual rank was.

He had told her himself—even though he had kept most of his training in Bloodveil a secret from her.

But since he had deliberately given the wrong answer...

He clearly had his own reason for doing so.

Though...

She could more or less understand his reasoning.

Lily suddenly noticed that everyone around her was looking in her direction, especially her colleagues sitting beside her, who wore confused expressions after seeing her reaction.

A hint of embarrassment crept onto her face.

She let out a nervous cough.

Her eyes couldn’t help but linger on Lucian for a moment longer.

Now, she was almost completely certain.

He was from one of the hidden families.

She couldn’t think of any other explanation.

For someone to reach E rank within only a few months, they would need a large number of monster cores, and obtaining them meant continuously fighting monsters.

Yet anyone doing that should have already been registered with the Awakened Association, which Lucian wasn’t.

"I’m sorry about that," she apologized quietly.

Without waiting for his response, she immediately shifted her attention toward Seraphina.

"What rank are you, Miss?"

"F rank."

Lily simply nodded before writing it down.

After that, she continued asking several more questions, some of which Lucian and Seraphina answered without hesitation.

Others, they politely declined to answer.

And a few of their answers subtly surprised Lily, one of them being...

Their hometown.

According to them, both of them came from the western city that had now become one of the most dangerous dead zones in the country.

Even so...

She couldn’t quite believe it.

Not because they looked like people who had survived such a catastrophe—though admittedly, their immaculate attire did play a small part in it.

Rather...

She simply couldn’t picture them actually living there until recently.

If anything, it felt more likely that they had been staying somewhere else all this time before arriving here now.

’So many unanswered questions...!’

The more she thought about their background, the more confused she became.

Eventually, Lily gave up trying to figure it all out and simply wrote down everything they had told her before closing her notepad.

"Umm... can I get your number? I’ll personally message you when to come."

Though that wasn’t really part of her job... but whatever. She had her own free will to do as she pleased.

"Hm..."

Lucian quietly took out Seraphina’s phone, since his own—as well as Lia’s—had already been buried beneath the rubble of their destroyed house.

For some reason, Lily couldn’t help but feel a little happy after getting his number, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked at her phone screen.

"Are we done?"

Seraphina’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

Lily immediately looked back up before nodding.

"Yes. There’s nothing else."

Lucian was just about to turn around, but then another thought suddenly came to mind.

"Excuse me... Lily."

"How did you know my name?" Lily asked with visible surprise, wondering whether she had ever met such a handsome man before.

Lucian chuckled softly before pointing toward the small nameplate resting on her desk.

"Oh..."

Only then did Lily realize it herself.

Seeing the embarrassed look spreading across her face, Lucian couldn’t help but let out another quiet laugh.

"I actually wanted to ask something else.

Is there anywhere we can stay nearby?"

"Uh..."

Technically, she wasn’t really supposed to answer such questions while working... but somehow, she couldn’t quite bring herself to refuse.

She wasn’t just doing this because he was good-looking.

Of course... not.

She wasn’t a woman like that. She just had a few standards when it came to men—although that might be the reason she was still single.

"There is a Survivor Settlement for the evacuated people, but... that place might be pretty cramped.

If you’re fine sharing rooms with several other people, then I can recommend that to you.

Otherwise... there are also a few hotels not too far from here. They should still have some vacant rooms available."

Lucian dismissed the first option almost immediately.

There was no chance he was going to stay in a room packed with strangers.

More importantly, there was absolutely no way he would let his mother stay with anyone else either—especially not when they were complete strangers.

So that left him with only one choice.

Well... two, actually.

He could stay outside as well—but that would mean looking like a beggar, something he simply wouldn’t allow himself to do. Not when he had a companion with him.

’I just hope I still have enough money left to afford them...’

Lucian sighed inwardly as he decided to stay in a hotel for the time being.

Thinking about it, he even went ahead and checked the remaining balance in his bank account before letting out a relieved sigh.

He still had enough money to keep going for well over a year—provided the economy hadn’t completely collapsed, which honestly wouldn’t have been too surprising given the current state of the apocalypse.

After asking Lily for the addresses of a few nearby hotels—earning several jealous glances from the men waiting behind them and a few audible clicks of the tongue from the receptionists beside her—

Lucian and Seraphina quietly stepped out of the Awakened Association.